New York over Spring Break 2016

Solomon (15)  and Nova (13)

Over Spring Break Solomon, Nova, and I went to New York City to visit my sister, Brynn.  It was my first trip with just the big kids, Nova's first time on a plane, and Brynn's first time working on a show that went to Broadway.  (More on that later).

After we arrived, we met Brynn at a little crepe and coffee shop.  From there we were off through the city, winding our way through the flower district to the High Line park, an elevated greenway made by converting out of service railway.




Our first day there has been dubbed 'Boat Day' because we went on tour boat around Manhattan, as well as a little row boat through Central Park.  The day was gorgeous and unseasonably warm--nearly 80 degrees.  We spent the entire day outside, and I'm sorry to say, got a little sun burned.  Nova and Solomon did a little bouldering in Central park.  You could tell climbing on the rocks was a popular activity because the well traveled routs were smooth and slippery, though the rock was naturally rough.  I was taken with the architectural adornments of gazebos and ponds, not to mention all the spring bulbs and flowering trees.  We wandered about, stopped at the dairy, watched little remote control sail boats and heard street musicians and poets.  On the way out we hurried past Strawberry Fields.  Though listening to my dad play Strawberry Fields from a record is one of my first memories of pop music, I never knew that Strawberry Fields was also a place in Central Park.



The row boat was refreshing, fun, and slightly challenging.  Solomon was our first and best rower. We all took turns.  Some sibling splashing ensued, but it was a more or less peaceful expericene.  The turtles were out in force, gathering in groups of as many as 10.




















Our second day was Museum Day.  Inspired by our boat ride to check out The Cloisters museum, we set out for the far northern tip of Manhattan.  At 'the end of the line' we found one of the fabled New York subway public restrooms, plus tiled covered in quotes from neighborhood residents.



Walking around The Cloister felt like another world, just like my sister said it would.  Starring out at the Hudson River, you could see nothing of the gigantic city that it was someone still a part of.  It truly felt like being in a medieval monastery.



Our favorite parts included the intricate wooden prayer beads and the medieval gardens.  I admit I stocked up on return gifts here--George and the Dragon for Ariadne, Robin Hood for Charlotte, and reproduction Medieval playing cards for Charles.

Like the gardens outside, this crypt completely transported me to the Medieval period.  

 These playing cards are the oldest complete set known.  The suits are slightly different from ours, focused on the theme of a hunt, but essentially they are the same and can be used to play any modern card game.  

Illuminated manuscripts always intrigue me.  This one was particularly beautiful.

On the way back to Brooklyn we stopped at The Met.  Since the The Cloisters and The MET are all run by The MET, if you go the same day, you only pay once.

The kids know The MET through The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwieler, as much as anything else.  Though we could not look at the Egyptian exhibit up close, it was fun to see the waiters practicing choreographed individual service for an upcoming event (Easter Brunch?)

One of the main reasons for the trip (or the timing of the trip anyway) was the Broadway premiere of Anastasia, the musical my sister had been working on.  She was part of the costume department, and had been with the production since the summer before.

After going back to our hotel to get fancied up (why not? It is fun to dress up, and we were going to Broadway) we met Brynn for dinner at a collection of restaurants more or less across the street.  We chatted a little and got our food.  We zoomed through a NYC themed gift shop, picking up an I heart NYC teddy bear for Ariadne and an NYC snow globe for Charlotte (that child loves snow globes), in record time.

Spring flowers at The MET

Brynn left to work on the show, and we left to see it.  The line was long, the anticipation great.  Our seats were perfect--front, middle.  The show was everything one could ask for in a Broadway performance, a grand story, excellent singing, acting, dancing, and production value.  The plot was somewhat changed from the animated version, which I found both more historically plausible and more compelling.  Instead of Rasputin playing the part of the villain, it was a Soviet officer bent on tracking down any possible heirs to the throne.

After the show, Brynn showed us backstage where all the costumes are kept.

We also got to meet Brynn's boyfriend Karl while we were visiting her in New York.  They had been dating for awhile, but we were the first family members who got to meet Karl.  He made a good first impression.  We met up at an Italian restaurant with Brynn and Karl. Karl was kind and polite, asking Solomon and Nova questions as if they were adults, which they both appreciated.  Later in the trip we all went to Karl's apartment, ordered take out,  and played board games until it was well past my bedtime.

Part of what is best about visiting friends and relatives far away is seeing their day to day.  We walked through the park she visited nearly every day, rode the subway from her station and saw her apartment.  We saw the costume jewelry shop where the sparkly necklaces in Anastasia came from, Brynn's favorite knickknack store, and the expensive furniture store with a surprisingly good toy section.  We experienced the sights, sounds and smells. Mounted police strolled by near Central Park.  The people walking down the street were from all over the world, and were literally dressed for any and every occasion.  Street performers showed up all over the city, whether playing saxophone outside the MET,  or reciting poetry in Central Park.  There was even a band with a bass banjo in Washington Square doing a mean rendition of Summertime.  The kids had New York Style pizza, and got bubble tea in China town.

Many of the pictures from this trip are trapped on an ancient computer, so I don't have any of either Karl or Broadway. Words will have to suffice.  Maybe some day we will get them uploaded, but in the mean time, I wanted to post what we have instead of letting these languish in draft mode.