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.

Squats, Science Hall, Tacos

I made a quick trip over to Le Petit Bakery in Fort Greene this morning, after reading about their cronut knock-off, the "squat", on Serious Eats. The most enticing flavour for me was the pumpkin one: nutmeg-cinnamon laced pastry, with a pumpkin pastry cream filling and spiced pepitas sprinkled on the icing. I enjoyed this very much, and didn't find it oily like some reviewers. Items are pricey, but not outrageously so (e.g. a very good, plain croissant was $0.50 more than a good one back home).

Our exciting destination this morning was the New York Hall of Science. At a full hour by public transit, we decided to take a taxi. Unlike Manhattan, there are no cabs for hailing in Brooklyn: cabs must be hired in advance. This morning, after waiting 15 minutes for one at our doorstep, a cab from a different company saw us waiting and ended up getting our business. The trip didn't take long at all on the Expressway and cost us $35. We brought our own car seat, and was able to check it for $1 at the front desk. This is another free museum covered by our Ontario Science Centre membership!

What a fabulous museum! The exhibits combine science and art in interesting ways, to make it entertaining and informative for both young and old. Many, if not all, of the young staff are students earning a high-school credit for volunteering. I especially liked the hall with the sports exhibits. A series of renovations and expansions over the last twenty years has turned the hall into a modern, up-to-date science centre. Highly recommended if you're going with children!

For lunch, we left the carseat at the hall, and walked a few blocks along 47th street to Tortilleria Nixtamal, a recommendation from a local friend. We enjoyed delicious tacos and chips made from fresh corn tortillas. Delicious, filling and cheap. A cab ride back home (this time, $30) completed our morning.

In the afternoon, we took the G Train into Greenpoint for a playdate, picking up prepared food for dinner. On the way home, we called a cab company with a carseat. Taxi travel tip: make sure to mention the toddler's weight! Our driver had a Graco Snugride 35 which barely fit Gabe! The 15-minute ride only cost us $15; we were actually asked by the driver how much we usually paid.

Transit Museum, Toy Store, Vegan

After a relaxed breakfast of fresh bagels and coffee, we took the bus across Myrtle to the MetroTech Center, then walked a zig-zag route to the New York Transit Museum. The entrance is like a subway entrance: a set of metal stairs down from ground level. And that's not just for show: the museum is actually housed in a historic subway station! And as another member institution of the ASTC, the Transit Museum let us in for free with our Ontario Science Centre membership card!

We knew there was a children's program every Thursday morning, but didn't rush to make it, and it was just winding down when we got there. The very back end of the museum is set up for kids, with a craft station, lunch room, stroller parking and scavenger hunt. Gabe just enjoyed hopping in the driver's seat of every bus and train that was on display, or pretending to be a ticket collector, or walking through the various turnstiles. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed reading about the history of the subway expansion. At the platform level one story below, there is a huge collection of vintage subway cars and elevated trains ("els") on a live subway line. What a treat this was for all of us! The earliest cars are preserved with period advertisements.

After nap, we walked down to the nearest subway station, taking the G train to Court Square, and transferring to the M line to get to Manhattan. On the surface, we walked a few blocks to the FAO Schwarz flagship store (it's right next to the Apple store). Gabe couldn't believe his eyes: a store filled with stuffed animals, books, trains, all for him to play with.

As it was rush hour, and we were running late, we hopped in a cab straight down Park Avenue to join a friend for dinner, at Franchia, a vegan Asian eatery. I'm not feeling 100% so I'm not the best judge of the food, but everyone seemed to like it. We sampled "chicken drumsticks", leek pancakes, giant dumplings and spicy noodles. To get home, we did another subway-bus journey with a very sleepy boy. An exciting day for all of us.

Brooklyn Children's Museum

We brought both a stroller and carseat with us, as that gives us flexibility to take a cab if we need to. This morning, after breakfast at home, we debated whether to take transit to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Google Maps said it was walking + 2 bus rides, so we tried calling cab. Dr. S found a service that offered car seats called Legends Limousine for only a $5 surcharge.

On the phone, the dispatcher said the cost would be $30 and confirmed we could pay with a credit card. When we arrived about 15 minutes later, the driver said it would be $35, that the carseat surcharge was $10, and the dispatcher said we would be paying with cash. WTF?

At the museum, we were able to get in for free, because our membership at the Ontario Science Centre offers us benefits to Canadian and American institutions with reciprocal admission programs. So don't forget to bring your membership cards when you travel!

The museum has a couple of different sections: we started with the World Brooklyn exhibit, a series of small kid-sized businesses like a Chinese stationery store, an Italian pizzeria, an African import store, or a Caribbean travel agency. Gabe loved donning an apron and making pizzas with the felt toppings, then sliding it into an oven, complete with a glowing interior when the button is pushed.

We ended our visit by going to Totally Tots, an area just for kids 5 and under. There were a number of sensory-focused activities like instruments made from found materials, a water room with toys, and learning and meeting a live snake!

We tried our luck with public transit for the ride home, but quickly learned that the buses don't take paper cash, just coins. The driver obligingly let us on until the subway, where we could buy a Metro card. Having done the math earlier, we decided that we would each get a 7-day unlimited pass ($30), since the single-ride cash fare is $2.50. I also stopped at a T-Mobile to get a Micro-SIM on their Unlimited Talk, Text & Web plan: $3/day gets me 3G data. We figured we only need one phone with a data plan for navigation and Internet searches. WIND's rate for data on the US Preferred Roaming plan is $0.50/MB.

Post-nap, we met up with friends at a nearby park, and then to their apartment for trains, pizza and cake. I enjoyed the takeout pizza we got from Paulie Gee's, a wood-fired oven place. The most interesting pie of the night was the "Cherry Jones": fresh mozzarella, Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto di parma, dried Bing cherries and orange blossom honey.

Off to NYC!

Delaying the start of a new job means that we get time to have a vacation! We decided to spend it in New York City to visit friends and their kids, and to see places we have heard things about (the High Line, parks, various bakeries).

Dr. S found flights through American Airlines for $160 each inclusive, which was a pretty great deal. Unfortunately, we had to go to Pearson, so we ordered a 09:00 cab to make the 11:35 departure. Everything was going to plan: we woke up before 08:00, got Gabe up, ate breakfast, checked off the final list of tasks, etc.

Then I heard a sparking sound when I came out of the shower. Somehow, our gas cooktop was on the fritz. No matter what we tried, it seemed several of the burners had sparks igniting even when the gas wasn't on. In the end, we needed to flip the fuse on the electrical box to stop it. The cause might have been a short triggered by water I accidentally spilled on the cooktop earlier that morning. Grr.

Anyway, we made it to the airport early, and had time to get a snack before boarding. The flight was fine, until just after we landed. Gabe was standing in the aisle, waiting to go, when he suddenly threw up all over the floor. Uh-oh: all that juice from the in-flight beverage. As we sat him back on the seat to look for wipes and paper towels, he threw up some more. Oh dear. Several nearby passengers gave us tissues and wipes, while we stripped Gabe of his clothes and calmed him down. The airline attendants provided plastic bags, water and more towels. What a scary thing for a little guy!

A short cab ride took us to our apartment in the Clinton Hill neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Dr. S found a reasonably priced, fully furnished apartment via AirBnb.. We've got a crib, laundry, kitchen, TV, Internet and two bathrooms!