This time last year, I hadn’t ever been to the island of Manhattan. It’s funny to even think that but, the thing is, New York has always had a special place in my heart (thanks, in a big part, to Sex and the City, Friends, and an infinite number of movies).
Almost a year after spending 10 glorious days soaking up The Big Apple with my mum, I’ve come down with an epic case of withdrawals. I keep seeing other travellers on Instagram exploring my favourite city, random people around me talking about it, and the thing that really set it off, this music video by one of my faves, Imogen Heap.
It’s weird, because even though I was in New York for less than two weeks, it felt like we instantly knew the place. We learned the streets quickly and there was a familiarity about the place that hit straight to the heart immediately.
The thing is, New York was a turning point for me. It was a defining moment that I think I will always look back on fondly because it was one of those ‘say what you want and then do it’. I truly believe that when I came back from New York, I was a different person. And my world had been broadened in a whole new way.
Upon returning, the thought of returning to the life I had pre-New York was a whole new challenge because, how does one go back to less than what their heart most wants when they’ve experienced an adventure like the one I had just been on.
I’m pretty sure this new feeling gave me the strength to take a different road.
And that led me to here.
It would take me all day (and some 1200 photos) to fully share my experience, so I picked out a few special moments that make my heart tingle with wonderful memories.
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Cocktails at Rockefeller Plaza on our first day in New York. We walked SO much that day and I can’t really think of a better place to just finally sit and absorb our surroundings.
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Selfies with the Statue of Liberty
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Seeing Wholefoods for the first time, grabbing lunch and taking it to Central Park. The thing I loved about Central Park was that it was full of every type of person you could imagine. Tourists like us, locals walking their dogs, businessmen in suits taking calls. It is the heart of this big city.
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There are certain landmarks that I grew up seeing on TV and to see those in real life was just one of those weird moments when life and art collide.
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While Times Square was a bit intense for my introverted side, seeing it at night was nothing short of spectacular and an absolute must! As is seeing a show on Broadway. We saw Wicked and it was one of the highlights of the trip.
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Sitting on somebody’s front stoop and pretending you’re Carrie Bradshaw is slightly diminished by the Cons but, it was one of those things that had to be done.
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Oh and I almost forgot those epic views. There is not one angle of this island that doesn’t show off for the camera (even when the air is so humid you can SEE it). These are the views from Top of the Rock during the day and Empire State Building at night.
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We saw so much in such a short time (when I look back, I feel sorry for my poor mum for dragging her all over the city!) Hester Fair on the LES, Chelsea Market, the Highline, Bleeker Street, Bryant Park, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street, Williamsburg, DUMBO, Cobble Hill.
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Our street. Yep. It was hard to say goodbye to but, like an old friend, it will always be there and the main thing is that we’ve met now and there are all these incredible moments to savour until our next encounter.
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I was thinking about what the Beauty of Life is the other day.
Travel. Adventure. Wanderlust. Memories.
They are a monumental part of the essence of life, don’t you think?
I hope it isn’t too much longer until I get to travel back to this glorious city.
Anywhere you’ve been wanderlusting after lately? Spill it out in the comments below (it’s harder to keep it in and sit alone looking through your photos and getting a bit teary, trust me!).
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