Dear NY Whiz

In answer to your questions:

what dolmades are-a little roll of rice, oregano and lemon zest wrapped in a grape vine leaf and then put into a brine of olive oil and lemon juice. This is my guestimate, a Greek cook could be more accurate. One of my favorite treats. We have a large Greek community in Winnipeg.

what we were told about skyscrapers in midtown-when we were on the water about mid-island you could see skyscrapers to the south and north but in the middle the buildings seemed not to rise over10 stories or so. The tour guide indicated that Manhattan is mostly bedrock but that mid island there is not enough rock to support the tall buildings. Perhaps he should have said mid-island not Midtown (or perhaps he did but over the loud speaker we didn%26#39;t catch it correctly). He also pointed out the areas that were created by landfill when the subway and tunnels were created-fascinating.

short term residence-This is a bit of a long story. Originally this trip was planned to stay with the said brother in law of my trip report, who like us is from Canada but was posted in New York for a two year stint. He was recalled to Toronto early after we had already booked to visit him. We were on a limited budget and so we were concerned about finding really affordable lodging so we could still afford to still do some fun things. Through a work buddie my husband found out about a residence run by a religous organization. The top two floors are for long term residents who are students or doing mission work in New York. There were three rooms for short term stays. They were simply appointed with a double bed, armoire and sink and they had a sleeping loft for our daughter. We shared a washroom but also had access to a fridge and full kitchen, dining and living and a beautiful little garden. It was very affordable and since my husband prefers the comraderie of a hostel anyway, the perfect choice for us.

the Seaport Inn-I%26#39;ve done a hotel review on this site, it is under the Brooklyn Bridge neighborhood.

what made you pick that?-on our last trips to NY we%26#39;ve stayed at The Plaza (on business!) and The New Yorker. We wanted to experience a different area of Manhattan and since the Southport Inn is a Best Western property, we were able to use gift certificates that we had gotten with air mile points. Since we were getting a deal we decided to upgrade to a Terrace Room so that our daughter would get a real taste of NY right off the bat.

Cheers NY Whiz-I love your city!

Dear NY Whiz

Thanks SOOO much for answering my questions. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. It was great that despite your BIL getting called back, you were still able to do the trip including having him there!

I%26#39;m still curious about this mid-island bedrock and skyscraper issue. Hoping GWB will weigh in on this. From Penn station to Rockefeller Center is what I would consider mid-island and there are plenty of skyscrapers in that area. Thanks again, and hope you can come back soon. ;)

ittwit