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.

Grove Park Inn & Grovewood Gallery

 We lived right around the corner (within 2 miles) from the Grove Park Inn.  This 100+ year old hotel is gorgeous and has amazing views.  One afternoon we decided to pretend like we were supposed to be there, and walked around the premises.  We showed the kids the huge fireplaces located in the foyers.  Afterwards, we went to the Grovewood Gallery which has an Antique Car Museum, the Homespun Museum, and the Grovewood Studios.  The North Carolina Homespun Museum presented a historical overview of Biltmore Industries and its internationally renowned wool cloth.  The Antique Car Museum was established in 1965 by Asheville businessman, Harry Blomberg, who owned a car dealership.  The museum is home to several rare and vintage automobiles, as well as some original horse-drawn carriages and Asheville's own American La France fire engine.  (This was our favorite stop of the afternoon and well worth the visit if you are in the area.)  The Grovewood Studios has amazing hand crafted art artifacts.

The fire truck designed specifically for Asheville.

1915 Model T Ford

The car seen on the back of the $10 bill.

Inside the Homespun Museum.

The Wind Garden outside the Studio.

This is it…the last Split post

As we would leave each city, I would often compose a hodgepodge post of things we did that hadn't yet made it to the blog.  To keep up with that tradition, this last Split post contains a variety of things.  

While in Valencia, Bobby and Amelie were able to make it to a soccer match.  They both enjoyed the experience so much that Liam and I wanted to make sure we went to at least one soccer match too.   Hajduk is the most supported team in Split and we would see support for the team all over.  Going to the match was an experience that will not be easily forgotten.  We all had a blast and there was so much going on.  The intense fans, the soccer game itself, the riot police, the singing, the fireworks, etc.  We were surprised by how many firecrackers and flares went off as we were patted down very thoroughly as we entered.  It will always be a mystery to me.  I am thankful that the ticketing agent did not allow us to buy tickets in the intense fan section…that would have been too much for a family event! ;)  Looking from our vantage point of all of the happenings was perfect though.

So many flares and fireworks went off at one point, a thick smoke filled the entire field of play.

Too cute not to include is this random picture of Liam helping Bobby cook chili one night.    

Just outside the Golden Gate of the north side of the Palace is the statue of Gregory of Nin created by Ivan Meštrović.  Gregory of Nin was a medieval Croatian bishop of Nin who strongly opposed the Pope and official circles of the Church and introduced the national language in the religious services after the Great Assembly in 926, according to traditional Croatian history. Until that time, services were held only in Latin, not being understandable to the majority of the population. Not only was this important for Croatian language and culture, but it also made Christianity stronger within the Croatian kingdom.  Rubbing the statue's toe is said to bring good luck.

The tower of a now long-gone Benedictine Monastery also outside the Golden Gate.

A fair popped up near us in which we frequented a couple of times.  Highlights include Liam riding on his first roller coaster, Amelie recklessly driving bumper cars, and Amelie being a daredevil on the gigantic inflatable slide.

Loving the roller coaster ride.

What a cute train conductor!! 

We hit up most of the museums in Split with our Split Pass.  Being the only people in the museums, we were able to enjoy walking around learning without fear of disrupting others.

Looking at the then and now of the city. 

If you were to ask me which of the cities were my favorite, I would tell you Valencia and Split.  Split is an amazingly beautiful place and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  I hope to one day make it back during the summer months. :)

Nothing New Under the Sun

On Saturday we needed to grab a couple of groceries because on Sundays all groceries are closed.  We have gotten into the habit of buying the food we need to eat on the day we need to eat it.  With our cabinets bare and favorable weather, we decided to walk to the larger grocery store farther from our apartment.  On our way, we popped into the Archaeological Museum.  Because this was not planned (and we needed our stroller space for groceries), all pictures taken were with our old iPhones (quality is not great).

The Archaeological Museum in Split was founded in 1820 making it the oldest museum in Croatia.
It has a large stock of archaeological objects from prehistoric times, from the period of the Greek colonization of the Adriatic and from the Roman, Early Christian and early Medieval ages.   We enjoyed the two seperate areas of the museum; the exhibition hall and courtyard.

Amelie loves writing our names.  She was very excited to be able to sign all of our names in the guest book.

There is a large coinage collection.  Bobby is pointing out coins used in the 3rd century.

Amelie used my phone to take pictures throughout most of our visit.

Amelie really liked all of the jewelry.

In Ecclesiastes it says there is nothing new under the sun.  If you wanted proof of that statement, here is some for you.  You can see in the picture below that #65 is a device for expressing milk from nursing women from the 3rd century!  

Looking at the hieroglyphics on a Sphinx. 

Contemplating why there are all of these 1st Century wine jugs with coral attached.

If you would like a deeper understanding as to how museum time really is with the Walkers, you can check out the video below.  In it you will see that the kids ask lots of questions and like to point out items to us.  You might also be able to hear Bobby explaining to Amelie what a sarcophagus is.  He does a great job explaining to the kids what they are seeing with background information too.  Most importantly you will see that both kids do not stop moving and like to run, run, run.  Warning:  If you are not related to us you will probably find this extremely boring!

After having an enjoyable time learning, we continued walking to the grocery store where we also ate lunch before shopping.  Throughout Europe the grocery stores have not provide plastic bags for free.  You have to pay for each bag you use.  As you can imagine, people use the bags very sparingly and most re-use.  We use one or two bags over and over again along with the storage room of the stroller. 

We started the day taking a look back in history to be reminded that technology and tools have changed drastically over time.  But in the end, it seems most of a day's work is still about putting food in your belly, no matter what century you are born.