New York, booked since last September and ready to leave! Because of the Air France strike, our flight got cancelled and postponed to the day after… . more than 30 hours after the intended d-day…We lost time and $$$$. However, Expedia’s Customer service was great.

I was really annoyed, but let’s talk about HOLIDAYS!

“Departure, Gate…”: Nantes-Charles de Gaulle-New York

Since our flight had been postponed, we left home in the morning for Nantes (instead of the night before). We had booked a parking place with Blue Valet (10 euros off your first booking with my affiliate code JYU12). I really like Blue Valet and I’ve used them since our trip to Disneyworld in 2016.

Nantes- Paris Charles de Gaulle was uneventful. A 2-hour layover in Paris, with a pit-stop at Starbucks’ (no Starbucks where we live!).

Time to board…red light…extra control for explosives for me!

Another uneventful flight and landing at 4.00PM local time, but we had to wait for the Lufthansa plane to leave our spot to disembark.

We were very lucky to see only our flight in the immigration room and from the moment we landed to the taxi line, only hour was spent!!! We are “Returning ESTA” so we all use the machines for immigration. Customs was…non-existant! We even didn’t hand the form to the officer who let us go through the gate!

To the hotel: Taking a NYC yellow cab

We had worked hard on the “How to get to Manhattan”. My husband was really keen on taking a yellow cab! Actually, with 4 people/4big suitcases and backpacks, the subway was a no-no.

Taking a taxi to Manhattan from JFK is easy. There’s a flat fare. To that flat fare should be added tolls (the amount will depend on the route taken by your driver) and the tip/gratuity (a minimum of 15%).

From T1 it’s extremely easy to find the taxi line…there are yellow arrows on the ground to the “Taxi, Inside Line”. There are unofficial/illegal taxi drivers trying to lure you into their cabs, but take a official one, please!

A dispatcher will ask number of passengers/suitcases and will affect a taxi to you: you will be handed a slip of paper with the number of your taxi on it. Easy and secure.

Once in our cab, the driver decided he would beat the heavy traffic…!!!!What an experience for me, on the front seat. I almost died from fear, but we were “home” 1h10 after leaving JFK.

We paid $72, tip included.Here’s my own Quick Guide telling you more about the various ways to reach Manhattan from JFK.

Our hotel: Tryp by Wyndham Times Square South

Because it was not far from Times Square and subway stations, I chose to book our rooms at the Tryp Times Square South. 6 subways lines are available in the vicinity: 1-2-3 and A-C-E, the latter being just at the end of the street! Perfect for first-timers in NYC.

Just for the fun, the hotel is next to the police station so we could see the police cars parked in the steet!

The room was clean, refurbished and had 2 queen beds, a shower room with toilets and one basin.

No personal picture so here’s one of the Expedia website (Deluxe room is actually the basic room at the Tryp’s)

Pros:

• No carpet on the floor
• Soundproof between the floors
• Midtown West, Garment District (perfect for seamstresses!)
• Lots of electrical sockets!

Cons:

• Traffic noise
• Only a teeny-tiny wardrobe
• If communicating rooms, not soundproof at all (there was a baby in the other room that kept crying at 5AM…)

First steps in New York

Once we had checked-in, we decided to walk to Broadway and Times Square. We used the Maps.me app a lot. Our goal was rather simple: looking at the lights and eating at Bubba Gump’s.

Since our last stay in Florida, I’m a Landry’s Select Card holder. It’s free (well, you pay $25 but get a $25 credit on your card so, basically, it’s free!). You then have some VIP access to Rainforest Café, Bubba Gump’s etc.

We ate some delicious shrimps and got our first cocktails/mocktails while benefiting from a nice view over Broadway.

We were starting to feel tired and we walked “home”. Time to sleep because we had plans to visit Miss Liberty the day after!

• Preparing our visit
• Travelling day
• From JFK to Manhattan Leaflet
• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• Financial District and Empire State Building
• Brooklyn Bridge and the Intrepid Museum
• MoMA and Top of the Rock
• Cold day in the Big Apple
• American Museum of Natural History, Tusseaud’s and a strike

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