New York Stores

The interior of some stores we went into were awe inspiring. My favourites were Longchamp in the East Village (the giant winding staircase is unreal) and ABC Home and Carpet on Broadway (a giant Aladin's cave of furniture, jewellery and more). I also loved the supermakets. It was as if each one had a theme. 'Trader Joe's' was tropical and another was rammed full of Dinosaurs. Other's had paper mache turkey's hidden away from cereal boxes (well, it was Thanks Giving after all!) and scarecrows staring down on you as you choose your cereal. A great store we found was called 'Toy Tokyo'. It is a tiny shop hidden away in the East Village full of collectables like Ron English's Ronald McDonald and Charlie Brown figures. A real treasure chest. Dogs were displayed as toys, barking and shaking in plastic cages stacked on top of eachother. 'Pets on Lex' in Lexington Avenue, displayed Poms, Chihauhas, Dalmations, Persians and much more. We often went in, especially if it was raining, to coo at the poor animals, despite the fact that the way they're bread are illegal and cruel. But everyone loves a cute puppy, right?

Bergdorf Goodman

Bergdorf Goodman had the most beautiful window displays I've ever seen. They certainly were the best in Manhattan. People in the street stood and looked at each one for lengths of time, as though they were in some outdoors art gallery. Such imagination, flare and intricacy. The inside of the store was just as gorgeous, the woman's more than the mens (they were opposite eachother on different sidewalks). Rows and rows of couture laced with marble walls, feathers and diamonds trickling past you at very step. A lovely place to walk around and lose yourself in. Makes Harrod's look like Debenhams!

Central Park, Manhattan

Central Park in November is one of the most gorge places you'll see. The leaves on the trees are red and orange, the air is crisp and everyone walks around in hats and gloves. The beauty of this time of year is that you still get a lot of bright sun, which was sometimes very warm. We spent hours walking around Central Park. We'd buy coffee and bagels, find a bench to sit on and have our breakfast watching joggers rush past and horses trot along. On Thanks Giving day, after the parade, we got some pizza and went to the park. We watched families walk together, play American football (I think that episode of Friends was used as a reference) and even found the ferrace wheel I was dying to find last time I came to NY on 2006. A wonderful place to relax and a great way to escape the big city (not that you'd ever want to!).

Cocolada's Photography

Cocolada is only seventeen. Her images are gorgeous. She takes blends hazy nostalgia with punches of now and projects them so powerfully it hurts. With a preferance for 'bad quality digital cameras' and polaroid film, her photography is raw and personal. I love how detached her muses seem. It's like they don't care she's there; they'll carry on doing whatever the want. Or maybe they don't even notice her presence. Her portraits are honest, unapologetic and yet they seem so fragile. If I was this prolific at seventeen I would have done more than drink too much and talk about boys. I would have taken pictures of myself drinking too much and talking about boys.

Check out her Flickr profile and prepare yourself to be impressed. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cocoladas/3223420987/

DUMBO, Brooklyn

DUMBO is an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It encompasses two sections; one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another which continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. I first came to DUMBO in 2005 on a History of Art trip with my school. We had gone to visit an artist in his studio (which, in itself was an incredible experience) and went to go have lunch on the grassy areas by Brooklyn Bridge. I sat looking over towards Manhattan, listening to Kings of Convenience and remember thinking 'I am completely in love with this city'.