brooklyn

This morning after picking up my tickets for next week's commencement ceremonies, I took the subway down to South Street Seaport to meet Lauren for our planned trek across the Brooklyn Bridge.

As we searched for the entrance to the bridge, we were approached by a man who said, "Excuse me, ladies. Could you walk on the other side of the street? We shooting a film here." Sure enough, they were. And, sure enough, it was Matt Damon with fake blood in a fake car crash for The Bourne Ultimatum, to be released August 3, 2007. (That's him in all black, next to the director's chair.) We found the entrance to the pedestrian walk, above the cars, over the Brooklyn Bridge and we joined what must have been hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists in crossing over, stopping along the way for multiple pictures. It was actually a gorgeous day for this sort of touristy outing; the sun was shining and there was just a slight breeze.Once in Brooklyn, we headed to the famed Grimaldi's for a New York style pizza lunch. Patsy Grimaldi, the founder of Grimaldi's, learned to make pizza at his uncle Patsy Lancieri's pizzeria in 1941 at age ten. Grimaldi believed coal-fired brick ovens produced the best pizza, and it was illegal to build new coal ovens in Manhattan, so the pizzeria ended up opening in the 1990's on Old Fulton Street under the Brooklyn Bridge. Grimaldi’s is small and very popular with tourists and locals alike; before being seated we waited for about half an hour in a line that stretched down the street. Unlike most pizzerias in New York, Grimaldi’s sells only whole pies (a sign that reads “No Slices” and "Take Out, Same Line" is displayed in the front window), so we ordered a small with pepperoni on one half and garlic on the other. Rated as the best in the city by Zagats six consecutive years running, Grimaldi’s is known for going light on the sauce and heavy on the fresh ingredients –- including mozzarella slices made on the premises. Our crust was perfectly crunchy and chewy, with a hint of smokiness from the oven. The fresh tomato sauce was tangy, the mozzarella was slightly salty, the pepperoni was spicy, and the garlic was sweet and crunchy. We left with full bellies and smiles!

(See Lauren in the line? We still weren't at the front...)

We took a short walk down to the river to look over the water toward Manhattan, take more pictures, and relish the pizza goodness. We had planned to try the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory - another famous New York eatery - for dessert, but we were just too full and instead we headed for the subway and home. It was another great New York Day!

(Looking back at Manhattan.)