New York City Travel Guide

You think of New York City, many of its wonderful attributes come to mind - upscale shopping, Broadway Theater, and, of course, exotic and delicious cuisine. Tourists and residents alike enjoy daily the fare offered at world-renowned restaurants, from the upscale celebrity-studded Sardi’s to even the unassuming Hello Deli, right around the corner from Dave Letterman and the Ed Sullivan Theater. New York is famous for hot dogs sold by corner vendors, paper-thin crust pizzas, and cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli, but did you know the city is also the unofficial home of that sourest of marinated vegetables, the pickle?

Did you know, for that matter, that New York City has its own Pickle District?

A friend once told me about the time he and his wife were shopping on Orchard St. when all of sudden people came from nowhere, walking zombie-like toward one shop that has just opened its garage door. Guss’ Pickles was ready for business, and the business was more than ready for Guss! Sour pickles, half-sours, hot and sweet, garlic pickles and pickle relish…Guss has it all. Our friend mentioned that he hadn’t realized how big pickles go over in the City. True, a hundred words might come to mind when one thinks of New York City, and “pickle” might now always make the list…maybe it should.

So, if you’re ever in New York City and feeling hungry, no need to be in a pickle. Aside from ol’ Guss, you can visit The Pickle Guys and Sunshine Pickles, where you’ll definitely get the chance to sample a variety of flavors and learn the difference between a kosher dill and a half-sour. If you happen to be in town during the fall, stick around for the annual Pickle Festival. With all this talk of pickles, one must wonder why the city is called The Big Apple!

Suggested Pickle Stops

The Pickle Guys
49 Essex Street

Guss’ Pickles
85 Orchard St.

Just Pickles
569 9th Ave

L Hollander and Son
35 Essex St

Kathryn Lively writes for the NYC Limousine Blog and other websites that offer tourists unique ideas for vacations.

Toronto, my city of birth, is the largest city in Canada with a population of about 3 million (5 million in the greater area) and it keeps growing every year as it seems to be the first city of choice for immigrants from around the world. With over 100 languages spoken here, Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world according to the United Nations. This is actually a good thing since Toronto can be a model for the rest of the world in regards to showing how it is possible for different people of many different cultures and faiths to get along peacefully. Friends of different racial backgrounds and religions can be found here where they would probably be enemies in other parts of the world.

Having lived in Toronto for most of my life so far, I’m always amazed on how the city has grown as a tourist destination. Torontonians seem to take world class attractions like the CN Tower and the Skydome for granted since many see it every day during their commute. Of course, the CN Tower is a very worthwhile visit as a ride to the top is a must for every visitor.

Toronto has one of the best redeveloped harbourfronts anywhere. This area has boutiques at Queen’s Quay, restaurants, cafes and galleries. Nearby Ontario Place and the Canadian National Exhibition are annual favorites among locals. This is also where one takes the ferries across to the Toronto Islands. The islands are all connected via bike paths and offer a unique view of the Toronto cityscape as well as a nice break from the busy downtown. Located on the main island, Centreville is a petting zoo and small amusement park for kids.

The action is downtown and probably where most tourists should stay. Although the hotels prices are higher in downtown than the suburbs, Toronto traffic is unfortunately not getting any better so it is best to stay where commuting is kept at a minimum. There is a very efficient transit system for those who want to stay outside of the downtown area though. A walk along Yonge Street near the Eaton Centre mall will reveal the wilder parts of Toronto life. For the latest trends, Queen Street West is where the funky boutiques and bars are. For upscale shopping, go to Bloor Street between Yonge and Avenue Road as well as the Yorkville area.

Toronto is a live theatre town, second to perhaps only New York or London. The theatre district on King Street has a lively after theatre scene including restaurants and clubs. During the day, the world renowned Royal Ontario Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario and the Planetarium showcase treasures from around the world (as well as out of the world). Many also come to see the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Toronto has Canada’s largest Chinatown. Actually, the growth of the Asian population has resulted in four different Chinatowns in the greater area. The main one is centered around Spadina and Dundas. The dim sum in Toronto is one of the best outside of Hong Kong since most Chinese immigrants here were originally from Hong Kong. Other ethnicities are also represented by such districts as Little Italy, the Greek Danforth area and many others. For outdoor markets, the Kensington and St. Lawrence Markets are great. Since Toronto is so multicultural, it is an excellent place to try out different cuisines.

