My sweet, wonderful parents were in NYC this week visiting, which means I have been away from the computer and out touring all the hot spots. New York is a demanding city, but we managed to go to at least one major attraction per day, plus we walked around different neighborhoods and tried out lots of restaurants. I would love to write proper reviews of all the museums and sites we visited, but I am just going to write a quick blurb about each location instead. (There are photos on my Flickr – unfortunately none of me with my parents. darn.)
The things we visited, in approximate chronological order:
Bonnie’s Grill – Bonnie’s is a small hamburger place near our apartment in Park Slope. I had read good things about it on some NY blogs, so we tried it out for dinner on Saturday. I had a veggie burger, so I don’t know if I am the best judge, but it wasn’t the most fabulous food I have ever had. Good, but not remarkable. The cole slaw was really spicy.
Guggenheim Museum – I love the unique architecture of this museum and I was thrilled to experience the spiraling art gallery. The current main exhibit is all about Frank Lloyd Wright (the architect of the Guggenheim) so it ended up being a LOT of info about him. I would have preferred a more contemporary painting exhibit as I have visited a lot of Wright buildings before, but it was not unpleasant. His plans for future cities were very interesting and I really did enjoy traveling through the building.
Central Park – We strolled across the park near the Reservoir after visiting the Guggenheim on Sunday and also checked it out near Columbus Circle on Monday.
Stone Park Cafe – Travis and I took my mom and dad here for Father’s Day (and a late Mother’s Day). It is my favorite restaurant in Park Slope, so far. The food is always excellent and the waiters are always nice. I definitely recommend it. I had the Pork Chop market dinner, which was fantastic except for maybe the dandelion salad starter.
Prospect Park – I forced my parents to come with Crusher and I to doggy time at the Park on Monday morning. We walked quite a long route which may not have been the smartest thing to do before a long day of sightseeing…
American Museum of Natural History – This was my second trip to the Natural History Museum in as many weeks. Thankfully there is plenty to see and I only saw a handful of repeat exhibits. I really enjoyed the human evolution exhibit, but we were very disappointed that the Hall of Gems was closed due to “economic conditions.”
Columbus Circle – Dad needed some ice tea in a bad way, so we stopped by the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle.
Katz’s Deli – We all had Pastrami Sandwiches at Katz’s and debated whether it was in fact the restaurant seen in a famous When Harry Met Sally scene. (It is. Dad was right.) The pastrami was delicious, but the potato salad was gross. I always enjoy checking out the Lower East side, so it was worth the trip.
Metropolitan Museum of Art – So beautiful. This was my first trip to the Met. I was a little apprehensive to go because I had discussed the museum so much in school and I felt like it would be too stressful to try to see everything. We definitely did not see everything, but I had a wonderful time. We saw the American sculpture court, Renaissance paintings, an excellent Francis Bacon retrospective exhibit, the general Modern Art collection, the Temple of Dendur and the Egyptian collection, a very cool Roxy Paine sculpture on the roof deck, and lots of Medieval art and objects. We also ate some delicious Crumb cupcakes from the cafes. Yum! I will definitely be going back!
La Villa – We had calamari and focaccia pizza at this new restaurant near our house.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Wednesday we spent the majority of the day at the Garden. It is small, but lovely. As a bonus we got to see the tv crew of Royal Pains taping a scene for an upcoming episode near the visitor center! I also saw a baby rabbit and some turtles. sweet.
JPan – JPan is Crusher’s very favorite restaurant (he can’t get enough of the chicken teriyaki) so we had to share it with my parents!
Times Square – We passed through Times Square on our way to the boat cruise. It was actually less crowded during the day than when I previously visited at night. Still too hectic for me, though.
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise – We had bought City Passes which included reduced price tickets to a bunch of NYC attractions. One of the included tickets was for a two-hour boat tour around Manhattan. We all agreed that we probably wouldn’t have done the cruise if it hadn’t been part of our ticket pack, but it was a relaxing way to see a lot of the city. We sailed very near the Statue of Liberty, and I feel like I have a better understanding of the many different neighborhoods in NYC after seeing them from a different perspective.
Rachel’s Taqueria – I mostly wanted to check out this Mexican restaurant on Thursday night because it shares my name. It was an easy going place, but the burrito I ordered wasn’t the best. We made up for it by stopping for Italian Ices from Uncle Louie G’s on the way home…
There are lots more places I could list, but basically it was an action-packed week. I had a great time!
When I am bummed out I do not post on my blog. So, if I haven’t posted in a while it might be because I am bummed… or I could just be busy. Anyway, I am NOT bummed out today! Travis and I accomplished a lot this weekend on 
