As Debbie and I were wandering around Brooklyn one day it occurred to us that we should have a podcast about Brooklyn. There are so many great places to see that taking the time and writing about everyone would be very time consuming. We visit all the parks and visit many of the restaurants and having a podcast can really help tourist and locals learn all about Brooklyn.

Our first podcast is a about some of the best restaurants in Brooklyn. We have two favorite places where we like to eat. One is in Park Slope and the other is at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The restaurant in park Slope is called Magnolias and I really love the place. Besides being a nice place to sit down and just have a great meal the decor of the restaurant is amazing. We visit there whenever we go to Prospect Park. You can visit their website Magnolias and look at the menu and the place. You will fall in love with it just like we have. Connect with Roger the owner on Twitter at @MagnoliaRest

Our second place is Petes Dowtown. This place has amazing views as it is right under the Brooklyn Bridge. Their meals are amazing and their prices are very reasonable. The staff are very friendly. Connect with them on Twitter @Petesdowntown.

Last Sunday we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to take some pictures of the beautiful roses. We took a few thousand pictures but this video we shot really shows how pretty they are.

If you get the chance you have to visit the gardens and take in the sites and smell.

Yesterday we went down to the Brooklyn Botanic garden to look at the roses and stumbled upon a red-tailed hawk. I had to stop taking pictures of the roses and focus on the hawk which was way too high to get a good shot of him.

It is always a nice surprise when you see something that is unexpected. Although I found out later that the hawks are quite common it took me by surprise. Below is a small video I took of the hawk flying around. I am sorry it really isn’t good but it was the best I could do.

A few weeks ago the dog walker I used for years suddenly moved to another part of Brooklyn I had to go out and find another dog walker in my part of Brooklyn. I did the usual things like search engines and that didn’t bring me much luck. I asked around the neighborhood and that didn’t work either. I put a flier up in my local grocery store and got a few responses from people but not anyone I would trust my dog Rusty to.

Another place I tried was craigslist, there was a lot of ads for dog walkers and pet sitters in Brooklyn but only a few were in my part of Brooklyn. I found that finding a dog walker online would not be the best route to go. Some of the ads were very shady looking. Most of the ads were for dog sitting services in Brooklyn. Once again not a service I was looking for.

I was in the Brooklyn Botanic garden at the cherry blossom festival and afterwards I wandered into Prospect park where a bunch of people were walking their dogs. Since I am only in the neighborhood a few months I really don’t know many of the people yet. I got to talking to a few people and they had a few numbers of dog walkers they used but then I stumbled into Marcy who was walking two little dogs for one of her clients. I had no idea she was a dog walker until I asked her if she had a number for a good dog walker in Brooklyn. I felt at ease with her as she was very laid back and very good with the dogs. You could see she was a good dog walker.

Her rates were cheap – 15 minute walk – $10.00 – 30 minute walk -$15.00 – 45 minute walk -$20.00 – 1 hour walk -$25.00. Not too bad at all and if I went out of town she would watch Rusty at her house. She only has a few clients so I know Rusty would get the attention and love he deserves. I didn’t even ask her for references as she was my type of people.

She told me she had worked in a few pet stores and was very knowledgeable on dog care and pet care in general. She told me she would have no problem watching Rusty while I went away on vacation in the Hamptons, that was the deal maker for me. I hired her on the spot. I met her the next day in Prospect park near the boathouse where I talked to her for a while and she got familiar with Rusty. They seemed to hit it off so I was happy with my choice. She also trains dogs and has a discount at the local pet store for grooming so it is a win-win for me.

I am not a rap fan but JayZ really sums up New York in his “Empire State Of Mind” Video. If you are thinking about coming to New York this video shows some of the best places in the city to visit.

Here are some videos that I took during my trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It is an amazing place and you really forget you are in Brooklyn. This was shot in late April and there is really something to see here no matter what time of year you go.

Here is a Robin taking a bath in a waterfall. Yes it is in Brooklyn lol

Turtles all lined up in the Japanese Pond.

Yellow Daffodils

Japanese Pond : Water animals and beauty

Shakespeare Garden : Herbs and flowers mixed

Pretty Flowers : They are all over the place as you can imagine.

Brooklyn Conservatory : There was a wedding going on inside. Probably one of the best places to get married in Brooklyn.

That is enough for today. If you are going to the gardens they are free on Tuesday. You can take the Franklin shuttle train to the Botanic garden stop or take the B or Q and get off at Prospect park. Walk towards the Wendys and enter the gardens there.

Met these nice people last year when they paddled up to my summer home near the Rockaways. They had about 15 kayaks and they went and got pizza for lunch.

Who knew that Brooklyn had such a club.

Just started listing some homemade jewelry and key chains on Etsy. You can see my shop here. Brooklyn Etsy Shop.

Bookmark the page as it will soon be loaded with some cool Brooklyn themed items.

I always get asked about Central Park and even though it is not in Brooklyn it is a must see when you come into the city. I always wander around near Columbus Circle and then head East towards the Central Park zoo before heading up towards the reservoir. Here is a cool video I found that shows some other cool things to see in the park.

If you are going to walk around in Central Park make sure you bring comfortable shoes, a bottle of water, and maybe some binoculars as there are many types of birds.

Great song about Christmas in New York City.