I had the privilege of escorting photographer Keith Pennington around New York City last week. During his trip, we embarked on a short journey to Staten Island via the free ferry. As it turns out, this ride provides panoramic views of iconic New York City fixtures, like the Statue of Liberty. I could see the park near my house raising its head above the rest of Brooklyn while we were on the boat. The Verrazano Bridge and the beautiful walkway beneath it were in clear view. The buildings in lower Manhattan and on Governors Island were all visible on this bright and sunny day. Pennington managed to capture much of what was to see in this single shot. If you have a photo you would like to contribute to Photo of The Day, upload it to the Gadling Flickr pool or connect with us on Instagram.

[Photo Credit: Keith Pennington]

Laughing Squid's own Rusty Blazenhoff recently returned from a trip to Iceland with a curious photo album in tow. Taking it upon herself to photograph unfamiliar products for sale in the grocery stores of Iceland, the collection is both funny and enlightening. When I eventually make it out to Iceland, I'm going to strongly consider hunting down Viking Snacks for my meat-eating friends and family members. Check out her photos and descriptions here.

[Photo Credit: Rusty Blazenhoff]

Flights to New Zealand from the USA are expensive. Thankfully, I have expertly created time-lapses to hold me over until I can get myself out to the seemingly mythical and definitely awe-inspiring country. This time-lapse by Bevan Percival is gorgeous. The images in the film were shot during 2012 over the course of two months spent in the North Island of New Zealand. Rushing fog over steep and lush hillsides is met with startling views of jagged mountains against nearly barren expanses of desert. Scenes like these make this video the beautiful work of art it is. Enjoy.

[Thanks, Laughing Squid]

It's the weekend of one of New York City's Holi Festival of Colors and spring is just beginning to appear in the cloudless and bright blue sky. This particular event is being held outdoors in an elusive location in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The address was only released a few days ago and it seems attractively random. The nearest subway train is a mile from the fenced parking lot that will set the stage for the night. I know little of what to expect because although Holi is traditionally a Hindu celebration held for the sake of spring and oneness, this isn't an exclusively Hindu event and I suspect a lot of people will probably be on drugs, and with that in mind, I don't think I've ever been to a religious event like this one before – even if only tangentially religious.

A crowded lineup of bands, rappers and DJs was announced on the event's Facebook page this week. Since the festival is being held in a parking lot in a neighborhood relatively deep into Brooklyn, I assume that at least part of the motivation behind the location is to do with the sonic roster and sound ordinances. Each ticket comes with a bag of colored powder and the biggest ice breaker of the night is that people get to throw the powder on strangers without making any sort of prior acquaintance. This bend on common courtesy appeals to me. Attendees have been instructed to wear clothing that could be, but probably won't be, ruined. With temperatures hovering around 50 degrees tonight, I'm not sure I have a coat I am willing to even possibly destroy so I layer up old sweatshirts and leggings instead.

Gallery: Festival of Colors

The folks at The Perennial Plate have done it again, just like they always do. They've created another video that manages to pair perfectly suited music against beautiful and intimate shots of a country's land and people. In this video from their time spent in Sri Lanka, food culture is captured well alongside stunning scenery. If you aren't already privy to the greatness of The Perennial Plate, change that at once. But enjoy this video first.

The Festival of Colors celebration in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn last week was a vibrant Holi celebration. In Hindu tradition, all of the festivalgoers were asked to toss their multicolored powder into the air before the sun completely set and in doing so, the little daylight left alongside the stage lights set the blending colors of powder aglow. I had been looking forward to the festival for weeks after reading about it online. The location, which was simply a fenced parking lot in the middle of East Flatbush, one mile from the nearest train, wasn't announced until a few days before the festival. Once I knew where to go, I took photographer Ben Britz with me and he snapped this photo. The night was filled with dancing, drinking and conversations with strangers – the kinds of conversations that are bound to occur when you're all united in an effort to (harmlessly) ruin each other's clothing and spread cheer.

Having recently splurged on a cross-country move, my travel budget isn't bursting at the seams, but my fascination for new sights and experiences remains in tact. With a traveler's spirit in tow, I'll be exploring my own city this week, taking the train or driving to some of my favorite NYC destinations and some I've yet to visit. I aim to focus on showing you some of the green beauty of spring showcased in a city not known for greenery as well as street art, architecture, food and drink and the general vibrancy of this dense city. Come along for the ride with me as I explore and publish photos from both the nostalgic and the new for me in New York City. Follow along on Instagram here.

"3 words for NYC" from Cokau on Vimeo.

New York City might be polarizing in that love/hate kind of way, but in the end, the reasons to love the city seem limitless. One could use thousands of words to describe what's to love about NYC, but the more difficult thing to do is to break the appeal of New York down into just three words. Vimeo user Cokau (which represents filmmakers Achille Coquerel and Thomas Kauffmann) asked New Yorkers to describe what they love about the city in just three words and the resulting footage has made this cool video titled "3 Words For NYC." It's worth the watch.

"Brooklyn Brewery Mash - A trip through BK in 3000 photos" from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

This stop-motion tour of Brooklyn is pretty cool. As a tribute to Brooklyn Brewery's MASH tour, Landon Van Soest and Paul Trillo put this video together. Using over 3,000 images, this video manages to capture much of the essence of Brooklyn – the people, food, drink, culture and sights from the street – in about one minute. These filmmakers have a knack for slow motion shots in addition to stop motion video. Slowing down at all the right moments in the video (dust being blown off of a vinyl record; popcorn in the air in a theater), pausing for this video will put a little bit of Brooklyn in your day.

Spring break is a vacation time of the year wherein many people let loose and eat and drink with abandon. Fun as that might seem to some, your idea of a good time might be one that isn't filled with worries about the pounds you're packing on or the detox you're going to need post-vacation to recover from all of the alcohol. If you're looking for an detoxifying escape plan this spring, here are some ideas that will get you started.

1. Sweet + Thrasher: St Lawrence Gap, Barbados
This resort is offering a health-conscious vacation package called "Fitness + Foolishness" for April 18-22. The package includes daily yoga, Pilates, morning runs, surf classes and dancing in the evening at the hot spots in town.