i spend most weekends in brooklyn, but i don't get out as much as i should. hhh's hermit-like tendencies can be contagious, and the god-awful winter didn't help. and when i do leave the house, it's often to eat. (restaurants are the best destinations. after eating, i can sometimes be persuaded to see other sights.) but my aunt and uncle are visiting from taiwan, and i am using the occasion to see all the things within ten miles of my apartment that i (shamefully) have not visited in years (or ever).
DUMBO's view of manhattan bridge
on saturday, we headed through brooklyn bridge park, into DUMBO, over the bridge and then wandered through the financial district, up to canal street. it was only four hours, but traveling through these neighborhoods on foot reminded me that i wanted to get a hold of the new york nobody knows, by cuny-based sociologist william helmreich. he took four years to walk all of new york city's 6,000 miles. (every. single. block.) out of curiosity, i had picked up goodbye to all that: writers on loving and leaving new york, but am unswayed by their stories. maybe it's just because i'm not yet ready to go. helmreich's book is about a man's love of this city, and i love new york in any season but winter. it's looking like good reading for a city summer.
in the shadow of brooklyn bridge
manhattan looks good from here.