Sandpits and Sun Loungers...

Down at the Chambers Street end of the Summer Streets route there was a lot going on, there was a samba band playing, the New Jersey Nets had a mini basketball court with people shooting hoops and break dancing, and there were sandpits, sun loungers and sand sculptures...

When we went to see the sand sculptures at Coney Island I was hoping for a New York Skyscrapers sand sculpture, and was a bit disappointed that there wasn't one, but the sand sculpture today made up for that...

It was amazing!

They were working on the Flat Iron Building, The Empire State Building and The Chrysler Building...

It was great that the sculpture was surrounded by all the skyscrapers near the financial district, it was so impressive, especially the Flat Iron Building, I think that might have been my favourite...

What steady hands they must have... Good job it wasn't a windy day today!

Short On Space...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's having to find somewhere new to keep my bike!

Summer Streets...

This month, for three Saturdays in a row, Park Avenue has been closed off from traffic and opened up for cyclists, runners, roller-bladers and walkers as part of the Summer Streets programme that's running at the moment.

From the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge, aaaaaaaall the way up to 72nd Street at the side of Central Park, people we able to enjoy cycling in the middle of all the skyscrapers and not worry about being bumped by a taxi driver.

This seemed like an opportunity we'd be crazy to miss, so we got up early and headed to Chambers Street to get in on the action.

There was so much going on just a Chambers Street alone, but all the way up the 7 mile route there were different stations will all sorts going on, from sandpits and sand sculptures to yoga. There were also some bike shops along the way offering free check-ups for your bike. Perhaps the best bit was that at different areas along the route, there were free bike rentals! So we got our bikes free for an hour!

There was a great atmosphere at the event, everybody seemed to be loving the freedom of being able to own the road all the way up Park Avenue, and there were LOADS of people taking part.

The big open roads looked fantastic, and being able to cycle passed all the amazing buildings was great...

As we were only allowed free bike rental for an hour and we had to return the bikes to the same station that we got them from, we didn't have time to get all the way up to the park and back. It was long enough to do a 7 mile round trip though, and we went from Chambers, up through China Town, up near SoHo, up to Union Square and near work and then up towards Grand Central Station and we turned round outside the Waldorf Astoria.

One of the best bits was being able to ride on the bit of road that goes through the arches above Grand Central - I love going through that bit in a taxi because it feels like we're driving into the station or something - but it was even more fun on the bikes...

There were all sorts of people taking part and all sorts of bikes being ridden, all shapes and sizes...

This tandem was our favourite participant, not because of the bike but because of the boxer puppy sitting in the basket on the front!

It was an absolutely fantastic morning and such a great and fun way to see the city. We were saying that they should shut off the roads to traffic more often - maybe they should have one avenue that's permanently cyclist/pedestrianised.

It was SO much fun.

Down By The River...

Last night we went down to Brooklyn Bridge Park to watch an outdoor screening of Breakfast At Tiffany's. All through summer in lots of places around New York they door outdoor screenings of films, and all the ones down by the Brooklyn Bridge are New York themed films.

Unfortunately by the time we got to the place where they were showing it, there wasn't any room to sit, every square inch of grass had been taken up by bums on blankets, all around the outside were people on their camping chairs, people we sitting amongst the trees, people were even sitting where they couldn't possibly see but were just listening.

So it was a bit of a shame that we'd not planned on there being several hundred people there, but it didn't matter because we were down in one of our favourite parts of Brooklyn and the view was absolutely breath-taking...

I was actually actually speechless for a wee while. It was beautiful, and I couldn't work out why we'd not been down to the river at night before. The view of the bridge is amazing (and you can't see any of the construction work because it's dark!) and all the skyscrapers look so beautiful with all their lights reflecting on the river.

It was also the first time we'd been to the park bit down there, it's all been recently done and it's lovely and lush. There are grassy mounds to sit and realx, and there's a little walk way which is like a mini Highline bit, and I think there's even more park that follows the river round.

