New York, New York, so good they named it twice,New York, New York, all the scandal and the vice, I love it! So sang Gerard Kenny in 1978. I'm not so sure about the vice, but I love a bit of scandal and where better to read about it than in the New York Times? Sitting in one of NY's many diners, while knocking back endless cups of coffee and wolfing down a real Big Apple breakfast, is a pretty good way to soak up the city morning atmosphere. I started my affair with New York in 1971 when I visited the city for the first time at the tender age of fourteen, flying from London on my own. Too scared to disturb the passenger next to me, or to use the lavatory, I remained in my seat for the whole journey, listening to Tony Blackburn through crackly headphones, on a continuous one-hour loop. Emerging surprisingly unscarred from the experience of hearing the iconic disk jockey's cheesy jokes eight times, I was met at the airport by the American family with whom I stayed for one month. It was the time of flower power and the hippy generation, a movement I embraced ...

Stepping into the spa we were immediately transported to a place of serenity and tranquility. Beautiful aromas drifted past us, igniting our senses. Spa staff with beautiful snow-white uniforms and a smile to match welcomed us to

‘There is something in the air..’ Remember the lyrics of the ABBA song? Those lines definitely apply to New York. The moment I stepped out of La Guardia airport and into the proverbial New York cab, I knew I had arrived at a very special destination. With the help of a lot of sign language and bits and pieces of several other idioms, I convinced the cabbie to find his way to Manhattan, more precisely Central Park where I checked into my hotel, freshened up and was ready to explore. It was my first time in New York and I thought Manhattan would be much more confusing and not easy to navigate. Not so, I mean the entire island is only 11 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, all laid out beautifully in a grid, so how can you possibly get lost? But what sites and adventures are crammed into such a comparatively small space! The very air, quite cold in February, but invigorating, was humming with energy. First stop was a real New York hot dog at the entrance to Central Park. It just doesn’t taste the same anywhere else. The park is huge, green and absolutely beautiful. People ...

I’m no Meg Ryan and he’s no Tom Hanks, yet despite this, we managed to fall in love and have a sleepless time in the city that never sleeps. 

Red-eyed from the flight we made our way from JFK to The Gershwin, a 
boutique hotel on 27th and 5th. 

After checking in we walked ten blocks to the Empire State and ascended 102 floors to the top. The city twinkled before us in the cold clear night sky. Behind us the park was quiet. Ahead of us Fifth Avenue looked alive with lights as it carved it’s way down the island dissecting it in two before losing itself in a mish mash of streets heralding the start 
of Greenwich which beckoned us to descend, hail a cab and make our way to The Blue Note in the heart of The Village. 

 Jazz courtesy of Ben E King, daiquiris and our hearts aglow we hailed 
another cab down to the waterfront and watched the sun come up and the boats busy themselves under Brooklyn Bridge. 

Practising our very best John Travolta struts we walked to the middle 
of the Bridge before returning to pose for pictures in Battery Park with 
the ...

Here at Holiday Velvet we often get asked about where you can leave your luggage whilst you are waiting to 'check in' to your apartment or after you have 'checked-out'. Whilst you can always ask the owner directly if they are able to look after your bags for a few hours, left luggage facilities still exist at many major train stations and other transport hubs. These days, most of these facilities run on an automated locker system (gone are the days when you checked in your bag in as you would a coat in a nightclub). Remember that they may fill up at peak periods. Rome When arriving at Termini Station on the Leonardo Express train from Fiumicino airport, you can leave your baggage in the ‘piazza’ on the lower-ground floor (follow the ‘Deposito bagagli’ signs). It’s open 6am-midnight, 7 days a week. Venice ‘Deposito bagagli’ is available at Santa Lucia Train Station (open 6am-midnight daily). Cooperative Trasbagagli is a private company that will not only store you luggage for you, but take it by boat to your place of accommodation, saving you schlepping bags over the bridges and canals. They have two offices in Venice; one at the Piazzale ...

