This week I’m happy to say that I did not have to move from my living room to get my international experience. Two friends from Stockholm arrived yesterday and I haven’t stopped smiling or laughing since they arrived. I love when visitors come to town and I get to see NY through their eyes. And of course, by the time they arrived at my apartment they already had stories to tell. My friend Anna had admitted to me that she did not expect NY to be so friendly and welcoming. Her original thought was contradicted almost immediately after stepping off the plane at Newark Airport when they bought their train ticket to Penn Station. “No sweat,” they thought, there can’t be more than one Penn Station. Well to their pleasant surprise, their train ride was very short. However, they were at Penn Station Newark, but a very nice homeless man helped them on their way and did not ask for a penny in return. Once they made it into Manhattan they went to a Starbucks to get their caffeine fix and rang me that they were starting to walk to my apartment. My only welcoming words to them were “Get in a taxi and I’ll meet you outside,” for my apartment is far too far to walk with baggage in hand. When they arrived they already had a working knowledge of the Bronx, real estate prices in the Bronx, where to rent bicycles for a ride in Central Park and even watched the taxi driver chase down the passenger before them to return a camera case they left behind! After catching up, we took a short walk to Times Square, bought some groceries from Whole Foods to tide us over and called it a relaxing evening in the city that never sleeps. I will sleep well knowing that my favorite hometown is welcoming to visitors now more than ever! I can’t wait to hear the stories the rest of the week will bring! -Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher