what we MUST do in the States

[samopn]

Hi

In June we're doing our holiday-of-a-lifetime to Bora Bora and on the way will be stopping in New York, LA, San Francisco and Boston, two days in each city. We've never been before

So, in those places what are your suggestions for MUST DO activities?

Rules are:-
No going up high buildings (Wife is afraid of heights);
sadley, nothing to do with trombones.

Cheers

Sam

[harrisonreed]

Boston:
Quincy Market area / Aquarium / waterfront
Eat Clam Chowder and Baked Scallops
Eat Lobster and Fish and Chips
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Boston Symphony Orchestra (if not against the rules)

[JohnL]

Do you have any particular interests?
Art?
Architecture?
History?
Food?

If you don't have any specifics, I'd suggest focusing on things you can only do/see in that city.

In Los Angeles? The The Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits) . The Getty Museum (and/or the Getty Villa). Spend a little time at one of the more famous beaches (Malibu, Venice, or maybe Santa Monica), just so you can say you saw it. There are those who would steer you towards some of the high-end restaurants, but there are fancy places to get fancy food everywhere. For the true LA culinary experience, I'd say get a chili burger at the original Tommy's downtown or (my preference) a hot dog at Pink's in Hollywood.

[TheSheriff]

Hi

In June we're doing our holiday-of-a-lifetime to Bora Bora and on the way will be stopping in New York, LA, San Francisco and Boston, two days in each city. We've never been before

So, in those places what are your suggestions for MUST DO activities?

Rules are:-
No going up high buildings (Wife is afraid of heights);
sadley, nothing to do with trombones.

Cheers

Sam

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In my opinion America's three greatest cities are New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. You don't have Chicago on your list. I say forget LA and go to Chicago.

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[greenbean]

I agree on hitting the things that are found ONLY in that city.

Los Angeles: I would go to Pink's, Apple Pan, India Sweets and Spices (Venice Blvd). LA County Museum of Art, the Getty, and Venice Beach. See what is at the Hollywood Bowl. And the jazz scene is good.

San Francisco: Greens Restaurant is my favorite. Great bakeries include Tartine, Tartine Manufactory (breakfast or lunch), "b Patisserie," Jane the Bakery, and Arizmendi. Ice cream: Bi-Rite or Polyann's. Walking out on the Golden Gate Bridge is my favorite touristy thing to do. Plenty of parking if you drive and, when done, you can drive over to Marin and go up to Hawk Hill. The city has great bars and cafes everywhere. Do NOT go the Fishermans Wharf or Union Square! Chinatown is cool (definitely check out the Chinese Historical Society's museum!) and North Beach (a little Italy) is touristy but okay. Wells Fargo has a cool museum nearby that is pretty cool, believe it or not. If you insist on going to Haight-Ashbury, you will at least find cool bars, like Alembic and Magnolia Brewery, and Amoeba Records (new and used cd/vinyl). Check out Golden Gate Park. Good jazz scene - check the calendars ahead of time.

Chez Panisse in Berkeley (dinner reservations are tough - see web site!; lunch is easier; great food nearby if you strike out). One of the best restaurants in the country.

Beauty Bagels in Oakland. Amazing.

[JohnL]

Do NOT go the Fishermans Wharf or Union Square!

I wouldn't necessarily recommend either one, but if you just have to do something down by the waterfront, I'd take Fisherman's Wharf over Pier 39, hands down.

[Burgerbob]

Plenty to do in LA. Just know that travel time in the city always needs to be factored in. I assume you're renting a car, or lyft will be taking a good portion of your income.

[samopn]

Wow, there's a load of ideas and things to think about. Thanks.

TheSherrif, our trip's already booked so we can't change the itinerary and in any case we can't "forget LA" as that's where the flight to Bora Bora (via Tahiti) goes from, which is the whole purpose of the trip.

Keep the ideas coming..

S

[baileyman]

In NYC, go to the musicians's union during the day and listen to rehearsal bands.

I live near Boston. I'd probably drive to Newport instead.

