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High Priority New York City Tourism Sights & Experiences

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On our trip to New York City, we purposefully wanted to plan a “non-touristy” itinerary.  We specifically chose a location away from Times Square, and searched for unique and local eateries for our meals.  However, we ultimately realized it would be impossible to completely avoid visiting some of New York’s top tourist attractions.  Below are some of the select experiences we chose to visit during our trip:

September 11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial

The September 11 Memorial was a clear must-see for us as members of Generation Y, with childhoods undoubtedly shaped by the tragic events of that day.  The newly-opened memorial is a fitting tribute to the heroes and lives lost that day.  At the time of our visit, construction was still progressing on a permanent museum and the dramatic Freedom Tower adjacent to the memorial.  The waterfalls and pools in the footprint of the 2 former towers are magnificent in both scale and beauty.  The sound of the moving water is soothing amidst the clammer of a bustling city.

We utilized the advanced reservation system offered on the 9/11 Memorial website, which allows you to select an entry time and skip an entry line for $2 per pass.  If you have a printer, you can report directly to the memorial site.  Unfortunately, we made our reservation after leaving on our trip and needed to pick-up our reservation pass at the “Preview Site”, which is quite a detour and required waiting in a queue that was longer than the non-reservation line at the site that day.  Make sure an look for the brochure guide after entering the site, which provides good background information on the memorial (we missed it at first in anticipation of checking-out the pools).

 The Met 

Metropolitan Museum of ArtWe wanted to visit at least one museum on our NYC trip, and after reviewing our options, the Met (short for Metropolitan Museum of Art) seemed like the obvious choice.  The size, variety, and significance of the Met’s collections astounded us.  Having visited the Louvre, the Prado, and other famous European art museums, we decided to focus our tour on American art.  The museum’s American Wing features gorgeous landscapes (our favorite was one of the Andes), prime examples of American impressionism, and even stained glass pieces by Louis Tiffany.  In addition, they have amazing artifacts from Greece, Asia, and an impressive European art collection of their own.  We finished our visit with a stop at the rooftop bar, which offers excellent panoramic views of Central Park.

The Met offers “pay as you wish” admission, with a suggested donation of $25.  Although expensive, the comprehensive exhibits at the Met may warrant the high price tag.  Our ticket agent was very forward with allowing us to pay an amount we deemed appropriate.  Since we weren’t spending the whole day at the Met, we decided $12 each would be sufficient.  We definitely plan on returning on our next visit.  During our half-day visit, we didn’t cover more than 5% of what the museum had to offer.

 Empire State Building Observation Deck

Empire State Building Observation Deck

 

The Empire State Building wasn’t on our original itinerary.  The high cost ($27/person to the 86th floor) and long lines deterred us.  However, after a broadway show, an excellent peruvian dinner, and many glasses of wine, it somehow seemed like a good idea for us to walk 2 miles across Manhattan to catch the last elevator up the Empire State Building at 1:30am!  I’m glad we did!  Remarkably, the observation deck at the Empire State Building is open until 2am every night, with the last elevator leaving around 1:30am.  Not surprisingly, we found absolutely no lines and were virtually alone on the observation deck.  I had previously viewed NYC from the Top of the Rock observation deck, but the vantage point is really no comparison to what is offered at the top of the Empire State Building.  For $44/person, visitors are offered a view from the 102nd floor, but I would doubt that the extra 16 floors is worth the expense.

City Overview: New York City, New York, United States

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We just returned from a long weekend in New York City!  I don’t feel qualified to write a city overview on New York since we barely scratched the surface, but this will be have to work as a suitable overview until we have another chance to explore the great city!

New York City Skyline

City.  New York City, New York, United States

When?  Friday, August 31, 2013 – Tuesday, September 3, 2013 (4 nights and 4 full days + half of a day, over Labor Day Weekend).  We took a red-eye from LAX and landed at Newark just before 8am.

