New York City is an island, a big melting pot, many people are immigrants. Even those who claim themselves the New Yorkers, their grand parents, great grand parents, great great grand parents probably were immigrants. Therefore all the 1st time visitors should visit these two places as soon as they have settled: Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island.

- Morning: Take the ferry at the Battery Park, be sure to purchase the tickets cover both islands. On Ellis Island there is a place where you could get the great view of Manhattan and take a picture with you right in front of it which is very neat.

Check out the Circle Line link for the ticket price and schedule. http://www.circlelinedowntown.com/statueFerryBatteryPark_schedule.asp

- When returning to Battery Park, is a good opportunity to visit the following nearby sites:

1. Castle Clinton National Monument. This is right on the Battery Park so don't forget to stop by before going forward.

2. World Trade Center Ground Zero. After the 9/11 tragic, this site became not only a memorial but the most popular attraction in New York City.

3. Trinity Church. The oldest church with a small cemetery behind it.

4. Wall Street, go touch the bull.

5. South Street Seaport Historical District and Pier 17 Pavilion. A museum, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex create this colorful touristy destination.

If you started your day late, you might end your first day here. If you are an early bird who started the day early, this could be your afternoon tea spot, then you may move forward to Chinatown.

Day 2 (or continuation of Day 1):

- Chinatown. It is simply just fun to stroll around the streets and alleys. Dim Sum, HK style cafe and noodle houses are the great choices for affordable breakfast, brunch or lunch. There is a street vendor always line-up with tourists and locals for mini puff cakes, ask the locals they will tell you where it is. The following three restaurants suggestion:

M Star Cafe in Chinatown. 19 Division Street. 明星茶餐廳

Congee Village. 100 Allen Street. 粥之家

Golden Bridge Restaurant . 50 Bowery {金橋,葉玉卿丈夫開辦,酒樓前身是金門,秋天的童話內,十三妹和Vincent談分手該幕}

- Little Italy. Next to Chinatown. The restaurants and shops are centralized on Mulberry street and Mott street. This could be your afternoon tea, dinner or after dinner coffee stop.

Choose any Italian restaurant for your desired for the dinner. But for the desserts and coffee. I strongly recommend Cafe Palermo on 148 Mulberry Street. This place has the best cannolie. Cannolie is an Italian pastry, a crispy shell (can be coated with dark chocolate) filled with ricotta cheese and chocolate chips.

- SoHo. Go northwest of Chinatown and Little Italy. On West Broadway and East Broadway between Canal and West Houston , on Prince street and Spring street . This whole area lined with boutiques, designers shops, and restaurants. Check out City Search web site below, it has a list of the stores.

http://newyork.citysearch.com/roundup/39730?brand=smx_roundups

Highlighted two must see shops:

1. Uniqlo flagship. 546 Broadway. Japanese brand, affordable designer clothes.

2. Levi’s store. 536 Broadway. How can I miss this one? Levi’s SF headquarter employees, please bring your i.d. for the discount!

Museum highlight: Guggenheim SoHo. 575 East Broadway at Prince Street.  Here is the web site - http://www.ny.com/museums/guggenheim.museum.soho.html

- Greenwich. Continues on West Broadway towards north, you will be face to face with Washington Square Park, on your left side is Greenwich Village, on the right side is New York University.

- St. Marks Place. Go past New York University, walk by Stuyvesant Street, between Second Ave and A Ave. Because this area is pretty much occupied by the students therefore eating and shopping here won’t be pricey. Lots of trendy shops and second shops here.

There is one tiny and narrow shop with two high chair sitting outside of the store is the home of Belgian Fries, Pommes Frites 123 2nd Ave. (between 7 & 8 St.) http://www.pommesfrites.ws/

I love fries, especially these twice cooked fries placed in paper cone are so crispy and delicious. There are more than 25 kinds of dipping sauce to choose from.  When you are here, try to look for a Japanese restaurant that offers a oden booth. This restaurant gets very crowded during dinner time. Lots of Japanese go there, so must be authentic enough.

Day 3 & 4:

Moving towards Midtown and Upper East Side. Now it is up to you to divide the activities among two days.

Midtown Area:

Fifth Avenue 第五大道is a major road to most of the main attractions. It starts from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village and NYU, goes all the way to Central Park and even further to Harlem 哈林. Fith Avenue in Midtown is filled with high-end stores such as Tiffany & Co. Walking on this long avenue is quite a unique experience because not just the stores keep you busy, but also the buildings themselves are worth to make you stop to take a good look at them. The beauty of each building and the rich histories behind, many were used for the setting in the movies. The followings are some landmark sites along or nearby Fifth Ave and you might recognize them from some movies:

- Flatiron Building. 175 5th Ave and East Broadway. This is one of the oldest buildings in New York City, also its iron shape (if looking down from the sky) made it the landmark.

