Two Worlds

A bridge for walking and autos greets visitors to Overpeck Park. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Once a landfill, Overpeck Park in Bergen County, New Jersey is now one of my happy places. And before we left fair New Jersey for Italy in April, we took Baby Boy for a stroll there. The charming wooden bridge for walking and autos is now a lovely symbol of the land. Englewood, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, and Teaneck donated hundreds of acres of land surrounding Overpeck Creek about 50 years ago to create this park. It features walking paths, a dog park, tennis courts, baseball fields, and even an equestrian area with horses for riding. There are tracks, a canoe/kayak launch, and a fishing area, not to mention a playground for kids.

An oasis in the middle of a county that often seems more city than suburb, Overpeck has even recently attracted a pair of American eagles. (I, along with the rest of New Jersey, am hoping the eagles make it.) Bergen County announced May 10 that more improvements are coming to the park. The County is receiving a $500,000 grant to complete a missing link of pedestrian paths traversing the park and will connect all the venues within it, according to the announcement.

There’s so much you can do at Overpeck. But I have to admit my favorite pastime at the park is simple walking. I especially enjoy a visit in the spring, when it is still not too hot and all the flowers and plants are in bloom. I take photos by the pretty trees dressed in pink or white flowers, people watch, encounter the many dogs and babies, and take a deep breath. Bet those who knew the land as a landfill never imagined it could be a place of such peace and beauty.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Antonio and I aboard the Bateaux dining cruise, which offers a new perspective on the New York skyline. © Photo courtesy of Gerenini Family

We are officially back in Italy, and we’ll be here for a long, long time. It feels like an eternity to me. It’s only been a few days, but I already missed New Jersey and nearby New York as the plane was taking off from JFK Airport. In fact, it’s not an understatement to say that my heart aches for the sights and sounds of the tri-state area.

So, I’m putting a much-needed smile on my face by remembering some of the ways I bid farewell to my home sweet home. Thanks to a friend from Ischia, who was in New York on business and was kind enough to take Antonio and I aboard the Bateaux dining cruise, I was able to take in the lights of NYC one last time before leaving for Italy. Aboard the cruise, I ate yummy lobster bisque, crab cake, seafood-stuffed crepes and cheesecake (New York style, of course). The crepes were delicious, but dripping in cream sauce and paired with the bisque and the cheesecake, it was a bit of a heavy dinner. While the price is steep – our friend gave the experience to us as a gift to thank us for letting him stay at our place – I would recommend the Bateaux to out of towners and locals alike because it is a new and fun way to take in the New York skyline. It also is quite romantic, and makes for an extra-special way to celebrate an anniversary or birthday.

The highlight of the trip is not the food, by the way. It is the ambiance. I was even able to wave arriverderci to Miss Liberty herself. Being the child of an immigrant and a sucker for the American dream and all it represents, I get choked up just at the sight of THE Statue. It felt fitting to see her up close, in all her glory one last time before I set out an adventure in reverse; whereas my ancestors greeted her at their arrival to the new world, I was heading back to their old world for what is sure to be a life-changing experience.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Palisades Park is a novel that takes place in 1930s northern New Jersey. © Photo courtesy of St. Martin’s Press

Growing up in Fort Lee, N.J., I have always heard tales about my family’s arrival to the neighborhood from Italy and the wonder with which my father and others greeted the Palisades Amusement Park in the 1960s. While my immigrant family was settling into the new world and working like “chooches” as the Italian Americans would say, they managed to at least entertain themselves a few times at the famed park, replete with its roller coasters and Ferris wheel.

That’s why when I read about Palisades Park (St. Martin’s Press, 2013), a novel that tells the story of a fictional family’s triumphs and hardships amid their work at the Palisades Amusement Park, by Alan Brennert, bestselling author of Moloka’i and child of Edgewater, N.J., I jumped at the chance to pre-purchase it. At 5 a.m. this morning, curled up in my bed, I happily opened my Kindle Fire HD to find my copy of the book.

Revolving around Eddie and Adele and their children, a daughter Toni, who wants to be a high diver despite her mother’s objections, and son Jack, the novel takes place in northern New Jersey, where the family works at the Palisades Amusement Park. Spanning the 1930s to the park’s closure in 1971, the book also takes readers through major moments in history as someone in N.J. at the time might have witnessed them.

