On Manhattan you can easily walk from China to Greece in minutes. And it only takes 20 minutes or less to change the scenery from cool Soho galleries and boutique browsing, to the more scruffy and hip vintage shopping on Lower East Side.

My absolute favourite thing to do in New York is to walk from one neighbourhood to another and pretend I live here. It is an old dream, that demands just a bit of imagination, a special neighbourhood and some great off-track pit stops, where you can try to blend in with the locals.

Mojo Coffee on Charles Street 128 is such a place - a tiny tiny coffee shop in a quiet part of the West Village, which has a mix of old school record shops, hip designer shops, local stores and lots of small streets dotted with townhouses.  I enjoy drinking hot ginger steamer with honey, reading newspapers amongst locals working on their laptops (the perfect accessory if you really want to blend in). Opening hours varies and they close around 8 pm.

Recovering one's senses an early morning at the Bar Italia is quite an experience. When you see a middle-aged man playing poker on a slot-machine below a TV blaring the news of the day to the world as well as this narrow, lively coffee bar, you feel that you must still be dreaming.

The Bar Italia is a motley affair, an institution, and at first glance an ugly café with no sense of style. However, a closer inspection reveals so much charm, confidence and attractive coffee that you are forced to surrender.

They say that they serve the best coffee in town. They also say that it is one of the best spots to sit down and look at people. Personally, I have to finish looking at hams in the ceiling, old newspaper cuttings and fruit decorations before I get around to gazing at the regulars. A fine blend of artistic souls, movie people, thespians from the many theatres nearby, gays and old men mix into a gaudy cityscape, totally different from the large, neighboring tourist magnets Oxford Street and Covent Garden.

Bar Italia, 22 Frith Street, ID 4RF. Tube: Tottenham Court Road or Picadilly Circus