Walking through Williamsburg, we happened upon a smattering of great places. A few were stores I cannot for the life of me remember, but here are a couple highlights.
Mast Brothers Chocolate, where I've never been so indecisive with sweets in my life. It's one thing when I can't choose between a York and a Kit Kat at the grocery store; this is a whole 'nother beast. I ended up finally (after walking around the room holding at least five bars) choosing the Papua New Guinea bar, with smoky and bacon-y tasting notes. Well worth the seven Washingtons, especially considering we pulled them out to eat at East River State Park gazing at the city across the river. Check.
Brooklyn Art Library, where I was introduced to the Sketchbook Project. I promptly understood that a friend of mine (mentioned later) did a little freelance for this org, and realized the stellar quality of the project as well as the sheer number of books they have in the library. It's truly amazing.
We subway'd over to Broadway to visit Strand Bookstore. If you know me at all, you know it's incredibly difficult to get me out of a bookstore, and that I see them and must enter. Instead of most tourist-y things, I would rather visit bookstores (used or otherwise) and food and drink establishments. Strand was no disappointment. The place is enormous, and the selection and collections are extremely impressive. First editions, gold foil on everything. Just imagine.
Afterwards, we had a fantastic Yelp-review-worthy (the customer service rep even messaged me back!) lunch at Beecher's Handmade Cheese. Mac & soup, to be exact. The red lentil I could eat every day and never grow weary of. At this lunch, I located a nearby tattoo shop for Sarah, and we spent the extra time waiting for an appointment sitting in Café Grumpy enjoying more caffeine jitters and a chocolate chip chai scone. See resulting tattoo below in Thursday's photos (again: not my arm, my skin is still smarting from my last zip).