Crash Course City

I am always honored when approached by an individual or a company asking for my thoughts on relocating to New York.

It has been one of the most life-forming experience of my life and I am always happy to share my perspective - as I did in this interview with Crash Course City.

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Meet Stephanie, a marketing director from France, who relocated from London to New York in 2007.

Why did you move to your new city?
I was working for a major financial services company in London when a promotion opportunity came up in their New York head offices and I jumped at the chance!

I fell head over heels in love with NYC after my first visit in 1999 and it had been a dream of mine ever since to live here one day.

What do you like best about living in New York?

Convenience is the first thing that comes to mind. I realized early on that I could happily live my life without going further than five blocks either way of my apartment, if I chose to do so. Everything is at your finger tips here.

The relentless energy of the City is also a big pull.  There is always something to do – museum exhibits, festivals, fairs, concerts, operas, plays, outdoor movies, courses, sailing, kayaking, cycling… the list is endless.

What was the easiest part of your relocation?

I would say the actual relocation itself – my company organized and paid for my move and professional packers took care of everything. Therefore this was by far the easiest move I have done in my life from a logistics perspective.

What was the hardest part of your relocation?

Realizing upon my arrival that I only knew two people in the city, and not very well. I went from having a large circle of friends in London to having to build new friendships from scratch.

New York is a transient City with many people relocating here from various parts of the country and the world, so making friends is not hard but it definitely takes time of course.

I am happy to say four years on, I now have an extended but close circle of friends that I can honestly call family.

How would you describe your relocation experience?
For the first couple of years, it was definitely a mixture of ups and downs as I adjusted to the crazy pace of the city. I made new friends but also “lost” some who moved away and I faced cultural challenges in my professional and personal life.

But, I also consider these two years to be the most formative of my life and wouldn’t change them for the world.

I see my relocation as a success – I am very happy in New York, more in love with it than ever and still constantly trying to make the most of the amazing opportunity I was given.

Can you share 3 tips for someone making the same move?

1. In order to speed up the “making friends” process, try to find people in your current circle of friends who may have friends already based here.
2. Get to know your way around the city as soon as possible. The grid system makes it easy to navigate and I would suggest that you go exploring with a map at first and eventually you will be able to walk around all the neighbourhoods without it. New York can feel intimidating at first so knowing your way around can make it feel less so.
3. When the city feels too noisy, too fast, too hot, too cold, and it will, – don’t hesitate to go away for a weekend. Explore upstate New York for a bit of countryside relief; catch some rays in Florida in the depth of winter, cool off on one of the many beaches in the summer.

Most New Yorkers have a love/hate relationship with their City. As a newcomer, don’t be surprised if after the heady first month or so, you start to notice the grimier aspects of it, perhaps start to feel homesick and regret your decision to move. A quick escape from New York is the best way to come back and enjoy it even more.

But I definitely recommend sticking with it and developing strategies to deal with some of its more challenging aspects. The reward at the end - which is to live in perhaps the most exciting city in the world - is more than worth it.

Ella Lounge

Comedy clubs have always made me nervous.

I always fear that somehow I'm going to be singled out from the crowd and made fun of, or worse be pulled onto the stage!

But I was going through a bit of a tough time and so when my friend CP, who I hadn't seen in a while, invited me to a comedy show at Ella Lounge, I decided to ignore my fears and just go.

Ella is actually your run-of-the-mill lounge in the East Village but on Tuesday nights, Seth Herzog (who is currently the warm-up act on the Jimmy Fallon show) hosts his own comedy night in the dimly lit basement, which sits probably no more than 20 people although that night a good 60 of us crammed into the small space.

While Seth is the main act (and regularly brings his mum on stage for added comedy value), he also invites a great mix of established and new comedians to perform. And, as CP had told me, sometimes brings one of his celebrity friends as MCs.

I must admit that when Justin Long turned out to be the MC that night, I was more than a little excited. The club is so small that he was just a few feet away from us and he was just as charming, down to earth and damn right adorable as his on-screen persona.

With a cover charge of just $5, celebrity MC or not, it is more than worth it and a great way to spend a winter's Tuesday night!

