As Rachel and I walked home tonight, we made a stop at Gem Spa, a scruffy bodega in the East Village and just one of the many eateries in the city claiming to sell ‘New York’s best egg cream’. Even though we have zero experience to draw from, we decided to see what they had. Now, I’m still not …
Read MoreCategory / The Tourist
May 5, 2013
…rode the Cyclone at Coney Island
New York boasts hundreds of national landmarks – but I never expected to find one among gaudy rides and neon prizes at an amusement park. Today Noah and I jumped on a train to Coney Island, where we headed to the Cyclone, a huge, rickety rollercoaster that was erected in 1927 – and which has landmark …
Read MoreApril 30, 2013
…jogged around Central Park
While I might not have the Rocky Mountains in my backyard, I do have Central Park. Each time I visit, I’m always in awe of – and a little bit jealous of – the runners bouncing along the paths. So tonight I decided to be one – and to appreciate the (sometimes minimal) nature we have …
Read MoreApril 29, 2013
…went to the hotel where Stephen King wrote The Shining
Last night, as we recuperated from our day of exertion, we popped on The Shining. I don’t know if any of us actually made it through the entire movie (blame the two-hour time difference) but we were inspired enough to visit the hotel where Stephen King wrote the novel. The Stanley Hotel was near our …
Read MoreApril 27, 2013
…toured a winery (and got very merry)
Because the 12 bottles of wine we bought for the cabin yesterday just weren’t enough, we spent the afternoon sampling the local alcohol. I’ve never had Colorado wine before. And now I can understand why. First up, we went to Valley of the Wind Winery in Estes Park, where we selected five wines each for …
Read MoreApril 26, 2013
…travelled to my 33rd state
I’ve done a fair bit of traveling throughout the U.S., but I’ve largely stuck to the coasts and avoided the middle. Today I went to one state so far out that such little attention was paid during its inception and it was sketched as a square: Colorado. It brings my number of states visited to …
Read MoreApril 19, 2013
…visited Roosevelt Island
Today I spent a couple of hours on Roosevelt Island – a two-mile-long strip of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens – and I don’t get it. Embarrassingly, I didn’t even know it existed until about two months ago, when I met a guy at a party who worked as a teacher on …
Read MoreApril 17, 2013
…ate an ice cream on the High Line
New York weather doesn’t know what it’s doing. While it’s not quite warm enough for bare legs, it’s definitely about time for the first ice cream of the season. Tonight after work, Helen and I walked to the West Village and picked up some sickly sweet cups of ice cream – strawberry for me, chocolate for her …
Read MoreApril 16, 2013
…had a Lower East Side history lesson
I love the Lower East Side. It’s shabby chic, so you’d think it hadn’t really been updated – apart from what’s in the shops – since its inception. But tonight I headed to the Tenement Museum on Orchard and Delancy to see author David Bellel talk about his new book, Then & Now: Lower East Side, and …
Read MoreApril 10, 2013
…saw buildings roll down Park Avenue (kind of)
Everyone knows the Manhattan skyline – even if, like me, they sometimes muddle the Chrysler and Empire State Building (true story). As a landscape that’s so recognizable, it’s ample ground for artists to meddle with. And tonight I went to Park Avenue between 48th and 68th to see Alexandre Arrechea’s take. Arrechea melds the buildings – such as the …
Read MoreApril 5, 2013
…bought Girl Scout cookies from a Chinatown troop
What better to line my stomach for a Friday night out than a batch (or two) of Girl Scout cookies. That’s a good way to teach these girls about responsibility. After work I headed to Chinatown, where Troop 3197 were selling cookies at the True Light Lutheran Church. They were such a brilliant bunch of girls …
Read MoreMarch 31, 2013
…made Cadbury’s creme eggs
I don’t want to over-egg the Easter puns, but today was an eggstravaganza. One festive activity was making treats that nearly resembled Cadbury’s creme eggs with my friend Meghan (‘Megghan’). As devotees of Buzzfeed, we’d come across this cracker of a recipe a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a go. It involved …
Read MoreMarch 29, 2013
…skipped over the Manhattan Bridge
