Sporty NYC

What do I love about New York City? Well, EVERYTHING!! I love the restaurants, the bars, the shopping, the museums, the concerts, the people, the style, but mostly, I would say its buzz. I just adore seeing so many different people on the streets and so many exotic cultures merging together forming one great huge cosmopolitan city. So many flavors and smells, looks and stores. So many options!

I’ve been going to NYC since I was little. It was the first city I fell in love with, besides, my own, of course. Ever since I’ve been there for the very first time I miss it so much that I have to go back, at least, once a year or I can feel it physically hurt.
Luv and I just came back and it was one of our best trips ever. We had the best time. The thing about NYC is that it feels really homey nowadays, I feel as comfortable in NYC as in Rio. I know the city quite well but since it’s the “city that never sleeps” there are always new spots for one to know.

We went to great restaurants, interesting museums and some good shopping, of course. The one thing about this trip was that it was quite sporty, especially for winter vacations. As I said before, NYC is a place you can, definitely find a way to do whatever you like.

Luv and I play tennis, well he plays, I try. Anyway, we found a great place for tennis in the winter on Sutton Place called Sutton East Tennis (http://www.suttoneasttennis.com/). It’s a huge bubble built under the 59th St Bridge, at York Ave, with 8 heated clay courts and really nice people. In the milder weather months, there are 30, clay and asphalt, public courts, some recently renewed, spread over Central Park (http://www.centralpark.com/pages/attractions/tennis-center.html).

Still in the tennis area, we had a chance to see the 1st Billie Jean king Cup at the Madison Square Garden. Amazing tournament, with two semi finals 1 set game and a 3 set final, disputed by the Williams sisters, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jancovic. Won by my personal favorite Serena Williams, including a surprise appearance and beautiful speech from President Bill Clinton, the Cup is intent to be repeated on the following years. I highly recommend the event.
If you’re not in the City at this time of the year look for other sports events at the Garden or other venues, they always have something amazing going on for sports fans.

The best place for tennis apparel shopping is Manson’s Tennis on 53rd St between Madison Ave & Park Ave, they have it all and are very nice.

Another sport I enjoy is horseback riding. So that’s what we did in Central Park. It’s so much fun and you get to know some cute spots of the park and the most famous buildings around it. We took an hour and a half ride but you can choose also just one hour or two. The rides are guided and by appointment (http://www.riverridgestable.com/). They go out all year long, weather permitting, and offer ride to every levels, so don’t worry if you are not very familiar with horses.

For riding apparel shopping there is a great shop called Manhattan Saddlery (http://manhattansaddlery.com/) on 24th St (bt Park & Lex). For outdoor sports, in general, there is Paramount Sports (paramountsports.net) and Upland Trading Co (uplandtradingco.com).
If you are into running or cycling choose Central Park or the Brooklyn Brigde as route, both great. Some hotels offer running routes at the Park. But if you would like a guided tour, which I think is pretty fun visit http://www.cityrunningtours.com/ and schedule your run. As for bike riding visit http://wirednewyork.com/guide/biking/ they offer tour maps and website links to bike guided tours.

So, have a nice work out in the City and Boa Viagem!