- Empire State Building 帝國大廈. 373 5th Ave. Well known from many movies: "An Affair to Remember", "Sleepless in Seattle" and "King Kong". It was the 2nd tallest building before the tragic of the World Trade Center. Take the high speed elevator to 86th floor to get the best view of the city.

- NY Public Library and Bryant Park. 42nd Street & 5th Ave. The movie site of "Ghostbusters". Inside was huge, my husband who grew-up in New York, said once he almost got lost in there.

- St. Patrick Cathedral. 460 Madison Ave between 50 and 51st Streets. Madison Ave is parallel to 5th Ave. This is the largest gothic-style Catholic Cathedral in the United States. I always stop there when I walk on 5th Ave.

Rockefeller Center. This landmark stretches from 5th Ave to 7th Ave, and from 47th to 51st Streets. Lots of restaurants ans shops around. The lower level of the center is a outdoor cafe during Spring to Fall, then turns into an outdoor ice-skating ring in Winter.

Some of my favorite shops and attractions right around Rockefeller Center:

- Kinokuniya Bookstore 紀伊國書店 . Ten West 49th Street.

- Minamoto Kitchoan. 源吉兆庵 日式和菓子店 608 5th Ave. Traditional Japanese confectioneries. If I am around this area, I always go in to pick up a few (may be half a dozen or so and all go into my stomach) pastries and sweets. They use the freshest in seaon ingredients to make those beautifully decorated tea snacks.

- NBC Studios. "Live from New York, its Saturday Night Live!". Yes this is the studios that makes this hottest live show, home of the "Saturday Night Live" and "Today Show". The store is located at the corner of Rockefeller Plaza and West 49th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), where the Studios Tour begins.

- Radio City Music Hall . 1260 6th Ave. "Godfather II" had a scene outside of it.

- Teuscher Chocolates. 620 5th Ave. The finest chocolates made in Switzerland and flown to US each week.

Continues along 5th Ave.

- Trump Tower. 712 5th Ave. Donald Trump's penthhouse , The Apprentice "Boardroom" where the contestants stayed during the contest. The interior of the tower is in bronze, there is also a tall waterfall inside.

There are two pecialty stores I always go:

Henry Bendel. 712 5th Ave. This store represents youthful New York glamour from its fashion accessories. The store has illustrator Izak's smoky eyes, long legs girls on the wall.

Shanghai Tang 上海灘. 714 Madison Avenue, between 63rd & 64th Street. Going east of 5th Ave. The interior is a colorful Shanghai style little house. The store offers contemporary clothing with traditional Chinese details. Although the items might be expensive but sometimes the store has great sales.

East of 5th Ave:

Grand Central Terminal, "秋天的童話" 其中一場景. Its Oyster Bar is a must have dining experience. No trip to New York without having at least one lunch or dinner at this landmark restaurant.

Chrysler Building. 405 Lexington Ave and 42nd Street. Adore this Beautiful Art Deco style skyscraper. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it is the second tallest building in New York City.

United Nations 聯合國. 42nd Street on First Avenue. It is right by the East River. If you look over the river, there is Queens on the other side. I strongly suggest to stock-up souvenirs from the stores in the basement level. Because shopping in United Nations does not need to pay sales tax.

West of 5th Ave:

- Broadway & Times Square 百老匯與時間廣場. The blog title picture was taken in June 1998, before 7 am. Below picture taken in 2003 in the afternoon. What a big difference between early morning and afternoon! Glad that I took the Fashion Study Tour so that I had the chance to discover the quiet side of Broadway. It was light a Blue jazz in the morning.

Along Broadway are many theatres and cinemas, chain restaurants and flagship and souvenir stores. Don't miss the Toys "R" Us store (flagship??), it has a giant ferry wheel ride inside this store.

This side of Times Square is the Theater District. Catch a Broadway musical. Also there are lots of hotels around here: Marriot, Sheraton, Park Central, Crowne....

Central Park 中央公園: From 59th Street all the way to 110 Street, between 5th and 8th Ave. It is the lung of the city. The design of the park makes you feel like you are not in the city once you step inside.

