A few days after the blur of New York City, I will do my best to recount our adventures. However accurate this story is, I do not know, but what I do know is that there is no way to describe NYC hospitality. When most people think of NYC people, they think of people not willing to help others, and probably speaking loudly in a true New York accent. While the accent and loud voices are true, New Yorkers are a bunch eager to offer assistance or directions to those not from this big City. Brooklyn-ers were the most friendly, and also most entertaining bunch. Mariachi bands playing on the subways, Restaurant staff eager to give you other restaurant recommendations, and of course just regular people. Brooklyn is a magical place, and really is the heart and soul of NYC.
We started off in Brooklyn with a visit to Grimaldi’s Pizza right under the Brooklyn Bridge. Grimaldi’s has been voted the #1 Pizza joint in all of New York City- that is no easy feat.
We got in line, and had to wait about 25 minutes to get a table, not bad.
The mozzarella is fresh made, dough is fresh and hand tossed, but apparently the brick oven is what separates them from the rest.
Our waiter delivered the wrong pizza to the table behind us, and when the customer sent it back, he got so mad it looked like he was going to kill someone. Well no one was murdered, we left a sizeable tip not to enrage him further.
After pizza we had a 2km walk to burn off some Mozzarella- over the Brooklyn Bridge.
We admired the setting sun before heading onto the Bridge.
The pedestrian walkway is raised approx. 20 feet above the traffic and runs down the middle of the bridge, it makes for a pleasurable stroll away from the traffic.
We were worn out by this point and turned in for the night.
The next morning we ventured back under the Hudson River, into Manhattan, then across Brooklyn all the way down to Coney Island. The New York City Subway system is world class and can take you anywhere you would want to go. New York city is home to the largest subway network in the world with 26 different train lines. We purchased a 7 day unlimited ride pass for $31.
Coney Island is famous for its carnival/ theme park type attractions. But Coney Island is nowhere near a Disneyland, this is a real NYC neighbourhood. People live and work here, people grew up here. A quick read online will reveal Coney Island has seen some tough times over the years, but always manages to spring back, perhaps due to the pride for the area of local residents.
It was lunch time and Nathan’s Frankfurters has a pretty big location here. We have seen Nathan’s all over America, but never tried one. It turns out this is world headquarters, and home to the famous Hot Dog Eating contest. We figured we must try it here.
No surprises here, the hot dog tasted like a hot dog. The Chili, onions and the slice of good ol’ American Cheese put this baby over the top. When in Rome right? You can’t do this sort of stuff half-assed.
That brings us to the Lunchroom where we devoured these puppies. Coney Island has a fairly nice beach.
We were sure to check out the tourist traps before we left.
Brooklyn you put on a good show. Until next time, you are on our list of places that require further visits.