Flower district

To say that one can never fully know all of what New York has to offer is an understatement.

Just when I felt I had almost gotten there, it managed to surprise me and bring me back to reality - there are still so many things I have yet to experience here. And long may it be this way!

My sister and I stumbled upon the Flower District in Chelsea on our way to brunch with friends. It is located on just one block of 28th Street, between 6th & 7th. But in that small stretch of pavement, you feel transported to another universe - one filled with flowers, shrubs and even palm trees as all the flower shops display their wares right there on the street.

I have no idea why they are all concentrated on this particular block - some of them have clearly been there for a long time. Laurie & I loved the feeling of being in a open-air greenhouse, almost forgetting the noise and bustle of the City, while we strolled in a forest of green.

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!

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.

Willie Wall

The girls and I are doing an intensive 2 day sailing course this weekend with the Manhattan Sailing Club, located in the North Cove Marina just outside where I work in the World Financial Center.

The induction took place last night at the The Honorable William Hall Clubhouse and Bar (aka Willie Wall), a floating barge anchored in the middle of the Hudson, near Ellis Island.

This place is one of New York's best kept secret. You don't actually have to be a member of the sailing club to get in. In the summer, specially chartered boats depart the Marina every half an hour from 5.30pm and the fee for non-members is just $10.

It is more than worth it for the incredible views of the Manhattan skyline it affords, as well as the being the perfect vantage point to watch all the sailboats racing each other.

The atmosphere gets pretty lively at the bar, with a lot of Caribbean style music playing. Only limited snacks are available (but they have a liquor license) so my advice is to pack up some yummy food in a hamper and head over there on a hot summer's night to watch the sun set over the City with a glass of chilled Prosecco in hand.

Simply heaven.

Hamptons Weekend

I know I said I didn't particularly like the Hamptons when I went last year. Or at least "the scene" that comes with it, which thankfully is easy to avoid.

But let's face it - with my friend ES having free run of her family's five bedroom house in Amagansett for the summer, it's an incredibly easy way for us to escape the City for a few days to a place that scenically appears to be a thousand miles away, which is why a group of six of us happily made the trip there for Memorial Day weekend.

CS and I took the train there for the first time and it was an experience in itself. While Penn Station was as busy as usual, the real zoo started when we stopped at Jamaica to take the connecting train to the Hamptons.
Before we realized what was happening, hundreds of people were elbowing their way onto the train while CS and I watched in stupor. This resulted in us not getting a seat and instead spending most of the journey uncomfortably sitting on the stairs.
With magazines and books to kill time, we got to Amagansett in just over two hours. But next time, we will be more ruthless in our determination to find seats, as well as bring snacks and wine as everyone else in the carriage seemed to have done. I would still recommend taking the train over driving there, which in traffic takes at least 4 hours.

Amagansett is probably one of the quieter Hamptons and the scenery is in fact reminiscent of a perfectly English countryside hamlet with a quaint feel, lush green lawns, old trees and colonial houses - some of them of manor/castle proportions of course. With the added benefit of sandy white long beaches being minutes walk away.

The "scene" I dislike so much is really only found in a few hot spots, namely Cyril's, the Talkhouse and the Surf Lodge. If you want to see a lot of trust funds kids, investment bankers guys, and the girls that usually seek them out - then these are the places you should go to. Although I must also say that the atmosphere is always fairly laid back - it is the beach after all - and the Surf Lodge is particularly stunning.

We did go to Cyril's one night, of course. It's hard to understand why this small roadside outdoor bar draws the in-crowd of the Hamptons in such numbers but I can only imagine that they come for the same thing we do - the irresistible, "dessert in a plastic glass", that is the BBC cocktail. Banana Baileys Colada. Surely it must be the only reason why, when the place is at its busiest, people (including us) are happy to be in standing room only at the back bar, right next to the portaloos and the dumpsters! But the BBC really is to die for, and particularly good (and lethal) with a Rum floater on top - three of them should be your limit unless you want to forget small insignificant details like what your name is and where you are staying.

