Response to elyob:
> So, from a cyclists perspective :
>
> a/ hire a bike on day 1 and get a feel of the city?
New York is a big place, and I've only really experience of Manhattan;
and if you can cycle in Manhattan you're braver than I am. I'm sure
there'll be people on this ng who have done it, but [speaking as a hick]
I was pretty overwhelmed by the very different road culture from what
I'm used to, and the sheer pace of it. I can see it might be fun, in an
anarchic traffic-jamming sort of way (and if you're the cycle-courier
type you might positively love it); but I stuck to busses and subway,
which were enough for me. (You might find that I've overstated it, but
that's how I remember it - don't let me put you off in advance.) You
can of course buy an all-day [and renewable] public transport card, the
Metrocard. (I just found an old one in my wallet: on the back is the
useful advice: "Keep back from the edge. (Or anything that looks like
the edge.)"
> b/ where to stay in first place (what part of city)
I stayed at a hotel in Times Square, which has the advantage of being
pretty central; there should be a coach from the airport. I think it
was the Quality Hotel -
http://tinyurl.com/oqpuz
which isn't exactly Quality, but was fine for me.
> c/ anything else really. I've never been, and going to New York by myself
> will be a little daunting. Can't stand my own company
It should be a hell of a lot of fun. I found most New Yorkers to be
really friendly, especially when they find out you're a Brit; though I
found it best on occasion to keep my political opinions to myself!
Odd highlights I remember: *really* good cheap fast food of just about
every ethnicity at e.g. Grand Central Station, the obligatory trip up
the Empire State Building, and the best-value tourist attraction, the
free Staten Island ferry: the view of Manhattan from the bay is
fantastic. Needless to say, I was doing New York on the cheap: if you
want to splash out, do the helicopter tour.
If you're a books person, take an empty rucksack to the Strand Book
Store -
http://www.strandbooks.com/home/
I suspect I haven't even scratched the surface!
--
Mark, UK
"CYCLIST WEDS - - News? Faith then I can't see it. Why, pray, should
cyclists not wed? Is there something in the exercise of the craft, some
secret vow, some occult commitment that makes the founding of a family,
the cultivation of the sweet domestic arts, the cherishing of womankind
(aplurally) incompatible with cyclism? Are we to infer, forsooth, that
there was never any Mrs Sturmey Archer?"