If anyone asked me to sum up NY in one word - I’d probably say ’ freedom’. A New Yorker values his/her freedom above anything else. Sure - who doesn’t? But freedom to jog in front of the WTC in skimpy shorts and Tees while VPs in suits file past, freedom to clog streets with mini-massage parlours, used turkish towels and hotdogs, freedom to stand outside Macy’s and munch on fries all day while you gape at the crowds? The New Yorker is a breed apart. Whether you’re a limo-riding executive who lives at the Waldorf-Astoria, or the guitar player who strings for dollars outside the Port Authority bus depot- you all share the life and the spirit of the place.
And the best way to discover the big apple is to walk. Put on your worst pair of sneakers, don an old T-shirt and shirts, and join the hordes trudging across it’s bilanes and thoroughfares. There are some places you just can’t miss - the empire state, World Trade Center (WTC), Statue of Liberty, UN building, Macys, Statten Island, Madame Tussauds on Times Square, NY public Library...the list goes on. Take a walk down Lexington or Park and ogle the showrooms of some of the best labels in the world - GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Alfred Dunhill. Hop a ride on the ubiquitous NY cab and make friends with the cabbie.
If you’re hungry - grab a BKs whopper and fries like I did ( I almost got whopped though!) and make a pig of yourself - or maybe you’d prefer sitting on the steps of the Library and hogging along with everyone else. Take a stroll down Wall Street and marvel at some of the biggest business houses in the world of Banking and commerce. Or just saunter down the sidewalk at take in the sights and colours - the beer pubs, small ristorantes, picture sellers( I saw a framed sketch of NY city that they say took 4 years to complete!) Sports freaks - check out the NBA superstore next to the Rockefeller center.And make sure you grab at least one dog from the vendor on the corner - he’ll have a story to tell for sure.
Sure - you might feel like a tramp walking next to someone in a Giorgio Armani suit and doused in CKs Envy, just as I did - but there’s a distinct element of satisfaction in that too. On the streets of NY, remember - you’re no different from the guy next to you. You’re a New Yorker.