*So, Considering that there is so much to do and so little time I had to break this post up into 4 (for the 4 different days)
The First Day
It’s known as the city of dreams; to me this couldn’t have been truer. New York City was scribbled on the top of a page long before I added other destinations in order to make it my travel list. There was no real reason for it being the first or the most important to me, but it was. Perhaps it was that so many discovered themselves within its streets, or that you are able to lose yourself while walking among the masses. I promised myself that one day I will take off into the great unknown.
It was the idea of dreams coming true in the big city. And all I’ve ever done was dream, so perhaps it was the ideal that called me.
I left for America in October 2014 and finally one year later I was heading towards the City that I had dreamt of for so long.
I left on the 24th and arrived in New York at 12:20 pm. With just my carry on I purchased my 5 day pass for the subway and having studied the different routes and stations I made my way to a room in Brooklyn that I arranged using the Airbnb App. Finally the Morgan Avenue stop was coming up ahead and it was time for me to finally emerge from the underground. Firstly the light was blinding and once my eyes adjusted I stared at the buildings all around me. But I am in Brooklyn, there’s nothing too excessive going on in the street as I walked a few blocks further to finally drop my bags off and wait for my best friend to find the apartment.
Then it was time for the adventure to begin, we walked back to the station we came from determined to make our way into the city. We were just sitting quietly in a barely occupied cart when at one of the stops a young man steps aboard with a cart, this cart had a top hat on it. He’s a magician and there in the subway on the way somewhere he was performing tricks, and pulled a rabbit out of his hat. We were quite amused not knowing that this is just the first of all the crazy things we’ll be experiencing while in transit. But because we got distracted we lost count of our stops and decided that we’ll just jump off at the next stop and regroup. By now it was 5 pm and miraculously when we exited the station we found ourselves right by Bryant Park, which was on our itinerary. Some luck if you ask me. But nevertheless there we were drinking in the bustling people reading and playing chess and walking and talking and just busy with life. Then we started walking with wonder in our eyes, and before we knew it, we were face to face with the Empire state building. But before we dared enter the doors we decided that there’s no better place for dinner than the Heartland Brewery tucked into the right corner of the enormous building. After dinner and dessert we headed into the Empire state, it took roughly about an hour before we were standing outside overlooking the very lights I’ve dreamt of for years.
This was it, I was really here in New York. And it only started to sink in when I was staring at the twinkling lights from the top between so many others trying to see the exact same.Fascination engulfed me as I stood with the wind rushing around me. It was a bit chilly. but what does the wind matter when there’s so much to see?
After this, we walked 15 minutes or so heading for Time Square. You don’t need any GPS system to tell you that you have arrived, the sudden burst of light and crowding of people is indication enough. The city itself seemed alive, there were peoplle dressed up in all kinds of characters, photographers, and foreigners of course. Then we headed back to our room, the deserted subway in the early hours of the morning a complete contrast to the bustling just a few feet above our heads.
It was quite a day, and still a whole itinerary to go.
DAY ONE ITINERARY:
- Flight at 6:00 AM
- Arrival at 12:20 PM
- Bryant Park
- Empire State Building
- Time Square
Route and Review 