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 MoreTag / New York City
February 15, 2013
…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 MoreFebruary 13, 2013
…went to a (secret) movie screening
February 11, 2013
…went cycling at a disco
Because sitting at my desk for 11 hours a day isn’t enough, I decided to sit for an extra hour tonight. But this is was the most intense sitting of my life: SoulCycle. SoulCycle is a bizarre concept, but perfect for New York. It involves around 70 cycling machines in a very warm room, some very loud music …
Read MoreFebruary 7, 2013
…went to a hot chocolate festival
With a massive snowstorm brewing, I need to pack on a bit more insulation, so tonight I went to The City Bakery’s annual Hot Chocolate Festival. Without a doubt, I am now a few stone heavier. As well as being my first Hot Chocolate Festival, it was also the first time I’ve ever bought a …
Read MoreFebruary 6, 2013
…rocked out at Bowery Electric
Tonight I battled the cold to walk a few blocks north to Bowery Electric, where I thawed out to a couple of sets in the Map Room. It’s the first time I’ve been to the venue, which is owned by Jesse Malin and Johnny T, and is was reportedly a favourite haunt of Drew Barrymore …
Read MoreFebruary 5, 2013
…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 MoreFebruary 1, 2013
…went to see can-struction works
That ‘balloon animal’ is actually made of cans. Crabmeat cans to be precise. And it’s just one of 28 sculptures made out of non-perishables on display at the World Financial Center to encourage people to donate food as part of a massive food drive.
Read MoreJanuary 31, 2013
…performed a set in the West Village
Well, this was pretty horrific. A few months ago I sang a song at one of Dylan’s shows and felt like it was over far too soon. So when some our friends suggested a ‘couple’s music night’ at Think on 8th Avenue, I thought it would be a good chance to attempt my first ever full set …
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2013
…detected some lies
You all love my blog, right? Well, now I’ll finally know the truth. Tonight I went to a lie-detecting class hosted by The Nonverbal Group in Midtown. The three-hour workshop whizzed through the basics, but here is some of the most I interesting stuff I learned:
Read MoreJanuary 29, 2013
…learned how to kick ass
Mayor Bloomberg may always be reminding us that New York is the ‘safest big city in the U.S.’, but it still has a lot of dark corners. So I thought it might not be a bad idea to learn some moves to protect myself – just in case.
Read MoreJanuary 28, 2013
…tried a new tipple at Arlene’s Grocery
As I made my way to watch some music at Arlene’s Grocery in the Lower East Side, I thought about what new drink I could try. I had visions of a blog post entitled ‘…drank a Manhattan in Manhattan’. But as it turns out, there’s not really that sort of selection in the basement of …
Read MoreJanuary 27, 2013
…meditated
I had no idea how many things could go through your mind in ten minutes. In the time I was supposed to be concentrating on my breathing at my beginners meditation class, my phone bill, John Kerry, these French-singing cats and how I really, really wanted a Diet Coke all crept into my mind instead. …
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2013
…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 MoreJanuary 25, 2013
…saw ‘The Scream’ up close
The Museum of Modern Art has free entry on a Friday evening so, after work, I jumped on the E train and shuffled through the snow to claim my ticket. Aside from saving $25, the real draw was seeing Edvard Munch’s The Scream up close. Or so I’d hoped. Everyone else in the city apparently …
Read MoreJanuary 24, 2013
…ate a jicama
Tonight Dylan and I went to friends in South Slope for dinner and as I foraged for deserts at the supermarket, I came across a jicama – an ugly, stout root veg with a bizarre stringy part protruding from its top. I’d never had one before. When I took it along to dinner, I learned that not only is the …
Read MoreJanuary 23, 2013
…got lost in translation
Continuing on my ‘free stuff in New York’ streak, tonight I went to watch what I thought was a student piano concert at the New School. I’ve been to a strings recital at Juilliard before and getting to see world-class performers for free is just too good to miss. The only problem here? Said students turned out …
Read MoreJanuary 20, 2013
…played freeze tag on Wall Street
Forget Occupy. Today, hundreds of us unleashed chaos on Wall Street – in the form of a massive Freeze Tag game. The annual event organised by father-and-sons company Levys’ Tours celebrated its eighth year with two hours of playground favourites, including Blob Tag (where tagged players join hands with the tagger), and a few games I’d never …
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2013
…met one of my favourite writers
This is why I love New York. About four years ago, I devoured The Year of Living Biblically – a book documenting one man’s mission to live by the rules of the Bible – and now, I can just head out and meet that man: A. J. Jacobs.
Read MoreJanuary 8, 2013
…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 MoreJanuary 7, 2013
…shopped in Chinatown (and had my first ever dragon fruit)
I’ve lived a block from Chinatown for more than a year but, shamefully, I’ve never shopped there. Today I put that to rights, visiting a store on the corner of Elizabeth and Hester streets and picking ingredients for dinner. And I realised I should have been shopping there all year because IT IS SO CHEAP …
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2013
…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.
Read MoreJanuary 3, 2013
…start making the most of NYC
Since my job moved me from London to New York City in October 2011, I’ve done a lot of sitting around. I’ve eaten a lot of brunches, drunk a lot of coffee and watched a lot of The Real Housewives. I’ve done some things. As friends and family have visited over the past year, I’ve visited …
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