This Friday, I am planning to take my daughter and granddaughter to Gigino at Wagner Park for lunch; it's my daughter's birthday. I know roughly where it is, but am not sure about what is around there. I ask because I am thinking about suggesting we do some shopping, instead of buying a birthday present in advance (or giving her a check, which is what I usually do).

Any suggestions? Just a thought, on the off chance that we can actually have more than three hours without rain.

I've walked by and that place always looks so nice. You could walk into Tribeca and up to Soho or go to Century 21. Or take the train up to Soho.

As I read this, it started to pour!

Century 21 gets my vote--its only a 10 minute walk from there. Designer clothes for less There really isn't any other quality shopping around there that I can think of; you'd have to hop a train elsewhere.

Thanks, Kelly and Janet --- Maybe we'll try Century 21; my girls discovered the one in Paramus a few months ago. This means the younger one will also be looking, she's got her mother's fashion sense.

I was confused when I first read this thread. I always thought Century 21 was a national real estate firm , especially since the store wasn't in Paramus when my family lived in Bergen County.

Ann

Ann, that's what I thought when I first heard people talking about Century 21. I think the first one was in the financial area.

Anyway, there's a spanking new shopping center in Paramus, where the late unlamented Bergen Mall died a few years back. It's got the Century 21 and Nordstrom Rack --- the place where Nordstrom stock goes when it gets old, I think. And similar discount operations, I guess.

There are two places I like for shopping in the area, Century 21 and J&R. Clothing or electronics. Either way you can't go wrong.

http://www.jr.com/
http://www.c21stores.com/

Marian--I think just a bit of history might be in order.

On you way to Century 21 walk to the graveyard at Trinity Church to take a look at the grave of Alexander Hamilton, which is on the Rector Street side. His intellect, knowledge and financial skills would be extremely useful today. A brief but decent biography of AH's is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton

Peter

I second Peters suggestion. If venture into Trinity Churhyard you might check out:

The grave of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the widow of Alexander Hamilton. He left her destitute. She nevertheless defended his reputation against sexual scandals and financial improprieties and went on to found the New York Orphan Asylum Society in 1806, an agency that still functions today under the name of Graham-Windham.

Another page of American History is represented by the grave of Charlotte Temple, the eponymous heroine of the book, Charlotte: A Tale of Truth, by Susanna Rowson. The book was published in 1794 and became America’s first best seller and is still in print today. Charlotte's life is the stuff of opera librettos. She was seduced by an officer in the British Army, brought to America unbeknownst to her family. She was then abandoned, left pregnant, alone and penniless in the New World. Her heartbroken parents searched for their only child. Her father arrived in America just before she died after giving birth to a daughter named Lucy. Thousands visit her grave every year.

There are many people with interesting stories buried here. Take a walk through the churchyard, choose a name that catches your fancy and google away.

Thanks Peter, Sheryl.

If it were MY birthday, I would take your suggestions. (In fact, I believe I have already visited that cemetery, in my Village years and when I taught briefly on Park Row ages ago.)

But it's my daughter's birthday and she is not as much of a history buff as am I. (I'm getting a second chance with the granddaughter, the one I lured to Rome. )

My knowledge of shopping in the area dates from BEFORE the neighborhood was razed to build the World Trade Center.

Marian, I will give it one more try!

Take the Lex from B’way and Wall St to 14th Street:

 Meander through the Union Square Farmer’s Market
 Walk to 19th Street and B’way to the interesting Fishs Eddy and/or the big sporting goods store—Paragon--as there are endless possibilities for a nice present at those stores
 Walk west on 19th street to Idlewild Books at 12 West 19th--an excerpt from its website:
“A bookstore organized by country, Idlewild carries fiction and non-fiction from all parts of the world, including new and classic works in translation, travel guides, books about politics and culture, graphic lit, language-learning books, maps and more.”

As you know there are many interesting places to shop in the area, and I have only scratched the surface.

Take a taxi back to your starting point to head home.

Peter

Thanks, yet again. I've got lots of ideas now, we'll see what happens.

An update here:

We had a lovely lunch at Gigino; and the rain even held off mostly so we could enjoy our view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island --- New York Bay as a whole. (And be glad that we weren't one of the huge crowds waiting to get on a ferry!)

The food was very, very good, the service attentive, all in all quite a nice experience. Lunch for the three of us was about $200, with a drink each to start, two nice appetizers, three main courses, three (scrumptious) desserts and an espresso for me.

We did NOT do any shopping afterward. We walked along the water a bit, enjoying the view and the little bit of exercise, then headed back to the car and home.