Everybody here wanted something more
Searching for a sound we hadn’t heard before
And it said
Welcome to New York
It’s been waiting for you
Welcome to New York
Welcome to New York
Welcome to New York
I may be slightly repetitive, but there was something absolutely enthralling about waking up still slightly jet lagged at 5 AM in our small room in Manhattan and planning a day ahead in New York City, still in darkness as J would happily sleep until late (here: 6.30AM).
I’m not sure if I’ve talked about it here before, but I’m a bit of an obsessive planner when it comes to travelling. As much as 50% of my pleasure from visiting a new place comes from making it my own by reading about its history, stories and finding out the best spots to eat, stay, walk and play.
This was our second last day in the city. Overwhelmed with choice, as always, we thought that rather than try to fit in as many new places to discover as possible, we would go back to the ones we already enjoyed and see them for the second time. It was probably my favourite day of the whole trip.
Walking in already familiar direction, getting coffee and bagels, we made our way to Central Park. Aim: to spot some ice skaters and dog walkers – accomplished on both fronts.
One of my small dreams (please don’t laugh) was to say hi to Lady Liberty. Since we like to think that we avoid tourist traps, we did not take a usual cruise to the Statue. Instead we joined a little crowd of commuters and boarded a ferry to Staten Island. I remember the day was bitterly cold so I welcomed the opportunity to let my thighs thaw a little.
I had a little plan to walk around Staten Island but the warmth of the ferry terminal was all too attractive. It didn’t hurt that there was a live jazz band playing as well.
As a result we simply boarded the first ferry back and walked to Wall Street and New York Stock Exchange to see where the fate of us all is being decided every single day. The view below is probably what all the migrants who were coming to NYC from Europe saw as they entered the American seas (minus the skyscrapers obvs.).
One place that we enjoyed probably the most was Brooklyn and Williamsburg. Without further thought we made our way there and ended up eating chocolate babka for lunch.
We had a little fight over the last piece (inevitable). The last stop was a little cafe on the other side of the subway tracks for pumpkin soup and some iconic Brooklyn photography.
The photo, which one simply had to take is the one below. Street art? Check. Member of the Hasidic Jewish community? Check. Fire escapes and red sandstone? Check. Welcome to Brooklyn.
After all this, there was only one place where we wanted to see the last sunset in New York.
The Highline indeed.
And pizza. There is always room for pizza.
I said last goodnight to New York and to 2014. It was a good’un.