Hi

I hope that you will be able to help me. We will be visiting NY from Australia & New Zealand from the 23rd December until the 2nd Jan 06, staying on the East side on Lexington Ave.
My questions are:

1 Restaurants that will be open on Christmas Day?

2 Will there be "sales" on during that period and what are some the best places to
get a bargain?

3 Where to go to hear rhythm & blues, soul music etc?

4 Will the Bronx Zoo be open during that period?

5 Do you need to get to Times Square early on New Years Eve?

We would also like to see the Xmas Spectacular at Radio City but the prices seem
very expensive. How do we acquire tickets at a reasonable price with a view that
does'nt involve a telescope?

Hoping you can help.

There will be many restaurants to choose from on Christmas day. What sort of experience would you like? A classic Jewish tradition is Chinese food and a movie. I suggest this for out of town visitors too because even if you go for a traditional feast it's never going to feel like home. It may as well be exotic. Shun Lee Palace is very popular in upper west side and there are movie theaters nearby. Chinatown probably offers better food. I would do the traditional dining on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve many stores begin their after Christmas sale markdowns. I've made some really great purchases at Barney's, Bendel's and Bergdorf on the day before Christmas. I imagine other stores do the same. I've seen some shows at B.B. King's it's got a nice atmosphere. There are so many small clubs to hear music, the listings in the Village Voice would be a good place to look. I think the Bronx Zoo has special Christmas lighting but I hope they're closed on the 24th and 25th. I hope they are because I think it would suck for zoo employees to have to work on those days. Yes you need to get to Times Square in the afternoon or preferably even earlier if you want to be able to see the ball drop. Once you are in don't plan on getting out of there until after the ball drops. I wouldn't waste money on the Radio City show . They don't even use a live orchestra. I suggest you Google Christmas in NYC closer to the holiday for some other ideas. I would go to see the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center but that's probably even more expensive than Radio city.