Governors Island

Governors Island is a just tiny patch of land located between the most southern tip of Manhattan and Brooklyn, but in the Summer it becomes a hive of activity.

The island was mostly used for military purposes in the 18th and 19th centuries - and still houses many former barracks - but it was fully converted into a public park in 2010.

Bike paths have been built and it hosts a myriad of food events, concerts and exhibits throughout the Summer - you can see the full schedule here. Free ferries leave for the island every hour during the week and every 30 minutes at the weekends and it takes less than 10 minutes to get there.

I first went there for Meatopia last year and returned last Sunday when the Boy and I went to a BBQ, Blues and Beer festival there for the afternoon. You can't really go wrong with these three things put together and we spent hours nibbling on pulled pork, mini burgers and hot dogs while chilling out and enjoying the laid back atmosphere.

I highly recommend visiting Governors Island as a cheap and very easy way to get that "out of the City" feeling if only for a day!

Welcome

I organized a little Welcome Party for my friend JW last night, who just arrived from London on a 6-month global rotation program that our company facilitates. Needless to say that he is beyond excited at the opportunity to live here and all our mutual friends and I are determined to help him make the most of the experience.

For his first big night out in the City, I wanted him to experience quintessential New York. I wanted us to go a place where he will not be able to take his eyes away from the view and pinch himself that he is here, that it is real. And what is better than cocktails at Ink48 with its sweeping panorama of the Midtown skyscrapers to send a tingle of excitement down your spine.

While much fun was had by our raucous group of ten people, the evening was a little bittersweet as well however. As JW arrives, my close friends ES and KM are gearing up to leave the City later this summer (one back to London, the other to DC) further illustrating the transient nature of this place.

I am used to this, having already "lost" a few friends who after 2, 4 or 10 years felt burnt out and needed a slower pace of life. But for every person that left, someone else arrived. Ah, the great revolving doors of New York City ...

July 4th Weekend

I spent the holiday weekend in the Hamptons and I feel that the girls and I have settled into a soothing and deliciously predictable routine out there. 

As usual, we enjoyed ES's beautiful house, frolicked in the pool, sunbathed and indulged in far too many BBC cocktails at Cyril's.

I have finally come to terms with my love/hate relationship with the Hamptons. There are too many things I love about it to stop me from going back a few times this summer - namely the beauty of the surroundings, the quietness and the feeling that we are a million miles away for the bustling City.

What I hadn't planned on was a spectacular ending to such a great weekend. As we were riding the train back to the City early in the afternoon on July 4th, one of the girls said that she was going to watch the fireworks later that night on one of her friends' boat and invited us to join them. While we were all beyond exhausted, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

We arrived at Penn Station at 5.30 p.m. and by 6.30 p.m., we were boarding the 28 foot boat, laden with nibbles we got from Whole Foods on the way and wine.

The boat traffic on the Hudson was unbelievable and we even witnessed a couple of minor accidents but the view you get from the middle of the river is absolutely breathtaking. It is by far the best view point, especially since you can also admire the distinctive Manhattan skyline so well at the same time.

I had to pinch myself more than once that I was really living this ... that I was really lucky enough to experience this ... that I was there. If this doesn't further cement my passionate love affair with New York, I don't know what does.

Blue Note

My favourite jazz vocalist of all times, little Jimmy Scott, performed at the Blue Note Jazz Club in the West Village last week and I got tickets for me and the Boy as soon as I learnt about it.

Jimmy Scott has an incredibly unique voice and a lovely personality - the kind that makes you want to hug him and never let go. But at 86 years old, he performs less than a handful of times a year unfortunately.

I first saw him in London and since I have moved to New York, I have made a point of seeing him every single time he has come to the City (only once a year) - twice at the Dizzy's Club in Columbus Circle and once at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.

I had never been to Blue Note before and must admit that I was a little disappointed. The club clearly needs a make-over. What I like about jazz clubs is that they are usually small, intimate and frankly quite romantic with plenty of dark nooks that couples can snuggle into while enjoying the performance. But Blue Note (while being small), did not feel intimate at all and the fact that most tables are communal was neither romantic or practical. It also felt like a bit of a tourist trap, which I guess is to be expected as it is probably the most famous jazz joint in the City.

If I was to recommend some good jazz venues, I would go with Dizzy's (for the panorama alone), as well as Smoke, a tiny brick-walled club on 105th and Broadway.

But regardless of the venue, Jimmy delivered an amazing, emotional and almost heart-breaking (as he now so frail) performance that had me close to tears. I will continue to see him every year, for as long as he can perform - he is now in a wheelchair, so I'm afraid it may not be that much longer unfortunately.

And the Boy passed a big test by enjoying it as much a I did!

Perfect Weekend

The weekend I just had made me realize even more that leaving New York, if I ever had to do so, would be the hardest thing in the world.

I met up with my friend JC and his crew for brunch at Da Silvano in the West Village on Saturday. It's a famous Italian institution and fantastic for people watching, especially when one of the people we spotted was (the frankly stunning) Tyson Beckford! 

