Life NFT: So I'm headed to Connecticut for a few days... [Archive]

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SLAG

11-02-2010, 08:20 PM

never been up east.. I'll fly into Hartford then have ~90mi drive to the sw to my destination..

Suggestions...?

Stories?

I think that is all...

Oh and FUCK the Raiders..

Shogun

11-02-2010, 08:20 PM

I forgot that place existed.

seclark

11-02-2010, 08:27 PM

been there once. nice place. i think i got drunk in stamford. maybe it was norwalk.
anyways, it was close to water...smelled like fish.
people seem nice.
sec

yhf

11-02-2010, 08:41 PM

Now should be a great time to be in CT. I was near Stamford a few weeks ago and the leaves were just beginning to turn. I am not typically big on scenery but CT really is pretty nice.

If you have the choice between driving on the Merritt Pkwy. or I-95 I would recommend Merritt. I-95 is faster but it is supposedly one of the more dangerous highways in America and the Merritt is much more scenic.

JD10367

11-02-2010, 09:28 PM

The Merritt rocks. Two lanes, curvy and hilly, and everyone speeds. It's like "Gran Turismo". :thumb:

CT, though... not much there that I can think of. It's mainly something I pass through on my way to NY/NJ. CT is sort of the redheaded stepchild; it's not really considered part of New England by ME, VT, NH, and RI (even though it is), and not really considered part of the Tri-State area by NY/NJ (even though it is). Half of them are Patriots fans and half are Giants/Jets fans; half are Red Sox fans and half are Yankees fans. The WWE is headquartered there, and Mark Twain liked Hartford; that's about all I can really say about it.

BWillie

11-02-2010, 10:24 PM

I wonder if you can tour ESPN's Bristol HQ's

Pushead2

11-02-2010, 10:30 PM

I hate CT

SLAG

11-03-2010, 12:53 AM

Now I've never been to NYC - should i bite the bullet and drive down on friday night when I have the rest of the night free

Jenson71

11-03-2010, 12:57 AM

Now I've never been to NYC - should i bite the bullet and drive down on friday night when I have the rest of the night free

YES!!!

I'm biased, though. My love for NYC is completely irrational. It almost exceeds the feelings I get for a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie. Pure exuberance, joy, and ecstasy.

yhf

11-03-2010, 01:15 AM

Now I've never been to NYC - should i bite the bullet and drive down on friday night when I have the rest of the night free

NYC kinda demands an extended stay. If you can only spare a few hours (especially at night) for it I would recommend waiting until you can actually plan a trip there.

If you try to make a whirlwind tour odds are you will waste the drive and spend most of your time chasing your tail. If the area of CT you are in really sucks just hit the Mohegan Sun or something (if you like to gamble).

Unless you will never have another opportunity to go there, wait til you can do it up right and spend at least 48 hours in NYC.

DaneMcCloud

11-03-2010, 01:40 AM

SLAG

11-03-2010, 08:23 AM

DRIVE to Manhattan?

NO WAY.

Find a nearby station and take the subway. Unless you've lived in a place like Los Angeles or New York before, there is nothing in the world that could possibly prepare you for that traffic.

Besides that, you won't be able to your surroundings because you'll need to have your eyes on the road, the cars behind you, in front of you and beside you.

Take a cab or the subway and enjoy yourself.

Thats what I did when I was in D.C. / Baltimore - drove to the nearest train station and headed right into downtown..

so I am really thinking about doing that friday night - I really don't know when I would be able to come back out this way next

SLAG

11-04-2010, 02:26 PM

noa

11-04-2010, 05:25 PM

Ok looks like I'm going to head to the Southeast station and try to head into Grand Central and then walk to Times Square.

I only have $40 cash (not including the Company credit card I can use for dinner only)

Suggestions......

Well, my suggestion would be to avoid Times Square, but Grand Central is definitely a good place to hit up. Right now, the leaves are changing and Central Park is really nice if you want to go for a walk through there. I really think the best thing to do in the city is just walk around. If you want to check out cool architecture, one of my favorite areas is near the courthouses and the financial district. That would be south of Canal St. You can just start at Canal and wander south and you'll see a bunch of cool buildings. Also, while you're at Canal St., you can get amazing, cheap food, either Asian or Italian because Little Italy is right there, too.

