Our pointy green hats are off to Vitaliy, one of the most endearing tour guides we have ever had. We hired his Central Park tour for one hour and it was a blast. He is very responsive on staying in touch beforehand and met us outside the Met with his green pedicab. It was a perfect summer afternoon and we hit most of the high spots, stopping frequently for photos at special spots like Strawberry Fields.
He is a Ukrainian immigrant, but his English is outstanding, and he is a font of information on Central Park and New York in general. At one point he turned on a recording of Sinatra singing “New York New York” and offered me a silly fake microphone. I took the challenge and started belting out impromptu karaoke to the normal New Yorkers enjoying the park, and everyone pretended to enjoy it, including my girlfriend Jamie Lee who was along for the ride.
We were Vitaliy’s last customers of the day so he offered to pedal us down Fifth Ave. to our Midtown motel, so of course I paid him extra for that. Plus, after four hours of walking in the Met, boy did it feel good to sit for a while. Thank you Vitaliy for one of our most joyous NYC experiences!