"As soon as I was old enough (1964), I got myself to New York. I learned the subway, went to (now long gone) little movie theaters, sketched in the Bleecker St. Café, and saw everything at the Museum of Modern Art. I was going to college in Brooklyn and found the best free thing to do in New York was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and it still is, although now I usually do it from Manhattan and then stroll along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The two best movie theaters in NY are now the Film Forum on West Houston St. and the Paris on 58th St. just west of 5th Ave. (You'll understand why when you go.) If you're walking around Midtown, you'll appreciate the bathrooms at the fabulous Japanese department store, Takashimaya, on 5th Ave. between 54th & 55th. The best place for breakfast is the Dining Room at the Neue Gallery, 5th Ave. & 86th, home to the world's most ... [more]
Lloyd Ziff, Photographer
Horseback Riding
Sadly, riding in the city is better done in the back of a taxi than atop a horse. You once would have (until the end of April 2007) seen riders in Central Park but time has brought an onslaught of potential hazards, from dogs and joggers in your path, to busy streets en route to the Bridle Path; in the end, city riding was deemed unsafe even for stalwart equestrians. There are a fair number of academies nearby, and we list them here if time allows you to investigate these options. We do wholeheartedly recommend the few remaining wonderful shops for the never-ending demands of tack and garb.