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| What the f@*%? The kid lost a @!%$^ passport, for Christ's sake. If I say this looks like the #&^!* mother, this is what the %(%&!@ looks like. |
Edward woke me up recently in the middle of the night, hissing furiously that we'd been burgled. Apparently he couldn't find Rose's passport. I found it in her backpack. She went to France on a school trip. In July.
Old friends will remember that the words 'Rose's passport' can turn me instantly into a pillar of salt.
It turned out that my throwaway comment at supper that night 'well, if you want to go to New York, it should be at Christmas time when it's all lit up and beautiful' had hit home. Edward was mid-online-flight-booking when they demanded passport details. Thus turning the lovely surprise into a midnight marital heart-stop.
However, daylight, a few days' distance and an appreciation of the most fantastic family surprise Christmas present in the world have restored my sunny nature. NYC is probably my favourite winter place in the world, and we've got a whole week to walk ourselves ragged and revel in its icy sparkle.
The bots are beyond excited and can't wait to nip over to Hoeboken to Carlos Bakery to make sure Buddy survived the flooding, buy a box of enormous day-glo cupcakes and hopefully hear some of the world-class swearing that the big guy did when they crushed his sugar dinosaur.
Anyone got any more mainstream suggestions for entertaining them?
Are you planning a theatre trip? How old are the bots now? Old enough for Avenue Q yet??
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's still on - it was the first thing I though of!! Those lyrics still haunt me...
DeleteI looked it up. It's moved Off-Broadway to 'New World Stages' (between 8th and 9th Avenues apparently)
DeleteBooked it! No pressure then! Am beyond excited!
DeleteOn the theatre trip theme, Blue Man Group has been around forever but if your bots haven't seen it (and are old enough) it is a hoot. Especially the raining toilet paper. I wonder if they still do that; if so, sit down in front so they can get buried in it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually this bossy but unless your bots are considering careers as art historians, banish any thoughts of visiting the Cloisters. I did 15 years ago and some family members to this very day describe that museum visit as "torture".
The Frick Museum is entirely do-able in a couple hours and small enough no one will get lost (for too long). Plus the neighborhood is lovely. The Guggenheim works with kids; the adults can enjoy the art and the bots will get some exercise speed walking up and down the ramp.
A hot dog and a fruit drink at Gray's Papaya is fun, and inexpensive. Really.
If your bots are so inclinded, please let them buy and a snack from a street vendor. It shouldn't kill them. My bot's childhood visits to the city were not only marred with museum torture but she was not permitted street food. Minimoto Kitchoan on 5th has gorgeous Japanese pastries, unless you've done their store in London.
Chelsea Piers used to have plenty of diversions, including a bowling alley.
If you're strolling by La Grenouille on East 52nd, go in for a look. They are famous for their food and their flower arrangements. It's heavenly. I haven't been there in years. Dinner seems like the GDP of Qatar but lunch is reasonable.
Enjoy!
Linda- wow! Thank you for the time and generosity of sharing your secrets - I am so grateful. No, I have't down their London store, and thanks for the tip - they would be beyond furious to miss anything good to eat and street vendors are so scarce in our coastal place that it will seem wildly exotic to them.
DeleteWonderful museum tips, I have arranged The List accordingly,
I once had a glass of champagne and something gorgeous made of chestnuts at La Grenouille, I remember thinking that I had never been so willingly, charmingly and deliciously mugged in my life!
My pleasure, you're more than welcome! I use the crass but apt "heamorraghing money" to describe our city trips but it's "willingly mugged" from now on -- with your permission of course.
DeleteI'm sure you will have a fabulous time in the city! It really is at its best during the holidays.
New York at Christmas time is a feast for the senses! I'm lucky enough to take the train in often, but I still can appreciate the loveliness of the city this time of year. Enjoy! And if you'd like some tips, no idea how old your kiddos are, but mine range up to 15 so if I can be of assistance, please, ask away!
ReplyDeleteYes please - they are 14 and 12, so any thoughts greatly appreciated!
DeleteThankyou, really.
I will shoot out an email tonight.
DeleteI want to be your bot Mummy. And I have a passport to hand.
ReplyDeleteNo. No, you really, really don't. You can ask them.
ReplyDeleteThere is a New York Pizza tour that I often recommend to people with kids. If you want, let me know and I'll send a link. The tenement museum in the Lower East Side is very interesting. We love the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are enough things in there to satisfy anyone. Armour and Egypt rooms for the boy, There is clothing and other things such as gems for the girl. If the weather is nice, a stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty, but windy. How about ice skating? Try Wolman rink in Central Park, less crowded than Rockefeller Center.
ReplyDeleteStacy
a pizza tour??? Yes please to the link!! Thanks so much, that all sounds lovely, especially the skating, it's the other thing they want to do after they see the Cake Boss and eat pizza...
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DeleteWanted to edit my comment. I sent you an email about the tour and a few other things. Wanted to add that Rosemary mentioned in my note is a great shopper, cook and restaurant finder of NYC.
DeleteOur UK cousins were mad for shopping - the 17 year old couldn't be pulled out of Abercrombie and Gap, even though you've got them there. So much less expensive here, now. Also loved the Chinese part of Chinatown, poking in the stores with ducks hanging upsidedown in the windows, and the massive dim sum places down there. Also, the store windows with their Christmas decor are fun to see.
ReplyDeleteOoooh, chinatown, genius! Thank you. I hope the Abercrombie chaps have got more clothes on than the last time I went by with eyes on stalks...
DeleteGreta thought though, I bet they'll be in there for hours!
The front room at Gramercy Tavern, on 20th St, for lunch. They don't take reservations so show up at noon! Good place for young people to feel grown up and special, with friendly, understanding, solicitous-but-not-in-your-face staff. Lovely food, warm and cozy atmosphere, fire in the grate, etc. etc. etc.
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