TOUCHDOWN - NYC

We landed in the big apple as our first port of call.  A short taxi ride into Brooklyn and the New York Loft Hostel where we needed to direct the driver had us mildly frustrated. We were fairly knackered after our transatlantic flight and still being on British time, food and the bed was all we wanted.

We wandered around the corner and stumbled on some delis and a little sign by boarded up windows that simply said Robertas. The place looked derelict on the outside but on the inside it was rammed…. and the smell! Something was cooking and we wanted in. The waitress said it was an hour wait but Fiona pouted and expressed disappointment with her best British accent. It was whispered that if we found a seat by the bar we could order food from there.

So we perched on the smallest piece of bar available and got in our orders, elbowing a little space when the pizzas arrived. It was well worth the uncomfortable surroundings to get a taste of these stone baked beauts that the Brooklyn natives seem to covet. Beautiful crispy dough and toppings that made you say ‘I could eat that again.’ But we didn’t. We just went straight to bed for a horrible night’s sleep in a noisy uncomfortable hostel.

Next day we were tired but charged to be in New York City and took a walk over the Williamsburg Bridge, which conveniently landed us on the doorstep of Katz Delicatessen. Famous for their pastrami on rye this place is an institution and our first Man Vs Food eatery. Beef brisket, pastrami, corn beef – it’s a meat lover’s paradise.

The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets and sites of NYC in between some meetings I had, before winding our way back to Williamsburg. We wished we could’ve stayed longer but we’ve done New York many times and there’s a big wide world that we’re yet to see.

Our next stop is Washington DC and home of the American Kirwans. Uncle Paul picked us up from Brooklyn on his way back from Montreal with our cousin Nicholas. Our search for a big bad truck starts next. We’ll need luck on our side as we negotiate the shady world of second hand car sales.