Big lights will inspire you

And with that, our ten days in Brooklyn is over. After packing and cleaning last night, we woke up this morning to find that Gabe leaked through his diaper and wet the sheets. So we added an express wash and dry to our list of things to get done in the morning. I called Java Car Service again for a taxi, who promised it would arrive at 08:50 in front of our apartment (our flight was at 11:00).

With all of our stuff on the sidewalk, at 08:50, there was no cab in sight. Upon calling the dispatch, we were told the driver went to the wrong address, and he would be there in 7 minutes. Ten minutes after that, still no cab. ARGH. A passing Arecibo cab offered to take us, so we hopped in, frustrated and annoyed. I can't recommend any of the car services we used in Brooklyn (Legends Limousine, Java, Arecibo). Fortunately, traffic was light on the BQE, and we made it in plenty of time to check our luggage and car seat, as well as grab a bite to eat.

Hopefully, some of the notes from this trip will be useful to you, dear reader, if you ever find yourself visiting Brooklyn with a rambunctious toddler!

Modern Art, Old-Fashioned Diner

On our final full day in NYC, I headed out in the morning to get fresh doughnuts and bagels. This time, my purchases from Dough included passionfruit glazed, dulce de leche with toasted almonds, and Nutella. The latter was a disappointment, with no hazelnut flavour and a bizarre cinnamon-sugar sprinkling.

We called up a taxi through Java, a service we've used a few times. They were late, and we called to cancel, only to be told the driver was "10 seconds" away. In reality, he was more like 3 minutes away, but we got in, car seat and all, and made the trek into Manhattan. Our driver took 6th Avenue up through Manhattan (Google Maps suggested FDR Drive) but we were caught in heavy traffic. Gabe really didn't like being stuck in a stop-and-go taxi and begged to be let out. Finally, we made it to our destination: the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) at 53rd St and 6th Ave.

The lineup was long, and we needed to get tickets before we could drop off the carseat at the coat check. Fortunately, it moved fairly quickly. $50 later (a steep $25 per adult, but free for under-16 children), we were ready to explore the galleries. Our first stop was the outdoor Sculpture Garden. The large pieces were too tempting for Gabe, and he kept asking us whether he could touch them. Fortunately, he could burn off a bit of energy running around on the steps and ramps.

Our next stop was the 5th floor, which features painting and sculpture by Dalí, Matisse, Monet, Picasso and Van Gogh, among others. It was hard to keep Gabe entertained here as well, as he was very interested in trying to touch all the sculptures, or the ropes and barriers surrounding each item. Mommy and Daddy were able to take in a few paintings before moving down to the 4th floor. Here, we saw some iconic Warhol pieces including the famous Campbell Soup Cans.

Finally, we stopped in at the Education Center on the 1st floor to check out the current Art Lab about movement. Gabe got to play with wooden gears, try out an iPad/iPhone setup for making stop-motion animation, and balance shapes to make a hanging mobile in the style of Calder. This was a good hands-on activity with plenty of different things to do, away from the bustle of the main museum.

For lunch, I really wanted to try a food cart that I had heard about, The Halal Guys, a gyro platter cart. I only needed to wait 10 minutes to get a chicken-gyro combo over rice, and a falafel sandwich. Both came with "white sauce" which tasted like runny Miracle Whip. While it's a step up from most gyro places, in that the meat was very flavourful and moist, the overall experience was a letdown. Try it if you're in the area, but not worth a special trip.

Poor Gabe was exhausted by this time (almost 14:00) so we hailed a city cab to take us back home. Our driver tried to beat the traffic by crossing to Long Island City over the Queensboro Bridge, scooting down McGuinness, then taking the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway back to Clinton Hill. Unfortunately, whether purposely or from ignorance, he took us one stop too far, and had to double back on Myrtle, turning the trip into a $40 metered ride. Gabe fell asleep for 10 minutes and was not happy to be woken up. Our attempts at napping him failed, and he was wide awake, singing songs at the top of his lungs from his crib. I took him to the park so that Flick could get a much-needed nap.

For our final evening, we hung out with our friend Rachel and her son (Gabe's new favourite playmate) Ian, and went back to Farmacy for dinner. We sat in the backroom, which has a lot of vintage things: old children's books, two old-fashioned rotary phones, wooden toys, board games, etc. The kids ate soup and mac and cheese, while the grownups had grilled cheese and hot dogs.