Where? The W Union Square served as our wonderful base for the long weekend.  After originally booking the Sheraton in Times Square, we jumped at the chance to book the W during a sale (a non-refundable reservation, but it was close enough to the trip that we felt comfortable booking).  With all taxes and fees, we paid just under $300 a night, which isn’t much more than other hotels we had looked at during our trip planning.  We’ll post a more detailed post about the hotel, but overall we really enjoyed our stay and would recommend this hotel (and this area!) to anyone visiting New York.

Transportation.  As mentioned above, we flew into (and out of) the Newark airport.  We took the train into and out of Penn Station and a taxi to/from the hotel (we were originally planning to take the subway, but we were talked out of it by a stranger on the train – thank goodness).  Other than getting into and out of New York, we stuck with the subway (mostly) and a few cab rides here and there.  Very easy and not too expensive – we bought a 7-day subway pass and the cab fares were surprisingly inexpensive.

Food.  We ate well, thanks to our hosts for the weekend (Ryan’s brother, Kevin, and his girlfriend, Meagan).  New York has so much to offer – I wish we had done more research beforehand, but we still tried a variety of cuisines – pizza, Italian (non-pizza Italian), several brunches, bagels, Peruvian (I can’t wait to share more about that meal), and even a late-night bar dinner.

New York Pizza

Day Trips.  None, in less Brooklyn or the Bronx count!

Attractions.  We did a lot – Yankees game, spent time in Brooklyn, the 9/11 Memorial, the Met, Central Park (pictured below), a little bit of shopping, a boat ride on the river, and more.  Some of the best experiences were just wandering around (especially with Kevin and Meagan – they were troopers and played tourist with us for the weekend while making sure we tried some of their favorite spots for food).

Central Park, New York City

Language Barrier.  None, unless you have issues understanding the New York accent (I honestly barely noticed it).

Cost.  We had issues finding a reasonably-priced hotel (really nothing in Manhattan south of Central Park for under the low $200s – okay, maybe a few options, but not much), but I was pleasantly surprised with the cost of food.  It is very possible to eat cheaply – we did a few times – and I’m sure it’s very easy to be extravagant.

Advice.  The only downside was the weather – hot (mid 80s) and very humid (so it felt like 100+).  I was miserable at times.  If possible, go during the spring or summer, when it will be more manageable!

Closing comments.  We are sitting here wishing we were back in New York.  We had a great time and plan to visit again next year.  It’s definitely a place to continue to visit because there will always be more to explore.  We plan to go again and again!  (Also, our 4 night trip definitely felt like a long enough mini vacation, so a long weekend will be great for a quick trip!)

May Lake: A Truly Enjoyable Hike

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Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy hiking, but it can be hard work.  The view from the top is almost always worth it, but the steep climbs, heat, sweat, and sore legs can sometimes take away from the fun (and that’s just on the way up – the way down brings knee and ankle problems that people twice our age experience). 

I was so happy when my Yosemite-obsessed friend suggested May Lake for our hike this past weekend.  It’s one I have never done and I’ve seen pictures – it’s gorgeous.  The other great part?  The hike was nice, short, and very easy compared to our usual hikes (Yosemite Falls and anything from Happy Isles up – Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls, or all the way up to the top of Half Dome). 

The worst part about this hike is the almost 1.5 hour drive from the valley floor (we stayed in the Upper Pines campground).  Luckily, there are closer campgrounds that we passed along the way, including the Yosemite Creek, Porcupine Flat, and White Wolf campgrounds.  One thing to note is that Tioga Pass Road is open seasonally, so your best bets for hiking up there (or camping in one of the campgrounds) is from about June to September.

The hike itself is just over a mile and while it has a steady incline throughout, it is not a steep incline.  No fancy gear is required – just make sure you wear comfortable clothes and some sort of tennis shoes.  No swimming is allowed in the lake, so no need for a swim suit.  Bring water and food for a picnic at the lake, but if you are only going to the lake, your caloric needs will be no where near those of Half Dome or Yosemite Falls.  There is also a restroom at the top, which is a recent addition.

