I ended up in one in Manhattan (the Union Square store) when I realized that I wouldn’t have time to get back to my hotel and change clothes before a TBEX (travel blogger’s conference) party. I’d heard that Forever 21 was inexpensive, but I had zero confidence that they would carry anything that would interest a 49-year-old woman who usually prefers tailored, structured clothing.

Wow, I could hardly get myself out of there.

I ended up with some jewelry and two fun tops – I tossed on the white pearl-decorated one, along with some long necklaces, and was instantly party-ready.  The chance to shop and be girly (not a luxury that I allow myself much these days) was a heck of a lot more therapeutic than I’d expected, too.

The store inventory size is often overwhelming (as are the crowds and the very busy staff) and no one is claiming high quality levels for these clothes, but for me, a $15-20 cute top when I desperately needed one made it well worth picking through the racks.

After returning from New York, I gave my teen daughter a purple sparkly Forever 21 lariat necklace as a gift, and she said, “Oh, yes, they have one of those stores down at Austin’s The Domain shopping center. They have good stuff.”

Uh, oh, right in my backyard. This may create wallet problems.  :)

Tonight I noticed that tech-savvy comedian and raconteur Baratunde Thurston as @Baratunde was holding an “open question session” on Twitter (where I’m @SheilaS) ….for about an hour you could ask him a question about anything, using the hashtag #AskBaratunde, and he’d try to answer.

So, since he’s based in New York City, I asked, “In the NYC area, what are 2 restaurants visitors don’t know about, and should?”

He responded in the requisite 140 characters: “Two off-the-map NYC restaurants: Mamajuana in #inwood and No. 7 in #FortGreene (Brooklyn)”

Here are their Web sites: Mamajuana is a unique combination of Spanish/Nuevo Latino/Dominican cuisine, and No. 7 is, well, pretty upscale, but it sounds delicious and might work with a teenager.

I then asked if they were family-friendly, and Baratunde responded, “i think they are. No 7 is pricey but brunch at Mamajuana is very reasonable. best in warm weather to eat outside.”

There you have it for your next NYC visit, hot off of the Twitter press….

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin, West Virginia,  Washington,  Virginia,  Vermont,  Utah, Texas,  Tennessee,  South Dakota,  South Carolina,  Rhode Island,  Pennsylvania,  Oregon, Oklahoma,  Ohio, North Dakota,  North Carolina and now we’re moving on to….New York!

Their state tourism organization is on Twitter at @I_LOVE_NY (New York City is @nycgo.) I found a New York economic development page on Facebook, but not an official state-sponsored one for travel/tourism (there are bunch of unofficial ones.) (Update – yay! – there is now an official New York State tourism Facebook Page.)

No blogs, nothing on Flickr, YouTube, etc. Frankly, I was surprised by this in such a hugely popular travel destination, but the person tweeting for New York is trying really hard, so it’s a start.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for New York

***  From the Kelly Rabideau in New York State’s tourism office (she’s currently my fave @I_LOVE_NY tweeter)  –  We came up with a few hidden gems across the State and have listed them below.  If you were looking for just one…we would have to go with The Strong National Museum of Play [in Rochester.]  It is 100% kid/family friendly….100% fun…and considered a gem to all of New York State.

Others:   Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead, the [world famous] Bronx Zoo,  Howe Caverns in Howes Cave and The Wild Center in Tupper Lake.  More travel ideas just for you right from the heart of New York State on our Web site’s Family Fun page.

***  From @decillis on Twitter  –  Uncle Sam’s Boat Tours in the 1000 Islands. Can’t go there w/o seeing Boldt Castle!

***  From Janet DeVito via @girlsgetaways on Twitter  –  Madame Tussauds (the wax museum – my kids always loved that; they get a kick out of taking photos)  How about a cruise sailing out of NYC – that is a great family trip!

***  From Anna Fader via @mommypoppins on Twitter  –  Family travel tip for NYC:  The Sony Wonder Technology Lab. Just re-opened with extremely cool exhibits, and it’s free!

***  From the Rochester NY tourism folks via @VisitRochester on Twitter  –  The Strong National Museum of Play just acquired Videotopia; now adults & kids can enjoy exploring play. With corn mazes, new exhibits at family museums, zoos & parks, fall is especially family-friendly in Rochester.  For more see this list of ideas.