The rest of our time was spent having yummy breakfasts at the Farmers Market, lounging by the pool at the house, grilling the most amazing turkey burgers on the BBQ, having oysters and steamed lobster at Botswick's, doing a spot of shopping in East Hampton and just generally completely relaxing away from the hustle and bustle of the City and enjoying spending time together.

I can't think of anything better than that and will be doing much more of it over the summer!

Santa Con

Photo by Jake McGraw @ Flickr (C)

As I popped out for coffee and to run some errands on Saturday, I was surprised to share the elevator in my apartment building with a girl scantily dressed as an elf. I have noticed New Yorkers' fondness for dressing up before but at 11am in the morning, this seemed a little odd.

Later that evening, on my way to some friends' holiday party, I noticed quite a few people dressed as Santa, some of them in advanced stages of inebriation (read "passed out on the pavement") even though it was barely 8.30pm.

Just when I thought this City had gone completely Christmas mad this year, it finally dawned on me the next day that it must have been SantaCon! And indeed it was.

SantaCon is, according to their website, a "non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason". Which from what I can tell is just a brilliant excuse for a lot of people to dress up, get drunk during the day and loudly spread some holiday cheer. If you happen to be near one of their meeting points in the City for the day, I hear it can be quite a sight as the picture shows!

My hatred of crowds means that I will never partake but it is one of those rather random New York traditions that you never hear about until you live here.

Cupcake Craze

Photo by jammieanne @ Flickr (C)

Today I am delighted to be bringing you a guest post about the best cupcakes in New York from Charlotte, a writer for Simonseeks.com.

This is rather handy as, while I have on occasion enjoyed them, I am not a huge fan myself (too sweet for me!) and therefore wouldn't be able to provide any guidance on this hot topic!

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These beautifully crafted small cakes adorned with icing of every colour and flavour you could imagine, once associated with children, are now big business, a fashion statement in their own right the cupcake is now glamorous, fun and here are some of the best places in New York City to pick up one of these delicious treats.

Magnolia Bakery
No list of the top places to grab a cupcake in New York would be complete without the Magnolia Bakery. Opening its doors for the first time in 1996 on a quiet corner in Greenwich Village, Magnolia Bakery was designed to make visitors feel as though they were stepping back in time whilst enjoying the best in traditional American desserts. The brand has developed and there are now six stores, four of which are in New York, one in California and one as far afield as Dubai! Fans of the hit TV show Sex and the City will recognise the Magnolia Bakery as where Carrie and Miranda devour delicious looking pink frosted cupcakes in one of the episodes. Magnolia bakery is a tourist attraction in its own right, it’s even a stop on the Sex and the City tours that run all year round, be prepared to queue if you visit, sometimes around the block but the experience is worth it once inside – particularly for a Sex and the City fan like me!

Sweet Revenge
Sweet Revenge situated in the West Village offers an artisan twist to cupcakes, the eatery is open every day and becomes an excellent place to be in the evening as it stays open till late. This is largely due to the fact that Sweet Revenges unique feature is that it sells alcohol, the menu teams the perfect cupcake with the perfect drink for you so you don’t have to worry that your chosen combination won’t taste right! They offer the finest in beers, wine and cocktails to accompany your delicious cupcake and for those who don’t have a sweet tooth they even offer a savoury cake option. If I were to go it would have to be a Crimson and Cream cupcake and a Raspberry Bellini for me, I’m booking a table already!

Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Situated on Rivington Street, Sugar Sweet Sunshine aims to offer its visitors a warm and comfortable vibe with a 60s and 70s vibe thrown in. The atmosphere here is relaxed, the decor of mismatched chairs and tables make it feel as though you are in someone’s living room rather than a coffee shop. The owners operate an open door policy, visitors are made to feel more like guests than customers and all can see into the kitchen to watch the sweet treats being made. The delicious offerings at Sugar Sweet Sunshine include the cupcake named after its birthplace Sunshine which is a yellow cake with vanilla butter-cream icing and a Sassy Red Velvet, red velvet cake with chocolate almond butter-cream. The overall aim of this coffee shop is that its customers leave feeling happy, a reason enough to pay them a visit.

