We've been to NYC many times but the only (very brief) time we spent in Brooklyn was to pick up an ill-fated cruise. Not dissimilar to that nightmare of a cruise, one of us got sick. Thankfully, it didn't really hit me until the weekend was over and we had arrived back at my parents' house. I missed my baby so much and I couldn't even run over to see her because I had to run to the bathroom first!
We have a lot to learn about Brooklyn. It's huge - so many neighborhoods within that one borough! We enjoyed our explorations but we barely scratched the surface. We look forward to going back with AJ and getting to know DUMBO and Williamsburg better.
Friday, November 2
We arrived late afternoon via train and then took the subway to my brother's place. After that we mostly walked and took Uber to get around.
We had dinner at DeKalb Market Hall. I had expected it to be a little more bustling and have more options like Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Instead, it felt a little more like a food court. We ended up having some delicious pierogis and then some awesome ice cream from Ample Hills Creamery (not pictured).
Some festive decorations for Halloween:
From there we found the farthest end of the path leading to the Brooklyn Bridge from the Brooklyn side and walked all the way to the other end in Manhattan. The Bridge itself isn't very long, but from one end of the path to the other it's about two miles. I will say, the crowds were pretty thin because it was dark and there was a light drizzle. It made for a pleasant experience. There was almost no breathing room when we went back on Sunday.
We closed out the evening at the Comedy Cellar at the Village Underground. This is one of the primary reasons we were looking forward to a child-free weekend. We definitely couldn't have done this with her. Since we love comedy, going to the Comedy Cellar was definitely a "bucket list" type of event for us.
They only post the lineup a day or two beforehand and so we had been expecting a certain grouping. They do, however, have people who just drop in unannounced sometimes. In our case, that person was Jimmy Carr. It felt a little like seeing an old friend since we saw him several times when we were in Montreal for JFL. He definitely made me laugh the hardest.
The MC was Jon Laster and the other comedians were, in close to the original order, Gregg Rogell, Jimmy Carr, Judy Gold, Dan Soder, Marc Maron, Judah Friedlander, and Mo Amer. It was a fabulous experience and one we'd do again if given the opportunity. My biggest complaint is that we were seated right behind the drummer so I thought my ears might bleed from the volume. The seating was also a little uncomfortable, but it's almost silly to complain. That's what you should expect in a venue like that.
Evan wouldn't forgive me if I didn't mention that he spoke to Marc Maron outside the venue. It seems like he didn't think he had a successful set. We liked it!
Saturday, November 3
We started our day in Williamsburg with a very decadent brunch at Sunday in Brooklyn. We split a two-stack of their famous malted pancakes (they actually look a lot better than they taste) and then got individual savory dishes.
Then we went to Bushwick for a self-guided tour of the Bushwick Collective, a collection of street art. Bushwick is kind of an up and coming area. It still has work to do but it seems like there's a movement to make it more livable. We stopped at a little flea market and one of the vendors said it used to be all warehouses. When we were walking around we noticed the warehouses but there are coffee shops, speciality grocery stores, restaurants, bars, and night clubs pocketing the area, too.
I didn't know Jimmy Fallon hung out here...
I think this looks like a bizarro Kate Middleton with a jellyfish fascinator.
Here's some advice the orange menace should follow:
It's appropriate that Trumpty Dumpty would have what looks like bird mess on his face.
I wonder if this was inspired by Where the Wild Things Are:
Then we went to Roberta's, per my brother's recommendation, for some Neapolitan-style pizza. It hit the spot. The restaurant was packed so we walked down the block to their take-out counter. We took our pizzas to-go and sat in their outdoor garden. I bet people are sitting elbow to elbow on warm summer days.
It had been windy and a little chilly all morning/afternoon so we took a break between pizza and our evening activity for some down time at the apartment. Right before though we swung by the Waterfront and got some nice shots of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Later we returned to Williamsburg to see Dutch pianist, Joep Beving at National Sawdust, a very New York-hip venue. I sort of stumbled upon this event when looking for things for us to do. I had never heard of Joep nor listened to his music before. It was mostly serendipity that it would be the exact kind of a meditative, intimate musical experience we were hoping for. It was beautiful and stirred up all kinds of emotions. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I might've shed a tear at his opening song. His chords sent vibrations through my body. The music really communicated to me.
It so happens that we were able to talk to him post-performance as we caught him having a smoke break as we were walking away from the venue. Cool guy. This was the last performance of his North American tour and he was ready to get back home to his daughters in Amsterdam.
Sunday, November 4
We laid low at the apartment and ate breakfast that Evan picked up from Butler. Unfortunately, I think something I ate didn't agree with me and might've been the cause of my stomach bug. I enjoyed it while I was eating it though!
Then we returned to Brooklyn Bridge for a few more pictures with basically every other person in NYC. I took this picture during a very brief, seconds-long break in the crowd.
The iconic image of the Manhattan Bridge Overpass:
Some final images of DUMBO as we made our way to the subway to get to Penn Station:
We had a very nice, if quick, weekend getaway. I'm just sorry that it was punctuated by my getting sick on my birthday and right before being reunited with my sweet pea. It's good to be back home with her and the cats.
