NYC

Fifteen years ago I took my, then, 5-year-old daughter Chelsea to New York City.  It was just the two of us.  We took the bus from Boston to the Big Apple. Two chicks on the move.

I remember our trip to the city like it happened yesterday.  We hit all the hot spots! Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, Rockefeller Plaza and of course, the BIG FAO Schwarz toy store. I remember Chelsea holding my hand as tightly as she could as we navigated our way through the swarms of hustling people in Times Square.

Of course, time moves on, and children grow older, and Chelsea is no longer holding my hand tightly but instead is successfully navigating her own way through her college life, ironically in NYC.

Our visits to the city are vastly different these days.  We tend to spend most of our time a bit off the beaten track rather than in the pulse of Times Square.  Chelsea has introduced us to some great cafes, bakeries, boutiques and stores.

This weekend, Russ and I dropped Chelsea back to the city after her holiday break.  We spent less than 24 hours in the city but fit in a visit to some of our favorite spots and found a few new places too.

Russ and I walked through Central Park on Saturday afternoon.  It’s one of our favorite spots in Manhattan.  Despite jogging through the park numerous times, it seems every visit we find a new spot we haven’t seen before.

Loved this cute spot.

There are so many beautiful bridges and walkways.

Saturday was quite chilly, so we decided to duck into the Boathouse for  a drink to warm up a bit.

Russ bellies up to the bar to order…

This little restaurant and bar is wonderful with views that are magical.

We wandered by Strawberry Fields, a living memorial dedicated to John Lennon who lived just across the street from the park.  On the ground is this big mosaic “Imagine” tile.

On our walk, guess what we found?

We stumbled upon Laudree our favorite French macaron storefront.  OHHHH…these cookies are decadent.  But the line was far too long for me, so we snapped a pic and kept on walking.  We headed back to Chelsea’s to reconnect and grab a bite for dinner.

Chelsea recommended a local pizzeria for dinner and we started our meal with a classic antipasto…

and caprese salad too…

YUM.

We ended our evening meal with a walk to Magnolia bakery for a classic cupcake.

Yum too!

{Of course, we then watched the Patriots win against the Broncos.  Oh…. yes! GO Pats!}

Normally we would have gone for a great run in Central Park before we headed home, but the ridiculously cold weather would have made for a miserable time running so we headed to Chelsea’s to visit for a bit before we hit the road.

We decided to head to a small local bakery to pick up some goodies for our boys at home and join Chelsea and her friend Erin for breakfast.

The bakery goods were outrageously good.  Chelsea’s friend Erin went for the sticky bun.

We bought some whole grain breads and fruit and nut breads and a few HUGE cookies for our boys who stayed home this weekend.   (They could not fit in the car because Chelsea’s luggage filled the entire car!)

Chelsea and her friend, Erin, stroll home along the quaint residential streets of the Upper West Side.

I love our trips to NYC.  I love that we have found so many interesting places off the path of the traditional tourist spots. Now I am back home, missing my daughter, but SO happy she is happy.  Sitting next to my chocolate lab Lucy who missed her Mama while I was away.  Life is good.