Zoo

We're winding down our little New York vacation, and decided to visit a cute little zoo we've been encouraged to check out. A bus ride straight down Franklin Ave took us near the entrance to both the Prospect Park Zoo and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The admission was reasonable (our membership at the Metro Toronto Zoo does not include reciprocal benefits at this one) at $8 per adult, and free for kids under 3.

We were able to feed ducks and geese at the outdoor streams, see the baboons and their babies, visit birds in the aviary and visit with the barn animals. But the real highlight was the feeding of the California sea lions at the outdoor, circular tank. The keepers not only feed the sea lions, but perform some health checkups and stimulate the animals by having them do "tricks".

We didn't do much else post-nap: a bit of playground time, and then a mediocre dinner at a nearby Middle Eastern place, Black Iris.

High Line, Chelsea Market, Pok Pok

We were eagerly looking forward to a walk along the High Line this morning. We got on the G line at Clinton-Washington, and transferred at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop to the A line, where we boarded an express train all the way to the 34th Street/Penn Station stop. From there it was a short walk through some heavy construction to the 30th street entrance of the High Line. This entrance is the start of Section 2, and there was active development of Section 3 going on. With a bright sunny sky overhead, it was quite thrilling to be exploring Manhattan from a 3rd-story vantage point. There are numerous lookout spurs to check out the street below, and lots of benches to take a break. One of the current art exhibitions is a series of sculptures exploring the idea of urban monuments called Busted.

Towards the end of Section 2, near where the High Line goes through a few buildings, we started seeing vendors selling souvenirs and food. We stopped for some paletas and enjoyed them from the "Urban Theater" viewing platform above 10th Avenue.

For lunch, we left the High Line at the 14th Street entrance, and walked over to the ground floor of Chelsea Market, where we found a over a dozen specialty food shops to tempt us. We were all pretty hungry and settled on The Lobster Place. The selection of fish, seafood and sushi was top-notch and Flick remarked how there was not a hint of fishiness in the air. At the back of the store is where you can buy cooked lobsters for lunch, from one-pounders up to 3.5 lbs, as well as buy made-to-order sandwiches. I got an oyster po' boy, and a lobster roll for Flick, and New England clam chowder for Gabe. Very, very yummy, but pricey. I only had a quick browse around the other stores, but it's worth spending some time here if you like food!

Our post-nap excursion was a walk up towards Flushing Avenue, to grab a snack at Il Porto. This pizzeria/restaurant has a wood-fired oven, and Gabe chowed down on a pepperoni slice with gusto. We popped into Fresh Fanatic across the street for some fruit, but for a place that sells organic/health stuff, I like Khim's Millennium Market on Myrtle better: brighter and better organized. To tire Gabe out, we played for a bit at the nearby playground.

Our evening wasn't done: we hired our friend's babysitter so that we could go out for dinner! We chose Pok Pok NY, a celebrated Isaan Thai restaurant in Cobble Hill. Our party of four demolished the:

• papaya Pok Pok (green papaya salad)
  
• Vietnamese fish sauce wings (marinated in fish sauce, fried, then tossed in caramelized fish sauce!)
  
• laap pet isaan (chopped duck salad)
  
• het paa naam tok (spicy forest mushroom salad)
  
• cha ca "la vong" (catfish marinated in turmeric with rice vermicelli)
  
• khao soi (curry noodle soup)
  
• sticky rice
  
• roasted peanuts with chilies and lime leaf
  

So good. Because we are gluttons, we capped off the night at Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain with a Peanut Butter Cup sundae, and a slice of apple pie.

Doughnuts, Carousel, DUMBO

Today was a more relaxed day than most. After a light breakfast, we took a walk through the Pratt Institute's campus, home to its Sculpture Park. But it wasn't art we were after: it was DOUGHNUTS! Over at Lafayette and Franklin, there is a place called Dough that I first heard about from this video from Food Curated, and recently, the New Yorker had a short writeup with a video as well. I will say that it was definitely worth a visit. The shop is really small, with no seating, and two huge steps at the door. We narrowed our selections to three glazed ones (chocolate with cocoa nib, cafe au lait, passion fruit), and a filled one with blood orange curd. We devoured them eagerly at a bench at a nearby playground. Highly recommended, and I plan to go once more before we leave New York.