He was parking his Ducati motorbike when I recognized him and let out an excited squeal. The other girls and I then went onto full swooning mode and KO and DT, being much braver than I am, got their picture taken with him. We spent hours basking in the sun there, getting slowly tipsy from the huge bottle of Rose we had ordered and sharing piles of delicious food.

In the evening, and after some much needed down time at home to recover from the day drinking, I met my girls ES and CS at Ink48, the rooftop bar of the namesake hotel in Hell's Kitchen. It affords one of the most stunning views of the Midtown skyscraper jungle I have ever seen. We drank a couple of Mojitos while updating each other on boy-related news and I truly felt like I was living in an episode of Sex and The City. Even more so as I hopped into a cab at the end of the night to go and meet the Boy.

"The Great Dating Experiment" is going very well and the Boy and I spent all of Sunday together as well. Enjoying an alfresco brunch at my old favourite Ocean Grill. Spending a few hours at the Natural History Museum and getting spooked (as always!) by the whale and giant squid exhibit. Grabbing a coffee at Joe's, a lovely neighborhood joint that makes one of the best coffees in the City before going back to mine to snuggle down and watch a few episodes of "America - The story of us", a great multi-part documentary spanning 400 years of American history he thought I might enjoy (and I did). 

A picture perfect weekend in every single way. And I wouldn't trade that for the world. I am exactly where I should be right now.

"New" York

I am dating someone. As in "hanging out, going to the movies, holding hands while walking down the street" kind of dating. Normal dating I guess. But for me an incredibly foreign concept in New York where the relationships I've had here have been (by choice) either fleeting or very complicated.


I am calling it "The Great Dating Experiment" - I have no idea how long it will last before my commitment phobia kicks in but I am enjoying the ride for now. Besides, he's single, smart, nice and very laid back - key attributes I have never found bundled up into one man in this City before (the single part is usually missing)!

One of the good things about "The Great Dating Experiment" is that I am going to completely new places that I wouldn't have otherwise discovered. While I enjoy being the social organizer in my group of friends, there is something wonderful about being taken somewhere you haven't chosen.

Yesterday, we walked almost the entire length of Manhattan, grabbing lunch in Chelsea, exploring the newly opened extension of the High Line and drinking a beer at the food trucks spot that has opened underneath it. We then made a quick pit stop at the public basketball court on West 4th to watch guys play a game of 21 (he already knows that basketball is the way to my heart!).

Afterwards, he took me to Fat Black Pussycat in the West Village. The outside appearance of the bar would have normally guaranteed that I wouldn't go in but I was surprised to find, as he guided me towards the back of the bar, a really cool swanky lounge with a rather gothic decor playing the kind of tunes that had us hitting Shazam on our Iphones constantly.

From there, we walked to the Lower East Side and he took me to Karma, a hookah bar in the East Village. While I like to think that I have done a lot of things in my life, smoking hookah has never been one of them. While the place is dark, a little rough around the edges and the service pretty appalling, I loved it because it was so different and the great hip hop anthems loudly blasting also helped.

I feel almost like I am re-discovering New York through the eyes of someone else.

Even after four years here, the City is still full of surprises waiting to be experienced. And I am more open to them than I have been in a long time. Dating included.

Hey Sailor!

When the girls and I signed up for an intensive 2-day sailing course with the Manhattan Sailing Club, we knew full well that it was not going to be the usual sailing we all have done in the past in various parts of the world - comfortably sitting on the deck, donning swimsuits and clutching a glass of something bubbly and cold. But we were not prepared by how much hard work and how technical sailing is.

We were brought crashing down to reality on the evening of the induction, when one of the instructors proceeded to talk for over an hour about the rules of sailing, the multitude of obscure names that seem to have been given to every single parts of a boat and the different sailing strategies. It was pretty hard for us to hide the look of bewilderment and slight terror from our faces as we realized that we had far more to learn in just 2 days that we had ever anticipated.

But we still all turned up at the Marina at 9am sharp on Saturday and met our instructor Graham who turned out to be a very laid back British guy. We walked over to the boat each clutching a Starbucks cup to wake our sleepy minds, not really realizing that even getting onto the boat requires two free hands as an amused Graham pointed out to us.

The weather was not great - drizzly and grey - but because the water was relatively calm, we each leant to tack and jibe for about 4 hours, as well as putting up the sails and trimming them. After lunch and about an hour into sailing, the weather took a turn for the worse and a spectacular storm hit us. Graham had to take over navigation as torrential rain poured down on us and the increasingly big waves and the wildly changing winds made it impossible for us learners to control. We heard a voice on the radio screaming that we had to head back now and so we motored back as fast as possible ... arriving back at the dock completely soaking wet, shivering and frankly quite freaked out. Talk about a first sailing experience! Even Graham seemed a little shaken! We all went home and crashed into bed early, completely exhausted.

Our second day was thankfully much less eventful and more relaxing while still being hard work. Sailing on the Hudson is the equivalent of riding a bike on a busy motor-way as we had to navigate through the ferries, cruise ships and tankers much larger than us.

I can't recommend it highly enough though. It's a brilliant but tiring and surprisingly physical experience, with the Manhattan skyline as the most stunning background.

And according to the diplomas we were given for passing the course at the end of the weekend, we should now be all addressed as "Hey Sailor!" :)