If you jump on the subway and ride north to Morningside Heights, you’ll reach a very different part of the city. It’s quieter and greener, and has much more space. So much space in fact that it’s home to the world’s largest cathedral and North America’s largest mausoleum. Laid to rest in that mausoleum are President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, …
Read MoreTag / History
January 26, 2015
…traveled back in time at the NY Transit Museum
The subway system seems an incomprehensible feat to me. How on earth did they dig so many tracks, so far down, so quickly? And in 1900?! The idea is baffling. So this weekend, I headed to the MTA’s Transit Museum to try to figure it out. (And to check off something from my ’30 Before 30′ list!) Appropriately, the …
Read MoreOctober 1, 2014
…visited Winston Churchill’s mum’s house
Not too far from my apartment is a site that has a place in British history. If you wander along Henry Street in Cobble Hill and stop at number 426, you’ll be looking at the birthplace of Jennie Jerome. While her name might not ring any bells, you might know her son: Winston Churchill. If you …
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2014
…petted animals at the Long Island Fair
An added bonus of going out with Ryan is that I’ve been able to visit Long Island – where he grew up – many, many times. When you can tear me away from our new(ish) neighborhood, going out there is one of my favorite weekend things to do. And this weekend? There was the countryside! animals! …
Read MoreJune 3, 2014
…became an animator at the Museum of the Moving Image
Thanks to the Museum of the Moving Image, I can now add ‘animator’ and ‘voice actor’ to my resumé. It all began when I finally trekked there this weekend after months of meaning to go. And I was chuffed to see it’s a great interactive museum that also gives plenty of ‘ooh, I haven’t thought about that in …
Read MoreMay 20, 2014
…fell in love with the Planting Fields Arboretum
Yes, I love New York, but there’s no denying that the longer I live here, the more I seek out huge open spaces and greenery. I’m shocked when I see a front yard. Luckily, there are plenty of places for day trips from the city, from Beacon to Cooperstown. Last weekend I got my fix …
Read MoreMay 16, 2014
…visited the cells at Kilmainham Gaol
Ryan and I made one last stop on our Scotland-Ireland tour before heading back to New York – but, while it was fascinating, it wasn’t a particularly merry one. From dingy cells at Alcatraz to lockups in Scottish castles, prisons are so interesting to me – I can’t imagine the mental games or fear of being inside one. So while in Dublin, …
Read MoreApril 16, 2014
…took a food tour of the Lower East Side
New York is constantly evolving, and nowhere is a better example of this than the Lower East Side. While it was once filled with immigrants crammed into tenement houses, now there are swanky coffee shops and hipsters. But while most of the area has drastically changed, some tasty relics remain. I’ve previously toured businesses and buildings in …
Read MoreMarch 31, 2014
…toured the Brooklyn Brewery
Of course, the first time in weeks that I have visitors, it rains. All weekend. Thankfully, the Brooklyn Brewery gave us a delicious indoor alternative to checking out the sites. Kate (who has her own very amazing blog here) and Darius had popped up from Washington D.C. for a couple of days and I was glad to hear that Darius …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2014
…was tricked by St Ann’s Church
When I’m walking north, I always do my best to avoid the madness of Union Square. One recent route took me along 12th Street between 3rd and 4th avenues, where I spotted this gorgeous church – St Ann’s – snug against the other buildings. But something wasn’t quite right. The buildings behind looked almost too …
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2014
…review the best and worst of NYC
*** This post was first shared in January 2014 after I finished a year of doing a new activity in New York every day. This blog is largely defunct so this post is a great place to start if you’re visiting New York and looking for things to do! For more on this project, visit …
Read MoreDecember 24, 2013
…walked on The Pantiles
A storm hit southern England last night – leaving my family’s home without power or heat (just in time for Christmas) and trees strewn across roads and train tracks. It meant that our plan to play tourists for the day in London was scuppered – no trains were heading north. So instead, we jumped in …
Read MoreDecember 15, 2013
…went back in time at the Merchant’s House Museum
I love having a good nosey around a stranger’s house – and I also love visiting old properties frozen in time, so that I can wander through the rooms, imagining myself as a former resident. Today I got to do both at the Merchant’s House Museum. My friend Jade had suggested heading to this house …
Read MoreDecember 5, 2013
…learned a lot at the Museum of Chinese in America
Now this is how you do a museum. After last night’s struggle at the Center for Jewish History, I was keen to get back on the horse. Thankfully there are a few Thursday late-night museum openings, so I headed to one right by my SoHo office – the Museum of Chinese in America, or MOCA. And – wow. …
Read MoreDecember 4, 2013
…was overwhelmed at the Center for Jewish History
You know me, I love a good museum. But today I went to one that was far, far over my head. Ryan and I nipped up to West 16th Street to the Center for Jewish History – an appropriate choice, I thought, as Hanukkah is reaching its end. And the building is a nice looking …
Read MoreNovember 24, 2013
…explored a 1,000-year-old church
I’ve loved some of New York’s historical offerings this year, from the Morgan Library to the Frick Collection. But while I’ve tried not to be a history snob, I also know they’re relatively young compared to what’s here in the U.K., so today I got a fix of something a little older – a 1,000-year-old …
Read MoreNovember 19, 2013
…sipped cocktails at Grand Central’s hidden bar
Grand Central station has a lot of secrets – from the ‘whispering gallery’ to its little-known tennis courts. And tonight I went to another: the 1920s bar tucked above the terminal. The Campbell Apartment is gorgeous – all carved wooden ceilings, deep maroons and dapper bartenders with perfectly styled mustaches. It once belonged to John C. …
Read MoreNovember 18, 2013
…visited President Teddy Roosevelt’s house
Today I headed out to Long Island for an early Thanksgiving celebration with Ryan and, before settling down to mashed potatoes and delicious gingerbread cookies, we decided to stop off at one of its many historical sites. Battling the drizzle, we stepped out at President Teddy Roosevelt’s former home at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay. …
Read MoreOctober 26, 2013
…visited Central Park’s castle
A couple of weeks ago, I learned there’s a castle right in the middle of Central Park. Today was crisp and sunny – and seemed to be the perfect day for a visit. And when I got up there this morning, there was an added treat as the leaves are just changing, turning the park orange and red. Belvedere …
Read MoreOctober 23, 2013
…visited the Time Landscape
Venture to the northeast corner of West Houston and LaGuardia Place, and you’ll also venture back in time. A tiny public park called the ‘Time Landscape’ sits on the corner and features plants and trees that existed in that spot – and across the rest of Manhattan – before the Subways, Starbucks and disgruntled millions …
Read MoreSeptember 29, 2013
…took a trip to Governors Island
If you look at a map of New York City, there are a few islands dotted around Manhattan. I’ve already been to Roosevelt Island, if you remember, and today I ventured to another: Governors Island – which was good timing because this is the last weekend of the year that it’s open. This is where …
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2013
…found the city’s last gas lamp
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 …
Read MoreAugust 7, 2013
…touched the Berlin Wall
New York is packed so tightly with art and history that sometimes it’s easy to overlook a real winner. Tonight I popped up to Midtown to see one of these giant gems: A section of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Wall is actually one of my earliest memories. I was only three at …
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 …
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