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Bachelorette auditions, air guitar competitions and playing tag on Wall Street: How a year of doing a new thing every day made me fall in love with New York

PUBLISHED: 08:21 EST, 28 January 2014 | UPDATED: 11:13 EST, 28 January 2014

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As I enter the ABC studios, I check out my competition: lithe, ridiculously beautiful girls with far too much makeup and optimism. I quickly realize my heels aren't high enough, my skirt isn't short enough and my 'story' isn't going to make anyone cry.

But I have no choice - I'm here to audition for The Bachelorette and I have to see it through. But I'm not here to find a husband. No, I'm here simply because I haven't done it before.

For 365 days from last January until this month, I did a new thing in New York City every day. I flew in a helicopter, played freeze tag on Wall Street, climbed to the top of the world’s largest cathedral and often wondered if the Bachelorette producers would call me back.

I scoped out every event I could find - and I learned that 365 days doesn’t cover the half of it.

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Getting to know the locals: After moving from London to New York, I did a new thing in the city every day for a year - including getting to know the famous Naked Cowboy at Times Square

Tourist time: In my first week of new activities, I took a helicopter ride over Manhattan

When my job at MailOnline moved me from London to Manhattan two years ago, I was living in Little Italy, a pit of pizza magnets and 'Fuggedaboutit!' t-shirts.

Every night, as I battled tourists to get to my front door, I cursed under my breath. How dare they be getting in my way, when I had TV shows and takeout to be getting to? Yet, just like them, I was in a new city that was allowing me to visit for a while. The only difference was that they were making the most of it.

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My daily challenge started when a general restlessness made me crave a change: I was bored. I could feel my then-relationship nearing its end. Most shamefully, I was desperate to stay in New York but I wasn't really doing anything to get to know it - a mistake I'd made in London just months before.

So when, one night after cursing the Little Italy tourists, I started watching the same Jersey Shore episode for the third time, I realized something had to change.

I opened my laptop, bought the domain for 'Today's the Day I...' and got to work.

Learning from the best: In June I went to an Air Guitar Competition in Brooklyn where I picked up some moves from the U.S. air guitar champion, Aristotle, pictured right

Looking for love: I went along to auditions for The Bachelorette - where my competitors were surprisingly friendly and the doughnut table went untouched. I'm still waiting for the producers to call

Sporting chance: I went to Chelsea Piers on the west side of Manhattan to try out a selection of sports - from baseball to golf - and learned I should probably do neither ever again

City skyline: Here, I kayak on the Hudson River with One World Trade Center behind me

Me and my boyfriend Ryan drink vodka in room made from ice in a Bulgarian bar in the Lower East Side

THE BEST OF NEW YORK: MY TIPS

Best 3 views of the Manhattan skyline:

From the Brooklyn Heights Promenade; from a sailboat; from Eagle Street Rooftop Farm

Best 3 things you didn't know were there:

Tours at a Masonic Temple; sections of the Berlin Wall; the Elevated Acre

Best 3 places to learn new things:

The Brooklyn Brainery; the Brooklyn Kitchen; Bryant Park

Best 3 museums:

The American Museum of Natural History; the New York Hall of Science in Queens; the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side

Best 3 markets:

Brooklyn Night Bazaar; Union Square Holiday Market; the Brooklyn Flea

Best 3 food activities:

The Vendys - awards for food vendor trucks; Smorgasburg; Madison Square Eats

Best 3 date activities:

Kayaking on the Hudson; Playing Bocce ball; tasting cocktails at one of the city's many speakeasies, such as PDT or Angel's Share.

Best 3 workout classes:

A barre class with Physique 57; Spinning at SoulCycle; Zumba with Z Club NY

For more tips, visit Today's the Day I...

I signed up to every deal website and art opening newsletter I could find, and began following every Twitter feed with 'NYC' in its handle. Soon I was obsessed - and I knew that by blogging about it, I wouldn't get away with missing a single day.

I signed up for bizarre classes and learned how to start a fire, hack a computer, craft origami and ferment vegetables.

I volunteered in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy by building sand dunes and gutting water-logged apartments where browned wall calendars still read 'October'.

I forced myself through new exercise regimes from zumba to fencing to hot yoga.

I ate new foods - from egg creams and knish to ice cream shaped like spaghetti.

And of course I found myself tugging at my skirt at a Bachelorette audition while they snapped full-length shots as I overshared about why men in New York are really, really rubbish.

Well, until I met my boyfriend Ryan in a dive bar in SoHo and the challenge shifted gears: together we scoped out the city’s best date spots, from bocce ball courts to kayaking – and he even took me to my first ever prom. Yes, in a dank Brooklyn bar that left me with punch-soaked shoes, but still – a prom.

Even when I left the city, I kept up my daily quest - hiking mountains in Colorado, volcanoes in Scotland and to breweries in Washington state.

Back home in England, I finally got around to those activities I'd avoided since I was small and when I ventured to London, I played the tourist by climbing to the top of St Paul's Cathedral and looking over the city from the Shard. And unlike two years before, I left loving it.

