Serenity in the City

Whoyagonnacall? Ghost... yeah this is the area that houses the famous Ghost Busters fire station so let's just get that out of the way. But there's so much more to TriBeCa. When we set off to explore it, all I knew was that this is apparently the area of town where all the hollywood stars live. This place must be jumping! Actually it was really quite the opposite. Probably the most peaceful spot I've seen in the city (within Manhattan). This is obviously the attraction. There are no big stores (or any that tourist want to visit) or proximity to famous landmarks, it was all really understated. Bespoke book stores, antique furniture shops and speciality poster sellers. This gave the area a real arty vibe, which after all is how it became such a destination with artist beginning to move in around the 70s. I couldn't pinpoint any fantastic restaurants as they all looked pretty amazing. This area doesn't have the usual mix of high and extremely low brow eating options that you normally see. The best part though was that we finally found authentic Pakistani food! Pakistani Tea House offers no frills dining but a true taste of London.

TriBeCa had a double personality, a slightly grungy yet posh bit that looked rough around the edges. Such as the alleyway that's home to the simply titled Museum. Then a more upmarket Chanel and Dior toting bit. This is after all where we saw Famke! The real attraction here is the architecture, it really has the traditional fire escaped buildings that personify the city. Most of the buildings are conversions, you can still see the signage and advertisements from its time as a commercial centre and industrial base. A lot of the shops are also closed up so it felt like you were exploring more than usual. Sometimes you'd get a really gorgeous organic food market right across the road from a closed up graffitied place with rubbish bags outside or sprawled all over the pavement. An dded bonus is the areas proximity to the river. You get really beautiful views across to Jersey. What's funny is that the area still attracts the 'bridge & tunnel' crowd, but of an aspiring kind rather than the out-on-the-lash kind that we get in our area. Definitely a place to come to relax.