Weekend in the City
The big weekend arrived. Packing the suitcases began on Thursday night. Packing was a huge question. Would there be beautiful weather or rainy, inclement weather? We can’t overpack.
On to the LIE – our final destination Le Parker Meridien Hotel on 56th Street. At 2 p.m. going west on the LIE, it was uncharacteristically easy to travel. Less than an hour later, we checked into the hotel. Our first room reeked of tobacco. It was hard to breathe; after a brief discussion with the front desk, we were awarded a room on the 28th floor overlooking Central Park.
As we planned, we met our children and grandchildren at the indoor pool on the 42nd floor. It was Easter weekend, and the pool was filled with children. The swim was refreshing; then we dressed for dinner. Our reservations that night were at The Dervish, a Turkish Restaurant. As we walked with the stroller, adult children and grandchildren, the streets were packed with visitors to New York speaking many languages.
At the Dervish, we had a table for nine. The Turkish food was exotic and tasty. The tart Turkish salad, hummus, marinated olives began the dinner. Naturally, there were plenty of lamb and eggplant dishes. The waiters were extremely accommodating. A good time was had by all. We all walked back on Sixth Avenue, past many lighted fountains. It was exhilarating for the children and their grandparents.
After an early breakfast, we boarded a sightseeing bus tour around downtown Manhattan. I have always seen the sightseeing buses and thought it would be fun to tour the city by bus. We boarded the upper deck, sat back on a beautiful sunny day and listened to the narrator describe the highlights, architecture and history of the varied neighborhoods. We drove through Broadway, Times Square, past Macy’s – the world’s largest department store, the Empire State Building, New York University, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, the Lower East Side and Battery Park. We left the bus to have lunch at the South Street Seaport. The lunch was delicious and inexpensive.
Back on the sightseeing bus, past Katz’s Delicatessen, past the United Nations, and on to our hotel. Looking back, we learned many facts about New York City that we assumed we knew prior to our bus tour.
Another quick refreshing swim and off to our Saturday night dinner at The Redeye Grill where Lorraine’s sisters and their husbands joined us for a table of 13.
A beautiful Sunday morning called for a walk in Central Park. Our children scaled the rocks. While watching ice skating, we noticed the tulips poking up their colorful faces. Brunch followed and soon it was time to return to the suburbs.
Manhattan can be a great family weekend!
