What we did this month.

The beautiful 9/11 memorial.  A haven of calm reflection and remembrance amid the steaming, taxi-horn driven chaos of downtown Manhattan.  Two huge pools mark the footprints of the World Trade Center towers, with the tallest man made waterfalls in North America cascading around their edge into dark central voids with seemingly infinite depth.  Surrounding this, the 2,983 names of every victim of the attacks,  including those in Washington DC, Pennsylvania and the 1993 WTC bombing, are carved into brass panels which stretch around each of the one acre pools.  It is as powerful as it is serene and a humbling tribute to the horrors that occurred there in 2001.

Prospect Park's Long Meadow, the best place for a sun drenched picnic.  Every once in a while, the giant shadow of an airliner approaching nearby JFK will race up the lawn at three hundred miles per hour - ensuring that you never quite forget where you are.

Meeting the madcap characters of Greenwich Village's "Accomplice".  Part treasure hunt, part theatrical production, part walking tour.  The city becomes a detective thriller - you're the star and everyone and anyone around you could be in on the act.  We did the original "Soho" show back in 2011 and can honestly say that this is one of the most fun ways to spend an afternoon in New York.

One of the many exquisite display cases at the American Museum of Natural History.  This is more than taxidermy - it is art.  Along the walls of its vast, darkened halls, giant windows open up into beautifully arranged snapshots of wildlife from around the globe.  Wolves howl in the platinum moonlight of a winter's evening in Alaska, Buffalo graze on wide open plains and a colony of penguins, gathered on a floating ice sheet, bask in the Antarctic sunshine.

On a hot Sunday afternoon, couples paddle slowly across one of Central Park's many lakes.  Through the trees, Art Deco sky scrapers peer down onto this giant slab of greenery dropped right into the heart of Manhattan.

Grand Central Terminal - the busiest and most spectacular train station in the USA.  The main hall's aqua marine ceiling with its "god's eye" mural of the stars in resplendent golden paint, the immense, gilded chandeliers, the polished marble floors and the soaring stone arches and columns - it is more of a palace than a train terminal.

The Chrysler Building's towering reflection.  Sore necks are what you get when exploring this part of town, where the sky is just a strip of blue running off into the distance and the city roars over, under and around you.

Originally the colour of a shiny new penny, this copper colossus has guarded New York harbour for almost 130 years.  Whether you're way over in Brooklyn or right up under her feet, she is a spectacular sight, standing 305 feet (93m) over the choppy waters.  Both an awe inspiring work of engineering and a beautiful piece of neoclassical art, she is, for many, the most iconic symbol of the United States of America. US troops in the 40's, heading for the war in Europe, boarded ships just up-river in Hoboken, New Jersey and would have sailed right passed her before turning out to sea, while for the thousands of immigrants escaping poverty in Europe, her resplendent form, rising out of the horizon, promising a new world of hope and freedom, was their first sighting of this strange new land after weeks at sea.

Other NYC highlights this month have been: 

The Secret Science Club - an evening of science lectures, short films, cocktails and craft beer beneath a ceiling of thick wooden beams and softly lit chandeliers in an old Brooklyn warehouse.

Barcade - My favourite bar in the world.  Inside what appears to be an old motor mechanic's garage, a long row of 23 micro brews on tap keep patrons fully lubricated as they huddle around the classic arcade machines which line the bare brick walls.  Pacman, Space Invaders, Paperboy, Rampage, Donkey Kong, Frogger - the list goes on....and only 25c (less than 17p) a play.  Over the binging, zapping and beeping of the machines, an eclectic mix of hand picked tunes provides an appropriately cool soundtrack to accompany the sinking of quarters and extermination of pixelated aliens.

Syfy Movies With a View - New Yorkers flock to this weekly summer event in Brooklyn Bridge Park with blankets, pizzas, snacks and drinks, in the hope of grabbing a much coveted patch of grass on one of the many rolling lawns by the river.  With the backdrop of a warm summer sun setting behind the magnificent Manhattan skyline, sending the sky into a fluffy pink inferno, and the Statue of Liberty glowing in the distance, we sat and watched the eighties classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Fireflies danced over our heads like tiny ushers and an endless line of planes heading into and out of the city formed a slowly revolving string of twinkling lights in the sky around us.  As the film's "Twist and Shout" musical interlude got underway, the crowds around us rose to their feet for an impromptu dance right there in the darkness.  A great cheer and round of applause and everyone was back down on their blankets for the rest of the movie.  Next week they're showing "Return of the Dragon"....I think we'll be going...

You can just about see the  glow of the screen through the trees to the left of the footbridge.