Luxurious Living

Our kiddos have begged for a carriage ride in NYC since the first week we moved here. That, and the double decker tour guide bus. Every time we spot one of these, the girls would start, "oh, wow, I wish I could take a ride in that!"

Each time we stroll along 59th street at the base of Central Park, Madeline and Eva pick out their very own horse and carriage and imagine what the ride would be like. The carriages are all lined up in a row along this street waiting for tourists to pay the hefty sum for a 20-30 minute jaunt through the bottom portion of the park.

As a patron, you have your pick of the litter. Purple velvet suit your fancy? Check! Want a horse with turquoise toe nails er, hoofs? Check! Love the lux feel of pleather? Check! Want a carriage just like the one you saw in the last film shot in Manhattan? Now that carriage, my friend, has eluded us these past 2 years of carriage shopping.


As you can see by this picture, we eventually did cave to the carriage requests. It was Saturday, July 4th this year that dreams came true. Marc and I heard the rumor that NYC fireworks were going to be on the West side of Manhattan in celebration of Henry Hudson. Usually they are on the East side, and easily viewed by us. I thought of how difficult it would be for us to attend: the crowds, the distance, the very late night the kids would all have, and the early morning church the next day. As a result, we made the executive decision that fireworks would not be on our docket for this year's Fourth.

But, how do you break that kind of traumatic news to your children? Well, by telling them that instead of watching fireworks this year, we are finally riding that carriage in Central Park!! I knew we had kept this indulgence at bay for a reason! No tears were shed, and no complaints were expressed over the lack of the usual explosive evening show- just giddy excitement over what kind of magical horse we would choose.

We ended up not really choosing our horse. You see, let it be known that the 4th of July is not the best day to go out seeking a Central Park carriage ride. The usual line of anxious horse handlers along 59th street was non-existent. People were lining up to ride the carriages- something I have never seen. You just had to wait in line and be happy with whatever carriage showed up to whisk you away. Luckily, the three munchkins of ours are easily impressed....so when George the horse showed up with his shiny carriage adorned with weather-worn fake flower arrangements, and chain smoking driver- they were happy. Ecstatic.

Eva even took a moment of internal reflection, and paused to meditate on the amount of overwhelming excitement she was experiencing. Owen couldn't get over the fact that we were on a "horsie ride!" The city looks so much different in a carriage seat.

The girls insisted I take a picture of the "pigeon party" they spotted on a street light near the Plaza Hotel.

Oh, the things you'll see.

Woohoo! Dreams come true!


Owen is telling Daddy all about how much fun he is having....and how excited he is to have a pack of gum in his hand. I still am not sure how he got that.

Afterward, to top off our touristy 4th, we stopped by the Brooklyn Diner- home of the $17 hotdog. Wow. Wasn't expecting that. Owen didn't eat much (shocker:)....he was too fascinated by his "hat" creations.