New York Highlights: Spring 2015

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On Monday I got back from spending several days in New York City with some family. My cousin and I visited our aunt in New York, and my cousin brought along her family. We spent four whole days wandering around Manhattan, visiting places I’ve never been like F.A.O. Schwarz and Radio City Music Hall. Despite the packed days however, there is never enough time to do all the things on my list!

Central Park

We stayed just off Central Park, so it was a no-brainer to spend some time there. The kids loved clambering all over the giant rocks and running through the fresh spring grass, and the adults really enjoyed the peaceful refuge from the busy city streets. We had some tea and ate leftover cheesecake from Carnegie Deli while sitting on the sun-drenched patio at the Boathouse, soaking up the first truly spring weekend of the year. On my last day I wandered into the Ramble, criss-crossing paths in a wild garden that is home to numerous wild birds; it was so peaceful that I almost forgot I was in the middle of New York!

 

New York Spring Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall

Featuring the Rockettes! A great intro to New York City, this show takes you on a tour of some of the city’s greatest attractions, from the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty to the Yankee Stadium and Central Park. It made me add the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library to my list of places to visit. It didn’t hurt that the show was in the spectacular art deco Radio City Music Hall.

The Great Weather

New York is always a few degrees warmer than Toronto, and we Canadians stuck out like a sore thumb as we shed our layers of clothing. While others were wearing puffer jackets, the kids were running around in shorts and t-shirts!

The great weather also meant that I could walk everywhere, all the way downtown and back to the Upper West Side in one afternoon.

 

The Restaurants

There are so many great restaurants in New York, but not nearly enough meals in the day! We ate at the Carnegie Deli, the Japanese buffet Ichi Umi that’s as long as a city block, P.J. Clarke’s, and Gabriela’s, to name a few. I also made my way to Momofuku Milk Bar and The City Bakery for snacks. I tried to get some cookies from Levain Bakery but the line up was too long the first time round – luckily they are not so busy at 8:30 on Monday mornings!

Brooklyn

Since we stay with our aunt in Manhattan, we normally spend most of our time in that one borough. However, the outer boroughs are always beckoning. In years past we went to Coney Island and Little Odessa, and Tomiko and I wandered around Williamsburg. This time I trekked to Flatbush to visit the Little West Indies neighbourhood. Here’s a tip, though: don’t go on a Sunday morning, unless you want to see the ladies in their fancy hats making their way to church. I got there around 10:30am on Sunday and most of the shops were closed and people were on their way to or from church. I bought two doubles from a little hole-in-the-wall cafe, and a package of spices for my mom. I would love to go back and try out some of the actual restaurants though, especially with a meat eater who could order the goat or shark!