Things to Do, Sights to See in New York City

This Friday, I’m heading to New York City to visit two friends I grew up with. After four days in the city, I’m going to visit my grandma for two days in Cape Cod and then I’m heading to Boston for three days to visit family and friends. It’s going to be a jam-packed vacation!

I haven’t been home in the summer since I moved to Florida three years ago, so I’m looking forward to experiencing the Northeast without having to worry about the snow that usually falls when I visit  at Christmastime. And I haven’t been to New York City for five or six years.

My mom, dad and I used to go together every other summer. Mom loved going around Christmastime and seeing the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. And she always had to stop for lunch at Tom’s Restaurant, aka “the Seinfeld restaurant.” When Mom died, Dad kept taking me to NYC  to keep the tradition alive. The trips gave us a good excuse to have some quality father-daughter time and share memories of Mom. No doubt, I’ll think of her while I’m there.

Since I haven’t been there in a while, I asked my Facebook friends for recommendations of places to go. I like putting together lists of places to visit, as I did upon returning from my three-month stay in Dallas a couple of summers ago. Here are some of the places my friends recommended:

Bookstores

• The Strand (love books, so definitely going here!)

• Bluestockings Bookstore

Restaurants/Bars

• Momofuku (a few people recommended eating here)

• Masa

• Nuyorican Poets Cafe (has lots of good poetry slams)

• Katz’s Deli

• Magnolia Bakery (for the cupcakes!)

• One of these awesome-looking food trucks

Touristy stuff/sightseeing

• Tenement Museum (looks really interesting)

• The East Village (this is where I’ll be staying, actually)

• Watch a taping of the “Late Night Show” with David Letterman (I doubt I’ll have time to do this, or that I could even get tickets at this point, but I’m going to see “The Daily Show” on Monday the 26th !)

• Go to a Broadway show (definitely on my list!)

• Shop at H&M (duh.)

• Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge (into Brooklyn and get a slice of pizza)

• Walk along Bleecker Street in So Ho (I love cities where walking and public transportation are encouraged.)

• The High Line

…. Wow, I wish I was going to have more time to explore the city! What else should I do while I’m there?