Brooklyn Heights - a well kept secret

We decided on a slow start to the day, and finally left our digs around 11 am. We fought through the crowds of Time Square, where we entered the subway system to head Downtown. We decided to get a 7-day unlimited metro card, as it will be cheaper than individual tickets every time we decide to take the subway. We are becoming quite proficient at navigating around the place. As it is a Saturday the red line doesn’t travel to Brooklyn, so we got off near the Town Hall in lower Manhattan and made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of other people. I think it was particularly busy as it is a ‘holiday’ weekend, but we are learning to push our way through and maintain our ground amongst the throng (and we still seem to be more polite and considerate than most).

As we made our way across the bridge the crowds thinned out slightly, which made the walk more enjoyable. On the Brooklyn side we headed towards DUMBO, and made our way to the Manhattan Bridge and then walked along the shore of the East River towards and then under the Brooklyn Bridge. We then did a self-guide walking tour of Brooklyn Heights. What a beautiful area, the architecture is lovely and it is so peaceful and quiet compared to the craziness of Manhattan. If we ever had the chance to live in NY, I think I would opt for Brooklyn Heights as it is a quick subway ride across Manhattan.

On our way back from Brooklyn we stopped at Union Square and Broadway to locate a shoe store Angus was interested in called Flight Club. We found the store and I was impressed with the sheer number of runners on display - it was pretty crazy in there. They had some special runners in a glass case - I think the most expensive I saw was US$9,750, and they weren’t even that nice in my opinion. Angus tried on a number of styles before he found ones he liked and were a comfortable fit, so we had a satisfied customer. A couple doors down from Flight Club was another store that was very much to Angus’s taste - Forbidden Planet - full of comics, Star Wars, Simpsons, Marvel etc paraphernalia. Again, I think Angus was a little overwhelmed by the sheer size and range of things.

We then headed back onto the subway up to Grand Central Terminus (which also has a Xmas market that I will visit later this week). We did walk through their fresh food market which was amazing - so much choice - filled with fresh produce and a range of other food stuffs. We then made our way over to 6th Avenue to the Whole Foods Supermarket to pick a few things, so that we could have dinner in tonight - very relaxing and good for the budget!

Tonight we had Provolone, Prosciutto & Peas ravioli with a Napoli sauce, salad and baguette, accompanied by a Californian red (which I thought was pretty ordinary). We had also picked up some delicious cookies from Ben’s Cookies - so we sampled them tonight with a cuppa - very nice.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Chelsea.Read more