The Brooklyn Promenade

With this news and rendering released yesterday about a 10-story hotel called "1 Hotel" being built at Brooklyn Bridge Park - I don't love the design! - I wanted to revisit one of my favorite spots in the world, The Brooklyn Promenade. As you may know, I absolutely love Brooklyn Heights and lead a 1.5 hour walking tour called Brooklyn Heights 101 (used to be once a month but much less with my travel schedule). The promenade is the neighborhood's crown jewel, with the rush of cars below on the BQE, incredible views of the bridge, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.

My ideal evening would be walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, wandering over to the Promenade as the sun sets, dinner at Jack the Horse Tavern, Henry's End, or Siggy's, stopping by to see the Moonstruck house (oh I love Moonstruck), and ending the night on Montague Street for ice cream at Haagen-Daaz, their first retail location ever.

Classic lampLady Liberty! You'll always see kids climbing on the sphereTake a promenade along the promenadeStay awhileWalking back to the neighborhoodPerfect Brooklyn Heights cornerMoonstruck house - 19 Cranberry StreetWalking on the Brooklyn Bridge

Friday Links to Love from Australia

Three flights and nearly 30 hours of travel later, and I'm in the Gold Coast of Australia, known for surfing, outdoor activities and a beautiful hinterland (land behind a coast). It's the number one vacation destination for Australians.  I've already done stand-up paddleboarding and HELD A KOALA!!!! They define adorable. Tomorrow I'm headed to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat which looks to have a fun Tree Top Walk and is within a national park.

How awesome is this pic? I love roaming through grocery stores in other countries and I spotted these bananas in Woolworth's as I was looking for Lucas Papaw Ointment.  One of my journalist friends that I traveled to India with is super chic.  I'll trust anything she says and she said it was her favorite lip balm in the world. I love the name!

A few things to check out:

• 15 Powerful Things Happy People Do Differently - I need to work on #7 and #15. I don't need to work on #10 - being realistic is never something I've done well. :)
• Britain's Most Eccentric Attractions - A travel blogger reached out with this list she created and it's awesome. Museum of Dog Collars? World Championship Hen Racing? Very cool.
• Historic Hotel Bossert Converting Back to Hotel - I absolutely can't wait for this to be a hotel again. It's on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights and has been owned by the Jehovah's Witnesses for decades, who have taken very good care of it. You can't get in now but you can peek into the marble lobby and it's stunning. The two-story Marine Roof rooftop deck was legendary in the 1920s & 30s for views of the skyline and this is where the Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their World Series win over the Yankees in 1955.  I still feel like Brooklyn Heights is somewhat of a secret (even to New Yorkers) but with Sarah Jessica Parker moving in and many hotel projects, it's poised to become a must for tourists, as it should be! So beautiful and so much history (which I can tell you all about on one of my Brooklyn Heights 101 tours).

Jack the Horse Tavern in Brooklyn Heights

I can't help it-I'm obsessed with corner bistros, bars, and taverns in New York. It makes me feel like I'm on a movie set or in a Norman Rockwell painting.  Just like The Little Owl, Jack the Horse Tavern has the ideal facade but it's in Brooklyn Heights, just over the Brooklyn Bridge. 

And you can't go to Jack the Horse without a post-dinner stroll to the Brooklyn Promenade. You're also just around the corner from the "Moonstruck" house, where Cher lived with her family (19 Cranberry Street). Good food, and great happy hour at the bar too.

Cool clocks

The Moonstruck House

Skyline from the Brooklyn Promenade

River Deli in Brooklyn Heights

River Deli isn't a deli at all, but has been reimagined as an corner Italian bistro in Brooklyn Heights, while keeping its old deli name.  Brooklyn Heights is one of my favorite neighborhoods (like the West Village without the tourists!) and where I lead a Brooklyn Heights 101 walking tour every few months. 

Go around 7:00 p.m. if you don't want to wait forever, but the wait is worth it, even for Manhattanites who still need to hop on a train to get back to their island.