MY GUIDE TO; NEW YORK CITY
If you’re going to New York, fully commit.
I lived there for seven years… working in the hospitality and photography world, shooting the openings, tasting the menus, running around the city like a mad woman often. I didn’t just visit restaurants. I studied them. The lighting. The energy. The way a room feels at 9:47 p.m. when it’s exactly right.
Yes, walk the West Village at night. That part is mandatory. Low lit restaurants, corner tables, martinis that taste expensive (and are expensive). Sit at the bar; always the bar. That’s where the real city lives.
But also? Eat every pizza slice your stomach can handle. The perfectly greasy, life-affirming slices that ruin your version of pizza you’ve had in your head. Order the pasta at the place that just opened. Go to the new spot before it becomes impossible to get into. Let dinner stretch into midnight because in New York, it’s normal.
Do a rooftop at golden hour. Let the skyline flirt with you a little (or a lot). And when it rains, wander into somewhere warm and chat with strangers… that is the best past.
New York doesn’t coddle you. It refines you. It makes you decisive about what’s good and what’s not. After seven years of exploring the best openings, the buzziest rooms, the spots that actually last… I can tell you this:
The city is best experienced hungry. Hungry for food. Hungry for momentum. Hungry for more. And if you’re ready for that? Let’s get into it!
MY GUIDE TO; FLORENCE ITALY
Florence doesn’t try to impress you. It simply exists…
The mornings start with espresso at the bar, standing shoulder to shoulder with locals who make it look effortless. Afternoons drift between art and sun washed cobblestone streets, where every turn feels like a painting you accidentally walked into. And by evening? The entire city turns honey gold. You cross the Ponte Vecchio at golden hour and suddenly understand why people write poetry here.
Florence isn’t chaotic like Rome or flashy like Milan. It’s intimate. It’s curated without feeling staged. It’s long dinners, house wine that tastes like it was poured just for you, and pasta that makes you question every carb you’ve had before this moment.
You come for the Duomo and Michelangelo’s David.
You stay because something about the light feels different. Softer. Slower. Intentional. Florence is not a checklist city. It’s a linger city. A “one more glass” city. A place that quietly rearranges you while you’re busy pretending you’re just on vacation.
And when you leave? You’ll already be planning your return.