Day 10: New York: Brunch at 230 Fifth, Roosevelt Island - Broadway play: Aladdin
Today is the last full day of the trip to New York in 11 days and as usual, we start the day early when it is about 6:30 in the morning, when the first thing we do is check again the weather, as we are doing all these previous days, confirming what we saw yesterday: today will be a fairly cloudy day with rain forecast throughout the morning that becomes visible from our window a few minutes after waking up. With them comes another change of plans, visit Roosevelt Island in New York in the afternoon and not in the morning as we had planned.
Today was the day we planned to go to Roosevelt Island, to get on the cable car and see the famous Queensboro Bridge up close, besides knowing a little more about this area of the city accompanied by a friend who lives in New York , with which we later wanted to finish the morning in the best way, with a brunch at 230 Fifth, one of the most traditional places in the city. But as we can always turn around any situation, we decided to change the order of the day's visits a bit and meet Ingrid directly at the 230 Fifth for the bruch and we decided that we will spend the afternoon visiting Roosevelt Island in New York, since the weather forecasts are much better from mid-morning.
And with the planning of today already we approached the Starbucks that we have in front of the Holiday Inn Times Square where we had breakfast for 15 dollars and where we return to make another small change of plans and it is that we had thought to dedicate these hours of the morning to rest, but seeing that the rain is not too intense, we decided to dedicate the morning to noble art to visit some of the "hottest shops" in the city.
It's not even 10 in the morning when we take the subway that takes us to 23St where it is Fishs Eddy A store that we have read is very good and is very curious to have household items somewhat more alternative to those we usually see.
We have to say that although we are not too given to stores when we are traveling, in this case we must recognize that it is very worthwhile. With a very careful decoration, with charm, they have differentiated areas, with a whole dedicated to kitchen and home utensils, having even more pieces focused on the souvenir, quite different from what we usually find. We even see a couple of New York collections that we believe are worth it if you are looking for an original gift.
After this visit we continue walking along the same street until we reach Paragon Sports, a fairly famous sports store, where we also take the opportunity to enter and take a look, since we had it pointed as one of the stores curious from the city. In this case we have to say that it has not attracted much attention, rather nothing and that is that since we are not looking for any sport, we have not found the incentive to visit.
It's almost 11 in the morning when we end the shopping route, something poor, we are aware, but as we have said once, this is not exactly the topic we like most on a trip, although we have to recognize that in New York, if you like shopping, you could spend days doing it without getting bored.
But as we still have almost an hour until the time of brunch at 230 Fifth, we approach the subway again to take the R line to approach again and give Century 21 another chance, one of the best outlets in New York, and that is when it rains in New York and you've seen all the museums, probably the best plan is to go to shops or cafes, entering the most "materialistic" from the city.
We are here about 45 minutes in which we climb to the fifth floor, losing ourselves between pants, shirts, shoes and others, that show us that most consumerist side of the city and especially tourists and that is what we have to say how impressive it is for us See how people go with baskets full of bags or any other item to take home. We do not take much on this route and when it is 12 we return to the subway to take the R line, stopping at 28St, where we have stayed with Ingrid for that brunch at 230 Fifth We hope it is memorable and more after seeing that it has stopped raining and it seems that the sun wants to come out to welcome us.
The entrance to 230 Fifth is free and the first thing we do as soon as we arrive at the place is to ask for a table for three that give you one of the best places, right in one of the windows that overlooks the Empire State Building, so for now the food we don't know how it will be, but the views from here, we can confirm that they are unique.
Brunch at 230 Fifth
A good way to enjoy this famous place in New York is to choose a brunch at 230 Fifth. The brunch is Saturdays and Sundays from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon and includes a wide variety of dishes, all served in buffet, but not the drink (coffee 4 dollars). The price is $ 29 for adults and $ 15 for children.
The buffet includes: eggs Benedict, scrambled eggs, French Toast, bacon, pancakes, waffles, variety of tortillas, fried chicken, roasted potatoes, sandwich, ham bagels and assorted cookies for dessert.
In addition there is a wide variety of salads and a grill area that only opens in summer.
As you can imagine the more than two hours we spent enjoying this brunch at 230 Fifth, we spend them between endless talks, catching up, mixed with a couple of occasions when we get up to the buffet to fill our plates.
In general, we have to say that the buffet is quite complete and that for the price of $ 29, we believe it is more than fair, especially adding the views you have. In our case, when it is quite cool and just after it has rained we have not taken advantage of the terrace area in the food, although we have to say that the interior part, especially where we have been, is perfect.
After paying, $ 29 per person plus drinks and coffees ($ 4 each), we approach the terrace area, which is the most famous area of 230 Fifth and we find very interesting views of the Empire State Building, but that do not just get hooked and it is that perhaps, as seen in the previous image, by not having a complete perspective, that makes, at least for us, the views are a bit dim.
