4 Days in NYC – November 2015 – Day 4

… continuation from Day 3

Day 4 : Sunday

Even though I had partied last night, I had to make the most of my last day in the Big Apple. I negotiated an extra 15 minutes sleep with my friends haha! before meeting them down in the hotel lobby. I grabbed some hotel coffee to go because we all decided to have a real American brunch for our last day here.

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View when getting off the metro station near Brooklyn Bridge

We were super lucky because our last day had gorgeous weather with a beautiful sun. We thought what better way to take advantage of that then take a walk on Brooklyn Bridge? We took the subway to the bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge

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The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge  and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States.

It was completed in 1883. It connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m), and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed. You can admire the sweeping views of Manhattan from a unique perspective.

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Glimpse of the roadway bellow the pedestrian walkway

I thought I might be scared of the heights while walking on the pedestrian walkway but it’s not really possible (unless it’s a phobia) because the pedestrian walkway is above the six lanes of roadway, so you don’t see the void beneath your feet and it’s actually a very pleasant walk.

The bridge originally carried horse-drawn and rail traffic, with a separate elevated walkway along the centerline for pedestrians and bicycles.

We were told to be careful as it’s quite a walk and once you start on one end you end up having to go all the way and then if you’re tired it’s not fun to have to go back. But we decided to use it for its intended purpose which is getting to the other side haha! We wanted to explore Brooklyn for our last day.

The towers are built of limstone, granite, and Rosendale cement. The granite blocks were quarried and shaped on Vinalhaven Island, Maine. You really feel tiny when you look up from underneath the towers!

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Brooklyn Bridge Towers

The bridge’s cable arrangement forms a distinctive weblike pattern.

A lot of people were out for a stroll including bikers. It was almost a little crowded up on the bridge !

The views are stunning, I couldn’t recommend this visit more, it’s a must-see.

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People leave tags and notes behind
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Statue of Liberty seen from Brooklyn Bridge
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People put padlocks just like the Pont des Arts in Paris, France
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Ferry
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View of One World Trade Center

Brooklyn

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Exit of Brooklyn Bridge walkway into Brooklyn

We got off the bridge and entered Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the most populous of NYC’s five boroughs, with around 2,621,793 people. It is geographically adjacent to the borough of Queens (where I partied the night before if you check my previous post) at the western end of Long Island.

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It continues, however, to maintain a distinct culture, as befitting the former second or third largest city in America during the later 19th century. Many Brooklyn neighborhoods are dominated by particular ethnic and nationality groups and cultures. Brooklyn’s official motto is  Eendraght Maeckt Maght, which translates from early modern Dutch to “In unity, there is strenght”. The motto is displayed on the Borough seal and flag. Brooklyn’s official colors are blue and gold.

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Metrotech is the neighborhood right next to the bridge. It is the nation’s largest urban academic-industrial research park. Occupants of this area include JPMorgan Chase, New York City Fire Department, Bear Stearns, Keyspan Energy (now National Grid), Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, New York City College of Technology and NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.

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We walked around for a bit but our stomachs reminded us they were empty. We decided to head down to Dumbo to find a place for our brunch.

Dumbo

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Short for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”, Dumbo is a neighborhood in the NYC borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and another that continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area.

The area has emerged as one of New York City’s premier arts districts, with a cluster of for-profit art galleries such as the Klompching Gallery and such not-for-profit institutions as the St. Ann’s Warehouse and the A.I.R. Gallery. But we didn’t have the time to visit any art galleries. Maybe they are closed on a Sunday ?

AlMar

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We found this cute restaurant while wandering down the streets of Dumbo. It is quite small and quaint with high ceilings but with a warm and relaxed atmosphere. It was Italian trattoria The place was full a sure sign it is good, and we had to chat the waiters into letting us eat from the bar. We asked some patrons to scoot over and were able to squeeze in.

We sampled a variety of their Brunch menu which is well trafficked.

Egg In A Cloud $12

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Baked Egg Yolk Floating on Whipped Egg Whites, Fontina Cheese, Smoked Ham, Toasted Brioche, Served with Sautéed Spinach

Homemade Pancakes $10

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with Fresh Berries and Maple Syrup

Frittata of the Day $10

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Served with Farm Greens and Toast

The Almar Breakfast Sandwich $10

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Scrambled Farm Eggs with Chives, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Avocado and Tomato on Brioche Bun

The food was very good and I had a Bloody Mary with it! Kind of to keep up with the party vibe of the night before hehe!

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The waiter was real sweet (and cute) and since the kitchen took a while to fulfill our order, I didn’t have to pay for my drink ! After eating we wandered in a couple shops and had fun discovering the sights.

