Category Archives: New York City-NYC
“When Thomas Edison worked late into the night on the electric light, he had to do it by gas lamp or candle. I’m sure it made the work seem that much more urgent.”
George Carlin
About a month or so ago I went down to NYC for a Member’s exclusive first peak at Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescense at the American Museum of Natural History running until January 2013. 
I grabbed a membership last year from Groupon but it’s usually $95 (tax-deductible) for the basic membership. Since technically Saturdays are for local “spots,” I figured with summer coming up I’d put a small spotlight on a cool exhibit I checked out only 3 hours away!
To those of you who, like me, don’t know what bioluminescence is, let me explain. Ever wonder why some organisms flash, blink or glow? With this exhibit you can travel from a warm summer meadow to the deep-sea floor to explore the phenomenon of bioluminescence: living things that generate light, cold light that generates almost no heat.
The entire exhibit is in the dark so you can really see what kinds of lights these animals give off. You start in the woods with illuminating fungi and then go to the woods to check out the more familiar fireflies. What I didn’t know was that fireflies give off light to attract potential mates with each flash pattern meaning something different and they’re not even flies, they’re beetles! You continue to venture through various ecosystems and learn about the different animals who use bioluminescence to convey a message to surrounding animals.
One of the more interesting species are those that live under water and since it’s so dark, upwards of 80% of the animals down there light up as they travel, hunt and mate.
If you’re looking for a day trip from the 518 and heading to NYC, check out this exhibit. It’s safe for all ages and really cool to see all the various species that give off light! Let me know if you check it out!
“One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years”
Thomas Wolfe
If you were following my Twitter earlier this week you may have caught my attempt at live tweeting my trip to NYC Tuesday/Wednesday. In case you missed it, don’t worry, I’m gonna give you a run down right now! I went down to the city with my boyfriend and some friends on December 17th for my birthday and wow was it crazy! My mother and I decided to go the this week in hopes that the tourist crowds would have gone down and we could actually enjoy Christmas in the city even though Christmas is technically over.
We decided to drive to Poughkeepsie and take the MetroNorth in which we’ve done before and is a quick and easy way to get to the city and not have to worry about parking- or so we thought. By the time we got in the region of Poughkeepsie we would’ve had to have waited there for an hour or so which neither of us really wanted to do so we figured we’d catch it at the next MetroNorth stop and be on our way. 
Apparently in our experience, Poughkeepsie is probably the easiest MetroNorth station to deal with. We stopped in Tarrytown and we would’ve had to buy a pass to keep our car there overnight through the police station but if we were there a MINUTE later than 24 hours there was a good chance we’d get a ticket. This was pretty much the same story all the way down the MetroNorth Hudson line. Aside from the fact that we got to see each of these stations and where they were and experience the small towns, all we learned was that if this happens again, we wait the hour at Poughkeepsie or just drive to the city. We ended up driving through.
We were hoping to get in with MetroNorth also because it goes into Grand Central and our hotel was right next door, the Hyatt. The room was really nice and from the reviews I read online, apparently this is quite an improvement from what it used to be. All the lights in the room were by touch and it was very clean and really pretty, though not much of a view and kind of small but all we expected to do was sleep so that wasn’t too much of a bother.
First, we decided to check out all the windows from some of the big stores: Lord & Taylor &. Saks. Sadly, Saks had already taken down their windows but I saw them two weeks ago and assured my mother that she wasn’t missing anything. Lord & Taylor incorporated local children’s drawings into their windows, it was really sweet. I also learned that aside from the fact that after Christmas, no one is hogging the space in front of the window, there are TONS OF SALES. I got myself a nice pair of Sperry’s for $270 yay, already ready for Summer! On our walk to Saks we saw Bryant Park and the NY Public Library which look very pretty at dusk. We did stop at Saks Fifth Avenue for a quick snack, one of my favorite hidden locations in NYC, Charbonnel et Walker on the shoe floor of Saks Fifth Avenue- take the express elevator! We each had our drinking chocolate which is thicker than hot chocolate but thinner than melted chocolate and a White Chocolate Cranberry scone- yum!
