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Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
by fizzle2006
I visited Woodbury Common Outlets as part of a major shopping trip to New York in February 2007. The excursion was booked through Grayline Tours and cost around $45 dollars return.
The scenery on the way to the outlets was very picturesque. As it had recently been snowing in NYC at that time, a large stretch of rock face on ... route to our destination was snow covered and looked very festive indeed, almost like snow covered mountains.
I was surprised that the outlets were rather far out from Manhattan itself and it took approximately an hour to get there. The shops are spread around a little mock village, which was very charming and pretty in my view. Boasting 220 stores, there is certainly something for everyone at Woodbury Common. Featuring outlets from brands such as Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger and Juicy Couture to name but a few, there are many bargains to be had throughout this mini shopping village.
Given that the exchange rate between sterling and the dollar was so good at that time, I managed to pick up a Ralph Lauren hooded top for £10, a pair of Levis jeans for £14 and an FCUK top for £6! Those were just a few of my bargains that I found that day and I was chuffed with what I got for the small price that I paid.
There are also many places to go for a bite to eat in Woodbury Common. It is home to a McDonalds, Starbucks and various other grills, restaurants and pizzerias - so there is a wide choice of cuisine available to suit every appetite under the sun and give you that much needed opportunity to re-fuel and relax for a little bit before the bargain hunting resumes!
However, if you are too entranced by the bargains on offer to take time out like I was, then there are several vending machines offering drinks and snacks positioned all over the outlets to ensure that you do not go hungry.
Are you visiting New York in the future? If so, I would highly recommend a trip to Woodbury Common. Not only is it great for shopping, but it also gives you the opportunity to see and explore outwith New York City itself. I found it to be a fantastic way to spend a day and the fact that there are so many stores there means that you are literally free to shop until you drop.
I only wish that such amazing bargain filled shopping havens existed in the UK and if I have the opportunity to return to New York in the future, this is one place that I will definitely visit again.
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Theatre District (New York City)
by Mehmet1st
When I was younger I always wanted to go to America and visit the "Big Apple" I guess the excitement of wanting to go there was probably due to the fact that when I was younger I use to watch American TV programs.
Then as I got older and started going to live theatre and appreciating that they perform every night, ... I was made aware that New York City had it's own theatre district and that it was bigger.
Well that was it I was visualizing that New York City must be huge and like there's hundreds of theatres because you know how the Americans love doing things big and bold.
When people talked about Broadway I thought that it had to be like a little part of New York City a small section of Manhattan that has these amazing theatres.
Well when I eventually got there I headed for Broadway and boy was It big, they still use the terms Broadway and off Broadway which basically means that back in the day when the street of Broadway was what was referred to as "Broadway" that was the street everyone wanted to put there shows, but the ones that didn't make it would go to theatres just off the street of Broadway and that was referred to as "off Broadway".
But when you hear a show referred to as a "Broadway show" then generally its on Broadway Street.
The theatres on Broadway are generally theatres with 500 seats and depending on what day it is every theatre do 8 shows a week mostly evening and some matinees thrown in there.
Going to New Your City is no cheap day out, especially if you want to go see a show, get something to eat and go out drinking.
Tickets for a show vary for example:
On the day tickets can start at $20 but these are selected shows.
Booking them in advance can start from $80-90 and that's just the show.
Some of the big shows at the minute are:
Billy Elliot
Chicago
Jersey Boys
Mary Poppins
Phantom Of The Opera
West Side Story
Wicked
Just to name a few
there are so many more shows on broadway than in our Westend, and they are more different in there material ranging like you saw from above form Shrek To Billy Elliot, I don't you could get any more different if you tried
If you have been to a show in the Westend then it's not that different going to one on Broadway, and again depending on what show you go to see the décor could be corresponding with it for example Shrek....you can imagine what that décor is like.
The one good thing about Manhattan is that there are no real big names or celebrities on Broadway like there are in the Westend which I am happy about because then you actually get to see real performers doing what they are trained to do, we need to take a leaf from that book.
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Kauai Backcountry Adventures (Kauai, USA)
by Absy_Baby
Background Adventures are a company based in Kauai (Hawaii), they offer a canopy zipline adventure as an excursion. As we were on a cruise, the operator sorted this out for us but you can also book direct and choose from other tours too. (I would have loved to try the tubing)!
