From Notting Hill to New York . . . Actually
Page 29
I open my mouth to speak, but the words won’t come out. It’s as if my mouth has just ceased functioning. I look at the others standing next to us, all the most important people from my life back home that Sean has gathered, along with everyone from my time here in New York, to share this moment with us.
They gaze back at me, just willing me to say the right word.
I look down at Sean again. This wonderful, incredible man … and suddenly I find all I need to say.
‘Yes.’ I nod happily. ‘Yes, of course I’ll marry you, Sean.’
And as the sun continues to set across the East River, everybody that’s important in my world gathers around me.
And for the first time ever, my life feels truly complete.
Scarlett’s Treasure Hunt
Ali’s Guide To New York
Before you go
Best Map: The New York Mapguide: The Essential Guide to Manhattan (Michael Middleditch, Penguin). I lost my copy of this the last time I was there and immediately bought a new one ready for my next trip! That’s how good it is!
Best App: NewYork2Go Shows you your exact location in NYC on a street map, gives you a map of the subway, plus a helpful guide to the city. (And most importantly no wi-fi is required to use it!)
Movies to Watch: Anything set in New York will get you in the mood! Some of my favourites: Serendipity, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and The Adjustment Bureau. Or if you’re lucky enough to visit near Christmas there’s Elf and Home Alone 2 – Lost In New York.
Music to play!
In the book Scarlett has a playlist on her iPod she listens to constantly before she leaves. This is what’s on it:
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New York – Paloma Faith
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Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
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Native New Yorker – Odyssey
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Theme from New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
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Back to Manhattan – Nora Jones
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I’ll Take Manhattan – Kit McClure Big Band
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Arthur’s Theme – Christopher Cross
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Fairytale of New York – The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
When you’re there
Tourist stuff
You can get many books that will tell you all about the tourist attractions in more detail, but the main paid ones are:
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The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (sit on the right side of the boat for the best views going over!)
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The Empire State Building – do this one first thing on a clear sunny day if you can, and then ‘Top of the Rock’ at night (or the other way around, but the view over NYC at night is not to be missed!)
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The Met Museum – the impressionist paintings are amazing!
All these (plus some others) come under the New York City Pass – best value for seeing all the main attractions. It will save you loads on entrance fees, plus you get to skip a lot of the queues! Talking of queues, one of my best tips would be GET UP EARLY to avoid them; all the main tourist attractions have massive queues at peak times, so go early. Your body clock is still on UK time, so getting up early is easy, as is going to bed early, you’ll be exhausted from all the walking!
Places From the Movies
Again, there are loads. This is a great book if you want to do a New York ‘spot the location’ movie tour. New York: The Movie Lover’s Guide (Richard Alleman, Broadway Books).
But some key ‘rom-com’ ones would be:
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Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side, that scene from When Harry Met Sally was shot there!
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Café Lallo on the Upper West Side is the café in You’ve Got Mail where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are on their very confused blind date.
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The top of the Empire State Building is of course featured at the end of Sleepless in Seattle.
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The Big Piano in FAO Schwarz is in the movie Big.
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Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue was made famous by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
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And from Serendipity, the Woolman Rink and the Serendipity3 restaurant itself (see below.)
Food
There are so many great restaurants in Manhattan that it would be impossible to list them all here, but I’ve picked these for the main NYC food groups: Pizza, Burgers, Coffee, and a good breakfast!
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Best Pizza: Johns Pizzeria, 260 West 44th Street. Great pizza in elegant surroundings.
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Best Burgers: Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Get there early though, or the queues will be long … but it’s worth it for their milkshakes alone. I had the Fair Shake – delicious!!
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Best Coffee: There’s a Starbucks on virtually every street, but go where the locals go: Stumptown on 29th & Broadway. Hang out with the cool dudes on their laptops, or just sit and chill out with native New Yorkers!
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Best Breakfast: They actually claim to be the ‘The Busiest & Best Breakfast in New York’ and their pan-cakes definitely live up to that mighty statement. It’s the Pershing Square Cafe just opposite Grand Central Terminal.
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And if you love the movie Serendipity, or even if you don’t, you must go to Serendipity3 on 60th Street (between 2nd & 3rd Avenues) for their frozen hot chocolate! Heaven through a straw!
Free Stuff
A trip to New York can be expensive, there’s no denying it. But there’s lots of free things you can do too.
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Central Park – a wonderful place, and one of my favourite places to go in the city. There’s so much to see here, be prepared to spend a whole day if necessary – it’s so big!
But if you’re in a hurry, here are some key places:
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the famous tree lined Mall – you’ll recognise it straight away from numerous movies and TV shows.
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The Bethesda Fountain, with the Angel of the Waters on top, serenely watching down over Central Park.
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Strawberry Fields, the quiet area of the park dedicated to the memory of the late John Lennon.
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The Brooklyn Bridge – Walk the bridge to Brooklyn and back! Or walk one way and get the subway back the other. Worth it for the glorious views over the East River! Look for the Padlocks while you’re on the bridge … you’ll find a full explanation in the book in case you’re reading this first;-)
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Grand Central Station – or to give it its correct name, Grand Central Terminal. You will never look at another train station in quite the same way after you’ve spent time gazing around at the opulent interiors and up at the crystal chandeliers of Grand Central!
Hotels
I can only recommend the two hotels I’ve stayed in while in New York. They are 70 Park Avenue (which is the hotel I based Scarlett and Oscar’s on) and The Grand Hyatt. Both I managed to pick up on an internet/flight and hotel deal. Definitely worth shopping around for. Both lovely places at the time of writing.
Shopping
You might be tempted to do a little bit of shopping while you’re here …
The two most famous department stores, Macy’s and Bloomingdales, offer visitor discount cards, usually worth 10% off your purchases (some exclusions) – just remember to take some ID in with you, i.e. a passport, and head up to the visitor centre when you get to the stores to pick up yours.
But other than that, I suggest you either go with one pretty empty case, or travel with an airline where you can pay to take an extra case home with you rather than risk excess baggage charges, because you’ll need it. New York truly is a shopper’s paradise …
Misc
Tipping
New Yorkers working in service industries rely on their tips as part of t
heir wages; they actually get taxed up front on it! So please tip while you’re there, unless the service is truly awful, which is unusual for New York; it’s usually service with a smile! I’ve found if you’re nice to people, people are usually nice in return.
And my last piece of advice would be: it’s not Sex and the City! If you’re going to New York for the first time to see the sights and shop, you will be walking – a lot! So dress appropriately. Unless of course you’ve got lots and lots of dollars in your Gucci purse for yellow cabs to drop you off at every doorstep!
But most importantly – enjoy, and have a great time!
New York is a fantastic city and I love it.
Ali x