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NEW YORK · USA

  • chrissihuf
  • Jan 10
  • 17 min read

Updated: Apr 26




Brief History/Information

When you think of New York, most just think about New York City and Manhattan, but New York is much more that. New York was home to many Native American tribes. In 1663, the Dutch founded the colony of New Amsterdam which is now modern New York City. In 1664, the British took control and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. NewYork was a major center of Revolutionary War activity. On July 26, 1788, New York became the eleventh state in the union). This is actually a very large state and it borders one country (Canada) and five states! New York has very diverse geography from urban, to mountains, to beaches.


What we did

So far, I have been to New York City on three different occasions. Spring Break, April 2005, with the family and the kids were very young. Early December 2015, on a girls weekend with friends and my daughter to celebrate her 21st birthday. Christmas, December 2025, Greg and I to visit our son that moved to Brooklyn.



2005


For our 2005 trip, 4 days with the family and the kids when they were very young.

Day 1: We flew into La Guardia Airport and stayed at the Marriott Marquis. This is a fantastic hotel! Right in the heart of Times Square, Manhattan and the life of NYC. The night we arrived, we at dinner at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill for dinner (closed in 2013) , because unbeknownst to me… there was a surprise birthday party at the restaurant for me! Many members of my family were sitting at the restaurant, waiting-it was surreal. After dinner, we went back to the Marriott Marquis and had some drinks at the bar (we ended up closing the bar down), then we went to O'Flaherty's Ale House (no longer in operation) to continue the fun… it was a blast-not too smart since we had young children with us that wake up early!

Day 2: We took the kids to the American Museum of Natural History, what an amazing museum! You can spend the entire day there and still not see all it has to offer! We saw many sites, four movies, and the butterfly conservatory (and much more). For dinner we ate a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, this is a great place to take kids, food is consistently good.

Day 3: This was a big day! We went to the Intrepid Museum. This the actual aircraft carrier, now an interactive and amazing museum! Kids or no kids… this is a must-do in NYC. It’s very informative and moving/emotional. Next, we went to Empire State Building (1928), we endured the hour and half wait to get to the top (86 floors), but made it and it was not disappointing at the least. It was a cold and windy day, but still amazing. Next, we went to the Central Park Zoo, and got the four of us in for $14! (Kids were only $1), the prices have definitely increased since 2005. We got to see penguins and polar bears, and we went to the children’s zoo too. Ate dinner at Ruby Foo’s (no longer in operation), this was a really great meal.

Day 4: We took the subway to go to the Statue of Liberty (1886), and went to Castle Clinton National Monument for our ferry tickets and tour. The tour was about five minutes, we took the elevator up to the observation deck of lady liberty and saw the amazing views. After the Statue of Liberty, we went to Ellis Island and looked at the books and tried to find our family, then back to Manhattan and visited Trinity Church (1697), a very old and cool church. Made it back to our hotel to clean up, so we could go see Beauty and the Beast (no longer playing) on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. This was a beautiful theatre and an amazing show!


Places of Interest



2015


For our 2015 trip, 3 days for a mother & daughter’s weekend.

Day 1: We flew in to Newark, and took the Super Shuttle Exclusive Van to hotel for (about a one hour ride). We stayed at the Best Western Premier Herald Square, that included a full breakfast. This hotel is very convenient to all of Manhattan, easy to walk to places. Once checked in, we hit the town! We first walked Times Square, which is always a treat to see so many people in one tiny area. We then went to the Grand Central Terminal (1913) to see what all the full, movies, and talk was all about. This is a really cool area-yes it was busy and so beautiful too. We went to Central Park, walked around and took pictures in Central Park at the ‘Friends’ fountain, lots of fun. Then we were off to the New York Public Library (NYPL) (1911), you know… the one with the two famous marble lion statues (Patience and Fortitude) guarding the entrance. After the amazing NYPL, we walked to Rockefeller Center, watched the ice skaters. Later that night we had tickets to see Aladdin on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. What an amazing show (and it is still playing at the same theatre in 2026!). Seriously, it was magical and characters were flying and popping out of nowhere! (How do they do that?)

