In fact, even if you can afford it, you still won’t be able to get into A60, because its a members only lounge, with hotel guests being allowed in for the duration of their stay. Thus, what I mean is that if you can get into A60, they’ll treat you like royalty, and the service is fantastic and the view glorious - Wouldn’t you like to spend the evening on a rooftop bar gazing out at the Manhattan skyline and the Empire State Building in all its glory?

Ever since it’s opening in 2001, the 60 Thompson, a 100 room boutique hotel designed by Thomas O’Brien, has become the hallmark of sophistication, along with an understated but ‘real’ luxury. I’m not one for splitting hairs, but as an example, compare Jennifer Connelly against Lindsay Lohan and you should be able to understand the difference between the 60 Thompson and the Times Square hotels offering posh rooms for over 300 dollars.

The 100 rooms at the 60 Thompson are quite spacious by New York standards, with a simple and comfortable decor, deep beds you can sink right into with leather headboards and pristine white sheets, flat screen television, full marble bathrooms, complimentary wi-fi and fresh amenities. Room rates start at $329 plus taxes, which comes to about $376.50 and the upwards upto $1420.69 (including taxes) for an 850 sq ft ’Thompson Suite’ with a King bed, sleeper sofa, two marble bathrooms, a seperate living room, smoked glass French windows, a balcony and seperate flat screen televisions.

Dining options at the 60 Thompson include the Kittichai restaurant, from Chef Ian Chalermkittichai, who serves up a modern and distinctly New Yorkish blend of Thai cuisine, and is well frequented by both visitors and New York residents.

While the colors and decor here at the Kittichai are vastly more psydelic than the hotel, it still reflects a quiet sense of taste and elegance with the bright yellow and orange shades tinted with dark tones and slightly somber lighting. Gorgeous hostesses who could as well be models greet you as you walk in, and the well-heeled clientele, the quiet hum and chatter, the exotic teak cabanas with Ottoman seats, the goldfish in the aquarium, and the exquisite delicacies cooked up by the chefs all combine to make this one of New York’s signature Thai restaurants.

Info: Sixty Thompson Hotel - 60 Thompson St New York NY 10012; (877) 431-0400; www.60thompson.com  

Into this breach stepped Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, who founded the Tribeca Film Festival (henceforth referred to in this guide as TFF) in late 2001 (the first event was held in 2002) as a means of reinvigorating lower Manhattan’s culture using the power of the silver screen to draw a large audience and to promote New York to filmmakers as a resurgent filmmaking center. Considering the 2 million+ attendees who have attended the annual film fest since its inception and the over $425 million that TFF has generated in revenue for New York, it’s quite safe to say that it was, and remains, a resounding success. The film screenings are held at the Tribeca Cinemas, run by Tribeca Enterprises, a multi-platform media company run by the same founders, who also run the Tribeca Film Center and The Tribeca Film Institute, in addition to organizing the Film Festival.

Tribeca Film Festival 2008 Event Guide: Scheduled to be held from April 23rd to the 4th May, TFF this year will feature a drive-in outdoor screening, a sports festival and a family festival street fair (3rd May, from 10 am to 6 pm, Greenwich Street from Hubert to Duane Street), and panel discussions about the business of entertainment which includes the usual ‘Tribeca Talks’, ‘Behind the Scenes’ which features Q & A’s with eminent personalities such as Sissy Spacek, Amy Tan, and Melvin Van Peeble, and moderated discussions lasting an hour each with leading writers, actors and directors at the Apple Store, SoHo. In addition, there will also be an art exhibition showcasing local artists and music shows, also supporting local talent. More information here.

There will be some gala premieres and special screenings which include ‘Baby Mama’, ‘Redbelt’, ’Speed Racer’, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ and ‘Empire II’.

TFF 08 Film Guide: There are over 200 films to choose from, not to mention the myriad activities and events outlined above. Naturally, it would be a bit of a stretch to be able to comprehensively cover everything, including all the great films being screened. Best way to do it is to browse the TFF website (www.tribecafilmfestival.org) and note down all the events and films you’re interested in (use their film guide), with date and time and venue.

