Football, Beer & Curry...

On Saturday afternoon I met Ben in Bedford Avenue to give him the grand tour of Brooklyn. Unfortunately Ben was a wee bit late (1 hour) so I had a bit of time to kill before he arrived, so I mooched about Bedford Avenue for a bit...

I saw this massive squirrel on my travels.

It was a scorcher of a day and beautifully sunny, so Williamsburg was a hive of activity, lots of people out and about, sitting out in the cafés and bars, enjoying the sun and some people watching.

When Ben finally made his way to Brooklyn we went to the Radegast Hall & Biergarten (a big old German beer hall and garden) and had some litre glasses of beer with some sausages and chips whilsts watching the football.

I've walked past the building quite a few time before so it was nice to have an excuse to go in, there was a great atmosphere and the food was yummy. The litre glasses were a wee bit heavy though - I should have asked for a straw.

We went from Germany to the beach - Ben and I walked round the corner to the Surf Bar (one of my favourite places) for another couple of drinks, sitting in the sun surrounded by sand and plam leaves.

It's a great little place tucked away down one of the streets off Bedford Avenue, we got there at the right time too, it started getting busy not long after we sat down.

After the Surf Bar we went for a walk through McCarren Park to the train station. The park was full of people playing baseball, having picnics, riding their bikes and just enjoying the sun. I love McCarren Park at the weekends, it always so busy and brilliant for people watching.

At the Greenpoint end of McCarren park was something new...

A piano! I don't know how it go to be in the park, but it's there now, free for everyone and anyone to play, and as Ben and I walked back through the park a little later that night someone was sitting in the dark playing (not a very melodic tune though).

We'd originally planned to go and see the A-Team, but when we got the cinema in Brooklyn there was a huuuuuge queue outside, so we decided to give it a miss and go for a stroll around Brooklyn Heights instead.

Brooklyn Heights (as I'm sure I've babbled on about before) is the posh bit of Brooklyn, the area over looking the river and the Manhattan skyline, where celebrities and the super rich live. It's love and calm and feels completely different to anywhere else in Brooklyn (or Manhattan for that matter).

We walked over to the river to admire the view...

Then we went for another couple of drinks and a curry at Curry Heights. It was rather tasty but not as good as the ones you get back at home, Max's in Bakewell is much better!