2019-10-01 Cosmopolitan UK

COSMOPOLITAN · 129

NewYork?Isn’tthatyour

basicsightseeingand

shoppingtrip?
Well,it canbe,buttherearewaymore
impressivewaystoexperiencethecity
than5thAvenuewindow-shopping,
TopOfTheRockselfiesandCentral
Parkstrolls.Surfing,biking,kayaking,
climbing...if youknowwhereto
look,there’salsoanextremesideto
theBigApplethatwillgarneryou
seriouscoolpointsonyourreturn.

OK,youhavemyattention.

But...island-hopping?
Yep!HeadtoGovernorsIsland,*
a massive172-acreisleslap-bangin
themiddleofNewYorkharbour,
offLowerManhattan(whoknew?).
Catcha ferryfromSouthStreet
(theyrunfrom10amtoaround
6pm– laterinhighsummerand
atweekends),thenhirea bikefrom
BlazingSaddles.Therearenocars,so
it feelssuper-safeandeasytoexplore.
I scrambledupOutlookHill which
hasmassivegra
sky-high,and
discoveredan
insane360 ̊vie
oftheharbour
theStatueOf
Libertyand
theBigApple
skyline.Before
you head back
don’t miss

deliciouslobsterrollsand

BloodyMarysunderthe

yellowandwhitecanopies

attheIslandOysterbar.

Nextup:standinginside

thecrownoftheStatueOf

Liberty.Catcha ferryfrom

BatteryParktoLibertyIsland

andclimb 377 stepsforALL

theviews.Warning:if you’re

claustrophobic,unfitorsufferfrom

vertigo,it’sprobablynotforyou

asit’ssurprisinglyhardcore(and

youneedtobookinadvance;

Statueoflibertytickets.com).

Ultimatestatusupdate?

A ferryselfieatsillyo’clock

(6.15am!),asyoutravelfromPier 11

toRockawayBeachonLongIsland

fora surfinglesson.Yes,surfing.In

NewYork.Withthemostlaid-back

peopleinthecityatLocalsSurf

School(Localssurfschool.com).The

onlysurfingexperienceI’dhad

previouslywasontheinternet,but

evenI couldstand– alright,kneel

ucha surreal

ctivitytobe

doingsoclose

o thecentreof

Manhattanthat

wantedto

houtaboutit

(OK,Instagram

t) themoment

I was back on

dryland.

Anythingthat’salittle

lesswhite-knuckle?

MakeyourbasetheHotel On

Rivington,whichhaslight, airy

bedroomswithviewsof the coolest

partofthecity,theLower East Side

(convenientforcatching all those

ferriesfromLowerManhattan).

You’llneedtokeepyour energy

levelsup,sohitlegendary Russ &

DaughtersCafefor“everything bagels”

withextraschmear(cream cheese)

andlox(curedsalmon). Nightlife?

Everyone’staggingthemselves at

Vandal,whereyouneed to order

theIcyGrapecocktailand fish

tacoswhilerubbingshoulders

withthecity’sscenesters. i

got her adrenalin

pumping on a Big

Apple island-hop...

NICOLE

HOLCROFT-

EMMESS...

Get me there

HotelOn Rivington, from £156 per night;

Hotelonrivington.com. Return flights

to New York with Norwegian, from

around £245; Norwegian.com

4

The Island

Oyster bar

pOutlookHill,which

anite boulderspiled

ew

r,

e

k,

evenIcoulds

• by lunch. It felt likes
  a d t M I s ( i I d