So, this past Sunday the kid and I followed the advice of the excellent Time Out New York Kids site http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/ and tried to do one of the "18 things to do do under 20$". http://timeoutnewyorkkids.com/things-to-do/138241/cheap-and-easy-playdates-for-kids-in-nyc
It almost worked! We did parts of two of their fine suggestions: The Madame Alexander Doll Museum plus Dinosaur Barbecue AND Grand Central Terminal plus Le Carousel in Bryant Park.
We started in Bryant Park...holy crepe! You'd be forgiven for thinking you were in Paris at times! The restaurant on the side of the park towards the library has beautiful Belle Epoch appointments and architecture complete with wisteria vines winding their way up the columns.
The motif is mostly repeated across the park at the other little cafe. Large areas have been graveled with those little tan pebbles one finds at the Tuileries grounds in Paris complete with the wood and metal, green painted chairs and small tables everywhere. When we were first there, it just after 9am on a Sunday so it was sleepy and Le Carousel was closed (until 11am). Some nice folks were stringing lights in the trees adjacent to the carousel as one can reserve the space for kid birthday parties too! The area surounding the carousel has also been set up with smaller chairs and a free book cart filled with kids books.
Besides the central lawn, the perimeter of the park was nice and shady...(in a good way).
We made a mental note to swing by here on our way back to the train later....While we were trying to figure out which subway line could get us closest to 615 131st St, a very nice young man who works for the park and was assisting the birthday party jumped in to help us...I thought the A (because of the song of course!) or the 1 train but wasn't even sure where the closest station was. OK, so check this out...Bryant Park Guy calls his friend on the phone for us and asks him to google (yes google as a verb...I've caved) a subway map and address. Not to sound like a nugget but this is the kind of thing my friends and I have been known to do in Philly for strangers and it was refreshing to see in NYC! Turns out it was the 1 train so we tramped off to the 42nd st/Times Square station.
After an uneventful and seated ride uptown...(quick note..there is a little technique involved in swiping the Metrocard....the speed is the key...two beeps mean "try again howlie" and one means move your butt). It turns out, 125th station on the 1 train is the first station uptown out of doors and in fact, elevated...three stories!!. The engineering architecture under the three story high station and tracks is truly remarkable AND very beautiful.
We tramped about two blocks all told and arrived at the door and were met by again, a super nice New Yorker, this time a security guard. He sadly informed us that Sunday's at Madame Alexander were an unknowable thing; sometimes someone shows up and sometimes not. TONYK says they're open Sundays from 10am, various websites say closed weekends or by appointment only. Lesson? Call ahead! So, seeing our obviously fallen faces, the kindly New Yorker says "Hey, you're really close to Grant's Tomb, have you seen that?" Well, no in fact we haven't! He went on to say that the park around the monument had play grounds and spray grounds! We were off at a blazing mosey! A word for the very young/stroller crowd and very old/walker crowd: the hill up to the monument and park rivals San Fransisco......seriously steep! Be prepared!
We arrived at the top and goofed for awhile in the playground.
Then onto the National Monument....
On the side facing the park, a fantastic mosaic tile fantasy has been installed, reminiscent of Isaiah Zagar's work in Philly.
What a monument it is! We discussed U.S. Grant's story as we slogged up the hill so the Kid could have some context for what she was about to see. She is aware her 4th Great Grandfather as well as his brother's and cousin's fought in the 6th S. C. Cavalry, 33rd N.C. and 61st Va during the Civil War but is just starting to begin to grasp the enormity of that conflict. It is most definitely a monument befitting a great General AND decent President. The N.P.S guide informed us of a few interesting things: The monument was built, carved and hewn by hand; no machines! AND there are two answers to the old saw "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?'. President and Mrs. Grant OR no one...it's a mausoleum so the caskets are above ground, thus no one is actually "buried" there! Ha!
Various Union army units sent battle flags and very old replicas are displayed. There is one worn and deteriorating flag on display in the main upstairs rotunda in a climate controlled case.
On the walls of the flag rooms are giant maps of all the major battles of the war and red marks on the ones in which General Grant participated or commanded.
The actual site of the raised caskets is surrounded by busts of notable and famous Union Generals.
I had to tell the kid that when her Great Grandmother was alive, if anyone happened to mention General Sherman's name she made a sour puss and hissed...she sat upon her Grandmother and Grandfathers's knee during the Great Depression and heard horrible tales of Sherman's troops march through the Carolina's in the winter of '65 and the effect it had on them and their family.
It is, all together a beautiful and fitting tribute to an amazing American.
By this time, we were famished and headed toward Dinosaur Barbecue.
We got the Brisket Slider and Syracuse Potatoes for the kid and a Memphis Style Barbecue sandwich with one side plus drinks...24$ altogether and TOTALLY worth it! Delicious....
....now, it has to be said that I hail from piedmont N.C. originally and definitely know from real barbecue. I have sampled it all over: from N.C. to Va to Memphis, St. Louis and all over Texas as well as K.C. AND lot's of places up north...this place is just fine and for sure recommended!
We next headed south again on the 1 Train to Bryant Park and ride Le Carousel....
It was worth the wait....2$ a ride...perfect for smaller kids as it's petit and slow...the french chansons playing out of the calliope spot was nice touch and completed the illusion that we were in Paris for a moment...
A cab to Penn Station (I know you can walk but we were bushed!), the 2:55 to Trenton and we were back in Bucks County by dinnertime...
In the end, it was a fantastic day and highly recommended!
Ellie sez:
My favorite things were:
Taking pictures (all Photos by ME!)
Being with my Dad
Seeing all the cool stuff in NYC (Grant's tomb..I thought there'd be more rooms from the look of it outside but there were only 4!)
Lunch! ("the brisket doesn't fall apart; it's meaty!)
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