A new thing every day: Lydia rides a mechanical bull

Hands on: I volunteered at the Rockaways in Queens to help build sand dunes to prevent damage if another hurricane hits. We used Christmas trees the sanitation department collected at the start of 2013

Nerves: I found many bizarre activities that the city throws for free for no other reason than because this is the best city in the world. Here, I take part in musical chairs with hundreds of people in Bryant Park (I lost)

Exercises: I took numerous classes - such as a free beginner's meditation class, left, and barre class, right

Live show: Every summer, 88 pianos are scattered through the streets of New York for people to play. I probably last played a piano in about 1997, but that didn't put me off

Hello there: Another summer treat at Bryant Park was free square dancing, where I dosey doed with strangers

There were struggles, of course. As well as having quiet Mondays to contend with (why does nothing ever happen on a Monday?), I also had a full-time job to work around, so my 'new things' had to be between the hours of 7pm and 10pm.

It meant that while I felt like I was saying yes to so many new things, I also had so say no; there just weren't enough hours in the day to grab that drink with colleagues after work.

Plus, I didn't always have the energy to jump from planes, and instead I'd opt for something quick but just as new – peeking inside a church, unwinding at a speakeasy or snapping photographs of the city's only remaining gas lamp (it's in the West Village).

This was the best thing I learned all year: seeing or doing something new needs to take no more than a few minutes. Some of my favorite activities – looking for hidden subway art or for Grand Central’s black ceiling brick (a nod to the smog-covered terminal before it was refurbished) – took less than ten minutes, and yet I learned a new fact about my new home.

Watch out Katniss: I give archery a go in Brooklyn Heights. Yes, I know I'm standing really close

Going for a spin: This sculpture by Bernard Rosenthal called the Alamo, or more commonly, the Astor Place Cube, can spin. But you need about eight Italian tourists to help you

New experiences: I sip the light ale at McSorley's Ale House (left) - where Lincoln went - and learned how to make a drill bow to create fire in a class at Prospect Park in Brooklyn with Loomstate (right)

Never again: I lasted an entire 40 seconds on the mechanical bull at Johnny Utah's in Midtown

Career change? I took a tour back stage at Radio City Music Hall, where I met one of the Rockettes

Yes, sometimes I resented having to complete a new activity when I just wanted to go to the pub or bed, but I was always too stubborn to give up on my goal.

In a strange way, my aim was most fulfilled on these grumpy days: the whole point was to force myself to do new things. And of course, I’d leave the activity with my mood massively improved. All it took was a peck on the cheek from the Naked Cowboy and I left clicking my heels.

But even when I headed to an event feeling excited, some things were terrible. Don't get me started on Murder Mystery nights, the queues to the top of the Empire State Building or sly tarot card readers.

And while most of the different cuisines I tried were pretty good, I had one snack from the Winter's Eve Festival last month that sent me running home early – and arriving back just in time for it to come shooting out of my nose.

But for the most part, I loved getting to know this city, its secrets and people.

Date night: I took Ryan Gosling on a date on the Staten Island Ferry (and our fellow tourists loved him)

Role play: On rainy Saturday afternoon in February, I filmed a scene for a music video for singer-songwriter Lindsay Ellyn. I (right) took part in a baby shower scene that was filmed in Chinatown

Making friends: Left, I headed back to my old neighborhood - Little Italy - during the feast of San Gennaro and made friends with a giant cannoli. Right, I visited the Ghostbusters' firehouse in Tribeca

New commute: I tried out a CitiBike, pictured in SoHo, and learned that they're really not that bad

Water view: I take in another view of the Manhattan skyline - this time from a 160-foot sail boat

I quickly realized that nowhere else could have given me the chance to complete the challenge. New York cares for itself, proudly giving us tourists and residents reams of new, free things to do every day. And every time I catch a glimpse of that glistening skyline - even after two-and-a-half years - I can't believe my luck that I'm here.

Twelve months on and I've wrapped up my daily activities. I thought I'd feel relieved to have my life back, but I miss it. So I'm still writing about new activities when they catch my eye. The project has changed my bad habits and finally, I'm appreciating the place I live.

Long gone are those days of cursing at the tourists in Little Italy: now I'm proudly one of them.

PLAYING THE TOURIST: MY 10 FAVORITE (AND LEAST FAVORITE) THINGS TO DO IN NEW YORK CITY

Some of the activities I completed were in New York City for one day only, but here are my top ten things that you should keep your eye out for:

Sailing around Manhattan I boarded a 160-foot sailboat with Manhattan By Sail that went around the tip of Manhattan just as the sun was setting - and it was glorious.

Climbing to the roof of the world's largest cathedral The Cathedral of St John the Divine on the Upper West Side is breathtakingly beautiful - and every Wednesday and Saturday staff give a 'vertical tour' up the spiral staircases onto buttresses and eventually to the roof.

Visiting Socrates Sculpture Park This park in Long Island City in Queens is filled with huge, interactive sculptures that are perfect for little and big kids. It also hosts farmers' markets.

Taking part in activities at Bryant Park This park near Times Square is a spectacular hub for free outdoor movies, concerts and bizarre events, from musical chairs to square dancing. It also holds free juggling lessons every week and is home to games including ping pong, petanque and chess. All for free!

