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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Veronica and D.J.'s Travel Guide to New York City

Times Square is Exciting!


You might think that since we both are under three years old, we probably don’t appreciate all that the Big Apple has to offer. After all, New York is the “City that never sleeps” and we still need 12-14 hours per day. However, we found that New York has something to offer everyone, even a child who hates crowds and a toddler who can’t stay still. So, we put together this list of travel tips just in case you are traveling to New York and fall under one of these categories.

What to Bring
Grandparents: This is essential for travel. Not only are grandparents (in our case, Lolo and Lola) very fun to be around, they also are great when Mommy and Daddy need a break, nap or just time to go out. They also are known to let you jump on the hotel bed and turn the T.V. on and off an infinite amount of times.

Double wide umbrella stroller: As you may know, New York is a walking city. We spent so much time in our Jeep Wrangler Sport All Weather Twin.

Diaper Bag: Don’t forget this item like my parents did! Your mommy will say bad words at the airport when you have a poop and no wipes and your daddy will hate spending money on things that are sitting in the diaper bag at home.

Where to Stay
We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It really didn’t matter to us that this was a luxury hotel in the middle of everything – what really made this hotel cool was all its amenities:
  • Glass elevator that provides hours of free fun
  • Several escaltors (also very fun)
  • Connecting room with Lolo and Lola (so we could let our parents sleep in the morning
  • Many doors and drawers to open and close
  • Lots of pillows in each room
Daddy liked our room because of the great view of the Bruce Willis billboard.

What to See and Do
City Tour: The wheels on the bus DO go round and round! And we got to see it from the top of the bus, thanks to City Sights NY. The bus took us through each section of Manhattan and we got to see all of the famous big buildings! The best part was when it started to rain and they gave us free ponchos.

D.J.'s tip: The bus is great because you can be as loud as you want and nobody will mind. New York City is very noisy anyway.

Subway: What can be cooler than a train underground??? And it goes really fast, too. However, Mommy and Daddy didn't seem as excited as we were about riding the subway with us - perhaps it's because they had to carry the stroller around while making sure we didn't take off.


Central Park: There are 21 playgrounds found in Central Park, many of which have spray grounds! Although Mommy always forgot our bathing suits, that didn't stop us from getting wet!

Veronica's tip: If you're lucky, you might see a random model having a photo shoot at one of the city parks. Take advantage of this moment to strike a pose.

Central Park Zoo: Animals are always a cool thing to see. However, if you don't like crowds of kids (Veronica), avoid going to the zoo when the day camps are there. Also avoid the penguin exhibit if you don't like dark caves (also Veronica). Across from the main zoo you will find the Children's Zoo where you can feed and pet various animals, including an alpaca! There is also a nifty spider "web" you can climb.

Museum of Natural History: This is a great place to run around and look at lots of things (emphasis on run around). Mommy and Daddy liked learning about the different exhibits, but our favorite part was playing outside in the garden and eating lunch.

  • Veronica's tip: Avoid the Africa Room, even though it's most famous part of the whole museum. It's too dark in there. And fake elephants are just too freaky - show me some real ones! I prefer the amphibian and reptile room - snakes and frogs rule!

Battery Park/Statue of Liberty: We didn't exactly see the Statue of Liberty up close, but Mommy pointed it out to us when we went to Battery Park. We didn't care - we were having too much fun on the musical sculpture.






Empire State Building: We love elevators - and this one goes 102 stories! Aside from the long line, we had a lot of fun looking at the whole city from the top.




Veronica's Top Picks


  • Escalator at Marriott Marquis: Moving stairs - what could be more fun? The Marriott has four flights of really long escalators. I was really lucky that Lolo was always willing to go with me

  • Big Bil-dins: The buildings in New York are really tall!! They are so pretty to look at, especially the Empire State Building, Rockafeller Center, and the funny looking Flatiron building.



  • Place to avoid: Toys 'R Us, Times Square: This store is entirely too busy. The ferris wheel looks inviting at first, but it's just too big and scary. The giant dinosaur and Geoffrey the Giraffe don't help either. If your parents insist on taking you there, just cover your eyes.


D.J.'s Top Picks




  • Pigeons in Central Park: New York is full of pigeons! I love these birds and don't hesitate to point them out.


  • Marriott Marquis Times Square: I can't say enough positive things about this hotel. There are lots of things to play with in the room, including the telephone and safe. And everything is within my reach!

We hope this guide was helpful - enjoy your trip to the Big Apple!

3 comments:

snoopyjoanne said...

thank you veronica & dj for sharing your tips! you kids are wise beyond your years ;P glad everyone had a great time in the big apple!

Carol said...

awww, i loved seeing all the pics! thanks for the tips, kids :)

Kristi said...

That was TOO cute! We didn't take the kids when we went....