Macsurfer's ';live '; Trip Report Part 4

Saturday 7th:

Today we decided we%26#39;d done enough walking and needed a sit down so we headed off on the N to Coney Island. I don%26#39;t think my wife understood this part of the trip before , but it was nice to get a respite from the city. We had a breezy walk along the boardwalk all the way to Brighton Beach which is a Russian enclave. I knew this before, but it was kind of weird hearing everybody speak Russian, young and old.

Walked up Brighton Beach Ave and stopped for a coffee and 3 Piroshoks (tart filled with sweet or savoury). Menu was all in Russian.

Than took the Q back up through Brooklyn. We fell foul of the 18 minute rule on the Metro when changing lines ( my wife must have mis-swiped and couldn%26#39;t get through the turnstile!) so we decided to walk quite a way, fortuitous really or we might have missed some of Brooklyn Heights on our journey to the Promenade.

We had a good lunch in Connecticut Cafe (I guess its a chain but it didnt seem like one - we purposely avoided Starbucks and Subway this time)

A cold walk along the Prom gave fantastic Manhattan views as we wended our way to the Brooklyn Bridge path at Cadman Plaza. Across the bridge with hundreds of others (including justifiably annoyed cyclists when peds intruded on their lane - take care!)

On the other side the cold had really triggered our bladders (!) (a frequent occurrence on this unseasonably cold NY holiday!!) so we headed for Starbucks after finding the City Hall closed (Sat) Wanted to look inside anyway but closed at weekends.

We were tired so headed back to the Blakely for a rest and then at 6.30 went to TOTR. Pretty good timing to see it by day and night. Very impressed, got up really quick without hassle, the posts are all true. Staff were all friendly.

Even more disinclined to even bother with ESB until they get their act together!

Walked to Times Square. Surprised myself by actually enjoying the buzz here (touristy) so had a good wander then to Pazza Notte near the hotel, on Avenue of the Americas, between 55th %26amp; 56th. Very good food (pazza notte.com).

Sunday 8th:

Set off really early to Harlem with the intention of catching a 9am service and to avoid the pesky tourists like us! We took the A Train (You%26#39;re all humming the song now, go on admit it).

My research proved faulty since we didn%26#39;t find a 9AM service and ALL the churches turned the tourists away (perhaps they were so busy being Easter). We did hang around outside the Abysinnian between services for a bit - everybody really smart. The Abyssinian is where most tourist coaches go and most posts don%26#39;t recommended it.

Walked to the Apollo and Striver%26#39;s Row. Felt perfectly safe everywhere in Harlem. Coffee in Starbucks on Malcolm X. then Subway and walk to St Johns, the biggest Cathedral in the US, still being built after 100 years (shades of Barcelona?) anyway there was a queue here so we gave it a miss as well.

Lunch in the Novotel near Broadway overlooking Times Square (a haven since its not at street level so wasn%26#39;t touristy) however it was our most expensive meal yet - we are cheapskates after all!

Had a chill afternoon at the hotel since we were all whacked.

Round the corner to the Ziegfeld cinema later to see ';Meet the Robinsons'; in 3D (Ooh we%26#39;re soooo cultural!) Great interior.

We finally succumbed to the Golden Arches for a late snack.

Macsurfer's ';live '; Trip Report Part 4

Really enjoyed this post. ;) Waiting to see what%26#39;s on board for today. Have you eaten at the Carnegie deli yet? Can%26#39;t remember. Also, Maison is not far and is good.

Macsurfer's ';live '; Trip Report Part 4

macsurfer,

enjoying your posts and esp this one since we are looking at the same dates and venues in May.

I particularly enjoyed reading the bit about Brighton Beach. About how far is it to walk down there? Hopefully by the last of May we will have nicer weather and we have to fight the bladder bit also in the cold!

If the menu is all in Russian, how did you order? (Assuming that you don%26#39;t speak Russian?) We want what you had.

Also we are planning the same trip on the Sunday - to Harlem and have had a hard time finding/getting info about this. We were going to hunt up a ';real'; service about 9:00 AM also - so you have helped us a lot.

Looking forward to your next installment. Love the detail.

I%26#39;m enjoying all your posts. So glad you made it to Brighton and Brooklyn Heights. Even as our city gets more homogenized over the years, it%26#39;s great that some ethnic enclaves remain.

(You%26#39;re forgiven the golden arches lapse.)

I%26#39;m really enjoying your live updates, it%26#39;s making me wish it was May already!

Hi all, NYWhiz: we haven%26#39;t tried Carnegie Deli yet, there has been a queue when we%26#39;ve passed. will look for Maison on Google unless you reply to this post.

Brahmama: I guess its about 1.5 miles from Coney Island to the end of the Boardwalk at Brighton Beach Ave, then you need to go inland and backtrack slightly to the local subway, passing loads of Russian shops and signs. we had our snack in the Fantasy Cafe (!) they spoke stilted English and we pointed at the food in the window. Just a local cafe really which was nice.

We tried the Canaan Baptist church which some posts on TA had recommennded for a 9AM, although website and sign outside said

junior cgurch at 930 or similar. Its next to Central Pk North (110 st subway) in re vJohn Lawson Place. There is another Baptist church

with Canaan in the title but didn%26#39;t find it. Be aware that not all churches in Harlem are necessarily baptist or similar, so may not be the experience you are after.

Puddleduck; I%26#39;m jealous already and I%26#39;m still here...just 2 more nights, home on the red eye on Thursday.....

Joseph and I are going to the NY International Motor Show tonight,

mainly for my job (I run a Transport Design course in the UK) but hey who needs an excuse!

Part 5 tomorrow

The Carnegie Deli (the shrine of pastrami!) is on 7th Ave. at 55th St. And they%26#39;re open until 4:00 a.m.

Not sure about Maison, is that the one on 7th Ave. in the low 50s? Use menupages.com rather than google, for restaurants.

You sure are seeing a lot. Isn%26#39;t St. John the Devine so impressive? I was there last summer and walked right in. Sounds like you are having a great time. Did you have a Nathan dog at Coney Island? Enjoying your reports!

Enjoying your updates as well, glad you made it to Coney Island and Brighton Beach, and it will be much more pleasant in May - we hope!!! It is too darn cold!

Looking forward to part 5.

Maison%26#39;s address is 1700 Broadway but it%26#39;s actually on 7th ave. %26amp; 54 st.

http://www.maisonnyc.com/#

Thanks NYWhiz, spotted it yesterday. Only 2 days left now, so we may go there, or Kats or.....