Ryan and I were traveling on the Q train from Brooklyn to Manhattan tonight when he told me to look out the right-hand-side window. Before I knew it, I was looking at a colorful animation created by panels on the walls underground. Check out the video: As you can see, we slowed down halfway through, …
Read MoreTag / things to do
October 2, 2013
…walked around the Harlem Meer
I was right about needing to make the most of summer and the outdoors before autumn came, because today I was caught out. I had trekked 100 blocks north to check out Central Park’s Conservatory Garden, lured by its lush lawns and dusk closing time. But when I got there, this was all I could …
Read MoreSeptember 26, 2013
…visited Photoville
In the past six months, somehow I’ve become a crier. I used to let stories I wrote at work wash over me, but now I’m forever fumbling for the tissues. One of my news editors even told me recently that she can tell it’s a good story if she hears a sniff from my desk. I’m …
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2013
…shopped at the Union Square Greenmarket
I keep meaning to make a pie with the apples Ryan and I picked at Stone Ridge Orchard on Saturday. So today after work, I nipped up to Union Square to get some extra ingredients. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the Union Square Greenmarket sells fresh and local produce, baked goods and flowers until 6pm. I …
Read MoreSeptember 22, 2013
…visited the world’s largest kaleidoscope
For a small mountain town, Phoenicia has endless outdoor activities. Today, as well as trying some of these, Ryan and I decided to visit one of its top indoor experiences too: The world’s largest kaleidoscope. Yes, this sounds a bit bizarre – and I had no idea how good it was going to be. The 60-ft Kaatskill …
Read MoreSeptember 21, 2013
…picked apples in Stone Ridge
I’m in the countryside upstate so it only feels right to do very wholesome outdoor activities. And you’re overwhelmed with choice up here; Phoenicia and its neighbouring towns are crammed with trails, lakes and pick-your-own farms. Despite our bottles of wine last night, Ryan and I were up bright and early and headed to the …
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 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 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 8, 2013
…visited the Museum of Sex
It’s been a bit of a hedonistic weekend – a gluttonous picnic, gorging myself at the Vendys and a fair few beers last night – so this afternoon I decided to continue the theme with a trip to the Museum of Sex. I had expected the museum, which is at Madison Square Park, to cover …
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 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
…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 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 24, 2013
…drank at an ice bar
Rather than the usual Friday beers, tonight I opted for a new experience: Drinking vodka at an ice bar. I’ve heard of this sort of thing before and thought it sounded cool (yes, pun intended). So when I learned there was an ice cage at Mehanata, a Bulgarian bar in the Lower East Side, I decided …
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 …
Read MoreAugust 18, 2013
…climbed the Montauk lighthouse
I know many of the visitors in Montauk are here for the beaches and bars, but thankfully there are still plenty of places to check out for geeky tourists like me. So while Meghan and Rachel were snoozing off their hangovers at the beach, I headed for the very tip of the island to have a …
Read MoreAugust 17, 2013
…swam in the Atlantic Ocean
This morning, I was trying to remember if I had swam in the Atlantic Ocean before, and – can you believe it – but I haven’t. Definitely not from this side of it, anyway. About five years ago, I roadtripped throughout the East Coast of the U.S. and although it was summer, the weather was …
Read MoreAugust 12, 2013
…met a Rockette
I’m back in the city and in full tourist mode. Today I headed up to Radio City Music Hall in Midtown for a backstage tour – something I’ve been unable to do until now because of its mid-day, weekday hours. The venue was the largest movie theatre in the world when it opened in 1932; it seats more than 6,000 people …
Read MoreAugust 11, 2013
…held a butterfly
Ryan and I were on Long Island again today and, at the suggestion of his friend Brian, went to check out a nearby butterfly zoo for my new activity. We found the one-room ‘zoo’ nestled between shrubs and statues at the Main Street Nursery just outside Huntington. While it was much smaller than I’d imagined, …
Read MoreJuly 6, 2013
…went to the beach in Manhattan
Some of my friends have suggested day trips to Rockaway Beach, while others have said Sandy Hook, New Jersey is the place to take a dip in the sea. Today I realised that I didn’t need to go that far to feel the sand between my toes – because there’s a beach right here in Manhattan. …
Read MoreJune 21, 2013
…trekked to graffiti Mecca
Tonight after work, I jumped on the E train and, to my surprise, was in Long Island City only 25 minutes later. It was my first trip out there and worth it to see one of New York’s hidden gems: 5 Pointz. 5 Pointz – a nod to the five boroughs – is known as ‘graffiti Mecca’ …
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