Brooklyn

Yesterday we spent the day exploring Brooklyn with Rosy, who just so happens to be one of its biggest fans…

Mal and I took the subway out to her stop, and after getting a quick tour of her apartment (which is fabulous), we headed for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

On the way, we stopped to get Rosy a coffee, and I decided to get a fresh salt bagel with lox and garlic cream cheese. It’s been years since I’ve had a bagel like that, and it was so good!

We then spent more than an hour wandering the grounds of the BBG and snapping photos of everything from tree peonies in full bloom to a glorious bluebell meadow to some of the exotic flora in their greenhouses…

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Then we strolled through the neighborhood to a little coffee shop for tea, coffee and some fresh-baked treats. [This trip seems to be increasingly about food I’m afraid…] After that, Rose took us through the local Farmers Market, featuring an amazing spread of fruits, veggies, baked goods, local cheeses, and on and on…

Then it was back to her apartment to get out of the rain while we waited for the movie we’d picked out to see nearby. “Stories We Tell” is a unique little documentary about how a Canadian family wrestles with questions about their long dead mother’s private life. It’s the kind of movie we’d never get to see in Montrose, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

To finish off the day, we had a drink at a Park Slope dive bar (called the High Dive), followed by an amazing dinner of Bibimbap (see below) at a Korean restaurant nearby. Thanks Rosy, for giving us the quintessential Brooklyn experience!

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We fly to Denver at 4 this afternoon, and will have tonight and tomorrow morning with Louisa in Boulder before driving home in the afternoon.

Can’t believe the adventure is wrapping up. What a magnificent time we’ve had. It’s going to be tough going back to reality though. I’ll be hitting the ground running Tuesday morning!

Back in the states

We are now sitting in Lil Clarke’s living room in Manhattan, having arrived safely in NYC this afternoon. (It’s 5 am Madrid time. Ha!)

Rosy met us at the airport, and after a long subway ride into the city, we spent the afternoon doing some of our favorite neighborhood activities: Alice’s Teacup, shopping, etc.

I realized this afternoon that we have recently ridden the subways in Barcelona, Madrid and New York, and all within a 36 hour span! Ah, the modern world…

Here are Rosy & Mallory on the subway ride from the airport:

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…as well as a sunset shot from Lil’s apartment:

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What a beautiful day! I think it’s time for bed though. Sounds like Rosy has a big day scheduled in Brooklyn for us tomorrow…

España ’13 draws to a close

Wow, what a trip. It’s 8 am here; we’re getting ready to head to the airport for our flight to NYC. Yesterday was a whirlwind of museums in Madrid, sprinkled with strolling the city streets…

I don’t have many photos from yesterday, but I did snap some nice shots of the countryside as we zoomed along on the train. I like the one with the wind turbines; we’ve seen those a lot over here!

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After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we headed for the Prado, where we spent the next two and a half hours seeing masterpieces by Velasquez, Goya, El Greco, Ruebens, Bosch, etc.

Then it was off to the Museo Reina Sofia, which is focused on modern art (much more to my liking ;-). They had an incredible Dali show, and are also the current home of Picasso’s Guernica.

One last highlight from Madrid was this splendid wall of plants! I’m not sure if this installation has a name or not, but it sure is cool! That tiny person at the bottom is me…

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And so our trip to Spain draws to a close. We had a magnificent time, full of so many adventures. We’re already planning our return!

Now it’s time for the long flight to NYC. Talk to you from there, later today your time!!