It was perfect timing because we had reservations at a restaurant at 7:30PM thanks to a Groupon and it gave up ample shopping time and time to walk off the chocolate goodies we just had with a second to pit stop of the Rockefeller Tree to take some pictures. Dinner was at Rino Trattoria. 
We had a Groupon, as did everyone else in the restaurant it seemed, for two starters, two dinners and a dessert that we ordered off a special menu. We did stand there waiting for a little while but, as I said, everyone was using their Groupon that day so I think the staff was a little overwhelmed with the volume it brought. I had the soup of the day which was a tortellini soup with a tomato broth. To be honest, the broth didn’t have much flavor and could’ve used pepper that we didn’t have on our table but the tortellini were good. To drink, what else would I order? Sangria (Red) which was delicious, perfect sweetness- white is available also.
For dinner I ordered chicken in another tomato based sauce that came with cooked vegetables. Again, it wasn’t the best food I’ve ever eaten but I did enjoy it. The chicken was cooked perfectly as were the vegetables but I think they needed a bit more salt and pepper that wasn’t available on our table. My mother ordered pasta and that too was cooked perfectly and quite good but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. For dessert we had Ricotta Cheesecake- delicious. What I didn’t know is that Ricotta cheesecake is actually much healthier than regular cheesecake. We ate that as we talked with 2 people from Canada visiting the city for the first time sitting next to us, like true Italian eating, you may have come as just two but you end up talking to everyone around you. After that, beside how freezing it was, we didn’t have anything else to do so we headed back to our hotel.
The next morning we woke up and I stopped in to Tim Hortons for a quick breakfast sandwich.
at 11:00AM
They were out of English Muffins so I had it on a bagel but ended up only eating half the bagel. The sandwich was kind of greasy and I wish we’d had stopped at the McDonalds on Dunkin Donuts instead because it wasn’t very good but I was very hungry. This day we just shopped a bit, stopped at Bryant Park and looked at all the shops. I started at Max Brenner’s Chocolate by the Bald Man and got a chocolate syringe cold so that I could warm it up and eat it when I got home ($5). There, I also found possibly one of my new favorite stores in NYC, WRecords By Monkey. They had the coolest stuff in there: messenger bags made from inflatable tires, bracelets made from vinyl records (which I bought 2 of), mirrors made by records, light switch covers, etc. When I was there it was buy 1 get 1 50% so I bought 2 band bracelets which came to about $27. I love stores where everything is made locally and it’s different- I’ve only ever seen this here and it’s Made in Brooklyn!
We had to go pick up our car so after stopping at Urban Outfitters and Zara, it was time to go.
Magnolia Bakery
On our way out of the city we stopped at Magnolia Bakery and picked up cupcakes for the ride home. It was a great trip to NYC and if you can help it, wait out to see the Christmas decorations until after, there is less of a crowd and less of a hassle!
For a recap on some of the older blog entries I wrote about NYC, check them out HERE: NYC Christmas 2010 & NYC Archives
Shake Shack, NYC
I just found this on YouTube and was really excited about it, I made it to one of my FAVORITE channels! So I wanted to share it! I used to go to school at NYU and during lunch one day at Shake Shack in NYC, I was interviewed for TV. None of the interview made it but both my friend Julie and my (both of us redheads) faces made it! Check it out!!
GIGGLE MOMENT
New sculpture I found in NYC on Park Ave this past weekend
I’m fascinated with it & it made me giggle 
http://www.madeinslant.com/2011/04/giant-yellow-teddy-bear-has-arrived-on-park-ave-new-york-city/
“The best things in life are never rationed. Friendship, loyalty, love, do not require coupons.”
George T Hewitt
I’ve mentioned before my love of coupons and getting good deals on things so I was so happy to find this website, groupon. This website provides daily deals for things available in your area just by choosing the area you’re interested in having coupons, or groupons, for. As long as they meet their quota for people who want this groupon (every time I’ve looked, they always do) you can get great deals on things you were going to buy anyway. You can subscribe to the Capital District page and receive emails about their daily deals. If you frequent NYC often, you should also subscribe to that page. These coupons usually last a while but before you buy, make sure you check when this coupon is valid and when it expires! I bought a groupon for 16 Handles ice cream in NYC, I got $16 worth of ice cream for $8! I also used it to buy cupcakes and got $20 worth of cupcakes for $10! It’s definitely a deal, and WORTH it!
