Chinatown | 50 Happens

I have returned from a busy weekend in Brooklyn—the borough of NYC from which my mother’s parents hailed. They left Brooklyn for another great immigrant city—Worcester MA—long before I was born, so I had never been to Brooklyn before. All my prior trips to NYC were Manhattan only.

We were there to celebrate the marriage of a beloved nephew in his early 40s and got a glimpse into his life there. A very urban life.

Due to Amtrak cancelling our train, we had to drive from Massachusetts. A last minute detour sent us over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, from which we could see the Statue of Liberty, which was very cool. It almost made up for all the traffic we hit in Connecticut.

This part of the Brooklyn waterfront is called Pebble Beach. There are great views of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges.

Blue steel is a feature of the Manhattan Bridge

View of the financial district from under the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s the Freedom Tower with the black spire.

My son and his girlfriend in front of a chain link fence with a heart on the Lower East Side/Chinatown (Manhattan), where we went for an interesting dinner

Both jellyfish (top) and chicken feet (bottom) were served as appetizers. I tried both.

I couldn’t bring myself to try the “live fish” because I was too afraid of getting a bone stuck in the back of my throat, which happened to me once as a kid.

The happy couple sharing their absolutely beautiful vows 🥹

Weather was pretty rainy so this lovely patio area was a bit soggy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

We made it back to Massachusetts in much better time. (The traffic gods were with us.) But my ears are still ringing. Brooklyn was loud. From the constant sirens to the extremely noisy restaurants and bars, I’m happy to be home and can’t say I’m dying to head back to NYC anytime soon.