A Week With My Parents In New York City

Hi strangers! I hope you have all had a great week.

We’ve been staying busy on our end, and I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog, so I’m just going to dive in and compile a week of exploring our city into one post. I’ve missed chatting with you guys!

Last time I checked in, I shared that Scott and I were entertaining my parents here in New York City. While they chose to stay in Manhattan, we spent six full days training back and forth to be able to spend time with them and walk all over Midtown, SoHo, the Upper East Side, Lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn.

I covered the majority of our whereabouts on Snapchat (username: lifenleggings), and I tried to save as many photos as I could on my camera roll to share with you. Here are some of the highlights!

 

• Times Square

Our time together started right in the heart and craziness that is Times Square. It’s funny how you generally flock towards the lights and area as a tourist, but you become less and less interested in going anywhere near it as a local. Scott is still enamored by the giant billboards and business of the streets, but I, on the other hand, get easily annoyed and over the crowds pretty quickly. To each their own.

Wanting to be right in Times Square, my parents got a good deal on their week’s stay at The Premier Hotel by booking their flights and accommodations together and months in advance through Travelocity.

They were only blocks away from the main strip, endless restaurants, shops, Broadway shows, Bryant Park, and all off the major subways and trains. They started a few of their mornings early enough to watch tapings of Good Morning America, and we met them at their hotel and walked around the majority of the days that they were here.

We wanted to hop on a bus tour, but we ended up holding off to be able to spend more time in our neck of the woods instead.

 

• Brooklyn Bridge

Something my parents wanted to do while visiting was walk the Brooklyn Bridge.

We took our time crossing and found a nice area to put our feet up afterwards in Brooklyn Bridge Park. You couldn’t ask for a better view of the Manhattan Skyline during the sunset!

There are plenty of restaurants in the area, and we decided to get dinner on the patio at Brooklyn Bridge Garden Bar.

It was the perfect outdoor environment to grab a glass of wine and dinner with a view!

 

• Park Slope, Brooklyn

I was really looking forward to showing my parents where we have been calling home the last few months. After a few days of taking the subways and trains with us, they hopped on the F train by themselves, and I met them at our stop to walk them back to our apartment. We showed them around for a bit and then set to find good ‘ol New York slices for lunch.

I’ve heard that Peppino’s (on 5th Avenue) is one of the best pizzerias in Park Slope, so we walked there, but we quickly found out that they were closed for the week. I guess that’s how you know it’s a small business! Coming in second (via reviews online), we walked over to Joe’s, and we were pleasantly surprised with our half margherita and pepperoni, half margherita and spinach pie.

It was a hot summer day, so we walked back to our apartment to stock up on waters and sunscreen, got Roadie, and then walked up to Prospect Park.

We rested under the shade and found water for Roadie whenever we got too hot. We also may or may not have grabbed gelato on the loop back home. (<- the best cooling off strategy there is, am I right?)

Scott got called into work, but so the three of us spent the night hanging low. I took them up on the rooftop to watch the sunset, and they enjoyed another view of the Manhattan Skyline right from our apartment.

It never gets old!

 

• cooking at home

As much fun as it was to run around the city every day, I was really excited to spend time at home in Brooklyn, too. For two nights, we slowed down, lit candles, and enjoyed low-key nights that consisted of cooking dinner, watching the sunset on the rooftop, watching movies, and taking walks around the neighborhood.

Due to some miscommunication on my part, Scott and I received our Blue Apron orders at the same time last week. We had more than enough food to go around, so I tackled two meals at a time more than once. It was crazy, but fun!

You can read more about my experience with Blue Apron, if you’re intrigued on the meal delivery service. Those who follow LIL on Instagram already know that I am truly loving my subscription! I’ve been learning new cooking techniques, trying new foods (including cod – pictured above), and appreciate that gourmet meals are already planned out for me.

 

• shopping & lunch in Herald Square

One of the very first spots Scott and I visited when we moved to NYC is Herald Square. It’s home of Macy’s, the word’s largest store, as well as many other shops and restaurants.