Crumbs Bake Shop
Crumbs Bake Shop first opened in New York’s refined Upper East Side in 2003 with the promise of offering elegant comfort food. They offer over 50 varieties of cupcakes, all baked fresh daily with a cupcake of the week being unveiled every Monday, they are renowned for the large size of the cakes and deliver all over the USA. They even offer a college care pack, so if your loved ones are in college in The States you can show them your thinking of them with the cakes being delivered to their door. Crumbs focuses a great deal of its energies into donating to charity, so although the guilt of the amount of calories you’ve just eaten can’t be taken away knowing that $1 from every cupcake purchased goes to the Breast Cancer Coalition makes you feel better about ordering that second cake!

Cupcake Stop
Cupcake stop is the place where New Yorkers go to enjoy their cupcakes and avoid the crowds of tourists at the better known cupcake shops across the city. As Cupcake Stop in no ordinary coffee shop, instead it is a fully mobile truck, rather like an ice cream van, the Cupcake Stops several trucks travel around New York stopping in some of Manhattans prime locations to serve delicious freshly made cupcakes to the passersby. All of the cakes are baked the night before in a commercial kitchen, making over 40 flavours, with any leftovers at the end of the day being donated to the less fortunate at the City Harvest. This relative newcomer, only being established in 2009 offers a unique mobile cupcake service and is perfect for those you want a quick sweet treat to go minus the long queues and waiting times.

If you are looking to visit New York and sample the cupcakes on offer, you might want to also look at the top rated recommended New York hotels on Simonseeks, where you can find inspirational travel guides and expert advice.

Winter Survival

Photo by Robert Harding (C)

As I prepare myself to face my fourth winter in the City while seemingly dishing out advice on how to survive it to a number of friends for whom it will be the first, I thought I would share my own little survival guide to New York's coldest and most challenging season.

1- Forsake fashion and style. Completely. I remember being puzzled by seeing the normally fashion-conscious New York women donning these awful and unflattering padded down coats that make you look like you are wearing a duvet. But I barely made it past a month into my first winter before reluctantly buying one myself and I haven't looked back since. I still hate it of course but, more than a necessity, it is a life saver - keeping you toasty warm and insulated when you have to brave the elements. The same goes for rain boots (indispensable when crossing the streets through the huge puddles of melted snow) and ear-muffs (although I have yet to cross the line on the latter).
2 - Prepare a long list of movies you've always wanted to see but never had time to - you will be literally hibernating, whether you like it or not. The arctic temperatures will compromise your social life quite dramatically.
3 - Having said that, unlike most European cities, a snow storm doesn’t stop the subway from running like clockwork here and taxis will still be fairly abundant even in the worst of blizzards, so you can still go out. At this time of the year, only the coziest of restaurants and bars appeal to me and I shun anywhere that is minimalist looking - my perennial favourites (Marc Forgione, Boqueria, Tolani, Hi Life and Landmark in the Time Warner Center) will get even more visits than usual. I'm on the hunt for a place with an open fireplace and comfy sofas (probably pining for a British pub) and will let you know if I find one.
4 - While this is not the most practical advice, you should in general avoid finding yourself on large avenues, especially near the river - the bitterly cold winds get channeled into them and make walking, let alone standing, intolerable for more than a few minutes.
5 - Make the most of snow days. Ahead of a storm, companies here will usually send out an email to their staff advising them to work from home. Not that commuting to work will be impossible (see point 3), but more because the possibility of an employee slipping on pavements is a lawsuit reality. I love it because it very much feels like an unexpected day off school - I usually stay in my pajamas all day and occasionally look out of my living room windows to see Broadway covered in white powder.
6 - Go to Central Park. It’s not only hauntingly beautiful under a white blanket of fresh and fluffy snow but it’s also very entertaining to see entire families sledging down the hills and a few brave souls actually cross-country skiing around it. The sight of the latter never ceases to amuse me as it is the antithesis of what one would expect to see in a city setting.
7 - When all the above fails - escape! My yearly January jaunts to Miami are no coincidence. South Beach is really only $250 and 3 hours away from this frigid cold hell so you can lie on the beach for just a weekend to get your much needed vitamin D injection, while getting ready to face yet another month or so of New York winter with some sense of perspective that summer (and getting your life back) is only around the corner!