For animal lovers, the Metro Toronto Zoo northeast of the city is world famous and will take an entire day to see. During the summers, Canada’s Wonderland is a family oriented theme park just north of the city. Niagara Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, is just ninety minutes away and worth a day trip or even an overnight stay. There are just too many things to see and do in the Toronto area to mention in one article. Vancouver has the ocean and mountains while Quebec City has that old European touch. But to see world class live theatre and Canadian multiculturalism at its best, Toronto is where it’s at.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca, an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

Whether you’re going uptown or downtown, New York is versatile and sexy! Home to the world’s most fashionable women, the opportunities for shopping in New York City is unrivalled.

Saks 5th Avenue

This venerable New York establishment has been around since 1924 and is the epitome of grace, style and elegance. You can shop till you drop with their extensive collection of products from America and Europe. The information booth on the 50th street side offers quick tips on how to explore ten floors of pure luxury. Start at the basement where the waft of perfumes from the cosmetic counters set the scene. Then take a trip through the in-store designer boutiques namely, Chanel, Gucci & Louis Vuitton. Saks is still famous for its unique shopping experience and boasts the finest men’s department in New York, the best sales imaginable, great value and impeccable sales staff who treat everyone with genuine respect. For a look at the real ladies who lunch, take a peek at Caf

Yesterday was our last day in New York City and our flight left at 7:57 pm, so we figured we’d store our luggage at the B&B for a few hours and head out one more time for one more round of urban exploration.

Well, one area we hadn’t seen much yet was Brooklyn (other than Coney Island which we explored on Friday). We really liked Brooklyn, formerly a sleepy suburban area, which has has nicely matured into one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in New York City, no wonder, thanks to its stately architecture, multicultural shopping areas and green mature trees in many areas.

Our beloved Q train got us to Prospect Park, another masterpiece by landscape designer Frederick Law Olmstead, although this exhibit is a lot wilder and more natural than its Central Park counterpart. Although the day was a bit on the cool side, there were tons of people jogging, biking, walking and Prospect Park, just like its big cousin in Manhattan, has big fields with multiple baseball diamonds and soccer fields. The action was in full swing and we caught a live performance by a Mexican mariachi band, fronted by a young girl who was literally singing her heart out.

At the north end of Prospect Park is Grand Army Plaza, which is dominated by a massive Civil War memorial arch. Across from the arch is the Brooklyn Public Library, opened in 1941 in a late Art Deco style, and now blocked off for some renovations. Just around the corner is the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the monumental Brooklyn Museum of Art.

But we had no time to explore these areas further, we only had a less than a couple of hours left before we had to pick up our luggage to head to the airport. Off we went and hopped onto another subway to head towards Washington Square Park, one area that I had definitely wanted to see.

It was a little quiet there on this cloudy and cool day and the Washington Arch, compared to other monuments, seemed a little diminuitive. We had a quick pizza in one of the cheap student eateries around New York University and got back to the subway. However, we realized we were on the wrong platform (for northbound trains), so we headed back out the subway to reenter on the correct side.

Guess what - our metro transit card didn’t let us back in! The display said “Just used” and there was no way we could get back in at a different entrance at the same subway station. I guess that’s a built-in mechanism to safeguard against 2 people using the same transit card. So we had to trekk about 20 minutes south to Prince Street and use our metro card there. Our $24 transit pass got major use over the last 4.5 days and when we go to NYC again, we’ll definitely pick up another transit pass. Well, at least we won’t make the same mistake again to swipe the card and then exit the subway station…

Just after 2:30 pm we picked up our luggage at the B&B and spent the next 2 hours discovering a new subway line (the N line) which we caught all the way to Astoria Boulevard, where we picked up the M60 bus to get to LaGuardia airport. It took us a couple of hours, but it was great to get one last ride through the New York City neighbourhoods.

After being thoroughly searched, patted down, having my shoes x-rayed and otherwise being inspected, we finally got on our American Airlines ride back home to Toronto and saw one last vista at dusk of the City that never sleeps.

We will return…

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey

Four Buildings, two Museums, one Bridge and a Station
If you only have days in New York, these are the places to see.

Rockefeller Center
Between Fifth & Seventh Avenues and 47th Street & 52nd Street
Urban architects have tried to imitate the scale and complexity of the Rockefeller Center ever since it was built in the ’30s, but no one has ever succeeded. It covers two entire city blocks! People hang about the pedestrian spaces between the Maison Francaise and the British Empire Buildings, looking down on the ice-skating rink, which in summer is used as a caf