Dormuirs Take NYC

This summer provided some very solid family-bonding time for the Dormans.  After spending a long weekend weekend in Seattle with my little sis Michelle & brother-in-law Tim, we headed to Ohio for my grandfather's funeral.  Despite the sadness of the occasion, it was wonderful to see the whole family and celebrate the life of a wonderful, wonderful man.  Miss you Gramps!

Just 5 short days later, Michelle and Tim landed in NYC for a 5 day visit.  It was Tim's first time ever in NY and it was the first time Michelle had visited in 7 years! (ie. 2 apartments and 1 job ago) - so there was a lot to fit in.  I pushed them hard - but I think they liked it :)  Click here for the full album of fun.  

Saturday:
We started off in true NYC fashion with a tasty brunch at Cafe Cluny in the West Village, followed by a stroll down the Westside HWY towards Battery Park for views of Lady Liberty.  

Battery Park

From there we visited the 9/11 Memorial (which I hadn't seen yet) -- which was very lovely. Afterwards we checked out South Street Seaport - and enjoyed a few beers at Ambrose Hall Beer Garden - before heading to Chinatown so I could introduce Michelle & Tim to Joe's Shanghai soup dumplings.  They were obviously a hit.  

Ambrose Hall

We got a little rain on the way uptown through Little Italy, before a stroll through Washington Square Park followed by a (much needed) disco nap.  After that we stopped for some delicious Ethiopian in my hood, followed by some drinks on my patio.  

Washington Square Park Arch 

drinks on my patio (MacDougal Alley)

Sunday:

We all slept in a bit and headed back to Chinatown for an amazing dim sum lunch at Golden Unicorn with some friends.  Despite the heat, we braved the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (with Peter as our trusty tour guide, providing some excellent bridge trivia and a lovely tour of a few Brooklyn neighborhoods).

crossing the Brooklyn Bridge with this crew

Brooklyn Heights

By this time, we were ready for some sitting and some A/C, so we stopped for a movie at BAM - we saw Boyhood, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Afterwards, we headed back to the city for a yummy, wine-filled dinner at Malatesta Trattoria.

Monday:

I decided to take an extra day off to play with Michelle & Tim - so we slept in a bit and kicked off the day with matzoh ball soup and hot pastrami sandwiches at 2nd Ave Deli, before heading on a bus headed Uptown towards The Met.  I was excited to get to visit the museum as there were a few exhibits I was really interested in checking out: Charles James: Beyond Fashion and Gary Winograd's photography exhibition.  I thought both were excellent.  I of course had to take them through the Temple of Dendur and the roof deck for some amazing city and Central Park views.

From there we wandered through Central Park and then took the train back to the West Village for some milkshakes & ice cream sodas at the recently opened Hamilton's Luncheonette.  

After enjoying those (and a quick disco nap back home), we headed to Wallflower for cocktails with 2 of my fav friends: Nina & John.

After (copious) cocktails, we headed to Virgola for an awesome oyster dinner with some of my other favorite folks: Andrew and Allison.

Tuesday:

I headed to work, while these two slept in.  They came by the Google offices for a tour and lunch, before doing some explorations of The Highline, Time Square and Rock Center on their own.  

Then, for their final meal in the city, Peter joined us at the legendary John's of Bleecker for some NYC pizza.  

It was a pretty awesome visit, though I think Michelle and Tim said they need about 7 years rest before coming back :)