Last day in NYC today – I’ve had a killer (but fattening) time.
Brooklyn is a lot bigger than I realised. When I organised to stay down south on 68th, I didn’t realise how far it was from Williamsburg, the hip place to be in Brooklyn.
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I stayed in my hotel room until midday. My feet hurt. I needed to sort out my luggage, get myself re-centered. And to be honest, I just needed a sleep in. New York is so ever-bustling and busy, it was nice to sit 13 floors above it all in the quiet and recharge. There is a lot to do here, but I am not sure I could live here. Those that do seem busy, unhappy, and often stuck.
I am used to dancing in the street, smiles and laughter, and singing tram conductors. Today I was walking along Broadway, listening to Daylight by Matt and Kim, smiling and dancing a little when I stopped at the traffic lights. People actually looked at me grumpily. Why are you happy? They seemed to be thinking.
At noon I checked out, turned over my bags to luggage storage and set out to SoHo. I had four destinations today, first was the High Line Urban Park. Last time I was in New York this park was in planning stage, and I had always wanted to visit New York again so I could go here. The city turned an abandoned high rise train line into an urban park high above street level, spanning 1 mile (1.6 kms). It was a super sunny day, and the sunlight reflected off the piles of snow to blind those walking the paths. I can imagine this would be beautiful in summer, but in winter it was still nice to walk so high above the city – the air almost seemed cleaner there.
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Today was the day I was to get up at 6AM and take the subway down to Dominique Ansel’s Bakery in SoHo, to line up for two hours for a taste of a Cronut from the place they were invented. If you haven’t heard of them, Cronuts are a worldwide sensation at the moment – they are basically a donut, filled and topped with assorted creams, made from a croissant pastry. Moist but flaky and covered in sugar, they have been replicated all around the world, but it is here at Dominique’s that they originated.
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Today was my first full day in Manhattan, to spend as I pleased. I had no plans, no-one to meet up with, no one to see. I could just do and go wherever I wanted.
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Up early this morning, I head to the airport to make the long trip to the other side of the country. Off to New York today, and it’s been a long day of travelling. I finally made it in, through snowy Chicago, and the sun came out just as I flew over Manhattan for a glorious welcome.
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