New York, New York Day 6 - Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO, Liberty Cruise and Madame Tussauds

Day two of our New York Pass session saw us take Inside Out Tour's Brooklyn Bridge and DUMBO walking tour.  We started our tour at the Tweed Courthouse to learn a little about the history of the suburb of Brooklyn and how the Brooklyn Bridge became a reality.  Our tour had a bit of a wonky start because our guide, Marcos, got into trouble from a supporter of a news conference being held at the same time at the Tweed Courthouse by Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer, objecting to a proposed marine transfer station for garbage. A red haired lady with an equally red face chided Marcos for interrupting the news conference by talking to us.  Marcos very graciously turned off his mike and did his best to oblige them and their "stonewashed jeans" elephant mascot.

After a brief rundown on the area and the Roebling family, the designers and engineers behind the Brooklyn Bridge, we set off to cross the Bridge itself.  Marcos continued with the history lesson along the way, pointing out the sights from the Bridge:

and explained the acronym for the three bridges between Manhattan and Brooklyn (BMW - Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg).  Here I am, enjoying the "balmy" weather on the Brooklyn Bridge:

On the way over the Bridge, close to the Brooklyn side, I spotted this very impressive building, formerly occupied by the Eagle Warehouse and Storage Company, but now made into apartments:

Here is a view of the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge:

Marcos then took us around DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge), telling us a little more history of the area, and showing us some of the sites of interest, including the gym where the Million Dollar Baby movie story came from.  We also had a very welcome stop at Jacques Torres, where we each received a free cookie sample (I tried the double chocolate).

At the end of the tour, Marcos gave us some tips on where to eat and how to get back to Manhattan, and took our photographs against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline: 

See the Statue of Liberty as a little dot out to the left?

Tim and I decided to go to Shake Shack for lunch.  I kinda liked that the name reminded me of the end of Grease. 

The menu at Shake Shack features burgers, sides, shakes and custards:

Your order, get a buzzer, and when your buzzer goes off, you collect your food:

Tim and I both ordered a single SmokeShack Burger - a cheeseburger topped with applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper and shack sauce ($6.69) with crinkle cut fries ($2.95):

It all tasted pretty good - no complaints here.

Then, being unfamiliar with Brooklyn and sans map, we decided to go back to Manhattan on a water taxi, also included in our New York Pass:

Sights included Lady Liberty:

the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum:

the Empire State Building:

Lackawanna:

the new World Trade Centre:

the Jersey City Colgate Clock:

and the building where I believe the first mobile antennae is located:

Being fond of the water and finding that Circle Line Cruises were included in our New York Pass, we took a Liberty Cruise (it being the next one available), where we had more stunning views of the Manhattan skyline:
 

and once again got up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty (the cruise doesn't stop there and Tim and I had both been to Liberty Island before):

On the way, we passed the Staten Island ferry:

and a pier where they informed us that Law and Order was filmed:

 

Definitely not wanting to waste our New York passes, when we left the cruise, we hot-footed it to Madame Tussauds, where I got up close with Don Draper (whose hair looks like he had a rough night):

 

and Bon Jovi (with an inexplicable backdrop of OJ): 

After finishing with the selfie city that is Madame Tussauds, we headed off for dinner at Bombay Masala Indian Restaurant, supposedly the oldest Indian restaurant in New York:

Certainly, they have not redecorated in a long time.  The service was indifferent, at best.

In the end, the food was OK.  There was a dinner special for around ~$12.95 with soup and a main.  I ordered the fresh vegetable soup:

and what I believe to be the mixed vegetable curry:

We also got rice on the side:

The food was OK, but after our Shake Shack adventure, I wasn't that hungry.  I think Tim finished off some of mine.  However, I won't be running back to Bombay Masala - I think there are better, reasonably priced places in the same area.

And so ended Day 6 of our New York adventure.

Shake Shack

1 Old Fulton Street

Broklyn, NY 11201

United States

Ph: +1 347 435 2676

 

Bombay Masala Indian Restaurant

148 W 49th St

New York, NY

United States
Ph: +1 212 302 8150