Le Churro
Ok, this place is becoming a weekly thing this summer. Lisi fell asleep one day and normally I would take that time to go shopping as fast as humanly possibly, but we passed the churro store and I couldn’t help myself. I ordered the filled churros with dulce de leche (mmmmmm dulce de leche). When they asked if I wanted it to stay or go I thought for a second and decided that I was just going to sit and enjoy my churros quietly. It was great.
Pickles and Olives
This place is next door to Le Churro. They have pickles and olives, hence the name but also fun dips, herrings and all that fun stuff you might crave after stuffing your face with churros. Definitely worth checking out. Bonus: there’s a salad there called the “Big Al” — I think it was a Russian salad with cheese or something? I’ll have to go back and find out!
Sandbox dance
I saw this one on mommypoppins. I misread the schedule and thought it was in Ancient Playground on Monday. It wasn’t. It was up at 110th street. Oops. So take 2: Tuesday at Adventure Playground. Turns out that it’s geared more toward kids ages 3-5, and Lisi showed no interest in the African drumming. She was just splashing in the sprinkler with the drumming in the background. Looked like fun for the bigger kids!
Fountains at the AMNH
I really love this place. More on it here.
Union Square
Checked out the farmers’ market. It’s huge and there are often free samples. I did several drive-bys around the cucumber stand. Those farm-fresh cucumbers are better than I imagined.
Eating alone
Inspired by my Le Churro experience earlier in the week I realized that I feel a lot less tired when I actually sit down and eat, rather than grabbing food and stuffing my face with one hand as I walk down the street, pushing my stroller with the other. I tried timing Lisi’s nap around lunch time and it worked out really well. A friend told me about this new vegan restaurant. I’m always up for new foods, so I checked it out and they had a really nice baked goods display.
Me: Hi, which cookie do you recommend?
Girl: The magic cookie.
Me: The magic cookie?
Girl: It’s our best seller. Coconut, pecans, chocolate chips, oats, carrots….
Me: Um, I’ll have the chocolate chip cookie.
Girl: Ok, but that’s not our best seller.
Me: Ok, I guess I’ll have both…..
Trust me, there was something magical about that cookie. Yum. I can’t stop thinking about the magic.
There is no picture of the magic.
The Highline
There’s nothing more Instagrammish than the Highline on a cloudy summer day. The last time I went there I was annoyed by all of the slow walkers taking up the pathway. This time, I wasn’t really in a rush and we kind of just chilled. There’s an area that’s a little like a moving puddle, about a quarter of an inch deep. I stuck Lisi in and sat down to watch. She was the main attraction for those 30 minutes — the slow tourists couldn’t get enough of her! She loves water that doesn’t splash in her face so this was perfect!
And that was our week! I can’t believe that day camp is halfway over!
Big Al's Pad 