And finally, after an hour and a half drive and a 30 minute hike, you are rewarded with a breathtaking view of peaceful May Lake: 

May Lake, Yosemite National Park, California

The short hike is perfect for an easy backpacking trip.  There are campgrounds at May Lake (May Lake High Sierra Camp).  A wilderness permit is required, which is a separate reservation system from the Yosemte campgrounds (such as Upper Pines).

Add an extra 4.5 miles (roundtrip) to your hike by ascending Mt. Hoffman.  This is a great choice if you are backpacking and staying at the High Sierra Camp, but even if May Lake is a day trip, it is doable!  We were just there to enjoy the scenery, so we opted out of the additional trek up Mt. Hoffman. 

May Lake is the perfect hike for a low-key Saturday in Yosemite.  Next time, I’ll stay in the area and save on the driving time to and from the valley.  Enjoy!

Venice in November – Acqua Alta Risk?

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Acqua Alta

We are visiting the end of November, which is at the height of the Acqua Alta (or high water) season.  A last-minute change in our trip plans this year and work schedule conflicts led to us scheduling our Italy trip later than we’d normally go.  Despite the weather risk, we are confident we’ll still have a great trip after doing some research.  Let me explain…

Acqua Alta

Graph created using data from City of Venice

The graph above is scary for a November Venice visitor.  Since 1872, one third of all Acqua Alta events (defined as tides 110 cm above sea level, effectively flooding 14% of the city, and most visibly, St. Mark’s Square) have occurred in the month of November.  Over time, due to subsidence and human modifications to the natural environment, the frequency of events has increased.  In recent history (since 1966), Acqua Alta events occur about 4 times each year.  What the graph and pictures don’t show you, however, is that Acqua Alta events are actually fairly short in duration.  A similar graph to the one above on the City of Venice website shows that Acqua Alta events occur predominately in the morning, between 8am and noon.  The actual time where flooding occurs is driven by the tide cycles.  As seen in the graph below, showing the tide cycles over 3 days, the peaks span at most 4 hours.  So, at worst, an aqua alta event will impact a morning.  It’s also important to remember that the Acqua Alta events are driven by astronomical reasons, not meteorological.  Just because the water is high, doesn’t mean it’s raining.

Venice Tide ChartThe final thing we uncovered in our research that made us comfortable visiting Venice in November is the amount of resources the city invests in preparing for Acqua Alta.  In addition to a dedicated monitoring and warning department, the city also erects elevated platforms along main streets to allow people to walk above the water.  The vaporetto water buses continue to operate and many hotels we looked at provide water boots for guests.

In addition to reading about Acqua Alta, we also took a look at the historic weather trends for late November.  Weatherbase.com is a great resource for pulling weather statistics by date.  For this trip, I built a quick Excel spreadsheet to summarize the temperature trends, chance of precipitation, and chance of “heavy rain”.  For our time period of interest, I obtained the following results:

Avg. Low Avg. High Any Precipitation “Rain”/”Heavy Rain”
40 51 17% 2%

We felt very comfortable with the results.  We can mitigate cold temperatures with warmer clothing, and a 2% chance of heavy precipitation doesn’t seem unreasonable compared to what we’d expect at any place anytime of the year.

After addressing the weather risk, we became extremely excited to visit in the off-season.  Visitors are often turned-off by the extreme crowds in Venice.  We last visited in early September, and although very crowded, we still enjoyed ourselves and found seclusion in the city late at night.  However, in late November, we are expecting solitude even in the daylight hours.  According to statistics from the Veneto Region government used to construct the graph below, November is nearly tied with December and January for the lowest nights spent by tourists in Venice per month.  Relative to when we last visited September, there will be almost as little as a third of the people visiting Venice.  Meanwhile, unlike more rural destinations or seasonal destinations, Venice will be completely open for business in November.  All of the hotel and restaurant options we’ve looked at are open.

Nights Spent in Veneto by Month

We were able to use online resources to effectively address our concerns about weather in Venice in November.  We are looking forward to a very romantic visit and an opportunity to see one of our favorite cities with far fewer crowds.

