Well, I've finally booked my honeymoon (I get married July 31st, yay!!). We're going to:

Seattle for 3 days
Cruise round Alaska for 7 days
Seattle for 1 more day
then NYC for 3 days.

And I thought, where better to get advice I can trust than the .org?

Has anyone been to Seattle or NYC and have any advice they can give a lad from the UK on his first big trip away?
Or even better, anyone been on a cruise to Alaska?

Oh, and I get to experience the delights of United Airlines for about 24 hours in total on a 2 week trip! Including changing at Chicago (any tips here!!).

So far I'm looking at doing the usual:
Space Needle
Monorail
Empire State
Statue of Liberty
I also want to go to the NY Stock Exchange.

What I would really really appreciate is you sharing any little shops, restaurants and bars that you know and could recommend.

Or any general advice?

Anything? It's so scary!!!

THANK YOU

1p1p1i3 said:

If you go to the Stock Exchange, you should also probably go see Ground Zero, since it's not far.

2the9s said:

go on the subway. the subway is awesome, especially the air conditioned ones.

2the9s said:

Since 9/11, you can't actually go into the Stock Ex. galleries anymore.... I think?

There also this small church between Wall St. and Ground Zero that's a nice lil' place to

visit. They say it survived when all the other buildings around it fell or got damaged

during that terrible day. Battery Park and the Ferry rides around Liberty Island aren't too

far from there too (the Staten Island ferry is free. Goes past Lady Liberty).

I N.Y.

'...go back to school to learn the alphbet' edit.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 9 19:23:58 2004 by senik]

Since 9/11, the Statue of Liberty has been closed indefinitely.....

Closures
The Statue of Liberty is scheduled to re-open sometime in Summer of 2004, however no
date has been given. Updates regarding an opening date and the park's upcoming
reservations policy will be posted on this site when they occur.

For more info check out the National Park Sevice website: http://www.nps.gov/stli/

I just moved to Seattle, so I won't be terribly helpful, but let me make some restaurant suggestions:

Victrola (coffeehouse in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, with free Wi-Fi and nice art on display)
Cafe Flora (upscale casual vegetarian restaurant in the Madison Park neighborhood)
Hillside Quickies (vegan sandwich shop in the University District @ 4106 Brooklyn Ave. NE)

As for the last two, I am neither vegetarian nor vegan (although I have been in the past), and I still enjoy both of these restaurants... very tasty stuff. I've visited them multiple times, as I live with two people who usually eat a vegan diet.

And if you're going to visit the Space Needle, you might be interested in the nearby Experience Music Project. I haven't been there yet, but I've been meaning to go.

BobGeorge67 said:

Thanks for that, I didn't realise - I've got a load of travel books now, but obviously they're a bit out of date.

And thanks Senik for news of the NYSE closure. Bummer.

I fancy going on the Statten Island ferry - is there actually anything worth doing/seeing on the other side, or should we just come straight back??!!

matt said:

Thanks Matt, it's nice to get recommendations on places to eat that people have actually been to recently.

The EMP looks really good - there's a Jimi exhibition which should be on when we're there which should be interesting.
Let me know if you go.

In Seattle there is also the Aquariam, The Monorail, Seattle Science Center, Pike Street Market(which is a must), there is also the Under ground Seattle tour too which is kinda interesting lol.
Also too there is the Museum of Glass in Tacoma which is about 30 minutes from Seattle. I grew up in the state of Washington so I know a few places.. Also too go to www.Seattle.com or you can send an org note and ask what ever about Seattle and btw Congrat. on the Wedding

<-- Seattlite

IMHO, the Space Needle is ok (skip the restaurant, though), and the monorail is hardly worth the time unless you actually need transportation between Westlake and the Seattle Center. Pike Place Market is WELL worth a visit, and don't forget to wander downstairs. Go there hungry and you'll be happy when you leave. The Seattle Art Museum has just opened a Van Gogh exhibit that I'm dying to see, and we just got a brand new and very impressive library if you're into geeky stuff. And yes, the Experience Music Project is cool. If you're in the mood for a nice walk, I'd suggest a visit to the Magnolia Bluff and/or Discovery Park (same neighborhood, just a few minutes north of downtown). Really beautiful views of the Sound and Olympics on a nice day.

Have fun.

Thanks everyone, I really can't wait to get over there. I'll definitely add Pike Street Market to my list of must dos.

I went to NYC when I was 6 in 1984, the Statue of Liberty was closed because they were doing it up, and I vowed to go back someday.

Now, 20 years later, I finally get back across - and the bloody thing's closed again!!! Typical!

I think I'm going to have to really plan everything very carefully, we've only got a few days in each place and there seems to be SOOOOO much to see. I can hardly take in just how big these places are.

One thing we've both wanted to do is have breakfast in an American diner, and order eggs over easy, hash browns and drink loads of coffee while reading USA Today or something. Can anyone recommend anywhere?

(Oh, and a typical Brits question - can you get a decent cup of tea over there!!! )

1p1p1i3 said:

The tea in New York tastes like cats pee AND you have to make it yourself, because they give you cup of hot water and practically throw the tea bag at you, and dont even dare ask for milk, you'll be frog marched out of there and put on the next plane.

Isn't that right 2the9s? you tell him.

...
[This message was edited Fri Jun 11 4:08:40 2004 by Lleena]

1p1p1i3 said:

Yeah, in Seattle you can. If you do end up visiting the Market, have somebody point you to Post Alley. There is a little tea shop there that is excellent. A lot of the coffee shops have good tea as well, particularly the little independant ones.

Lleena said:

You're trouble is what you are.

Woo hoo!
I just booked some excursions - we're going whale watching and bear watching and eagle watching, and up in a helicopter that lands on a glacier!
Yay!!