But if you have your heart set on doing something touristy with your $40, I think that the view from the top of 30 Rock is better than the Empire State Building, and it would be within your budget.

Also, the Highline is a new cool park space that was converted from an elevated railway track to its current form. And that is free.

Here are a couple suggestions for food:

If you want pizza, check out Motorino on the lower east side. You can't make reservations, but you can give them your cell phone number and they'll call you when your table is ready, so you can go hang out at a bar or walk around. Amazing pizza.

If you want a deli sandwich, I would recommend Katz's, also on the Lower East Side, but I know other people on this board would suggest other places. Just my personal favorite.

If you want a burger, I would recommend Shake Shack. There's one in Madison Square Park, which would allow you to check out the Flatiron building. There's also one on 77th and Columbus on the Upper West Side right near the Natural History Museum, so if that museum appeals to you, that would be convenient.

If you want Mexican, I like Mole, which has two locations -- one on the Lower East Side and one in the West Village. It's not the cheapest, but it's decent food and good margaritas.

I could probably give you quite a few more suggestions for food, but this is already a long post. Let me know if you have any specific interests.

SLAG

11-04-2010, 07:07 PM

Wow noa
Thanks for the well thought out post

I think I will check out 30rock as long as its not closed by the time I make it down there

I was told to go check out Dinner at Carmines as its right down that way too.

But I am curious as to why I should steer clear of Times Square

Thanks again
Chris

eazyb81

11-04-2010, 07:59 PM

Good God, do not drive to NYC. If you've never been there it will be way too much to take on. The traffic is completely insane.

Google Mega Bus, they always have cheap bus routes to and from NYC. They will drop you off right in Penn Station, allowing you to mess around for a few hours and then take a bus back to CT at night. They run all hours of the night so you won't have a problem if you miss your bus.

noa

11-04-2010, 09:10 PM

SLAG

11-04-2010, 09:19 PM

No problem. I just think Times Square is a tourist trap and isn't New York's best cultural offering. It's the type of place with really big Red Lobsters, Olive Gardens, and Ruby Tuesdays when the city has so much more to offer. I guess I'm not saying avoid it at all costs if you want to check it out, I just wouldn't make it a top priority.

And Carmines is decent. It's family style, so you get a ton of food.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks again for the info - and I totally get what you're saying about T.S.

I have never wanted to visit NYC - would probably never come on my own - but I'm too close to not go and check it out -and i'll be honest i'm a little intimidated but I'm going to go do it anyway because thats just how I roll

it seems the last train from G.S. back to the southeast is 11:06 PM. - WTH

BigOlChiefsfan

11-04-2010, 09:35 PM

Been 20 years ago or more, but my friends from Wallingford CT took me over to New Haven for Pizza - I thought it was awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven-style_pizza

And tho' it's probably closed for the winter - I recommend Abbots Lobster in the Rough, on the shore near Mystic. BYOB, seafood about as fresh as it gets.

Hope you have a great trip

Jenson71

11-04-2010, 09:57 PM

I agree that there's better things than Times Square to see. But, walking around Times Square is a must-do. You don't have to eat at Olive Garden, or shop at the Hershey store, but the bustle of Times Square at night is cool to do. Walk the blocks and watch the people, see the Broadway theaters, Letterman's studio, the statue of the priest, and the naked cowboy.

Whenever I talk to people going to New York and they ask what they should do, I always say that Central Park is a huge deal for New York, but it's really just a huge park. We have a lot of open space, grass and ponds in the midwest. And that's basically what you see at Central Park. Central Park is special for New Yorkers because that's "nature."

The amazing thing about New York is you can design it for whatever you want. Like history? You can do a strictly historical tour. Like architecture? Got that. Like used book stores? Good lord, check out The Stand, and half a dozen small shops with roaming cats. Like churches? Got great ones. Like Italian restaurants? Hundreds. Museums? Shopping centers? Art galleries? Bars?

But, if you don't have a particular bent, and you want to say that you saw New York, and you only have a day, here's what I would do:

- In the morning, go to the MET, and look up the exhibits before hand, and just choose one or two that you think you would like the most. You can go in for free, or give an appropriate donation, and just check out that for an hour or so. Art culture is a huge part of New York, and this is the one of the most famous museums in the country, worth checking out.

