It has been an eventful summer, despite the lack of blogging on the topic. Just since the return from Alaska, there have been multiple trips to the lake house, a triathlon fail and surprise birthday in Chicago, a trip to Memphis for MommyCon, and our 6th wedding anniversary. We’re probably overdue for a recap blog on the aforementioned.
Regardless, a trip to the Big Apple is always worth a blog post, especially if a family wedding is involved. So here we go…
Labor Day weekend we left Cincy in the afternoon and flew (via Newark) to New York City and our weekend digs at the Sheraton Tribeca. Since we have family with a condo only a few blocks away, TriBeCa is like our home base when on the island (we’re so chic), so we were familiar with the surroundings. My (Jeff’s) parents were already at the hotel as we arrived so met us and helped settle us in.
Before the trip…way back in December for Christmas…Susan and I had decided to plan date nights for one another as our present. One of my dates was a dinner at Tamarind which was the first Indian dining experience either of us had ever had about 5 years ago on a trip to NYC (thanks Craig and Teresa). If you aren’t aware, Indian is now Susan’s FAVORITE food group…and I’m quite fond of it, too.
The Friday evening weather was perfect, so we left Lily with her grandparents a little early and walked from the hotel past the restaurant and to the Hudson River. After some time meandering, we returned to the restaurant where dinner was terrific as expected. Then we returned to the hotel for the night.
Saturday morning started early for me since I had a long run (10 miles) to complete. The weather was clear and mild as I left from the hotel. My run took me across the Brooklyn Bridge and back, the around the southern tip of Manhattan before running along the Hudson River paths and finally returning to the hotel…awesome scenery.
After the run and everyone waking up, we spent the late morning walking the Highline then heading through Chelsea Market.
We took the subway back south to TriBeCa and walked to the Tribeca Tap House for lunch and a little football watching, then took a break before leaving for the main event of the weekend…the Kissel-Foskett Wedding near the NYC municipal buildings downtown. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and had some interesting wrinkles like having the whole audience gather around the stage for the exchange of vows and the bride and groom exiting the church to a naval sword arch.
Post wedding, we walked back to the hotel for a little relaxation before heading to the reception, which was kicked off with a rooftop cocktail hour that was amazing! The views were spectacular and the hors d’oeuvres offered a “tasting trip” around the world. There was a table with a Mediterranean theme, a sushi table, and a taco and nacho bar. There was also wait staff with trays including foie gras, quesadillas, sliders and fries, stuffed mushrooms…and that’s only what I saw.
Once the wedding party arrived, we were moved to the interior dining room for the toasts, dinner (as if the cocktail hour food wasn’t enough), and dancing. The band was another highlight with three lead singers giving them almost unlimited range. Unfortunately all the sight-seeing hype kept Lily from getting a good nap, so Susan and I had to duck out of the reception early to put her to bed.
Sunday morning started with another early run along the Hudson. Then the rest of the morning was spent relaxing in the room and letting Lily sleep in. We had a (wedding family) brunch scheduled at ROC at 11am so finally ventured out to walk to the restaurant around 10:45. The “brunch” was actually a 4-course meal, so took a few hours giving us quality time to spend with the Kissels before many people left town that afternoon.
With our bellies full after lunch, we took the subway to the north side of Central Park to walk the food off. We meandered south and around the reservoir where we got some cool pictures of the skyline mixed with nature. Lily also got a chance to stretch her legs in the park before our trip was cut a bit short by a pop-up thunderstorm.
During the afternoon rains, we rested at the hotel for a couple more hours before meeting again to head to a dinner to celebrate my parents’ wedding anniversary at The Harrison. My aunt and uncle whose daughter was the bride happened to also be dining with a different group at the same restaurant and gave us a great gift by sending us wine and champagne for our meal. They know their way around a wine list too (unlike us), so the selections were great. The dinner was excellent and perfect for a celebration. Lily slept most of it, but woke up just in time to eat (she rarely misses a food opportunity).
After dinner, a few of us decided to head out on the town (Lily and Susan stayed in for bedtime). My brother-in-law, Jason, was looking for live music so we walked about a mile to a venue that we hoped was promising only to find it overcrowded and loud. Luckily it was good weather for an evening walk. We cabbed back to TriBeCa and tried a few more bars with limited success (too crowded or closed) before settling down at a dive just around the corner from the hotel.
Monday morning Susan wasn’t feeling well, so I took Lily and went to brunch with my family at Bubby’s. The pancakes were the highlight. Unfortunately the brunch brought an end to our time in the city, so afterward we bee-lined back to the hotel to finish packing and grab a car back to the airport (where we enjoyed a 2.5 hour delay).
What a great weekend!
