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Visiting Parents — Brooklynian

Visiting Parents

joanjettofarc
joanjettofarc
edited November -1 in Park Slope
My parents have never really spent any time in Brooklyn.

Any good ideas of things to do or see?
Experiences with your own families?

Thanks!

Comments

  • brooklynpotter
    brooklynpotter
    botanic garden, walk through PP. greenwood cemetary (there's a tour there of the monk parakeets that live there, too, which is pretty cool). lots more walking to show beautiful architecture, like montgomery place.

    my mom always likes to go to 12th street bar/grill for dinner when she comes into town.
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    The BBG is near the top of the list. Be sure that they bring something for the koi!
  • carnivore
    carnivore
    WhyFi wrote: The BBG is near the top of the list. Be sure that they bring something for the koi!
    a bag of wonder bread (or other cheap bread) is perfect.
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    What, am I the only one that shops for their food at the farmer's market? :wink:
  • findcate
    findcate
    I took my mom to Bargemusic at fulton landing (which she loved) and then grimaldis. My husband's parents are visiting from england--they enjoyed walking over the brooklyn bridge. We also had a wonderful dinner at Alma (I think it's cobble hill? Columbia and DeGraw. We took a car service but it was worth it. It has a gorgeous rooftop dining area with fantastic views of manhattan.
  • stacey
    stacey
    Of course there is the BBG and the Brooklyn Museum and the obligatory trip to Coney Island/Brighton Beach. We had friends in town who love to fish and my husband took them on a fishing boat which left from either Sheepshead Bay marina or the one out by Kings Plaza in Marine Park. You can get tickets to a show at BAM. For some easy relaxing and photo ops there is the promenade in Brooklyn Heights as well as walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and then check to see what free movie is playing in Brooklyn Bridge Park (I think this is seasonal so Im not sure when the last movie is). Another relaxing place is the shoreline along the Belt that runs from like the 65th Street entrance down to 86th Street - they fly some really cool kites there and the view is also nice (not as beautiful as the Promenade or the Bridge IMO). You can go horseback riding at Prospect Park or along the beach in Canarsie. There are so many walking tours for different neighborhoods.

    I always joke about how growing up it was so diverse that the smell at dinner time was like walking the globe and so when some Army friends of my husband came to visit we took them to a different ethnic restaurant in Brooklyn each night.
  • jamzer
    jamzer
    Bring them to Totonno's in Coney Island. The walk from the subway will scare the shit out of them, but then they will have some good pizza pie. It will be a true Brooklyn experience.
  • findcate
    findcate
    I went to coney island for the first time ever with my husbands parents and with his brother and his brother's two kids. The kids loved the cyclone. I was kind of disappointed personally, I had an image of it being a charming place. It was just kind of cheap & nasty and more gritty and run down than i imagined. I appreciated some of the old signage, and the wonderwheel, and I know it has a huge history which added a little bit... maybe it's better in the daytime when you can enjoy the beach? We didn't get there in time for tontonnos, however. I'm a vegeterian and there was absolutely nothing i wanted to eat, which left me a bit grumpy by 10 pm or so. the kids definitely liked it better than my husbands dad & his wife.
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    Gotta take them to Fairway in Red Hook - get something to eat at the cafe and sit out on the patio on waterfront and stare at the Statue of Liberty - simply nothing like that anywhere else.

    Take them to Saul in Boerum Hill (Bergen and Smith ) for dinner.

    I also think the Promenade and a walk through Brooklyn Heights.

    The Brooklyn Museum is world-class - one of the best Egyptian collections anywhere.
  • stacey
    stacey
    Livetotravel wrote: Gotta take them to Fairway in Red Hook - get something to eat at the cafe and sit out on the patio on waterfront and stare at the Statue of Liberty - simply nothing like that anywhere else.
    OMG I felt this way the first time I went there - it is fast becoming one of my favorite places but I was hoping to keep it a secret ;)
  • yavel
    yavel
    Carnivore wrote: [quote=WhyFi]The BBG is near the top of the list. Be sure that they bring something for the koi!
    a bag of wonder bread (or other cheap bread) is perfect.

