New Yorkers are used to seeing fairly odd things all around the city on a daily basis, but a giant dragon attached to the Empire State Building? That’s stuff we usually deal with at the movies. 

This weekend, the inflatable creature was attached to the iconic midtown landmark for the better part of Sunday as part of a massive city-wide promotion behind HBO’s Game of Thones prequel, House of the Dragon, which premiered on the network last night.  

According to the New York Post, the “real life” version of Aemond Targaryen’s dragon Vhagar, whom we originally met on Game of Thrones, was secured on the building by 154 rigging points, 1,700 pattern pieces and over 600,000 sewn stitches. The dragon will be there through June 19.

Check out this video of the massive undertaking, from the perspective of those who actually did all the work.

But there’s more: in addition to the inflatable, the Empire State Building is hosting a temporary pop-up exhibit all about Game of Thrones now through June 19 (which is just two days away, so you better head there ASAP if you want to catch it). 

Adult tickets to the experience cost $46 and they include the chance to sit on the legendary Iron Throne for a nice photo op on the Observatory’s Grand Staircase, plus a number of interactive activities.

And if you’re feeling a bit hungry while on-premise, indulge in a House of the Dragon-inspired dragon fruit sorbet infused with tequila and orange liquor, and garnished with a mini dragon toy figure—courtesy of Tipsy Scoop. The local ice cream shop will be serving the delight through tomorrow on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. 

The Empire State Building is known for lighting up in different colors every few days in honor of grand events, premieres, holidays and more—but this is the first time in recent memory that the landmark has put on such a spectacle, complete with an enormous inflatable figure. Although it looks odd… we’re kind of into it?

* This article was originally published here

When booking a vacation we’re typically used to pulling up hotel websites or Airbnb when looking for a place to stay, but this home swapping platform gives you a unique opportunity to explore a new city like a local rather than a tourist!

Inspired by the flexibility remote work offers, co-founders Justine Palefsky and Tasneem Amina created home swapping network Kindred.

During the pandemic both Palefsky and Amina looked for ways to take advantage of their remote work flexibility and spend more time in different cities, but they quickly realized all existing solutions were either wildly expensive or required giving up their homes completely, they told Forbes.

Tackling this issue is essentially what skyrocketed them into creating Kindred, a members-only home swapping network which isn’t like any vacation rental platform you’ve seen before.

For starters, there’s no financial exchange between guests and hosts on Kindred, unlike typical home rental platforms. Rather, the focus is on sharing rather than monetizing, and members “give” nights in their home in order to “earn” nights at others.

That’s to say there are no membership fees on the platform–the only fees you have to worry about are a cleaning and a service fee. To put things into comparison, a 7-night hotel rental can cost upwards of $2,000 while a 7-night home swap could cost less than $500.

Secondly, Kindred’s main focus is trust and they connect members who have something in common, such as mutual friends, and organize a video chat introduction before confirming stays. To ensure they maintain this environment of trust, they primarily grow their network through referrals. Each accepted member is given a unique code to share with others they think would be a great fit. Those who apply using that code will then be added to the top of the review queue.

Those interested in applying that don’t have an invite code can still join the waitlist as the platform accept homes on a rolling basis.

And while the network has mostly been used by remote workers so far, their goal is to make it possible for anyone to use the network and share their home.

Using the Kindred home swap network is as easy as following these steps:

1. Apply to unlock access – they’re looking for safe, well-cared-for homes occupied by people who love to travel

2. Book available homes – new members can book up to 5 nights before they host

3. Host and earn travel credits – earn credits each time you host

30,000+ homes are available to choose from in over 100 cities.

Co-founder and president Tasneem Amina told Forbes, “We started Kindred with the goal of making travel a way of life, not just an occasional escape.” They added, “Many of our members are drawn to Kindred because they want a travel experience with warmth, character, and the comforts of home. They want to feel like they are really living somewhere, not just traveling there as a tourist.”

So if you’re looking to explore new cities without blowing your entire savings, Kindred is definitely something worth looking into!

For more information on the Kindred home swap network and to find out if your home is a fit to swap, you can visit their website.

The post You Can Stay 7 Nights In This Parisian Home Near The Eiffel Tower For Less Than $400 appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

New York loves brunch—the sheer breadth of top-notch brunch spots in NYC is proof. But apparently not all NYC brunch spots are created equal, as a new study by entertainment site JackpotCity found that two local spots in particular have captivated brunch lovers all across the country. 

RECOMMENDED: Even the most ardent brunch-hater will love the 15 best boozy brunch spots in NYC

According to the new research—speaking of, the company gathered a seed list of 124 popular brunch spots in the US, analyzed the number of Instagram posts tagged with each relevant hashtag for each brunch spot and then ranked them—Central Park landmark Tavern on the Green and modern Mexican dining room Cosme are in the top ten most popular brunch spots in the county. The former, a favorite for its scenic locale and fire-driven dare, came in at number three in the rankings, with 33,688 Instagram posts to its hashtag. The latter, beloved for its sleek digs and elegant, high-gear small plates, clocked in at number eight, with 6,086 Instagram posts. 

Coming in at number one on the list was Malibu Farm in Malibu, California, with 55,866 Instagram posts. You can check out the full list of the top 10 popular brunch spots in the US below:

And along with analyzing the most popular brunch spots, the new study also revealed which are the most “brunch-obsessed” states in the U.S., looking into the number of Google searches for brunch in each state. Unsurprisingly, New York, tied at first with Texas and California, is leading the brunch craze, each with 201,000 monthly Google searches for “brunch near me.” Florida follows in second place with 135,000 monthly searches, while Georgia and Illinois tie for third with 74,000 searches each. 

* This article was originally published here