Tolani

I'm a creature of habit and although I love going to new places, when I am feeling even just a little tired or lazy, I lose my sense of adventure and love nothing more than going back to my favourite haunts.

Tonight was one of those nights when after a long and stressful week at work, I was meant to meet up with a couple of girlfriends for drinks and nibbles Uptown and suggested we go to High Life, a comfy and well tried/tested place for us. But KM wanted to try something new and a quick search on nymag.com prompted us to give Cava, a wine bar on 80th & Amsterdam, a try. When we got there we found out it was closed for a private party but another drinking establishment caught our eyes pretty much immediately with the words "wine restaurant" prominently displayed on the awning. You can't really go wrong with these two words combined together.

So that's how we ended up stumbling completely by chance upon Tolani - the aforementioned wine restaurant - which only opened barely a month ago. And boy were we not disappointed. Beautiful setting in a very New York wine bar kind of way - cozy and warm with exposed brick walls and rustic wood details, candle lights dancing throughout the dining room, cool music but not too loud, plush and comfy leather seats at the bar and an enticing and eclectic menu with a paired down but carefully edited wine list. It was love at first sight (or sip I guess) and we knew straight away that we would be back, over and over again. We shared a bread basket, cold meats and cheeses and I also had a great zucchini and white anchovies salad - but next time, when I am hungrier, I will give the amazing sounding peri peri grilled shrimps on a bed of saffron rice a try, which is pretty much all my favourite things ever, combined into one dish.

The service was discreet but attentive and friendly and the South African manager giving us an extra glass of wine (we were on our 3rd bottle by then so I guess he knew we were going to be good customers!) and a complimentary "out of this world, better than sex" bread and butter pudding type dessert sealed the deal.

Go. Now.

Limelight Marketplace

The Limelight Marketplace, a converted 19th century Episcopalian Church in Chelsea on 20th & 6th, opened up a few months ago - interestingly it had also been a trendy but drug filled nightclub throughout the 80s and 90s . I didn't get a chance to check it out until last weekend however when the massive queues to get into Eataly, where we had intended to go, put me and my lovely friend SM (visiting from London) off and we headed there instead.

I didn't know exactly what to expect but it was a much posher affair that I had envisioned. A very modern space, with glossy white surfaces and strategically placed mirrors throughout was created while respecting the building's architectural integrity. There is certainly no mistaking that you are in fact in a church.

The maze of tiny shops sell an eclectic mix of gourmet food items (including delicious ice creams and a small but perfectly formed selection of cheeses), high end gadgets, arts and crafts, and upscale furniture amongst many other treasures.

A few restaurants will soon open as well, including a cozy wine bar on the top floor affording a great view of the shopping arcade below and the much anticipated Manhattan outpost of Grimaldi's, the famous Brooklyn pizza joint.

I know where I will be doing my Christmas shopping from this year!

Insider Sources

As I have mentioned before, I make it a bit of my own personal mission to keep up to date with events happening around the City all year round. This has not gone unnoticed by my friends of course, who seem to view me as a bit of a resource when it comes to finding things to see and do.

This would not be the case if I was not an avid reader of various websites, blogs and newsletters dedicated to New York and I thought it might be useful to share some of the ones I check out most often.

I have been a subscriber of the New York Magazine even since I moved here and find both the paper and online version to be very useful on a weekly basis. I also trust their restaurant reviews more than any other publication and when I am about to try a new restaurant, I always check if it’s a critic’s pick as I know I will not be disappointed. What I love is that they don’t just rate fancy restaurants. My local jewish deli and much beloved institution, Barney Greengrass, is also a pick.

I also love the nycgo website, which while being a great resource for tourists, also contains interesting content about little known spots and events.

In terms of newsletters, I read Daily Candy, Thrillist (although it is geared more towards a male audience), Blackboard Eats (for restaurant deals), Citysearch as well as all the NY Mag's newsletters (Vulture, Fashion, Grub Street).