After nap, we were able to get out the door and over to Brooklyn Bridge Park by 16:00. We met up with our friends and their toddler to ride the horses at Jane's Carousel, which was open, even though it was a holiday and a Monday. This carousel is almost 100 years old, and was lovingly and painstakingly restored and updated. I was most impressed by the sound of the music; it sounded so lifelike and rich that I thought there was a live band. But on closer investigation, I saw electronic mallets hitting a drum and asked one of the attendants about it. Turns out that there is a laptop controlling a real calliope, cymbal and drums! Very, very cool and classy.

For the rest of the afternoon, we played in one of the playgrounds, this one with a nautical theme, while the subway and vehicles roared overhead in the Manhattan Bridge. We stopped at a pretty mediocre (but premium-priced) cookie shop, browsed children's books, and decided what to do for dinner.

A quick search on Serious Eats for DUMBO led us to Gran Eléctrica. (It is very, very convenient to have a data plan when travelling.) Gabe chowed down on rice and beef brisket, while Flick and I shared a peekytoe crab tostada to start, and lengua tacos and fish tacos for our mains. The accompanying salsas were interesting: toasted sesame, tomatillo, chile de arbol and habanero. Absolutely delicious, and would recommend if you're in DUMBO.

Picnic in the Park, Smorgasburg, Ferry

The local greasy spoon, John's Coffee Donut Shop, was pretty full, so we went a few doors down to The Joint for breakfast this morning. With uncertain wait times at restaurants, we make sure to pack some toys, which these days, means puzzles and our phones. When the double-sided bus puzzle gets boring, we have Sandra Boyton eBooks and YouTube on our phones to keep our son entertained.

Our next stop was Fort Greene Park, where we met a friend with her new baby, and had a picnic lunch under the trees. There was a kids' birthday party going on, and their loot bags must have had bubble guns, because there were thousands of bubbles floating and dancing in the breeze. The food came from Greene Grape: delicious avocado-cheese sandwiches and for dessert, artisanal Ho-Hos! Gabe was thrilled to just eat an entire chocolate cake for lunch. We gotta do something about this vacation diet.

In the afternoon, naptime wasn't over until almost 16:15, so we rushed to make it in time to Smorgasburg. This is billed as a "Food Flea Market", and is a pain to get to. The buses take you most of the way there, but there's still a lot of walking to get to the piers. But once there, it was worth it. Imagine a stunning view of Manhattan's skyscrapers, sitting on makeshift seating made of wooden pallets, and forty or fifty food vendors selling everything from pizza to popsicles to Indian street food. With only an hour left to go, many sellers had already started to take down their booths, but I was able to sample:

• Duck dumplings from Brooklyn Wok Shop: nice thin wrappers, generous portions of meat, plus hearty shitake mushrooms
  
• A passionfruit-mango soda, and a 10-ingredient triple-pork sandwich de chola from Bolivian Llama Party: the sandwich had delicious crunch from the pork cracklings and pickled vegetables, but was too much for me to eat in one sitting.
  
• Coffee popsicle from People's Pops: Didn't like the coffee grounds they deliberately left at the tip.
  
• Mexican Hot Chocolate and Lemon Sky ice creams from Ample Hills Creamery: chocolate one was okay, but didn't like the lemon-ginger flavour. Tasted a bit like gingerale.
  

The prices were a bit steep, but I thought it was worth it for the experience of trying new things. And the venue couldn't be better. Well, it could be, if it were warmer. After a half hour of running in the nearby playground, it was time to start heading home. We followed our friends along a roadway to Pier 1, where the East River Ferry DUMBO stop was, and waited around until it came. For $4 a ticket, we got to enjoy a nice boat ride along the river all the way up to Greenpoint!

Park Slope, Prospect Park, Party

We took a bus down to Park Slope in the morning, for brunch at a friend's two-story apartment. Gabe had a great time singing at the piano, playing with a dollhouse, and interacting with an 8- and 10-year old. We still marvel at how small NY apartments are, and the prices paid to rent or own them! Afterwards, we ambled along the tree-lined streets to the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza. We didn't have a lot of time here, as we wanted to get Gabe home early for his nap.

Unfortunately, our plans were thwarted by road closures and not knowing the regular bus routes. We stood for fifteen minutes at a stop near Dr. Ronald McNair Park for the B48 bus up Classon that was not in service, then discovered a huge traffic jam along the bus route, due to the cross streets all being blocked to traffic. Grr. The 1.8 mile walk home seemed doable, so we put Gabe in the stroller and went back on foot.

In the afternoon, we hurried in a cab with our carseat to Transmitter Park, for an outdoor birthday party. The views across the East River were spectacular, and there lots of couples, families and children enjoying the mild autumn weather.