Brooklyn, baby!

I hope you are all enjoying this sunny Monday morning! Here in NYC, the sun is out and there's a nice breeze... it was REALLY hard to actually enter my office this morning- I just wanted to stay outside! But, I suppose this will make me enjoy my lunch hour EVEN MORE, right?

We had beautiful weather this past weekend, as well! SFS and I took advantage of the sun, and spent Saturday exploring Brooklyn. But first, we had to get there. Living in NYC has some major perks- one of them being the amazing transportation system. Unfortunately, because it runs nonstop, the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) often use the weekend to make major repairs. It's not uncommon to enter the subway on a Saturday to find that all trains are making local stops, certain stations are being bypassed, etc. So imagine our delight upon entering the subway station, and having a functioning EXPRESS train waiting for us in the station. No wonder SFS looks so happy, right?
(NOTE: I broke my camera over Memorial Day weekend. SFS was nice enough to loan me his camera for a while, but after I wore out the batteries, I had to resort to my camera phone. I'm not sure when my nice camera will be back in commission- until then, please bear with me!)
Our first stop in Brooklyn was the Grand Army Plaza. The plaza was designed in 1867 by Frederick Law Olmstead (of Central Park fame) and Calvert Vaux. John H. Duncan eventually designed the Arc de Triomphe looking monument in 1889- he would later go on to design Grant's Tomb. President Cleveland presided over the unveiling on October 21, 1892.
As Wikipedia explains:

The Quadriga resides at the top and depicts the lady Columbia, an allegorical representation of the United States, riding in a chariot drawn by two horses. Two winged Victory figures, each leading a horse, trumpet Columbia's arrival. The lower pedestals facing the park hold the Spirit of the Army group and the Spirit of the Navy group. Installation of the groups began four years later, starting with the Quadriga on December 4, 1898, and finishing with the Navy group on April 13, 1901. The work took nearly seven years to complete, about twice as long as the construction of the arch itself.

I don't care HOW long it took to create... it's pretty spectacular, right? And it gets even better. Guess what sets up shop in front of the monument... I'll give you a hint:
A GreenMarket! That's right- just another little slice of Farmer's Market heaven. SFS and I decided to grab some breakfast right on the spot... I pretended like I was in Paris and got a baguette...
It was a really yummy one!!
And we visited a street vendor for beverages... can you guess which one is mine?
We stopped to eat on a little bench in the plaza, right in front of this urn. Isn't it different?
After that yummy diversion, it was time to head into the park... Prospect Park! As their website so clearly explains:

Prospect Park is a 585-acre urban oasis located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough. The masterpiece of famed landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park, Prospect Park features the 90-acre Long Meadow, the 60-acre Lake and Brooklyn’s only forest.

I had never really spent time here, but boy was it nice! We ended up walking around for a bit, and came across this:
Yeah, I have no idea what it's called, or anything... but the inside is all wood!
Isn't that cool? All the underpasses in Central Park are stone, which makes this unique in my book... plus, this one has benches along both sides... fascinating!
And as it typical in NYC, there was something odd going on. In the corner, there was a pile of books and a computer scanner... just sitting there... with no one in sight...

As we continued on our walk, we kept witnessing funny things. For example, at all the puddles we came across, there were tons of kids riding their bikes through the water. I remember doing it as a kid, but I'm not sure if I'd want my child playing in stagnant water in the city...
And then we saw this: a special little swimming spot for dogs. For real- the parks department fenced off a piece of this pond, and dogs are allowed to roam free. Maybe other cities have this and I'm just not aware of it? The best part is that the couple in the middle was trying to teach their puppy to swim, and he just wasn't having it... every time they put him in the water, he'd just float there before starting to kick his little legs!
Eventually, we made our way to a spot in the grass. It was such a nice day, we just laid there for a while.
The sky was so pretty. Plus, a group of people started a kickball game a few yards from us, which provided quite the entertainment.
After being lazy for a while, we continued on our tour of Park Slope. It is so much fun to wander down the tree-lined streets, picking out which brownstone is the best (I always go for the ones with a big stoop and wooden doors). Plus, there were tons of "Stoop Sales" (what we'd call Garage Sales in Michigan)... and SFS picked this baby up FOR FREE!
Yep, that's a cast iron skillet- what a deal! Though he had to schlep it around Brooklyn the rest of the afternoon, so he did have to work for it! In all of our exploration, we came across a 7-11. Since there's only one in Manhattan, I really miss Slurpees... so we treated ourselves to a little frozen treat. Don't I look excited? I'm pretty sure this was right before my brain-freeze set in!
We had a really good time walking up 5th Avenue. We window shopped and stopped in cool places like Odd Twin Vintage, before settling in a 'Snice for some lunch. It's a vegan restaurant, and I had the 'Autumn Salad', while SFS tried the Burrito. They had an outdoor patio, so we could enjoy our lunch in the sun... perfect!
After that, we made our way to the subway station at Atlantic Avenue, and back to Manhattan. I really like Brooklyn, and can totally understand why people move out there... maybe I'll join them someday!

That's it for me... I hope you had a good weekend as well, and Happy Monday!