Fun Places: Central Park, particularly the roller disco.

Sheep Meadow

Roller disco folks having fun in terry towelling.

Lovely stuff.

Central Park is a great place to go, pretty much any time of year, unless it's raining or you really, really need to go to loo. SO short on loos there. The leaves in Autumn are gorgeous, it's fun the see the snow and you're a bit sheltered from the wind due to trees in Winter. Summer and Spring are self-explanatory.


At any given time, there will be a lot of people there, and more than a few will be hurling flying objects around. It doesn't matter what anyone else is doing, though, because it's so enormous in Central Park that you'll have personal space, and everyone gives off an air of benevolent goodwill. Who could be unhappy in a giant, beautiful park?


A hot tip is that the guys rolling wheeled carts around and selling: 'Water, water, ice cold water!' are most usually also selling beer. Sometimes jello shots too. This is on the down low, because there are undercover cops booking people for public drinking. And they are undercover! The one I saw ticketing a man looked almost exactly like the guy I'd just bought a beer from. Great cover. Or deep cover? I know the lingo. What could be better than a round of tipsy Frisbee? Central Park is ace. 


My favourite day to go to Central Park is Sunday, because that's roller disco day. Anyone with the urge and roller dancing ability can join in, and the music is funky and fun (and available from a crazy looking guy for $4 a CD, or the bargain price of 5 for $20, um). 


These are some serious characters on skates, my favourite is Terry Towelling Mountain Man, an enormous, ripped dude in home-made pants, whose size belies his grace on wheels. Sometimes he'll even pop a water bottle or three on his head to show off. There's also an older woman who was clearly some kind of professional in an earlier life, she is beautiful to watch.


There's lots of active stuff you can do personally: bird watching, tours, punting. I haven't done any of this stuff, because the grass is soft and green, and you can lie straight on it with no picnic rug and take your shoes off too. I'd prefer to do that, because it's inadvisable to lie around shoeless in many places in NYC. It's really special to have places like this in a big city, soothes the soul and all that.

Fun Places: How do you like them apples?

This past weekend, we went apple picking in Connecticut, at Beardsley's Farm. They were probably the most expensive apples we'll ever have, given we hired a car to get there and home, but it was worth it. I have two words for you: cider donuts. Both of those words are great on their own, but together, it's really something special. I realise that donuts and donut-related stories are taking up a disproportionately large amount of space on this nascent blog. This is reflective of the space they took in my weekend. I had a donut every day. And every day I was happy. Coincedence?

Apple picking was good fun. It was nice to get out into the countryside. It was beautiful, relaxing and smelly in parts. This is what the country is like, and it's nice to be reminded of this from time to time. As a country kid turned city slicker (who should know better), I wore impractical shoes and got allergies. Maybe there should be more country outings around these parts. We got a pretty good haul, all in all, and like I said: the donuts.

I did a bit of research before we left, maybe too much because all the farms and their features blurred together and I thought we were going to an organic farm with a hayride. We were not, it featured neither of those things. However, the donuts. They did have those. Oh yes, they did.

America is just beautiful, and unlike anywhere I have lived before, almost immediately after you leave the city it just gets gorgeous. Leafy, green, beautiful light, lots of animals. It's fecund verdant out there.

Perusing the Macintosh section of the orchard.

Tiny taste tester makes sure it's all apples.

Fun Places: Smorgasburg Food and Flea Market

People loving the action at Smorgasburg.

Smorgasburg is an extremely addictive bad habit that we've picked up this Summer. I say 'bad' Beastie Boys style; not bad meaning 'bad', but 'bad' meaning:'good'. But also meaning bad, as in bad for my thighs. Very, very bad news for the old thighs. But the taste buds, now those guys are happy! 

'Let's go to Smorgasburg today' the taste buds pipe up of a Saturday morning. 'Great idea' echoes belly. 'Dear God, no' shudder the thighs. 'Pipe down, Nerd, you're overruled' say the taste buds and belly simultaneously (they are bullies).  And with that settled, we head off.

A large outdoor market featuring local and artisan foods, there are a large number of interesting options at Smorgasburg, and they're all good. Slow cooked pork rolls from Porchetta are a big fave, the pizzas made in a mobile pizza oven by Pizza Moto are pretty amazing too.

But it is these that are my weakness, the ultimate diet kryptonite. They are just so freaking good: Dough donuts.

People lining up for their crack donuts from Dough. Holy moly, these things are amazing.

Cafe con leche donut. Largely responsible for my change in pants size.

Littlest donut fan is man of taste.

The view at the Waterfront as you eat your snacks ain't too shabby.

The flea market component is also pretty amazing. On Sundays the focus shifts from food, more heavily to flea. There's a vendor who only sells vintage spectacle frames, which is pretty fun. There's lots of vintage leather bags in great condition, and ugly sweaters to wear ironically if you're so inclined. 

What I most enjoy is the hand-crafts, there are some beautiful pieces of hand-made wooden furniture and art. I don't know what happens to Smorgasburg when it gets really cold and windy, but we'll be rugging up and going as long as they will.

Fun Places: McGolrick Park (Foo de fa fa)

McGolrick Park in Brooklyn is one of my favourite fun places. This park is a hidden gem. I almost don't want to tell anyone about it, because I am a selfish, fun-place-hogging person! Ok, I'm not really, because I am telling you about it, but I do hope it stays relatively quiet and nice. I can only think that people don't know about it, or else everybody would go there all of the time. Like I do! Or plan to, and then get too lazy to leave the house. Either/or. It's so special to have places like this in the city.

McGolrick Park not much further from the subway than the dusty, overcrowded and much more popular McCarren Park. I am not hating all over McCarren park, but there's drawbacks. There you are likely to be pelted in the face by a hipster's errant, ironic kickball, but not at McGolrick! Go during the week, and it's like a private park. A private, leafy, beautiful paradise! Except I will be there, probably. Or not if it's a lazy day. So a private paradise with you and one other person. Maybe.

McGolrick Park: a TV star.

Where: McGolrick Park, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY.

What: a lovely park with swings and lots of grassy areas.

Pros: Shade, soft grass, nice playground, loos, dog run.

Cons: Occasional dog fights, and ticks. I've only witnessed the first one.