Day Trip: Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, NY is often overlooked by tourists coming in to see NYC. I consider it our best kept secret. It is in Brooklyn where urban, hipster, and preppy styles all come together to harvest emerging artistic talent. The shopping is eclectic and more reasonably priced than in Manhattan. The restaurants are fantastic and undiscovered.

Early spring is the perfect time of year to visit the Prospect Park and Park Slope neighborhoods. They are charming places which have a reputation as the neighborhoods where Manhattanites ready to settle down go to have babies. An abundance of baby strollers and dogs fill the streets. If you love picnics (as you know by now, I'm obssessed) or if you need a place to rest in the afternoon, take a stroll through Prospect Park. You will get a real sense of the culture and aesthetic of the 'hood.

This time of year the Cherry Blossoms and Tulips in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden are in full bloom. This is seriously a must see!

 

For nourishment and libations, check out Vanderbilt Avenue. Or if you want to mix drinks and shopping (a potentially lethal combo), your best luck will be on 5th Avenue as it has the best shopping.

If brunch (or lunch, their whole menu is delish) is in order, I highly recommend Stone Park Cafe on 5th Ave and 3rd St.  This American style restaurant keeps with the Brooklyn spirit by sourcing their ingredients locally and seasonally as much as possible. It has a casual neighborhood-y vibe. Many of the choices on the menu are good, you really can't go wrong. But if you decide to get here early-ish after having a great night out - then you must have a Bloody Mary and the biscuits and gravy. Then top it off with a cappuchino and it seriously hits the spot! We ate ours so fast I didn't even have time to snap a picture.