Tickets: Once you have it all planned out, and you know exactly what films you want to see at which show and what events you want to attend at what time, you can go on a ticket buying spree, since the website allows you to add tickets to your shopping cart and pay for it all at the end, when you checkout. Well, that’s how they get you to spend all that money, so…It’s pretty smart on their part. But what the heck, Tribeca just comes along once a year, so have fun and splurge. Remember, it’s for New York.

Another option is get one of their passes. In addition to the all-access Hudson Pass ($1,100) and the pre-ticket selection Harrison($200) and Franklin($450) Packages, this year, TFF will also offer six new package options which offer discounts on ticket prices and allow you to indulge in films which fall under your preferred category, or theme.

American Express has created exclusive packages for cardholders which includes three unique screening packages, along with Q&A sessions with the filmmakers and catered food and beverage service. More information and details here.

Main Box Office: 15 Laight Street (between Varick St. and Ave of the Americas, one block below Canal St.) 11:00am - 7:00pm, 7 days a week; AMC 19^th Street East: 890 Broadway (between East 19^th St. and East 20^th St.) 3:00pm - 8:00pm, 7 days a week; Tel: (646) 502-5296, (866) 941-FEST (3378)

Tribeca Film Festival for Visitors: If you’re new, you’re gonna need directions, transportation, a restaurant guide and list of decent hotels in Tribeca, near the venues.  so, for starters, here’s the Tribeca Film Festival 2008 interactive map, which includesa list of venues, subway information and listings of NYC hotels sorted according to distance from each venue, all of which should help you get your bearings. Well known restaurants near the Tribeca Film Festival include Robert DeNiro’s own restaurant Tribeca Grill, Nobu Tribeca, Katz’s Deli and Lombardi’s.

A word of advice - print out this page and whatever else you think is important. You don’t want to get lost because you need to be at screenings around 30 minutes in advance if you don’t want to waste your ticket money. Another last word of advice. Keep an unbrella and/or raincoat handy, cause the weather this time of the year is very iffy and while it’ll be warm and pleasant, you could end up drenched if you’re not prepared. Wear comfortable walking shoes which will allow you to wander around between screenings and keep your cellphone camera handy to take pictures and videos of the film stars and celebrities you’re likely to bump into.

Tribeca Film Festival: 375 Greenwich Street New York NY 10013; (212) 941-2400; festival@tribecafilmfestival.org

Well, for starters, it does look kinda trendy and chic. Especially the huge flat screen TV. And the lampshades tacked to the headboard above the beds. The half-windows which make it seem like you’re sleeping in a first class carriage in a train (which would likely be bigger than a room in the Time NY).

The workdesk set against the mirror is another good trick which a lot of designers are using nowadays. Makes the room look twice as big, with the bed and everything reflected right back at you, instead of a blank wall. the shower is like, really tiny, and if you’re a bit ‘healthy’, you might have a hard time turning around in there. But the bath products and the showerheads are neat. The overall effect, like I said, is a very trendy, very chic upscale hotel, and were it not for the size, or lack of it, this could have been a great hotel.

One word of advice - Stay away from the red rooms. Depending upon your state of mind, it’ll look like a B-grade horror film or a Bordello. Either way, you’re screwed. The yellow ones aren’t bad, but I’d rather not have bright yellow walls blinding me. Blues are good, neat and cool. But then, my favorite color is blue, so I might be biased, but still - Avoid the red rooms.

As it is, the rooms have a lot stuffed into the tiny space, with the flat screen TV and on-demand movies, a Bose music system, high speed internet, a mini bar, safe, iron & ironing board, and the workdesk. In terms of amenities, there’s not much to write home about other than the concierge and laundry services, a free copy of the New York Times and a complimentary overnight shoeshine. And the service is well…New York. Don’t expect too much, and you won’t be dissappointed. The Time Lounge, as the bar is called, is virtually deserted, and if you really want to get away from Times Square, and you have to duck into this hotel, then maybe you should first try to spend some time nursing a drink at the lounge, and then see if you still want a room.

