STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

halleybird · Hermes

NYC help

uesgirl · BCBG

I live in the city so I am not an expert regarding hotels, but I know that Le Parker Meridien, The Blakely, the Dream, the Shoreham and the Town hotel are nice and are in that area. You may be able to find a good price at one of them. There are a ton of hotels near CPS though, since midtown is very popular business destination. You may want to look at newyork.citysearch.com for other recommendations.

There are tons of areas to go shopping in. If you don't want to wander too far from midtown, you could do Fifth Avenue (Saks, Gucci, Henri Bendel, Tiffany's, LV, Bergdorf's-- but also less exciting choices like Gap and H&M) and then you could head up Madison for the rest of the high-end boutiques. Soho is also nice but gets very crowded. Union Square/Flatiron has good shopping too, but it is mostly stores you'll find anywhere.

As far as food goes, there are lots of good choices that are reasonable. If you like pizza, I would HIGHLY recommend going to either John's or Lombardi's. There are a lot of great small places in the East Village, which is a very hip area but in an edgy way. I would highly recommend Frank in the EV for very yummy basic Italian food in a kind of funky atmosphere. I love Cafeteria for brunch (although the waits can be long) and Blue Smoke for bbq. While you're at the Ritz, you should definitely stop by the Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridien. It is a hole in the wall in a very fancy hotel-- very odd. But very yummy and inexpensive.

Have fun!

shopgirl · Kenneth Cole

Check out the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller center. It was reopened last year and I believe there is a bar. It isn't as tall as the Empire State Building, but it has great views. Oooh, you're going to be in town for Pride, which is always a blast. But be warned: Chelsea and the West Village will be very crowded.

Check out Marc Jacobs in SoHo for their $150 bags. I was there a couple of days ago and all they had were the Louise, which didn't float my boat. For department stores, I'd also check out Barney's in either SoHo or the one on 17th/18th streets. Ooh, FindOutlet's sample sale started today and they should have some great items left. They're near chelsea/meatpacking district, and across the street from the Maritime Hotel (http://www.themaritimehotel.com/dining_home.html), which has outdoor dining, really nice cocktails and serves up a good lunch. The meatpacking district is fun for window shopping and cocktails. The food is so-so in many of the restaurants, but you can't go wrong with a summer bev.

Find Outlet
When: June 22nd - June 25th , Thursday-Sunday, 12-7pm
Where: 361 W.17th st.(between 8th/9th aves.) Subway:A,C,E,L to 8th ave., 1&9 to 18th st.
We are taking 70% off the Find price!!!! ( which is already 50% off retail price!!!!) so U can imagine that everything will be stunningly cheap

And we have listed a few examples for you:

-C&C California Jeans orig$190 Now $19
-Antik Denim Jeans orig$202 Now $39
-Tocca dresses orig$275 Now $29
-Nicole miller tops orig$199 Now $21,
-Paper Denim &Cloth Jeans orig$190 Now $27
-Helen Wang tops orig$159 Now $17
-3Dots Cami1s &Tees orig$50-59 Now $7-$9
-Bettye Muller shoes orig$225 Now $23
-Joe1s jeans Mini skirts orig$116 Now $12

http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/
A STORY THAT BEGINS IN 1933…

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. first opened the Observation Deck atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza more than 70 years ago, to give something back to New Yorkers and their guests from around the world — a place to appreciate and celebrate the city.

The Observation Deck’s original design was inspired by the decks of the great ocean liners of the era — complete with deck chairs, gooseneck fixtures and vents inspired by a ship’s stacks. A trip to the Observation Deck was like setting sail in the heart of the world's most dynamic city.

Now, for the first time in 20 years, this breathtaking vantage point is being re-introduced to the people of New York and the world.

halleybird · Hermes

Thank you, thank you, thank you uesgirl & shopgirl! That is exactly the type of info I need!

laken1 · Hermes

I have no advice since I haven't been yet, but I just wanted to say please give me a full report so I'll know where to go in November.

And I wanted to say I'm so jealous of you Ms. Travel pants!

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

halleybird wrote:

We want to see the Empire State Building, Central Park, the WTC site and the Natural History Museum. Anything else that's a must-see?

I've been to NY twice, and I would say that on limited time, those are probably the best things to see. If you have time/want to, I would highly suggest taking the subway over to Brooklyn and checking out the view from the promenade below the Brooklyn Bridge. I walked back to Manhattan on the bridge rather than taking the subway, which will also give you good views. Plus you can say you've walked across the Brooklyn Bridge!

It might be too late for this, but I also was in the audience for a Conan O'Brian show. It was fun to see how things work behind the scenes. I'm not sure if other TV shows have openings for audience members on short notice.

Another thing... the Staten Island Ferry is either free or cheap (don't remember, it was 5 years ago). If you're down in that area with time to kill it might be worth a trip. I think it runs till midnight too. It just takes you to Staten Island, and then right back. I took it late at night on a hot summer night, and it was very refreshing being on the cool water.

Lilykind · Hermes

zeitgeist4 wrote:

Another thing... the Staten Island Ferry is either free or cheap (don't remember, it was 5 years ago). If you're down in that area with time to kill it might be worth a trip. I think it runs till midnight too. It just takes you to Staten Island, and then right back. I took it late at night on a hot summer night, and it was very refreshing being on the cool water.

It's free. I think the story is that in the 70's they wanted to raise the fare from 5 cents to 25 cents, at which point every person in NYC had a massive cow so it became free.

It's more fun to take on a summer night if you're all the way downtown already. IIRC you can see the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from there.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

i've been about a dozen times and i think it's always fun to go to soho for a light lunch/shopping during the day, and i love going to dinner at dos caminos in gramercy park at night.

http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/dos_caminos_park/index.php

they have the best guacamole and fun drinks. that might be a fun thing to do on friday before your hubby joins you.

halleybird · Hermes

laken1 wrote:

I have no advice since I haven't been yet, but I just wanted to say please give me a full report so I'll know where to go in November. And I wanted to say I'm so jealous of you Ms. Travel pants!

I will definitely give you a full report! Don't be too jealous; I usually never go anywhere, but this summer I was lucky.

Thank you for the suggestions zeitgeist4, Lilykind & Shopgirl82! My stepmom really wants to do some sort of water cruise past Ellis Island, etc. Do you think the Staten Island Ferry is a better choice?

Also, the weather won't be too bad, right? I mean, it's 115 here, so it can't be much worse than that. My stepmom grew up in the area and says it's the most sweltering time of year, so I am guessing very light clothing is in order?

shopgirl · Kenneth Cole

ooh, there's also the new york water taxi that goes from the world financial center, near the world trade center site to brooklyn. The neatest stop is in brooklyn heights and right in front of a great ice cream parlor. mmm. You are also close to the brooklyn bridge, which you can stroll over on the way back to manhattan.

the water taxi stop is next to the brooklyn promenade, which is an excellent location for watching the sun set over the manhattan skyline.