Julia Kaganskiy lives and breathes all things art and technology. She is Global Editor for The Creators Project, a new initiative from VICE and Intel dedicated to showcasing the ways technology is enabling creativity. She’s also the founder and organizer of the Arts, Culture and Technology (#ArtsTech) meetup and co-founder of Blue Box Gallery. Fast Company Magazine once named her one of the “Most Influential Women in Technology” which, she says, was both exciting and a little bit weird. You can follow Julia on Twitter at  @juliaxgulia. As part of our #place2be series, we gave Julia a D-Lux 5 to capture all her favorite spots in NYC.

Conservatory Pond, Central Park

I rarely make it out of the city, so when I’m in need of a little nature and a little fall foliage, Central Park provides the perfect escape. On one sunny Saturday afternoon, my place2be was on a bench at the Conservatory Pond in Central Park, where I watched families sail model boats and bird watchers scope out the famous hawks that flock to the area. It’s peaceful, gorgeous, and a great place to forget that you’re in New York even though its on of the city’s most iconic spots.

Carsten Höller show at the New Museum

Everyone’s talking about the 102 ft slide that’s currently bisecting the New Museum, providing an “alternative means of transportation” that carries visitors from the 4th floor to the 2nd. For me, however, the real reason to visit the show is this lovely mirrored carousel. Holler’s work is all about creating disorienting and unusual sensory experiences that play with our sense of perception, and for me, this piece is one of his most effective and most beautiful. The warped amusement ride moves at a barely perceptible crawl, while the reflective exterior plays with your sense of space and turns the room in on itself. The overall effect is soothing, transfixing and slightly kaleidoscopic.

Bakeri, North 8th and Wythe

This charming little bakery is probably my favorite spot in the neighborhood. I come here almost every day for an afternoon coffee or to have a lunch date out in their garden where I can sit by the lovely, little koi pond. It’s cozy, welcoming and feels vaguely French and rustic. I also love that it’s run entirely by women who wear  ’40s style factory worker-inspired outfits (a la Rosie the Riveter) and bake a mean pastry. My favorite thing to get here though is probably the quinoa salad. Although, if we’re being honest here, the chocolate rosemary macadamia nut cookies are probably a close second. Yum!

-Julia Kaganskiy