Spring has finally shown its face and tonight I wanted to make the most of it. I’ve already been to the Brooklyn Bridge, so I decided to shake it up by heading over the Manhattan Bridge instead. And whereas I ran the previous time, tonight I opted for a different mode – a skipping rope. …
Read MoreMarch 28, 2013
…turned the cube at Astor Place (just)
Whenever Dylan and I passed the massive cube sculpture at Astor Place, he would tell me you could spin it – and I’d make sceptical noises. Well, it turns out that he was actually right about something the whole time. The cube is a huge steel sculpture by Tony Rosenthal that was put up in …
Read MoreMarch 27, 2013
…sat for a portrait in Central Park
I’ve been visiting a lot of art since starting this blog – MoMA, the New Museum, street art – but what about me and my picture perfect mug? I spotted some artists in Central Park today and decided to get a portrait. I approached one friendly-faced man and asked if he’d paint me like one of …
Read MoreMarch 25, 2013
…visited a flower show (to kickstart Spring)
This is what New York looked like today: Seeing as Spring isn’t coming to me, I decided to go to Spring. After work, I jumped on the N train to Herald Square and headed to Macy’s for its massive annual flower show. A flower show doesn’t sound like the most inspiring thing to do, but …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2013
…looked over London from the top of The Shard
After going to the Empire State Building last week and overlooking Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat this week, today I completed the hat-trick. I visited the top of the newly-opened Shard in London so I could look over my capital city. With a view like this, it makes one wonder how somebody could possibly not want …
Read MoreMarch 13, 2013
…toured the Scottish Parliament
Last night when I was wondering what to do today, my friend Neil kindly offered to show me around the Scottish Parliament, where he works for Alex Neil, the health minister and the MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) for Airdrie and Shotts. After taking him up on his offer, I’m now convinced Neil also works …
Read MoreMarch 12, 2013
…climbed a volcano
Four days after I went to the top of the Empire State Building for a view of New York City, I have completed Edinburgh’s equivalent: climbing to the top of Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s Seat is a dormant volcano looming over Edinburgh – one of my favourite cities in the UK. Its steepest part is at …
Read MoreMarch 8, 2013
…went to the top of the Empire State Building
Tourist time. I’ve largely stayed away from the tourist hot spots until now, but I can’t get through this challenge without heading to the Empire State Building. And I’ve been to the top of the Rockefeller Center before, so I was interested to see how they compared. While the Rockefeller Center is a simple lift up …
Read MoreMarch 4, 2013
…read in the New York Public Library’s Reading Room
It’s been a busy weekend of moving, throwing a house cooling party, cleaning and catching colds. So today when I chanced it out of work nearly an hour early, I decided to use the time to recuperate. I headed to 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue for the New York City Public Library. Somehow I’d never …
Read MoreMarch 3, 2013
…went on a graffiti tour
While I’ve admired a lot of street art since being in New York, I’ve always seen tags and sprayed names as a sloppy mess on the city’s streets. But today, after taking a great graffiti tour, I can finally appreciate their origins and purpose. The walking tour was hosted by Grafftours and snaked through the East Village, Lower East …
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
…devised a Subway art tour
Whenever I’m using the subway, I’m in a rush. My head is always down – either to gawk at my phone or to avoid eye contact with the creeper in the corner. But when I looked up for a brief moment at 23rd Street last week, I realised that there were hats painted on the …
Read MoreFebruary 19, 2013
…visited a nighttime art installation at FIT
New York cares about us city dwellers who only emerge from our offices when it’s dark and rarely catch exhibits before they close. For us, they’ve provided Light Cycles in the Winter Garden of the World Financial Center. The three-month installation (should that be outstallation?) by Anne Militello is comprised of different-sized disks of colour that glow hypnotically …
Read More
Recent Comments