Extra Chinese Restaurant. Have the ChongQing Wings if you Dare.

Sometime in 2016 Sprout Home garden center sprung a second, even larger space on Grand Street. Like many of the converted warehouse buildings in the neighborhood, this space offers a soaring ceiling, exposed rafters, and the warmth of unfinished brick walls. All this serves as a lofty and inviting backdrop to the real stars—the plants (!) of all sizes and species. This verdant space (complete with a stunning, fresh-cut "flower bar") is cleverly curated to feel more like a botanic garden, than your typical nursery. Incredibly you could take it all home with you! Oh! And while you’re there, don’t forget to choose a planter from their inspired selection. They have a gorgeous pot for every plant and plant-lover, no matter how green(ish) your thumb may be.

My second-favorite outdoor-place in Manhattan. The abandoned 1.6 km rail tracks running above Chelsea down to the Meatpacking district were turned into an above-ground park. Perfectly nice place for sitting in the sun, reading, relaxing, having lunch in some green spot in the city. Nice views at the Hudson River, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty (little small from there but still visible) and the architecture around Chelsea.

When I first moved to New York, enamoured by its parks and museums and design firms and restaurants and bars, I never imagined that there could be much more to its geography than that. How wrong I was. My first drive across the George Washington Bridge was jaw-dropping - the cliffs of New Jersey are astonishingly tall, covered in a dense thicket of trees. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Drive up 87 to the Catskills or the Adirondacks and you'll witness the Hudson River winding its way through spectacular scenery and unforgiving seasons. Now I can't get enough; just two hours up the road, it's like the city never existed. Perfect recuperation after a long week.

A landmarked modernist interior designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. The former Four Seasons restaurant has been reopened as The Grill. Make your way to The Bar situated at the top of the famous staircase, beneath Richard Lippold’s iconic ceiling sculpture. It is a destination in New York City's architecture and cocktail culture.