Centrl Park East on 5th Ave side:

- Central Park Zoo in front of 63th Street.

- Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. My personal highlights of the museum are the Egyptian temple and costume history exhibition at the Costume Institute. If you plan to see all the exhibits, you need at least a whole day. When you are there, don't miss the Roof Garden Café at the rooftop, it is a great stop for a coffee break with a breathtaken panoramic views of Manhattan.

Through the Central Park:

- The Loeb Boathouse. The boathouse itself is a famous icon of Central Park. Its restaurant has the most romantic setting.

- Bethesda Terrace. The richly-ornamented terrace traditionally is the 'Heart of the Park' Bethesda Terrace is one of the best places in the Park for people-watching.

- Belvedere Castle. Sitting high atop Vista Rock, it provides a panoramic view of the park and the city in almost every direction.

Central Park west on 8th Ave side:

- Tavern on the Green. This restaurant is like a fairy tale in the city, Alice's tea party.

American Museum of Natural History. 79th Street and 8th Ave. Most recent movie "Night At The Museum" . The museum has the real dinosour fossils. Tour the museum will also takes a whole day in order to get most of the exhibits.

There are more attractions inside the park. Check out the Central Park official site for their locations and look for them while you are in the park. http://www.centralpark.com/pages/attractions.html

Well, 4 days actualy cannot cover the whole Manhattan. So enjoy your stay in NYC and please visit again!

Day 1- Day 2 - In Champagne, sipping wine, staying at one of those family run bed and breakfast inns - Checked

 

  

Day 3 - Arriving Paris.  Check-in hotel on Rue Cler, river tour on Seine, climb up the Eiffel Tower in the evening.  Be sure to purchase the 3 days museum pass this day by day 5 - We strolled Rue Cler and toured on Seine, back to Rue Cler and had dinner at the corner café restaurant.

 

   

Day 4 - Free admission at Lourve.  Because the museum closes at 6pm, therefore the day will be a Paris historic walk in the old city.  Morning walk on Ile de la Cite, stroll the Latin Quarter.  Arrive Lourve by 2pm the latest and stay there until close at 6pm - We visited Lourve then strolled on Ile de la Cite and Ile de Louie, dinner on Island Louie.

 

    

Day 5 -  Disneyland Paris.  Disneyland Park 10:00 - 19:00.  Disney Studios Parks 10:00 - 18:00 - Checked, and had dinner outside of Disneyland park.

 

  

Day 6 - Montmartre, visit Sacre'-Coeur, the artist plaza (Sandy reminded me it is actually behind the church, not in front of it).  Then to see Opera Garnier where the Phantom was haunting the place, afterwards shopping at Galleries Lafayette which closes at 19:00.  The landmark department store next to Opera House is the grandest one among all the Galleries Lafayette stores in other area of Paris.  

Seafood platter dinner at Le Grand Café in the Opera area - Did not see Opera Garnier because it required admission fee not covered by the museum pass.

  

Day 7 - Varsailles, this is taking a whole day already since the palace is located outside of Paris.  Late dinner in Paris  

Day 8 - Musee Dorsay closes late this day at 21:45, therefore will go there in the late afternoon.  First to Notre Dame early in the morning, then to Arc de Triomphe which opens at 10:00, the museum pass covers the entrance to the Arc.  Stroll down Champs Elysees, by the mid or late afternoon arriving Musee Dorsay and spend the rest of the day there.

- Day 7 and Day 8 activities switched because there was a problem wit the RER train track.  The operator at the Metra ticket booth told us in English with strong French accent, "eet ees not a good idea" then explained to us the cause.  So we changed the plan as follows:

 

Day 7 - Visited Notre Dame in the late morning after we found out the bad news of the train track.  We went to Musee Dorsay in the afternoon.  Since I understood that "There is No Way I will be looking at EVERY SINGLE THING in Paris", therefore we set a priority of "must see" items in the museum and made sure we saw them.  In the early evening, we climbed the Arc de Triomphe, strolled Champs-Elysées.

Dinner at the same corner café restaurant on Rue Cler.

  

Day 8 - Whole day in Varsailles, then back to Paris in the late afternoon, took lots of pictures on the Left Bank with beautiful Eiffel Tower in the background.  Dinner inside our hotel room, then strolled Champs-Elysées again.

 

  

Day 9 - Last day in Paris, and only have a few hours to spend so would slow down, relax on Rue Cler to visit all those little shops, and try to mingle with the locals.  Or visit Eiffel Tower again - Only we did not have time to visit Eiffel Tower.