The marina is about a mile from the Staten Island Rail (train that traverses the middle of the island and takes us directly to the St. George Station for the Staten Island Ferry) or just a block and a half away from the express bus stop that goes straight into Manhattan. Makes it pretty convenient (as long as you have a MetroCard).
On our first day, we walked to the train, took the ferry to Manhattan and then walked around the financial district and Chinatown. Found a great spot for lunch in Chinatown and ordered by pointing at the pictures. It was something noodlish and some great dumplings followed by a coconut cream filled pastry thingy. Yummy! Chinatown is so authentic that MaryAnn was surprised they took our dollars (I know it's funny but it really felt as if we were in another country - Yes, Pedro laughed). We then walked through little Italy (need to go back for food) and found our way back to the WTC memorial. If you've not seen this yet, you need to. It's really very well done and very moving.
On our second day here, we walked to the train and took it to the Staten Island boardwalk (no offense to Staten Island but you're not missing anything if you've never been there). We followed the boardwalk to the end and then walked the beach. The only really cool thing about the beach was the sea glass everywhere. If you need any for a craft project, this is the place to go. We did see deer on the beach so I guess two cool things. We followed the beach until it ended and then found a path that took us under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (that was pretty cool to see from that angle)
and then found an old fort (forgot that name of it but it's no longer open to the public so we didn't get to go inside).
and then found an old fort (forgot that name of it but it's no longer open to the public so we didn't get to go inside).
The next day, MaryAnn decided that we needed bikes so we found 2 used ones. The trains, ferries and subways all allow the bikes (as long as you don't bring them at rush hour), so it makes it a great way to get around.
We took the bikes to Manhattan and then across the Brooklyn Bridge (really cool).
Because the temperature was close to 100 that day, Pedro decided to ride a couple more miles through Brooklyn to find a local brewery. Another day, we took the bikes over to Manhattan and took the fabulous bike path (that crosses most of the island) to and completely around Central Park. We found a great Indian restaurant for dinner and then road through Times Square. We told a neighbor from our marina what we'd done and he commented that he's lived in Staten Island his entire life (70+ years) and had never done any of that.
We took the bikes to Manhattan and then across the Brooklyn Bridge (really cool).
Because the temperature was close to 100 that day, Pedro decided to ride a couple more miles through Brooklyn to find a local brewery. Another day, we took the bikes over to Manhattan and took the fabulous bike path (that crosses most of the island) to and completely around Central Park. We found a great Indian restaurant for dinner and then road through Times Square. We told a neighbor from our marina what we'd done and he commented that he's lived in Staten Island his entire life (70+ years) and had never done any of that.
For July 4th, we knew we had to go Manhattan for the incredible fireworks show that was being publicized. The park that touted the best visibility (at least from the ground level) was so packed (3 hours before the show started) that we walked until we found a great spot near the UN building and had a very decent view (there was a tree blocking some of it but we missed the majority of the crowd so a worthy trade off). By the time we got through the crowds and took a subway, ferry, train and bike home, it took us about 3 hours!! Still worth it!
Our friends Doug and Sandy Bissett from Cocoa are originally from Fairfield, CT and still live there part of the year. They allowed us to invite ourselves up for an amazing weekend!!!! We decided to take the express bus into Manhattan (we'd previously always taken either the train or a bus and the ferry). While it's hard to get excited about a bus ride, this was fun because we got to go over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and the express bus gets to fly by most of the traffic so we got there in less than an hour. From the bus stop, we took the subway to Brooklyn to find a dim sum restaurant we'd read about. Totally worth the trip!!! While we have very little idea what we ate, we loved most of the dishes.
Next, we decided to find the best chocolate cake in NYC to take to our weekend hosts and reviews pointed us to the Lady Bird Bakery for the Brooklyn Blackout Cake. Well that took 3 subway transfers and a short walk but we found it. With our cake in hand (well a large box and a sturdy bag), we headed towards Grand Central Station for a train to CT (that took 3 more subway transfers but we made it). If you've never been, you really should at least walk into the station. They have the signs of the zodiac on the ceiling and it's lit up to appear to be stars (couldn't get any good pictures, you'll have to go see it). Really pretty! Anyway, an easy 1 hour train ride and we were in CT. WOW!!!! The town is adorable, their house is amazing (literally views of water from every single room in the house)
and we met some of the nicest people. We got to lunch at the yacht club, browse great farmer's markets and attended a fabulous garden party.
So, just to help everyone keep count on the number of buses, subways and train transfers required to get to lunch, pick up a cake and get to CT. From Staten Island we took the X8 bus (at 9:30 am) to downtown Manhattan and transferred to the W subway to Brooklyn for lunch. After lunch, we took the N subway up to transfer to an R subway and then to a F subway for the cake, which was still in Brooklyn. Now with cake in hand, we jumped on a G subway, transferred over to an L subway and then to a 6 in Manhattan to Grand Central Station (also to help you out, numbered subways general run north and south while lettered subways general run east and west). Once at GCS we took the North Metro Rail (at 3:02 pm) out to CT and then a car ride to our friends house. In order to get back to Staten Island we had to take two boat rides in CT (one on Doug's and one on the club's launch), car ride to the train station, then the North Metro Rail back to GCS and then walked down to Union Square (for farmers market and lunch) then to an X1 bus stop that took us pretty much right back to the marina on Staten Island. So, that was 8 transfers to get to CT plus a train ride and a car ride, then two boat rides, one car ride, one train ride, walk and one bus ride to get back to SI. No need for a car in the City, the buses, trains, ferries and subways make it easy, fast (maybe not) and fun.
Until next post!
Until next post!
No comments:
Post a Comment