Brooklyn 9-29-08
I told you before that we are staying with Micah's friend Martin. Martin lives in Brooklyn - kind of a scary area. We walk up three flights of these stairs to get to his apartment at the end of the day. It is all part of the New York experience.
Also part of the New York experience - FOOD. We started our day at Teddy's Restaurant. It initially appealed to us because the lunch specials on the sidewalk advertised Italian meals. The menu inside was more Mediterranean style. We were both boring. I ordered a chicken caesar wrap and Micah got a burger. They were both exceptional choices.
We wanted to get out and see the city at the first opportunity, but we didn't know how to get around or where exactly we wanted to go first. Also, we had to be back in Brooklyn by 6:00 pm to meet with Martin's parents - Kathy & Greg - and it was already after lunch. We decided to spend our first day around Brooklyn.
On our bus ride to church on Sunday we drove by Grand Army Plaza. Martin pointed it out as a great place to visit, so we headed there first. I used to think that it was the South that couldn't let go of their loss in the Civil War. Apparently the North is equally as proud of their victory. The inscription reads: "To the defenders of the Union 1861 - 1865." It's a beautiful arch with beautiful statues.
The red sign you see in the picture says, "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza." There is a fun fountain in the center of the plaza and all around it they have fascinating design ideas for how to improve the plaza. It was a lot of fun.
Since we were enjoying the sights, Micah and I walked across the street to Prospect Park.
For both of us, this was the first time in an inner city park. It was STUNNING. The park is huge, and it has tons of features. There was a tennis house, a lake, seven baseball diamonds, a picnic house, several playgrounds, three major tunnels, and walking paths all throughout. Did I mention the large expanses of open grass for people to sit/play on? Micah and I got some ice cream from a food cart about halfway through our journey.
I've never seen so many squirrels. My favorite was the albino one near the picnic house.
After several hours of walking, a lots of goofy pictures, we walked down to 5th Ave in Brooklyn. It was nearly time to meet Kathy & Greg, but Martin said we could see some great shops along that road. They had some fun shops, but we didn't buy anything.
Instead, we went to Uncle Greg's. Not a blood uncle, but family of Martin's all the same. We met him, Kathy, Greg, and Aunt Marlayne, who also has no blood relation and has no relation to Greg. They took us out for dinner to another Mediterranean restaurant. This time we let them order for us. We ended up with platters filled with falafal, hummus, toasted cauliflower, babaganouj, stuffed cabbages, grapeleaf something or other, more things I can't name, and a lot of pita bread for dipping. I don't claim to have spelled any of those things correctly. It was tasty. However, that event basically wraps up the day. Although somewhere in there we took our first subway ride... and our second.
Check back again soon. Next post: Manhattan Tour.
I told you before that we are staying with Micah's friend Martin. Martin lives in Brooklyn - kind of a scary area. We walk up three flights of these stairs to get to his apartment at the end of the day. It is all part of the New York experience.
Also part of the New York experience - FOOD. We started our day at Teddy's Restaurant. It initially appealed to us because the lunch specials on the sidewalk advertised Italian meals. The menu inside was more Mediterranean style. We were both boring. I ordered a chicken caesar wrap and Micah got a burger. They were both exceptional choices.
We wanted to get out and see the city at the first opportunity, but we didn't know how to get around or where exactly we wanted to go first. Also, we had to be back in Brooklyn by 6:00 pm to meet with Martin's parents - Kathy & Greg - and it was already after lunch. We decided to spend our first day around Brooklyn.
On our bus ride to church on Sunday we drove by Grand Army Plaza. Martin pointed it out as a great place to visit, so we headed there first. I used to think that it was the South that couldn't let go of their loss in the Civil War. Apparently the North is equally as proud of their victory. The inscription reads: "To the defenders of the Union 1861 - 1865." It's a beautiful arch with beautiful statues.
The red sign you see in the picture says, "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza." There is a fun fountain in the center of the plaza and all around it they have fascinating design ideas for how to improve the plaza. It was a lot of fun.
Since we were enjoying the sights, Micah and I walked across the street to Prospect Park.
For both of us, this was the first time in an inner city park. It was STUNNING. The park is huge, and it has tons of features. There was a tennis house, a lake, seven baseball diamonds, a picnic house, several playgrounds, three major tunnels, and walking paths all throughout. Did I mention the large expanses of open grass for people to sit/play on? Micah and I got some ice cream from a food cart about halfway through our journey.
I've never seen so many squirrels. My favorite was the albino one near the picnic house.
After several hours of walking, a lots of goofy pictures, we walked down to 5th Ave in Brooklyn. It was nearly time to meet Kathy & Greg, but Martin said we could see some great shops along that road. They had some fun shops, but we didn't buy anything.
Instead, we went to Uncle Greg's. Not a blood uncle, but family of Martin's all the same. We met him, Kathy, Greg, and Aunt Marlayne, who also has no blood relation and has no relation to Greg. They took us out for dinner to another Mediterranean restaurant. This time we let them order for us. We ended up with platters filled with falafal, hummus, toasted cauliflower, babaganouj, stuffed cabbages, grapeleaf something or other, more things I can't name, and a lot of pita bread for dipping. I don't claim to have spelled any of those things correctly. It was tasty. However, that event basically wraps up the day. Although somewhere in there we took our first subway ride... and our second.
Check back again soon. Next post: Manhattan Tour.
2 comments:
So much fun! Have you asked Ben what you need to see or do while you are there? I was with him for one weekend in New York and I can't even begin to tell you all the cool stuff he packed in to two days.
How cool! I can't wait to see what comes next!
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