So we didn't really mind that we didn't get to see the film, we sat on a bench listening to the river lapping up against the pier, looking out at the amazing view, eating ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (well, you can guess who was having the ice cream!).

So from now on, when you come and visit, you can expect a trip down to Brooklyn Bridge Park at sundown... there's even a open air/sided bar in the middle of the park that we could go and have a drink at... I think Abi and I will have to go and test the bar soon.

It was a really magical, New Yorky summers evening... it was just beautiful.

Blue Skies...

The Empire State Building looked extra magnificent as we went for a walk yesterday lunchtime, with perfect blue skies and fluffy white clouds over head.

The weather at the moment is perfect. It's not too hot, there's a little breeze and it's so sunny. (Now I've said that, it'll probably rain today)

Out With His Bird...

Band of Horses

Wednesday night was the night that we were supposed to be seeing Kings Of Leon and Band or Horses play at Jone's Beach, however Kings Of Leon ended up cancelling their entire summer tour!

We were both really miffed not only because we really wanted to see KOL, but I really wanted to see the venue, it's an outdoor arena by the beach, and we really wanted to see Band of Horses too.

Luckily, a couple of days after the KOL cancelled the tour, Band of Horses announced a short-notice show in New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom, so all was not lost! So on Wednesday night I went to see the Band of Horses instead.

The Hammerstein Ballroom is up near the Tick Tock Diner (so I had to pop in for my tea), and is attached to the Manhattan Center. It's a really nice venue, it's not quite as ballroomy as I was hoping, but it had the boxes and balconies and it had a ballroomy ceiling...

We last saw Band of Horses at the Williamsburg Waterfront last summer, they sounded fantastic then and they sounded even better this time. They were brilliant.

I think they were pretty annoyed that their massive tour had been cancelled but they were so appreciative that everyone had gone to see them on such short notice, I think they'd managed to sell out the ballroom.

Their songs remind me of being in Arkansas (I listened to them a lot, sitting on the balcony of my room), and of being in big wide open bits of America. Their album covers always have really lovely photographs of American landscapes and starry skies and for the gig they'd got a big screen behind them and they projected videos and photographs as a backdrop for each song, which made me want to get in a car with Abi and go on a big roadtrip.

It was a great gig and I'm really glad I was able to see them after all. Here are some videos of their best songs...

It was a really great gig - I'm looking forward to seeing them again when they've got some new stuff, and according to them they're going to start recording that new stuff today!

Riding High...

I still don't really know how people ride these bikes - but I love them.
I saw this one on the way back from the laundrette yesterday evening.

No Boring Boarding...

As there's lots of new building work going on near the boardwalk at Coney Island, there's a lot of areas that are covered up. They seem to have got different artists to paint the boarding around the building sites.

Some of them were a bit rubbish, but I liked these ones...

I especially liked this paper boat one...

That'd look nice on our wall.

Thrill Seekers...

Coney Island's been going under a bit of a face lift recently, and just in the time I've been out here so much has changed down there since Tom and I first went for the Hotdog eating competition.

There's still a lot of the original, well-loved and slightly worn rides and shops, some of which are standing the test of time better than others, but there's also a lot of new attractions down on the boardwalk.

Last year they opened the Luna Park, a new amusement park next door to the original fun fair (with the Wonderwheel and the Cyclone rollercoaster). Luna Park has a nice mix of rides, some for children, some for adults and some for both.

We walked around looking at all the rides, contemplating going on some of them, and then we came to the Brooklyn Flyer. We stood there watching the people flying round and round in their little seats wondering whether or not to take a ride.

We decided it looked like too much fun to miss out...

A little pre-ride nerves, and then we were off!

Don't look down!

Too late.

As well as the Luna Park and the old fun fair bit, earlier this year they opened the Scream Zone! It's a new smaller amusment park with some brilliant looking rides, like the Soaring Eagle...

