Traveling might be the perfect bonding moment for you and your family. Read about a mom and daughter adventure in NYC from this Escape Travel article.
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I hadn’t been away with my mother in a long time, and New York City seemed like the place for some family-friendly female bonding with its exciting department stores, quirky cafes and countless museums and art galleries to explore. New York had always appealed to me, with its wide avenues lined with soaring sky-scrapers and beaming lights that never dim in the ‘city that never sleeps’. I had previously read a lot about the Big Apple, not to mention watched countless television shows and films set in the city, but had never yet been. I felt that New York was the perfect city in which to spend some quality time with my mother for a city break packed with endless things to see and do.
Getting our bearings on the first day, we collected our CityPASSES at the tourist information centre on Seventh Avenue. These passes are a great way to see some of the top attractions of New York City at a lower price, from the Museum of Modern Art to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the latter was closed when we were visiting due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy but has since been reopened. There are other ways to see the iconic Statue of Liberty, however, and one of them is hopping aboard the Staten Island ferry. Departing from Lower Manhattan, this completely free of charge very gave us fantastic views of the symbol that everyone associates with New York and is a great option for those on a budget.
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Our first day also led us up to the highest point of New York City, the Empire State Building which has a fantastic observatory. Included in the CityPASS, ascending to the peak of this towering structure and peering down upon the panoramic views of New York below is a memory I will never forget and one that I am glad I shared with my mother.
As we are both Beatles fans, we took a stroll through Central Park later that sunny afternoon to stop off and pay our respects at the John Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, before heading to a little bistro for risotto and a chat over coffee. Soaking up the fast-paced atmosphere of New York City, we reflected on our first day in the Big Apple and were eager to see more of it.
The morning of our second day took us to the 9/11 Memorial which is a tribute to remember those killed during the terror attacks in 2001 and 1993. The memorial was truly moving and standing at the site of the twin towers, watching the water rush into the gaping holes that used to be where these towering buildings once stood, I felt an unspoken bond with my mum as we stood in silence and paid our respects to the tragedy that shook the whole world, let alone New York.
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After a spot of shopping in Century 21 for some bargains and later, Macy’s and Bloomingdales (we’re girls, it has to be done!), we made our way over to the Broadway Theatre that evening to see Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s fantastic production of Cinderella, a classic show which had previously not been seen on Broadway until now. Laura Osnes was incredible in the lead role with strong vocals in many of the brilliant songs of the show, and Santino Fontana as the Prince brought humour into this magical tale due along with Ann Harada as one of the ugly stepsisters.
With gorgeous sets of enchanting woodlands and elegant castles and incredible costume changes that sees Cinderella dress from her working rags to opulent gowns in less than a blink of the eye, it was a great show in which to take my mother to sample the delights of what a Broadway show has to offer. We were even treated to an ‘after show’ of a man proposing to his girlfriend on stage once the performance had finished. There were plenty of squeals of delight and a few shed tears all around the auditorium once his girlfriend replied with a ‘yes’!
Our third day took us out of Manhattan and into Coney Island which sits on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the borough of Brooklyn, to get a different taste of the Big Apple. We were visiting New York during Memorial Day weekend which is the official start of the public beach season of the city – perfect timing for a beach day and only 45 minutes on the subway. With amusement parks, fairground rides, candy floss galore and of course, miles of white sandy beaches merging into the ocean, it is worlds away from the ‘concrete jungle’ of the city and I couldn’t quite believe how quick it took to get to. After a couple of hours of sampling rides from bumper cars to the Cyclone rollercoaster, we decided to explore a little bit more of Brooklyn and headed out to the Smorgasburg Flea Food Market.
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Lovers of gastronomy will adore Smorgasburg and its countless market stalls selling delicious cuisine from sources from New York City and beyond. We went on the Sunday where the market is based on the DUMBO waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park, but every Saturday it can be found on the Williamsburg waterfront at the East River State Park. Both my mum and I are big food lovers and purchasing fantastic cuisine from mini cheesecakes and marble ice cream to noodles, pizza and refreshing slushies was definitely an afternoon well spent!
On our fourth day we decided to venture into the borough of Queen’s which was easily reached by the East River ferry from Midtown Manhattan. The largest borough of New York City is extremely diverse with restaurants serving ethnic food from around the globe from the immigrants who have settled here over the years. We explored the gorgeous neighbourhood of Astoria which has a large Greek community and stores selling vintage-chic items of clothing. The Athens Square Park is lovely for a mid-afternoon stroll and after a lunch of fresh seafood, my mother and I made our way back to Manhattan to experience another Broadway show.
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The Winter Garden Theatre is home to one of the world’s most successful musicals, Mamma Mia!, and because of the theme of this feel-good show I thought it was the best way for me and my mother to spend our last evening together in New York City. Telling the story of a 20 years-young bride-to-be and her search for her father, Mamma Mia! uses the songs from popular Swedish group ABBA in this fantastic musical.
Felicia Finley played the role of Tanya with wonderful humour and the right amount of sexy vulgarity as she stole the show, but both Judy McLane as Donna and Laurie Veldheer as Sophie were excellent in their mother-daughter roles of the performance. Having seen the West End production of the same show in London, I can say that both were equally filled with the same volume of vigour and life that a show such as Mamma Mia! needs, and we left the theatre feeling happy to have experienced the musical together. ‘Does my mother know’ I love ABBA – she sure does now!
After four days of exploration, discovery, relaxation and soaking up the history and culture of New York City and some of its boroughs, we decided to spend our last day visiting a couple of places we hadn’t had the chance to see. We started off the day with a tour of the magnificent Grand Central Station and then made our way over to the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan. After a quick (okay, long!) stop in Bettie Page Vintage and Retro Clothing, we had a lovely stroll through Washington Square Park and then embarked back to the hotel and to our journey onwards from New York.
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New York City is truly one of the greatest metropolises in the world, and exploring it for the first time with my mother, soaking up the history, shopping, architecture, food and fun of the Big Apple was a trip I could easily (and probably will!) repeat.
Louis Habash is currently a freelance travel writer based in Los Angeles, California. Log on to this Facebook page for more updates.