For more daily deals check out woot.com as well as their sister sites, kids.woot, shirt.woot, wine.woot and sellout.woot all of which have links off the main website. Each day, they offer one product for a reduced price and usually shipping doesn’t go over $5. Along with the daily deal, they have special events that go on to either offer more products or offer products for even cheaper. For a run down of these events, check out the wikipedia page HERE. I recently bought a Panasonic 14MP digital camera for about $120. If you sign up to their email list, every so often they’ll send you a $5 coupon to use on anything. If you’re looking for a deal, check out these two GREAT websites!
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
Norman Vincent Peale
I recently took a day trip to New York City (on December 28th) to see the Christmas decorations before they were taken down for the New Year. We arrived via Amtrak at Penn Station on 32nd street and 7th Avenue and made our way (My Mom, cousin Cruise and I) to Macy’s to see the “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” themed windows. Macy’s, known for it’s Christmas time decorations, usually focuses their window decorations on the kids. So if you’re in the city around Christmas time, make sure Macy’s is on your list of places to see.
For lunch, before we headed to Macy’s we stopped across the street for some cheap but tasty gyros at Gyros II. 
You can have a lamb/chicken gyro or souvlaki with lettuce, onion, tomato and tzatziki. The gyro is very overwhelming in size and unless you’re looking to get messy, I recommend grabbing a fork before you sit down even though it was more fun eating the giant mess. The downstairs looks small but head upstairs for more seating. Both the chicken and the lamb taste very good so you can’t really go wrong in your choice. They don’t taste as good as Greek festivals but if you’re looking for a cheap and tasty meal after you get off the train, this is will fill the hunger void.
Next, we walked over and up 5th Avenue to head toward Lord and Taylor.These windows are usually very decorated and utilize movement greatly but aren’t particularly aimed at children. The windows are beautiful and interesting but just something to breeze past, I don’t tend to spend the time reading the small paragraphs they have there, I just like looking at what they built.
Our next stop was Saks Fifth Avenue, since they’re so close to Rockefeller Center and the big Christmas tree, these windows also are aimed toward children. Check out the window and see when their “special show” is performed. 
This year, the focus was the snowflake and the bubble and each 45 mins, a light and music show is performed on the surface of their building. The main reason we went to Saks was to get sweets and hot chocolate from Charbonnel et Walker on the 8th Floor. It’s a small cafe looking area where you can either sit at the bar and choose food off of the conveyor belt or sit at one of the tables and take advantage of the waiting staff. Once I got there, I realized that I didn’t want hot chocolate but cold chocolate which was just as satisfying. 
Paired with that, I got a cranberry and white chocolate scone which was too expensive for what we got but it was cooked perfectly and tasted fantastic.
The best part of visiting NYC after the holidays was that even though the crowds were still just as bad, the sales are so much better. All Christmas things are at least 40% off, some even 60% in order to get rid of them. The tree is still up until the first week of January and even though Christmas is over, being surrounded by ice skating, the windows and the Christmas decorations, it still feels like the Christmas season, even if for a day.
“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.”
Franklin P. Jones
This is a little off track for me since it’s technically not 518-related but I feel like it’s something others will enjoy and I’d like to share. If you’re like me, you enjoy free stuff, especially free stuff in the mail. If you really ARE like me, then I have found the website for you, freeflys.com. On this website, they offer samples of various products for free all you have to do is sign-up for the website. They barely e-mail and the registration has nothing to do with the free products, it’s a win/win situation. They break up the various samples into categories: children, food, beauty, health and other. All samples are from the original company, this is just a website allowing you to find these samples.
You have to put in your address and email address to get the samples in the mail but I’ve never been contacted by email by any of these companies again if too much mail is what you’re worried about. The samples are updated frequently so check about once a week for anything new.
