New York is fabulous. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to finally get myself here but it was totally worth the wait! I nearly cried when I landed at JFK I was so excited. Being at the back of the plane I somehow managed to be the very last person to go through security….and arrived at the baggage carousel to find 10 airport staff circling my rucksack peering at it suspiciously. I ran over and shouted “it’s mine!” This was the first evidence that a British accent can work wonders….
Walking through Central Park on that first day, I realised what a lot of cool dogs are in New York – lots of different breeds I’ve never really seen before! The colour hasn’t quite started in New York, all the trees were still green, apparently it’s late this year.
I popped into a pharmacy to get some Deep Heat (or Bengay which is the equivalent) and the woman asked me where my (£20 primark) shawl was from. Not knowing whether primark has made it to the states (I later found out it’s opened its first branch!) and also not wanting to admit it was from primark I just said “The UK” in an accent so posh it surprised even me. I can’t work out whether I’m actually speaking my best posh or whether it’s all relative?? Is it for my benefit or theirs if the former?
Catherine arrived about midnight on that first day – I’d tried my best to stay up but my eyes were firmly closing around 9pm. We woke up to a very chilly morning on that first day, and there was me almost not going to bother with a shawl and leather jacket! Thanks Chloe for your worries that I might be cold – it was only because of you I bothered! Although weirdly the next day it was about 20 degrees and felt like summer again – I wonder if the weather in New York is always so extreme day to day?
So if I ever lived in New York (I wish!) I would choose Greenwich village. Ok there we were a lot of neighbourhoods we didn’t see but Greenwich village is so cool! Full of cafes, bars and boutique shops. And people trusting enough to give their apartment keys….let me explain. We got chatting to a girl and two guys in a bar and the girl being from Memphis had no problem showing her excitement at what we were doing and the fact that we were British. “I LOVE British people” is actually what she said.
The guys from New York were (a lot) cooler about the whole thing. We told her all about our trip and within about two minutes she had given us her apartment keys and said we were very welcome to stay as she would be away for another week or so. It’s now 5 days later and she hasn’t seemed to have changed her mind so we’ll see what happens!
I think my favourite building in New York is grand central station. The architecture and detail is just beautiful – and there is the most amazing food market!
So onto the title of this section….I cannot stop singing. Everywhere we go there are a hundred references to songs! Take the A Train, 110th street and Spanish Harlem seemed to be stuck in my head in New York (not to mention many others). And it’s been a continuing theme. Tom Dooley today but we’ll come onto that later.
So – my first 3 days have been fab and I love New York as much as I thought I would! Onto Philadelphia…..