Visiting Governor's Island Every summer, you can catch a free ferry and wander Governor's Island - a former army base just south of the tip of Manhattan that seems frozen in time. There's a castle, open parks, a great view of the skyline and lots of empty, eerie buildings. This year it opens on May 24th and will reveal a new park and recreational area.

Taking a graffiti tour A graffiti tour with Graff Tours through the Lower East Side and East Village merged world class art with the city in a way no other art experience did all year.

Visiting a Masonic Temple Tucked away behind the Flatiron Building is the Grand Lodge of New York. Every weekday between 10.30am and 2pm, a mason gives free tours to the public and answers whatever questions you have about this 'secretive' organization.

Kayaking on the Hudson Every summer, you can kayak on the Hudson River at the Downtown Boathouse - for free. And they don't rush you, so you can paddle away for as long as you like.

Visiting the Natural History Museum Call it cliche but museums don't get much better than this. There are so many rooms - from butterfly houses to precious stones to the Hayden Planetarium - that you can make whatever you want of the trip, and it's so huge that fellow tourists don't get in the way.

Taking a helicopter over Manhattan It may seem pricey for just a 20-minute trip, but if you fancy something special, this can't fail.

And my ten least favorite activities I completed this year were...

Visiting the Museum of Sex I expected less salaciousness and more history. A small museum that's definitely not worth $17.50.

The Feast of San Gennaro This yearly week-long celebration brings sticky sweets and arcade games to Little Italy - and there's very little Italian about it. Avoid if you can.

A trip to Hooters It's unsurprising that I didn't think too much of Hooters, seeing as I'm probably not their target audience. Although the service was impeccable, the place was filled with greasy food and predictably sexist signs - and I definitely won't be returning.

Going to a Murder Mystery dinner I excitedly dressed in a ball gown for a masquerade ball-themed murder mystery at Zanger Hall on 34th Street - and arrived to find everyone in jeans and that the caterers hadn't turned up. The rules were never thoroughly explained - and I ended up leaving early.

Eating at Winter's Eve I dared to taste the food at this holiday market, which is scattered around the Lincoln Center for one night a year. And was very, very ill.

Having a tarot card reading Out of intrigue, I decided to check out a tarot card reader in SoHo. He told me nothing specific about myself and I left feeling very skeptical - not least because he initially told me a price that far exceeded the ads on the doorway.

Walking through a haunted house Just before Halloween, I went to a haunted house in the Lower East Side. I was really bothered by how they recounted actual scenes from real murders.

A ghost walk through the West Village Another Halloween fright. The group was far too large to hear the guide and - oddly - there were hardly any ghost stories.

Center for Jewish History This was definitely far more academic than I'd anticipated and far too haphazardly organized for me to know where to begin.

The Empire State Building Call it sacrilege, but the queuing system was a nightmare compared to the city's other buildings and museums. Yes, the views are spectacular, but I would suggest going to the Rockefeller Center instead - especially because that way the Empire State Building is in all of your pictures.

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MigV2131313, NYNY, United States, 23 hours ago

Give me a break. Where ever your from all this stuff is there. Just not as crowded. over priced and dirty.

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Captain America, Mississippi USA, United States, 23 hours ago

She'd be my first choice. She's cute, drinks beer, and tries new things. What's not to like?

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Kate, New York, 1 day ago

A well-written article, and I especially appreciate the personal captions on the photos, as well as the best and worst list. DM, this writer needs more assignments!

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kbb, baltimore, United States, 1 day ago

I checked out the link to her blog. Lots of fun stuff.

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Shinychar, East Grinstead, United Kingdom, 1 day ago

In response to the comment above, yes, it seems from the actual blog that she volunteered quite a few times. Guess we will just have to read the whole thing to see for ourselves!

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maybek8e, Buffalo, United States, 1 day ago

Sounds like a fun task. I wish something like this was easier to achieve where I live. We just aren't as cool as NYC... yet!!

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dannye, Portland, 1 day ago

Did she enjoy being stopped and frisked by the NYPD? Oh wait never mind, she's white.

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nomorepanic, London, United Kingdom, 1 day ago

Am I the only one that isn't into these spontaneous hipster women?

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Amber, World, United States, 1 day ago

No, definitely not. Air guitar competition? Couldn't get more Brooklyn hipster than that. The funny thing is they are all carbon copies of each other!

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ml560, NYC, United States, 1 day ago

As well as having quiet Mondays to contend with (why does nothing ever happen on a Monday?)" Clearly she hasn't been looking in the right places. Arlenes Grocery has been hosting their world famous live band karaoke every Monday night for years now. She would have had a great time there.

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SueKing0708, Wallington, United Kingdom, 1 day ago

This article is a round up of the blogs, if you read ALL of them, you would see that she has been to the live band karaoke at Arlene's Grocery. Research is necessary before you comment

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SueKing0708, Wallington, United Kingdom, 23 hours ago

This article was about the blog, if you had read ALL of them, you would see that she has been to the live karaoke at Arlene's Grocery. Research is necessary before you comment