For this one, you're lying forward (like Air at Alton Towers) and you fly around the rollercoaster, going headfirst through corkscrews and loop the loops - it looks fantastic.

There was also another ride called the Steeple Chase...

You ride horses around the bendy, curvy, speedy track!

It was over in a matter of seconds, but it looked like great fun, especially as you shoot off super fast at the beginning.

I think the Soaring Eagle, the Steeple Chase and the Wonder Wheel are the top of our list for when we go back to the park - very soon!

Sand Sculptures...

Yesterday there was a sand sculpture competition happening down at Coney Island, so we went along to have a look. I think we were both expecting it to be a professional sand sculpture competition, but when we got down there we realised that anyone could register for free and take part.

So rather than seeing 8 foot high replicas of the New York skyline, or the Egyptian Pyramids, there were things like this...

Which, is still impressive - but you know what I mean.

Also, with the competition being open to the public, and the Coney Island public, it meant that there were some questionable entrants, some of which weren't exactly appropriate for the family event...

There were however a couple of good ones, and on inparticular got our vote as the best sculpture...

A sunbathing Kermit the Frog!

In the end, we decided to leave the sculptures to it and left the beach, heading for the fun fair instead...

Happy Birthday Mr. Warhol...

It was Andy Warhol's birthday yesterday, and his statue in Union Square was dressed for the occassion!

Beautiful Buildings & Beautiful Burgers...

Last night after work Abi and went for a little walk up 5th Avenue, headed for the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. I love it around Madison Square Park, it's not toooo busy and it's surrounded by beautiful buildings, like the Flat Iron and this clock tower...

It was a beautiful evening and the temperature's started to drop now, so walking around isn't quite as hot, sticky and tiring as it has been this passed month. So queueing up for one of those delicious burgers wasn't too uncomfortable.

While we were in the queue (that was bending round Madison Square Park) we saw something that I never thought I'd see, but that I'd always wanted to see... FIREFLIES! The girl infront of us in the queue spotted one, blinking bright green in the bushes, and then there was another one. They were amazing, their little bums glowed bright bright green as they hovered about. They amazing little things, I still don't know how they glow, perhaps I'll google it in a minute.

We finally got to the front of the queue, placed our orders and sat down with our burgers under the string light canopy.


I've said it before - and I'll say it again, many times - Shake Shack Burgers are the best burgers in New York, there may be some good contenders, but Shake Shack are my number one. We'll still carry on with our research though, we've been a bit slack on the burger front recently - so we'll have to sort that out.

As we sat there with our faces covered in Shake Shack sauce we realised that we'd just been letting silly things at work get to us too much, letting them have too much importance - and we didn't come out here to New York to worry about work, we can do that anywhere. We're here to experience New York, to enjoy everything it has to offer and to get inspired by what we see.

On our walk back down to the subway, we were certainly inspired by what we saw...

We were walking towards Union Square Park and could hear some saxophony jazz coming from somewhere, so we followed the sounds to find a little jazz trio playing in the park, drums, saxophone and double bass...

And then, just before heading down into the subway, we saw this...

I think it was all a sign.

I'm going to go and practice spinning on my head now...

Shaky Start...

So far, August has been bloody shoddy.

We're only 5 days in, but in that time there have been some blummin' annoying things happen... I discovered (after cycling for 4 miles) that I had a flat tyre on my bike, the Kings of Leon gig that Abi and I were looking forward to next week has been cancelled (not to be rescheduled!) and worst of all, Abi had to have a root canal which has cost a small fortune. So all in all, not a great start.

But - as I walked to get some milk for the studio this morning, this view was looking back at me...

and it's hard to be angry or upset when you're so filled with awe.

Hopefully August will buck it's ideas up and start being a brilliant month, I have a feeling that things are going to turn around this weekend, starting with a burger and cold beverage this evening.