Parks, Picnics, and Play-dates…How We Spent our First Days in NYC

When we first arrive in a city, we like to get our bearings and establish some routines before we hit the streets too hard.  Our first week in New York City consisted of learning how to play the parking game with our car, scouting out the good playgrounds & grocery stores nearby, and meeting up with friends who now live in the city.  

Bobby's college roommate and his family live in NYC.  The last time we visited NYC, Amelie was a couple months old and we actually stayed with Matthew.   Many New Yorkers like to get out of the city for a bit in the summer, Matthew's family being one.  Since they were leaving shortly after we arrived, we spent our first day with them.  We met in Central Park after lunch and let the kids play at the Billy Johnson Playground.  Unfortunately, we were busy talking and I didn't get any pictures.  The main part of this playground is a 45 foot long slide made of granite.  Not only did they love the slide down, but they also loved getting to the top of the slide.  It's fun because they get to follow a wooded and rocky path that looks like it was carved into the side of a hill.   Someone had brought a cardboard box that Amelie and Liam both were allowed to take a turn with which made the experience down even more faster and fun!  After running around for a while, Liam was ready for a nap.  We headed to a nice grassy patch and Bobby & Matthew allowed the girls to play together while I stayed a distance away reading a Harry Potter book.  I loved that I was already fitting into the New York mom scene as I was stopped a couple of times for directions to places around the park.  Ha!  The peace and quiet in the shade of the trees was amazing.   All good things must eventually come to an end and when Liam woke up we went to FAO Schwarz Toy Store.  The AC felt amazing so we did not mind letting the kids drool at all of the fun toys.  Once we started to get hungry for dinner, Matthew took us to Anable Basin Bar & Grill.   After walking through some industrial zones, we were skeptical of his choice.  However, once we were there we were pleasantly surprised.  Since the restaurant was in Long Island City, we had amazing views of Manhattan.  The atmosphere was relaxed and kid friendly.  We had a full and fun first day in the city!

Eating a quick picnic lunch in Central Park before meeting Matthew.

My view while Liam napped.

Amelie and Jasper having fun on the giant keyboard.

Meeting superstars!

View from our table at dinner.

The following day was much more laid back, but we did meet up with friends who were in our first small groups in Athens.  We met them for a picnic dinner in Central Park's Great Lawn.  The kids loved having the space to run, do cartwheels, play baseball & soccer while we were able to catch up with our friends.  They moved to NYC at the same time that we moved to Paris.  I have loved learning from them and watching their journey of learning how to live well in a busy city with small kids.   We had hoped to spend a lot more time with them, but life is busy!  We were thankful for this laid back evening.  To top off the good company, we also enjoyed waffles with Nutella from the Wafels & Dinges Food Truck.  Yum!!

Our third day in the city we were on our own without any friends. ;)  We took the kids to Grand Central Station and watched the hustle and bustle.  We then went across the street to the Main Public Library.  We went straight to the kids section and read with the kids.  Afterwards, we went through a really cool exhibit.  It was the ABC of it:  Why Children's Books Matter.  Bobby and I were fascinated looking at original books, the history behind them, and how they continue to shape culture.  The exhibit had some interactive elements which Amelie and Liam loved.  Amelie's favorite was seeing the original Winnie the Pooh inspired characters on display.  Since this took up a lot of our kid's attention span.  We headed straight to grab lunch.  We had intentions of making our way back to explore more, but sadly we never did.  Next time, I really want to see the Rose Reading Room.  After a soup & sandwich lunch, we let the kids run around Bryant Park before heading back to the apartment.

American Library

We successfully made it to story time at the library on Wednesday.  We had to go to the 2:30 time instead of the 10:30 time to make this happen! ;)  Story hour was crowded, but it's always enjoyable.  Amelie's highlight has been making the crafts.  On this day, she made a basket with flowers on the side in honor of spring.  We picked out more books and DVDs.  Since the library is right under the Eiffel Tower, we walked over to a playground.  Why is the Eiffel Tower so beautiful?  I love seeing it and finding it as we walk around the city.  My favorite game:  I spy the Eiffel Tower.  After the kids were able to play for awhile, since the weather was nice and the sun was shining we walked along the Seine to a different Metro stop.  

Love seeing the blooms around town!  Spring is here!!

Snow In Paris

By Tuesday, the snow had rolled into Paris.  I am still very protective of Liam so being super cold walking around all day makes me nervous he will get sick.  I have also been battling a cold since we arrived a month ago (wow! a MONTH ago!).  Bobby and Amelie are not as easily hindered. They decided set off inspire of the snowy cold weather to the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (Science Museum with the fun hands-on kid play area).  The metro entrance is right by the museum so they did not have to be out in the cold for very long.  However, instead of going straight to the museum, they detoured to get a fun picture in front of the Eiffel Tower while it was snowing.  Once finally at the museum, they got to explore areas that we didn't get to see as a family when we were there the previous week in addition to allowing Amelie to burn some energy in the kids area (which was a lot less crowded on this day...go figure!).  They went into the Planetarium and the da Vinci exhibit.  They had an entire day of fun daddy/daughter time.  Liam and I stayed home. I was able to do schoolwork and work around the house...don't worry...I like being able to check things off my todo list!

This looks like a lot of fun, right?!

On Wednesday, the snow was still around, but we all needed to get out of the house.  We went to story time at the American Library.  We often run late to events, but we were actually out of the house on time.  What we did not factor in was that the sidewalks (and streets but we don't travel on those any more) were covered in ice and snow.  Pushing a stroller (both of us have one mind you) through the snow is very difficult work.  I must have had cabin fever as I could not hold it together.  I laughed almost the entire 1.5 hour walk to the library. At the last minute, we decided to change our route because we thought it would save time.  However, the metro line that we rode had a bazillion stops and was fairly crowded.  The benefit was that it let us out near the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero Garderns.  The American library is a block away from the Eiffel Tower on a little side street.  I love that every week we will definitely be seeing and walking under the Tower.  I also love walking in the neighborhood and seeing the Tower peeking around the buildings as we walk.  The drawback for today's walk was that the marble tiles and steps through Trocadero gardens were covered with snow/ice sludge.  I wore black boots that have absolutely no traction.  There was actually a point on an inclined plane that I could not walk up...Bobby had to come pull the front of the stroller so that I could skate up behind it.  Luckily, this is a highly touristy area so we fit right in as silly Americans!  Liam had not been out in the snow the previous day like Amelie so he wanted out of the stroller in the worst way.  We finally gave in and allowed them both to play for a while.  The sun was shining and although it was cold it was not bone chilling cold.  Isn't the sun an amazing thing?!  Amelie and Liam squealed and played while I snapped as many photos as I could.  Amelie and Bobby threw snowballs at each other as this was one of Amelie's greatest desires for the winter...to make a snowball.  

Making snowballs from the snow on the bench and lobbing them at each other.

He likes posing for pictures...for a second.
See how beautiful the sky is?  The sun is out and it makes all the difference!

We did make it to the library for the last 5 minutes of story time.  At this point, they were working on the craft activity. The craft was making a leprechaun hat.  We stuck around for an hour or so longer, after everyone left, and read books and played games. Another family with children close to Amelie and Liam's age came in, and we had a fun conversation with them.  (Any conversation that is more than a sentence with another adult other than each other is fun for us at this point! Haha!)  We are glad that we have become members of the library.

Amelie picking out the books for the coming week. 

Liam contentedly reading in a chair.  They also have a little nook under the stairs with a little chair and stuffed animals in it.  He likes to go in the cubby and read there too.

It's a blurry picture, but they would not stand still and it was too cute not to share.