When you get very few days off you learn to treasure them. Usually that means spending the day lounging around and eating enormous amounts of food. In this instance it meant going to the Jersey Shore, like a true Jersey Girl, and lounging at the beach. We also ate enormous amounts of beach friendly food all day long. We woke up early (moderately) and drove down the Garden State Parkway to the stretch of beach that Jerseyans like to call The Shore.
The day started with one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Pasteis de Nata from Texeiras in Newark New Jersey! Oh and also a large cup of coffee.
There is something about being at the beach that makes you want to jump for joy.
In the beginning of the summer, the ocean is still cold, well freezing actually, but it will take a lot more than ice chilled water to prevent me from dipping my feet in and then running right back out.
We sat on a bench facing the ocean and ate deli sandwiches while listening to the drum playing busker that makes his tips on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
At the end of the day we stopped in Newark again to eat at Mi Pequeno Mexico, a Mexican restaurant on Ferry Street. The picture does not do the food justice. The little tacos that I order every time I set foot into the restaurant have tons of flavor and really remind me of eating in D.F. the last time I was there.
The following day, while not technically my day off, I spent the morning sitting under a tree in Central Park making imaginary commentary for the passerbys with one of my closest friends. Some people sunbathed in bikinis which I always think is a strange contrast against the high-rises, museums, and luxury apartment buildings that line the park.
My restaurant is just around the corner from the park which is usually such a tease before I clock in for work. This day I enjoyed a little bit of a lazy Sunday with the rest of New York City.