It’s a real page turner, and anyone with the slightest connection to northern New Jersey will appreciate all the detail about the area’s history. I only got as far as the fire that famously struck the park and how that is beginning to affect the family before my son and my work forced me out of bed, not to mention out of the pages of the novel. Still, I already experienced the horrors of someone trying to jump off my George Washington Bridge, the symbol of my hometown, and references to Fort Lee’s original name, Coytesville, and its past as the first Hollywood. I can hardly wait for the story of this family to unfold and to hear about the changing landscape in the 1950s and 1960s when my relatives were planting our roots in this intriguing place that is so often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, New York City.

Of course, I recommend you take this book with you on your travels or for reading at the beach this summer. It will be a challenge for me because I’m already swept away by the story, but I”m going to try and pace myself so I have it to read as I travel to the Motherland, Italy, later in the spring.

The writing is so powerful – I can definitely see why Brennert, who won an Emmy award in 1991 as a writer/producer of L.A. Law, is a favorite with book clubs – that you will feel as though you are apart of the story and moving right into Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, and all the other nearby towns related to the Palisades Amusement Park. If you really want to make the words leap off the page, you can head to the Fort Lee Museum tonight at 7 p.m. ET, where Brennert will be celebrating the book’s release by signing copies of it, and check out the museum’s exhibit on the park.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Baby Boy and his cousins prep for Easter by decorating cookies and dying eggs. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Baby Boy and I are preparing to leave for a very long stay in Ischia, Italy, home of my ancestors and my husband. So, Easter is the last holiday we’re going to be spending with our American loved ones for some time. We are probably going to miss some of our favorite occasions, including Halloween and Thanksgiving. After all, the Italians think of them as Oct. 31 and any ol’ Thursday. I’m crying just thinking about it.

So, it was important to savor every moment of our Easter celebration. It started with our annual cookie decorating and egg dying party at my mom’s house (see photo above). We invited so many people this year that we didn’t fit into our house, and my mom who started this time-honored feast back when her great nieces and nephews were toddlers, hopped to party planning and cookie baking.

Although my niece (far left) and Baby Boy (far right) look like they are happily painting their egg-shaped cookies with icing, they were just faking. They mostly just ate their art (sometimes right off the paint brush). We later had to hide the cookies and icing from them. Sneaky, sneaky grown ups!

Baby Boy wakes up to surprises from the Easter Bunny. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

On Easter morning, Baby Boy found a lovely basket of goodies – and more – from the Easter bunny. His treats included a big picture book of his favorite Jake and the Neverland Pirates, bunny ears, a Peter Pan T-shirt, and a fishing rod for the tub. Some books and bubbles, purchased from local dollar stores, which are the bunny’s best friend, rounded out the offerings.

Baby Boy devours pancakes left by the Easter Bunny. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Lucky for Baby Boy, the Easter Bunny left us a batch of yummy pancakes, which Papa’ brilliantly smothered in nutella and whipped cream. Of course, Baby Boy needed two forks to inhale this delectable breakfast.

All cleaned up at Nonna’s Easter party, and he still had to put his shoes on his hands, under the dining room table. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Post-pancakes Baby Boy was up to his usual mischief at Nonna’s Easter party.

Baby Boy lands in basket. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Silly Baby Boy got himself stuck in the basket that Nonna uses to corral books for the grandkids. But I, his mamma, prefer to think that this is what the Easter Bunny left for me – his sweet self in a basket. There is, after all, no better gift. And it was a happy Easter for all.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Hubby and Baby Boy pose at the fountain at Paramus Park. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

We’ve been around many, many malls, and we’ve decided that each offers something special in the way of Easter fun. The bunny at Paramus Park was a bit lame in her purple apron, but the fountain with glittery eggs offers a great photo op (for which you don’t have to pay, by the way). See above. Garden State Plaza probably has a great bunny, but you have to swim through big crowds – first with your car in the parking lot – and then on foot once inside. It’s too much of a bother, especially with Baby Boy, who has enough energy to light the state. Jersey Gardens offers bargain shopping and a lovely little corner with the bunny, who is super duper friendly. Baby Boy, who cried with Santa, jumped into this bunny’s arms all by himself. And he didn’t want to say good-bye. Of course, it cost me $22 just to get three photos of the two of them. And the crowds are pretty nasty there, too, on the weekends. We walked miles to get from the car, which was parked by the movie theater, to the actual mall. Ugh! Still, Easter is almost here, and Baby Boy has gotten to experience the joy of the season in his home state. He’s growing into quite the little mall rat (minus the laziness and bad hair), and I love it.