For all year round skating in Chelsea, there is only one place to go and that is the Chelsea Piers, Sports & Entertainment Complex where there is a great choice of ice skating complemented by other activities such as baseball, golf, bowling and a spa. Chelsea Piers is located between seventeenth and twenty-third streets and is by the Hudson River. The southern entrance to the complex is on Eighteenth Street but the main entrance is on Twenty-Third Street and there is car parking available. There is a good choice of ice skating activities at the Chelsea Piers and one of the most popular classes is figure skating. The state of the art facilities at the Chelsea Piers rink are superb for beginners and Olympic competitors. Of course, if you simply want to don a pair of skates and join a general skating session, then there are plenty of times set aside for having fun. But, if you are serious about learning to figure skate singly or in pairs, then Chelsea Piers is one of the world’s leading training centres. Of course, skating is best learnt as a child but there are plenty of adult classes too for people of all ...

Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is where all New York’s leading museums and art galleries are located and one stretch of road is called "Museum Mile". It makes life easy if you choose your holiday apartment in the Upper East Side to have all the leading museums within a few blocks of each other. Every year in June, 5th Avenue is closed for the Museum Mile Festival which is a joyous event full of musicians, street entertainers and free access to the museums. Here are a few of the museums that contribute to Museum Mile: • El Museo del Barrio is dedicated to exhibiting Latin American art and also works from Puerto Ricans and people of Caribbean origin. • The Museum of the City of New York has the feel of an old colonial mansion and is one of New York’s most elegant-looking museums. There are five floors of exhibits including areas such as the Rockefeller rooms. The exhibits retell the history of New York and there is a fantastic display of model ships recounting New York’s prominence as a port. One of the most fascinating exhibits is a series of rooms that have been recreated to represent various periods in America’s colonial history. • The Jewish Museum ...

New York City is such an exciting place that it is possible to find new things to do every day of a long holiday. But, sometimes the sky high buildings can feel oppressive and getting out for a day trip can be totally refreshing. The choice of day trips is impressive and below are listed some of the most popular. NEW YORK DAY TRIP: BELMONT PARK RACE TRACK Belmont Park race track is a superb way to spend a day outside of New York. It is set in 430 acres in Belmont, New York State and has two seasons. The first race season in 2009 lasts for 64 days and is from April 29 until June 26 and the autumn season is from September 11 until October 25. NEW YORK DAY TRIP: NIAGARA FALLS A day trip from New York City to Niagara Falls may seem a little ambitious but there are day trips that leave from Midtown Manhattan, take you to LaGuardia Airport and fly you up to Buffalo. From the airport there is a guided tour of the Niagara Falls and a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat. Once you have seen all there is to see of the ...

Times Square has improved considerably over the last 20 years which explains why so many millions of people visit the square to see the famous lights and LED billboards every year. There are a number of old theatres in the Times Square area and here are some you may like to visit during your holiday in New York. NEW VICTORY THEATER »map location One of the oldest theater in Times Square is the New Victory Theatre which was built in 1899. The theatre was refurbished in 1995 and is a theatre dedicated to productions for children and families. » website NEW AMSTERDAM THEATER »map location The New Amsterdam Theatre was constructed in 1904 and is located at 214 West 42nd Street. The theatre is run by Disney Theatrical Productions and is currently (June 2009) showing Mary Poppins, the musical. SELWYN THEATER »map location The Selwyn Theater is on the north side of West 42nd Street at 229 and opened in 1918. The theater was built in an Italian renaissance design and was one of three theatres the Selwyn brothers constructed and ran on 42nd Street. The other two theaters are the Apollo and the Times Square Theatre. The Selwyn Theater was taken over by the ...

Chelsea, New York, is on Manhattan Island, south of West 34th Street and the area known as Hell’s Kitchen; it is north of West 23rd Street and West Village; and lies to the west of 9th Avenue. Chelsea is home to many art galleries (and New York apartment rentals!) and is renowned in New York as a centre for creativity. Following are the top 10 art galleries in Chelsea, although the selection should be regarded as subjective and a personal choice. 1. AMSTERDAM WHITNEY GALLERY »map location The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery is situated in 511 West 25th Street and throughout the year has glamorous gala openings to promote its exhibitions. 2. BARBARA GLADSTONE GALLERY »map location The Barbara Gladstone Gallery is located in 515 West 24th Street and there is also a gallery in 530 West 21st Street. 3. LUHRING AUGUSTINE GALLERY »map location The Luhring Augustine Gallery is in 531 West 24th Street and holds exhibitions for many of New York’s and the art world’s leading talents. 4. MATTHEW MARKS GALLERY »map location The Matthew Marks Gallery is at 523 West 24th Street and displays the works of a good number of artists and holds both contemporary art and museum exhibitions. 5. GAGOSIAN GALLERY »map location The ...