As far as booking a room is concerned - Check-in, bath, sleep, bath, check-out. Less $300. Simple and uncomplicated. That’s the Time NY hotel for you. If you want a decent hotel actually located in times Square, which actually has decent sized rooms and baths, and where you actually can expect some service, then you might want to go through this list of New York family hotels.

Info: 224 West 49th Street New York Ny 10019; (212) 246-5252; Photos & Copyrights - Time NY hotel/Vikram Chatwal Hotels - www.thetimeny.com

Well, broke or not, you no longer need to make that Devil’s choice.  For a dollar plus drink, you can gorge for free on pizza slices and buffett spreads, trays full of burgers, dogs and sausages and lots of free snacks. Below is a master list of NYC bars and pubs offering free food with cheap drinks. Have fun.

Alligator Lounge: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is ground zero for free bar food, and the bar which got the ball rolling on this free food fest in NYC is the Alligator Lounge, where you can grab a brick oven pizza if you buy a drink all night long. Regulars play pool and watch games at the bar, groups keep coming in and going out, downing truckloads of pizas and washing it down with pitchers of Guiness. Photo credit - Garrett Murray/Flickr

Time was when all you saw were chicks in tight jeans and some of the guys from the neighbourhood just hanging around in the evenings. Of late though, its getting too crowded by half, probably because word of the free pizza has gotten around, and there’s all kinds of folks, and gangs of teenagers streaming in and out. And you have to pay an extra $2 for toppings. Besides, with other bars and lounges being spruced up and new ones coming up everywhere, the Alligator looks even more seedy now, and if it weren’t for the free pizza, they’d probably be out of business. But it’s still the Alligator, where people live off the darn pizza, and enjoy it too.  Info: 600 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211 (near Lorimer St.); (718) 599-4440; www.alligatorlounge.com

Crocodile Lounge: Let’s just say that the Crocodile is the rich Manhattan cousin to the Alligator’s down home Brooklyn seediness, if you can excuse saying rich and free food in the same sentence. Drinks are costlier, it’s less crowded and the clientele is slightly less diverse and more ‘dignified’, but not by much. Otherwise, it’s about the same. Info: 325 E 14th St (1st & 2nd Ave) East Village New York NY; (212) 477-7747

The Watering Hole: Formerly Tracy J’s Watering Hole, it’s now known simply as the Watering Hole. While it’s lost of bit of the atmosphere with the name change, there’s still weird music belting out from the karoake, mostly drunk chicks and plenty of regulars downing rounds of beers make this more of a regular bar than a free food joint, so you can actually hope to have a fun time and get drunk yourself. Plenty of screens to watch the games, the staff is pretty good at their work and friendly, so you don’t get riled up with botched orders or being ignored. The pub offers a free food buffett during happy hour on weekdays from 5.30-6.30 p.m. The buffett keeps changing so not much point in trying to pin it down to specifics, but hey…It’s free. Info: 106 E 19th St (Irving Pl. & Park Ave. South) Gramercy New York NY; (212) 674-5783

Hank’s Saloon: A Brooklyn institution, and one of the few bars which remains just the same, Hank’s Saloon offers $2 beer with free BBQ sponsored by Soul! Sausage. It’s not just about the food - It’s the live Country music, the cheap drinks, the shows, the vibe, the $2 beer, the free burgers, all kinds of people, young and old, black, white, brown, you name it - Everyone gets drunk and there’s country music blaring out and punks breakdancing with lovely young chicks. Generally speaking, its a wild scene and you’re sure to have a good time, along with the free food . It’s the quintessential New York experience which has been lost somewhere in the glitter of the high-rises and big hotels and the political correctness of the elites of downtown Manhattan, which sad to say, has spread like a virus into Brooklyn. Thankfully, Hank’s Saloon is one of the last known such refuges left in Brooklyn. Info: 46 3rd Ave ( Atlantic Ave ) Brooklyn New York; (718) 625-8003