Anyone know of any good places or events for kids celebrating Passover in New Jersey? I’d love to hear about them and share them with readers, so let me know.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012), and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

You can sit with your love in a cave at Cafe Archetypus in Edgewater. © Photo by Antonio Gerenini

Lately, my husband and I have been making an effort to go out on dates without our son. I decided it was a good idea since this is what I advise readers of the About.com Newlyweds site to do with their spouses and because my husband insisted we have more romance in our life or else. Or else what? I’m not sure. Still, I don’t really want to find out. So, we’re going on dates.

For the first one, we headed out to dinner at Fontana di Trevi in Leonia, a BYOB restaurant that is a big hit with my family. But we were back by 6, so my parents, brother, and sister-in-law, who were all about to sit down to eat with my son, kicked us out of our own house and told us to do something else. Yes, they kicked us out of our house and had dinner there without us.

In any event, my brother suggested we go to Cafe Archetypus in Edgewater. I had not been there since 1996, when it was Cafe Enigma. Back then, there was only one River Road (the address is now Old River Road and the new River Road runs practically parallel to it and features a slew of new condos and strip malls). Newly minted drivers, we’d coast along River Road in our parents’ cars. All clad in flannel, my high school pals and I would sit in a cave, order dessert and coffee (a new-found friend for most high schoolers), and listen to the grunge guitarist of the night whining about the injustices of the world.

This time around I was in cotton and there was no guitarist, not even a poet, lounging around the joint. But the caves were just as I remembered them, replete with women’s body parts jutting out of the wall. Notice the boobies above. My husband had never been to Cafe Archetypus, so he was not transported to his high school years, nor did he know what I was talking about when I started jabbering about Pearl Jam, existentialism, or baggy jeans (they never did make it to his native Europe, which has stuck with far-too skinny jeans for an eternity).

Still, we ordered a strawberry dessert, dug into it with our two spoons, and enjoyed a peaceful moment together sans Baby Boy. Hubby loved the caves, found them incredibly romantic. It doesn’t hurt that candlelight is the only light that enters the place, so you really do feel like you’re in a cave – and your face looks spectacular no matter what it looks like in real life. That alone is enough for me to declare that Cafe Archetypus is cozy and warm and the dessert is pretty tasty, not to mention fun to share with your beloved. Bottom line: It’s one stop on memory lane to which I don’t mind returning.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Baby Boy and Mommy take in the show at Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, N.J. © Photo by Regina Di Meglio

Want to feel like you’ve stepped into a time machine to visit the age of knights, princesses, and eating with your hands? Feel like wearing a paper crown and yelling like a mad man? Then, don’t miss a chance to visit Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, N.J. At this dinner show and tournament, you will don a paper crown in the colors of the knight for whom you will be cheering. While eating medieval-like grub – tomato soup in a metallic cup, herbed bread (my son’s favorite part of the meal), chicken, ribs, and an apple dessert – with your hands, you will watch a story unfold that has knights competing with one another in duels and jousts. You’ll scream and yell and get excited by your knight’s wins or losses. If you’re lucky (as my niece, who wears a princess outfit replete with crown whenever we “go to the castle,” always seems to be), one of the knights will toss a flower at you.

While the food is nothing to write home about, it is pretty tasty considering the price of admission and you’ll feel full. Plus, it’s the kind of food that most kids don’t mind eating. If you’re planning to attend in a group with young children, I suggest signing up for the earlier shows during the week. There are fewer people, and you are guaranteed to get home early. Also, look on the Web site before buying tickets because there are almost always coupons and special offers available, so that you don’t have to pay full price.

Even though this night out is wrapped up in fun (or for celebrating a birthday or other occasion), it is also educational. The kids will learn something about medieval times, what the people used to do for fun, and how they resolved conflict with jousts and the like. They’ll also get to see a falcon and horses, which is a chance for learning about animals. You’ll be teaching them something and they won’t even realize it. That might be the best part.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012), and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

A juicy hamburger, fries and pink lemonade are on the menu at Sugar and Plumm in Paramus’ Bergen Town Center. © Photo by Antonio Gerenini

Our first weekend home after having spent nearly a month in Florida was a bust. Baby boy and I had a terrible stomach flu that kept us locked in the house. It wasn’t that big of a problem because there was a blizzard to boot. So, last weekend we were all itching to go outside, take in the crisp air, and do something fun. We had some errands to run at the Bergen Town Center in Paramus, so we finally had an excuse to try Sugar and Plumm, the adorable sweets shop that also offers a decent lunch menu. With cute murals on the wall, including one of animals in a hot-air balloon, and clouds dangling from the ceiling, you’ll be enchanted as soon as you enter the place. The sight of delectable desserts sitting behind the counter will tempt the eyes. And you’ll probably feel like trying everything.

