So long, sweet summer.

Yesterday marked my final day of summer. I felt like I owed it to myself and the city to spend the day out and about in Manhattan with my favorite person. Brian happily obliged and even asked if he could treat me to dinner to celebrate another summer's end and new school year's beginning.

After Brian mentioned the Seaport as a possible destination for the day, I knew we had to return to one of our favorite summer discoveries, Barbarini Ristorante. We fell in love with this Italian restaurant and market a few weeks ago when we stumbled upon it on a date day. We decided to have a late lunch instead of dinner, and were happy to settle into a comfortable corner table in the back of the restaurant. Sunlight poured across the exposed brick, old wine bottles lines the walls, and specials were written on chalkboards. It was heaven. I slowly sipped mango iced tea as we enjoyed string bean soup, veal scallopini, and homemade gnocchi with veal ragu. I cannot resist gnocchi, one of my favorite comfort foods since my days in Florence, and was delighted by how perfectly prepared mine was at Barbarini.

After lunch, we walked through the seaport and admired the views of the Brooklyn Bridge. Ships violently rocked against the docks and cautiously made their way down the East River. It was so incredibly windy! So windy, in fact, that I had to pop into the shops at Pier 17 and buy a maxi skirt to replace my mini-skirt. I was much more comfortable with the extra fabric as we continued to be blown around downtown.

We split a lemon cupcake from Cupcake Stop (oh how I love this truck!)...

... and sipped cappuccino and espresso at a cafe nearby.

We slowly made our way up Broadway to City Hall Park, admiring the new World Trade tower and the old architecture characteristic of old Manhattan.

The charm of City Hall Park won me over the second we sat down on our wooden bench. I loved the flickering old lamps and beautiful fountains. It was the perfect place to end our day in the city. 

Although I am officially back at work for the school year, the kids don't come back until after Labor Day. So, I have a few more summer posts that I have saved up from August that I will share with you before them.