New York from the Sky, the Sea and the Inside of a few Pubs.

---

Recovering from the all-but theft of my Mexican gin and tequila by Las Vegas customs, we arrived safely in New York. Finally getting used to the travelling thing, we had pre-booked an airport shuttle to take us to our pre-booked hostel. However, upon arrival at the hostel we decided that someone should fire the hostel reviewer because the place was a dump. There were no rooms: just a warehouse divided by curtains. Even though they had a record of our booking, there were no available beds and we had to sleep in the back with the staff. There were only two bathrooms and to top it off, some girl spent the whole of our first night puking very loudly. We were not going to pay 33 bucks a night for that.

Unfortunately, we had already paid for three nights in advance so we agreed to look for another hostel and to spend as little time as possible in this one. Not really a problem considering the city we were in; as the t-shirts say, I Heart NY. It’s a city I felt instantly at home in. Perhaps it has something to do with growing up with New York on television and in films, that you feel like you know the streets when you walk on them. Everything seems so familiar, from the architectural style to the coffee shops, to the renowned Central Park and Times Square.

Despite the bitter cold, we walked across town, through the easily navigable grid-system to the west side of Manhattan Island. After purchasing a Citypass that would allow us to see six of New York’s highlight attractions, we boarded the first of those attractions and took a boat tour round the Island. We learned the history of the culture and the buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn; we saw the Statue of Liberty and the famous New York skyline in daylight and at night; and travelled under the famous Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

After dinner and souvenir shopping in Times Square, we then went to the cinema to see ‘Enchanted’. It was an entertaining film, made more special by the fact that it was set in New York, and many of the scenes we were watching on the big screen were in fact, right outside the front door. It was after midnight by the time we left the cinema, and we were glad to be in the city that never sleeps because it meant the buses were still running every 10 minutes. By the look of the traffic, though, you would think it was rush hour.

The next day was entirely Franny’s choice because it was her 24th Birthday. We got to jump the queue and were given a free audio tour with our Citypass at the Empire State Building, so up we went 86 floors to see New York from the sky. The audio tour was another good one: it directed you to stand in specific areas so you could be told what buildings you were seeing; the history of the city; information on the different neighbourhoods and parks; the people of New York and the immigrants who had arrived there to give the city its fantastic cultural diversity.

Not surprisingly, given that it was Franny’s choice, we ended up in Little India for lunch. She opened her presents and the food was good; however the music was appalling and sounded like we were being serenaded by Indian chipmunks. Next we wandered down St Marks St, which was apparently too cool for the numbering system used for the rest of the city, and took a bus uptown to the biggest department store in the world: Macy’s. After looking around inside and being disappointed that we were not allowed to sit on Santa’s lap, we walked through Times Square again and arrived at Central Park. I’m glad we were able to visit New York at Christmas, as the city is so pretty - and we got to go ice-skating!

Having escaped any grievous bodily harm on the ice rink, Franny blew out her candle on a handbag-squashed Danish pastry and decided it was time for some Birthday drinks. After a flying visit to Bloomingdales to cadge some Little Brown Bags, we then started our evening in McFaddens, which was disappointingly dead so we took some guidebook advice and headed next to McSorleys. It was an interesting little place that apparently was the oldest pub in Manhattan; and one may have guessed this from the charming layer of sawdust on the floor and the fact that they didn’t serve anything apart from Ale. On then to Swifts where we challenged the bar tender to make us interesting cocktails and shots, and where we met a couple of guys who recommended we try Souk next. However, the club Souk seemed to be inspired by an opium den and you had to pay to sit at a table, added to the fact that they played violently awful dance music; we headed home soon after arriving.

Looking back, I don’t think that our decision to move hostels the day after Franny’s birthday was such a good idea. Ever so slightly hungover and weighed down by a year’s worth of clothes, we took two buses and walked seven blocks from the East Village to our new hostel in Chelsea. It was during lunch that we noticed the large number of men in the area, and that there were quite a few rainbow flags flying. I think we may have been the only visitors to New York that didn’t know Chelsea was a predominantly gay area.

Whatever the persuasion of the population, the area was a lot prettier and the hostel actually had walls. Franny was feeling a little bit worse for wear and took to her bed for the afternoon while I took the bus to the Upper East Side to visit the Guggenheim. Set in an extremely affluent area, surrounded by Christian Laboutin, De Beers and Cartier stores, the Guggenheim is instantly recognisable. However, at the time of my visit, Frank Lloyd Wright’s distinctive architecture was covered in scaffolding and was being renovated. Inside, the building was still amazing - and again with the Citypass I was allowed a free audio guide - so I wound my way up the stark, white inner coil of the gallery to gaze at the modern art masterpieces. The special exhibit was by Richard Prince who used Appropriation to exemplify the similarities between different advertising campaigns, focussing on the Marlboro Man.