    Please don't feed bread to the koi. It fills them up with food that is low in nutritional value. White bread also contains a mild form of bleach, which does the koi no good at all.
  • livetotravel
    livetotravel
    stacey wrote: [quote=Livetotravel]Gotta take them to Fairway in Red Hook - get something to eat at the cafe and sit out on the patio on waterfront and stare at the Statue of Liberty - simply nothing like that anywhere else.
    OMG I felt this way the first time I went there - it is fast becoming one of my favorite places but I was hoping to keep it a secret ;)

    OK - I promise not to post this anywhere else except where I already have which is chowhound and tripadvisor :oops:
  • whyfi
    whyfi
    Yavel wrote: Please don't feed bread to the koi. It fills them up with food that is low in nutritional value. White bread also contains a mild form of bleach, which does the koi no good at all.
    What about whole wheat? Whole wheat with flax seed? Omega 3s do a fish good!!! :wink:
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    Jamzer wrote: Bring them to Totonno's in Coney Island. The walk from the subway will scare the shit out of them,
    And if it doesn't mean Grandma at Totono's will (-8
  • parkslopedope
    parkslopedope
    Prospect Park, Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn Museum, Coney Island (the Aquarium too), and the Brooklyn Bridge (a walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan). I'd check out GoBrooklyn online.
  • idlewild
    idlewild
    Take them to the promenade on the Belt Parkway E. by the Verrazano. Walking them across the Brooklyn Bridge at night towards Manhattan is also great for the fabulous view. Not to many other pedestrians or bikers either. The piers on Coney Island and Canarsie are also fun at night. See when the Boat House in Prospect Park is open. The interior is gorgeous and you might be able to rent a paddle boat. Drive them through Williamsburg and Midwood. Maybe take them out to Tomasso on 86th street by 14th Avenue and eat and listen to the singing bartenders like the mobsters do.
  • anonymous
    anonymous
    The electric boat rides in the Audobon center are very nice. They run from I believe noon-5:00 and the Audobon center itself is very beautiful. Totally touristy but what about a Grimaldi's pizza and then ice cream at the place across the street and sit and look at the beautiful view of the city? Or else walk down the street and get some chocolate at Jacques Torres? Or drinks at the River Cafe? I just don't think the food is worth it.

    Century 21 in Bay Ridge--not as picked over as the one in the city.

    Dinner and movie at BAM?

    I know I know NOT in Brooklyn, but my mother (whose parents came from Italy) really really loved the Tenement museum on the lower east side. If your parents are the descendents of immigrants, it is a very good tour and moving (although not air conditioned).
  • joanjettofarc
    joanjettofarc
    Suggestions for a good place to take them for a drink?
    I usually go to Commonwealth or Buttermilk because of proximity to my apartment, but neither seems right for my parents.
  • getsmartbk
    getsmartbk
    agreed - I would not take my mom to either Buttermilk OR Commonwealth. I would go to Blue Ribbon (esp. if they were buying)
  • joanjettofarc
    joanjettofarc
    This is going to be more of an economical trip than Blue Ribbon affords.
  • meandººd
    meandººd
    a full day: visit fulton mall, the atlantic yards, franklin ave., blue ribbon for dinner, then walk down carroll street and spit in the gowanus.
  • idlewild
    idlewild
    JoanJettofArc wrote: This is going to be more of an economical trip than Blue Ribbon affords.
    Santa Fe.
  • idlewild
    idlewild
    Flexichick wrote: agreed - I would not take my mom to either Buttermilk OR Commonwealth. I would go to Blue Ribbon (esp. if they were buying)
    Why have you been smited? Who smote you? That's not right. You have done nothing to desrve a smite or a smote. -3 indeed. We need to fix this.
  • brooklynpotter
    brooklynpotter
    JoanJettofArc wrote: This is going to be more of an economical trip than Blue Ribbon affords.
    steinhof? olive vine? lemongrass? park slope ale house? anythony's?
  • antje
    antje
    Idlewild wrote: [quote=Flexichick]agreed - I would not take my mom to either Buttermilk OR Commonwealth. I would go to Blue Ribbon (esp. if they were buying)
    Why have you been smited? Who smote you? That's not right. You have done nothing to desrve a smite or a smote. -3 indeed. We need to fix this.

    Ah, who knows? But at least your +3 balances me out :-)

    You're the Yin to my Yang or something
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