***  From Sally Berry via @sallykberry on Twitter  –  I was at Videotopia at Strong Museum w/my college age kids last weekend – they LOVED it!

***  From Marci Diehl (and here’s her golf blog) via @writerdiehl on Twitter  –  My 4yr old grandson loves the Seneca Park Zoo’s play “medical center” in Rochester NY.  The Erie Canal Discovery Center in Lockport NY has one of the best interactive programs for all ages +VERY kid-friendly. For the best family-friendly + educational activities/ places in New York State visit the Erie Canal area.

***  From Peggy Coonley via @PeggyCoonley on Twitter  –  Cooperstown NY is diverse and interesting for families:  http://www.thisiscooperstown.com/attractions.cfm.

***  From Meg Colombo via @FingerLakes_Meg and @VisitFingerLake on Twitter  –  NY family Friendly deals in the Finger Lakes – some search results.  My family loves to hit the Fall Foliage chair rides at Bristol Mountain [ski resort] on Twitter @Bristolmt.

Facebook Travel Tips for New York

(Unlike most other states so far in the series, for this New York post I got more responses from Facebook than from Twitter….)

***  From Dick Wilbur on Facebook —  Cooperstown is pretty much up there. Also Fort Ticonderoga, the Utica Zoo and, of course, Niagara Falls.  Oh yeah, Howe Caverns. The West End Brewery in Utica (pronounced Uticer, please) was a huge treat 30 years ago. Clinton’s Ditch (Erie Canal, named after Gov Dewitt Clinton), don’t forget most of the towns along the Finger Lakes, apples – heck the Clinton Cider Mill in Clinton, NY, all the great small colleges, the Thousand Islands. You could do a fat travel book on Upstate, hard part is to narrow it down to the best of.

You know, there are some off the beaten path places up along Lake Ontario, near Oswego. Also, Boonville, NY used to do this fun woodsman’s days competition. Also, if you go eat at Boonville and hook up with route 28, it goes from Alder Creek to Otter Lake to Minnehaha to Old Forge all the way up to Raquette Lake and beyond. Old Forge is the home of North Pole, NY, a hokey family park. And there is this fun railroad shtick on the Adirondack Scenic Railroad.

***  From Shawn Zehnder Lea on Facebook  –  Nintendo World, New York City  http://www.nintendoworldstore.com

***  From Shelly Rivoli on Facebook  –  We can never get enough of the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park–climbing on it, that is. Always lots of other tots there and great photo ops.  Oh, oh! Riding Metro North up the Hudson while the leaves are changing! (Okay, I’ll stop now.)

***  From Chris Paddock on Facebook  –  I am from Upstate NY (Finger Lakes – best kept secret in US!). Finger Lakes wineries, Cornell, Eastman House, Harriet Tubman House, Seward House, McKenzie Childs, Saratoga (“Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won” – Carly Simon), Lake Champlain, two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario), first electric chair, Erie Canal history, canal locks….

Beaver Lake Nature Center (Baldwinsville), Elbridge NY (named after Elbridge Gerry ["gerrymandering"], Syracuse basketball, lacrosse hotbed, salted potatoes, Genessee Beer, University of Rochester, Millard Fillmore boyhood home, boating, skiing, Adirondacks (THE largest park in continental US bar none – 1/6 of NY acreage!) and small towns all over the place (>80% of NY population lives within 2 hours of NYC so that leaves not a lot of people for the rest of the state.)

***  From Beth Walker Schrader on Facebook  –  Two places that would be great fun for families: Old MacDonald’s Farm outside Sackets Harbor and Fly Creek Cider Mill outside Cooperstown. I just returned from upstate NY – here’s an Autumn Lake post.

***  From Jinny VanDeusen on Facebook  –  Some of our faves in Ithaca: Museum of the Earth, Sciencenter, Cayuga Nature Center, Ithaca Farmer’s Market, Ithaca Festival, Glenwood Pines restaurant, Taughannock Falls state park, suspension bridge on Cornell campus.

***  From Antonia Malchik on Facebook  –  I second those Ithaca recommendations. Also: Woodstock is a great town for arts, music, food, and hiking. New Paltz for food and hiking and rock climbing (Outside mag rated it one of 10 best places to live in the US). Hiking in amazing, gorgeous Minnewaska State Park near New Paltz. Come to my town of Washingtonville for access to Storm King Sculpture Park (part of the arts school), Brotherhood Winery (America’s oldest winery), Trotters horse-racing track & museum in Goshen, West Point academy, and shopping at country’s largest outlet mall Woodbury Commons.

