Bagni di Lucca and Beyond

I know New York has nothing with Bagni di Lucca or Italy but I am asked so many times for my New York tips I thought it would be easier to put them here instead of typing them over and over again.

Empire State Building from Bryant Park

Favourite Museums

Frick Collection – 1 east 70th St on 5th Ave.  This gallery is small and accessible and everything is

       gorgeous.  There is a great shop attached.

Gugenheim – 5th Ave

Metropolitan – 81st St on 5th Ave.  Go to the costume collection downstairs.

Les Tenement Museum – 108 Orchard St, Soho.  See how many people lived in New York in the

     not too distant past.

Fashion Institute Museum – 7th Ave at 27th St

Cloisters – top end of Manhattan

Bergdorf Goodman window

Shopping

Barneys – Madison Ave @ 61st St.  7  floors of fabulous fashion

Bergdorf Goodman – 5th Ave @ 59th St.  The best of the best.

Saks – 5th Ave @ 50th St.  The best shoe dept.

Bloomingdales – Lexington @ 59th St, and a cute little one on Broadway between Spring St

      and Broome St, Soho

Henri Bendels – 5th Ave.  Great young fashion

Takishamaya – 5th Ave.  A gorgeous Japanese dept tore.

Lord & Taylor – 5th Ave @ 38th St

Macy’s – 34th St @ 7th Ave.  The biggest dept store in the world.

Jeffrey – west 14th St between 9th & 10th.  A fabulous collection of fashion.

Marc Jacobs – 3 in Bleeker St and 1 in Soho.

Marni – beside Marc Jacobs

Prada – go to look at the shop, it is fabulous.  Soho on Broadway.

Madison Ave for designer stores.

Ralph Lauren – 72nd and Madison.  The flagship store, fabulous.

DKNY opposite Barneys.  There is a great salad bar for lunch.

Uniqlo – on Broadway in Soho.  Japanese clothing store for great basics.

Bloomies, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s offer tourist discounts – go to the visitors desk.

15% at Lord and Taylor, 11% at the others.

Favourite places to eat

Balthazar – 80 Spring St.  Great for breakfast, lunch or brunch.

Prune – 54 east 1st St near Soho.  Tiny but fabulous.

Pastis – 9th Ave @ west 12th St.  Great people watching.

Spice Market – 9th Ave @ west 13th St.  The best Asian food I have eaten.

Katz’s Deli – 205 east Houston.  The oldest deli in NY.

Ben’s Kosher Deli – west 38th St between 7th & 8th.   Go for lunch when it is busy and

      order pastrami on rye, chicken soup with motzah or stuffed cabbage.

Chelsea Market – 9th Ave between 15th &16th St.  Great food and coffee shops.

Dean & Deluca  – cnr Broadway and Prince, Soho.  One of the best delis in the world.

Gramercy Park Tavern – fabulous.

Terre Mare – east 65th St near Madison.  Great coffee/breakfast/lunch.

Mee Noodles – east49th and 2nd Ave.  Seriously cheap, good Chinese.

Le Pain Quotidien – great coffee, hot chocolate, breakfast, lunch – all over NY.

        There is good one beside Bryant Park in west 40th St.

Fabric and Trim Shops

Mood 225 west 37th St upstairs

Rosen & Chadwick – west 40th @ 7th Ave upstairs

NY Elegant Fabrics – west 40th Between 7th & 8th

Lace Star – west 40th between 7th & 8th

Hyman Handler – 21 west 38th St between 5th & 6th.  The best ribbon shop I have ever seen.

M&J Trimmings – 1008 6th Ave near 36th.  There are lots of bead and trim places near here.

Tender Buttons – east 62nd St near Lexington.

Must do things in NY

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Take the Statten Island Ferry.  See the view from the Empire State Building.  Sit in the Rose Reading Room at the Public Library on 5th Ave.  Cover as much of Central Park as you can in every season.

Alice in Wonderland in Central Park