NYC Trip - Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge

So finally I get to the last of the last post of our trip to New York.

It wasn't particularly that interesting except that we spent the day with an exceptional old friend, walking along the Brooklyn Bridge.

Boy, that bridge is long. And I mean, really long. I'm not entirely sure it's a good tourist attraction if you ask the tourist to trek the almost-2kms length of the whole bridge. And that's just one way. How do you come back? It's dreadful just thinking about it.

But I suppose I'm an eternal sucker for punishment. Plus, I really wanted to say I made it through and so I dragged my family and friend along. I was ever so grateful that my friend was a regular New Yorker and knew her way around the area. We didn't have to walk back. We just hitched a subway ride back from the Brooklyn side.

Cheater? You betcha! My feet were tired at this point that I'd gladly accept that title.

For a better, panoramic view of the full bridge, here's a grab of the Wikipedia picture.

 

NYC Trip - How Can I Leave NYC Without Seeing My Beloved Jollibee?

Since the family and I were wanting to have a taste of Jollibee (my all time favourite fast food in the Philippines) before we leave New York, we braved the NYC subway to go all the way to Brooklyn to visit the fast food chain.

I was very chuffed that we got to Jollibee in one piece. The fast food chain was situated in an area in Brooklyn that could only be described as bursting in Asian-ness. Asian small shops, bakeries, hairdressers, etc. It almost felt like Chinatown but this was Asiantown.

 

Anyways, the food did not disappoint. Still tasted good or as good as I remember it, which is not really saying much since the last time I tasted Jollibee was at least 4 years ago. Still though. I could be just biased. In my mind, Jollibee is always the best.

It was in the middle of the afternoon when we got there and by no means lunchtime nor dinner time, but the chain was super busy. I got to try my fave Chickenjoy and some halo-halo. It was really worth it.

After having our fill, we decided to head back to Manhattan to see and walk around it one last time before we made our way back to our hotel that night.

How could I pass up a chance to relive my #childhood? Look at the joy on my face....talaga namang #ChickenJoy level. #NewYork #Jollibee

A photo posted by MJ Rodriguez (@jamie250196) on Jul 11, 2015 at 10:27pm PDT

NYC Trip - Ellis Island

Ellis Island Immigration Museum

After procrastinating for several weeks, I guess I'm ready to tackle more of NYC...

So aside from Miss Liberty, we also had a chance to visit Ellis Island.

Located in the Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey, Ellis Island housed an olden day immigration building that saw thousands of immigrants pass through its gates.

The place resonated with us since we were immigrants ourselves. Granted we came to Canada and not the United States but still....something about immigration banded us with the then-immigrants of America.

Hubby and the kids enjoyed playing with a machine that assessed a person's eligibility of becoming an American immigrant. It asked you a series of questions and yielded a result in the end of whether one was accepted or not.

It reminded me of the time we immigrated to Canada and the series of questions and hoops and loops that we had to go through. Immigration was not easy even then.

We needed more time for the tour bit had to watch our time since we were meeting up with the rest of the tour to catch a bus back to midtown Manhattan.

If you are ever in the vicinity of Miss Liberty and love history and all that it entails, then this is one place you cannot miss. The tour of the Immigration Museum is an emotional and moving experience.