New York!


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October 2nd 2011
Published: December 1st 2011
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New York!!

by Rachael

My last blog and our last destination of our 6 month trip! We had waited so long to get to NY, we couldn't believe we were finally on our way there!!

For once we were going by AMTRAK - the train - rather than the bus. We were so happy not to be going by Greyhound bus we hadn’t foreseen that we would have to queue for the train but used our last remaining Canadian dollars to pay a guy to put our huge rucksacks on the train and reserve our places, so life was easy! We felt slightly stupid when we got on the train and into our very empty carriage (well it was going to Yonkers…). Onboard it was complete luxury compared to the hideous Greyhound buses we had so far frequented on our trip. It had a toilet!!!

We quickly reached the US border and were very apprehensive as we hadn’t exactly confirmed that we would be let back in the country…luckily the guard just checked our passports and directed all his questions to Jo – “so who is paying for your trip??” Ummmmm us! It was a long journey, about 10 hours, and without the usual crazies that travel on the Greyhound to amuse us, it was a very dull journey ironically!

We arrived in Yonkers that evening, not quite in New York, and one of Jo’s home friends very kindly accommodated us for our first couple of days in NY. He was living with a big group of English and Scottish people so we had a very British evening of Chinese takeaway and wine and swapped tales of our experiences in the US. It was nice to hear some familiar accents!!

We arrived in NY on the 9th August and were there until the 20th so we had quite a bit of time to explore the city. It was my second time there and I think I fell even more in love with the place! It made a huge difference couchsurfing staying with people who live there rather than being a complete tourist as on my first trip. I thought since I had already been there some of the excitement and magic might have dissapeared but it wasn't so!

Our first day in New York was a beautiful sunny day so we did the classic thing of going to Central Park to sunbathe. I got a pretzel from a street vendor – it was huge! – and Jo had a hot dog as our lunch. We wandered around the park with a German friend we had met in Vegas who was now in NY. It felt so surreal wandering around knowing that we were actually in New York!! I find no matter what I’m doing when I’m in NY, it’s made extra special by the fact that I’m there. It really does feel like you’re in the centre of everything.

That evening we went for New York pizza slices for dinner (so good!!) and then decided to go and see Times Square as the evening was setting in. It was so overwhelming – it was like everything and everyone was on drugs. Huge buildings, huge flashing colourful billboards, crowds of people buzzing everywhere…amazing!! We decided to go for a drink, and headed into the first place we saw – a TGI’s. We sat at the bar and the friendly waitress asked us what we wanted and said she would customise us a cocktail depending on what we like. So the end result was a ‘Hawaiian Volcano’ a very potent mix of rum, pineapple and other unknown ingredients served in a huge pint glass. I think I was drunk after about 3 sips!! A friendly businessman sitting at the bar got chatting to us and decided to buy us a round of drinks. Since it would have been ungrateful not to finish our free drinks both Jo and I finished out second huge cocktail…after which life turned rather blurry…we were decidedly tipsy! So our first night in New York and we were out on the town being bought cocktails! Fabulous!!!

Rather than give a day-by-day account of our time in NY I’m just going to write about a few highlights to narrow it down a bit! So here goes...

Our night time river cruise with live band! It was magical being able to see the New York city skyline illuminated at night. Especially exciting was when we cruised all the way up to the Statue of Liberty! The band on the boat added to the surreal feeling – it’s not everyday you’re at a gig that’s actually on a boat cruising around the island of Manhattan.

Moving to Brooklyn…
During our time in NY we stayed with 2 different hosts, both of whom lived across the river in Brooklyn. I was really excited to experience Brooklyn as it’s a really historic, eclectic place that I hadn’t made it to on my last visit. Our first stop was in a very Latino area – we may as well have been in Mexico. Little Mexican burrito shops (the veggie burritos were amaaaazing), Cuban sandwhich shops, locals hanging around listening to Latino music and everywhere people speaking Spanish. It was a strange sensation and we certainly stuck out but I really enjoyed it.

