I am free today. And so is quite a large part of the crew. The girls and the working ones among us are in Redhook Brooklyn where they are getting involved with some local New York firefighters for a shoot.

Anouk and I are spending the day, just like yesterday, on a city bike. You can get the girls out of Holland, you can’t get Holland out of the girls after all. It’s a piece of cake to rent a bike. Just dip your credit card in the slot, enter a made-up postcode (90210 I think is an excellent choice) and off you go. On your little bike through Greenwich. That’s nice, that’s nice.

We are soon joined by Dirk and two non-working men from the crew, Daan and Jillis. First, let’s eat an egg at Balthazar because our hotel may be top-notch, but the breakfast is really too meager for working men with a healthy appetite. Off to Noho because at Balthazar the eggs are perfect and the chance of seeing and being seen is great.

After some Eggs Benedict for Anouk, hearty omelets in puff pastry for the men, and a soft-boiled egg for me (fashion girl, huh), our journey continues. Feeling bold from the proteins, we decide to bike to the studio. It’s located deep in Brooklyn. Going up the Brooklyn Bridge is a bit heavy, but in the euphoria of the moment, it’s really doable. Going down is a party. The shouting New Yorkers who yell “on your left, on your left” or huff as we stop for a photo moment slide off us. If you’re going to be so incredibly New York, take the Manhattan Bridge. Everyone who crosses the Brooklyn Bridge is entitled to their photo moment. Period.

We bike through the posh Brooklyn Heights (where the Cosby family resided) and turn onto Coffee Street, Redhook. Remember it because you have a few nice lunch spots, a wine bar, and a great pharmacy plus a fantastic view of Manhattan, so Instagram-wise it’s an excellent spot.

A point for improvement for Redhook is the Citybike stations. You won’t find them there. And officially, you have to return a Citybike to a charging point every half hour. Otherwise, you have to pay more. We don’t care about that. I mean, how expensive can it be, such a rental bike.

We drop the bikes at the studio and look at ‘our’ girls and those delightful models who are disguised as firefighters for today. Then we poke a fork at a cool lunch spot around the corner. Next, we bike to some admired Brooklyn, dump the bikes at an official point, and hop on the subway (when in New York, do as New Yorkers) home.

The next morning I get a call. American Express. “We suspect fraud with your card,” says the nice lady on the other end of the line. Yesterday, $75 was charged to your card for the rental of a bike. They found it unlikely. “No worries, ma’am, it’s correct,” is my response. “We rode to Redhook Brooklyn and there were no Citybike points, hence.” What I was doing on the bike from Manhattan to Brooklyn, the lady wondered. Just wait and see, ma’am, I assured her. In Redhook Brooklyn, that’s where it’s happening. You will hear a lot, a lot about it.

On to episode 5.