Our Anniversary Trip to New York City
Part 1
While it may not be the most popular place for Canadians to go right now, we love New York! (and this trip was booked well before the Election)
We honeymooned in NYC in 2007 and have been back many times since. The energy is contagious, the sights are exceptional, and the people are so much fun. Since the “girlfriend” of my travelling companion was playing a concert at Carnegie Hall the night after our anniversary, we booked a trip for early May.
https://www.anne-sophie-mutter.de/en/
After booking at our current favourite hotel, we bought concert tickets, and then explored the following:
-other concerts at Carnegie Hall https://www.carnegiehall.org/
-the NY Philharmonic https://www.nyphil.org/
-the Metropolitan Opera https://www.metopera.org/
-Birdland Jazz Club https://www.birdlandjazz.com/
-Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/
-New York City Ballet https://www.nycballet.com/
-Madison Square Garden https://www.msg.com/ (includes the Beacon Theater and Radio City)
-Jazz at Lincoln Center https://jazz.org/
At that point, the evening itinerary is set, then it’s time to fill in the rest.
Our first concert was at 5:00 pm on a Sunday, and we had tickets to the Hamilton Philharmonic (https://hpo.org) on the Saturday night, so after the concert, we drove to Buffalo and stayed at the Aloft hotel (part of Marriott).
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/bufal-aloft-buffalo-airport/overview/
The border crossing at Queenston/Lewiston was completely uneventful. While we have NEXUS cards, there was no designated lane needed, and we were 2nd in line, with only 1 booth open. The questioning took about 10 seconds, and we were on our way. Glad we didn’t spring for the burner phone everyone was talking about!
The Aloft hotel offers a rate similar to the other Buffalo Airport hotels, where your rate includes parking for 9 days and a shuttle ride to and from the terminal. Their rooms are small and kind of edgy, but we were there for <12 hours, so it filled the bill. It was clean with a comfy bed.
Early the next morning, off we went to board Jet Blue, and our flights to and from JFK were right on time and their slogan is true, they DO have the most legroom in Economy! While we have taken the AirTrain and subway from JFK to Manhattan several times, as we get older, we splurge for a Yellow Cab. Strangely, I couldn’t get neither the Curb Mobility app (for Yellow Cabs) nor Uber to work on my phone on this trip. However, it’s always easy to get a cab in New York.
After a long cab ride, we arrived at our hotel (on West 54th between Broadway and 8th) and managed to be able to check in very early.
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/nycwfgi-hilton-garden-inn-new-york-central-park-south-midtown-west/
We got to our room, got ready for our early concert, and had time to visit their bar for the first time. (and certainly not the last)
Next week, we’ll talk about sightseeing and NYC hotels. (and why we love ours)
I’m happy to help you with your planning!
Happy Travels!