Last time we were in SF we could find no horn music other than a subway tromboner. But the mixology thing there is huge. Just go for walks. So much to see at street level, like London!

[samopn]

.....Last time we were in SF we could find no horn music other than a subway tromboner.....

As far as my wife's concerned that'd be a bonus..

S

[BGuttman]

Boston has a couple of sites famous from the American Revolution (the rejection of King George III). We have the Bunker Hill monument (first battle of the war -- the British won), the green at Lexington MA just a short distance outside, Faneuil Hall (a famous meeting place for the Rebels -- and now a nice marketplace). The USS Constitution, a full rigged sailing ship is in Somerville. The Constitution was engaged in some naval battles against the Royal Navy. It's the oldest ship in the US Navy.

Just south of Boston (a few Km away) is Plimoth Plantation, celebrating the arrival of the Puritans from England. They maintain a museum village to show how the early colonists lived.

If you are a techie, there is a museum of technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and right next door is Harvard University, which I believe is the oldest University in the US (but centuries newer than Oxford and Cambridge).

If you are here while the Boston Symphony or Symphony Pops are playing a trip to Symphony Hall to hear them is worthwhile The acoustics of the hall are legendary.

Speaking of legendary acoustics, when in New York visit Carnegie Hall. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra left there for Lincoln Center in 1965 for the much poorer acoustics of Symphony (now Geffen) Hall. Carnegie Hall is a magnet for visiting orchestras.

[Gary]

I have never been to San Francisco where I didn't experience something new and interesting. And that's a result of just hanging out, not aiming to do anything specific.

If it were me, I'd hit all the arts, a jazz club and Fisherman's Wharf.

[PhilTrombone]

How about some classic NY food? There's nothin' more Noo Yawk than Pizza and Deli.

Pizza: John's Pizza in Greenwich Village: http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/menu.html
Of course you'll be right in the Village. Just a few blocks from the Village Vanguard, mecca of jazz. Catch a set: https://villagevanguard.com/
On Monday nights, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra plays - the descendents of Thad and Mel (but it will have trombones)

NY Deli: Most of them are closed, as people want to preserve their arteries, for some reason. Katz's is still around, and is a NY icon https://www.katzsdelicatessen.com/
You're on vacation. No calorie counting!!

Some more possibilities:
> Times Square, Just to say you were there....
> A Broadway show? You have great theater in London, tho. Meh.
> Carnegie Hall.
> Lincoln Center / Juilliard
> United Nations
> Statue of Liberty and/or Ellis Island (you will wait a long time on line for the ferry).
> Wall Street / City Hall / Brooklyn Bridge / Chinatown / Little Italy /South St Seaport / Freedom Tower are all close to each other. A nice days' outing (finish it in the Village for Pizza and jazz!).
> Musuems are great. MOMA, for one. https://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html
> Stroll up 5th Avenue from Washington Square Park up to Central Park.
> Grand Central Station. Check out the famous (reversed) ceiling https://untappedcities.com/2016/06/03/ ... l-ceiling/
> Rockefeller Center (on Fifth Avenue)
> NYC Main LIbrary, with the famous Lion statues
> Central Park: The Hallet Nature Sanctuary is a new section, Really nice.


If you have 2 days, you could do a downtown day, and a midtown day.

Enjoy the trip.

[TheSheriff]

Wow, there's a load of ideas and things to think about. Thanks.

TheSherrif, our trip's already booked so we can't change the itinerary and in any case we can't "forget LA" as that's where the flight to Bora Bora (via Tahiti) goes from, which is the whole purpose of the trip.

Keep the ideas coming..

S

===

Too bad you're only doing coastal cities because fly over country has some of the most breathtaking scenery to be seen anywhere in the world. Next time!

===

[JohnL]

Plenty to do in LA. Just know that travel time in the city always needs to be factored in.

This is something a lot of visitors have trouble with. Distance + Traffic = Time; LA is pretty spread out and the traffic is justifiably legendary. It's even more of an issue when people start wanting to go to places that aren't actually in LA (Disneyland, for example).

