I love New York but more specifically I love Brooklyn. Sure in places it is still a bit gritty and god knows elsewhere it is hipster central but something about it always feels…right…to me.

Part of the reason for that I suspect is it remains one of the greatest places in the world to see really amazing graffiti and street art. NYC is after all the birthplace of the aerosol art culture that I love and long after the subway got tidied up and a few years after Five Points was wiped out Brooklyn remains a hot spot for art.

My main reason for staying in Bushwick was to take my annual pilgrimage to the neighbourhood that is home to the Bushwick Collective. An Upfest alike festival of graffiti and street art that never disappoints →

One of the fun things I did this time was walk down the 22 floors worth of stairwells at the Citizen M hotel on the Bowery (which by the way I am totally staying at next time I go — it was very cool!) where they have painted a series of tributes to Five Pointz. It was good fun (and good exercise) and a pretty unique experience.

One of the things I love apart from all the art is that you can always find great Vietnamese food in New York. I love banh mi, Pho and as of this trip I add spicy, stir fried Brussels spouts to that list. Little Mo’s was a couple of blocks away from my hotel and really was lovely — in fact I ate there twice in four days! There was also a little splurge of art just on the immediate block around the restaurant that I would otherwise have missed →

On my last day I had the chance to wander around Williamsburg — this is a lot more hipster than Bushwick (I also went to the movies to see A Star is Born and had a little weep!) and I didn’t really know where I was going or what I might find but there was a lot of great work dotted around that I stumbled upon →

So a great trip — thank god the weather stayed bright (if very cold) and that I’m a bit fitter these days so was able to walk further!

Next up on my graffiti tour is likely to Amsterdam or perhaps back to Berlin. I’ll also hopefully get to Miami early next year (but have a competing idea to visit Boston and Harvard so we’ll see!)