A Baby Grows in Brooklyn

In all the years we've been visiting New York, we've barely spent any time in Brooklyn. We usually stay in the Upper West Side, spending our time in Manhattan. This time, however, with a new granddaughter in Bushwick, Brooklyn, we based ourselves in the heart of hip Williamsburg for three weeks, mostly so we could be closer to the adorable Clio Ines Escalante -- here seen snuggling into her Papa's beard -- but, as an added bonus, to give us a chance to get acquainted with Brooklyn.

The first thing we noticed is how big Brooklyn is. In area, it is twice the size of Paris! The buildings are, by and large, three or four storeys high, and on the commercial streets, front wide streets and avenues.

When you take the L subway line out from Manhattan, the train comes hurtling into the station, so fast you're convinced it must be an express and that it won't be stopping. But no, it's just that the subway platforms are so long -- a good city block or more, and at least twice the length of Paris metro platforms -- that it takes a while for all eight gleaming, silver carriages to get into the station and come to a screeching stop.

 But when you emerge from the subway, you find yourself breathing in the open air and admiring the classic Brooklyn brownstone buildings. When we first arrived, the trees were all still bare, but thanks to the spectacular spring weather, by the time we left...

...almost every street had trees just bursting with glorious blossoms.

At the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the mild winter and early spring warmth made for great displays.

Carpets of "not so shy" violets spread themselves along the pathways...

...the magnolia trees were at their peak...

..the "host of golden daffodils" were worthy of Wordsworth himself...

...and there was even one cherry tree in full flower, in early March!

 But it wasn't just the natural world that was bursting with growth! When you spend three weeks with a new infant, the changes that happen before your very eyes are remarkable.

This little cutie went from being happy just to be cuddled and rocked by her Granny...

...to sticking her tongue out for her grandfather...

...to letting you know that she really likes her bath, with a half smile and sparkly look that was so reminiscent of her mother at that age...

...and to deciding that being in her car seat is not so terrible!

She even handled her first subway ride into Manhattan with aplomb, seated next to a typically chic customer of the L line on her left, with scarlet nails and clad in a coat made of overlapping faux feathers!

The skyline of Manhattan is still a sight to behold, but today when you're standing on the waterfront of Williamsburg looking across, you're surrounded on your side of the East River by an explosion of growth, modern condo buildings, elegant boutiques, hip cafés, bars and restaurants, and a population that seems to be under 30 years old. Matthew and I were definitely "fossils"!

But fossils or not, along with the joys of being grandparents, we also squeezed in some wonderful Manhattan outings, visiting friends, discovering new restaurants and taking in some great events.

At the top of the list was the theatrical presentation of War Horse at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. With its breathtaking full-size horse puppets and brilliant staging, this was a mesmerizing, highly emotional experience -- definitely one of the most exciting evenings either of us have spent at the theatre.

Running a close second, was the Renaissance Portrait show at the Metropolitan Museum, a dazzling exhibition that traced the emergence of the portrait from the simple classic side-view profile that nonetheless gave you a lot of information about wardrobe, jewellry and hairstyles...

...to a full-length portrait with almost full face and so much information and history, you had to just stand and study it closely for many minutes to take it all in!

Meanwhile, over at MOMA, the Cindy Sherman photography retrospective had just opened and was drawing a steady stream of fans, delighted to have the chance to walk through 40 or so years of this woman's remarkable work.

Our last weekend, we attended an afternoon piano recital at Avery Fisher Hall featuring Murray Perahia playing works by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Brahms. Truly sublime!

Exciting though Manhattan is, we were always drawn back to Bushwick, Brooklyn, where some  visitors arrived from London to meet the new member of the family. Clio has by now developed eyelashes, which she is using to sneak a peek at her Uncle Alex.

She decided she liked what she saw and loved nothing better than hanging out with him and her new Aunt Sonia!

The three weeks just flew by. Clio is now over six weeks old, growing by leaps and bounds. We can't imagine how developed she'll be when we have our next "live" visit at the end of June. But, thank goodness, there's always skype to keep us going in the meantime!

Welcome to the family Miss Clio!

À bientôt!