Planning a Machu Picchu Day Trip from Ollantaytambo

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For us, Machu Picchu was the catalyst for planning a trip to Peru.  Although we later learned of Lima’s revered cuisine and the spectacular views in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu is still the most important stop on our itinerary.  Accordingly, a lot of research and thought went into our ultimate plan for a day trip to visit Machu Picchu from Ollantaytambo.

Seeing Machu Picchu at sunrise was an important consideration in our planning.  Many visitors accomplish this by staying the night at Aguas Calientes (the town right below) the night before and catching the first 5:30am bus up to the site.  However, most of the lodging in Aguas Calientes is very expensive, and the town itself is described as run-down and devoid of character.  This realization, combined with reports of extensive fog in the morning and the discovery that trains from Ollantaytambo leave as early as 5:07am (arriving in Aguas Calientes at 6:34am), led to our decision to do a day trip from the Sacred Valley, as opposed to doing an overnight stay at Aguas Calientes.

Trip reports from others stress the importance of planning ahead of time.  There are a limited number of trains that run to Aguas Calientes, and it is sometimes impossible to make plans once arriving.  Even over 2 months ahead of our trip, we found that several train options (including one we figured would be the most convenient were already booked).  Additionally, the park itself limits the number of visitors to 2500 per day, and only 400 per day (in 2 time slots) for climbing Huaynapicchu (a popular hike within the park).  Two months ahead, there were still 167 slots in the later afternoon climb and 2450 for general admission, but I did notice that in the current month, several days had no availability.

Luckily, both train and park tickets can be obtained online.  Although visitors can also go through tours or travel agencies, it is usually more affordable (and I think more fun) to plan independently.

Train tickets are available through 2 companies: Peru Rail and Inca Rail.  Most trains leave from Ollantaytambo, which is a great base for exploring the Sacred Valley.  Four trains per day (including the luxurious Hiram Bingham train) leave from Poroy near Cusco, traveling through Ollantaytambo on the way.  We decided to take the earliest train, the 5:07am from Ollantaytambo, to enable to us to get as early of a start as possible.  We selected the 6:22pm return train, given that it wasn’t long after the 5:30pm closing time for the park.  Besides the Hiram Bingham, Peru Rail has two different classes of train: the Expedition and Vistadome, but we paid more attention to the times than the type of train.

Booking on the Peru Rail website is fairly straightforward.  As with train operators in Europe, Peru Rail recommends you use a Visa card registered in the Verified by Visa program.  Unfortunately, fewer and fewer cards are participating in this program (I just read confirmations that Chase cards dropped out of this program).  We decided to try our luck with our United Mileage Plus Explorer Card from Chase, even though it’s not in the Verified for Visa program, because it now has no foreign exchange transaction fees.  To our surprise, it worked!  However, we later learned that because it was not a Verified by Visa card, we need to pick-up paper tickets at a Peru Rail office when we arrive in the country.  Verified by Visa transactions can get e-Tickets.  We are going to try and contact Peru Rail to see if there is a way around this limitation, because the hours and locations of their offices are not the most convenient.

Tickets to the Machu Picchu park are available on the website administered by the Ministerio de Cultura.  Despite frustrating lag time, Flash, and unreliable language selection, we were able to secure our tickets.  The first step is to select “MACHUPICCHU” in the left drop down and the desired admission (general or a Huaynapicchu time slot) and then you can view availability on different dates.  This is all done with the “Reservas” or “Reservation” tab selected on the top.  After inputing information for participants, you are actually granted a reservation without paying.  The next step is to select the “Pagos” or “Payments” tab to use pay for your reservation.  You’ll need the reservation code from the first step.  Unlike Peru Rail, cards with Verified for Visa registration appear to be mandatory on this site.  We were unable to get our Chase card to work.  After paying, the last step is to use the “Check-in” tab to enter the reservation code one last time to retrieve e-tickets that can be printed-out and used for entrance.  

Expect to pay a lot for the Machu Picchu experience.  The combined cost of the train tickets and site admission cost us $368 ($184/person). That price does not include the cost we expect to pay for a bus fare once in Aguas Calientes ($12 R/T).  However, it is nice to have the peace of mind that our transportation and admission are guaranteed before leaving.