Also great old hotels Mohonk Mountain House (near New Paltz) w/ 80 miles of hiking trails, and The Sagamore up on beautiful Lake George. Saratoga Springs, a beautiful town famous for its mineral healing waters and horse racing season. Cooperstown, home of baseball and beer-brewing (for those after-kid hours). These are all on west side of Hudson River.

On east side of Hudson, Beacon is a lovely little arts town, lots of galleries, most famous being Dia:Beacon, a world-class contemporary art gallery (Beacon’s on the Hudson train line mentioned by Shelly). Further north near Poughkeepsie there’s Hyde Park and Val-Kill, Frainklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s respective estates, and the huge FDR museum. Hyde Park is next to the Culinary Institute of America, great for lunch. AND this weekend will see the opening of the Hudson pedestrian bridge in Poughkeepsie. An old railway bridge with a priceless view up and down the Hudson River & Valley, it was just rebuilt this last year. 6000 people will be volunteering at the opening! It’s part of a Greenway pedestrian and biking path project starting down in Manhattan.

***  From Anna Fader on Facebook  –  My best tip for families traveling to NYC would be to check out the family programs offered by many museums. They’re usually free, taught by museum educators and are a great way to experience the world-class museums of NYC. I have a list of some of the best family museum programs here: http://mommypoppins.com/ny-kids/indoor-play-and-rainy-day-activity-guide.

***  From Marilyn McCray on Facebook  –  I lived upstate for many years and I agree about the Finger Lakes. I worked at Eastman House. Lots of great cameras and photo things to see there. The Strong Museum in Rochester has a huge doll and toy collection among many other things. http://www.museumofplay.org

***  From Lucy Baker on Facebook  –  Howe Caverns!  http://www.howecaverns.com A cave so big you can ride a boat through it.

Thanks so much for the contributions!

The Family Travel Logue New York-related posts are here (mostly New York City) and the BootsnAll Travel Network has a New York Travel Guide and the New York Logue.

The next state in the series is New Mexico.

Send your New Mexico highlights to @SheilaS on Twitter or write them on my Facebook Wall (please tell me you’re a 50 state-er if you want to friend me.)

My purpose for this series is not only to highlight worthy kid-friendly vacation destinations in all 50 states, but by using Twitter and Facebook I want to also encourage tourism organizations to learn more about connecting with their visitors using social media and online networks.

Please add your own New York suggestions in the comments below, if we’ve missed anything. Thanks!

She lives in Bristol, UK, but I certainly appreciate my international readers so of course I’ll ship prizes like this anywhere in the world.

Thanks to all for reading the post; the next one will be for Pauline Frommer’s guidebook to Hawaii.

I’m also going to review/give away Pauline’s Italy guidebook on the Perceptive Travel blog next week. Woo-hoo!

This week I’m going to post reviews of all of them, and give Family Travel Logue readers a chance to win each one. I’m an independent operator, but I use guidebooks extensively, especially when I travel with kids. My time is unfortunately limited, and I want a guidebook to show me how to spend it wisely.

We’ll start with the New York City book, which I used during my recent trip to Gotham to live-tweet the Readers’ Choice Awards for Condé Nast Traveler.

I’ve always been a fan of the various Frommer’s travel guides, because they are budget-friendly, full of helpful details and info-packed sidebars, and they make a big effort to show people how to find local experiences and atmosphere.

Pauline Frommer is the daughter of Arthur Frommer, who launched the original Europe on $5/Day back in 1957. She’s also a mother of two, so her books tend to carefully include kid-friendly attractions in addition to the “usual suspects” at a destination.

Each of the “Spend Less See More” guides is well-organized, and includes alternative accommodations to “US$300/night chain hotels,” interesting places to eat, sights and attractions (including “gems most visitors miss”) and “Insider’s” info, like how to attend a TV show taping in New York.

The books are written with a friendly, frank voice that has plenty of strong opinions; I prefer that to bland assessments even if I ultimately disagree.

