When I finally collapsed into bed with my head still thinking it was 3am UK time, I could hardly believe I’d made it to New York. That was just three days ago and part of me just needs to stop and process it before my head explodes.
Although I do love city breaks, I see nothing but green outside my latest hotel window having escaped the skyscrapers for the weekend. This is a welcome antidote to a few days of surreal craziness which is both amazing and yet, well, at times a little disturbing. A city of huge contrasts, from 5th Avenue, overlooking Central Park and so expensive you have to be a fairly well loaded billionaire to stand any chance there, juxtaposed with people at the other end of the scale. All of this reminded me of London, pretty much the same story, although the contrast in New York City it is arguably more profound.
On a positive side, I do like the real friendliness of people. Certainly a place where you can engage in all kinds of conversations. Perhaps it maybe because I maintain a frightfully English accent which people say they like, just as I enjoy listening to the American voice.
So far I have:
- been to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building, just as the cloud rolled in. Perhaps another time I’ll go back at dusk, on a clear day
- been on two tourist buses, from uptown Harlem to the southern tip of Manhattan island where I met….
- John, a Dutch cyclist, older than myself and just setting out on a cycle tour to Seattle on the other side of America
- been gobsmacked at the stunning architecture, everywhere
- been for a run alongside the Hudson River while it rained
- visited the most huge photography shop imaginable (quite near to my hotel) and successfully left without spending a penny. In my imagination I probably spent a fortune
- enjoyed some mixed up weather – from scorching sunshine to feeling quite chilly
- had a couple of subway journeys which weren’t easy to work out the crazy system
- thorougly enjoyed the flight, seems such a long time since I last flew, what with the pandemic etc
- been grilled by immigration officers who were very suspicious of me travelling on my own
- taken a yellow taxi cab. Unfortunately not one of those iconic yellow ones, instead an ultra efficient Toyota Prius (totally boring but what we all need these days)
- got ripped off by a tour bus person. I have a receipt, his name and photo so the story isn’t over(!)
- chatted to two Police Officers, a socialist apartment “dresser”, a retired business man, a few art gallery employees, two waitresses in a very rare vegan restaurant and more to come
- asked a few people to slow down, why speak so fast?
- used Uber rides for the first time and pretty impressed
- got lost only once
- seen an art exhibition in a building which was a sculpture in its own right (Guggenheim if you’re interested)
- got to another gallery as it closed
- spent all Friday afternoon in a New Jersey gallery. When I went in it was hot and cloudy, when I came out everything was soaking wet and unbelievably humid
- had two free bus rides
- walked twice around Central Park (the so called lungs of NYC) and barely scratched the surface
- taken a train ride in a double decker train
- walked 25,000 steps one day
- went to Times Square at dawn, just as some fog was clearing (above photo)
That’s it in a nutshell, so much more to write about.
