I Want to Wake Up in the City that Never Sleeps...

New York is a city that gets under your skin. While undoubtedly my hunger to spend longer and to see more of the city is borne largely of not having enough time there, with the lowly kiwi dollar and our ever dwindling bank account only allowing us enough budget to stay for two nights, I have a feeling that no amount of time is long enough in New York City. It is hard to pinpoint exactly why New York has this quality, the streets are crowded, the people impatient, the coffee awful (despite fuelling the majority of the city’s population) yet despite all this there is a pervasive feeling of excitement and hope throughout the city as if this is the place where the American Dream becomes reality.

We arrived in New York early evening and managed to make our way to our hotel which was located right in the centre of it all at Times Square. Times Square is exactly how it looks in movies and on TV with amazing digital advertising watching over all the people who are looking back and them. Despite a very real bomb square about a week prior to us arriving in New York, there were people everywhere and it seemed very much business as usual. There was also a high police presence throughout the square but this did not seem unusual with officers indulging tourists who wanted to take photos of or with them.

Getting amongst the lights and the people of Times Square

The next day started with a rather yummy (and pricey) breakfast in a lovely cafe/bar near to the hotel where the food was amazing, but the service was rather hit and miss. Our waitress was lovely, but in my quest to find a reasonable coffee I was both bitterly disappointed in both the service and the beverage. In an attempt to recreate a flat white in an American friendly version I ordered a latte with a double shot. We got served a double espresso, so when I told the barista that no, I had ordered a latte with a double shot, he rolled his eyes and ungraciously took the coffee back to remake. Next time the coffee was bought over he handed us two single shot lattes. When again I pointed out that the order was still wrong he winked at Aaron, said enjoy the free coffee and walked away. He completely ignored me when I said "excuse me, that means my coffee is still wrong". It was very tempting to not leave a tip at this establishment as I had never come across someone (who undoubtedly relies on tips to make ends meet) who was so obviously rude to the person who would be deciding on the tip. Needless to say, we were not overly generous with our tip here.

Following on from the breakfast debacle and armed with a list of advice from my step-mum who had been a one time New York local, we set out on the subway, heading south to catch the Staten Island Ferry to get a glimpse of Lady Liberty herself. It seems the entire tourist population of the city also had the same idea, but despite this we were able to secure prime standing positions both there and back. Following on from the trip on the ferry we made our way through the downtown business district to have a look at Wall Street and grab the bull by his balls (its supposed to be good luck), and view Ground Zero. Ground Zero, did not have the haunting quality about it that I was expecting as, almost 10 years on they have begun construction on a 9/11 memorial. While ultimately this is a great thing, honouring those who died that awful day, the construction had the unfortunate side effect of making Ground Zero look like just another building site.

Statue of Liberty as viewed from the Staten Island Ferry

Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange

Getting Lucky

After we had finished exploring the financial district we then jumped onto a subway uptown to go visit the Empire State Building (or the Entire State Building as I had thought it was called when I was a kid). Sadly we got a very authentic New York experience with the subway car we boarded having a rather strong smell of urine, and more disturbingly no readily identifiable source. After purchasing tickets and finding our way through the maze of cordoning ribbons we then were subjected to security checks (to be expected) and finally made it into the first elevator crammed in like sardines, then had to negotiate the maze of the 80th floor to get around to the correct lift for the viewing platform on the 86th floor. Despite being an overcast day the view was amazing. The scale of central park is breathtaking and we could make out landmarks where we had been and where we still wanted to go.

Taking in the view from the top of the world

Following on from the Empire State Building, we wandered through Macy's. Two blocks and eight stories of upscale department store with no less than 4 Starbucks stores inside, I was in heaven. Unfortunately our dwindling funds did not allow for a shopping spree and we left the store empty handed and exhausted. That night after having a bit of a lie down in the hotel room we went for dinner in the Hard Rock Cafe where we opted for a seat at the bar over a half hour wait for a table. We ended up sitting next to an Australian guy and some American girl who were very clearly on their first date. It seemed to be going well until she left prior to her (already ordered) dessert arriving. Following on from dinner we went and sat on the bleacher steps in Times Square and just soaked up the atmosphere.

Macy's for as far as the eye could see

Our final day in New York was really a half day seeing we had to be at the airport early afternoon for our flight to Vienna. On the list of recommendations we had received from my step-mum was a military museum on an aircraft carrier moored in the Hudson. Because I had let Aaron read the recommendations our morning was decided (I had rather had my heart set on stepping into Central Park and also exploring 5th Avenue). However despite the weather being miserable the museum was really cool. It not only had the aircraft carrier (complete with a whole lot of aircraft) but they also had a Concorde and decommissioned submarine on display. Aaron was like a kid at Christmas. I was like a silly teenager when we explored the submarine which was called the USS Growler (it took supreme effort not to laugh at this). All too soon though, we had to leave the museum and leave New York behind us.

Kid at Christmas

The USS Growler

However, the city stole my heart and we will be back. Hopefully next time we will be cashed up traveling on the pound, and poor Aaron won't be so successful in keeping me away from the shops on 5th Avenue.