[quote=āLiliā][quote=āTomasā]Thanks Lili. I love Boston too, have never seen Philly.
Oh and seriously, youāre wasting your time in Philly. Much better to have that extra day or two of rest/walking around DC.[/quote][/quote]
Totally agree. There is a lot to see in DC: All of the Smithsonian exhibits can take a week to fully see. Plus, the Newsuem, the monuments scattered all over the city (plenty of photo opportunities). Philly is nice place, but not a great place for sight seeing.
In NYC, you could also do a walking tour downtown. Loads to see. Hit the Staten Island Ferry as part of it.
Itās been a long time since I was back in winter though. It can get pretty windy. Hopefully youāll get some mild weather.
Saw this about your hotel idea: usatourist.com/english/desti ā¦ -main.html
Is saving $35 in parking worth it though?
I guess you donāt have time, but otherwise you could drive five hours over to Cornell UNiv. Stay at the Hamptonās Inn there (inexpensive and very nice) overnight and maybe take in a local winery there in the finger lakes for the afternoon of your arrival and another one in the morning on your way over to NIagara falls in less then 4 hours and stay on the canadian side (lots of 4 star hotels at 2 star prices) for a nite and then the next day drive on back to NYC. That is if u wanted to visit the falls which is worth going to , being one of the chief attractions of the USA. You could stay at the Hamptons Inn on the American side. Niagara falls, USA is very quaint. Quiet and very small town ish. And actually not bad. Whereas the Canadian side looks like , from the American side, as their version of Las Vegas. We (gf and myself) were forced to stay on the American side because she (TW citizen) didnt get a visa in advance , which was needed back in 2005. So we had to cancel our 4 star hotel booking on the Canadian side and stay for the same money in some small motel on the American side. But I wouldve gone for the Hamptons Inn there if I had known they had one, as the Hamptons in Ithaca where we did stay at was very nice.
And by the way, if you are renting a car? You could dump your rental while in NYC. You really donāt want a car there, its a hindrance. The subway is great and gets you where you want to go pretty quickly. NYC is truly horrible to drive in. Everyone is fit in NYC who lives there because everyone takes the subway and walks the bits in between. The subway has this week long pass IIRC that is a deal.
Also take the bus to Cornell Univ in Ithaca (one bus every 20 mins or so at peak times) for the five hour ride instead of renting a car. Rent one in Ithaca and then drop it off back there again and take the bus back to NYC> The drive over there and back is a bit tedious if you do not have to drive, the bus is better.
The Univ is worth an hour or two visit too. I dont think its as nice as berkeley but its peppy and preppy and has a few watering holes and restaurants worth going to for sure.
That wasnāt my experience. When were you there last? I expected the subways to be filthy but found them very clean.[/quote]
Really? I was there in April 2011, and the subway stations were filthy. Urine dripping down the staircases, garbage everywhere. Give me the MRT any day.
The stations canāt hold a candle to the Taipei MRT. Regular cleaning doesnāt seem to have been a priority the last 100 years, like you see people here with long poles wiping down the station roof interiors. Guess thereās not a union for that in NY.
Folks, weāre all settled now. Staying with friends in Jersey for the New York leg of the trip. They are both within 50 minutes or so of downtown.
I booked a great hotel right near the White House for the DC part of the tour :discodance: .
Weāre skipping Philly, spending more time in NYC.
Iāll let you know how it went once Iām back.