Brooklyn Art Seen, Mormon Mayhem and Wicked Fun

Alison, our latest SLO transplant to NYC, started her new life in Brooklyn, briefly.  She was here long enough to scope out some great eats, so we immediately followed her recommendation to try Ovenly Bakery for breakfast.  On the early morning walk over we discovered the artsy side of Brooklynites, who are sprucing up the place in their own way.  This portrait, in dripped paint on the sidewalk outside of La Gamin Cafe, caught my eye.  Dapper hipster guy.


The waterfront here in Greenpoint (our Brooklyn neighborhood) is light industrial, so a smattering of murals punctuate the concrete block walls between graffiti offerings.  This mural pays homage to Brooklyn's working stiff heritage and perhaps a nod to the Polish who are very present here.

We assume this is Brooklyn's motto.  The scruffy environment here (Hello!  New York City Administration - why is there so much litter in Brooklyn and so little in Manhattan?) combined with the mix of Polish bakeries and hipster shops, guys eating pizza on sidewalk stools, and some tough-guy talk shouted down the street, give you that feeling you have come somewhere authentic.  Where maybe people can actually afford the rent.

This sad little picture was snapped by Ben who must have wanted to give you a Breaking Bad vibe about Brooklyn.  Since I have made a TV show reference, check this out:

We are walking with our Ovenly goods to the park to gaze across at the Mahattan skyline, and peek in the open roll up doors of this big warehouse.  It is floor to ceiling with vintage goods of every type, from signs, to furniture, to gas pumps.  What the heck?  We asked a guy outside and it turns out this is the staging collection for the HBO show Boardwalk Empire.  This warehouse is the largest on the east coast for a TV show or movie.  He assured us that LA is full of these places.

Whatever you need to stage a Prohibition Era dramatic series, they have here in Brooklyn!

We are settled into our immaculate little rental for our 6 day stay.  Our landlady is German-Polish and she certainly has that German knack for clean design and everything in its place.  The little apartment is quiet (actually heard birds singing this morning) and on a nice, tree-lined street.

The kitchen has everything we need and really cool cabinets in the Ikea mode.

What is "hipster" you say?  Think this store displays sums up the ironic fashion craze quite well.  Williamsburg, another Brooklyn neighborhood, is hipster central.  Book of Mormon was preying on my mind...so we crossed back to Manhattan in time to enter the ticket lottery along with 100+ of our fellow worshipers.

Entering the lottery was easy.  Competition was fierce, but  there was "Lottery Dude" (you can follow him on Facebook AND Twitter) to keep us entertained and hopeful.  I was eyeing the Stand Room Only line, but Ben was still dragging his feet.  By the time he was won over, the SRO line had grown to beyond capacity.  I vowed that if we lost the lottery there is always tomorrow or Friday for SRO.

Suspenseful ending:  We lost, but someone else from California won, as well as a bunch of New Yorkers and someone from Down Under.  To quote another famous musical, "Tomorrow, Tomorrow..."

Meanwhile, Garrett and Libby were traversing Manhattan, stopping in at the 9/11 Memorial, Little Italy, and finally to see Wicked (Garrett's birthday present).  Since they had time to spare, they went to a bar across the street where they met the California Grand-Uncle of the show's male lead.  Talk about rubbing elbows!  They loved the show - "Jaw-dropping!" Libby says.

Afterwards, they got window seats at a pub for dinner, conveniently overlooking the stage door.  Libby kept an eye out, and rushed out to get autographs when the stars emerged.  Score!  She got them from the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch, and Oz, too.  Garrett watched from his perch.

Ben and I visited the AFS Office to say Hi to all the folks we talk with by phone and rarely meet.  They are down at the tip of Manhattan and told us about being hit by Hurricane Sandy's surge and what a nightmare that was (flooding and no electricity for 2 weeks).  The support office is ten young women at make-shift desks, working support cases by phone.  To those of you who don't know about AFS exchange students, these are the hard-working and underpaid staffers who keep us volunteers going and help solve our inevitable student crises.

3 subway trains back to Brooklyn and another day of adventure put to rest.