Chinatown

I have to say that I enjoyed Chinatown as much or more than anything else in NYC. It is very exciting to me and combines a number of elements: shopping, travel, intrigue, shopping, bargains, culture, danger, shopping . . . need I say more.

Now that I'm 'experienced' (three trips under my belt), I think I can give a few tips to NYC purse shoppers.

• you don't have to buy the first purse you see - there will always be more!



• don't be afraid to 'follow' the whisperers - just stay in a group



• listen to the whispers - gucci - prada - coach . . .



• the guys with the pictures are the ones with the real counterfeit products - bigger names and prices



• don't think the 'whisperers' are the only ones with the 'hidden' stores - many of the stores have hidden backdoors



• if you want Tiffany jewelry - ask for it. They'll get it. Last year, they took me to the back of the store where they brought out trays from behind curtains. This year, when I said I wanted earrings, the man whistled and a girl appeared who began to pull zip-loc bags of earrings out of her bra! Just ask and you'll receive.



• we found a little 'mall' that wandered in an L-shape that had many booths and very good products and prices. I got a Dooney and Bourke giraffe bag - very nice - for $21 - I know it's fake but a very good one!



• There is more to Chinatown than just Canal street - keep walking!



• If it's rainy - they will bargain with you much more to keep business going.

Check out my Slide Show!

Hello!

I am creating a new blog. I already have one called Ray's Ramblings which is basically for the parents of my kindergarten students at school. This one will just be for me.

I will probably ramble on in this blog as well but I want to be able to ramble about more personal topics.

This particular entry is to share my recent trip to NYC over Spring Break! I went with my sister-in-law, Suzanne and my best friend, Gloria. I planned the trip. I really did my homework on this one. Last year, the three of us went on a bus trip with a school group from Mercer County. It was a whirlwind trip over four days. We saw the highlights, statue of liberty, empire state building, ground zero, Chinatown, Times Square and bus tours of the city. Most of the sights we saw were from the bus window. It was just enough to drive us crazy!

Empire State Bld. '07

Hanging around with the Osbornes

We had to go back. Thus, this trip came about. I researched and came up with a fantastic trip.

First of all, we flew this time Monday morning- nonstop LEX to LGA. We were on the streets by 9:30 am! Our return was at 9:15pm on Thursday so we had four full days in the Big Apple!!! I booked the trip through nyctrip.com because after pricing everything individually, it was cheaper to go through them and book everything we wanted to do. We stayed at the Edison Hotel which was on 47th, right off Broadway.

This is the marquee for the Edison. Busy, busy, busy.

I'll be posting more on the trip later.