Sure our (mostly) free romps around the world are envious, but we pay for our journeys in another currency – time. More often than not the non-rev gods are in our favor; we may have to wait an hour or four, but we can usually get to our destination on the day we planned. Usually. Like I’ve said before, we have to balance the right amount of planning with a whole lot of flexibility to make our travels work. But one thing is certain, we never let an unexpected 24 hour layover go to waste.
Although we knew better, Rufio and I took a chance at flying out from JFK on a busy Friday night, rather than Saturday as planned. It looked like our gamble was going to pay out, until another couple confirmed seats on the flight 45 minutes prior to take-off. There was one seat available to Reykjavík, but separating wasn’t a logistically sound option in this case. With that we called in a favor from my friend in Brooklyn, and at 1 a.m. arrived on her doorstep.
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Planned Itinerary:
ATL-JFK-KEF * Depart: June 5 * Arrive: June 6
Actual Itineraries:
ATL-JFK * Flight DL 760 * Depart: June 5
JFK-KEF* Flight DL 2590 * Arrive: June 7
Total Standby Time: 24 Hours
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Just a month after Rufio’s first ever trip to NYC, we were back with an entire day at our disposal, but no clue how to spend a day in Brooklyn. Since my friend, Sara, lived so close to Coney Island (and so far from Manhattan), she decided the best way to spend this sunny day was on the boardwalk. Our first stop was A Place to Beach where we noshed on fresh shrimp and crab salads and an infamous Nathan’s hotdog for Rufio. When a Jersey shore-esque DJ spinning EDM replaced the soothing sounds of the oldies on the patio, we took our cue and left to explore rest of the boardwalk.
We spent a few hours darting in and out of shops, watching an impromptu salsa dance-off and otherwise enjoying the sunshine. Before we left I implored the group, now joined by boyfriend Justin, to search out the Zoltar in the carnival midway. Watching “Big” on the plane probably had nothing to do with that.
Just look how happy I am.
We ended our layover with a quick dinner at L&B Spumoni Garden. L&B is a historically renowned pizza and spumoni restaurant on 86th Street in Brooklyn. Once a popular mafia and Rat Pack haunt, L&B serves up an array of classic Italian dishes. For a square of their infamous Sicilian pie, customers wait in line until someone squabbles “How many?” through the window from their efficient production line. The slices are a simple, yet perfectly executed, doughy crust topped first with fresh mozzarella, then a thin layer of sauce. We followed our pizza with spumoni, a light and creamy dessert somewhere on the spectrum between sherbet and ice cream. As simply as their pizza toppings, L&B only offers chocolate, vanilla, pistachio or a “rainbow” of all three flavors. After our delightful meal and history lesson, we grabbed our things and headed back to JFK to try our luck again, with better success the second time around.
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