Other NYC book highlights:

• The best places to view Ground Zero while it is under re-construction
• The scoop on home stays, including the fact that Pauline’s stepsister rents her place out to visitors
• Reviews of hostels in the city (complete with opinions on cleanliness and mattresses) including the Big Apple Hostel at Times Square and family rooms at Hosteling International
• Good info sidebars on eating out and museum-hopping with kids
• How to get cheap(er) theater seats, on- and off-Broadway
• A review of the various tourist pass options
• Sections in the back for family travel, staying wired/connected, and recommended books and movies about New York

If they come out with a Pauline’s guide to Chicago for my possible trip to the July 2009 BlogHer conference in the Windy City, I’m buying it – no question.

If all this sounds like your kind of book, here’s what to do to win my copy (which is only slightly worn from my own NYC trip:)

• Leave a brief comment below about why you’d like to read “Pauline Frommer’s New York City”
• At the end of this week, on Friday, December 5, 2008, I will randomly pick one of your comments using one of the cool tools on Random.org, then I’ll announce the winner in a separate post.
• If you win, I’ll email you at the address you leave when you comment (to get your snail mail address,) then I’ll box up the book and send it to you. Yes, I’ll mail to places outside the US.

Thanks for participating, and thanks to Sarah Gorback at Wiley Publishing for sending me a review copy.

Good luck!

That scene was filmed at the venerable Katz’s Delicatessen, on the Lower East Side in New York City.

Since my husband and I consider that “our movie” (we were married the year it was released) I made a beeline to Katz’s when I was in New York for Condé Nast Traveler, and I took a picture of the famous table where the characters were sitting.

Yep, that’s a sign they’ve hung above it, so you can’t miss it.

I didn’t eat anything there, but did take a look at the menu and was pretty tempted.

The guidebook I was reviewing, Pauline Frommer’s New York City (Pauline Frommer Guides), said the sandwiches were to die for.

That day, though, a sentimental journey was filling enough for me.

While in New York to cover a Condé Nast Traveler event, I spent a little time in Bryant Park, near Times Square and just behind the New York Public Library. After picking up sandwich from the ‘wichcraft food concessionaire, I walked over to find a spot to sit and eat, and found this outdoor library under the trees.

Sponsored by HSBC Bank and supported by the New York library system, there are both adult and children’s reading areas, with magazine racks and books to page through while you enjoy pleasant park surroundings.

It is near the 42nd Street/Avenue of the Americas corner and is open 11 am – 7 pm daily, weather permitting. You don’t need a card; the only requirement is to stay within the designated reading area to use the materials.

Apparently this “open air library” (or some form of one) has historic origins. From the Bryant Park Web site:

“The original Reading Room began in August of 1935 as a public response to the Depression Era job losses in New York. Many people did not have anywhere to go during the day, and no prospects for jobs. The New York Public Library opened the ‘Open Air Library’ to give these out-of-work businessmen and intellectuals a place to go where they did not need money, a valid address, a library card, or any identification to enjoy the reading materials.”

What a nice discovery in an already impressive park, and what a break it would provide harried families traveling with kids who would like to get away from the Times Square cacophony.

Lesson for me: stop trying to do too much and you’ll have a better time as a traveler!

I’m going to have you click this URL link for my New York audio post, because (just like the last time I tried this) every time I try to embed the player, it plays someone else’s random audio post, and I never have time to get ahold of anyone at Utterli to say….FIX THAT!

Best wishes from NYC….

(Ignore the player below while I work with Utterli tech support)

(Update 2010 – unfortunately the Utterli service is now defunct, so the recording is gone.)

While researching 20 different educational and family-friendly New York attractions for a recent article on Education.com, my toughest challenge was ensuring that I cast a wide net beyond New York City.

Here are three highlights from outside the five boroughs:

• Women’s Rights National Historic Park – In Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (who also raised seven children) and four other women organized the first women’s rights convention in July 1848, using Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence as a model for their Declaration of Sentiments. Convention Days special events are held each July. The organizers were also abolitionists and one of their houses was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame in downtown Seneca Falls; it celebrates a wide variety of accomplished women throughout history.
• Rochester – Trade, industry and the opening of the Erie Canal put Rochester on the map. Frederick Douglass is buried here; George Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Company and Susan B. Anthony both lived in the city and their homes are National Historic Landmarks. The Eastman House is also a museum of photography and film. The Genesee Country Village and living history museum bring the 19^th century to life, and kids love the place that celebrates them: the Strong National Museum of Play, which features interactive games, a massive collection of historic toys and a Butterfly Garden.
• Chautauqua Institution – Long recognized as a wonderful opportunity for adult summer education, renewal, recreation and fine arts in a lakeside setting, the Chautauqua also offers an activity-packed Children’s School (ages 3-5,) Group One for rising first graders, the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs for ages 7-15 and a Youth Activity Center for preteens and teens. Family entertainment and a Young Reader’s book club patterned after the venerable Institution adult book club round out the offerings, so that no one is bored.

