The Brooklyn Chronicles - Walking The Bridge

Sometimes a picture is better than a thousand words. And you all know by now that babbling on for a 1000 words (or more) is child's play for me. I just got lucky, because of you, dear readers! For a girl who generally keeps to herself, I'm having the time of my life sharing all kinds of moments with you, especially my luhuuuvvvv for food and NY! So thank you for sticking by me, regardless of my whining and ranting and my amateur prose. You deserve a reward. Less talk, more pictures. Got it!

Today I'll share another piece of Brooklyn with you folks. When the sun was out (oh so many days ago) DH and I did the touristy thing and walked the famous Brooklyn Bridge together. We started on the Brooklyn side and ended up in Manhattan, right in front of City Hall (where I think I saw at least 5 newly wedded couples posing for pictures; one bride was wearing sneakers. That's right. Sneakers. I have nothing more to say). I have a question for Brooklyners out there. Usually I'd just Google this, but I want to hear this from the experts: why is the area near the Brooklyn Bridge called "Dumbo"? Dumbo?! Explain, please.

A piece of history, completed in 1883. The old majestic.

Through the empty warehouses in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The boardwalk at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Looking at Manhattan Bridge on the other side.

Brooklyn Ice-Cream Factory, right under the bridge.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria. According to Zagat, this is the best pizzeria in NY. The line was pretty long, so I suppose the place lives up to the hype. Or does it? I wasn't hungry enough to stand in a line that didn't seem to even be moving!

You're half way through my post and wondering "Where's the food lady?! Is this a food blog or isn't it?". Calm down. Get some decaf. And make a note to visit Almondine, a cute french bakery in Brooklyn's downtown area (sounds better than Dumbo!), where they have baguettes as door handles. Cute, no?

And partake of their bounty of baked goodies, especially their macarons. I'm no expert in macarons, but I know what I like, and I really liked these. Light as air, delicately crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside. I wish they were closer to where I live, so that I could be a loyal customer!

Are you enjoying the irony of this as much as I am?

Macaron flavors, clockwise from the top middle: Chocolate peanut butter; Passionfruit; dark chocolate; Pistachio; Blackberry; Strawberry; and Lemon in the middle.

Down to my three favorites from the whole bunch - pistachio, passionfruit and chocolate peanut butter. Pistachio was numero uno. And yes, I single handedly ate the entire plate. I needed the energy, I tell ya! Don't judge me.

Right across the street is Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres.

Famous for his hot chocolate. I tried the "wicked" version and thought it was just ok. Next time I'll give the "classic" a shot.

After walking the cobblestone streets around the park, it's time to walk the bridge itself ...

Lady Liberty at sunset, with Port Elizabeth in the back.

The Empire State Building looks especially pretty with the late evening sun shining upon it.

Those were some of my favorite Brooklyn memories. Oh there's lots more to Brooklyn than just this though. There's the Brooklyn Art Museum, the area around Atlantic Avenue, the quirky neighborhoods etc. The Red Hook vendors are especially famous, for their authentic Latin American goodies, which I got to sample last summer. If I go again, I'll be sure to take some mouthwatering photos for you.