I had no idea Brooklyn, New York, was such a lovely spot.
Growing up in southern California, I thought of New York City as an exotic locale of black and white film, bluesy jazz music, glamorous theater, and sophisticated books.
I’ve visited many times and always have found something new to love.
On our most recent trip, we caught up with our niece Avtar and she took us for a walk through her Brooklyn neighborhood.
Come with us!
Why yes, trees still grow in Brooklyn. They grace the city streets and make the shops feel cooler and more friendly on a summer day.
The book captured a specific time and place, a city full of immigrants–and it’s still that way.
The parks are beautiful, the sidewalks clean.
Brooklyn boasts a multitude of cultures and ethnicities. The Russian Orthodox Church vies with a new condo building to oversee a green park.
Food ranges from Mexican–there were no Mexican restaurants in New York City when we moved upstate in 1978–
to vegetarian.
They all looked and smelled delicious! We had a hard time choosing what to eat.
Decades ago, manufacturing filled Brooklyn and a smokestack still indicates the need for power.
Immigrants could stand on the shores–connected to Manhattan’s sparkling lights by the Brooklyn Bridge–and dream of the same fabulous images I saw from California.
No New York City Skyscrapers
The buildings are not so high here, three or four-stories more the norm, but fire escapes are still necessary.
Buildings include a touch of the whimsical.
Who would look for a baboon in a New York City suburb?
Or seek encouragement from an auto shop?
What is a sprinkler Siamese?
It’s all there in Brooklyn–if you have the eyes to see it on a summer’s day!
JaniceG says
I enjoyed your photos and captions. I especially enjoyed seeing that a tree indeed grows in Brooklyn!
michelle says
Lots of trees and they make it feel much more “normal” live able than Manhattan’s skyscrapers!