One of the items in my wife Jennifer's bucket list is Italy. Mainly Tuscany and Cinque Terre.
We had the opportunity to check that off of her list last year. It turned out to be a trip very different than what we first intended to have, but I truly wouldn't have it otherwise. It was such a lovely time with the family, it was such a connection with my two girls that it immediately, from the start, became the best vacation/trip I had.
Jen and I have the same kind of attitude when we are travelling. We prefer to "live like the locals" instead of seeing sites, visiting monuments or being tourists.
So we planned the trip accordingly.
Now, before we get to the Italy part...I've been in US since November 1995 and I have never been in New York... Can you believe it? I sure can't! I won't even pretend this trip did justice to New York, but we made a point to spend a couple of nights there.
I usually leave the planning of trips to others, or to chance. There has been some exceptions. For instance, I planned and organized an amazing trip for Jennifer's first European/Turkish vacation back in the beginning of the millennium. I also organized a ridiculous surprise party for Jen in honor of our 10 year wedding anniversary with the tremendous help of my brother.
But in general, I'd like to be lazy when I travel. We knew we were going to stay in New York. So, I went on many different sites on the Internet. I ended up booking a place via airbnb. In case you are looking for a place to stay in Brooklyn, stay here!
Read the reviews... Read my review... There is not a single exaggeration. Amazing location. Walking distance to everywhere in Brooklyn and absolutely lovely hosts! Great room, great value.
We had so much fun (following our hosts' recommendations) during our short stay. And despite the cold weather and snow (or maybe because of it), I fell in love with Brooklyn.
Prospect Park had tons to offer for us. Our daughter ran around, chased the ducks, made friends...
...put on some skates and learned to stand up and skate on ice for the first time.
We discovered new restaurants, including a Turkish one, which we shared with our hosts. Istanbul Park restaurant on 7th street is absolutely wonderful. A nice selection of Turkish wine, along with delicious specialties, it was a nice surprise for us.
Overall, it was just a time we chilled together as a family and enjoyed the nature, dining and each other during these 2 wonderful days.
Vivienne was playing some kind of a game... She was making some gestures with her hands and "cutting the air". What am I gonna do? I just joined her...
Then we had to decide who won....
Well, she did. So I got to walk with her... She enjoys walking on my shoes so much, it easily became one of my favorite times with her as well.
I will talk about Italy in one or more of my next blog entries... For the time being though, I just wanted to share Brooklyn, New York as our lens saw it. Yes, it is very advantageous to have two professional photographers in the family!