Day 2: Ahhh! A free day to explore without anything big planned… free exploration is the key to new experiences! We went to the East Village where they have many cheese and artsy shops, this was fun. We got to try some great cheeses, shop, and eat at some nice eclectic places. Next was Grand Central Terminal for more shopping and they had a Christmas art & craft fair. We then went to Central Park, and took a horse drawn carriage ride around and in the park. This was really fun! The temperature was chilly, so they bundled us up in as many blankets as we wanted and went in and around the beautiful park. In Central Park, there was a Christmas art & craft fair. We then walked to Rockefeller Center, took pictures near the tree at night-very beautiful.

Day 3: This too was a great day. As a group, we spilt up in the morning and had our own ‘daughter’ time. My daughter and I went to The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), this is right up her little artistic alley! The museum was very nice with a lot of modern art in it. We then all got back together as a group, and took pictures of the city, and went to Macy’s… what’s better than Macy’s at Christmas time?! Unfortunately, all trips must come to an end. We took the Super Shuttle Exclusive Van to Newark airport.


Places of Interest

  • Times Square, which is always a treat to see so many people in one tiny area. We then went to the

  • Grand Central Terminal to see what all the full, movies, and talk was all about. This is a really cool area-yes it was busy and so beautiful too. We went to

  • Central Park, walked around and took pictures in Central Park at the

  • ‘Friends’ fountain, lots of fun. Then we were off to the

  • New York Public Library (NYPL), you know… the one with the two famous marble lion statues (Patience and Fortitude) guarding the entrance. After the amazing NYPL, we walked to

  • Rockefeller Center, watched the ice skaters, and took pictures near the tree -very beautiful. Later that night we had tickets to see

  • Aladdin on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. What an amazing show (and it is still playing at the same theatre in 2026!). Seriously, it was magical and characters were flying and popping out of nowhere! (How do they do that?)

  • East Village has many cheese and artsy shops

  • The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) The museum was very nice with a lot of modern art in it.



2025


For our 2025 trip, 6 days to visit our son that moved to Brooklyn for Christmas. Day 1: We flew in to LaGuardia and Ubered to our hotel, Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel. This hotel was so convenient to everything Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the subway! Perfect for this trip.

**A Special Note on the Subway: I must say that the subway system and usage is so amazingly easy! You can use your phone/Apple Pay to pay for it. All you have to do is plug-in where you want to go and the maps will tell you exactly where the station is, what station to get off on, if there’s a transfer, if there’s a delay, and if there’s anything else you need to know. This is so awesome and user-friendly. We took the subway, and went to a great spot for lunch, Franklin Park, this is an eclectic bar restaurant with old VHS tapes, posters of movies and Godzilla playing on the TV, the food here is really delicious, and they serve beer and alcohol as well. We then went to The International Bar and had some great inexpensive and very tasty drinks. After our drinks at The International Bar, we walked across the street and went to Schmuck for a snack, we actually stopped there before going to International Bar to put our name in because the wait was long. This place is a great! The vibe and atmosphere is so young and lively. The food and the drinks were delicious and so was the service. We then went to this amazing speakeasy, SteEight, that is behind a hair salon. This is a tiny little bar, literally you walk in and there’s a bar. They serve sake wine, and a couple other types of mixed drinks that they make with sake. They do not serve any food, so make sure you have eaten before you go, or at least check their website, sometimes they have chefs there serving their own food. We then continued our search for great little bars. And found Banter. This is a cool little laid-back, Australian bar. After drinks and walking around, it was finally in time for our dinner reservation at the Michelin star rated Four Horsemen. This place is known as a wine bar, turned restaurant. The food was amazing. The service was impeccable. The drinks were good. I highly recommend coming to this restaurant.

Day 2: Christmas Eve. Today we got to sleep in and relax and then hopped on the subway and went to Times Square; we walked around found a nice little Irish pub named Garvey’s. We had some good Irish coffee and some breakfast that was very good. Then it was time to see our Broadway show Harry Potter, and the Cursed Child at the Lyric Theater. The theater was absolutely beautiful, and decorated just for Harry Potter, we had seats in the lower balcony, and they were amazing. This show was unbelievable and magical. I know I have said that for every show I’ve seen here, but it’s true! What they do on stage is truly amazing! Tom Felton (the original Draco Malfoy) was actually playing Draco again. We had gotten four tickets and somebody in our group was unable to attend so we sold our ticket on this really great app called ‘Theatr’ where you can buy and sell tickets, I will be using this from now on! After our Broadway show, we walked to Rudy’s bar (1933), when you order drink, you get free hotdog! This was a really cool bar. We then took the subway to go to the old town bar, but it was closed. We walked not that far away to Pete’s Tavern (1864), this is a true New York bar. We thought this place to be overpriced for what it was. We then took the subway and were hungry so we ate at a Mediterranean restaurant across from our hotel called Istanbul Mediterranean grill, a Turkish restaurant. It was not busy at all, so the service was amazing and so was the food.

