Undiscovered New York: Flea market mania

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Here at Undiscovered New York, we often find ourselves wondering why our city is so expensive. It’s usually the first question from friends and family who come to visit us here in New York, and truthfully, they’re kind of right. Want a beer? That’ll be $7 (plus tip). Headed to a Broadway show? $60 for the cheap seats. Hotel room? Unless you’re staying at the Hotel Carter, expect to pay at least $100-$200 per night.

But as New Yorkers will tell you, there’s plenty of places to get a bargain if you know where to look. That is especially true when it comes to weekend flea market hunting, the city’s unofficial hobby. Whether it’s vintage clothing or costume jewelry, antique furniture or formica countertops, rare vinyl or a delicious vanilla pastry, New York’s flea markets offer a little something for everyone. And the best part is, New York’s vibrant community of artists and independent craftmakers ensure there’s just as much new merchandise for sale at flea markets as there is old gems.

So forget about blowing your vacation savings at Saks Fifth Avenue or down in SoHo. This week, Undiscovered New York is taking you inside some of New York City’s best flea markets and telling you where to find them. Click below for our picks of the best.
Annex / Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market
For the past 15 years, one of New York’s best flea markets was along 24th and 25th street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. That all ended in 2008, when rising rents forced the market to close and move shop. Thankfully, the change has been for the best, combining the fantastic variety of Chelsea’s once thriving vendor scene with the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market on West 39th Street.

The market now combines an enormous range of items, everything from African tribal artifacts to Mid-Century Modern furniture to fine silver. It’s one of the first stops for the city’s bargain hunters and those on the lookout for a truly unique item to decorate their apartment, in New York or beyond.

Brooklyn Flea
True to the quirky and eclectic tastes of its neighborhood’s residents, the Brooklyn Flea is among the newest additions to New York’s wide array of weekend shopping markets. First opened in 2008, this smallish market is held each Saturday in the courtyard of Fort Greene’s Bishop Laughlin Memorial High School and during colder months at two smaller “pop-up” markets in DUMBO. Don’t let the size fool you though – what this market lacks in size it more than makes up in a very well curated selection of items and great food.

In addition to a great selection of vintage records, the market stocks a nice mix of interesting vendors selling home furnishings, jewelry handcrafted by local artisans and some of the best food this side of the East River. Even if you’re not the shopping type, it’s a fun place to spend a weekend afternoon chowing down on a delicious taco and checking out the crowd. If you want a unique New York souvenir, check out the vendor who sells vintage tin ceiling tiles!

The Market (Nolita)
Each weekend, a crowd of visiting trend hunters descends on Nolita, a hip neighborhood “North of Little Italy” that is home to a large number of boutiques and unique businesses. But before they browse Nolita’s sometimes pricey shops, New York City bargain-hunters head straight for The Market, a weekend market for young designers on Manhattan’s Mulberry Street. Unlike the Annex / Hell’s Kitchen market, Nolita’s The Market is all about brand new stuff. It’s also a great place to find unique one-of-a-kind items like clothing and bags you can’t find anywhere else.

A book for women that most women travelers might recognize

by Jamie Rhein on

When I read about Rachel Kauder Nalebuff’s intriguing book My Little Red Book yesterday, I thought about women travelers and the calculations many make when hitting the road as to not be surprised by “that time of the month.” Sorry guys.

Nalebuff has collected 92 short memoir type pieces from women of all ages around the world about their first period experience. As the book review in the New York Times indicates, each selection is presented as a slice of life. Each, though, is part of a whole and offers up an aspect of the lives of young women not often talked about. From the book review, the stories are a cultural journey into what ties half of the world’s population together.

Nalebuff, who is only eighteen years-old, thought of this book after her own horrifying first period experience and began to interview female family members to find out about theirs. In the process, she found out intriguing, but not normally talked about stories like that of her great aunt Nina who avoided being strip-searched by guards at the German border while she and her family were fleeing Poland for France during World War II because “HER FRIEND” made a just in time first visit.

Again, reading about this book reminded me of certain traveling moments and the number of times women who scale mountains, trek across deserts, scuba dive in waters where a shark might lurk and perch precariously on top of a cargo truck on an adventure down a narrow highway, might sigh with relief at the sight of a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom that they’ve just dashed into because, despite careful calculations, travel can bring about the unexpected.

At the book’s Web site, people can add their own stories.

