Breweries, the Brooklyn Bridge and Bears (Oh, my!)
Photos from a beautiful weekend I don't want to forget.
Last week, C spiked her first fever—a stubborn one that lasted three days. It was tough on all of us, so we spent the weekend laying low, sticking close to home, and limiting our walks to the neighborhood.
Coincidentally, she had her six-month check up the following week and we got the green light to resume our usual activities. This weekend we made up for lost time.
Before baby, our weekends were usually planned down to the hour. These days, plans come together over morning coffee—if at all. It works better that way, we’re more nimble, it’s easier to pivot when the day doesn’t go to plan.
On Saturday, we made our way to Gowanus, one of our favorite pockets of Brooklyn, to revisit a few beloved breweries. It's a bit of a trek—about 45 minutes each way—and schlepping 1.5 hours round-trip with a six-month-old is no small feat. But we needed a change of scenery, and Gowanus delivers when it comes to good beer and good vibes.
If you can believe it, we nearly struck out—every brewery was packed. By the third spot, we finally hunkered down, even if that meant sipping brews off a traffic cone - it is what it is!
Sunday was a slow start. We made pancakes and tossed around a few ideas. I suggested we take C to Jane’s Carousel in DUMBO (which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). I love wandering DUMBO, but it’s something of a food desert, so we rarely linger long. The carousel was our main event.
We didn’t have expectations for the carousel but Little C. had a blast - she was all smiles!! She enjoyed it so much, we did a second round. The things I would do for that gummy smile!
Afterward, we wandered the waterfront and made our way to the rooftop at Time Out Market to take in the skyline—one of my favorite free views in the city. I bring EVERYONE here when they visit!
As I mentioned, DUMBO’s food options are limited, but Juliana’s Pizza is an exception (it’s worth a detour). We spotted the line (always long) and decided to try our luck with a to-go order.
Miraculously, we had a hot pie in hand twenty minutes later. We carried it over to the Brooklyn Promenade and enjoyed it al fresco, with sweeping views of Manhattan as our backdrop.
We relaxed for a bit before making a split-time decision: the day was too beautiful to be stuck indoors. So we bundled up the baby (it was chilly on Sunday) and made our way over to the American Museum of Natural History.
C’s favorite book right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, so we took her to the North American Mammals wing to see the real thing. She was mesmerized and we did our best to pronounce everything correctly (museums are humbling like that).
Sometimes everything goes just right. This weekend felt special. Exploring the city with our little plus one adds a whole new layer of joy. Everything is more fun these days.
Hope you had a lovely weekend too!
Antonina
So many wonderful things to see and do. Thank you for sharing your insights. As someone who enjoys visiting the Big Apple, you always give me so much food for thought.
Thank you, as always, for making me feel a little more connected to my beloved NYC with your wonderful reflections, Antonina.