Dumbo, with a Scoop of Coffee Ice Cream. Oh, and NO Puppies.

‘Twas a beautiful Saturday morning and I randomly woke up at 5am. I had a general plan of going to check out Brooklyn Flea, so I grabbed my phone and looked up the address to see what else was around that area, though my eyes were barely even open. I found the address on their site, and I typed in the search bar in maps “80 Pearl Street”. Easy to get to considering the subway weekend schedule, and nearby I saw Starbucks, lots of good food places… and a puppy store!! In there like swimwear.

A few hours later I was out the door and on the train. My stop came, I got out, and walked to Starbucks. Starbucks is jamming to Mariah Carey- Honey, and literally everyone was two- stepping, singing and snapping their fingers while waiting for their drinks, and I thought “Awww this is going to be a great day :)” I got my tea, and Brooklyn Flea, HERE I COME!!

I followed my gps to 80 Pearl Street which turns out to be… a regular corporate building? I walked a block this way and back, a block that way and back, circled the area again. No tents. No cute vintage things at cheap prices. No fleas. So confused!!

Until I realized… wowwwwww I’m at 80 Pearl Street in Manhattan.. not in Brooklyn. This is what happens when you look up addresses at 5am when you’re barely even awake. City so nice they named it twice, apparently they do that to the streets too smh.

Silver Lining Thought: The puppy store!!! Where’s the puppy store? I might as well go see those cuties while I’m here, then I can go to the REAL 80 Pearl Street. I wasn’t going to let this mixup ruin my day, so let’s just say I purposefully and optimistically took the scenic route in 90 degree heat. I typed in the address for Teacup Puppy USA, 95 Wall Street, and I started walking. Let’s do this!!

…DejaVu.

I approached a large, fancy residential building and a Duane Reade. No sign of puppies. I circled the block. I checked the address 4-5 times. Refusing to believe there’s no puppy store, I went into the fancy lobby and asked the concierge behind the desk after he offered to help me. I said “Hi, I’m just looking for the puppies. Where’s the puppy store?”

His response: “Oh nah there ain’t no puppy store here, I know google says it’s here but there ain’t no store, it was actually a lady who used to sell them from her apartment but she ain’t here no mo.”

Me: “Do you know how disappointing that is?” as I pouted.

*Disclaimer- I was NOT going to go into some strangers apt to look at puppies, I was just generally disappointed that there was no store, so now I’ve struck out TWICE.

Him: “Yeah I know, I get it, those are the puppies that look like them little teddy bears right? Everybody always comes here looking for that puppy store tho. Sorry.”

I thanked him for his help, and left. I headed back to the train station in search for Brooklyn Flea, which was another 15 min walk. On my way back I passed Queen Elizabeth II Park.

Long Live the Queen.

I passed by a subway entrance, and I thought, FINALLYYYYY. My tea was long finished and I was sweating bullets. Out came my hand-held fan. I went down the steps and through a tunnel. Checked the schedule for when the next train would arrive: 5 minutes away. I get to the turnstile and…. There’s a gate on the other side of it. The door was also chained shut.

No point of entry, no signs posted outside to advise of this, nothing. I felt as though I was losing my mind. Maybe the heat was making mirages. I walked another 10 minutes to the next entrance, and finally I was in the right spot. I got on and got off in 1 stop- Clark Street.

As me and tons of other people proceeded to the exit, we went up two flights of stairs to be greeted by- not the street level- but 3 large industrial sized elevators, and we all stood there confused. I’m not afraid of elevators or claustrophobic, but one thing that creeps me out are the MTA elevators. You don’t know who’s been in them, for what, if they even work at all, if the phone works, etc. Everyone looked like the competitors in Squid Game going to the first challenge. I got on the elevator with a group of other people. A few seconds later the doors opened at street level, and the man next to me let out a huge verbal sigh of relief and said “Thank you JEEEZUS!” I smiled- also relieved- and walked another 20 minutes and under 2 bridges to my destination. From two blocks away I see the tents, so I knew I was finally at the right place. I snapped photos of my findings along the way and at the market.

"Always Be Mindful of Your Ability to Fly"

I ended up not buying anything after all, some things were actually pretty expensive for a flea market.. but the stuff was really cool and inspirational. I would definitely check it out again, and at least now I know not to make the same mistake lol. My only recommendation would be the earlier you go the better, so you can go from table to table with less of a crowd in the heat. From the market, I checked what else was nearby- for real this time- and found Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory wasn’t too far of a walk. On the way there with luck on my side, I ran into Cinnabon, which I definitely racked up on. There was a long line for the ice cream, but it was delicious and made from all natural ingredients.

I copped a squat right by the Brooklyn Bridge and River Cafe across the street with my coffee cone and just took in the sights. As I offered to snap photos of tourists admiring the skyline and bridges, it was a really humbling reminder after a super stressful week at work, that I live in one of the best cities in the world, and I have endless gratitude for that. Sitting by the Brooklyn Bridge enjoying an ice cream, what could be better? You really don’t need much to be peachy ;)