As a change from the bus, the following day we took the subway to Brooklyn Bridge. After trekking half way across the bridge, we walked back towards Wall Street, where we saw all the Suits and ate our first New York hotdogs. We took a quick look around Trinity Church and walked to Ground Zero. We stared out from the Winter Gardens at the eerie space amongst the architectural busyness of the rest of the city, and looked at the memorials and the plans for the buildings that will be erected in the coming years.

Waiting at the bus stop later on, we watched a photo shoot on the sidewalk, and felt quite sorry for the poor girl who had to change clothes between takes in the middle of the street, in the freezing cold. Next stop was the Met. It could have taken us about a week to see all the exhibits, so after skipping the rather repetitive devotional, landscape and portrait paintings, Franny went off in search of the music and I headed towards the modern art section. Here I got a bit lost, figuratively and literally, and marvelled at the work by Jackson Pollock, De Kooning, Lichtenstein, Picasso and Dali amongst many more, including what looked like an incredibly large Dulux colour chart.

We experienced our first New York bagel for breakfast the following day and then departed for the Museum of Modern Art; somewhere I had wanted to visit since studying Art History seven years ago at University. When it comes to galleries, Franny and I had by this time learned to go our separate ways, so we took our audio guides and agreed to meet up in two hours. I started at the top and saw Monet’s amazing three-panelled Water lilies, as well as some astounding works by Chagall, Seurat, Van Gogh and Kirchner.

Franny was very pleased with herself when we met again two hours later, as she had managed to spread the time evenly and see the entire museum. She almost choked when I said I had only seen the fifth floor and decided to leave me to explore more of the city. While I checked out the rest of the gallery (no more artist name dropping, I promise), Franny saw the preparations for the tree lighting at the Rockefeller Centre and also swears she saw Angela Lansbury. Grand Central Station was the next stop, but not just as tourists, we actually got on a train and travelled to a family friend’s house, where we had a lovely home-cooked dinner and a catch-up.

As Franny was not that enamoured with art galleries, she decided to keep the ‘best for last’, so on our last full day we went to the Natural History Museum. Again, it was a building we were familiar with through the medium of television, and we enjoyed the IMAX presentation and the exhibits on mammals, dinosaurs, birds and the origins of human beings. Interesting as it was however, with all the stuffed creatures placed in various positions, it was more like walking through a zoo on freeze-frame. But perhaps I have just been spoiled by visiting too many science museums where there are countless buttons to push and things to touch.

For our last dinner together of our Round the World Tour, we went to Ruby Tuesday in Times Square, which was a great deal more upmarket than the restaurant chain in Florida I had visited. Seeing that we were undesirable back-packer types, the host placed us discreetly at the back of the restaurant. The food was enjoyable though, and we reminisced whilst looking through some of the photos from our travels that were still on Franny’s camera.

With backpacks packed, Franny and I said our tearful goodbyes outside the hostel the next morning. It seems impossible to believe that a year could pass so quickly, but we have done so much and it is a true test of our friendship that we managed to still be friends at the end of it all. I would not change a single experience during the year and I have definitely not finished travelling yet; I feel like I’ve merely whetted my appetite for seeing the world. So as we go our separate ways for the first time in 364 days, I feel like I’ve lost something important in my life, perhaps like a foot. However, I’m sure the day will come again when the Fearless Franny and Gesticulating Gillian shall sail to distant shores and have some more adventures together.

Until that happens, here are a few highlights from our trip round the world:

Seeing the bright lights of Hong Kong; laying on the pure white beaches of Thailand; enjoying Christmas curry brunch in Raffles in Singapore; bringing in the New Year on the plane to Sydney; seeing the Harbour Bridge and Opera House for the first time whilst drinking at the Opera Bar; meeting the Childers Massive and picking those lemons and tomatoes; dodging dingoes on Fraser Island; living with our new family in Bowen; losing my two front teeth; dealing with the mechanical ordeals of Bastard Bob; diving the Great Barrier Reef ; meeting the animals in Australia Zoo; living day-to-day life in Sydney; getting merry with the people on the Stray Bus in New Zealand; climbing the Franz Josef Glacier; thrill-riding on the Shotover Jet and bungee jumping the Nevis in Queenstown; going on the Fiji Experience and going sand boarding, visiting a local school and village, taking part in kava ceremonies, rainforest trekking, river tubing, waterfall jumping, bilibili rafting and bathing in mud pools; witnessing the freaks of Hollywood and looking out at the view from the Hollywood Hills; experiencing the vastness and chaos of Mexico City; discovering tequila can cure tonsillitis; cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge; visiting Alcatraz; gambling in Vegas; driving on Route 66; peering into the Grand Canyon and down the Hoover Dam; seeing the fantastic Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty; climbing the Empire State Building and skating in Central Park.

Who’s ready to do it again?!

---

Photos

Franny and the Empire State Building
I had to lie on the pavement to get this shot so it's going on the blog!

I am totally not letting go of the side...
Skating in Central Park