We haven’t been running much this year. And we haven’t gone for bike rides, like we did last year in the Summer. And I am not swimming much this year either. BUT… we have been doing a lot of walking. Really, a lot. And we love it.

An example. We spent the last weekend in NY. And, except for a short play that we saw, we spent our time either talking to a few people, dear to us, that we had not seen for some time (family, friends, really nice spending time with them, hopefully next time we will catch some others that we couldn’t see this time), and, of course, walking.

The day we arrived, we walked, as usual, from the bus terminal to the place where we stayed, in this case, from 34th and 8th, to 96th and Columbus. The next day, after the play, we decided to walk back to the apartment. That was sort of going accross the island. We went from Houston and Avenue A on the East Village (near Katz Deli), to 96th and Columbus (9th ave.), sort of from “zero” (that’s where the numbered streets start, I think) to 96, and from East to West. Along the way, we went by the farmers market in Union Square, and bought a snack and some apples. We went by the Flatiron building, which I love (among other reasons, because it’s Chicago architecture in NYC, a mix hard to beat when it comes to skyscrapers) and took some pictures. We went by Times Square, and enjoyed the crowd, and the new “look” of Broadway in the area, mostly for pedestrians. We went by the Lincoln Center, and “old friend” of ours, still undergoing renovations, but functional it seems (and we had our not uncommon “pit stop” at the Borders in Columbus Circle). We found Grandaisy Bakery, which we tried the following day, and certaily loved, and we drooled as we went by Levain Bakery, two blocks later, and thought of their huge and absolutely terrific chocolate-chip cookies, though we didn’t by any this time. A really enjoyable walk. On Sunday, we walked from the apartment to the bus again, though this time we mostly stayed on Amsterdam / 10th ave, for a change (we are somewhat familiar by now with 8th and 9th avenues).

As you walk, you see how the neighborhoods change, you see the ridiculous amount of restaurants, coffee shops, and all sorts of businesses that there are in NY. You see skyscrapers and parks. You smell roasted nuts, pretzels —well, and some other less memorable smells, too. You see all kinds of people (and dogs) around you, and hear all kinds of languages. You even start noticing how some business that compete with each other stick together: If you see a Pinkberry, chances are you will see a Lenny’s, and its Yolato, within a block or so. It is just a wonderful experience.

There are tons of things to do in NY, and we’ve done many of them. Walking all over the place is just one more thing you can try, and it is highly recommended.