OY! KRISTEN

While we were staying in New York for the month, I lucked out because my friends came to visit :) It felt like a little piece of home, having those girls come and stay for a few days. I love New York so much and I rarely get to share it with friends and family back home, so I was a little giddy to share all my favorite spots with them. And they brought ideas for places they wanted to visit, too, so we went all out and explored and ate everything. It was so much fun (and to be honest, in retrospect I probably walked too much), but at the time the adrenaline was running mile-high and I was just going with it. There's something radical about the second trimester of pregnancy. It really makes you feel like you can fly. We did so much over the course of our few days together that I'm going to have to break it up into a few posts, because otherwise, it's like picture/restaurant recommendation overload. But if you're gathering ideas for an upcoming NYC trip, then make sure to check back here every day this week, because it's going to be New York-centric!

We started this day by driving into the city and parking right next to our old building on the Upper West Side. We showed Everett where we used to live (when I was pregnant with him!) and then hopped on the subway and took the quickest route to Brooklyn, our starting point for the day's events.

Showing Everett our old apartment building.

I know this is a dweeby picture but I don't care. We lived here! We loved it!

I instagrammed this photo last week because these boys were so into the boat watching. It was adorable.

We lost this cute little hat on this particular day :(

I promise he's not as close to the edge as it seems in the photo.

So I've shared before about walking the Brooklyn Bridge here and about eating the AMAZING Juliana's Pizza here, so I won't tell those kinds of stories twice. But all I can say is - do both of these! Get to Juliana's when they open, because then you won't have to wait too long (the line is way out the door for hours), and make sure to get any of the pizzas with scarmorza cheese. You won't be able to forgive yourself for missing it. Everett scarfed so hard and ate more than anyone. He's so my Italian baby.

After our carb-loading we trekked across the Bridge. I'll admit that it's a little annoying on Saturday to walk the bridge because it's so crowded, but the views are really special and not to be missed. Where else do you get to see that particular skyline of Manhattan? It's a stunner.

Vanessa brought one of those trendy Instax-polaroid cameras (I don't know what they're called actually) and Everett went nuts for it. He really likes getting his picture taken these days, but to have the immediate gratification of seeing the photo develop really did something for him. She was sweet to spend so much of her film on him during the trip. He showed everyone that we met his pictures, and would clutch them while we walked him in the stroller. Also, he called her "My Nessa". I almost died.

After walking across the bridge we wandered even further south to the waterfront, through Battery Park, and then wound our way up to Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place. We needed to rest our feet, so we grabbed some drinks and stretched out on the lawn for a bit. This is the perfect spot to take in views of the Statue of Liberty, although if you really want to get up close and personal, you can jump on a free ferry ride down to Staten Island to get a bit closer to Lady Liberty (we did that here).

Note: If you're going to Hudson Eats to really eat, I recommend the brisket at Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, the 5-spice pork belly sandwich at Num Pang, literally anything on the menu at Black Seed Bagel, and the citrus squeeze juice at the Tartinery. Whew, I'm glad I got all that off my chest.

What I love most about this city is that it is a thousand cities in one. It can mean anything to anyone - frenzied, fantastic, mesmerizing, shocking, comforting, challenging, intoxicating, inviting. I've been to a lot of big cities but there is nowhere quite like New York. I think it takes a long time to get the feel for the city - for first-timers it can feel overwhelming, too fast-paced and too crowded. But it grows on you in this sneaky, alluring kind of way. The food is best here. The skyline is exotic. The energy is addictive. The possibilities are infinite. It's truly a dreamer's city and I can't help but get re-bitten by the bug every time I set foot on this maddening island. Isn't it strange to feel most at home in a place that you don't actually call home? That's the magic of New York. It's the greatest city on Earth.

This was not the end of our day but I will split this post in two since we did so much. More tomorrow on wandering through West Village and up into Chelsea :)

P.S. - If you can't hardly wait, check out other NYC shenanigans and recommendations here :)

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

This is such a fun, iconic New York experience. The Brooklyn Bridge is an emblem of New York's ambitious heartbeat. It's been in SO MANY movies and TV shows over the years, it's impossible to name them all (is it bad that the first scene that comes to my mind is when Miranda and Steve decide to give their marriage another go by meeting on this bridge in Sex & the City? Don't judge me. That was a good, good moment.) But if you've seen any bridges depicted in New York-inspired art or film, it's most likely been the Brooklyn Bridge. Because this gateway to Brooklyn is just that epic.

// Under the bridge. So you know you're on the right track. //

// Manhattan-facing, this is a glimpse of Brooklyn Bridge Park to your left. Yes, that is a park on a pier. And yes, that is a cool, cool idea for a city park. I think they know what they're doing. //

// Walking the bridge toward Manhattan, this is your right-facing view. Not too shabby. //

At the time it opened, in 1883, this was the longest suspension bridge in the US. Today it connects (duh) Manhattan to Brooklyn. And it lets goofballs like us flutter across its firm foundations and take too many pictures and bask in its grandness. So there's that, too.

// View of the financial district. The gigantic building you see is Freedom Tower. We talked about that once here. //

// And that tall beauty is the Empire State Building. We caught closer nighttime views of that bad boy here. //

Try It!

I personally like taking the subway all the way to Brooklyn, enjoying the DUMBO hood, and then walking across the bridge toward Manhattan. Because you get ALL THOSE VIEWS (please see above.) It's incredible. Then you can just pop on the subway at Chambers Street or City Hall and get back to wherever you came from. And if you already explored DUMBO like I showed you and ate the most delicious coal-fire brick oven pizza at Juliana's (and maybe even enjoyed a cone at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory!), then you will be reeeeeeallly ready to walk the mile-ish journey across this East River beauty.

// BFFFFFFSSS. And yes, Stevie's hair is looking pretty righteous here. Cue haircut. //

// These two. I am not kidding you when I say they are as wholesome AS IT GETS. //

// Clearly I am pregnant in the front AND the back. //

// She. Is. A wonder. //

A Word on Friendship.

This girl. I could sob just thinking about how wondrous she is. But I'll spare you, because she's got a baby and I've got one on the way so there's already enough crying quota reached without adding to that mess of ladylike emotions. I am so grateful that this gal has visited me in all the crazy places I've lived. And she's celebrated me a ridiculous amount, no matter which season of life I've been in (thriving or, ya know, diving.) She's been there through my graduation, pursuing an unlikely career path, dealing with family drama, unexpectedly (and wonderfully!) getting knocked up, moving from place to place, and all the while, she's throwing me parties left and right like it's her job... and she HAS a real-people job. Like a really, really good one! She's just always been there. One might even venture as far as saying she's been "my bridge over troubled water" (ahahaha see how I tied this all together? See?! Don't hate me for my cheese.) But seriously, this gal has been so rock solid. Ready to encourage. Ready to find that silvery lining. To tell you the truth, she's been the silver lining, weaving her blissful being into each season's unexpected adventures. And we've had quite a few together :) Tricia, thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for. Thank you for letting me eat the last slice of pizza. And thank you for walking across this insanely long bridge with me while I took too many pictures and made you pose longer than your comfort level allowed. You, my sweet, are the truest, dearest kind of friend.