On the plus side, there are plenty of interesting places that aren't all that far from the airport.

[LeTromboniste]

Not a huge fan of LA, everything is just too spread out to really have any efficiency in seeing various things. I guess just driving around will get you a big portion of the "LA experience", for better or worse! If you spend some time downtown and if you like books, make sure you stop by The Last Bookstore, it's pretty spectacular. Visit of Disney Concert Hall was free and fairly short last time I was there, can be worth doing if you need a break in the middle of a busy day of visiting the center plus they have this beautiful public suspended garden that can be nice to sit in and relax/have a quiet lunch. I'd usually say going to Venice or Santa Monica is a must, but since you're going to paradisiac pacific islands those LA beaches will be very pale in comparison so you might as well skip and save the transit time. If you're outdoorsy people, there are nice hikes in the San Gabriel mountains just north (make sure to bring lots of water).

If you're renting a car and haven't booked your transportation between San Francisco and LA, consider driving up or down the 1 (it's nicer going up from LA to SF than the other way, but you're probably going the other direction if you're flying out of LA I guess). Takes a while longer than driving the big highway but boy is it worth it. The views of the cliffs and the ocean are spectacular.

[LeTromboniste]

For San Francisco, lots of suggestions above already. I'll add that again if you're outdoorsy people, there are really great yet not too strenuous hikes just outside of the city. Marin Headlands is nice and accessible, just across the Golden Gate, but a bit hot if sunny, with little cover. Or there's Muir Woods just 15km north-west of the bridge for a nice old-growth sequoia forest but it can get busy/touristy. One of my favourite hikes ever though was in Mt. Tamalpais State Park, about 20 km north-west of the Golden Gate - it was a loop starting from Pantoll, going down the Old Mine trail to the Veterans' Bench, then down Dipsea trail and coming back up with Steep Ravine trail. Some stellar views of the ocean on one side and the Bay on the other with the city in the distance, rolling golden hills, and then the trail goes down long wood and stone stairs, down into a forest of sequoias (younger than Muir Woods but still impressive) then back up more gently along the bottom of the canyon-forest. The whole loop is about 6 km, so 90 minutes to 2 hours.

If you do go out for hikes, beware of poison oak (it's really everywhere) and wear long pants.

[sungfw]

How about some classic NY food? There's nothin' more Noo Yawk than Pizza and Deli.

Pizza: John's Pizza in Greenwich Village: http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/menu.html

Big "YES" to pizza; big "NO" to John's. Yeah, John's has history, but they're very hit-or-miss. (Don't get me wrong: on the days they nail it, their pies are up there with the best the city has to offer; the other 361 days a year, it's like eating red paint on cardboard.)

For classic NY pizza, walk around the corner to Joe's on Carmine. Or walk across the street to Kesté for Neapolitan.

Other classic NY pizza rec's: Johnny's in Mt. Vernon or Patsy's (Harlem location).

For Neapolitan/Nearly-politan, check out Motorino (personal favorites: Brussels Sprout, Soppressata Picante, Cherrystone Clam, and Amatriciana), Don Antonio (Montanara, Kesté, Salasiccia & Friarielli, Pistachio & Salsiccia, and Diavola), Razza in Jersey City (Panna, Maple Bacon, Guancia), and Paulie Gee's (Del Boy, Neffy's Porkpie White, Cherry Jones, and Spectacle 261).

For squares, Prince Street and Momma's TOO. Get the Spicy Spring. 'Nuff said.

[PhilTrombone]

Big "YES" to pizza; big "NO" to John's. Yeah, John's has history, but they're very hit-or-miss. (Don't get me wrong: on the days they nail it, their pies are up there with the best the city has to offer; the other 361 days a year, it's like eating red paint on cardboard.)

Clearly you have done recent research. Cannot vouch for these others. will have to check 'em out next trip into town!

[samopn]

Thanks so much guys for all your suggestions, it's going to take me a week to dig through them all to get a plan.

Looking forward to it

S