New York City vacation: part four

Gambrinus

I've never been to Coney Island before and, since I'd shown mom all of the sights that she was interested in and it was a hot day, we figured we might as well spend some of it at the beach. The water was a little cool, but refreshing. The Luna Park amusement park was just opening its gates, so we had a look around but didn't go on any rides.

We continued walking along the boardwalk and stopped at Winter Garden, a beachfront bar with an extensive beer menu for a couple of thirst quenchers: a Bavick Pilsner and and Ommegang Witte. We left the beach and walked through the Russian neighbourhood dubbed Little Odessa, where we stopped at a nautically themed restaurant/bar called Gambrinus that had a welcoming patio and a decent selection of draught beers. I had a satisfying  half-litre of Julius Echter unfiltered wheat beer before we made our way to the subway for the almost hour-long ride back to our hotel.

Since this was our last day in New York, we picked up our bags and took the subway near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Mom decided she wanted more Thai food for her final meal of the trip, and we were pleased with our curries from Talent II Thai Kitchen at 925 9th Ave.

The ride home was uneventful and, while some people may not enjoy spending 10 hours on a bus, I'm happy to recommend it. You leave at night, sleep as well as you can, and arrive at the beginning of the day. And if you order your tickets two weeks in advance, a round trip costs just $90.