Exploring Brooklyn, NY

Exploring Brooklyn, New York during the chilly winter months & sharing a few new favorite spots!

Tim and I have a semi-tradition of visiting New York during the winter months. Sure, it may be totally frigid and we may have to bundle up for the hours upon hours of walking around, but we love it. It’s kind of our thing. We actually really like to go the week between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s a bit quiet with everyone away for the holidays and just before the frenzy of New Year’s Eve rolls in like a riptide. It’s kind of the perfect time to visit – the city’s all decked out for the holidays, and you can avoid the last-minute shoppers that crowd the city right before Christmas and the party-goers that are making their way to the city to see that shiny ball drop at midnight.

I felt like it had been ages since we had ventured to New York. In reality, it had been about a year, but that was just much too long! I grew up in southern Connecticut, which meant exploring Brooklyn was a simple hop, skip, and a jump away. Growing up, I’d head into New York on a whim because it was just that easy. Meanwhile, Tim would do the same growing up, but visit Boston instead of New York.

Now, we live in Boston and visit New York together! A win-win. Here’s a fun little story: Right after Christmas in 2013 (before we were officially dating) Tim texted me and asked if I wanted to take a spontaneous trip to New York. As in, immediately. I called around to a few hotels, found two that could accommodate us, and we set off! He picked me up at my mom’s house – he did, indeed, meet my family before we were even official – and we set off! A few days later, we made it official. So, visiting New York always reminds us of that fun first trip we took together. We celebrated our first anniversary there, and then with this trip, our third!

Exploring Brooklyn, New York

We headed to Brooklyn with no real agenda or plans. It was absolutely marvelous. Usually we’re running around trying to fit everything in on our trips. This time, not at all. In fact, I’m not even sharing a full 48 hour city guide. Rather, here are a few of the spots we loved the most from our most recent trip. We hope you enjoy them, too!

• Freehold Brooklyn: As we were walking through Williamsburg on the morning that we would be heading back to Boston, we saw a building that we both fell in love with. We decided to walk by it just because. We didn’t know what it was, but then we saw it was a little coffee shop so we headed in. We explored Freehold by accident and FELL IN LOVE! What an awesome multi-purpose space. Check it out, you won’t regret it.
• Threes Brewing: This spot was definitely one of my favorites. It’s got great beer, a fun/relaxed vibe, good music, and tasty bites. What more can you ask for?
• Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club: I’ve wanted to visit Royal Palms for quite some time and I finally got to! We met up with one of my oldest friends and headed to Royal Palms. It was like a tropical escape from the freezing temps outside. The cocktails were on fire (not literally, but metaphorically because they were so good), the music had everyone bopping around, and we semi-watched a shuffleboard match. Is it called a match? Clearly I need to study up on my shuffleboard terms.
• Freek’s Mill: We stumbled upon Freek’s Mill as we were parking our car at the garage. It was that close to our hotel which was fabulous. We stopped in after enjoying a few beers at Threes Brewing and I’m so glad we did! The cocktails were divine.
• Blue Bottle: Yes, I know Blue Bottle is a chain, but we had yet to try their coffee and finally did while exploring Beorum Hill. And yes, it was ridiculously tasty. That cold brew though – pure perfection.

Cheers to exploring Brooklyn on a total whim! We actually didn’t book our trip until the very last minute – also known as about 10 minutes before we started packing up to make the trek. #worthit.

Do you have any trips coming up this year? We don’t have any other trips planned just yet, but I’m desperately hoping to make a Europe trip happen this year!

g.