- Afterward, take a cab thirty blocks down 5th Avenue (MET is on 5th Ave, right "in" Central Park. 5th Avenue, south of Central Park, is where a lot of the famous stores are, like FAO Shwarz (go jump on that piano like Tom Hanks), Tiffany's, Saks, and Rockefeller Center. Right across from Rockefeller Center is the St. Patrick's Cathedral.

- Now you have to go way downtown and get to Lombardi's pizza for lunch. It's great, and it's the first pizzeria in America. Only takes cash. Lombardi's is in Little Italy, which doesn't really exist anymore, because it was eaten up by Chinatown and the Korean districts. But that's alright -- Chinatown and Korea are great to walk around in. Haggle with some business. Get a cheap souvenir.

- Afternoon, go see Wall Street, Trinity Church and/or its cemetery, and the steps where Washington gave his presidential inaugural address. Then go on the Staten Island ferry several blocks south of that. Take a ferry across the Bay. 25 minutes you are on a boat, seeing the skyline, seeing the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island. And it's free. Then get in the line and go back (can't round trip it).

- For dinner, I'd eat something quick from a deli/food stand/fast food. And then walk across Brooklyn Bridge. Afterward, go to Times Square and see the late off-Broadway show. At night, walk around Times Square.

Is it possible to do all of that in a day? If you take a cab or you know what you're doing with the public transportation, and you'd rather see a lot of things quickly, and thus, don't mind a bit of rush.

SLAG

11-05-2010, 01:05 AM

Thanks Jenson - I only have tomorrow night - it seems from about 5/6 til 11 - when the last train leaves Grand central.

But you have given an Excellent game plan if anyone else finds this thread
--------

Oh - I am taking Donations via pay-pal if anyone would like to add to the "Let SLAG sight See NYC for the first time ever" fund

I would have immediate access to the funds in case anyone was wondering :D

SLAG

11-05-2010, 12:04 PM

Additional funds have been provided... I now have 150 to spend for my few hours in nyc ... does this change the suggestions

Amnorix

11-05-2010, 12:29 PM

If you have the choice between driving on the Merritt Pkwy. or I-95 I would recommend Merritt. I-95 is faster but it is supposedly one of the more dangerous highways in America and the Merritt is much more scenic.

This. THIS! THIS x eleventy billion.

Not only more scenic -- less heavily patrolled by the State Troopers, who are total dicks and look at 95 as the way to fund state deficit shortages by nailing anyone who goes 56 mph or more.

Amnorix

11-05-2010, 12:31 PM

Now I've never been to NYC - should i bite the bullet and drive down on friday night when I have the rest of the night free

errr..yes.

NYC is, at the very least, like Vegas. Everyone should go once to see what the fuss is about. And yes, it's REALLY big. Figure out what you want to do before you go, though. Wandering around NYC is like wandering around Tokyo or LA or any other massive city -- you might want to know where you're going BEFORE you get there...

Amnorix

11-05-2010, 12:36 PM

These other guys know NYC way better than I do. I agree, though, unless you're familiar with big city traffic, don't drive. Your train plan sounds good.

T.S. is worth walking around in at night. It's just...cool. But yeah, I'll defer to these guys. I haven't even been to NYC in like 10 years.

SLAG

11-05-2010, 02:51 PM

errr..yes.

NYC is, at the very least, like Vegas. Everyone should go once to see what the fuss is about. And yes, it's REALLY big. Figure out what you want to do before you go, though. Wandering around NYC is like wandering around Tokyo or LA or any other massive city -- you might want to know where you're going BEFORE you get there...

Here is the current plan...

Head in to Grand Central.. walk up 42nd to Times Square.. Hang out there. check out the scene... head to Carmines for dinner... then head over to Rockafeller center - go to "the top of the rock" - maybe head down and check out St. Patricks afterward..

Who would like to add to the plan from there?

Bill Lundberg

11-05-2010, 02:59 PM

SLAG

11-06-2010, 12:14 AM

Thanks everyone
just got back

NYC was not bad - if not a bit overrated IMHO - I think if I win the lottery I could really enjoy what NY is all about - but I'm glad I went to check it out

oh and Bill Lundburg was spot on with that video - now where is the chick that wants to **** cuz I could drive the old meat wagon into tuna town if you know what i'm sayin