Visiting Eloise

When my daughter was little, she used to love watching Eloise at the Plaza. Unlike many of the other things we watched over and over again when she was small, this movie was one I enjoyed watching with her.

And so it was not at all surprising that The Plaza Hotel made it onto our list of places to explore when we were in New York.

(Photo: www.theplaza.com)

We started with a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park. Eloise rode with a prince. We rode with someone else's discarded water bottle and the smell of the horse, but I'm not complaining. The weather was gorgeous, and it was a fabulous way to see the park, or a little corner of it. As an added bonus, our driver - like Eloise's - had an Irish accent. He accepted our payment in cash, though, not a meal from the hotel's Palm Court.

I wasn't surprised by the beauty and grandeur of the hotel, but I was surprised by Eloise's presence there. Her framed portrait graced a wall near The Palm Court (photo op!) and a boutique dedicated to all things Eloise had a place of honor among the hotel shops, a pink shrine that couldn't help but elicit enthusiasm from even a too-cool teenager. Said teenager walked away from the shops with Eloise lip balm to wear with the adult-sized slippers bearing The Plaza crest, which we'd purchased in the more upscale gift shop across the way.

(Photo: www.theplaza.com)

Despite the fact that we didn't find the wedding rooms from The Bride Wars, we spent much more time exploring the Plaza than my husband would have liked. Although he much preferred the Apple store with its shrine to Steve Jobs, I enjoyed watching my daughter taking in Eloise's digs just as much as I enjoyed the Plaza.

Maybe even more.