Hanami in New York!

by Marcia B. - April 21, 2017

Hanami (花見, "flower viewing") is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers; flowers ("hana") are in this case almost always referring to those of the cherry ("sakura") or, less frequently, plum ("ume") trees.

There are so many places to see in the State of New York, so every time I visit I try to make it a point to discover a new neighborhood in the different boroughs. This time around, I decided to go to the Brighton Beach area in Brooklyn to experience this Russian neighborhood, also known as little Odessa.

So, we had brunch at Volna which offers a nice view, it is right on the boardwalk facing the beach, we were well received by the staff who recommended traditional Russian dishes for my first Russian meal and also a strong shot of Beluga Vodka, which I could not finish!

We spent the day on the boardwalk, checking out Brighton beach and the very busy Coney Island, it's a very scenic walk. A fusion of cultures, families, a movie being filmed, foodie lineups draped by a sunny beach view. If you are opting for a quieter experience at the beach, my recommendation is to stay on the Brighton beach side, it's more relaxing.

It was much warmer than Montreal, of course. But, not hot enough for me to wear my bikini, so I wore a lingerie bodysuit from Winners with some light blue denim pants and a choker from my new spring collection available on etsy. Also, my lipstick color is "Love Me 13" from Essence Cosmetics.

I purchased some Russian dolls at the souvenir shop in Little Odessa, I've always wanted these.

By the way, yes my braids are midnight blue! I was feeling inspired by Spring so I thought to step out the box. It's cherry blossom season, so I was lucky to catch these trees at their peak in Central Park. I also spotted some at Washington Square Park near Greenwich Village. There is also a Cherry Blossom festival starting April 29th 2017 in New York, I wish I could be there.

On Easter Monday we spent the day shopping through Chinatown, going to Uniqlo in Soho and than retreating at Jack's Wife Freda for a late lunch. Little tip, go to the Carmine location instead of Lafayette, you will get seated much faster at the first address.

For all this walking, I packed my comfy Jadde booties from Musse & Cloud USA , which fitted perfectly with the emerging spring weather in stylish NYC.

Next stop, Doob! We knew we had to check it out while in NYC, they basically take a 3D photo of you and than replicate into an actual statue, it's impressive. We had a little info session with one of the representatives, so we will definitely be "doobing" upon our next visit.

Later on, we had a scheduled tour with Free Tours by Foot, we chose the Greenwich Village Dessert Tour. It was worth it, our guide Katherine was very informative and gave us a historical tour as a bonus, we went by the apartment where they shot the TV sitcom "Friends". My fave stops were the Donut Project and the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.