There are a heck of a lot more bars and pubs and lounges who offer free food, including the Rodeo Bar on 3rd Ave which serves nachos and wings, rocking Horse cafe on 8th Ave with baskets of tortilla chips and salsa bowls at the bar, Trash Bar in Williamsburg which dishes out tater tots along with drinks, Lost & Found on Franklin St. which piles up bagels and hot dogs, and Rudy’s in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood which offers free hot dogs.

Remains to be said that most of these joints serve out free snacks just to maintain the liquor intake, which would be cut down a lot without the food. I mean, it’s quite easy to have a couple more drinks when you have free food on the table. So, the bars which offer ‘real’ food, as opposed to nibblers which will just keep you on the edge and away from getting soused or throwing up, are the ones you want to end up at, if you’re looking for free grub with a drink. And if you have any more bars you know of, feel free to add them to the list in the comments. 

The Hotel Sofitel New York is a classic in every sense of the word - Elegant ambience, stylish and chic, fabulous dining, chok-a-bloc with amenities, spacious rooms and sexy bathrooms which make you want to take a bath, a central location on 44th between Fifth & Sixth Ave - You name it, the Sofitel’s got it. For a hotel which just came into existence last year, the Sofitel oozes old-world European charm and a sense of decorum, not to mention decor, while catering to the modernistic, technological and designer crazy hangups of the Big Apple. Photo Credit - Wired New York

But in spite of fitting right into the New York landscape, the hotel still has a deep Gallic streak running right through it, from the Bon jour you get at the reception to the Gaby restaurant’s French fares and the gift shop packed to the rafters with French products and cosmetics - Kinda like the duty free shops at the Charles de Gaulle airport. It’s almost like the hotel is making a statement - ‘Yes, we love New York. But France - C’est Magnifique. And here at the Sofitel, we give you a taste of how to eat and live like the French.’  Or maybe the designer was someone with an identity crisis, stuck between Paris and New York…

The 398 Art Deco rooms at the Sofitel spread over 30 floors are stuffed with European style furnishings like the heavy red velvet chairs and the dinky table, pictures of old Paris, and large drapes covering the floor-to-ceiling windows, along with the latest in gizmos and gadgets and amenities, including high speed internet, a stocked minibar, pay-per-view movies, cable, iron, and hairdryers inside the marble baths with seperate showers. Rooms are built to accomodate upto three people and rates start at about $455, which includes taxes. For families and couples, the Sofitel offers rooms with connecting doors and special packages like the honeymooon romance package which offers complete privacy with in-room breakfast along with a glass of champagne.

If you want to dine at the hotel, the Art Deco inspired Gaby restaurant, with ceiling mural and artworks covering the walls, serves up original French cuisine along with fusion dishes from around the world, with over twenty entrees that you could lift straight out of an upscale Paris brassierie. The Gaby bar offers a New York experience with snacks and drinks and a relaxed atmosphere for after dinner drinks. For such a highly priced and upscale hotel, the food at the Gaby is remarkably reasonable and filling, unlike the diners at other star luxury hotels. Worth trying at least once, if you’re staying at the Sofitel. 

If you’re torn between the merits of New York and Paris, then you need to take a look at the Sofitel New York. I assure you, the hotel and its staff will do their best to add fuel to your confusion. Simply put, not unlike the Statue of Liberty, the Sofitel offers the best of both worlds - New York and France.

Info: 45 West 44th St, between 5th & 6th Ave, New york NY 10036; (212) 354-8844; (212) 354-2480

The hotel has 400 guest rooms, each offering a fully furnished kitchenette with microwave, refrigirator and coffee maker, plasma TV with a Nintendo player and pay-per-view movies, in-room safe, hairdryer, iron & ironing board, and a European style marble bathroom with custom designed showers.