Day 3: Christmas Day. After the Christmas festivities, we wanted to find something that was open for us to do. We went down to the lower east side and found a really good whiskey bar called Copper & Oak at 157 Allen Street. They have a whiskey and rum from all over the place; places you wouldn’t even have thought of. From there, we walked to Chinatown, and went to Fan Szechuan on Essex Street. You order all of your food off of an iPad that they bring to the table, the food was family style, absolutely delicious, and we ordered a lot and ate a lot. After dinner, we walked down the street and went to the Marshall Stack bar at 66 Rivington Street, it is a nice rock ‘n’ roll style bar.

Day 4: After breakfast, we took the subway to Manhattan. We subwayed to Wall Street, got off, and started our trek. We saw the beautiful NY Stock Exchange (1792). First stop was the gorgeous Trinity Church (1697), where Alexander Hamilton is buried. We walked to the Dead Rabbit Irish Pub… this is by far the best Irish Coffee I have ever had! We then walked to the Fraunces Tavern (oldest bar in Manhattan, 1762). George Washington used this as his headquarters and bid farewell to his troops in 1783. On our way to the 911 Memorial, we stopped at O’Hara’s Bar, where the 911 Fire Fighters went… this bar is incredible, it has first responder patches from all over, has history, good food, good drinks/pour, and an amazing story. After some time, we finally made it to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. This is the quietest place in Manhattan. I was thoroughly impressed with the respect of all of the visitors. Go to this memorial knowing that it’s going to be difficult and emotional.

Day 5: Went to Pio Bagels and split a ‘flat bagel’, which is an enormous (and flatter) bagel, that is loaded! Took the subway to go to Greenwich Village, got off on the Stonewall Memorial stop (we thought it was a memorial for Stonewall Jackson… it’s not. It’s about equal LGB rights from the 1970’s.). We walked to the White Horse Tavern (1880, 2nd oldest in NYC), this is a popular place but totally worth the stop! We walked to the Ear Inn (1770), it’s old and historic, but nothing exciting. Then it was time for our 6:30 dinner reservations at the The Cove, what a great restaurant in SOHO! The food is fantastic and plentiful. It’s pricy, but worth the experience. After our amazing meal, we walked to Houston Hall, a lively spot but very pricy ($14 for a beer).

Day 6: Walked to the DeKalb Market Hall, which is a food hall with so many options. We then went to see the Rockefeller Center, tree, ice skaters, and the building, the tree was beautiful. Walked to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (1858), Radio City Music Hall, and ended up at McGee’s Bar (the bar based off of the TV show, “How I Met Your Mother”/ MacLaren's Pub).

Day 7: had breakfast at Junior's Restaurant & Bakery, this is an old-style restaurant probably from the 70’s/80’s, the food was plentiful and delicious. Then we got an Uber and went to JFK airport.


Places of Interest & Walking Tour w/ Bar Crawl

BARS/RESTAURANTS/SITES

  • Franklin Park - this is an eclectic bar restaurant with old VHS tapes, posters of movies and Godzilla playing on the TV, the food here is really delicious, and they serve beer and alcohol as well.

  • The International Bar - had some great inexpensive and very tasty drinks.

  • Schmuck for a snack, we actually stopped there before going to International Bar to put our name in because the wait was long. This place is a great! The vibe and atmosphere is so young and lively. The food and the drinks were delicious and so was the service. We then went to this amazing

  • SteEight - a speakeasy that is behind a hair salon. They serve sake wine, and a couple other types of mixed drinks that they make with sake. They do not serve any food, so make sure you have eaten before you go, or at least check their website, sometimes they have chefs there serving their own food.

  • Banter - This is a cool little laid-back, Australian bar.

  • Four Horsemen - Great food, service, and drinks .

