A day in the sun

Day 3 in New York was sunny and beautiful. It was a great day to take the Staten Island Ferry across New York Harbour. We had a perfect view of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline and all for free (despite the claims of the scammers outside the ferry terminal who tried to tell us we needed to pay them $29 or we wouldn't see anything).

We wanted to see something outside of Manhattan so we got on the Hop On, Hop Off bus heading for Brooklyn. Our guide, Tomasso,  was a life long proud Brooklynite. We needed to be concentrating to follow his rapid fire commentary but he was FULL of information. He took us around the different neighbourhoods of Brooklyn from the leafy (and pricey) to the rougher and grittier. He gave us the roll call of all the famous people who came from Brooklyn. Fun Fact: Jay Z got his stage name from the 2 train lines that travel to Brooklyn, the J and the Z line.

Ronan wanted to see Williamsburg because it had a reputation for being cool/edgy. We got off the bus and took the subway there. For the first time since we arrived in New York, I felt uneasy on the subway. Williamsburg was a bit of a disappointment to both of us. Ronan, because it wasn't edgy enough and me because it was too gritty and concrete. We did, however, find a great vegan/gluten free creperie called Little Choc Apothecary

The trip to Brooklyn took up most of our day. We had dinner at Senza Gluten which is a 100% gluten free restaurant in Soho. Eating gluten free hasn't been a problem in New York because there are so many choices but it was still great to be able to eat everything on the menu. We paid for the privilege which is not unusual in restaurants that go to the trouble of making all their food GF. We had to tell ourselves that we were on holidays.

We finished the day with a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. Having heard horror stories about the queues, I thought 9 o'clock at night in January would be a good time to visit and I was right. We went straight to the top, no delays. It really is a bucket list item on the itinerary. The views are incredible. I'm sure the daytime views are great too but New York in lights is a sight to behold.

Reflection of the Day: I have found my neighbourhood. New York has so many different characters in such a small space. While Ronan felt very at home in the Lower East Side, I love Soho! Beautiful interesting buildings, quirky shops and restaurants. It is unusual with a strong hint of affluence. My kind of neighbourhood. On a daily basis, Ronan and I expose the generational differences between us. He is all rough, non-establishment, living on the edge of danger while I am all about the intelligentsia with a cushion of comfort.


P.S. Check out the video of the busker in the subway (if the upload works, fingers crossed)