The ziplining tour takes a few hours; you get a ... transfer from the office to the zipline course in a truck. The truck is a bit rickety but this just adds to the experience. The truck has seats lining the sides of the back with a roof but no windows to let the wind blow through your hair.
The course itself is located on private land that used to be Lihue Plantation, a sugar plantation, this was Hawaii's last to close its doors in the late 1900's. This is where Background Adventures rent land to zipline, they have installed the course themselves and it consists of 7 ziplines that descend down the mountain side (one of the best courses in Hawaii).
For those of you who don't know what ziplining is or have not done it, it is a long wire tied on two posts, one lower than the other, often above tree tops or water holes and rivers. You are then securely tied to the wire with your own roller contraption and harness. That was a really bad explanation and as you can probably tell I'm no expert, in fact this was my first time, but definitely not my last!
Tours are daily and there are two departure times: 9.30 am and 2.00 pm.
We went for the afternoon adventure, I think this was solely because I wanted to enjoy a lay in, and I'm glad we did. The weather throughout the Hawaiian Islands is very tropical and there are many weather systems, meaning weather can literally change within minutes. The morning was wet and the clouds were covering a lot of the mountains (or so our guide said). However in the afternoon we got to see a lot of beautiful scenery and it was breathtaking.
When we arrived on location at the course, (all 11 of us in our group), we were given a safety brief, our equipment explained and the course and ziplines seen.
We had to chose an order amongst ourselves in which we would have to stick to so both guides (one at each end of the zipline) would know who was next, (and the one on the end, would know who is coming). You are told you could possibly get stuck in the middle, this is very unlucky and they just tell you because it could happen, it happened to no-one on our course.
Between each zipline is a walkway, the paths are muddy and in some places slippery and steep, this definitely isn't for people with walking issues and generally bad health. However saying this, don't think you can't be older to do this, out of 11 people the breakdown is as follows: 2 x under 30, 3 x in 40's, 5 x in 50's, and 1 x late 70's! The thing that made me laugh the most about the age groups was the oldest guy had done it the 3 consecutive years too! The setting is the great outdoors in all its glory.
As long as you are physically fit (or there about - I am not at all fit) you will have a great time.
I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, it was great to feel the wind in my hair and in my face, it was fun to learn how to steer (yes steer) and go really fast. The landings were the trickiest bit, it didn't matter how you came in, as long as you had your feet up.
There is a wooden platform at each end and you run (or walk) off then head down the line to the end where the other platform is, my only issue was being such a shorty at 5'1, the guy had to pull the zipline down at the end in order for me to be able to touch the floor. This was ok though, if he hadn't I would have made it to the end of the line, where the post was and still not have been on the floor.
If you come in facing front ways on you can run on the platform until you halt. They have a device that sits on the line to stops you running in to the pole; it just stops you going any further.
I must say both the guides were great - they both knew their stuff and really made it fun. I felt like I was in safe hands and really enjoyed the day. Once down at the bottom of the course, you sit in a hut next to a gorgeous river and the largest bamboo I have ever seen! You get a drink, crisps and biscuits then head back, the scenic route to the main office.
Both guides were happy to answer questions and told us a lot about the history of the area and what films they had filmed there - Jurassic Park, Tropic Thunder and so many more!
The experience was overall 10/10! I will definitely do this again, I was worried I would be scared and not want to do it when it came to it. I like heights but even if you aren't keen because you look out at where you're going and what is around, you don't really see how high up you are. It is very exhilarating and I think even being scared of heights you could do this and enjoy it. You get a massive buzz and you will want to do it again.
I think in all honesty, it is time consuming and after 7 lines that is enough, it's great and you feel like you can do more, but this is enough to keep your interest in it and keep you satisfied that you've got your monies worth.
As for cost, like I said we did this through the cruise company, I wish we had not, this cost us approximately £100 per person. If you book direct with Backcountry you can get this tour for approximately £90 per person and depending on the exchange rate this can go down to work in your favour (Brits only).
The company are an ecotourism attraction and I think it is a shame this is advertised more, we only found this out on the way back to the ship, had we known before I may well have bought something from the shop to support the local eco systems and lands.
NB: You are told to wear long pants (us Brits thought this meant trousers not shorts) but you can wear shorts just not tiny hot pants because you may get friction burns on your legs from the harness. We wore trousers, they were fine.
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