My first visit to the United States!

[Aerosim Solutions]

I've spent a bucket load of bucks to tick a few boxes on the bucket list! My wife wants to have her 50th birthday in New York city and we've both wanted to visit the US for a while, we have just booked our flights and it is happening in December. Two big things to learn - cold weather and the practice of tipping, a rare thing here in Oz! We land at KSFO on the 16th then transfer to KSEA for three nights to check out Seattle and the Boeing plant at Everett. Then it's KSEA - KEWR for 16 nights in Manhattan with a train trip to Washington to see the capital and Smithsonian aviation museum. Then we're off to Paris for 5 nights to be with my twins for their 21s birthday, my daughter Lauren is a dancer at the Moulin Rouge! Happy birthday wifey!! Cheers Gwyn

[brianwilliamson]

Gooday Gwyn, oh boy ,you will have a ball there. We drove about 7000 miles all the way from the west coast over to Texas and back which was a lot of fun.

Just recently went to Europe and Paris which is a great city. So much to see !!

Hope the sim is going well Gwyn, still solving sim problems here from time to time, which I guess is nothing new.

Enjoy the trip.

Regards....................Brian W.

[Joe Lavery]

Sound like a fab trip Gwyn, sadly I can't get Pam to fly further than Europe these days.

The tipping is almost mandatory in the US, whether you've had good service or not.... One waiter followed my brother into the street because he hadn't left the expected 10 percent; he didn't get it, my brother is 6 feet 3". 

Cheers
Joe.

[navymustang]

10% - wow, many places in my area are now recommending 20%. It's ridiculous !!!!

[Trevor Hale]

If it is sub par service I leave 10% if it is great service I leave 20.  Hard to say, but it works...  Maybe I piss some people off though.  If the service is ridiculous..  I leave a penny. Just to prove a point LOL

[Jason L]

0% if rude.  5% for sub-par service. 10% for average service.  15% for good service.  20% for the above and beyond.

[Aerosim Solutions]

Here in Oz there is no obligation to tip and no expectations of tipping from the vendors. Restaurants usually have a tip jar by the cash register and you can tip if you want to. I always leave something if it has been a good meal with good service and if paying by card I will ask them to round up to a higher figure. I guess some Aussies may be caught out as being rude but tipping is not part of everyday life and we are not used to it. Our basic minimum pay rates are controlled and there is no reliance on tipping to supplement income so come to Oz, have a beer and pocket your change for something else!
So what's the best things to do in New York? Cheers Gwyn

[Trevor Hale]

My Wife and I just got back from NYC in May..  Loved the trip.  I would say #1. Catch a Broadway Show, and #2. Go to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.

Going through the sub and seeing the space Shuttle was the best part of that day.  I also enjoyed the Statue of Liberty Tour and a nice walk through central park and Times Square..

Trev

[FredK]

New York...

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a must, as is the new World Trade Center.

Washington....

Air and Space Museum (the one at Dulles Airport, not the one on the mall).

Fred K