Most visitors to New York will go to the top of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler Building, the grand shops on Fifth Avenue, and Radio City Music Hall. They will take away from the visit an impression of an awesomely large, monumental city. While that is an accurate impression, there is another New York, one that is smaller and downright neighbourly.
The best way for a visitor to discover this intimate side of "the city that never sleeps" is with a friend who lives there, and can act as tour guide. This calls for lots of walking.
Luckily, I have such a friend in New York. Together, Christine and I walked through the trendy but off-the-beaten-track areas of Manhattan, where I would never have ventured on my own. It was exciting to have a friend to show me the real city, someone who loved Manhattan, knew it intimately and shared my interest in fashion and décor.
The best part is, you can have a friend in New York too. I met Christine through the Big Apple Greeters organization. She's one of more than 40 volunteer greeters who will meet you, either at your hotel or an agreed central place. The service is free and includes a Metropass, worth $7 (U.S.), which gives you access to buses and the subway for a day. It's designed to help tourists discover NYC's small-town charm. The tours last from two to four hours and all the groups are small, usually no larger than six people.
We stopped for rice pudding at Rice to Riches, a hugely popular store that sells only rice pudding, in flavours like mandarin orange and green tea. All the flavours I sampled were addictively delicious.
We popped into boutiques where Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City and models from the nearby Ford Agency often shop, and visited tiny but exclusive designer boutiques. Christine told me the history of Soho (short for South of Houston, "pronounced 'How'ston,' not 'Hew'ston,' " she informed me ) and Nolita (North of Little Italy), and the lore and legends that don't show up in guide books. We even scuttled through the bustle of Canal Street, where you can buy knock-offs of designer goods and electronics. I scored a Gucci watch for $10 (and it's still running). Afterward, we had lunch together in a little French bistro just off Union Square.
Christine and her fellow greeters are not tour guides. The experience is more like a walk with a friend who wants you to love the city as much as he or she does. Although Christine could have taken me to Rockefeller Center or Central Park, the greeters' goal is to show visitors the little things they would otherwise miss: where to find the best bubble tea (Tea & Tea, 51 Mott St.) or the location of North America's first pizzeria (opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi on Spring Street in Soho.) If you contact Big Apple Greeters before your visit to New York, they will find a volunteer who will custom-design a tour of the city that matches your interests. Interested in art, architecture, bargain shopping or food? A greeter will design a tour that will give you the insider's look at your favourite passion.
The Greeters is not the only program offering neighbourly tours. After lunch with Christine, I schlepped with Marisa Tomei's mother. Sounds like an episode from Seinfeld, but Addie Tomei is definitely for real, and dedicated to celebrating the fabulous food venues of the city. Like her Oscar-winning daughter, she is feisty and energetic. They even look alike.
Tomei formed her company, Savoury Sojourns, when she retired from 26 years of teaching English. The Brooklyn-born Tomei wanted her next career to include her passion for food and her love of New York City. So her personally led tours, which range from $75 to $155, will take you behind the scenes and into the kitchens of some of NYC's best restaurants, or lead you through food markets and neighbourhood shops. She arranges cooking classes and workshops at James Beard House, and can get you reservations at the restaurants that New York foodies keep secret.
