New York 2015: Sunday

Against our better judgement, we decided to have breakfast in Williamsburg, meaning an early rise and schlep across town and into Brooklyn. In keeping with our great restaurant luck, there was no wait, but the meal set the tone for our Brooklyn experience, and left much to be desired (as Eric put it, one has to go out of their way to be so exceptionally frigid).

After breakfast, we walked around Williamsburg, in awe of how one place could be both so sterile and yet so grungy. Its low, flat buildings and wide streets did not win us over, and we headed next to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, on the edge of Prospect Park.

2015-04-19 11.31.30

A friend from school met us there for a walk through the gardens. In general, it was a great time to visit, as all of New York was in bloom, and the park was no exception. It was a beautiful morning to spend walking through the gardens, catching up. From there, we headed back to Manhattan, with a quick stop at the Barclays Center Station to view the new stadium.We ended at Grand Central Terminal where we tried Shake Shack for the first time (that mushroom burger isn’t half bad!). Stopped in at the New York Public Library, which had Public Eye, 175 Years of Sharing Photography exhibit on display, then soaked up some sun at Bryant Park. We wandered through Midtown, stopping at Paley Park and the Seagram Building among others, before heading back up to Columbus Circle and Central Park.

Natchez, Mississippi! Where my family is from (and many still live).

To celebrate Eric’s birthday, we made reservations at a quiet Italian place in West Village, Sotto 13. The ease with which I was able to find a place that was in the right price range, with vegetarian options, and available reservations was, frankly, unheard of in SF. Capped off by the fact that the food was fantastic and the service perfectly agreeable (also unheard of in SF). It’s like New York recognizes that living there can be hard and that energy does not need to be spent on agonizing over food. It is easy. Why does San Francisco have to make it so hard on itself? As though there aren’t enough other things to deal with? Harboring resentment for my city is tedious, so I won’t go on, but it was such an appreciated luxury to have so many options; there was always a good fit, whether we wanted fast and cheap or quiet and a splurge. Places to sit or no pressure to stay. Noodles, Mediterranean, or burgers, and so on.