Stars & Stripes

Discovering a new city is like reading a book you've never read before. It can be daunting at first, you don't know what to expect, and although the cover might give you a clue - you simply cannot guess at the detail that each page will go into. New York is a huge book, full of new colours, lights, sounds and smells. It was incredible there - I didn't know which way to look as I wandered through the steets. From 42nd to Chinatown, the subway hurtling beneath from Grand Central to Soho. Every different chapter of the city revealing a new side just waiting to be explored.

You can't plan too carefully, you never know what will catch your eye and just eat your time. To constrain yourself would be to deny yourself the curiosity that New York thrives on. Being based in Manhattan we had the run of the city, the best little delis and cafés just around the corner for breakfast together, and not too far to walk from Grand Central as midnight crept up on us - we had a curfew of course. There was something for everyone within minutes of travel wether it needed a comfy pair of shoes or a metro card and a map. For the shopping minded, Soho and Times square heaved with shops of all varieties. For the boho romantics, central park was scenic and serene, for the history buffs - the architecture. I could take my pick between the lot.

You won't know what it feels like to see this place from 67 storeys up unless you go there, you won't know the smell of the subway unless you stand on a grate in the street, and you won't know what it's like to fall asleep to the sound of the city that never sleeps, unless you go there, breathe it, live it and just try and soak up as much as you can. It's a beautiful city. Go see.