New York itinerary for grandparents
(and toddlers)
My parents were in town for a week which meant preparing a toddler/grandparent crossover itinerary. You might think that could be a hard task but planning activities for toddlers and septuagenarians is actually a perfect overlap.
You have to be careful not to overschedule, but a few planned activities are crucial to get us all up and out and make sure we’re not just rotting the day away round the apartment in last night’s nappies. Leaving early enough to be home for a midday nap is the ideal. Definitely schedule an empty day or two here and there so that everyone can catch up on themselves and not become overwhelmed or overstimulated which can lead to tantrums and little outbursts.
Here’s what we did:
On Sunday, we trained it to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. A botanical garden is the number one ideal multi-generational activity. Toddlers can run free and burn off energy. Grandparents can ramble at their own pace, pretending to admire the flowers, and then everyone reconvenes for ice-cream and a sit-down in the cafe at the end.
Monday, we stayed in Manhattan. We got the subway to 14th Street and walked due west down 14th street towards Little Island, an artificial island park which opened in 2021. This is quite a cool place and very family friendly - lots to see and do but at the same time very peaceful and a nice break from the pace and noise of the city.
The island itself has a very distinctive look: like giant cement golf tees were placed into the water, side by side, at different levels to form a hilly, grassy island. Vibrant pops of colour provided by patches of flowers and colourful furniture against the green hills, completes the Teletubbies Hill aesthetic.
There are perfect views of Freedom Tower to the south and the Empire State Building to the north east.
To interest kids, there are spinning thimble seats to sit and swing in, musical bells and xylophones and spinning optical illusion discs dotted round. The biggest attraction though is that there is lots of room for them to safely wander and explore: steps to climb, paths to follow. The paths are windy so even though the island is small, it can feel pleasantly secluded very quickly. For the less energetic in the group, seats are plentiful for coffee and a break.
When we had finished at Little Island, we walked 5 minutes back down 14th street to the beginning of the Highline which was in full magnificent bloom. The Highline is a 1.5 mile long elevated walkway built on a disused railway lane. Plants, flowers, trees, art installations, murals, seating and views of the cityscape punctuate the walkway. It has become one of the most popular attractions in the city and is a very pleasant and easy walk.
At the south end you can go for a mosey in Chelsea Market or visit the Whitney Museum of American Art. At the north end, you can see the Vessel and visit Hudson Yards. It’s safe for kids because there are no cars and there is nowhere for them to go other than forwards or backwards along the track.
We exited the Highline at the stairs on 30th street and walked straight into Mercado Little Spain for lunch.
The Spanish attitude to children is so refreshing. Refreshing in that they actually like children and speak to them (and their parents) like they are valued human beings.
I’m convinced that if Not-holding-the-door-open-after-you-pass-through-when-there-is-clearly-someone-standing-there-with-a-stroller-waiting-to-get-in-and-it-would-only-take-you-5-seconds-and-a-single-ounce-of-common-decency” was an Olympic sport, USA would win gold. I mean, they win loads of gold anyway but they would also win gold in this. Nowhere to be seen on the podium would be Spain.
We passed through a flower shop to get to the restaurant which was delightfully spacious, colourful and airy. A man working in the flower shop clocked my crying toddler and offered her a flower to cheer her up which she rudely declined until she saw that her older sister ahead of us had been given a flower and remembered that she did in fact want one and then stopped crying. I would dock marks on the kid-friendliness because while they did have French fries on the menu, they did not have ketchup and this latter piece of information was delivered to us with a definite air of European disdain. But we picked up churros and dipping chocolate on the way out which made up for it.
I thought I'd scheduled more free time but Tuesday we were up and out again for breakfast in Old John’s diner in the Upper Westside before walking further up the Upper Westside, north up beautiful Columbus Avenue as far as the Museum of Natural History. Here, we parted ways because there was no way six of us were all sticking together. I followed the kids and we went along our usual path: crystals and rocks, the life-size model of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling and the dinosaur skeletons. We met outside and sitting on the steps of the museum, ate ice-creams from a nearby truck.
Ice-creams featured heavily during the week and on Thursday, when we got the C train to Fulton Street, we immediately picked up some morning ice-creams from a van in order to fuel up for the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Another completely safe walk because there’s no traffic and nowhere else to go but straight ahead. Lovely photo ops on the bridge, views back at Manhattan and excellent people-watching.
Once in Brooklyn, we had lunch in the Time Out market in Dumbo. Many famous NY restaurants showcase their dishes here and we took advantage of the wide selection, picking up matzoh ball soup and pastrami egg roll from Pastrami Queen, chicken tacos from Ivy Stark Mexology and a southern fried chicken sandwich with pickles from Jacob’s Pickles. The stand out meal was shelled corn, cooked in Umami butter, topped with tajín and served in charred leaves from the Maiz Project.
Afterwards, we played (or sat down) in the Main Street playground, which is right beside and almost under the Manhattan Bridge, my personal favourite of the BMW bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg). Finally, we visited Pebble Beach before taking a ride on Jane’s Carousel and getting the subway home.