Discovering Brooklyn

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn...I think I found my new Cremona (only the best place on earth). Today it was 50 degrees (8 C.) and sunny like Florida. The joyous sunny morning convinced us that today was not cleaning Saturday and that we should in fact venture into a part of "The City" (NYC) that we had not met yet: Brooklyn. So, there is Manhattan, then outside of "The City" is Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.

 Welcome to Brooklyn

Driving in

The shore of Brooklyn faces the City

Soaring Over Brooklyn

Strolling the streets of Brooklyn Heights I got a feeling that this was a special place, different than the City, different than Uptown, Downtown, Upper East or West.

This Brooklyn is a place where you can relax, take a stroll by the promenade and enjoy life.

I think the reason Brooklyn is special is because: it has a really cool name to begin with, then it faces west so it sees the sun setting on the City.

Today we ate like kings in Brooklyn. We started at some Frenchy place called Le Pain Quotidien (it doesn't mean 'The Pain") trying just about everything on their menu.

Decisions decisions

Quiche

Ahhhhh.

YUM-O!

Then we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The most beautiful bridge in the world

Walking in the Brooklyn Bridge is like strutting through a spider web.

Below your feet lies the water. 

Then we watched the sun setting on the City. It was so beautiful.

Sunset on the Brooklyn Bridge

It was so beautiful it prompted young and foolish people to scale to dangerous places for a picture of the sunset.

Lady Liberty saying Goodnight.

Buona notte, NYC.

 Being on the bridge reminded me of the song "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and Jay Z. I will never forget hearing that song one day in Lourdes, France. I was eating lunch and the song came on the TV and suddenly I felt absorbed into the song, felt so far from home, my heart stung and at the same time I wanted to get up and dance to it (that is the Jay-Z effect). If you feel like listening to the song, go ahead and get your dance on, Brooklyn would want you to. Today, I felt so close, I could see Brooklyn, taste Brooklyn and suddenly a little piece of me adopted Brooklyn. Just a piece though, most of my love still goes to Cremona.

Then we ate some pizza.

The waiting room for pizza reminded me of a 5 minute dating scene that you see on TV.  This is the type where you would get 5 minutes to 'Date' the person in front of you then switch. "So, you like pizza? Me too. What is your favorite topping? Cheese? It sounds like we are soul mates."

Grimaldi's Pizza gets an 8 out of 10 on my pizza rating.

Good Pizza. No slices. Cash Only. 

I had to pinch myself a few times to see if today was real. I think it was.

I found a piece of my heart in Brooklyn today, I hope Cremona doesn't mind.

That's Amore