This is one of my favorite bars in Manhattan. It has a courtyard in the middle and they only serve a large selection of Belgian beer. It's always dark with red lights so it's like a giant darkroom with everyone developing hangovers instead of film. The courtyard creates a front bar that is open on the weekends, so if you get cornered talking about architecture you can escape over to the front bar and watch people walk down 4th street.

Its quite a trip out there but so very worth it if you wanna have the very special beach-experience! You can go there by car and then take the ferry either to Pines or Cherry Grove (I would prefer Pines!) or you do all by public transportation - there a "getaway tickes" for 36Dollars and the transfer works really smooth - may even be faster than by car!

Offering 20% off on current “indie bestsellers” (and 10% off picks from their well-read staff), you can still get a good deal while supporting one of the city’s last independent bookstores. They also carry an impressive selection of magazines and literary journals that you can flip through in their café. McNally’s event calendar is packed with appearances and readings by authors like Zadie Smith and Chris Kraus, but they're perhaps best known for their in-store printing press and self-publishing services.

I have old friends in San Francisco who grudgingly tell me that the High Line is everything that's wrong with New York. Well, too bad. To me, it embodies a culture that's constantly reinventing itself: a defunct elevated railway that was becoming a burden to the city ("we used to climb up there to throw garbage bags full of rotting Korean food at the Hasids!", noted a successful photographer's assistant) becoming a startling example of urban greening for the public good. The expert landscaping makes it feel like walking on a Montauk beach - but a stone's throw from some of New York's most progressive galleries and hotels.

The light in New York City never ceases to inspire. Walking around early on a sunny morning and looking at the rays of light dispersed through the windows of tall buildings makes me want to scream "New York, I love you!" over and over again.