  • Garvey’s - good Irish coffee and breakfast

  • Lyric Theater, Harry Potter, and the Cursed Child 

  • Rudy’s bar (1933) - when you order drink, you get free hotdog!

  • Pete’s Tavern (1864) - this is a true New York bar. We thought this place to be overpriced for what it was.

  • Istanbul Mediterranean grill - a really good Turkish restaurant.

  • Copper & Oak at 157 Allen Street - a really good whiskey bar with a whiskey and rum from all over the place.

  • Fan Szechuan on Essex Street - The food was family style, absolutely delicious

  • Marshall Stack bar at 66 Rivington Street, it is a nice rock ‘n’ roll style bar.

  • NY Stock Exchange (1792).

  • Trinity Church (1697) - where Alexander Hamilton is buried.

  • Dead Rabbit Irish Pub - this is by far the best Irish Coffee ever

  • Fraunces Tavern (oldest bar in Manhattan, 1762) - George Washington used this as his headquarters and bid farewell to his troops in 1783.

  • O’Hara’s Bar - where the 911 Fire Fighters went… this bar is incredible,

  • 9/11 Memorial & Museum - it’s going to be difficult and emotional, but a must do.

  • Pio Bagels - need a good and filling breakfast?

  • Greenwich Village -

  • Stonewall Memorial - It’s a memorial for equal LGB rights from the 1970’s.

  • White Horse Tavern (1880, 2nd oldest in NYC) - this is a popular place but totally worth the stop!

  • Ear Inn (1770) - it’s old and historic, but nothing exciting.

  • The Cove - what a great restaurant in SOHO!

  • Houston Hall - a lively spot but very pricy ($14 for a beer).

  • DeKalb Market Hall - a food hall with so many options.

  • Rockefeller Center - tree, ice skaters, and the building

  • Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (1858)

  • Radio City Music Hall

  • McGee’s Bar (the bar based off of the TV show, “How I Met Your Mother”/ MacLaren's Pub).

  • Junior's Restaurant & Bakery - need good food? Go here!



2026


For our 2026 trip, it was three days to visit our son that lives in Brooklyn.




Day 1: We Ubered to our hotel, Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel. This hotel was so convenient to everything Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the subway! Perfect for this trip. Last time we were here it was very cold and snowy, this trip was mid-April, so we hoped for better weather… and we got it! After checking in our hotel, we decided that our first day is reserved for as much of Brooklyn as we could do.. on foot! We walked one mile to the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area where the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges are located on the East River called Pebble Beach and took the typical tourist pictures. We then backtracked a block and decided on a beverage at Evil Twin Brewery. After our refreshment, we had enough energy to walk the two miles across and back on the Brooklyn Bridge. So glad we did that! It was amazing and didn’t take that long. We saw the famous ’Janes Carousel’, but it was closed. Once back in Broooklyn, we decided we needed a little rest, so we stopped in to Randolph Brewery for a drink. We then decided to walk about another mile to the Brooklyn Inn, the oldest pub in Brooklyn. This place is incredible! The bartender is super cool and so are many of the patrons. We were there for a while and met some great people. When we finally left the Brooklyn Inn, it was getting dark and we were getting hungry, so we started walking toward our hotel, Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel. On our walk back we found a cute little restaurant, called Cuban Shack. The food was delicious and plentiful!

With over 15,000 steps logged in (for just a 1/2 day), we finally made it back to the hotel and slept!