A free complimentary continental breakfast is included in the nightly charge for a room with two double beds, which comes to about $359 plus taxes for a family of four, including two adults and two children. The Belvedere also offers a special NY1 package deal, which includes the free breakfast and a two night minimum stay, at $269 per night plus taxes.

Amenities include fitness and business centers, with a state of the art meeting center for conferences and events with A/V equipment, internet access and catering arrangements. The Belevedere’s Concierge is reputed for being able to arrange ’hard-to-get’ tickets and restaurant reservations at trendy hotspots, in addition to making arrangements for guests to join guided tours of the Big Apple and transportation within New York and limos to and from the airports. You can call ahead and let them know your needs and you can bet your boots you’ll have the tickets (or other ‘discrete’ arrangements as per your request) waiting for you when you get there.

Dining options include the Belvedere Café and Churrascaria Plataforma for lunch and dinner. The Belvedere Café serves the free breakfast for hotel guests with a gourmet buffett, fresh dairy and bakery products, meats and cheese, flpajacks, and coffee and tea from 7 to 11 a.m. Churrascaria Plataforma is a Brazilian steakhouse with roasted beef, lamb and pork dishes on the menu. While the Belvedere’s culinary fares are excellent, it remains to be said that New York in general, and Hell’s Kitchen and the Theatre District in particular, have a lot more to offer in terms of restaurants and diners than what the Belvedere’s two diners have. If you want to get a real taste of New York, consider dining out at one of the finer restaurants in the area. Web links are provided below.

Info: 319 West 48th Street New York NY 10036; (212) 245-7000

Web links: Hell’s Kitchen dining guide; NYC vacation family things to do; New York City Pass; Cheap Broadway tickets

Right. Welcome to New York, and you’re all alone in a city with over 8 million people. Pathetic day so far, and perfectly normal for a geek. But today happens to be your lucky day, because I’m about to give you a free guided geek tour of New York City. Before we start hitting the streets, you should know that its best to know where you are, relative to wi-fi enabled spots, like Central Park and the nearest Starbucks. So you can map out a route which tracks both your intended destinations and all the wi-fi spots along the way.

Robot Village: Doesn’t get geekier than this. Anything and everything you’d need if you’re interested in robots. That’s Robot Village in the Upper West Side, where they have ‘bot building stations’ where you can build your own robot. You can buy a robot, you can buy books on robots, you can buy spare parts & accessories for robots, and you can attend or organize robot building parties, events and workshops. Let’s just say that if it needs electricity and moves, you can find it at Robot Village. Photo Credit - Ruth Fremson/The New York Times.

Info: 252 West 81st Street, New York, NY 10024; (212) 799-7626; info@robotvillage.com; Directions:- Subway: Take the #1 subway to 79th street. Walk 2 blocks North on Broadway to 81st Street.  Make left on 81st (between Broadway & West End Ave.); Bus: Take the M79 cross-town bus to Broadway (you’ll be on on 79th Street). Walk 2 blocks North on Broadway to 81st Street.  Make left on 81st  (between Broadway & West End Ave.)

Metronaps: Call it the perfect touristy option for geeks in NYC, but Metronaps provides you with an excuse to participate in regular ‘touristy’ options. It might otherwise be yucky for a geek to be caught snapping pics of the Empire State Building or wondering if you can say ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ aloud (don’t). The ergonomic pods at Metronaps provide you with 20 minutes of futuristic sleep in a dark room enhanced by the vibrations, the powerful but gentle hum of Bose speakers and a lemon scented washcloth that will totally knock you out just as the 20 minutes are up and you’re yanked out of your alternate reality. When you get out of the seat, and look around you, you’ll feel like one of Godzilla’s eggs hatching out of your shell in Madison Square Garden. BTW, it costs you $14. Worth it, I’d say, if only because you can say that you fell asleep on the 24th floor of the Empire State Building.

