Brooklyn! — Patti Part Two

My NYC adventure begins! Four or five years ago I was visiting Tom for a long weekend, and when I was flying home I decided when I retired something I really wanted to do was spend a few weeks in New York City living like a local. I wanted to get an apartment and have time to see all the museums, walk the neighborhoods, and eat at lots of little quaint restaurants. I knew it could be a reality so I made up my mind and here it is happening. The perfect opportunity fell into my lap. Tom and Anna are leaving for Europe and needed someone to watch their amazing pooch. I was like Horshack In Welcome Back Kotter (google it) with my arm raised in the air waving it wildly! Pick me! Pick me! Luckily they did so let me introduce you to my gal pal Penny! The Penny🐶 and Patti🙋🏼‍♀️ Amazing NYC Adventure begins tomorrow!

Since my duties don’t begin until tomorrow I took the opportunity today to make some stops in Brooklyn that have been on my list. First up - Prospect Park. Prospect Park is Brooklyn’s answer to Central Park. Not quite as big - about two thirds the size but lots of great green space. It was a beautiful but humid day. 70% humidity so it looked like I had showered in my clothes within the hour. There is a reason people here wear mostly black or white shirts. They can’t see you sweat in them! Noted!

Prospect Park - a lake and waterfalls. Lots of kids playing too.

Across the street from one of the entrances to Prospect Park is this beautiful arch. It’s called Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch. It was dedicated in 1892 and really quite impressive. It is in honor of the defenders of the union.

Reminded me of the Arc of Triomphe in Paris.

Next up was the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Got there and found out Friday mornings are free entry - bonus! I am the first to admit I don’t know a thing about flowers, plants or really anything that grows, so my intention was to just take a quick walk through. They have a great discovery area for kids, an herb garden, rock garden, rose garden, lily pond, conservatory, visitors center and quite a large general green space. I spent about an hour there and it was very pleasant.

Lots of different species of lily’s In the ponds.

I am really a museum person so my main focus was getting to the Brooklyn Art Museum and it exceeded my expectations.

I had such a great time there. Five floors and some really interesting exhibits. My favorite was one of the smaller installations, but I found it fascinating. It is called Disappeared Quipu by Cecilia Vicuña. The Quipu is a knotted-cord device used by the Inca (1400-1532) and earlier Andean cultures. It was a system of communication when there was no formal written language and delivered both administrative and narrative meaning. How and where the knots occurred delivered specific information which scholars today are still trying to understand.

The third floor gallery is mostly European art, and has this gorgeous atrium right in the center.

The fifth floor had a really interesting exhibit of American art but intermingled with it was a special collection of work by Rob Wynn of molten glass called FLOAT. It was fun to round a corner and see up on the wall some of his work next to a much more traditional work of art.

I spent close to three hours there which included getting a bite for lunch. Definitely recommend a visit if you are in NY and have time to get over to Brooklyn. On my way back I walked past the Brooklyn Library which was super impressive.

Dinner in the West Village with Anna and Tom at an awesome restaurant called The Clam.

Top to bottom - Char with a beet salad, Linguine and clams, Steak and asparagus. We also shared delicious sides of Heirloom tomatoes, Roasted corn and the most incredible dinner rolls.

Lots of fun things planned for my visit here. Living like a local......dog and all! Check back soon for the Patti🙋🏼‍♀️ and Penny🐶 update.