As a New Jersey native who commutes to NYC via train for work, the subway is definitely one of my least favorite parts of the city. It’s hard to tell which aspect of the metro system is more repellent: the gloomy stations or the dingy trains themselves. That’s why I was blown away to find that Sweden had created a subway that doesn’t make me want to lose my lunch. Quite the opposite.

The new Swedish subway looks a little like what would happen if an apple store and Soho gallery had a baby. It’s modern, sleek, and artistic. As you enter, the escalators and walls are painted in exciting bright colors. One escalator, which is surrounded by relative darkness, has mirrors on the sides of it that reflect the bright overhead lights. Overall it has a very Star Wars vibe.

The subway itself looks like a cavern due to the cave-like unsymmetrical walls. They are lined with modern designs, vibrant paintings, dramatic sculptures, and bright colors. It’s actually impossible to give a truly accurate description because every part of the subway is unique.

When I picture the NYC subway I see sixfoot ads for movies no one wants to see surrounded by graffiti. Sweden’s subway is something else entirely. It’s literally covered in interesting objects and artwork, conveniently allowing you to look at something other than the sweaty guy sitting across from you. ~ Jenny Keroack

Last week, Argentina’s Algodon Wine Estates and Algodon Mansion joined Tablet Hotels to host an exclusive wine tasting event at New York’s premier table-tennis club, SPiN New York. Owned by Susan Sarandon, SPiN’s private event space served as the perfect venue for guests to taste a variety of Algodon wines, mingle and even take part in a table-tennis tournament with prizes arranged by Tablet Hotels.

Most people spend their lives searching for something: a soul mate, the ideal job, parental approval or the meaning of life. I have spent my life looking for the perfect cheeseburger. So, when the time came to drive up to New Hampshire for the Fourth of July, my brother suggested that we should stop in New Haven, CT and try Louis Lunch EST. 1895, the country’s oldest burger joint. Apparently, Louis’s burgers received great reviews by other burger gourmands, but they had one catch: Ketchup (and other similar sauces) was not available. Intrigued by this unusual “dry” burger, we made the stop.

 The place is a tiny house two blocks away from Yale University that sports a sign announcing that burgers are either served the way the chef created them or not served at all. After receiving our order and giving it the first bite, my suspicion was confirmed: A burger without ketchup isn’t really a burger. Thankfully, I came prepared with a Ziploc bag filled with individual ketchup envelopes. But considering the aggressiveness of the sign, I decided to step outside and add the magic ingredient, while perched on a neighboring bench to avoid being publicly humiliated by the owners.

 Overall, Louis’s burgers were good, but not nearly good enough to justify the owner’s diva attitude and dictatorial tendencies. ~Ignacio Villanueva

This past 4th of July weekend, I retreated to my childhood home, the place where I spent 18 solid years of my life—the Jersey Shore. What has recently been portrayed as an alcohol-drenched summer getaway for the painfully tan due to the popular MTV show, to me, is in fact quite the opposite. Whether on the surfer-filled beaches of Deal or the recently revived Asbury Park boardwalk (where I witnessed a remarkable July 4th fireworks display), I somehow always seem to find refuge on the Jersey Shore. ~Ross Belfer

Photographs by WEILLer Nestor Lara-Baeza

When news first broke last summer of John F. Kennedy Airport’s main runway closing for four months, everyone wondered how the already notoriously inefficient airport would cope with such a crippling move. The official news release stated the runway would stay closed for four months as part of a massive upgrade to the airport. The project would cost about $288 million and provide 2,500 jobs to the region.

Having been guinea pigs in such ambitious projects before in the hands of the MTA and the Port Authority at Ground Zero, every New Yorker rolled their eyes and prepared for a turbulent era of air travel while the surely late and over-budget construction project was completed.

Less than four months later JFK’s new state-of-the-art “Bay Run” is open for business! The new runway, which is part of a larger project to be completed in late 2011, boasts a new 18-inch concrete surface with a 40-year lifespan and will facilitate faster take-offs and landings, reducing delays by 10,500 hours!

Wider and longer, the new surface accommodated some of the world’s largest commercial planes and allows departing aircraft to bypass others being held on the tarmac. I guess we will not be reading “Stuck on the runway!” facebook status updates any time soon – I hope! ~ Nestor Lara-Baeza

For more information, visit www.panynj.gov

*Photographs courtesy of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

The mercury has topped 90 degrees here in New York, the tourists are arriving in droves and I no longer have to dodge obsessively texting, foul-mouthed schoolkids en route to work–all this can only mean one thing: Summer has arrived in the Big Apple. But one projected Summer 2010 arrival I’ve long been looking forward to is Eataly, the massive Mario Batali/Joseph Bastianich gourmet Italian food emporium set to open around the corner from WEILL international headquarters in the Flatiron district. So, what gives? It’s still a massive construction site! I’ve been salivating over the thought of San Marzano tomatoes, creamy fresh burrata cheese and endless varieties of salumi for months. And, contrary to initial reports, Eataly will not just be a fabulous gourmet market–the complex will be comprised of six (count ‘em, six!) Slow Food-inspired Mario Batali restaurants, including a meat restaurant, a fish restaurant, a pasta and pizza eatery, a vegetable restaurant, a panino bar and a rooftop brewery and gastropub! (Of course, if Nuela, the ceviche bar and pan-Latin restaurant that has been meant to open next door to WEILL offices for more than a year, is any indication, it may be some time before the WEILL crew is seen chowing down on panini with the orange-clogged wonder chef!) ~ Mark Liebermann

More than one million people took part in this past weekend’s Gay Pride celebration in New York City, the world’s oldest pride parade.

Thousands of rainbow flags, balloons and drag queens adorned the streets along 5th Avenue as marchers made their way from 36th Street to Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. As the lively mob of hot bodies and dancing queens made its way downtown, Israel’s special delegation of more than 200 people marched along with them.

Israel is the only country to participate – for the third year in a row – as an official entrant in the New York Gay Pride parade. The Israelis enthusiastically joined the celebration, carrying rainbow flags, Israeli flags and banners reading “I am a proud Israeli.”

Photo: Liran Gilboa

Slogging along on my daily mile-long trek to the Q train one morning this week in particularly muggy NYC heat, I was pleasantly shocked out of my sweaty morning crankiness by an unexpected sight–a splatter-painted piano plopped down in front of the entrance to Fort Greene Park!  As it turns out, it’s part of a public art project called “Play Me, I’m Yours,” organized by Sing For Hope and the brainchild of British artist Luke Jerram, which this week delivered 60 pianos throughout the five boroughs, where they will remain (open for ivory-tinkling by anyone who cares to try, daily from 9am to 10pm) through July 5, 2010.  It’s the first US stop of the public performance-art project that has already touched down in London, Sao Paolo and Sydney.  But for me this week, it was just the latest reminder — after short trips to boring Boston and drearier Washington, DC in recent weeks — of why I so LOVE New York.  As oppressive as this city’s summer heat can get, nothing beats the energy, spirit and creativity of this crazy city in the warmer months, as its citizens hit the streets for sidewalk dining, Double Dutch, people-watching and now, piano-playing!  Check it out and find the public piano nearest you at www.singforhope.org. ~ Mark Liebermann

Proof that the Soccer World Cup is finally causing the fever in the US, yesterday the game was playing in the Nail Salon I was in, and was being watched by women from ages 16- 60 from every kind of background.  Even MORE amazing is that Geoffrey Weill himself is hooked on it!  Can’t get him to do any work. ~ Ann-Rebecca Laschever