#13 Take a day and take advantage of NYC

As many of you know, I live in Hoboken, NJ, which is right across the Hudson River from NYC. 

Gorgeous sunrise shot of NYC from NJ

I've lived here for almost 8 years (yes, EIGHT), and I readily admit that I don't travel in to NYC as much as I used to when I first arrived here.  So #13 on my List is a personal challenge to inspire me to explore and take advantage of what is right next door...

The beautiful thing about completing #13 is that it just happened without any planning... which is rare for me!  My friend Naomi came to town, my roommate Ellie told her about the Brooklyn Smorgasburg, and thus we decided to go to Brooklyn... and the rest of the day (frequenting small shops, enjoying great wine, and a show to end the night) just fell in to place... And it was fabulous.

First up, the Smorgasburg....

Aerial shot of Smorgasburg, with the lovely Manhattan skyline behind (courtesy of brooklynflea.com)

Upon arrival, we were overwhelmed by the quantity of vendors, people, and dogs in one place.  We decide to start by seeing what options were out there... and man, were there options! Tacos, briskets, cupcakes, kale chips, summer rolls, lobster rolls, more brisket... it was hard to choose, but we settled on four bites:

Vegetarian Summer Roll.... delicious

Smoked Angus brisket.... PHENOMENAL

Cilantro lime falafel on whole wheat pita (really yummy and tangy)

My favorite of the day: Hotdog topped with Asian cole slaw from "Asiadog"

After stuffing ourselves with the delicious food, we decided to mosey around Williamsburg Brooklyn and see what was what.  We were both surprised at how cute it was... filled with hipsters and "people who dress like they hate their parents" (direct quote from Naomi), Williamsburg is still very industrial, but has lots of up and coming loft-like spaces and really fabulous shops.  On Bedford Avenue, we found tons of small restaurants and shops, and very few chains... it was nice to see small businesses flourish!

We stopped by the Brooklyn Brewery, went to a vintage clothing store across the street (where I bought a cute top for $8), and then ended up at a wine bar down the street, where we split a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc...

After the wine, we did some more shopping, stopped and had another drink at a cute French bistro, and then headed to southern Brooklyn for the "cultural" part of our day... a show at Capri Night Club. The Starlight Pole Show! A good friend was having her first showcase - and she NAILED it. 

For those of you out there who might disapprove of pole dancing... ladies (and men) who pole dance are extremely athletic and fit - just think about doing pull ups on a horizontal bar... it's no different, except that you're vertical... ;)

So bottom line - Brooklyn is kinda awesome.  Loved the small town feel, the great shops, and of course, venues where performers of all disciplines can showcase their talent!