After work, I scuttled a few blocks north to a tiny unassuming corner of Greenwich Village: Patchin Place. Like all the other quaint streets in this part of the city, there are gorgeous red bricks, snug coffee shops and rubbish-free sidewalks. But it also has something no other street here has: A gaslight lamp. The …
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September 23, 2013
…watched the sun set from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade
It’s getting darker earlier, and soon enough it’ll be pitch black when I leave work. Today I checked sunset time – 6.51pm – and realized I’d better make the most of dusk while it still exists. And what better way than with the city skyline? After work I jumped on the F train to Jay Street …
Read MoreSeptember 19, 2013
…got the dirt on the Earth Room
New York is full of bizarre things – sheep sculptures at gas stations, zombie parades and loos with transparent walls – but none as bizarre as what I encountered today: A room filled with nothing but 280,000 pounds of dirt. At lunchtime, Hayley and I headed a few blocks north to the Earth Room at …
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2013
…visited the waterfall at Greenacre Park
I wore tights for the first time this week and switched to hot coffees. Autumn appears to be winning. This means I need to cram in as many outdoor new experiences, activities and visits as I can – sharpish. So tonight I took advantage of New York’s great outdoors – by visiting a city center waterfall. After work I …
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2013
…saw sheep grazing in Chelsea
I grew up surrounded by fields of sheep and cattle, but since moving to New York, the only animals I’ve seen are small dogs and bigger rats. Thankfully a new art space in Chelsea has brought the farmyard experience right to the heart of the city so that New Yorkers don’t miss out. ‘Sheep Station’ …
Read MoreSeptember 17, 2013
…traveled to a ghost subway stop
The subway platform for the 6 train at City Hall used to be one of the most opulent in the transit system’s underground maze. The station, which opened in 1904, was dripping with chandeliers and decked with colored tiles – and some of Manhattan’s richest residents would venture to its vaults after dinner just for …
Read MoreSeptember 13, 2013
…feasted at San Gennaro
Last year when I lived in Little Italy, there was nothing I dreaded more than the Feast of San Gennaro. Every year for 10 days, the festival fills the six blocks stretching from Prince Street to Canal Street – and my recollection of it is noise, tackiness and stinky, greasy food. Of course, living there, …
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2013
…visited the 9/11 Tiles for America
It’s been 12 years since Mr Caldicot sat down our Year 10 drama class and told us America had been attacked. I remember Rebecca getting upset – her father was traveling in the States that day – but the rest of us sat in a numb, confused silence. The sheer scale and enormous heartbreak surrounding …
Read MoreSeptember 10, 2013
…heard experimental music
Tonight I headed to Tribeca to an old building barely visible behind scaffolding. I found its hidden door and took its winding, marble stairs to the 13th floor where, through ancient wooden doors, sat a little-known radio station. The Clocktower Gallery station transmits experimental music and sound installations across the internet’s airwaves at ARTonAIR.org and …
Read MoreSeptember 10, 2013
…square danced in Bryant Park
After work today, I was tired and just wanted to go home. But Ryan and I had made plans to go square dancing for my new thing, so I dragged myself to Bryant Park and screamed, ‘I hate todaysthedayi!‘ when I met him. Thankfully, it turns out that square dancing is the best remedy for …
Read MoreSeptember 6, 2013
…picnicked on the High Line
It’s getting cooler here in New York so I know summer’s on it’s way out. This means I probably only have a few weeks left to appreciate summer activities. So tonight I decided to have an early evening picnic on the lovely High Line – the former railway tracks that have been converted to a …
Read MoreSeptember 5, 2013
…went inside the Chrysler Building
It took me about a year to tell the Chrysler and the Empire State buildings apart. No joke. Now I’ve realized that – apart from the fact they actually look totally different – the Empire State can be set aside from the Chrysler in one very central way: it opens its doors to the public. …
Read MoreSeptember 3, 2013
…chilled out at the Elevated Acre
I’ve always loved how New Yorkers appreciate their parks – but it does mean they’re crammed full. Tonight, I visited a park that’s a little more secret and a lot less crowded: The Elevated Acre. After work, I wandered downtown to 55 Water Street, an office block right at the tip of Manhattan in the Financial District. There, you …
Read MoreSeptember 2, 2013
…scavenged at Dead Horse Beach
Last month when I helped make sand dunes for storm protection in the Rockaways, Rhett told us about a beach that’s a scavenger’s haven and not too far from there. It’s also not too far from JFK, so after I landed today, Ryan and I decided to go there to see what we could find. The …
Read MoreSeptember 1, 2013
…played stoolball
These days, my friends from Sussex live all over the place. One of my best school friends, Will, has to be the farthest away in Hong Kong. But ridiculous luck would have it that we were both here this weekend and both had a couple of free hours this afternoon. So I joined him and his …
Read MoreSeptember 1, 2013
…danced at a music festival in Sussex
Summer is music festival season but I’ve not had one lined up for years. So when I heard there was one happening in my home county of West Sussex, I thought it was worth a weekend trip across the Atlantic. Especially because this one was very close to home: It was in my parents’ back …
Read MoreAugust 29, 2013
…visited the Hare Krishna tree
Today I head to the UK for another weekend dash, so I somehow had to squeeze in a new experience between work and airports. Last night, I waited for the clock to chime 12 and headed a few blocks to Tompkins Square Park. There, beneath the low-lit lamps and beside a dance troupe of surprisingly …
Read MoreAugust 28, 2013
…met the original Winnie the Pooh
I grew up just a stone’s throw away from Hartfield in West Sussex, where the stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friends were created. If you remember, earlier this year when I was back in England, I even played the characters’ favourite game, Pooh Sticks, at the bridge that inspired it. And even though I’m now …
Read MoreAugust 27, 2013
…made origami
For the past couple of months, the CourseHorse ‘Summer Sparks’ series has held free classes at Hudson River Park every Tuesday, but for some awful reason I’ve not known about them until now. Today I finally clocked on and headed to Pier 63 for their latest offering – an origami class. I had envisioned making …
Read MoreAugust 27, 2013
…played musical chairs in Bryant Park
I’ve played tag on Wall Street and taken part in a massive pillow fight at Washington Square Park, and today I headed to Bryant Park for another of New York’s bizarre free activities: Musical chairs on a very, very large scale. A team of meticulous organizers had placed 20 circles of chairs with around 25 …
Read MoreAugust 25, 2013
…met a marionette
If you don’t know the blog ‘Humans of New York’, which captures beautiful images of the city’s colourful characters, you need to check it out here. A few days ago on the site, I spied this teeny tiny character: Today I was wandering downtown and took a walk through Washington Square Park, and who did I spot, but …
Read MoreAugust 24, 2013
…wandered through Green-Wood Cemetery
The weather has been gorgeous today and, as I was in South Slope in Brooklyn, I decided to make the most of it by walking through Green-Wood Cemetery – a National Historic Landmark and the final resting place of many famous New Yorkers. The cemetery was built in 1838 and there is something so beautiful …
Read MoreAugust 22, 2013
…read the time from the sidewalk
I spent my first year in New York looking down at the pavement – either trying to figure out where I was going or avoiding making eye contact with the letches. Now I spend half my time looking up, marvelling at New York’s beautiful buildings. But down in the financial district, they don’t have this …
Read MoreAugust 21, 2013
…explored a Masonic Lodge
I’ve had a pretty horrible sick day, so I wanted to do something close to home. Bizarrely, just a few blocks north of my apartment is the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons, which is open to the public for tours. It seemed like a perfect, quiet activity to try. The tour is ongoing throughout the …
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