Sudden Spring

Spring is here, and unlike last year when spring kept retreating back into winter, I am hoping it's here to stay. I had almost started to believe our lives would go on in a state of perpetual winter, so the warmer weather and extra daylight still feels like a pleasant surprise each day.



I enjoyed last weekend's sunny climes to the fullest with lots of biking and walking.


I took the Ocean Parkway bike path all the way to Brighton Beach, but it's not as nice riding as I thought it would be. After Ditmas Park, smooth paving gives way to bumpy and cracked sidewalks. Still, in less than an hour I was at the beach, something New Yorkers often forget exists as part of this city. Specifically I was sitting outside at Tatiana, one of the Russian cafes on the boardwalk. My salad and cured fish were good enough, but I'll have to go back for the delicious looking pierogies, which I regretted not ordering as soon as I saw them at a neighboring table.


Saturday evening I biked to Williamsburg for bar hopping involving multiple charcuterie plates, in a sea of hip strangers all out and about in the balmy darkness. I played the "remember when" game, reflecting on all the years I lived in Williamsburg's lively social scene, along with most of my friends. Now it seems we've all packed up and scattered to other neighborhoods, and I can't help but miss it a little.


Sunday afternoon I walked to Carroll Gardens for some more bar hopping. The second stop was inadvertent - on my way home I passed this faux-farmhouse, which turned out to be Black Mountain Wine House, and it was too adorable not to stop in for a pre-dinner apertif involving oysters. Would you say no to adirondack chairs nestled into an unassuming Brooklyn street corner?





How have you been enjoying the newfound freedom of springtime?