Visit the Prado Museum from your computer

by Annie Scott on


Okay, people, Super Budget Travel time.

You may not get that great museum smell, and you won’t see Madrid out the windows, but you can now see hi res images of 14 of the artworks at the Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado) on Google Earth. You can even see brushstrokes.

Click here to try it. The video above shows you how they did it and how it all works.

Kudos to the Prado for making their art so available. Even if you bought a big coffee table book of these works, you wouldn’t see detail this fine. This is an all-new idea.

The masterpieces the Prado allowed Google Earth to photograph include paintings by Rembrandt, Raphael, and El Greco. See them all really close without leaving your desk.

Budget Travel: Boston

by Brenda Yun on

Though it seems a world away from the paradise I live in now, Boston was my home for three great, memorable years, and continues to hold a special place in my heart. Often regarded as America’s true college city, “Beantown” (named because of the city’s influx of baked beans during the “triangular trade” when molasses was plentiful) is alive and kicking. Where else in the States is finance, literature, sports, and education so vibrant? No where. Kick it in Boston in the dead of winter or the height of summer – any time, freezing sleet or blazing sun, this city is packed with awesome history, sights, and sounds.
Getting in:
By bus/train – Boston is essentially the hub of New England, so that means nearly every bus or train line will at least make a pit stop in South Station. There are now cheap $20 one-way bus fares to and from New York City where the motor coach is complete with movies and wi-fi. Expect trains to take the same amount of time (if not more), but twice the price. (I found my last train journey to Boston six months ago to be quite miserable, so would advise taking the bus instead)

By plane – Hooray for Virgin America (my new favorite continental airline)! There are plenty of flights to Boston through this awesomely comfortable, low-cost carrier, or there are tons of flights to Boston on United.

Where to stay:
A most comfortable and surprisingly affordable option in the North End (or Little Italy), one of Boston’s gastronomy centers, is La Capella Suites. There are three nicely decorated suites available on the 4th and 5th floors of this 70 year-old chapel (thus, its name). Rooms start at just $100 in the winter or $140 in the summer. The city’s best Italian restaurants and nightclubs are just steps away.

The cool 19th century townhouse Encore is the other great option in Boston’s gay-friendly South End. There are four guest rooms that are comparably priced with La Capella.

Both of these accommodations are on T-lines, and close to the center of town.

What to see:
Faneuil Hall – Clam chowder, lobster bisque, Urban Outfitter, the Freedom Trail, Duck and historical tours… Also known as Quincy Market, Faneuil has it all. It’s just as popular among Bostonians as it is tourists.

The Freedom Trail & the Boston Common – There is no other place in the United States where you can learn about America’s Revolution. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Take a stroll along the Trail on your own using a handy online map, or have a native Bostonian guide you and tell you the dramatic story of America’s freedom from Britain.

Newbury Street – If you didn’t get your fill of shopping at Quincy Market, browse the hip boutiques along Newbury Street in the Back Bay, the quintessential Bostonian neighborhood. You can protect your pocket by sidling up to one of its many sidewalk cafés and people-watch your day way.

A BoSox game at Fenway Park – Don’t be daunted by the ridiculously steep ticket prices. If there’s one thing you must experience in Boston, it’s a Red Sox game. There is something totally electric about being in Fenway Park. Where else in the world is there so much baseball history in a single team and a single ballpark? Babe’s curse has been reversed, but the Green Monster and Pesky Pole live on. Even if you’re not a sports fan, you will be a Red Sox fan once you set foot on Yawkey Way.

Economic slow-down hits Lonely Planet: Guidebook publisher to lay off 10% of workforce

by Aaron Hotfelder on

It’s not exactly General Motors laying off 60,000, but for most travel writers, this piece of news hits closer to home. The massive guidebook publisher Lonely Planet has just announced that, because of the recent economic down-turn, the company will be sacking 10% of its workforce.

Sure, it’s only 50 people that are being let go, but the news will no doubt have guidebook and other travel writers wondering if they might be next.

Stephen Palmer, the acting CEO of Lonely Planet, said of the move: “I recognize that this is a terribly difficult time, particularly for those whose jobs will be made redundant. I would like to reiterate that I would not have taken this action if there was any way I could have avoided it.”

The cuts will be divided among LP‘s offices in the UK, the US, and Australia, and will mostly affect the production of the publisher’s online content– not the production of its guidebooks.