In our whirlwind trip to NYC we were able to complete the following list of items between a Friday afternoon and Saturday night:
fly into La Guardia
taxi to lower east side apartment rental
hit local winebar with friends
Music and dinner at a local restaurant (Cornelius Street Cafe) which also has jazz music playing at night – fantastic food at this little place with the subterranean music venue. Save money by eating here too since they have a minimum bar requirement of $7 anyway and the food was really, really good. (I had lobster ravioli and a great starter salad of portabello mushrooms, shallots, and mixed greens)
back to winebar for nightcap
Up in morning (but not too early) to find pastries and coffee and check out local neighborhood briefly while on way to subway
South on subway to World Trade Center site – tour area around it. We didn’t go in the visitor center here but I was reluctant to go in anyway having lost clients (my days working in software) in this tragic event and knowing I’d be bawling if I did go in and personalize the experience. Even what is left of the site is an engineering marvel.
New York deli lunch – darn good and a decent price too. Michael had a great pastrami sandwich, one of the best he’s ever tasted.
Subway back up to Central Park – check out the Trump ice skating rink and take in the park and all its activities.
Stroll (okay, deal with massive crowds) down 5th Avenue to see the gorgeous Christmas window displays. They really do elevate this to an art here with many windows being impressive mini-stages of lavish textures, colors and fabrics. Some reminded me a bit of looking at the over the top sets for an opera – everything more than a bit larger than life. Check out the also fascinating street performers that are everywhere in this area – we stopped for a few minutes to watch some all ages break dancing performers.
After walking past Rockefeller Center we backtracked a couple of blocks to tour the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for a couple of hours. Doing so helps you to escape the craziness of the streets and get a chance to warm up.
About this time it was starting to get dark outside so as we walked toward Times Square we were met with the incredible image of how bright it is in that area of town. The marquees and ads are so bright it’s almost like it’s still daylight there as you arrive. Stop and get some $2 honey-roasted nuts from a street vendor and head toward Ticket Ticket to get reduced price tickets to a Broadway show.
Dinner near Times Square (Italian food) at Le Tre Venezie was good (not stellar but very tasty) and better than trying to squeeze ourselves into one of the middle America eateries that clog Times Square to feed the masses of tourists. Some decent prices on the wine menu help keep the budget intact. I had the ala carte pasta choice of Vodka sauce and ziti pasta with a side dish of sauteed spinach (nicely done). Michael had one of the veal dishes (he ate every bit and then finished my meal) and our friends had the swordfish special and the fettucini w/ white clam sauce. Oh, and there was a Caesar salad (Michael) and a shared goat cheese salad with our friends which they really enjoyed. I could pass on getting a martini or the cannoli here again, but otherwise it was a good experience and relaxed compared to the hustle and bustle of Times Square – although we all did notice the staff here practically runs everywhere in the restaurant, including up the stairs. Those guys and gals must have amazing legs with all that stair running. No wonder there are so few overweight NYC residents.
Broadway show – we saw Avenue Q. For some it’s a little bit racy and out of their comfort zone but Michael and I loved it. We can’t get some of the songs out of our heads and I’m still trying to figure out if that is a good thing or not. 
After the show we decided to head back to our little neighborhood area for a nightcap back at the wine bar. We could have stayed out later or found another place but by that time the owner really liked that we’d been coming each night to his spot and we were developing a fast friend here. It’s nice to be noticed when you travel too and to get some special attention that helps make your trip all that much more fun. The owner helped us out with purchasing a bottle we could take back to our room (we all had early morning flights) and we all shared the bottle as we packed, recounted our trip, made plans for Christmas coming up (we’re all having dinner together) and more.
Up and at ‘em for a flight out of JFK in the morning with a stop for a really tasty pumpernickel bagel and a muffin at the corner bakery on the way.
Overall, a successful trip even with all the delays and detours (a night in Chicago on the way out and way too many hours in Dulles on the way home).