We met my parents at Herald Square around lunchtime on Friday, and they were hungry from shopping all morning. We decided to go into Macy’s and found one of my new-favorite places to get a healthy meal: Just Salad.

Mediterranean Salad

They have many locations throughout the City, and this one was actually in Macy’s on the fourth floor. It was delicious, as expected. We spent the next hour or so walking in and out of different stores, and I left wanting practically everything from LUSH as a result.

I was two seconds from bringing home a bath bomb (I’ve heard they’re amazing), but I decided to pass when I thought about the mess it would make. I mean, bombs explode … thoughts?

 

• Paramour (Cirque Du Soleil)

On a whim, the four of us wandered over to the Lyric Theatre to see if we could score last minute tickets to Cirque Du Soleil’s newest show On Broadway, Paramour. We were able to get decent seats for a good price, so my parents treated us to the show as an early anniversary present to Scott and I.

We arrived fifteen minutes before the show started and had plenty of time to see the theater and get settled into our seats.

Paramour has mixed reviews online, but I absolutely loved it. There are elements of traditional Cirque Du Soleil acrobatics, but this show has more of a storyline than any others I’ve seen.

This is the first official musical On Broadway that is produced by Cirque du Soleil. It tells a love story that revolves around a love triangle between a famous producer, a beautiful star, and her songwriter as they travel and make films together. I personally enjoyed the story between the circus acts, and I would recommend the show to anyone looking for a different spin on a musical and/or acrobatics show.

My favorite element of the show was a set of twins who performed extremely dangerous and impressive tricks on swings and silks. It had me on the edge of my seat for sure!

 

• Haven Rooftop

After the show, the group of us wanted a quick bite before heading back to my parents’ hotel. It was their last night in the City, so I wanted them to experience a rooftop with a stunning view!

I’ve been to Haven Rooftop at Sanctuary Hotel a few times now, and it’s quickly turning into a go-to spot to take anyone who visits us. They have great specialty cocktails, a kitchen that serves tasty appetizers at late hours, and a rooftop view that is incredibly gorgeous.

My parents enjoyed the fresh air and seemed to like the place as much as we do. If you’re ever in town and looking for a late night spot to grab a bite or cocktail, it’s located in Midtown on 47th Street.

 

• Katz’s Deli

One thing that my parents wanted to visit before they left was a true New York deli. Any local you ask will tell you that Katz’s Delicatessen is as famous as it gets. Katz’s has an interesting history and has been in the Lower East Side since 1888!

You can always expect a crowd, a wait, and an experience. It’s a little overwhelming when you first walk into it all, but the food really is worth it. Plus, it’s the very deli featured in When Harry Met Sally. (I’ll have what she’s having!”)

You’re handed a ticket when you enter and are told to get in a cutter line. There, you order what you’d like, and you better know what you want by the time you get up there. If you come in a group, assign one person to wait in line and order, and the rest to search and claim a table. They’re hard to come by!

You’ll probably need help getting the food back to your table, but if you go in knowing the process, you’ll be fine. Take deep breaths and enjoy an authentic New York deli atmosphere. If standing in crowded, pushy lines doesn’t excite you, there is an option to put your name in to wait for a table with menus and a waiting staff to help you.

My parents split a corned beef sandwich and matzah ball soup, and Scott and I could have done the same. I threw in a curveball by ordering a Philly cheesesteak, and Scott ordered a pastrami rueben sandwich with a side of split pea soup. We definitely had leftovers!

 

***

 

There were a handful of other outings worth writing about, but I’ll leave our highlights there.

While in the City, my parents enjoyed a date night that started with dinner at Hunt and Fish Club and ended with tickets to see The Rockettes New York Spectacular! They spent a day touring the 9/11 Museum, visiting The Guggenheim, and walking through Central Park. We also discovered a new-to-me rooftop called 230 Fifth, which I will be sharing more about soon.

It was so nice to have family here in New York, and it makes me happy that my mom is already planning a girls’ trip back up here with her sisters around the holidays. I’m sure I will find much more for us to do before then!

Thanks for checking in today, and I’ll be back tomorrow with a new at-home dumbbell workout.

Have a great night!