Easter Weekend in NYC and Brooklyn

Easter Weekend in NYC and Brooklyn

Easter Weekend, I decided to get away from it all and have fun. I met up with my friends in Brooklyn and NYC and had a blast. Lihan was the hostest with the mostest. She is creative with small spaces (I was thoroughly impressed). We met in Krakow, Poland while both of us were backpacking. Since then, we have kept in touch and she came and visited over the New Year.
DAY 1 (THU) -I took the Chinatown Shuttle (now relocated to Boston's South Station Bus Terminal--no more battling in long lines outside on the street) to New York for only $30 round trip on LUCKY STAR. I took the 7am and got in with ease by 11am. From there I took the "Q" train to Brooklyn "7th Avenue" stop. Lihan met up with me and we meandered the picturesque streets of Park Slope area. This being my first time, I enjoyed walking 7th Avenue and 5th Avenues where there were many businesses, restaurants and little shops. The flowering trees lining up on the wide boulevards of brownstones (some artificially painted and others not). We grabbed lunch at "MOUTARD" on 5th Avenue (the place Lihan wanted to take me to was closed).

I noshed on ham and cheese crepe and she had a very fluffy omelette. The restuarant was very cute and even the bathroom had a rustic decorations.

Then we relaxed a bit (it was in the 70's and a bit humid) plus the pollen was killing me. We decide to hit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (entrance fee $5). Too bad the Cherry Blossoms are not in full bloom. The Japanese Garden area and the green house area (had some very interesting blooms from all over the world) were lovely to stroll through. We did catch a bit of rain which only lasted for a few moments. From there we decide to check out BEET, a very stylish but inexpensive Thai Restaurant on 7th Avenue around 8th Street.

At BEET, we were served fried beets in lieu of bread or nothing. This small restuarant uses alot of shades of purple from the dinner napkin to the decor. A small bar is installed in the back and the whole space is lined with as many tables the space can hold. We order something described as "massaman chicken curry with avocado with roti" called a burrito caught my eye. Then we ordered a stir fry noodle dish and basil tofu and eggplant stirfry. Everything was good, the portions were great. I enjoyed the wonderful fresh stir fried basil in the noodle dish and eggplant dish. Plus with tax and tip it was under $15 a person (granted no dessert or drinks on our tab).
DAY 2 (FRI) -the day starts out with some sun and partly cloudy but later on it rains. I head into town taking the "F" train with Lihan. From there, I part ways with her and scramble to the COOPER HEWITT museum in upper East Side on 91st Street on 5th Avenue. Currently it is in between exhibits so the usual $12 fee is now reduced to $8. I am lucky, I have my BOSTON MFA ID and I do not have to pay at all. I ended up going through the existing exhibits very quickly within 20 minutes. I enjoyed the interesting furniture pieces by an Israeli artist . I decided to step into the Cleo-Patek Paris store and ended up buying a purse at over 70% off retail. I usually am not this impulsive but I couldn't resist this bag. But I liked the fact it is not common all over and that twenty people I know will be having the same bag. The two fave elements I love of this hand bag is that it has my two fave colors--red and black.

Off to downtown to meet up with Seaver and Lauren (my old roomie and his girlfriend). We had a nice lunch in Chinatown in this hole in the wall with some much needed noodle soup as it was a cold cloudy lunch time. From there, I went to MOMA. I haven't been there since its grand reopening after major renovations over a year ago. It was PACKED solid with many people. I did enjoy the Edward Munch exhibit (I wonder if it is the same one I missed when I was in London late last year). It was cool seeing "scream" up close! My old roomie Kako used to have a plastic toy of the "scream". In terms of the design of the place, I was not particularly wowed. I did however enjoy the exhibit on the new architectural projects all over Spain. Some pretty cool stuff I have to say I saw.

Then off to the FIT galleries, turns out they have been remodeled since I was last there. I got to see some great clothing pieces from late 1800's to the 1950's. The classic Coco Chanel pieces were exquisite. Just the tailoring, fabrics and colors of many of the outfits were classic and gorgeous.

Then I walked a good 15 blocks to Greenwich Village (in the now pouring rain) to meet up my good friend Dave at GOBO. I did grab a pumpkin maple latte while I waited for him. I got to catch up on some reading. GOBO is a chic and small vegan restaurant. We did have a 15 -30 minute wait as it was a Friday night. Our waiter was attentive and we enjoyed our dinner. (Thanks for the bday dinner !!!!) We had some noodles, pineapple fried rice and nice appetizer that now escapes my memory. From there, we meandered around and decided to catch a flick at the IFC Center. Suffice to say not my fave and the title was more titillating and I thought it would be more interesting than what it actually was for a mockumentary.

SAT-Get into town a bit late and do some window shopping (day is gorgeous 70's and sunny) at 57th and Lex at H&M (great deals), BR and love looking through the Spanish fashions at Zara. I decide to hoof it to PAYARD. I made afternoon tea reservations and I must say it is a cozy space and David joined me again. We had the decadent $26 tea that offered a glass of bubbly, cavier over a blini, assortment of sandwiches (very different from the usual cucumber) and assortment of mouth watering french pastries as well as a pot of tea. I must say a bargain if you want the same at the Ritz or even Four Seasons (even in Boston) you have to pay $30 plus and you do not get cavier either. We dished, enjoyed our surroundings and savored the tasty treats we had. I did not have lunch so I was ravenous. Then we walked off the calories doing 30 blocks within Central Park. A first for me to spend more than a few blocks within Central Park's confines. I went to Jackie O's pond and then to the English Gardens and French Gardens around 105th Street.

I head back to Brooklyn to 5th avenue within Park Slope area to grab dinner with my hostess with the mostest. We go to Aunt Suzies a great Brooklyn Italian restaurant institution. I adore the prices there! For both of us with wine, tax, tip and appetizer, dessert and entree we did not even break $30 a person. The flavors were awesome, the desserts great, wine reasonably priced and after this wonderful decadent meal we had to walk it off. We headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge to cap off a wonderful day. I must say the nice night breeze was very enjoyable and I enjoyed the lovely view from Brooklyn to New York.

SUN-My last day in NY for this trip. After reconfiguring all my stuff, my hostess and I hit Greenwich village for a good burger at Corner Bistro. For under $10 I had a nice cold beer and a bacon cheese burger with no extra frills. We sat next to a table of French tourists. The place reeks of college hangout with the graffiti laden tables and cozy feel. After wards, we walk around and hoof it to Washington Park and down to SOHO. I got some stuff at UNIGLOBE which had these which look like regular pique cotton polo shirts (But actually Japanese technology added UV protection and will whisks away sweat as good as any athletic high tech gear) for only $12.99. I couldn't resist and got my favorite red color. There was a time I wore only POLO shirts but I got over that phase. Then we walked around and tried to get into Balthazar's but it was packed. Instead we found a cute cafe near Chinatown. After our small break, I caught the 4:30 LUCKY STAR shuttle back into Boston. Due to the holiday traffic we did not get into the South Station terminal until 9:45pm.