Info: Empire State Building Suite 2210, 350 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10118; (212) 239-3344  

Hayden Planetorium, Rose Center for Earth and Space: Walk through 13 billion years of cosmic evolution, watch the birth of the universe with a re-creation of the Big Bang, massive cosmic collisions and virtual reality space simulations with a customized Zeiss Mark IX star projector which can project over 9100 stars, along with a tour of the surface of any object in the solar system, on to the dome. For space junkies, there isn’t a better place to fulfill and indulge your fantasies. The Planetorium is located in the American Museum of Natural History. Info: American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street New York, NY 10024; (212) 769-5100; FAQ 

And then there’s New York’s ‘blogger bars’. It’s not like they hold any blogger get-togethers or some thing. Just that some bars and restaurants just sort of started getting famous as hang-outs where bloggers hang around, so to speak. So if you want to talk to a few NYC bloggers, and make friends with some of them, then you have to hit these bars.

The Magician - 118 Rivington St New York NY 10002; (212) 673-7881

Max Fish - 178 Ludlow St New York, NY 10002; (212) 253-1922

Loreley - 7  Rivington St New York, NY 10002; (212) 253-7077

Von - 3 Bleecker St New York, NY 10012; (212) 473-3039

Tom & Jerry’s (288 Bar) - 288 Elizabeth St New York, NY 10012; (212) 260-5045

There’s lots more, but tell you what. If you hang out with some of the people you find in these places, you won’t be needing this guide any time soon.

Very touching, and admirable, at least on the part of the housekeeper. Only one question. What the heck was the numskull mother doing delivering a baby sitting on a loo in a Niagara Falls hotel? I mean, c’mon, its a bit hard to imagine plunking a baby out of a womb straight into a toilet bowl….Only in New York!

I can almost imagine the headlines for the hotel (www.qualityniagarafalls.com). Here at the Quality Hotel & Suites we offer 213 rooms & suites [toilets]. We have a special way of saying welcome. Whether it is business or pleasure [birth], our well-appointed guest rooms [toilets] and friendly staff [midwifes] will make you feel right at home the moment you [the baby] come through our doors [toilets].

Located just one block from the Seneca Niagara Casino, The Majestic Falls, Rainbow Bridge to Canada, and many more exciting attractions. Excellent dining, entertainment and shops are just minutes away. We offer a variety of well-appointed room types to meet your comfort level and budget. Choose from a variety of suites to suit your needs!

So now you know where to go if you’re planning on having a baby in a hotel room.

Info: 240 First Street Niagara Falls, NY 14303; (877) 282-1212; guestservices@qualityniagarafalls.com [birthservices@…]

Also as a matter of fact, a lot of stars from the West Coast head straight for the Meatpacking District when they’re visiting NYC. Not surprisingly, there are a horde of tabloid journalists, film makers and NYC models packing it into the place, trying to ’fit in’ with the high flying crowd. And the center of gravity for all these high wattage celebrity stars and their hangers-on packed into the Meatpacking District is the Gansevoort Hotel.

From the outside, the hotel looks like an eyesore, a 14 story silver monster looming over the bland and relatively nondescript brick warehouses that abound in the District. Once you’re inside, though, its a completely different world, where luxury is taken for granted and the competition is to see who manages to spend more (a disease imported from Hollywood, I believe).

The best thing you’ll probably like about the hotel is the rooftop deck. The rooftop of Hotel Gansevoort is like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. In the center, there’s a 45 foot heated, glass-encased swimming pool with underwater music.

Then there’s the Plunge lounge with wall-to-wall windows and 20 foot high ceilings, where there’s always some hip parties and events in progress. There’s also a roof garden with another lounge and a 360 angle view of the entire District and the City skyline.

The dining at the Gansevoort is provided by the Ono Bar & Restaurant, with funky Japanese cuisine and an inimitable style of cooking and serving Sushi and Robatayaki.

