Next week I’m going to New York for the fourth time in my life. Not as a tourist, but to attend a wedding in the city.
When I tell most people that this will be my fourth visit they are surprised. Especially because they then assume that it must surely be my favourite city in the world. It isn’t. You’ll always be my Number 1, Las Vegas *gives a cheeky wink and mouths “call me”*.
So I thought I would reflect back on my last three visits to the Big Apple and how I came to visit the City That Never Sleeps so many times. And try and dispel the myth that it never sleeps (it does, but the rats don’t, as we discovered on trip number 2).
My First Trip – Aged 9
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| I think the Minnie Mouse purse adds a certain je ne sais quoi |
This was my first long haul holiday and in fact only the second time I’d ever flown on a plane. My parents had booked a tour around several parts of the US including New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Niagara Falls. To say that I was excited to go on this holiday would be an understatement. I had long watched American sitcoms and cartoons on TV and longed to go and live the American Dream for myself. At the age of 9 my knowledge of the US was limited. To me it represented Disneyworld, diners and driving Chevys along dusty highways. And New York simply had to be the best of all. I mean, they had FAO Schwartz, for goodness sakes.
We actually ditched the tour group for the first part of the holiday as we were meeting friends of my parents who lived in New Jersey. They showed us some of the touristy parts of the city but they also took us walking around Chinatown and Little Italy and took us to their favourite eateries. I was amazed and enthralled all at once. We took the Staten Island Ferry, visited Ellis Island, went up the Empire State Building and of course took a visit to FAO Schwartz.
The hotel we stayed at was actually adjacent to one of the Twin Towers; each night as we struggled with jet lag we could see into the offices across the road and see the workers toiling away. How sad to think of what has become of the area now.
Two of my most prominent memories of that trip are trying Dunkin Donuts for the first time and my Mum remarking about how, even at the age of 9, I was taller than most of the waiters in Little Italy. Either the waiters were freakishly small or I was freakishly tall. Pretty sure it wasn’t the latter.
This was my first proper holiday and I’ve never been the same since; my love for travel blossoming gradually each year since then. So in a way you could say New York ruined me forever. Or maybe it was that creamy spaghetti carbonara in Little Italy. Either way, I was doomed.
The trip wasn’t as good after we left New York. Don’t get me wrong, I like gawking at Amish people as much as the next tourist, but it wasn’t the big teddy bear at FAO. Damn you, Mr Teddy. Damn you and your jaunty hat.
My Second Trip – Aged 15
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| Poor Albert Einstein… |
This trip came about purely by sheer luck. My school were organising a trip to New York, Washington and Philadelphia. As I had already been to all of these places six years previously my parents flat out refused to pay for me to go again. But then my best friend booked on the trip. And thus, I just HAD to go. Unfortunately all of the places had been taken and it was too late. My friend and I visited the teacher who was organising the trip every single day to ask if anyone had cancelled and if there was a spare place for me. There wasn’t. Then suddenly, by an absolute miracle one day a couple of months prior to the trip, she told me she was thinking of allowing me to take another girls’ place because she didn’t have any friends going on the trip and I had several. I felt sorry for the girl for a fleeting second, but that quickly passed as soon as I realised how much fun me and my friends were going to have. Now to just convince my parents to part with the cash….
The first stop of the trip was New York and the YMCA was where we were to lay our heads. This was my first ever encounter with a hostel and looking back now I realise how much fun it was. Despite the prison celled size of the rooms, we had a great time shrieking down the corridor in our nighties trying to get to the bathroom before the boys saw us. It was also the first time me and my best friend had to share a bed (a tiny bunk bed at that) because we couldn’t figure out how to turn off the arctic air conditioning and had to huddle together for warmth. Who knew there was an “off” switch on the top? I mean, come on.
We did all of the usual touristy stuff. We went shopping in stores that we have in the UK but thought we were so much cooler for buying it in the States. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever bought so much crap in my life.
To this day, this holiday is still one of the best I have ever had. Some of mine and my best friends’ funniest memories are from this trip and despite how awkward we might have been we felt so damn COOL (no pun about the air conditioning intended).
My Third Trip – Aged 22
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| Where’s that Minnie Mouse purse when you need it? |
Skip forward seven years and I was back again, this time for a week. Yes, I know, a week is too long in New York. Especially when this is your third visit and you’re not staying with a local. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The Empire State Building again? Meh.
This trip I did a lot of eating. A LOT of eating. And quite a bit of drinking. I took a boat out on the lake in Central Park and watched The Producers on Broadway (still don’t know how we managed to procure second row seats the morning of the show, amazing). I visited the zoo (you know how I love a good zoo) and said hi to Lady Liberty for a third time (I had to check she hadn’t done a runner since the last time I was there).
This trip was great, but it wasn’t the best. The problem was that I was with someone who had never been to New York before but who wasn’t that adventurous either. Which meant that in a whole week I pretty much ended up repeating things I had already done, without exploring further afield as well.
I’m really interested to see what my latest New York experience will be like. During each of the last three trips I have been a little bit older and wiser and have seen the city through different eyes, but never really pushed the boundaries of the city to unlock its secrets. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to drop in on my old friend Lady Liberty again, she’s probably wondering where the hell I am by now, this visit is long overdue.
I hope you’re ready for me again, New York, cos I’m coming to get you. And you, Mr Teddy. Damn you.
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