Brooklyn Bridge, Dumbo and the Statue of Liberty

I’m starting to feel comfortable here - it’s a good feeling! Penny is super friendly so I’ve actually met quite a few people in the neighborhood thanks to her. When we take our walks she walks like she’s on America’s Top Dog Model - she struts like she owns the block! So far everything is going great and she seems happy. Me too!

I had a great day here today, and outside of food it was totally free. On my list was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge so that’s where I headed first. I’m doing a pretty good job of navigating the subway and got there pronto. City Hall is right across from the entrance on the Manhattan side so got to see that too. The Brooklyn Bridge was started in 1869 and completed in 1883. It’s one of the oldest railroad bridges in the United States and connects Manhattan with Brooklyn. It’s a little over a mile across and pedestrian and bike friendly.

The Brooklyn Bridge heading from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

There are fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn.

The cars are underneath the pedestrian walkway thank goodness.

Once you get to the other side you can turn around and walk back, explore Brooklyn a bit or take a ferry back. The neighborhood under the bridge is called Dumbo. I have heard lots of great things about how cool Dumbo is, so spending a few hours there was on my list. I found out Dumbo stands for Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass - I love that! The Manhattan Bridge is on one side of Dumbo and the Brooklyn Bridge on the other. It was a great area. I loved all the cobblestone streets and refurbished warehouses into shops and restaurants.

Stopped at Almondine for a muffin for tomorrow.

There is a beautiful park all along the east river called the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I walked along it and it has great views of Manhattan and great little restaurants and a famous ice cream shop in an old fire station called the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. I have had more ice cream here than usual for me so I passed on it but saw lots of people eating it and it looked great. I did try the famous lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster for lunch and it was good.

I couldn’t resist One Girl Cookies. Treated myself to a lemon bar for dessert. Worth it!

This bus caught my attention - The Mobile Meditation Studio. If you can’t find time for it than it will find you. I love the line - Book your cushion! You saw it here first!

I thought about taking the ferry back to Manhattan but decided instead to walk back over the bridge. When I got back to Manhattan it was just a short walk through the Financial District and Wall St to get to the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry is free and has the best closeup view of the Statue of Liberty. I saw some cool buildings along the way.

This was the coolest building - Fraunces Tavern. I had never heard of it but it’s the oldest building in Manhattan. Built in 1719 and once was the headquarters of George Washington. Now it’s a museum and restaurant.

I found the ferry terminal and just waited a few minutes for it to leave. During the week the schedule is every 30 minutes, less on weekends and holidays, and it’s free! It goes over to Staten Island and the ride over has the best view of the Statue of Liberty.

Spectacular view of lower Manhattan from the ferry.

Lady Liberty! She stands for the values of our country - so beautiful.

When you get over to Staten Island everyone has to get off the ferry. But you can just get off and walk through the terminal and wait in line for the ride back. A really great thing to do if you don’t have the time to actually go to the island the statue sits on, and probably an even better view than being on the actual island. What a great day and it didn’t cost a cent.

The only thing left to do was stop for a glass of wine and a little snack - done!

The best meatball, a zucchini flower and bruschetta with heirloom tomatoes - Yumm 😋