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.

Great gallery space in Brooklyn/Bushwick with oftentimes pop-up-exhibitions like the picture above during the opening of @preludeprojects

Wonderful place to grab a coffee+pastry with a great vibe and outdoor-only seating. Best cold-brew in the neighborhood. Doubles as the headquarters for The Lot Radio station, so there is often a live DJ spinning pretty chill music.

One of my all time favorite shops. They have amazing succulents at reasonable prices. It's always a pleasure to stop in and see what they've got that day. Ched, the owner, is not only extremely knowledgeable but totally hilarious. Every plant has been personalized and anthropomorphized.

It’s photographer Jay Maisel’s studio building on the Bowery. The fact that he hasn’t sold out to the manic gentrification of everything in New York is even cooler. Makes me happy that the whole place is covered in piss stains and graffiti when everything around it is all polished and shiny and expensive. It’s like a giant middle finger raised to those disgusting, bloodthirsty, city-raping real-estate developers. Awesome.