JFK TO THE CITY
Because I was traveling by myself and not in a hurry, I decided to take AirTrain. My goal was to get to Grand Central Terminal as cheaply as possible. A taxi would have cost $55, while the AirTrain/subway combination was only $7 -- a no-brainer. The AirTrain to Jamaica Station was fast (10 minutes), easy and spacious: Just a few other passengers were riding. You pay the $5 fee when you get off. If you don't have a MetroCard, there are easy-to-use machines just before the exit. (Tip: Put $10 or more on your card, and receive a 20 percent bonus.) After you exit, follow signs for the E train. It's a 100-yard walk, and the new station building is state of the art. Take the elevator down to the subway, and pay $2 for the 35-minute ride to 53rd and Lexington Ave. on Manhattan's East Side. Follow the signs for a free transfer to the 6 subway, and take the downtown train one stop to Grand Central. If you time it perfectly, the entire trip should take an hour.

NEW YORK CITY
I arrived back in NY just after Italy won the World Cup. I picked up a friend, and we headed straight to Little Italy. I can't imagine a better place in America to celebrate an Italian victory than this place. Little Italy was packed with fans of all ages, chanting "Forza Italia!," wearing Italy t-shirts and beeping horns as they drove by waving the Italian flag. Some fans said some funny things, made even funnier by their New York accents. One guy yelled: "Hey, does anyone know where Little France is?"

NOVELLA
My friend and I were starved, so we had dinner outside at a restaurant called Novella (191 Grand Street, tel.: 1-212-966-0555). The wait was only 10 minutes, and the food was good � not great. Though our food came fast, the service wasn't the best. We had to ask our waiter three times for bread. Maybe he deliberately did not bring it because he knew it was old? For more click HERE.