Events celebrating Chinese New Year have been held across New York for a week now (including my dim sum making last Sunday), but today they reached a dramatic, colourful conclusion with the parade. The event was very nearly right on my doorstep. Furry dragons, sequined snakes and lantern-adorned floats left Chinatown, bobbed along Mott Street (parallel to …
Read MoreCategory / The Tourist
…bought a book from The Strand
This must be a New York City rite of passage, so how have I never bought a book from The Strand before? For those of you not from New York, The Strand is a massive independent bookstore just south of Union Square and filled with 18 miles of books – new books, used books, rare …
Read More…ran over the Brooklyn Bridge
With all these vats of cheese and doughnuts I’ve been consuming, it’s about time I did some exercise. I combined it with a New York must-see by running over the Brooklyn Bridge. Twice actually, if you count there and back.
Read More…watched the Super Bowl
Tonight I dunked chips in dip, swilled beer, oohed at the halftime show, groaned at the commercials and yelled at the players – just like a true American. And you know what? I still don’t understand football.
Read More…saw Central Park covered in snow
It snowed! And it’s bloody cold. But not so cold to put me off trekking to Midtown to see what Central Park looked like. I managed to drag an unenthusiastic Dylan along (“I’m from Minnesota! I know what snow looks like!”) and we entered the park at 72nd Street, where Winter Jam was underway. The organisers …
Read More…saw Buckyball
The bank called to ask whether I’d tried to spend $800 at one of the online casinos uk. Luckily they guessed the chances were slim. While I’ve always been interested in something like a paypal casino, this particular effort was not my doing. Now thanks to my entire lack of a contingency plan (and my …
Read More…escaped to Alcatraz
Perhaps it’s my job as a reporter. It could be my obsession with the Investigation Discovery channel. Or maybe it’s just sick human nature. Whatever the reason, when I planned my trip to the west coast, visiting Alcatraz was right at the top of the list. This morning, I caught the 9 a.m. ferry from …
Read More…rode a cable car
Another day, another state – and while I have been to this one before, I did achieve a first moments after arriving in San Francisco: Taking a cable car. I hopped on the rickety Powell and Hyde cart from Union Square, hanging off the side as we whizzed up and down the city’s undulating streets. …
Read More…wobbled around the Portland waterfront on a bike (and visited my 32nd state)
Lots of firsts today. A new state! A visit to Portland! The first time I got on a bike in about 15 years! After more travel delays, I arrived in Portland, Oregon hours later than I’d hoped – but thankfully still in time to watch the sun set over the city’s waterfront as I wobbled …
Read More…took a DIY food tour of Pike Place Market
I had planned on taking a food tour of the historic Pike Place Market when I arrived in Seattle today, but thanks to fog clogging the coastline this morning, my flight was delayed and I missed it. But not to be defeated (or left hungry), I did a cheeky DIY tour – based on reports …
Read More…saw an art exhibit created on Death Row
What would any of us do if we were locked up on Death Row for nearly two decades for a heinous crime we did not commit? How would we spend our days? How would we stay sane? For Damien Echols, one of the ‘West Memphis 3’ falsely convicted of murdering three young boys in 1993, a spiritual …
Read More…saw the Manhattan skyline (from the sky)
Today I took a helicopter from the Manhattan heliport near Battery Park and soared over the city, waving to Lady Liberty, construction workers at the top of Freedom Tower, homeowners in Jersey City and the eerily-empty streets of Governor’s Island. It took me about two minutes to realise it wasn’t a simulator.
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