Yesterday was a pretty interesting day, the weather was cool and overcast, with rain coming in during the latter part of the afternoon. A few weeks ago I had booked a meeting with one of the Big Apple Greeters, an organization of local NYC volunteers that takes out-of-town visitors around the city and shows them local sights and shares local information. The service is a great way to link up with a local New Yorker, and best of all, it’s free of charge.

We were supposed to meet Suzanne, our greeter, at 11:00 am at the 71st Street subway station, but we got a late start after breakfast and there were some delays on the subway system, so we didn’t meet Suzanne until 11:50 am. Suzanne is a former highschool teacher, in her sixties, and a very friendly and outgoing individual. We felt bad about being late, but she said it wasn’t a problem at all. She was extremely gracious and helpful throughout our entire time with her.

Suzanne started the tour by taking us through a very upscale Queens neighbourhood called Forest Hill Gardens, which is a neighbourhood with private streets where local residents pay higher than normal taxes for additional services, such as more frequent garbage pickup etc. Suzanne indicated that these homes go from anywhere from US$ 1 million and up. Everything was blooming and many local handymen, gardners and maids were on the road. We also had a chance to visit the old US Open Tennis Center which is located in an amphitheatre right next to the Forest Hill Country Club.

On from there we took a bus to the Flushing neighbourhood, an area with lots of Chinese and Korean stores, where Suzanne treated us to same savory Chinese dumplings. All the time she explained to us the multicultural character of Queens, and that one of the main subway trains (the 7 train) is called “The International Express” because it cuts through all sorts of ethnic neighbourhoods.

A quick jump onto this very subway later, which runs on elevated tracks through a good chunk of Queens, so you can actually see the neighbourhood, and we arrived in Jackson Heights, an area with a lot of Latin American immigrants and further west we saw lots of South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) stores. For a Torontonian seeing all these ethnic stores is not all that unusual, since we have a lot of that in Toronto too, but I am sure these ethnic neighbourhoods must be quite unusual and unique for people who come from smaller less international places.

We then took the 47 and 19 Queens bus to a neighbourhood called Astoria, where a lot of Greek immigrants congregate. We ended up having dinner in a little quaint and cosy Greek restaurant called Zygos Restaurant (”zygos” means “libra” or “balance”) where we continued our nice conversation with Suzanne, our local expert. Suzanne has been a greeter for the last 12 years and has studied all areas of New York City. She said she travels, by herself, into all areas of NYC, including Harlem and the Bronx, and she loves exploring and sharing the city that she loves with people from all over the world.

When we left at about a quarter to 7 pm, Suzanne had spent more than 7 hours with us and we had really gotten to know each other quite well on a personal level. We also we ended up exchanging email addresses and we extended mutual invitations to stay in touch and I said I’d love to take her around whenever she comes to the Toronto area.

The Greeter experience has been excellent, our personal local expert really loves her city and she loves interacting with visitors and we definitely enjoyed her enthusiasm. I am sure we have a new friend to call up next time we come to New York City.

For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/hello_nyc-5.htm

About the Author:

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of Travel and Transitions (<a href=”
http://www.travelandtransitions.com”>http://www.travelandtransitions.com</a>),
a popular web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new section featuring FREE ebooks about travel

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Hello From New York City – Part 5 – A Local Expert Takes Us Through Queens

Kozani (Sourdia) – Macedonia – Greece (www.sourdos.gr)

The Pippi Longstocking Collection (Pippi Longstocking / Pippi Goes on Board / Pippi in the South Seas / Pippi on the Run) $41.93 Features include: •MPAA Rating: G•Format: DVD•Runtime: 358 minutes…

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths $9.97 Summary:”For any child fortunate enough to have this  generous book…the kings and heroes of ancient  legend will remain forever matter-of-fact; the  pictures interpret the text literally and are full of  detail and witty observation.”–Horn  Book. “The drawings…are excellent  and excitingly evocative.”–The New  York Times.F…

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2) $2.97 Percy Jacksons seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. Butwhen an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turnsinto a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get. . . well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percys friend Annabethbrings more bad news: the magical borders that protec…

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) $3.50 Book Description In this stunning collectors’ edition of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson’s world is brought to life with eight full-color plates by the series jacket artist John Rocco. The edition comes in an elegant slipcase with a ribbon bookmark, rough edges, and cloth cover–a perfect keepsake for fans of this truly epic series. After getting expelled from yet another school for yet ano…

Pandora’s Box: Puzzle Game of the Year Edition $19.95 When Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris (one of the most addictive games of all time), designs a new puzzle title, fans everywhere perk their heads up and take note. While it’s not quite up to the irresistible standard set by its legendary predecessor, Microsoft’s Pandora’s Box: Puzzle Game of the Year Edition was named Puzzle Game of the Year by the Electric Games website, and offers hours of non…

My Big Fat Greek Wedding $2.04 Feel-good sleeper sensation stars Nia Vardalos (who also adapted her one-woman play) as a Chicago-based woman who works at parents Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan’s Greek restaurant, but longs for romance and a life for herself. After taking computer classes, she gets a job at her aunt’s travel agency, where she meets and falls for personable teacher John Corbett, who must now come under her …

Joseph (The Bible Collection) $11.05 Betrayed by his jealous brothers and forced into bondage in a strange land, he went on to become an advisor to the Pharaoh and save his family from death. Paul Mercurio, Ben Kingsley, Martin Landau and Lesley Ann Warren star in this powerful Biblical drama. 187 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French….