Last week we managed to fit in a few more “best ofs” from the Best of Manhattan 2011 guide.
 |
| Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Best dive bar...Holiday Cocktail Lounge.
The term “dive bar” is used a lot of here, I was a bit worried it meant somewhere a bit sticky and horrible... like Exodus in Aberdeen! But apparently it just generally refers to independent bars with juke boxes and cheap drink. The guide recommended this bar for its free popcorn, unfortunately, there was no free popcorn on tap when we were there, despite us sitting at the bar and trying to look hungry, but it did have some very good happy hour prices and after staying for a couple of rounds, the bartender treated us to a free round, which was a bonus. It is also had a well stocked juke box with some good 70s rocks classics, so we managed to hear some good tunes, until my quarters ran out. A nice laid backed bar in the East Village, but for free bar snacks, I think our favourite bar would have to be the Rodeo Bar (just a two minute walk from our apartment) – masses of free monkey nuts!
The term “dive bar” is used a lot of here, I was a bit worried it meant somewhere a bit sticky and horrible... like Exodus in Aberdeen! But apparently it just generally refers to independent bars with juke boxes and cheap drink. The guide recommended this bar for its free popcorn, unfortunately, there was no free popcorn on tap when we were there, despite us sitting at the bar and trying to look hungry, but it did have some very good happy hour prices and after staying for a couple of rounds, the bartender treated us to a free round, which was a bonus. It is also had a well stocked juke box with some good 70s rocks classics, so we managed to hear some good tunes, until my quarters ran out. A nice laid backed bar in the East Village, but for free bar snacks, I think our favourite bar would have to be the Rodeo Bar (just a two minute walk from our apartment) – masses of free monkey nuts!
Best underdog store in the East Village...Ray’s Candy Store
I had read about Ray’s Candy Store before in another guide book, so we felt we should give it a try. The store is renowned amongst locals in the East Village, and Ray, the 80 year old owner, seems to be a local legend too. Really pleased we looked this place up. It was actually around the corner from the cocktail lounge, so we popped in on the way home to for an egg cream (a yummy milkshake type drink) and some fries. A tiny store (actually looks a bit more like a shack) but again, once you are in you can see what all the fuss is about. It’s a quirky little place; as well as selling burgers and fries it sells merchandise with Ray’s logo on it as well as Obama socks for $1. Huge portion of fries, would definitely recommend it if you’re in the neighbourhood.
 |
| Tomb Chapel of Raemkai - 2446–2389 B.C |
And if you can only visit one museum while you are in NYC...The Metropolitan museum
We’ve managed to visit a few museums whilst we’ve been here, but hands down the best one has to be the Met. We went last Sunday and spent a good 5 hours wandering around the exhibits. We stayed until closing time (9pm) and still didn’t have enough time to see the second floor. Again, it’s one of those museums with a “recommended” admission price, so we got away with paying $1 each. We didn’t feel too bad about it though as the museum was really busy (even at 4pm in the afternoon) and we had just paid $26 the night before for two beers, so we felt we needed to make our money back somehow!
We’ve managed to visit a few museums whilst we’ve been here, but hands down the best one has to be the Met. We went last Sunday and spent a good 5 hours wandering around the exhibits. We stayed until closing time (9pm) and still didn’t have enough time to see the second floor. Again, it’s one of those museums with a “recommended” admission price, so we got away with paying $1 each. We didn’t feel too bad about it though as the museum was really busy (even at 4pm in the afternoon) and we had just paid $26 the night before for two beers, so we felt we needed to make our money back somehow!
Tomorrow is our last day in New York before we set off for the next stop on our trip - Washington DC.
Emily
