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Curtis flew his mom out this weekend for a one-week-belated Mother’s Day gift, and we had a blast. We also got the chance to solidify our tour routes. Pretty soon we’ll have our own map and won’t need to accompany visitors around town at all. Heh.

Here’s a recap of the weekend, along with our increasingly efficient tour of NYC (Note: This is the whirlwind tour, no time to stop and smell the roses – er, garbage – this is merely to cover as much turf as possible for someone who’s never been to the city):

Thursday – Upper East Side, Central Park, Rockefeller, Midtown, Greenwich, West Village, SoHo, TriBeCa, Financial District

F train to 63rd/Lexington.
Crossect Park/Madison/5th avenues on the way to Central Park.
Weave through the southeast corner of Central Park. (Photo.)
Walk 5th Avenue past the Apple store (a Curtis must-see), Bergdorf, Trump Tower, Tiffany, etc.
Cut over to Rockefeller Plaza via 52nd St.
Peek into the ice skating rink – or cafe in the offseason – the NBC studio, GE building lobby, Radio City Music Hall.
Cut over to Broadway, follow it into Times Square. Gawk.

1 train from Times Square to Christopher St.
Walk through Washington Square, around NYU.
Circle back to the West Village for a slice at Joe’s Pizza.
Walk on 6th Avenue down through SoHo, TriBeCa. No shopping allowed.
Skip over to W. Broadway and follow it to Ground Zero.
Take Church St. to Wall St. and the New York Stock Exchange.
Enter Trinity Church and walk through the graveyard, exit on Church and walk back up to Ground Zero.
Walk through the viewing area on Liberty St., over the footbridge and into 1 World Financial Center.
Follow the WFC bridges into the Winter Garden and out by the harbor.
Stroll along the harbor into Battery City Park.
Get on the R train at Whitehall St./South Ferry to go home and nap. (Actually, at this point I went to work and Curtis and Teri went and walked all over Park Slope.)
Cook a pasta dinner from Russo’s at 1am with bread, two cheeses and a bottle of red wine from Long Island.
Sleep heavily.

Friday – Prospect Park, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn Art Museum, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Lower East Side, East Village, Williamsburg

Get fruit/yogurt/granola at Naidre’s for breakfast.
Meander through the south end of Prospect Park, past the lake. (Photo.)
Enter the Botanic Garden (free this month when you show your BofA card), stop briefly to smell the roses, exit at the north end and enter the Brooklyn Museum (also free this month when you show your BofA card). (Photo.)
Do all five floors in just over an hour (shameful, yes).
Take the 3 train to Clark St. in Brooklyn Heights.
Get awesome pastries at Cranberry’s on Henry (?) St.
Walk to the promenade, enjoy the view of the skyline. (Photo.)
Take Montague street through the heart of Brooklyn Heights, stop to try on shoes.
Head north on Clinton St. until it turns into Old Fulton and runs into the water.
Admire the Brooklyn Bridge. (Photo.)
Walk around the corner for a pint at Watersomething I can’t remember and peek into the Jaques Torres chocolate shop.
Stop into Grimaldi’s for a coal-fired pizza. (Photo.)
Walk through DUMBO, under the Manhattan Bridge, stop in at ReBar. (Photo.)

Hop the F train to Delancey.
Get a glimpse of the Lower East side on the way to Houston St.
Make a slight detour over to 1st Ave. and Katz’s Deli.
Head back to Avenue A and take it to St. Mark’s Place across from Tompkins Square Park.
Have a pint or two at Hop Devil, and if you have any room left for food, a Crif Dog a few doors down. (Photo.)

Walk up and catch the L at 14th St. to Bedford in Williamsburg.
Peruse the shops on Bedford, with a detour over to the waterfront for an awesome view of Manhattan from the side. (Photo.)
Stop in at the cheese shop at N. 4th St. and Bedford.
Head to S. 4th St. and Berry for a pint at South 4th.
Take a car to Junior’s (Juniors on Flatbush, not Union and Flatbush).
Buy cheesecake.
Take the R home from DeKalb.

Saturday – Prospect Park, Farmer’s Market, North Slope, Chinatown, Little Italy, NoLita.

Walk through the ballfields in Prospect Park and head north to Grand Army Plaza.
Buy hot apple cider and peruse the yummy food.
Amble down Union St., stopping in cheese shops and markets.
Mother’s Day brunch at Aunt Suzie’s. $15.90 for all-you-can-eat awesomely exquisite food. (Photo.)
Pick up the R at Union and 4th Ave. to Canal St.
Walk up Broadway through Chinatown, buy chatchkes.
Loop back on Mulberry through Little Italy. Cannoli. (Photo.)
Walk up Mulberry to Houston, stopping in little shops and designers’ markets along the way.
Check out the huge new Whole Foods at Houston and 1st Ave.
Get on the F at 2nd Ave and head home for some wine tasting on 7th Ave. in Park Slope.
Off to the airport and naps all around.

We finally made it out today around 4p.m., and strolled two miles to Fort Greene for the ‘grand reopening’ of the Cafe Habana outpost — an eco-friendly Cuban restaurant (highly recommended by co-worker Aaron). I don’t know if it was the nice weather, the fact that it was a grand reopening, or both, but the place was packed. After paying for or order, we handed our receipt to two chefs in a truck, who were whipping up fresh Cuban fare at breakneck pace. We stood in a mass of scantily clad patrons, listening to the live band, watching the chefs roast corn, chop grilled chicken, pour ladles-full of black beans. The ~45 min wait was worth it. The food was super fresh and yummy, perfect for a warm spring afternoon. Added bonus: the whole operation was ‘green.’

Then we hopped the F to Chelsea where I tortured Curtis with a combo trip to Bed Bath & Beyond and The Container Store. He’ll never admit it, but he enjoyed looking at all the different kinds of trash cans. We also found some good kitchen-addition options, but we’re going with this one from Target.

More photos here.

We topped the day off with chocolate dip ice cream from a truck. Wow, that’s a lot of food from trucks for one day.

Now, Suns-Spurs, and shooting for a reasonable bed time.

We stayed up all night watching the West Wing. When we realized it was already light outside we decided just to stay up, so we went for a walk through Prospect Park. The birds were chirping, the air was fresh, the ground was damp. We got to the Farmer’s Market before the stands were set up, and we got to Cousin John’s before they were open. Of course, when they let us in, they said they didn’t serve breakfast until ten – just pasteries for the time being. So we got a blueberry muffin fresh out of the oven and moved on. We ended up at Grecian Corner and got breakfast specials with a total bill of ~$8.50. Then, at 7:45a.m., bedtime.

Now it’s 3p.m. and time to start the day.