Brooklyn Bridge Park

IMG_1101We went to Brooklyn Bridge Park and had a stroll.

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Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85-acre (34 ha) park on the Brooklyn side of the East River. The park has revitalized 1.3-mile (2.1 km) of Brooklyn’s post-industrial waterfront from Atlantic Avenue in the south. The site includes Brooklyn Piers 1-6, the historic Fulton Ferry Landing.

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There were quite a few people and even a Chinese bride getting her wedding pictures done ! We got to admire Manhattan Bridge from the park.

Two Civil-War era structures, the Tobacco Warehouse and Empire Stores, are also located on the site.

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Tobacco Warehouse

There were restorations to the site and Jane’s Carousel now can be admired again.

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Mahattan Bridge

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From Brooklyn Bridge Park we had seen the Manhattan Bridge. The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is 1,470 ft (448 m) long, with the suspension cables being 3,224 ft (983 m) long. The bridge’s total length is 6,855 ft (2,089 m). This is one of four toll-free bridges spanning the East River; the other three are the Queensboro, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg Bridges.

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View from Brooklyn Bridge

It opened in 1909. But it looks pretty modern to my untrained eye.

Back to the hotel and off to Newark sniff!

Sadly all good things come to an end and it was time to head back to the hotel to get on our shuttle to Newark. Since we had made the most of our time in Brooklyn (could be our motto for the whole trip!) we didn’t have time to take the public transportation back to our hotel and just cabbed it back. The cabbie crossed over to Manhattan using the Manhattan bridge, so we were lucky enough to have been on both the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan bridge after admiring both.

Just like Brooklyn Bridge this one also has different levels. It carries 7 lanes of roadway, 4 tracks of the B DN Q trains of the New York City Subway, as well as a walkway for pedestrians, and bicycles.

Here a few quick shots taken from the cab window :

In 1910, a year after the bridge opened, the architectural firm Carrère and Hastings drew up preliminary plans for an elaborate grand entry to the bridge on the Manhattan side, as part of the “City Beautiful” movement.

Here are the pics of the Triumphal arch and colonnade at the Manhattan entrance.

The cab made great time to the hotel and we got there early. We were feeling peckish and decided to have a little snack in a Texan restaurant :

After that refreshing and nostalgic break (my grandfather is from Texas btw) we finally got on our shuttle and headed out for Newark.

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Newark airport

All in all it was a fun and cultural filled experience chock full of amazing vistas, great moments with family and friends and wonderful food. If you’ve never been to NYC I hope this has given you an inkling of what to expect and made you want to go and discover for yourself this wonderful city.

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Happy and safe travels my friends ! Where are you off to next?

I’d love to chat with you on :

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64 thoughts on “4 Days in NYC – November 2015 – Day 4”

        4. Oh, really, so glad to know it! I like Odessa, this is a very beautiful sea city, I recommend you to come one day and visit this place, you won’t regret! I love my country, but as you may hear life here is quite difficult, unfortunately! I guess your great grandmother left her country in search of better life…

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  2. I love the way you write and also your pictures. You make me to want to go wherever you go. 🙂 After I have read about my Bucharest I wanted to walk through it and I did it. I saw many places you’ve visited. Next has to be NYC, right?

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    1. Oh I am so happy your like to read my posts! I try my best to make it fun, entertaining but a little educational too:) After all we travel to learn more about others and ourselves (at least I do). Thanks again for reblogging the Bucharest post it was very supportive and thanks to you I got to meet a lot of other bloggers. Bucharest is gorgeous and I would love to go back. And yes if you could go to NYC it would be amazing, I can’t wait to read the post you would write about it!

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        4. omg it’s on my bucket list to visit Paris one day! I’ve also been to Vegas- it was very hot & stuffy in the summer haha. But yes, I love Texas it’s a great state! 🙂

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        5. Yes do come to Paris and if you need any tips or help don’t hesitate :). I should do a post on Texas, love it and the people are so friendly. You really need A/C to survive in vegas for sure haha!

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      1. In that case, I will make sure to check it out next time I am in NYC.

        I bought the nyc city pass and were able to visit statue of liberty, science museum, empire building, and rockerfella building. I also went to the grand central station, moma museum, time square, byrant park , Chinatown, korea town, tiny bit of central park and lion king on broadway.

        It’s crazy to say that there are more places I need to visit. Lol NYC have so much things to do and see.

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        2. Hahah yes, NYC is a city full of life! OMG I can’t wait to visit Paris. It looks like a beautiful city…once I make enough money I will go there! loll

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