Take a look at the rest of the article right here:  Family Fun and Learning in New York.

Christmas is a wonderful time to visit New York City; the city is alive with wonderful special events, it’s beautifully decorated and lighted and there is a wonderful energy humming through the streets.

If you are lucky enough to get some flurries of snow while on the streets of New York during the holidays, you can dream that you are in your favorite Christmas movie.

Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who knows this, and the incredible crowds that swarm upon the typical holiday sights can be so overwhelming that you could end up with a nightmare instead, especially when traveling with children.

But don’t let a few crowds put you off from visiting New York during the holidays. With some insider knowledge and some off-the-beaten-path destinations, you can get all the magic from a New York holiday, without all the pushing and shoving.

Here are the top ten tips and destinations for getting the most out of New York City with kids for Christmas:

1. Visit a Victorian Santa. Skip Santaland at Macy’s and the 3 hour line, and head straight for ABC Carpet & Home. They have a really beautiful Victorian Santa and virtually no lines. Weekends 12-5PM through December 22.

2. See a Nutcracker created just for kids. Many children can’t sit through the New York City Ballet Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, but there are several Nutcracker performances in New York that are created just for children and even toddlers. Most of them are only one hour long and adapted for children, including New York Theatre Ballet’s Nutcracker.

3. Go ice skating where New Yorkers go. Rather than fighting the crowds and waiting in line for an hour at Central Park or Bryant Park, head to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park ice skating rink. It’s a wonderful setting, and after skating you can go to the Brooklyn Museum or shopping in Park Slope.

4. Shop in Brooklyn. Park Slope is one of New York’s most child-friendly neighborhoods and Seventh Avenue is lined with wonderful little neighborhood shops rather than the chain stores that have taken over much of Manhattan. Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue is a hipster’s paradise that is becoming a hipster parent paradise. Check out the cool boutiques like Sam and Sebs.

5. The other amazing Holiday Train show. New York Botanical Garden has an amazing holiday train display, but it’s a pain to get to, can get pricey for a group and is mobbed on the weekends. Unknown to many, there’s an equally incredible train show right in midtown Manhattan that is free. In the basement of the Citigroup Center building on 53rd and Lexington is a phenomenal train display.

6. Go multicultural. You’re in New York, after all. Why not take advantage of some of the more unique ways to celebrate the holidays from different cultures? Solve the problem of what to do on Christmas Day in New York (when most of the city is closed) by learning about klezmer music and Jewish culture during “Klezmer for Kids” at the Eldridge Street Synagogue. On December 29th, there’s a big Kwanzaa celebration from 12-5 pm at the American Museum of Natural History.

7. Other beautiful trees. The famous tree in Rockefeller Center gets seriously mobbed; there are some other really great trees to see without crowds, or at least fewer crowds. The tree outside the New York Stock Exchange is almost as big and stands in front of the beautiful landmark NYSE building. No crowds will block your view here. The Museum of Natural History has a beautiful origami tree (decorated with origami, not made out of) and free origami workshops for kids.

8. Holiday Lights. You can find incredible holiday light displays all over the city. Some of the best are at Grand Central Station.

9. Good feelings. Kids will love the Operation Santa Claus at the main New York Post Office. You’ll find a room full of letters to Santa from children in need, and a gathering of good-hearted New Yorkers sharing stories and picking out wishes to fulfill. Pick your own letters and go shopping with your kids to fulfill the dreams of a child less fortunate.

10. Don’t skip the big stuff. Tourists have one big advantage over New Yorkers — you’re not working. Use your privileged status to your advantage, and visit the places that are going to be mobbed during the week. Go early. If you’re lucky, you could find yourself virtually alone.

Find out more about these and other ideas about what to do with kids
in New York in the Mommy Poppins Holiday Guide.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, New York City, NYC, holiday travel, Christmas