Some of my favourite New York blogs are Scouting NY (written by a professional film location scout), New York Portraits (daily photos of the City), NewYorkology (packed with events listings) and My Upper West (for obvious reasons). Some expat blogs are also great - My New York Dish for example being one of them.

For more general news, I have already documented my frustration with US TV news channels and gave up watching them a long time ago, when I realized that I didn’t really care about how your shower curtain might be giving you cancer and couldn’t take one more ad for personal injury lawyers.

I’ve also come across a few cool iPhone apps that make navigating your way in the City a little easier. Sit or Squat is a brilliant one overlaying public toilets on Google maps. The Starbucks app is a lifesaver for the caffeine addicted. The new Central Park app pinpoints areas of interest you may have otherwise missed, along with their history. And CityMint uses GPS location services to deliver food to you, wherever you are - say in the middle of the park for example!

Lastly, while it offers little value in terms of things happening in the City, I adore Overheard in New York because it gives an hilarious and sometimes concerning glimpse into the crazy, lusty and manic urban jungle that is New York City.

The Campbell Apartment

A couple of my oldest friends are making great progress in launching their business into the US market which is not only great news for them, but also for me as it means they have to make frequent business trips to New York as a result.

This gives us the opportunity to leisurely catch up over several evenings, rather than the usual crazy schedule I have when I visit London as I always try to fit it seeing as many friends as possible.

So when my friend SM spent a week here for meetings after attending South By South West in Austin a few months ago that's exactly what we did. We pretty much spent every evenings together and SM gamely followed me on a tour of some of my favourite New York haunts, from live Jazz at The Garage to expensive but exquisite sushi at Gari's, all the way to late night drinks at Hi-Life. But we also went to a place that had long been on my list to try - The Campbell Apartment in Grand Central.

Drinking in a train station may sound far from glamorous but Grand Central is probably the most beautiful, serene and grandiose station in the world and I love having fiery Bloody Marys at Cipriani on the raised concourse while watching the world go by. But this time, I wanted to try something different and SM and I made our way (with some difficulty as it is hard to find the entrance) to the Campbell Apartment instead.

The strict dress-code (no jeans or t-shirts) ensures that this grandiose drinking den is fairly clear of tourists. The "apartment" was the former office of rail road executive John W Campbell who had it built in 1923 to resemble a 13th Century Florentine palace. It takes a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness but entering this space is like stepping back in time, complete with an atmosphere of quiet and old-world luxury. One almost feels in a museum and we almost reluctantly raised voices above whispering level when asking the hostess for a table. Their cocktails are also to die-for.

SM is coming back to New York in a few weeks time and has already requested that we go back. I shall gladly oblige of course.

Oyster Fest

Lots of people. Lots of oysters. Lots of margeritas. But nothing can beat a slice of pizza to finish a day that lasted well into the night!

Pomander Walk

I spend a good amount of my time trying to find out about little known New York spots so when I stumbled across a mention of Pomander Walk in my Upper West Side neighbourhood, I had to go and check it out myself.

Pomander Walk consists of a dozen or so Tudor houses, squeezed in between rows of perfectly modern and much taller buildings on 96th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. I have since learned that it was created in 1921 by an entrepreneur who originally intended to build a hotel on the site but was unable to secure adequate funding. These English style houses were built instead and have been a residential haven ever since. The name originates from an old London street and a stage play.

While it is not possible to walk through its iron gates (unless you know someone who lives there), peering through them is like taking a charming, almost whimsical, and certainly completely unexpected step back in time.

To Do

I love everything about making lists - writing them, adding to them, crossing items off them ...

I always keep a list of clothes & shoes I want to buy, household chores, work tasks and projects, packing lists, movies to see, music to download, books to read, restaurants/bars I want to try as well as the ones I have been to ... but perhaps the most fun of all my lists is the never ending, always growing, one of things I still want to see and experience in New York.

So I thought I would share just a couple of my “To Do’s” in the City coming up in the next month or so.

