Category Archives: Culture

Joe’s Tips for NYC Tourists

I lived in New York City for a while, so it wasn’t hard for me to get back into the groove of navigating the City.  There’s a lot of energy there; a lot of residents doing their NY things; and a whole lot of tourists that stand out mainly because they disrupt that energy with their navigation stops in the middle of busy sidewalks, their selfie sticks, and their inability to walk any way other than 4 abreast.  I am writing this post with thoughts of how much more New York tourists would get out out of their visit if they just took a little time to prepare.  So here are a few basic tips:

1.  Get some idea of NY etiquette basics

It’s mostly common sense.  This book  will be both helpful and entertaining.

2.  Do not fear public transit.

P1030794Public transit will take you within an easy walk of just about anywhere you want to go.  And it’s cheap. You can get a 7 day MTA pass that works for buses and trains for $30.  You can pick up subway map and bus map easily, or download some of  the MTA Apps.  Locals and MTA employees are generally pretty helpful if you become disoriented.  Tourists don’t seem to take buses much, but the routes are laid out efficiently with good information at the stops.  They are quicker than walking for short trips, and can be give you a unique taste of the city on longer trips (Hint: Take the M4 bus to the Cloisters).

3.  Check out the New York Pass.

If you are planning to pack in all the tourist attractions you can in the shortest period of time, and a $25 admission for a museum, and a $40 admission for a boat ride, or view from a highrise creates some anxious sticker shock for you, you may want to deal with all of  it in one payment by acquiring the New York Pass.  It could be a real deal if you are doing power-touristing.  Of course if you are power-touristing, you miss a lot of the nuance that makes New York the greatest city on earth.   If you don’t have a lot of time you may want to avoid the bus tours that are hawked so heavily around Times Square.  The tours move very slowly with long stops.   You would do better (and save a lot of money) navigating by foot or city bus to see the sights.  Remember, your MTA pass will give you unlimited rides, so use it in place of the hop-on-hop-off tour buses.

4. Food

When we got back from our recent NYC trip my son said he wanted to concentrate more on food on his next visit.  You will be overwhelmed with Yelp! reviews, but it’s a good place to start.  From fine restaurants, to street food, to ethnic food from places you have never heard of, it’s all there in New York.  Follow my simple rule about eating while traveling:  Go where the locals go.  And don’t depend on the folks at the hotel front desk to know the best places.  Continue reading

Writer’s block and other pressing issues

It’s hard to believe I haven’t posted here since March 7.  It’s not like I don’t have time to post regularly;  I mean one can’t spend EVERY waking hour binge watching  the must-see TV series, or crafting witty posts and replies on Facebook and Google+. And I have kind of a job I have to deal with to take care of the bills.

Knowing full well that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, here are a few things I intend to write  about :

That “I’m so Memphis…” thing

Open carry

Win-Win negotiations

Food Trucks

Disintermediation

Reviews of restaurants and businesses I like

Beale St. Landing

Portlandia,  Hipsters  and  Artisan anything

Cooking

Well, maybe, when I get around to it.

 

Daylight Saving Time starts March 9, 2014

Daylight Saving Time starts March 9, 2014

Whether you call it Daylight Saving Time or Daylight Savings Time, it will be nice to have some extra evening light.   While you are setting your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO detectors and test them.

When Daylight Saving Time kicks in, Spring can’t be far behind.

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