Day 2: We met our son and his girlfriend for breakfast before he went to work. We walked to a great bagel place and had amazing food. We departed one another, and took the subway to the East Village to start our pub crawl. When we pub crawl, the rule is to have one drink and water and leave (we didn’t follow that rule yesterday at the Brooklyn Inn). First place we went to was Double Down Saloon. This place is known as a grimy, punk-rock dive bar and was used in the movie Caught Stealing. They have a drink that comes in a ‘toilet-cup’ (I didn’t have it) called ‘Ass Juice’, it’s a very sweet drink. After our interesting time at Double Down, it was time to visit d.b.a.. No one seems to know d.b.a. stands for and it doesn’t really seem to matter. This is one lively place and we ended up staying longer than normal (and not following our pub crawl rule). The owner is a huge Star Wars fan and was showing everyone some of his latest purchases, while the amazing bartender MaryKate, poured drinks and did shots with everyone! It was finally time to leave and meet someone at 7B Horseshoe Bar aka Vazacs. This is also your typical dive bar, dark and dirty; had a drink and then the bartender gave us a free promo beer. 7B Horseshoe Bar, is named for its horseshoe-shaped bar. It has been shown in many films (The Godfather: Part II, Rent, Crocodile Dundee, Jessica Jones, and Sex and the City, etc.). It was nice. It was time for food (and drink) at a very old and historic bar called McSorleys, this is a cash only establishment. McSorley’s Old Ale House has been serving folks from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon. Enter the sawdust floors and you’re walking into history. They serve two types of beer: light or dark, and one order of beer comes in two smaller beer mugs (maybe two-eight ounce mugs), and their food isn’t too shabby. Now it was time for the entertainment part of our day… Cafe Wha?, This is one of the most amazing places I’ve been to in a long time! So many East Coast musicians have started here before they knew they’d make it from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. And their ‘House Band’ is phenomenal, covering all the classic hits of Motown, rock, pop, funk, hip-hop, soul, Latin, and many more. Here’s a little fun fact… the man who opened Cafe Wha? is Manny Roth, the uncle of David Lee Roth (original singer from Van Halen).




Day 3: This was our ‘slow’ day… the day before we hit it pretty hard and ended with that amazing show. Met our son for breakfast again, and then it was time to hit the city! We were going to walk across the Manhattan Bridge, but being that we were in slow-mo, we took the train to the East Village. During our walk, we stopped at a pizza place that gave two slices and a soda for $5.99-we split that and it was perfect. First stop on this day was Doc Holliday’s. This is a cute bar with boots hanging from the ceiling. After Doc Holliday’s, we walked to Washington Square Park (the one with the arch). This is definitely a great place to people watch.. which is what we did! For a Thursday afternoon on a beautiful April afternoon, this place was extremely busy! We then walked to Swift Hibernian Lounge, and met a friend there. This is a great Irish Bar with amazing food. This is where I had my first American soil Guiness! It was delicious. After that, we took the train back to our hotel and got oursselves ready to leave NYC in the morning.


**A Special Note on the Subway: I must say that the subway system and usage is so amazingly easy! You can use your phone/Apple Pay to pay for it. All you have to do is plug-in where you want to go and the maps will tell you exactly where the station is, what station to get off on, if there’s a transfer, if there’s a delay, and if there’s anything else you need to know. This is so awesome and user-friendly.


Places of Interest & Walking Tour w/ Bar Crawl

BARS/RESTAURANTS/SITES

  • Manhattan Bridge: on the East River and it’s beautiful

  • Pebble Beach: a great spot to take the typical tourist pictures.

  • Evil Twin Brewery: a great place for some craft beer

  • Brooklyn Bridge: Go on… walk all the way across (and back)

  • Janes Carousel: it was closed., but still a beauty to see.

  • Randolph Brewery: nice place for a drink.

  • Brooklyn Inn: the oldest pub in Brooklyn. This place is incredible! The bartender is super cool and so are many of the patrons.

  • Cuban Shack: The food was delicious and plentiful!

  • East Village: an eclectic neighborhood

  • Double Down Saloon. This place is known as a grimy, punk-rock dive bar and was used in the movie Caught Stealing. They have a drink that comes in a ‘toilet-cup’ (I didn’t have it) called ‘Ass Juice’, it’s a very sweet drink.

  • d.b.a.: No one seems to know d.b.a. stands for and it doesn’t really seem to matter. This is one lively place and the owner is a huge Star Wars fan and was showing everyone some of his latest purchases

  • 7B Horseshoe Bar aka Vazacs: This is also your typical dive bar, dark and dirty; had a drink and then the bartender gave us a free promo beer.

  • McSorleys: this is a cash only establishment. McSorley’s Old Ale House has been serving folks from Abe Lincoln to John Lennon.

  • Cafe Wha?: So many East Coast musicians have started here before they knew they’d make it from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen. And their ‘House Band’ is phenomenal

  • Doc Holliday’s: This is a cute bar with boots hanging from the ceiling.

  • Washington Square Park (the one with the arch): This is definitely a great place to people watch.

  • Swift Hibernian Lounge: a great Irish Bar with amazing food.



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