*free lodging on the Upper East Side
That time we spent 29 days in New York City... otherwise known as, that time Colton ate 29 bagels in 29 days in 29 different bagel shops.
Let me start by saying we had LOW expectations of our housing for the month. It was free. And in a superb location, both for A at work, and for C and I to play. The Upper East Side - super family friendly, safe, loads to do, even more restaurants, close to Central Park and other parks. But this loft.. this is REALLY low. Lower than low. We were told coming into it that the three of us would be fine in THIS loft because there's a HUGE walk-in closet that Colton can sleep in. And they were partly right. There is a huge walk-in close. But it is stuffed to the brim with junk. Piles on piles on piles. You can't imagine. Beyond that, the loft is about as we expected - small, but full kitchen, loft. Off-white. Everything is off white. Like this dirty off white. And then there are two SINGLE beds, that again, are white. Bedding is hospital bedding. Ew. It's just depressing. Very sanitary feeling. I'll have to show you a picture so you get it. Beyond our loft, the hall, the other apartments, etc. there is tile flooring (so you can hear every neighbor slam their door, the stair door, and the elevator ding), dated everything, and a joke of a door man. It feels like a dorm. (I can say, there aren't any bugs or mice - so far - so it could definitely be worse!)
So, there's no walk-in closet for Colton. Where is he sleeping then, you ask? In the kitchen. On a cot. In the middle of the floor. Yep. We couldn't set him up in the bathroom because then he'd for sure be woken up in the morning when A went to work. We couldn't set him up in between our SINGLE beds, because then we'd also have to go to bed at 8pm. So, he's in the kitchen. He's a trooper. Doesn't bug him one bit. It is problematic because there is no door to the kitchen ... and the kitchen is directly across the very loud front door. So C is woken up every morning when A leaves for work. Joy.
I digress. On Sunday, after arriving at 230, Colton took a quick nap (in the kitchen) after which we had coffee (at a chain, which at the time we didn't realize was a chain) followed by dinner at a fancy schmancy Tapas place down the block - Boqueria. SO DELICIOUS. It was so nice in there that we almost canceled our reservations since Colton was coming with, but they were more than friendly and Colton was an angel. Squid ink toasted noodle paella, anchovy crostini, fluke ceviche, mushrooms flatbread (for C), just to name a few of the amazing tapas we had.
Night one in the loft - not so good. No one slept well. Colton fell out of his cot onto the tile floor. I slept terribly in my hospital bed... A also slept terrible in his hospital bed... nothing positive to say.
Onto our first full day in the city. Morning 1, Colton woke up with A, 540am. By 7am, he'd had 4 breakfasts in the apartment. 4! I mean, he's a big breakfast eater, but this was record breaking for the time. Maybe sleeping in the kitchen made him hungry. I had big dreams of not cooking a thing while we were here, not making one single cup of coffee in this depressing apartment, but it's 540 in the morning - I couldn't walk around NYC day 1 already!
When we did finally leave the house at 745, we went to H&H Bagels for a cream cheese and lox everything bagel which, on day 3 (today), is still the winner for best bagel. Next stop was Gregory's coffee. Colton had an entire donut, making that breakfast #6 after his bagel at H&H. We also made it to Central Park, 6 of the 21st playgrounds at Central Park, Central Park Zoo, and Tisch Children's Zoo.... all before nap!
After nap, we had coffee at Gotham Cafe (which was terrible), picked up amazingly delicious tacos at Oaxaca Taqueria and took them to St. Catherine's park where we met A and ate outside! After dinner, A needed to go to the Apple Store, so we walked all the way to Midtown (even though there was one on the UES) because I wanted to go to Momofuku's Milk Bar (and why not, it was nice weather out, let's walk!). Well, Momofuku's Milk Bar was terribly disappointing, Boo boo boo. Now I'm on the fence about whether to try his noodle bar or not. We shall see. Either way, don't let the pictures fool you. The ice cream looks good, but it's not. And we like ice cream... and cereal... and cereal milk.
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