Couchsurfing party!
Saturday night and we were at a huge, fabulous apartment on the Upper East side filled with couchsurfers – a mix of New Yorkers and travellers from all over the world. It was one of my favourite nights of the trip – an incredible experience to be on a rooftop looking out over NY with a band playing and mixing with interesting people. There was even salsa dancing on the rooftop which I regretfully got roped into until my dance partner realised I was not exaggerating when I said I can’t dance. And there was free unlimited alcohol!!! And snacks!!! It was wonderful until at about 2am when it started absolutely tipping it down and everyone moved down off the roof into the apartment making for a hot sticky mess of bodies – it was time to call it a night!! That night running through the streets to the subway and back to the apartment in Brooklyn we were absolutely soaked since we hadn’t thought an umbrella would be needed in NY in August – we had to wring out our clothes when we got back!

Broadway show!
We decided seeing a Broadway show was a must. We queued up with all the other savvy tourists in Times Square for discount tickets, and got our first pick – tickets for Anything Goes. It was perfect – set in 1930s America on board a cruise ship - like Titanic but with a happy ending! Better still I recognised the female lead from Flight of the Conchords in which she plays Coco (ie Yoko), Bret’s girlfriend and quite a timid character. In the show she was transformed into a blonde bombshell, I couldn’t believe it was the same woman! Also in the show was Kelly Bishop aka the mum in Dirty Dancing and the grandmother in Gilmore Girls!! Haha.

Brooklyn!!
Exploring Brooklyn Heights and crossing the Brooklyn Bridge was one of my favourite activities in NY. We got the subway from where we were staying in Brooklyn to Brooklyn Heights and explored this historic area. I loved all the old brick buildings on pretty tree-lined streets, and the eclectic cafés and shops nearby. Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge was a surreal experience – I felt like I was in a movie. The Statue of Liberty to my left, the river below, sprawling Manhattan in front.

Another area of Brooklyn not to miss was Williamsburg, the ‘hip’ area full of vintage clothes shops, piles of second-hand books everywhere (very dangerous…) and numerous cafés perfect for a drink and a spell of people watching. I loved the vibe…so much calmer and more chilled-out than the city centre where you are constantly fighting for space on the ‘sidewalk’ with other people, everyone is in a rush and there are far too many annoying tourists. I felt very at home in Williamsburg. I wish I could have afforded to raid the vintage clothes shops!

Things I couldn't go without mentioning -

Magnolia Bakery cupcakes - heaven
Drinking cosmopolitans in Times Square
The MOMA and the Met Museum - Jo and I do love a good museum…
Ferry ride to Staten Island to get a view of the Statue of Liberty
Going up the Rockefeller Centre Tower as the sun goes down for incredible views of Manhattan
Visiting Carrie’s actual house from SATC on Perry Street!!
Our last morning of the trip which we spent at very sunny Coney Island walking along the beach and on the oldest ferris wheel in the US



Since this is the last blog of the trip I feel it is necessary to sum up a bit about the whole experience in general.

Jo was without doubt the most wonderful travelling partner a girl could ask for and without her I probably would still be in Rio lost in the slums....

Things I will always remember
-getting to Macchu Picchu (admittedly with the aid of 2 sticks to hold me up and very little energy left to move)
-scuba diving for the first time in Cuba and not being scared of the fish!!
-horse riding on the plains of Argentina, and in the jungle of Costa Rica and actually feeling somewhat in control of the horse and not falling off!
-my Mexican birthday!!! Spending all day on a beautiful beach drinking Coronas definitely takes away the pain of getting older
-marching through the streets of Havana on ‘Dia de los trabajadores’ with locals celebrating the Revolution
-spending several blissful days lying on our own secluded beach in Cuba and being made cocktails by Kiki
-New York in general
-making it to Canada (and out of the US for a bit, phew) and meeting so many nice people, the uniqueness of Quebec, poutine, maple syrup.
-the moustache snowglobe song in LA, and watching a scene being shot in our host’s lounge while we watched
-seeing our one and only ‘celebrity’ Shane West in LA
-the absolute mayhem of Vegas
-dawn plane ride over the Grand Canyon – there are no words!
-partying in Miami
-getting piercings in Miami and New York!!
-bicycle wine tour of Mendoza, Argentina
-learning to tango in Buenos Aires
-attempting to salsa in a club in San José, Costa Rica…and definitely failing
-spending days on an island off the coast of Mexico doing nothing more taxing than sunbathing on the beach during the day and by night drinking 2 for 1 cocktails at the hostel bar – I very nearly never left
-all the amazing people we met along the way 



I am so grateful for the experiences I have had and can’t wait to get back on the road already!!!

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