NYC 2011 - Day 1

Six days, six of us, a fun trip to the big apple in mid August. Although I didn't really have time to do my own stuff, it was great to just be back there again, see my new york friends, and also share some of my favourite spots with my Vancouver friends :)

I have planned the schedule out for all six days way in advance(I'm kinda crazy like that). Except switching 2 days around and cutting a few places off the schedule because we ran out of time, everything went pretty smoothly according to plan.

I never actually finished writing my other trip posts... so I will try to finish this one first and get back to the old ones later :P

We took a red eye out of Vancouver to New York. The plane delayed a little bit, but flew fast for only a little over four hours, so we arrived in JFK around 7:30am. Between the options of booking Super Shuttle or taking yellow cabs into Manhattan, the numbers came out about the same, so we took two cabs to Grand Central, 3 people each car, turned out to be $45 flat rate + 5 something dollars toll fee + tip, per car.

The reason I picked Grand Hyatt was of course of its location. I used to walk by it everyday, so it is nice to actually live in it this time. It's still under renovation though, I think it will be done very soon in the next few months.

Lobby looked very temporary for the moment.


The usual check in time is 4pm but we arrived around 9am in the morning. I did call in advance asking if we could check in early so we could have somewhere to put our luggage and fresh up before we head out for the day. The front desk was very nice but they told me the best they could do was to put in a request for me since the hotel was fully booked that day. We were lucky enough to get a room first and other two on the same floor but not until later that day. By the way, the hotel does offer luggage holding service. I'm not positive but I think it might be free if u're checking in, and if you have checked out already, they will hold your stuff for 2 dollars a piece.

So after a quick fresh up at my friend's room, we began our day. Since we're right next too Grand Central Terminal, we started our tour there.

I'm stealing a pic of grand central from my friend's photos. (thank you~)


After a quick viewing and getting subway maps, we head downstairs to the food court for some brunch.

Food court Pita




We got a veggie pita and a falafel pita. 6 dolalrs each, pretty big portions.


Center seating area




Trying this out "http://www.localoaf.org/2006/12/30/grand-central-stations-hidden-acoustic-wonder/" It really works!!


Coffee time on the main level. Friends who got coffee said it was pretty good :)


My plan was to head east on 42nd Street. We passed by Chrysler Building first.
Info of the building on the wall inside lobby area.


And we kept going east. Oh, I miss my old place.


The very east of 42nd street. I only took a crappy pic of UN on my phone...


We then headed up to to 47th Street and Park Avenue to check out Park Avenue and the famous Met Life building, sorry no pic...

On the way we passed by Waldorf Astoria and went in to take a rest. It's such a nice hotel... FYI free WiFi in the lobby too :O


Subway time @ 51st Street and 2nd Avenue.




Got our unlimited 7 day pass. I think it was around 30 dollars.


We took 6 Train down to 33rd Street and Park and walked over to Empire State Building on 33rd between 5th and 6th Avenue.


It was a pretty cloudy day, not the best weather to be honest but thanks to it, we didn't wait long in line, it moved along quickly.




KING KONGS!!




We went to Madison Square Garden after Empire State Building, which I don't have any pics of again...

On our way to B&H Photo, there's the huge USPS building, very cool.


B&H Photo time~ (If you're interested in knowing more about it, look it up on their website, www.bhphotovideo.com/)


Everyone was very tired by this time. Finally it was time for dinner but I just had to make everyone walk a little bit more before we could sit down and eat. We walked back east to Korean town to this vegetarian restaurant called Hangawi. As soon we walked out of B&H it started to rain and it came down hard too. The walk wasn't short either, I was really glad when we found the restaurant, I think my friends were about to kill me :P

Outside (I took this after we finished dinner when the rain stopped)




Need to take off your shoes. Shoe shelf by the entrance.


The lighting was really dim inside, so I did my best photoshopping my phone pics...

My friend ordered pourage for starter, I think it was pumpkin pourage. I treid a little bit, it was good.


For the menu you can check on their website. This is their Prix Fixe menu for Aug 2011, the Emperor's Testing Menu. There's a minimum order of 2 persons, so out of the six of us, two of us ordered that.


Organic Tofu and Noodle on the Rock


Avocado Asparagus Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing


Summer Appetizer Platter. The deep fried crispy sweet and sour mushroom balls on the side were sooooo good!!!


Mini Combination Pancakes


Vegetarian Stone Bowl Rice with side dishes. The veggie combination inside was so yummy and just right, it was really good!


Dessert


For 40 dollars, I thought the emperor's testing menu was worth it. For other entrees on the menu, they were also about 20 dollars each, and you might not be full after just one entree, so the Prix Fixe is a good way to go if you don't mind spending a little bit more.

Back to the hotel to get our room keys and get some rest for the day~
Some pics of inside the hotel room.