New York, New York
January 8th - 12th
Hey Cool People!
I have been home for a while now, started my full-time job in tax accounting, and have begun to settle back into normality post-Europe. I DON'T LIKE IT. I am sure I will get into the reasons why in a later post, but to make a long story short, it was already time for a much needed away.
This trip has worked out perfect, since my Australian "twin" Alex was visiting NYC for work and I seized the opportunity to visit her and a the City (I call her my twin because we share the same birthday, which we celebrated together in Ireland when I met her). It was a last minute trip that I was able to whip together and I was super excited about it.
January 8th was a very exciting day! I started the day by arriving to work. Work could not have gone fast enough. I left immediately after work and went straight to the airport where I hopped on a plan and headed off toward LaGuardia Airport. I arrived in NYC around 8:30 pm, from there I took an Uber and made my way toward Manhattan. I was staying with a high school friend, Nathan, for the few days I was there. Nathan was at a class when I arrived, so I made myself comfortable in his small New York apartment until he got back.
I must say the apartment, while small, was very cute and homely. I guess that would be somewhat expected from someone who works in the fashion industry. When I lived in downtown Milwaukee, I lived in a fairly large two bedroom apartment, but despite its size, I hated it. I always thought I didn’t have enough space, I wanted a balcony and a more open layout; my apartment never felt comfortable to me. Nathan's two-bedroom apartment was probably a third the size of mine in Milwaukee, but I never once felt uncomfortable with its size.
Nathan arrived at the apartment to greet me a little later and we left to go get some dinner. He lived in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. I was so in awe with how much was going on in such a "small" area. I was immediately swept up in in the excitement. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican dinner before heading back to the apartment for an early night.
Saturday started off a little slow. After sleeping in a bit, Nathan and I went to enjoy the best meal of the day BRUNCH. After brunch, the day was pretty relaxing. Later that afternoon, Nathan and I took the subway over to SoHo for a little shopping. Ugh ... my infatuation with the city grew with every step I took.
Alex flew in to NYC later that night and met up with me at Nathan's apartment. Nathan had a party in Brooklyn that night, so Alex and I had the night together. We started with a wonderful seafood dinner at place called Blue's, I believe. It was incredibly wonderful to catch-up after almost 4 months apart.
After dinner, Alex and I took the short walk over to Time Square to see the lights and let our inner tourist out. There were so many people from every walk of life so encapsulated in the wonder of New York. We were no exception. We took our fair share of photos, walked around a bit before departing ways that night.
Time Square
Alex and I as we walk through Central Park to the Met
Nathan had spent the night in Brooklyn, so I had the apartment to myself that morning. I took my time to get ready before Alex showed up and we headed out for the day. It was on and off raining all day and unseasonably warm, at 61 Fahrenheit.
Alex and I got pretty lucky with the rain. We started our walk toward central park, stopping at Starbucks (I know how lame) for some morning coffee. The minute we got to Starbucks it started to rain, so we sat and enjoyed each other’s company for a bit and waited out the rain. The rain didn't last long and we made our way into Central Park, with the intent of checking out the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). We again got lucky; as it began to rain once we arrived in the Met.
The Met was absolutely incredible, joining some of the top museums that I have had the privilege to explore; the British Museum still tops the list. Later that afternoon, we were all museum-ed out and hungry, so we made our way to a restaurant called Arriba! Once again missed the rain as it began to pour the minute we walked through the door. We sipped on some Margaritas before deciding to head downtown where Alex was staying.
We hopped on the subway downtown, were we made our way to the waterfront to see Lady Liberty in the distance before walking over to the 911 Memorial. Alex was working in the World Trade Center the next day, so it provided a chance for here to orientate herself in location to her hotel. Since Alex had work the next morning, we departed ways from there, bittersweet about having to say goodbye again.
I made my way back to Nathan's apartment. Nathan and I went to go get dinner; however, he had injured himself at the gym, so it was slow moving. After dinner, we made our way back the apartment where we chatted for a while before heading to bed.
Monday was my last full day in New York. Both Alex and Nathan had work, so I was by myself to explore. I decided to head downtown and check out the 911 Museum. It was an incredibly moving tribute to the lives lost in such a tragic and life hanging event.
That afternoon wasn’t anything special for me. I made my way back to SoHo, where I did a little more shopping, got some lunch and made my way back to Nathan's apartment later that night. That night Nathan and I order food in and watched a couple of movies before heading to bed.
Tuesday I headed home. I left in the early afternoon that day so I said goodbye to Nathan as he left to go to work. I took my time getting ready that day, having some time to walk around and grab some breakfast. I got sad when I finally had to order the Uber to take me to the airport. I was infatuated with New York and the thought of heading back to Milwaukee, a city that had not felt like home for me in a long time, made me very upset. I wasn't even back to Milwaukee and I was already planning my way out.
