My son and his wife live in Brooklyn, so it was great to catch up with them and a very exciting time as my first granddaughter was due around the time of our visit. It was nice to see them both on their own for the last few days before baby Emma Florence arrived. Big change for them now :)
My sister surprised me at the airport by booking a limo to collect us and drive us to our apt in Park Slope. It was such a treat after the long journey, and he took us a route we hadn't tried before and drove past Coney Island ! Can't wait to go there in August when I am over again. We booked the same apt through Airbnb that we had stayed in 2 years previous for my son's wedding. Really quirky NY style with our own bedrooms, and lounge, kitchen & bathroom. Evelyn, the owner, even leaves us coffee, eggs, bread, butter, milk etc in the fridge :)
First evening we were there we were pretty tired, but I had booked an acupuncture treatment for my back 3 blocks from the apt, so we went out to grab a bite first at our local Checkers ;)
I was told it's better to eat something before you go for treatment, so this yummy burger and fries hit the spot ! The acupuncture was very relaxing, and it was the first time I had tried it. Hard to tell how much it helped but I was walking around much better than expected after a long flight !
Next morning we couldn't wait to get to Daisy's Diner on 5th Ave in Park Slope, a nice short walk from the apt. This is our fav breakfast place in Park Slope.
I even got Jo eating the pancakes by the 3rd day!! They are the best, and my mouth is watering just looking at that crispy bacon :))) Next we headed by subway to The High Line, a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan's West Side.
What a glorious day we got for our walk. We walked just under 2 miles, but it didn't feel that long as there were so many exhibits and lovely plants to look at on the way.
This man standing in his underpants, we found out later is actually an art exhibit, and is not real !! We were scared to go too close taking photos in case he moved and gave us a fright! So realistic !!
Next a walk round Chelsea Market, which was really busy at lunchtime, but we managed to find a seat for coffee and cake :)
Next day we hit Manhattan. Started at Central Park, and walked down window shopping in all the upmarket shops like Tiffany, Saks, Bloomingdales. The window dressing is always amazing!
The yellow cabs are SO NYC ! I loving taking photos in Manhattan!! We were supposed to go on The Ride bus tour, but it was delayed because of a parade, but after waiting an hour we cancelled as we were wasting too much of our day. We got the subway down to Cortland St to Century 21 and did some shopping. It's a bit like a better laid out TKMaxx, and you get some great bargains on clothes and homewares :)
My son's work was a 10 minute walk from here so I popped up for a coffee in the stunning Trello offices on Broadway, and was given a guided tour and met all the staff, which was great fun! These next pics I took from the office windows, they look down on Wall Street, and the Hudson River.
This next pic is Jo and I all excited about going out for brunch with my family at Du Jour Bakery. We took a selfie in the mirror at the top of the stairs each day before we headed out for our next adventure!
I had a bacon maple scone with fresh Brooklyn Roasting Co coffee....yummmmmm!
Then we headed to Atlantic Ave & Smith Street for some retail therapy. Great quirky independent shops there. We found this time that a lot of the retro furniture and arty decor shops had upped their prices to silly money so didn't buy anything. Lots of nice souvenir shops though so bought some cool things to bring home.
Saw this fab old american classic driving up Smith St, and luckily he stopped at the lights so we had time to take some pics :) They just don't make them like this any more :(
Thought this was funny in the window of the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co on 5th Ave. I know a few people I could have brought this home for!!
On Saturday, after another scrumptious breakfast in Daisy's we took the subway to Fort Greene to the Flea Market & Smorgasburg. Great stalls and amazing food! I bought a few of these fab metal stars to bring home.
Lots of painted furniture and mirrors...
and Recycled Brooklyn (who I follow on Instagram ) had a stall there too so I had a chat to the guys. I love their furniture !!
On Sunday we headed to Dumbo - The acronym DUMBO actually stands for "Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass". It's a great area to take cool photos of the Brooklyn & Manhattan bridges, and if you stand in the middle of the road you can even get a shot of the Empire State through the bridge arch. I nearly got run over by a taxi !!!
We had a look round the Flea market but the stalls were mostly the same ones we had seen on Saturday.
The rain came on so we went for tea and whoopie pies in One Girl Bakery, then did some shopping in West Elm.
What a brilliant trip we had, with free upgrades on our flight out, the limo at the airport, and Uber taxiing around NYC! Can't wait to go back again in August, just 8 weeks away !! and this time I will get to see my beautiful little granddaughter !!
My next post will be back to the furniture and I have some quirky little tables to show you ;)
See you soon!!
Julie
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