I'd suggest walking across the Brooklyn Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge. I'd also suggest visiting the Cloisters. (It's an off shoot of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has great Medieval art, and beautiful views of the Hudson river)

People watching in Central Park, Union Square Park, Washington Square Park, or Madison Square Park is always fun too. You must try a burger and a "concrete" (a ice-cream/milkshake type thing) from "Shake Shack" in Madison Square Park.

-Maureen

Excellent suggestions!

Definitely visit Central Park! It's incredible... spacious, beautiful, and relaxing. Once you're in the park and the surrounding trees muffle the cacaphony of the big city just outside, it's difficult to believe you're right in the middle of one of the most bustling cities in the world.

Mike told me the other day that he's never been to Central Park, so we'll definitely make time for it this trip. :)

Thanks for more great ideas, Maureen! I am taking notes here. :)

New York: Since Little Italy turned to Chinatown, you can find Little Italy in Greenwich Village. Go to Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, go to the Risotteria for lunch and have risotto, it's excellent and CHEAP and EXCELLENT, then go to Cones for gelati (oh my God good!) which is about three doors down (Cones is at 272 Bleecker) then look across the street for the manicure place and you can get your legs and feet rubbed for eh, something like a dollar a minute. Totally worth it. That's my routine with Jett when we go to NY. We have risotto, rubbies and then gelati.

You can also go to Bleecker Street Pastry and Cafe (245 Bleecker Street), for Italian pastries. Or have tart Italian lemon ices at Rocco's Pastry Shop (243 Bleecker Street).

I found these places from the exceptional New York City Secrets Guidebook.

We went to the Forbes Museum which is extremely appealing and has jeweled faberge eggs among it's treasures. Also, it is not crowded: Forbes Museum (62 Fifth Avenue, between 12th and 13th Streets). (that is greenwich village too!)

For dinner you can try: Bar Pitti (268 Avenue of the Americas) the outside area is nice if you can find a table and the weather agrees with you.

You will love the trees in Greenwich Village. Gorgeous.

Ooooh, great ideas, thanks! I'm going to write all that down.

It sounds like you and Jett have some fantastic NY trips.

For several of the broadway shows, if you show up 2 hours early you can throw your name in the lottery for $25 front row tickets to see the show. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is HILARIOUS (one of the best shows I've seen) and it's not too hard to win the lottery for it since it's a smaller show.

Also, the Staten Island Ferry is free and at night you get some great views of the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. Just ride it round trip (they make you get off when you get to SI, but you just turn around and get right back on).

And if you need to map out subway trips, go to www.hopstop.com. It works like mapquest and tells you which trains to take.

Oh cool... I hadn't heard of that show, but it sounds great! And the ferry sound excellent for photo opps. Thanks for the info!

Although a Bostonian, I have friends who live on Long Island, and I visit them from time-to-time. Thus, I am somewhat familiar with New York.

Besides the suggestions already made, here are a few more:

If you had come a couple of weeks later, a day at Jones Beach is not to be missed. But the air and especially the water may be a tad too cool at the end of May and beginning of June.

Also on Long Island, Sagamore Hill, the estate of President Teddy Rooslevelt, is a must-see.

In the city itself, Rockefeller Center is a great sight. While the skating rink is closed for the season, the rink area during the summer is an outdoor cafe. Unfortunately, I don't think any TV shows with studio audiences will be taping at either NBC or anywhere else in New York for the next week or two. But you can try to get to the Plaza around 7 A.M. to get a chance to interact with the "Today Show" cast. If you're going to be in New York on Wednesday (May 31st), that's the day to go. It will be Katie Couric's last day with NBC (before become anchor of the CBS evening newscast this fall), and she'll probably spend a few minutes outside the studio to allow her fans to wish her all the best.

If you're in the mood for shopping, Macy's is at the top of the list. Even if you've been in other Macy's stores, the one at Herald Square is the company's largest.

Food?? You and Mike can spend the rest of your lives eating every meal at a different restaurant and still not eat at all of them. I strongly suggest the Stage Deli at 834 Second Avenue. There's also a great hot dog place near Times Square (I don't know the name of it, but I don't think it's a Nathan's). And if you're near Coney Island, visit the original Nathan's.

The Empire State Building has an observatory. A photographer like you should enjoy it. Bring a telephoto lens.

But whatever you do, DON'T drive inbound on the Long Island Expressway during morning rush hour or outbound on the L.I.E. during the afternoon rush hour. It's the country's single most notorious highway during rush hour, even worse than the Los Angeles freeway system!

-Joseph (Livejournal username: Joseph-Jofus, posting anonymously because I have had trouble logging-in)

That picture is beautiful!