hip hop posts

I'm sauntering along a shaded path at the south-east end of Central Park in New York City. There's something intoxicatingly relaxing about this 150-year old city oasis and I soak it in as my guide explains how it took 20,000 men to build the 840 acre landmark. In an attempt to imitate the green spaces of Europe, the workers blasted away rocky outcrops, sculpted the land with soil and planted over 270,000 plants to create one of the most famous parks in the world.

I arrive at the Musical Clock arching whimsically above the path. My guide is telling me about the animals that will dance out of it on the hour and half hour. It is a few minutes to 2pm and I want to see the spectacle, so I switch my guide off and wait. That's right, I switch her off. After all, she's just a walking-tour audio guide I downloaded for free from Central Park's website.

There are hundreds of thousands of audio tours on the internet for just about any destination you can think of. Some are free, such as the Arts and Architecture Tour of Central Park.