Person of Interest: Valeria in the City
From the romantic countryside of Italy to the gritty streets of New York City, Valeria in the City reminds Mel Writes why New York is so magical.
Photo Credit: Instagram
367 days away from You!!!!!
My “mind” journey to NYC starts every time I come back home, ‘cause I keep on being there!
Do you wanna feel like a real new yorker? Follows my tips on the city and remember that NYC is not only the Empire State Building, the charging bull at Wall street or the Times Square lights. So take the subway, feel the city, walk as if you were in a terrible hurry.
This past September was my 13th visit and I still never get used to it.
“How is it possible?” people ask me. And I respond, "It's because NYC is not just a city, it’s a variety of cities in one; it depends on the neighborhood you are in, that has its own soul."
Nobody could, for example, compare SoHo to UES, or LES to Chelsea. Completely different!!
And talking about Brooklyn, aren’t Dumbo and Williamsburg different from Carrols Garden or Red Hook?
Have you ever been to Red Hook? Oh, I think you should. No subway to get there. Just take the water taxi at Pier 11 at South Street Seaport.
As soon as you approach IKEA, you feel you’re in another world (where is Manhattan?!), back to 50’s! No traffic no crowd but one of the best seafood you can eat enjoying a stunning sunset: the sun is just in front of you and so is Lady Liberty.
Keep this in mind: every place you go, it recalls you that you are in NYC ‘cause you can see the skyline or the Empire or the freedom tower from many points in the city.
If you want to admire the Manhattan skyline just go to Roosevelt Island by tramway; (it seems you can touch by hand the Queensboro bridge) or go to Williamsburg.
I went there on a Saturday morning and I was so lucky to be there during the Smorgasburg, a flea food market.
Grab something to eat and look at the East river park just in front of you in its glory beauty. The east river seems to be there as to divide 2 worlds. You are there and I’m here!
And what about a walk at Mott street, going from Nolita to Chinatown. Everything is slower down here.
Take your time making shopping among the little vintage shops and sipping a coffee and tasting a cupcake at Little cupcakes, a bakery not famous among tourists and trust me it makes everything much better…
“How do you feel when you stay in the city?” difficult question to answer … I feel one and nobody, I feel like everyone else, I can act as a posh lady who lives in a beautiful penthouse in Park Ave., who goes to Bergdorf for shopping or to Sant Ambroeus for a brunch with her friends talkin’ about the next charity event; I could feel like a model who walks in SoHo in her biker shoes or a business woman who is having a cocktail after work, before taking her subway train to come back home…
NYC is this and much more and you know what???? The most important thing to me is that I feel I’M ONE OF THEM!!!!
xoxo
Valeria in the City
For more Valeria, visit Vale & The City on Facebook.