NEW YORK – PART ONE

 

I’ve never missed a city like this before. I started missing New York before we even left. You know how you have this idea in your head of what a city will be like, maybe it’s from a movie you’ve watched, a book you’ve read or just a feeling that’s always been there and you never quite knew where it came from. Well, New York is everything you thought it would be and yet it’s even more magic. I would drop everything and return in a heartbeat.

Butterflies dancing in my stomach as we come in to land, I have wanted to visit New York since I was a little girl and I still couldn’t quite grasp it was really happening. I could faintly see the shape of Manhattan in the foggy skyline.

We caught a cab into Manhattan, I was glued to the window soaking everything in. The freeway was closed so we took a detour through Queens.

I was quietly so happy for our unplanned detour route, it was fascinating watching the houses, shops and New Yorkers on the sidewalks. The warm air smelled of spring flowers and car exhaust fumes, there was much more greenery than I had expected.

Once we passed over the freeway and into Manhattan it was captivating. It was exactly how I had pictured it in my mind, the stairways to front doors, the yellow taxis crowding every street, the pedestrians hurrying across intersections. Hustle and bustle everywhere you look.

 We arrived at our hotel, dropped our bags and hurried out onto the street. Walking blocks and block just to soak it all in, noticing the little things. Phone boxes, newspapers you can buy on street corners, fire escapes!

We were staying near Times Square which made it very easy to catch trains as it was so central. Time Square honestly isn’t a very ‘beautiful’ part of New York, it’s tourist central, you are bombarded with people trying to offer you tours, hand you their CD’s and then try and pressure you to pay for them, lots of people in suits of disney characters who want you to pay for photos, there was even a man dancing in a diaper wearing a baby mask… You have to see it to believe it! The neon signs are everything you would expect. But we were also walking distance to Central Park which is incredible! And it was so close for me to travel to fashion week.

At night the streets are a neon coloured wonderland.

We caught our first train in the evening. I had read that the underground gets very hot in the summer but we weren’t prepared for the stagnant can-hardly-breathe heat!

We had no plans, no destination, we literally got on the first train to arrive at the platform and rode it downtown. We got off at a random station and begun our walk back through the streets. Even in the darkness of night the city feels very reasonably safe.

The subway, full of the quirky, and wonderfully normal.

Constantly taking pictures from the hip so I didn’t need to take my eyes away for even a moment.

A pretty girl on the subway.

One evening we decided to walk the Williamsburg bridge at sunset. Equip with a bottle of ice cold water and a order of onion rings we ventured over to Brooklyn.

The bridge was busy with people riding, jogging and walking home from work. It was the first time that I felt we were the only tourists and we could easily blend in with the locals. Every two minutes I was stopping to take pictures of the magnificent views!

A rare picture of me curtesy of Martin.

And a sneaky picture of Martin.

We reached Brooklyn and the vibe changed, I peered into backyards, rooftops and apartment windows to watch the secrets within.

Union Square is filled with wonderfully eccentric people and it quickly became my thoroughfare each day when travelling from A to B. I would sit on the steps and eat my Wholefoods salad box (filled with lots of hummus of course!) and people watch. On this particular day there was a large group of clowns socialising, dancing and having a wonderful time.

I had fallen in love with Brooklyn and we were soon back again. This time our designation was a night market bazaar filled with cute stalls, glow in the dark mini golf, arcade games and table tennis. We were there to see one of Martin’s favourite bands and we had the best time! Brooklyn locals are awesome.

We did so much in our short seven days that I felt I should split this post into two parts so I could savour these memories and this breath-taking city. Part two coming soon!