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Published: February 26th 2009
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Statue of Liberty
Taken from the Staten Island Ferry New York City: Four Days of Work and Play
When I was given the opportunity to attend an international professional conference in New York City, I jumped at the chance. Bill decided to “tag” along, and the two of us flew to JFK Airport on April 2, 2008. There is no city in the world like New York and no better place to stay than the Hilton New York, a sophisticated Manhattan hotel conveniently located in the midst of business and media centers, including Rockefeller Plaza.
For some reason still unknown to us, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a spacious, 900-square-foot, $300 luxury suite, which came with bottled water, robes, free Internet, and access to the 44th floor Executive Lounge featuring breakfast daily, hors d'oeuvres in the afternoon and evening, as well as continuous coffee and tea service. We felt like visiting dignitaries!
My conference didn’t begin until the next day, so we had the remainder of today to do whatever we wanted. The most wonderful—and the most maddening—thing about New York? The endless choices of things to do! Having visited New York many times, we opted to try to do things we had not done
before. One of those was to ride the Staten Island Ferry, so we hopped on a subway train to lower Manhattan for the five-mile ride from the Whitehall Street Ferry Terminal to Staten Island. The Staten Island Ferry is run by the City of New York for one pragmatic reason: to transport Staten Islanders—about 60,000 each day--to and from Manhattan. Yet, the 25 minute ride also provides a majestic view of New York Harbor and a no-hassle, even romantic, boat ride, for free! One guide book calls it "One of the world's greatest (and shortest) water voyages." From the deck of the ferry we had a perfect view of The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as we dined on delicious New York-style hot dogs. We watched the skyscrapers and bridges of Lower Manhattan receding as we pulled away. and coming into focus again as we returned.
It was getting close to sunset, so instead of returning to the Hilton, we took the subway to the Empire State building on Fifth Avenue and 35th. The line to access the elevator to the observation tower was long but moved quickly, as everyone seemed to have the same idea: get to the
86th floor Observation Deck before dusk. The city that never sleeps begins to glitter at dusk, with millions of lights keeping it aglow. The 360-degree citywide panorama is absolutely magnificent and unique.
We could have walked the 15 or so blocks back to the Hilton, but we took a cab instead and bought dinner from one of the many street vendors outside the hotel. My lamb/beef/chicken pita bowl was delicious, as we ate in our room.
The breakfast buffet the next day was delightful. Bill could dawdle over coffee, but I had to get to my conference at 8, which was conveniently in the Hilton. Six hours later, I had had enough professional development for one day, so Bill and I walked to Central Park and took a carriage ride through the park. ($40 for 20 minutes) Although it sounds cheesy, it was a lot of fun, not to mention romantic. We snuggled under a heavy blanket, sat back, and enjoyed the early-spring scenery.
Then we walked down Eighth Avenue to Times Square on 42nd Street, eating hot dogs along the way. We continued past Bryant Park and then back up Fifth Avenue. When we reached Rockefeller Plaza at 49th,
Empire State Building
Taken from the top of Rockefeller Center we walked past the sunken plaza with its gilded statue of Prometheus, and entered one of the city’s most impressive buildings, the GE Building at 30 Rock. We took a high-speed elevator up to the 68th floor observation deck called the Top of the Rock for another 360-degree viewing experience of the city. This time we had a great view of the Empire State Building itself, now the tallest building in New York (since 9/11).
We returned on foot to the Hilton and enjoyed some more Hilton perks: appetizers in the Executive Club, followed by a wine and cheese reception in the penthouse as guests of the Hilton Honors program. No need for dinner after that!
The next day began with another fine breakfast buffet in the Executive Club, then more conference sessions for me while Bill enjoyed the Club. We had lunch together at the New York classic, Lindy’s Restaurant, in its newest location near the Hilton. After lunch, we took the subway to the American Museum of Natural History. This incredible institution brings all aspects of the natural sciences to life and houses the world’s greatest natural science collection—some 36 million specimens--in a sprawling, square-block building. Even after
Top of the Rock
Rockefeller Center many hours of walking, we only managed to see about one-third of it.
The subway took us back to the Hilton, where we rested for a couple of hours, had complimentary appetizers and wine at the Executive Club, and then walked to 47th Street and Broadway to spend the rest of the evening enjoying Nathan Lane in “November,” the comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
The next morning, I spent another half day in conference sessions, and we departed for home around 3 p.m. There’s no better place than New York City to combine work and fun!
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