I love New York City. Many have said it before but I REALLY love NYC. I visited 18 months ago for first time in ten years and it’s same, same, and changed as well.
The usual suspects on the tourist trail appear. I felt that all-familiar feeling when I strolled through Times Square: ticket touts, animal and movie character-clad folk wandering around hoping for a picture and a tip – and that’s what hit me straight away – TIPS. No matter where you go or what you buy there’s the hand-held out for a TIP.
This is foreign to Australians, we tip at the end of a meal if we think it is well-deserved but it isn’t mandatory and we don’t get screamed at if we forget to TIP. So after few days here I start to get a bit twitchy over the TIP situation. But here’s my TIP regarding TIPS for anyone visiting from other countries: If you are going to be in NYC or indeed the USA for up to two weeks take $100 in $1 notes, have a few of them stuffed in your (pickpocket proof pocket) so you can dole them out as regularly needed. TIP rant over.
While in NYC we caught up with some fab theatre (Book of Mormon), checked out the major art galleries and visited a new (for me) museum – The Tenement Museum.
I particularly loved his little museum as it tracks the good, bad and ugly story of America’s urban immigration. There are walking tours from here and the shop has really good quality goods to purchase. And it’s at the Lower East Side at 97 Orchard Street, not far from where we walked off the Williamsburg Bridge that we had crossed from Brooklyn – walk, walk, walk in this part of the world.
On the path of the Williamsburg Bridge.
We were staying in Williamsburg a stone’s throw from the bridge, fab restaurants, shops, parks and all things funky and friendly.
Brooklyn wall art.
My first time tour with A Slice of Brooklyn tour sent me into a happy spin. The tour bus is so friendly that it feels like a few travel companions got together and hired the local expert. The comprehensive tour took us to Grimaldi’s for the wood-fired pizza/s – the last of this type of oven in Brooklyn. No slices sold here just the wheel of pleasure, super-yum too.
We also got out to the beach and Coney Island – strolled the Boardwalk and soaked up the precinct’s history and attitude.
On this USA break, our first week was spent in Manhattan and the second with a friend in Williamsburg. Our friend is an Aussie expat who knew the drill on every great food place within walking distance – and where to get GOOD COFFEE (essential for Aussies as we are consummate coffee snobs).
This posting has just been a little slice of NYC and Brooklyn – go taste for yourself.
Visit: http://www.asliceofbrooklyn.com
Copyright Bev Malzard
Travelgal on the move 
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