One thing I love about New York is how easy it is to get around – on foot or public transport. The subways are frequent, in straight lines and much, much more reliable than in London.

Jaunting all over the city for various events means I’ve pretty much been on every subway line. But until tonight I’d not been on the M, which starts and finishes in Queens and curls into Manhattan in the middle.

I decided to jump on the M… just to see where it would take me. Thankfully it spent most of its time above ground which meant that I got a great view over Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and eventually Queens before I hit the end of the line and turned back.

Of course, the people in the carriage were the same as in any subway – a coy curly-haired tot, a woman with eyebrows painted so high they nearly touched her hairline, a grandmother gnawing on a bag of bread, two grubby-looking hipster girls having an inane conversation: ‘Did you know she’s moved to el-aaaaayyy.’

What was different was the amount of sky and space I saw when I left Manhattan. Everything was just so much more open and the pace dropped a few notches. The general upkeep also slid and the place was full of graffiti (which you know I like) and scrappy buildings, but it also seemed a bit of respite from the center of the city.

Queens always sounded so far away, but it only took half an hour before turning back. Just another reminder how easy it is to get to the different boroughs. Only the S, Z and H to go now!