Queues waiting for Eataly to open last week!

 Graze around Eataly
 The latest Mario Batali venture is a huge Italian market/restaurant/grocery store opposite Madison Square Park near the Flatiron called "Eataly".

I actually popped in there with my brother and sister last week but I think the beautifully designed and wonderfully stocked space requires a more thorough exploration. As it is, I got an enticing sneak peek at their extensive range of cheese, wine, fresh pasta, vegetables, meat and fish.

And as there is nothing I love more than a platter of cheese and cold meats washed down with an excellent red wine (which is what is served at various high chairs & tables dotted throughout), this is at the very top of my list!

Stone Street by Katz & The City(c)

Go to the Stone Street Oyster Festival
I used to be very sceptikal about oysters and frankly quite grossed out. While it is customary to eat them every Christmas in France, I was never one to partake.

But in NYC, oysters are bountiful, delicious, cheap and served pretty much everywhere - so when I moved here and started meeting my friends for Happy Hour drinks after work, I saw them sharing huge platters of the things ... and I really felt like I should give them another try and now I love them!

This annual festival takes place on September 25th this year in cute and cobbled Stone Street (one of the oldest streets in the City, in the heart of the Financial District) and the restaurants and bars lining it will be hosting tasting sessions, but also serve lots of beer and feature live music acts. I believe that another festival will also simultaneously be held at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central.

Photo Alexandre Rizos (c)

Watch the Bryant Park Petanque Tournament
What can I say? I am still French after all! Petanque is a very old and traditional game played most prevalently in the South of France.

I (like every other French child I would assume) grew up playing it and while I don't normally seek out French activities around the City, there cannot be a Petanque tournament in Bryant Park without me at least seeing it briefly!

This particular tournament will be taking place on September 28th & 29th but I understand that there are some throughout the year, as well as free lessons available, weather permitting - you can find more details here.

Perfect Weekend

I have just had the most perfect, quintessential New York weekend and I don't think that there is a single thing I would want to change about it.

Starting with the cast of characters. My sister had been with me for just over a week when my brother skyped us to say that he had booked a last minute flight arriving in NYC on Friday night. He hadn't planned on joining us so this was a fantastic surprise and being able to spend so much quality sibling time together is a rare and wonderful luxury.

The setting was of course the City itself in all its glorious late summer beauty, the soaring temperatures made enjoyable by a complete lack of humidity in the air, and clear blue skies that made the perfect frame to every pictures we took.

We loaded up on various combinations of bagels, lox and eggs at Barney Greengrass, one of the oldest Jewish deli in the City and much beloved institution that happens to be just one block away from my apartment, as mentioned before.

We leisurely strolled all around the Lower East Side, Nolita, Soho and the West Village. We dipped our toes in the Washington Square fountain while watching the break dancers performing breathtaking stunts and watched a special screening of Woody Allen's classic "Manhattan" in Central Park while sharing a lovely picnic on the lawn.

We took my favourite boat trip around the City on the NYHRC yacht, complete with buffet lunch and bar. Unbeknown to me, the route changed slightly this year and afforded us better views of Governors and Roosevelt islands, the latter in particular (which used to house a psychiatric hospital and is pretty much in ruins bar a couple of apartment buildings) offering a stark contrast to the modern buildings behind it.

Amazingly my favourite Jazz vocalist of all times, Jimmy Scott (who at 85 years old only performs once a year), happened to be playing at the Charlie Parker Jazz festival in Tompkins Square Park on Sunday and we were lucky enough to listen to his incredible, emotional and "back of the neck hair-raising" renditions of a his classics.

We wondered around Chelsea market and all its small specialist food vendors and boutiques after buying one of the best coffees in the City at 9th Street Expresso.

We strolled the length of the High Line which I love because people tend to go high above ground to get a view of the City so the High Line (at just a few storeys high) offers a completely different perspective of it.

And finally, we completed our long weekend with a round of shooting golf balls as hard as we could at the Chelsea Piers driving range - a first for me and a highly recommended experience because it's not only a great stress buster but the views across the Hudson and onto New Jersey are pretty spectacular!