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Some free/inexpensive things to do with kids in New York City this holiday season

NYC gets many tourists during the holiday season.

Some kid-friendly ideas for free inexpensive options:

– Belvedere Castle in Central Park is a fun destination for kids.
– Do a walking tour of holiday windows
– Check out the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center
– Walk up the Highline from the Meatpacking district to Hudson Yards. The entrance is at Washington St and Gansevoort St.
– Go out to Queens and eat at the many inexpensive ethnic restaurants such as in Jackson Heights.
– Check out the view from the waterfront of Long Island City. It’s only one stop from Grand Central Terminal on the 7 train. There are some cool playgrounds in Gantry State Park also. Have a hot chocolate at Coffeed and then take the ferry back to Manhattan for the cost of a subway ride.
– Visit the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which grants admittance with a suggested donation (you could pay what you want) or visit the Natural History Museum.

– There’s an indoor carousal in Battery Park City called SeaGlass Carousel
– Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

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Hello World!

Today is Black Friday 2017!  I, like many others shopping for gifts today, bought myself something.  It happens to be a domain name.  And this is my blog.

But why should I have a blog?  Why not? Many others do.  And I want to try something new.

So the name of this blog is Gotham Bon Vivant.  Living the good life in the big city.

Why Gotham?  Because I was born and raised in New York City.  And I don’t like it here.  I LOVE it!  And I believe one can live a good life here and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune. But New York City is SO expensive.  It certainly can be.  Money can easily be spent here. But one of the things I would like to show is that one can live here well without spending a lot of money.

Now one may ask, how could someone who has lived in NYC all his life know what the good life is?  Luckily for you, dear reader, I was an avid traveler for many years.  I worked and studied in other American cities, as well as abroad, and had the opportunity to travel to many cities in the US, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.  I cannot claim I have been to Asia even if I crossed the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul which straddles the European and Asian sides of the city.  But I definitely plan to go there! I was gone for a total of 7 years.

Every place I have been to has had it’s good points and it’s bad points.  What I found is that you could focus on the negative or the positive.  I have always been a positive person so I had a great time everywhere I went. I learned that some things are better in other cities.  Gotham doesn’t have it all.  It doesn’t have the history and antiquities of Europe.  It doesn’t have the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean.  Or the natural beauty  found in many parts of Latin America.  But I learned to appreciate what was great about NYC.  The energy, the diversity, the conveniences, the seemingly endless things to do and so much more. I look forward to sharing past and future travel experiences.

I was fortunate to learn multiple languages both at home and through my studies and travels.  French was the first foreign language I studied and a Bon Vivant seems to me to be my most apt description.  “One who lives well.”  I think we should all aspire to live well, no matter where we live or how much we make.

I look forward to conversing with you and sharing ideas, tips, tricks, experiences and knowledge on this great city, travel ideas both near and far, and a variety of other topics which may be of interest.  I hope you will become part of the community.  Thanks for stopping by!

-Rico