After reading the amazing reviews for Dom's Made in Brooklyn tours, I knew it was something I had to check out and am I glad I did, finally opting for the DUMBO tour which takes you around the Brooklyn waterfront. This was a tour like no other I have done. Starting off we were 5 people in the whole group, including Dom, so there was a real personal feel - No standing at the back of a crowd of 50 people struggling to make out what the guide is saying. Another thing separating if from your generic tour is that you do not simply walk from one postcard landmark to another (you can do that in your own time), but rather Dom takes you to seemingly ordinary buildings, which, on any other day of the week I would simply walk past, or assume to be derelict. However, Dom explains the complete history of the area, from the first settlers to the current day, and suddenly you start to look at these buildings in a completely different way, considering the impact they had on the area, and this to me was fascinating. The talks were complimented with maps and pictures of notable figures and of the buildings at their prime. Given the size of the group, we could ask questions at any time and as a result the tour was more of a conversation as opposed to a 3 hour lecture.
The second half of the tour is focused on the local, indipendant businesses within Brooklyn running today and here it is clear that Dom has made a great effort to become acquainted with the community. We were welcomed into several outlets including a candy shop, chocolatier (with samples!) and the workshop of a ceramicist amongst others.
To get to Brooklyn before the tour I took the East River Ferry from Pier 11 in Manhattan, and ended the day by enjoying the views walking back along the Brooklyn Bridge and I would highly recommend for others to do the same. If I find myself in NYC again, I will definitely be signing up for some of the other Made in Brooklyn tours on offer.
A huge thanks again to Dom for a memorable experience, and also for providing me with a new Tripadvisor profile pic ;)