You sit at the bar, surrounding the chef and a selection of meat, game and veggies, with the chef  busy chopping and grilling over an open flame. You point out what you want out of the choices in front of you to the chef, he picks it up, cooks it on the open flame and serves it to you right there. Eating at the Ono is more of an experience than a simple dinner. In addition, there’s also a Maxim eatery on the ground floor of the hotel.

Amenities and services at the hotel imclude complimentary wi-fi internet, free New York times or Wall Street Journal, Nintendo Wii gaming consoles, 24 hour fitness and business centers available for use by guests, a full service spa and 3 infinity hydro pools and a hair salon, room service around the clock, and same day laundry and dry cleaning. Room rates start at $435, with a suite going at $675 and a duplex penthouse for $5000. The 187 rooms are exceedingly well furnished with plush beds and 400-thread Egyptian cotton linens, flat screen LCD television, large bay windows and some really funny looking artsy kind of lighting and lamp shades.

A stay at the Hotel Gansevoort, accompanied by a sampling of the wonderful pleasures of the Meatpacking District, the massive Spice Market restaurant, the Wooster Projects gallery, and the Highline elevated railway that hangs over the Meatpacking District, with some celeb spotting and hob-nobbing with the stars, could be just the prescription for an exciting New York holiday.

Info: 18 Ninth Ave W 13th St New York NY 10014; (212) 206-6700

1. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York: There are slightly less than three quarters of a million bars of gold worth well above $100 billion in a vault five floors and 80 feet below the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, located at 33 Liberty Street, Manhattan. The 10 foot passageway to the vault is cut through a 90 ton steel cylinder. Photo credit: Heather Cross, About.com Guide for New York City Tavel (gonyc.about.com)

The NY Fed provides free guided tours (course they’re not gonna let you wander around in there by yourself) of the gold vault, trading desk and a multimedia trading exhibit during weekdays. These tours last about an hour and you actually get to see the gold and the tour guide will explain the security measures, the role of the Federal Reserve, the history of the bank and the gold.

If you’ve seen Die Hard III or Mackenna’s Gold, then you know what the NY Fed’s gold vault is doing on this Bucket List. What I’d like to do is just touch one of those bars. Not pocket it. Just rub it and see how it feels and how heavy it is and how it smells. Tell you the truth, I’ve never touched a gold bar before. And I wanna do it and that’s why it’s on the Bucket List.
Info: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Public Information Division, 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10045; (212) 720-6130; e-mail: frbnytours@ny.frb.org.

2. Ground Zero: If you thought rubbing a bar of gold was kinky, this one is downright loony. I want to sing a song standing on Ground Zero with a bullhorn. What? It’s a frigging Bucket List. I can write, and do, whatever I want to. Haven’t decided on a song yet, but I welcome your suggestions. I’m gonna do it too. I don’t think I need to explain what Ground Zero is, or where it is, but if you want to learn more , and get current updates about the WTC Memorial, you can visit http://groundzero.nyc.ny.us BTW, do those blue Ground Zero lights reaching for the skies remind of the Bat Signal that Gotham’s Commissioner Gordon used to summon Batman? It sounds more than a bit poignant that those lights are still vainly searching for Batman.

3. Charging Bull on Wall Street: I want to ride the Charging Bull in Bowling Green park near Wall Street. You walk by it everyday, but did you ever think of climbing on to its back and think of the stir that would create? Heck, you could get yourself a front page New York times photo spread, if you managed to get on the bull, held on to its horns and refused to get off. Just think about it. Wouldn’t that be on your Bucket List? Note to Wall Street bankers and investment managers - Rub the bull once a day. Some of that aggression and optimism may rub off on you. I’m telling you, it works. Really.

I’ll continue this Bucket List, if and when I want to, or get around to it. I’m thinking I’ll add the naked cowboy on Times Square to the list. Meantime, have fun. What? You think I’m nuts? So who gives a shit? This is New York.