It’s true. I am the most loved child in the best family, ever. Let me tell you what a great weekend I had so that you can see why. Disclaimer: the only thing that could have made this weekend better were if my dear sister could have afforded to miss school and accompanied my parents, uncle, and cousin.
I finished work at the bakery on Friday afternoon and all but bounced out of the building, already riding an emotional my-family-is-coming high. I had time to get back to my apartment and throw a bag together before I met my parents, Uncle Mark, and cousin Melissa at their hotel in the Financial District. We stayed at Club Quarters just outside the original site of the World Trade Centers, where the current memorial site is, and in view of the new towers that are being built. The new towers will be taller than the Empire State Building!
True to form, New York traffic severely delayed my family’s arrival, and then the construction and one ways delayed them longer. Eventually they arrived at the hotel and we had a wonderfully long, huggy mini family reunion in the lobby. Once we unloaded, we headed straight for the subway to get dinner at La Camelia, a Mexican restaurant near my internship. This was the first of many delicious and oversized meals throughout the weekend. We shared a pitcher of margaritas and after fresh made guacamole – big chunks of tomato, diced red onions, spices and other goodness – I had the night’s special: chicken stuffed with a cheese and spice blend over rice. I finished every bite. And that’s saying something since I’ve actually been paying attention to what I eat here!
After dinner, we basically rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and I showed them my office building. It was pretty anticlimactic, I realized. Hey, see that big tall sky scraper, next to that other really tall sky scraper? That one that looks like all the others in the dark? Well, I work there…Good one, Kiley. Anyway, from there, we trekked to Times Square for super touristy photos and a drink at a great bar near the red steps called Tonic.
By the time we got home at midnight, my family was more than ready to fall into bed after a 10+ hour drive and my running them all over hell’s half acre. We all slept very, very well.
The next morning, we woke up nice and early to catch the Staten Island Ferry where we saw…lots of fog. Literally could not see more than fifty meters past the boat. I felt so bad (badly? But that sounds weird, though technically it’s grammatically correct…hmm)! I felt worse again when we reached Staten Island and didn’t have time to run to the Wu Tang Clan landmarks my uncle wanted to see. The band originated there, and there used to be a shop but it closed down a while back, and the only other options as far as landmarks were a few of the projects where some of the band members grew up. We opted out of perusing those. Instead, we caught the ferry right back. The fog had luckily lifted and we could see the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline as we came back across. It felt great watching the city grow bigger as we drew closer, the wind whipping around us, and having my family close by.
Once back in Manhattan, we got right on the subway and headed to my bakery for lunch. OH. MY. GOD. I had planned to omit my places of employment, but I can’t eat food so good and be treated so well and not speak up. Go to Bouchon Bakery Café in Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. Third floor. The food is incredible. I’ve been blown away by the sandwiches and/or salads we get for break food (for free, every shift by the way), so I knew our food was really good but WOW. I had our quiche, which changes every day according to what Chef decides. With our roasted cauliflower soup du jour, I was in heaven. I sampled the gnocchi, seared salmon, and hanger steak around the table, and every time I decided which I liked best, I immediately felt I was being unfair to the other dishes. The local grown cab franc we had with the meal was perfectly soft and complemented each dish well. The pumpkin cheesecake we shared for dessert, so rich and creamy and pumpkin-y without being overly any of those things, was to die for. I don’t have any photos of any of this, because it was plated so beautifully and smelled so good, I couldn’t stop from diving straight in. Really, come eat at Bouchon.
We walked a bit of Central Park afterward until we decided we were just too full and would rather sit on the subway and digest. So to my apartment we went for a tour. We regrouped there and fought the urge to nap before walking down to the Hudson and following it back toward downtown. Along the way, we stopped at Tom’s Restaurant – yes! the diner from Seinfeld, although the inside shots were actually filmed in the studio, but still – for a coffee.
With the pick-up we needed, we headed for the Empire State Building with every intention to go up, but at $48 a piece (FORTY-EIGHT DOLLARS WHATTTT??), we passed. Maybe some other time. Instead we shopped, which wasn’t quite as bad of an idea, but still just as hard on my wallet. But now I have a cute new dress and Oxfords to wear to work, so that’s cool.
The family made its trek further downtown again to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and get dinner, though I was honestly still full from gorging myself at lunch. I made my way through another delicious dinner, this time Greek, before we stumbled into a taxi to go home. Apparently, I’d walked everyone around the city so much that everyone was ready for bed by 9pm that night! I consider it a tribute to the time I’ve spent here that my feet were only mildly throbbing after the walking we’d done that day. New York, I’m getting used to you!
I was the first one up in the morning and by the time I was walking out the door for work at the café, everyone else was only just starting to get up. My family had tickets to see the World Trade Center monument and had to check out while I was working, but we met up in Chinatown after work for some cheap shopping and a drink in Little Italy. As expected, we found a number of great deals all throughout Chinatown, and I have a scarf and perfume to show for it.
The whole time we walked around, I was able to catch up what’s going on with my family as I pointed out all the cool things I’ve found here and things I’ve come to notice around the city. I love the way Dad stumbled a little as the subway started and how he thinks it’s a tribute to me that I’ve grown accustomed to simple aspects of city life like that. I love my Uncle’s excitement of being in the start-up place of his favorite bands and artists. I love that Mom continues to interrogate me in the nicest and most concerned way possible because she just wants to understand me and my life. I love how Melissa encouraged me to do what makes me happy and make the most out of life, because that’s what’s really important. On my family’s vacation, they had fun and their excitement and enthusiasm were contagious, their complaints and tiredness carefully hidden. They let me monopolize their break and drag them on a seemingly endless tour around the city, all the time making me feel like the most accomplished and loved person in the world.
I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend or better people to spend it with – unless of course the rest of the family had been there too!
Here and there,
Kiley
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