The Web site highlights the fact that Sugar and Plumm uses only the finest ingredients and that everything is made in house, fresh, daily. That might be the justification for the high prices. A triple-decker grilled cheese sandwich and fries costs $10, for example. While everything was good – except maybe for my buckwheat crepe with ham and Swiss cheese, which was nothing special and didn’t even come with fries or pickles – the dishes seemed expensive, considering the offerings (burgers, sandwiches, etc.). The dessert crepe we had with bananas and Nutella was delicious, but we’ve been spoiled. We make that kind of dessert at home both in the States and Italy all the time, so it seems silly to return to pay to eat it. Still, I’d like to go back to try the Maple and Bacon milkshake. I know it sounds disgusting. But I hear good things and I can’t really resist maple syrup or bacon.

For the price, I would expect the service to be better. At first, we were practically the only ones in the joint and it seemed to take forever to get served, especially considering the number of people who seemed to be just standing around. Nonetheless, Baby boy was in a great mood and the colorful pictures on the wall and purple booths made him giggle all the more. He had a great time scribbling on the kid’s menu with the crayons provided by the restaurant, and he slurped his milk joyfully. Anyway, his smile makes every outing worth it, so I can’t complain.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

A felt tree is safe for kids of all ages. © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

When my one-year-old son tried to pull the heavy, metal stocking hangers on his head, I knew I was going to have to re-think Christmas this year. So, instead of an actual tree, I made him a felt one. He can move the decorations from one part of the felt Christmas tree to the other and no one gets hurt. It was simple as pie to make, too. All you have to do is purchase felt – one large green piece for the tree itself and other small pieces in various colors to create decorations. I bought black (but I would have preferred brown) to make the stump at the bottom. I cut a simple, large triangle from the large green fabric. Then, I cut circles hearts, one candy cane, and one candy shape out of the other pieces of felt. I put a piece of self-adhesive velcro on the back of each, but felt sticks to felt, so that was not really necessary. Now, my son and his little cousins have a ball moving all the decorations, including the star at the top of the tree and the stump at the bottom.

Di Meglio is the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com, and the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012).

Tree at Rockefeller Center in New York 2012 © Photo by Francesca Di Meglio

Yes, I’m a Jersey girl, who loves me a Jersey Christmas. But it doesn’t hurt that my end of Jersey is only 15 minutes away from the Big Apple. Nobody does Christmas like New York City. The roasting chestnuts on every corner set the scene. As you inch ever closer to Rockefeller Center, passing the folks in line to see the Christmas Spectacular – not to mention the Rockettes – at Radio City Music Hall, the excitement builds. Then, finally, you see THE tree. It is never a let down. It is always spectacular. The lights will blind you and the ice skaters below – depending on their skill level – will either mesmerize you or have you laughing like a hyena. Either way, you will be entertained. And you will forget about any of the horrors on the news that day or any of the nuisances, including the people shoving you one way or another as they try to snap pics of their family and friends under the tree. It is another one of those traditions that has me happy to be a tri-state area resident and an American. A friend, who recently visited from Italy, said that if you don’t like Christmas, you should come to the United States because Americans make you love it. And we do, especially in this part of the country.

Last Friday, my family and I journeyed into the city to see the tree. It was in a word – magical. We only stayed for a few moments because we had three babies with us, all of whom were hard to keep warm and focused. We took pictures and posed in silly Santa and elf hats. Then, we passed by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. That only lasted a bit, too, thanks to my Baby Boy who thought he was supposed to be the one offering Mass. He picked up the volume just as the priest was getting started. Still, we caught a glimpse of the nativity scene in the cathedral. Now, we can say we saw the tree and Christmas can go on. After all, Christmas isn’t Christmas for me without a stop at Rockefeller Center.

If you’re interested in reading more about my Christmas spirit, you might enjoy these recent posts I’ve written for other sites:

Wrap It Up Nicely (learn about my plight as a daughter who must help her father buy Christmas gifts for her mom)

10 Tips for Surviving an Italian Christmas (this one is hilarious if I do say so myself)

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012), which would make for a nice holiday gift for anyone interested in NJ.