Bridges of NY and other ass kickers

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A few tips to make a NYC visit that extra bit special...

1. stay with someone who you love and who loves you: I am lucky that one of my favorite people in this world happens to have recently relocated to NY. Brooklyn, to be more specific. And to stay with someone and learn about what the city means to them may be the best way to have an authentic experience. To wander alongside them as they exist in their world is to learn about the city through the daily routines and share in what they love and enjoy.

2. Take it easy the fist day and get to know where you are living: Wander around the streets that surround where you are staying and take in the neighborhood and all that it has to offer. Check out the corner deli, wander into the local bakery, get gelato at the 24 hour grocery and take time to notice the shops and the windows and pay attention to who is living and working there.

3. Take it easy. Spend time sipping prosecco at an outdoor bar where you can watch the evening unfold while catching up with your friend. Notice the little things around you that are different...the things that make this place unique from every other place.

4. Do something unexpected with your day We enjoyed coffee and some brie and red pepper quiche and had a lazy morning on my first full day but by noon we were out on our bikes and exploring the various boroughs of the city. Brooklyn to Queens to Manhattan and back...25 mile bike ride crossing various bridges, neighborhoods and even a distant the Statue of Liberty.

5. Stop to enjoy the simple things you come upon A woman in Central Park playing Vivaldi on her violin to a crowd relaxing in one of the shady expanses of the park. Observe the people who are there and what they are doing. Do they live here? Are they visiting? On a work break?

6. Let yourself get lost Finding you don't know exactly where you are is a great way to learn a city and also to have some cool unexpected encounters. Get up to the northern part of Central Park to get away from the crowds and check out all the hidden paths. There are places in NYC where you can actually go and not see another soul. Find those places and enjoy them.

7. Refuel as needed Stop for wonderful meals, especially if you can find an outdoor place in the Chelsea area. We sat at Barbuto, an Italian place near the meat packing district and enjoyed some grub with a carafe of rose.

8. Sight seeing...sort of You may pass some cool stuff without even trying to. River Side Park...is that an aircraft carrier in the Hudson or maybe...an airplane? Or both. Seeing Statue of Liberty off in the distance may not be enough for some but biking through Battery Park and not having to stop was pretty amazing...unless you really want some spray paint art with your name on it.

9. Feel the burn It was at the Williamsburg Bridge that I really felt the burn coming on. It was a sea of riders heading back into Brooklyn and all of them came onto the bridge with power and speed, only to slow down slightly as the bridge, in all of its red majestic splendor started to ware on them.

10. reward yourself with a shower and a huge dinner Sometimes the best fun in the evenings can be simply to relax together and enjoy a big meal and some wine with friends. There are so many places to visit and things to do but life it also about those little moments of just being with the people you love.