A dozen years later, I’m back in the city that doesn’t sleep. Hello again NYC! What was it like this time around? Bright lights all the way from uptown Manhattan all the way down to The Battery. It wasn’t so on the 2012 visit with Sandy’s “knockout” presence painting a dismal picture. Her arrival left much of the city, everywhere in Lower Manhattan south of 39th Street, power-less. The great divide was evident at nightfall and crossing 39thwas the gateway towards darkness or light, depending on which direction one’s heading. It was like a scene from an apocalyptic movie. However, the superstorm and its aftermath didn’t diminish the Big Apple’s delectability. I took my big bite of the city, never minding the hike down the 10th floor apartment and up to start and end a day. 

Not so on my recent visit. It was a quick climb up my fancy third floor room with a street view in a brownstone house in the Charlton–King–Vandam Historic District, where the largest cluster of Federalist and Greek revival style row houses can be found. I lived the Carrie Bradshaw lifestyle, or something like it, staying on the top floor of an iconic building in Hudson Square, Lower Manhattan. “She stayed in a pad. You have the entire house” said my host, Mylene C., who, like Carrie, collects shoes and scurries along the ground stoop in different heels daily. This was where my West Side –and beyond— stories took off.

Hudson Square is charming for a number of reasons and the list starts with the beautiful brownstones. The shopping, nightlife, food and art scenes are vibrant, and steps away from the front door, whether it’s within the area or the neighboring districts of Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich and Tribeca.

Nearby home are great food choices, whatever the cuisine of preference. Here’s a couple: Dominique Ansel Bakery along Spring Street for a bite of the famed cronuts, DKA (Dominique’s Kouign Amann) and chocolate croissant for breakfast (because it sells out in a flash once doors open); and along the same street, have a drink and a bite of no-frills good burgers, pies or steaks in one of the oldest operating drinking establishments in NYC— the legendary Ear Inn, aka the James Brown House, a 1770-built Federal-style structure, home to the African aide to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. It was a riverside property back then with the Hudson River shoreline just five feet from its front door. Today, the waterway is a block away flanking the West Side Highway, a popular path for walking, running and biking.

Exploring the food scene farther, my high school girl friends took me to their favorite Chinatown resto, Hop Kee, where the waiter had to stop my host from ordering for more as it won’t fit the table for six; discovered good pasta in a quaint resto in Italian Town with my hosts Rob and Mylene; and with my Davao clique, feasted on delicious slabs of 28 oz. T- Bone Steak, a favorite among locals and celebrities, at 1977-established Knickerbocker Bar & Grill in the heart of Greenwich.

In this fascinating, ever-evolving city, “been there, done that” may just not apply. There’s always a new facet to whatever has caught the heart which makes one eager to see what it is (or maybe, one can never get enough of it). It’s a love affair that lasts forever. Hallelujah to the city’s public transportation system, reliving it—and creating new ones— is effortless. Just hop on the subway. I did and made my rounds: a relaxing stroll in Central Park at daytime and the High Line in the evening; to MoMA, to dive into modern art (I wish there was more time for MET and Whitney); Times Square at three minutes before twelve for the Midnight Moments, when art takes over the digital billboards (braved the windy winter night and voila! a computer glitch on the very evening I went); said my beaded prayer at St. Patrick’s Cathedral; sipped coffee pairing it with Magnolia Banana Pudding on a sidewalk café by Rockefeller Center; viewed the holiday window displays of the luxury shops and the stacked giant luggage of a renovating Louis Vuitton flagship store along 5th Avenue; and checked out why the Vessel and the Oculus are viral on the net. Photogenic, yes, at least the latter has a useful purpose other than just picturesque.

While the subway was a big help in exploring, most often navigating through the city on foot was a preference –minus the aid of Google map. Not surprisingly I got lost, perhaps on purpose (though tiring in the end until I find my way back home) for I got to chance upon interesting areas, like Washington Square Park, a giant shiny bean sitting on a sidewalk along Tribeca, finding out after that it’s Anish Kapoor’s; and, bumping into NYC’s colorful characters like a cigarette-toting man with long fancy nails known as Marc Jacobs—just one of those days in the city. Would I have the same nonchalant reaction if it was Anna Wintour, I wonder. 

Perhaps this is why New York City makes the heart skip a beat. In the dynamic and ever-evolving city, it lives up to its name—that there’s always something new to see, new to experience waiting for those who visit. The list just keeps getting longer! The trip to the Big Apple was the shortest at three nights. I wasn’t able to do everything I needed and wanted to but the bite I took was fulfilling enough. I still said no to a Broadway show even if it was hosted (gasps, I hear). Perhaps next time. Meanwhile, the unticked boxes on my list will keep the heart in I❤️NY beating in me, a very good reason to head back to the city that doesn’t sleep. Soon.

How about you, what’s your NYC story?

New York City. It's the famous concrete jungle that dreams are made of. But living in the Big Apple may just take a big bite out of your paycheck. Most especially if you want your nest to be propped nicely on the branches of the greenest spot of the metropolis.

If jotting your address has to include “Central Park” (e.g. Central Park North by West 110th Street; Central Park South by West 59th; Central Park West by Eighth Avenue), it may mean you have made it there, and perhaps you can just make it anywhere if you decide to uproot yourself from the city. This park has the “biggest and strongest draw in NYC having been top-listed as one of the most expensive real estate in the world. Who doesn’t want a view of the famed green patch from their balconies?

From the small to the big screen, living in this zip code has epitomized upscale living in Manhattan. Surely, it is Central Park they have to thank for. The view of this green patch is gold, and admittedly, has more exposure than all the shows combined, which makes it more famous than the buildings that enjoy raking in the moolah just by standing beside it.

Unlike the edifices in the neighborhood, where a fee is required to “park” (read: rent or reside), Central Park’s shout-out is “the best things in life are free.” But you can’t just pitch a tent and stay in this park. This National Historic Landmark (1858 Central Park winning entry designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux would be so proud) offers much more than just a rejuvenating hue in the gray concrete jungle, making it the most visited park in the USA with about 25 million guests yearly.

Watching over the facility is the Central Park Conservancy, a private, nonprofit organization. It manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. To keep the park in tiptop shape, the organization works on an annual budget of $25 million.

What to see across the 838-hectare landscaped oasis? Natural-looking lakes and ponds, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool open during the summer season), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 43-hectare billion-gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and the Delacorte Theater outdoor amphitheater which hosts the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals. Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel are its indoor attractions.

Whether you sit, play, run, line or ice skate, bike, work the oar, bird watch, appreciate art, ride the horse-drawn carriage; or rock climb, there is just something for you at this world-famous reserve whatever the season is.

Well, I visited during winter—as a tourist. It was photo-op for me, this time at least. At least I have something to look forward to doing when I make it back to the Big Apple—explore more of Central Park sans any fee. Now that’s what I can call free park-ing.