What we do find as a great success are the igloos they have on the terrace, which prevent you from the cold and rain and give double use to this area of the place.
Igloos on the terrace of 230 Fifth
It is two o'clock in the afternoon when we take the subway and go directly to the Roosevelt cable car, who will take us to the Roosevelt Island in New York, the last visit of this trip to New York during Holy Week that we could not have done in better company.
Roosevelt Cable Car
Roosevelt Island cable car price and schedules in New York
The Roosevelt Island cable car price It’s the same as the subway, so it’s included in the Metrocard.
The frequency is approximately every 15 minutes, from both sides, or even more continuous at peak times. Keep in mind that the Roosevelt cable car is active from 05:45 until 02:30 in the morning, although on Fridays and Saturdays they extend the hours until 03:30 in the morning.
The journeys are approximately 5 minutes.
You will find the ascent to the cable car between the 60St and the 61St, next to the East River, it has no loss.
Roosevelt Island is a long and small residential island located in the eastern part of New York, which many tourists arrive every day not only for knowing this area of the city, but for using the cable car that connects both islands and from the You have incredible views of Manhattan.
Road to Roosevelt Island in New York
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Keep in mind that the Roosevelt Island It is not more than 3 kilometers long, so it is affordable in a relatively short time, resulting in a perfect place to disconnect from the transfer of Manhattan.
Notable are the banks that are next to the river, very close to the queensboro bridge where you can sit and rest, enjoying views of Manhattan that will give you a different perspective than what you have seen so far.
Roosevelt Island in New York
From here we have views of the main skyscrapers and buildings of Manhattan, giving us incredible views of the city, as well as a totally new perspective for us, as we mentioned earlier, which reminds us of the amount of incredible places in New York and the need almost "forced"We have come back, we hope soon.
Views of Manhattan from Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island Walk
We would not know how to explain the reason very well, but we believe that the Visit to Roosevelt Island in New York It should be done at the end of your stay in New York, as it serves as a kind of "detoxification" of Manhattan and at the same time a kind of reconciliation with the city, if at some point you came to be overwhelmed with the daily hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. We believe that it is a good idea to book this visit for the end of the trip and spend about 3 hours or so to explore this little corner, which we assure you will not fail to surprise you.
United Nations
Visit to Roosevelt Island in New York
It's 5 in the afternoon when we decide that the time has come to leave Roosevelt Island and return to Manhattan, where within a few hours a Broadway musical awaits us: Aladdin, another of those essentials in New York that we could not miss.
Roosevelt Island Cable Car
Seeing that we still have a while, we take these last minutes to have a coffee in the Times Square area, where we enjoy these, almost, last hours in the city in the best company, having a relaxed afternoon in which we have forgotten about A few hours visits and we have dedicated ourselves only to enjoy the city and everything it can offer us.
It's 7 p.m. when we say goodbye to Ingrid, with the firm intention of seeing each other again soon (maybe in Sa Lola;)), and we get directly in line at the Amsterdam Theater, to spend the last afternoon in New York in The best possible way. We have booked tickets online to see Aladdin and get good seats, one of the best broadway shows, hopefully it meets expectations.
Aladdin in New York
We will not explain much (or nothing) of the show, more than anything so that it does not lose interest or grace, within the many surprises it has, since we believe that it is one of the greatest attractions of the work. What we can tell you is that it deserves, and much worth enjoying a musical like this in a city like New York. We without hesitation would return!
Other worthwhile shows and it is advisable to book them online to get good seats are: The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Blue Man Group, Cats, Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Chicago, Anastasia or School of Rock
It is 10:30 at night when the work ends Aladdin, at which time we decided to go to dinner to approach Ellen's Stardust Diner, one of the most recommended places in the area. When we approach and see that there is not much queue, we decide to stay and thus finish the last full day in New York in the best possible way (or that is what we expected). Upon entering we have the first surprise and that is that the sound is really stressful, since the volume is so high that it is impossible to speak without literally squealing. Apart from that we have to say that the tables are so stuck, that it is practically impossible to eat without almost touching the neighbor, something that together with the noise, sometimes the "shrieks" of the singers, makes us confirm that we have made a complete mistake of place. Without looking too much at the menu, since we are looking forward to leaving soon, we ask for a Caesar salad plus a hamburger, which we have to say in honor of the truth that they are very fair, that we eat in the shortest time, making this dinner more brief history of New York and it is that no more than 20 minutes pass when we have already had dinner, paid and left by the door. Probably a lot of people find this place nice, we have to say that we only expected from it minimally decent food and enjoy a show that we thought was not continuous nor that it was limited only to put the volume to maximum level in the mikes.
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And so with this disillusion, we finished what is the last night in New York enjoying the Empire State for the last time from our room at the Holiday Inn Times Square.
View from our bed at the Holiday Inn Times Square
Day 11: New York: Sunday in Central Park - JFK Airport - Barcelona
