We've had a bit of a tumultuous relationship with New York City this year. There were about 48 hours last spring when we were moving there after London. And very happily so. The Mister and I'd been conspiring to get a NYC posting for years. Don't get me wrong, Nashville is fantastic and was surely meant to be for us now. But that abrupt change of course meant there was a long time when I wasn't at all keen to see the Mister drink anything from his Brooklyn Brewery pint glasses. Not being city - not being New Yorkers - stung for a while.
So a year ago I would have been shocked if you'd told me how thrilled we'd all be to spend our Spring Break in the Big Apple. I probably would have said something completely unintelligible as I was weeping into a red bandana over a coffee on the Marylebone High Street. It took several days of red-ringed eyes, wearing sunglasses on overcast school runs and much, much cheer from my London girlfriends (who pledged to wear "neckerchiefs" when they arrived in Nashville) to remind me that we don't always know what's next for us.
Not unlike taking the kids to Paris, our goal was for them to see enough of the city that they'd love it and be eager for a return trip. It helped significantly that our first stop was dinner at a Pret and then for a stroll through Rockefeller Center and Times Square at night.
Day One found us at the World Trade Center memorial site. It is hard to believe that we were expecting Biggest Brother when the towers came down and what seems like not that much later we were there with four little children. The museum opens next month and it promises to be a profound experience.
The ferry ride to Liberty Island reminded me of ferrying them across the English Channel. Maybe it was Baby Sister's fantastic hat.
And all my French friends should know how happy we were to be reminded of this treasured gift.
Farmer's Market in Greenwich Village and a research trip for inspiration for our own budding shop.
A tour of Teddy Roosevelt's boyhood home. My favorite part of that was discovering his quote: "For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison." And how!
The Empire State Building. Cold and really windy made us feel like we were back in Chicago.
The Plaza, FAO Schwarz and Tiffany.
And I cannot believe I didn't get a photo of another great stop. We stumbled into a super new restaurant for a perfectly simple dinner. Hot dogs are their speciality but we enjoyed it all. I'll think of it and report back.
Until next time, New York.
No comments:
Post a Comment