This morning I went to the lower east side of Manhattan, to the Tenement or Immigration Museum. It is a building placed in Orchard Rd where they show us how immigrants, refugees & migrants used to live once they’d arrived to the city by boat since 1840 forward, till the building was left abandoned & Ruth Abraham decided to rescue it & tell its story converting it into a museum.
I thought I was going to see the full museum in one visit, but it doesn’t work like that, each tour shows an apartment or a business in any of its decades, so it must be booked beforehand & every tour is a ticket. I choose the first available that’s one of the two business managed by a German couple back in the day. No photos are allowed inside.
One of the ways to reach Brooklyn is walking from the City Hall subway, which is surrounded by Art decò style buildings we find so much in NYC. I take some time to walk around them fascinated.
I focus, cross the Brooklyn Bridge by foot, I stop, take pictures of both sides, I smile, this must be one of the most famous bridges in the world, don’t you think? I love it.
When I arrive I cross to the right where Brooklyn Bridge Park is, there’s a water-taxi “station”, another fun way to reach Brooklyn.
From here I admire what’s probably the most famous skyline in the world. If this photo had been taken before 9/11, 2001 it’d have the twin towers in it.
To the left of the bridge there’s an ideal park to have a picnic & watch the sunset. From Jane’s Carousel we don’t only admire the skyline of the city but our protagonist is included too, as I New York lover this is one of those moments that stays with you forever.
In front of this park there’re so many cool places to eat & drink, like the old factory converted into the TimeOut Market, which RoofTop is ideal to enjoy nice views of the Brooklyn & Manhattan bridges.
This area of Brooklyn is called DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), it has many fabulous places to go for its famous brunch.
Going deeper into its streets I pass Washington St., if you’re wondering what’s so special about it, I’ll tell you that it is this capture of the Manhattan Bridge, one of the iconic pictures of this part of the city.
I had met up with Virginia near the river, you didn’t think I was going to go exploring without her, did you? We arrive to the bridge named after another grand neighbourhood in Brooklyn, Williamsburg.
From Bushwick Inlet Park we also enjoy these great views.
This neighbourhood is very pretty, full of cool buildings with hanging stairs that we see so much on the movies & nice little corners to go for a drink. A center that harbours people from different nationalities & attracts the hipster culture. It’s flooded with art galleries & vintage shops.
The street art is on the agenda nomads, plenty to enjoy, which I’m glad, as I am a big fan.
Walking a bit further we pass Williamsburg Savings Bank that opened in 1875, therefore it’s listed as a historical site.
This is also the residential area for orthodox Jews. If you haven’t seen “Unorthodox” series in Netflix I recommend it. It’s based on a real story & gives us a more internal vision of how they live & maintain some of their ancestral traditions whilst living in one of the most modern cities in the world.
The Music Academy building has also been here for a while.
The modern sports pavilion Barclays Center not so long.
On the way to Prospect Park a grand building surprises us, guess which one, yes, the library! I can only say it is SPECTACULAR, look at this door.
In one of the corners of the park there’s a very stylish roundabout, it’s decorated with this Memorial to Soldiers & Fishermen arch.
We’re ready to go to a yoga class, we love Yoga to the People. These centers work on donations, there’re two in Manhattan & San Francisco. Our favourite class is vinyassa Flow as it makes us go home as “floating yogis”.I recommend it for a happy start or end of a day.
On the flight back I read Elisa Mayo’s first book “Las brujas de hoy no necesitan escoba para volar”. Entertaining story that is set on a beach hotel in the Mediterranean. The protagonist Estrella, single mother of two, organizes events in the hotel when she meets Javier, the new director. Her & her two best friends will do anything so Javier’s father, the owner, doesn’t close the hotel leaving many families with no jobs. Meanwhile the spark of love grows between Estrella & Javier. Summery & funny story, where friendship, love, team spirit & the love for a job well done get intertwined.
