I want to take you somewhere. Today we shall travel to…. well, just keep reading.
Part of the pleasure of living in New York is enjoying the hidden gems of this cultural capital, and whether planed or accidental, you do indeed stumble upon many a treasure. With free afternoons, the occasional “happy hour” is attended. With free evenings, you’ll find some cheap pub with complimentary food. And with a rare, entire day off? Well that’s when an adventure truly takes form.
I’ve wondered quite frequently around the city, constantly curious of what’s along the next street, behind the next door, down the next block… and luckily, the majority of my friends seem to share a similar love of the unknown.
“What about a winery tour in Brooklyn?” I asked Ivy as she lay sprawled out on my couch. “That might be fun,” she said, sitting up and stealing a look at my computer.
I had “Time Out New York’s” freebie section on my browser. Neither of us wanted to spend more than $5 over the course of tomorrow– and we were defiantly eating bagels in the morning. So that left our budget at about $2.25…
Yes, something free would probably be best.
We arrived at the winery half and hour too early, so we decided to stroll around Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As we turned a corner, Ivy spotted tents in the distance. And do you know what tents mean?
Street festivals.
We happened to discover a craft fair with hundreds of vendors situated in a circle around a large soccer field. Spectators watched the game, hopped between tents, and ate frozen icy drinks. Children milled about, and the occasional stray ball bounced into a group of (mostly) un - irritable adults. There had to be over 1,000 people in the area.
Our day was already delightful, and we hadn’t even stepped into the winery yet. But our romance with the establishment was almost immediate. The space included 4 main areas for guest and a wine making section behind closed doors. The guide/bar tender showed us the process of how to bottle wine by hand and where the liquids chill in barrels. It wasn’t a long tour and it wasn’t anything flashy, but the organic, do-it-yourself feel of the place was enchanting.
Ivy and I perused the connecting rooms, taking pictures and imaging ourselves visiting again during one swanky night out in Brooklyn. Even though only a few lingering people were hanging about the area, I could picture the bar full. Patrons would be mingling about, dressed in everything from jeans and a tee to stylish black dresses. While the lights would be dim indoors, the courtyard’s overhead illumination would twinkle like fireflies as guest ordered wine on tap.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, and falling into some imaginative world.