Most food and health products I’ve requested as come in coupon form, such as the FREE Zone Bar and FREE bottle of Advil. I’ve also received free tampons, free breath right strips, a free Shout Color Catcher and a free pack of Trident Dessert gum with more on their way. The downside is that it takes a little while for the products to come (2-3 weeks) but it’s free so I can’t complain. Also, each household is only allowed one sample so either used the coupons that accompany the free products to buy more or use a family member’s address if you’d like to sample them again.
Also, each Friday, AOL offers free sample options each Friday so check out their website HERE for more products you can try before you buy it. Who knows, you may find something that you can’t live without!
“I went into a McDonald’s yesterday and said, “I’d like some fries.” The girl at the counter said, “Would you like some fries with that?”
Jay Leno
I know it’s a bit silly to have a blog entry on something from McDonald’s because we’ve all eaten there, experienced the ever-changing taste of their chicken nuggets and had our share of Big Macs but this is new, this is special, this is the McRib. To be honest, if it didn’t appear in front of me I probably wouldn’t have ever bought it. (My Mom had one of her random McDonald’s cravings that DO NOT happen very often so the McRib literally appeared in front of me). I know that McDonald’s is making a big deal over the come back but in all honesty I wasn’t too impressed.
The McRib comes on a long soft roll which was very good but too much for the meat inside. The sandwich also includes pickles, BBQ sauce and raw onions.
Image Credit: foodfacts.info/mcrib
I could have done without the pickles and a bit more BBQ sauce. The ribs themselves were the same consistency as their breakfast sausages in the shape of boneless ribs. I didn’t find the flavor to be that strong, I didn’t really taste much of anything, actually not even BBQ sauce. As I said to my Mom when I was eating this, if I’m gonna waste the calories on McDonald’s, I’m gonna get a tasty burger. The McRib was something to check off my list that I’ve tried but I won’t be ordering it again, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either it was just okay but not the best tasting thing McDonald’s offers.
“The average Hollywood film star’s ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by an Italian, married to an Englishman and have a French boyfriend. “
Katharine Hepburn
After living in NYC, I still do visit as often as I can and even though I hate Times Square, I tend to always find myself there. This past week, my Mom and I went down to the city to see the King Tut exhibit at the Discovery Channel theater in Times Square. Exhibits that I find myself most interested take the longest because I’m so engrossed in reading everything and taking it all in. The website said that this exhibit is supposed to take 3 hours where my mother and I were there for 5. Most people finish the exhibit with the film that’s free with admission but since our first stop was looking for the bathroom, we decided to watch the movie first and I think that was the best decision because though the movie had nothing to do with King Tut but the older Pharaohs of Egypt, it still put us in the mood for what we were going to see. I found the exhibit to be really interesting. It was just a collection of items found by Howard Carter and crew when the tomb was found so if this period of Ancient History doesn’t interest you, I would recommend going to see it anyway to see how you feel after real pieces of history are right in front of you. Chairs that King Tut sat in, canopic jars that once held his organs and a life-size replica of the mummy (the real mummy has not and will never leave Egypt).
After the exhibit, we were obviously hungry. We also spent extra time in the gift shop looking at all of the Egyptian goodies. Since we were already in Times Square and had a train to catch, we decided to eat at Planet Hollywood (after we found that Hard Rock’s restaurant was closed thanks to a private Pepsi party). I love looking around the restaurant to see what new movie props were added and seeing how big celebrity’s hands are in comparison to mine while listening to Top 40 songs organized by a DJ (Menu for NYC location can be found HERE).
One of my favorite sandwiches there is the Chicken Avocado & Swiss which is just what it sounds like and it comes with fries. 
I usually can’t finish the whole sandwich and if I do, my stomach hates me for the rest of the day but the taste is worth it. They don’t skimp on the avocado, there are huge chunks sliced on top of a great tasting chicken breast. The chicken isn’t seasoned or marinated in anything, just a plain chicken breast. The sandwich gets it’s flavor from the avocado and mayo that’s given on the side with the texture of a moist piece of chicken. If you’re looking for something relatively healthy ( or seems healthy) try this!
Make sure you have your camera ready to see all the different movie props they have from various years, they encourage patrons to walk around and take a look at everything so don’t feel shy, go for it!
