I won’t pretend even for a moment that I am any kind of authority on this city. After all it is without a doubt one of the most frequently written about travel destinations on earth. I’m not sharing this as a guide, but rather as a sort of love letter. It’s loud, dirty and fast paced, but in all it’s capitalist chaos it is also poetic and incredibly beautiful. So here it is - a brief but beautiful brush with the big apple, that I hope is the first of many.
New York City – it certainly conjures a lot of hype, right? I’m sure I’m not the only one who has explored this city vicariously through the likes of Carrie Bradshaw and Rachel Green amongst countless other iconic screen stars, hundreds of times over. We have all taken part in a love affair with this city and all it’s possibilities, whether in person or from across the world. The city that promises to have everything, be everything, and claims not to sleep in the process. For all it’s cliché’s, and all that hype, New York actually delivers on everything it promises and more. Oh and that love affair? Let’s just say it only grows stronger.
As you can imagine we hit many of the tourist traps. It all began with a long (albeit jetlagged) breakfast at the Plaza Hotel, and the cliché’s mounted from there. The Rockefeller Centre, the Empire State Building and a sweaty ride or two on the Subway followed by a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo, a classic Broadway show and a burger at an NBA game – just to name a few. In all it’s sweaty September charm, this place had me. Cliché or not, there is an electricity to be found in even the most predictable New York spots, because they never fail to deliver on the hype this place has long promised.
All of this urban intensity is juxtaposed rather poetically by the wonder that is Central Park – an oasis of green offering a welcome reprieve from the city jungle. The park truly is a hive of nature, history and community just waiting to be explored either by foot or bike. If it’s green you’re after the High Line is another must see – home to birds, bees and city dwellers alike this repurposed railway line now boasts one of New York’s most unique public green spaces. However, my fondest memories of what I hope will be the first of many trips to this city, involved some of the quieter moments in between. New York’s architectural landscape had me mesmerised, awe-struck by everything from the reflections in the Egyptian pools of the MET’s Sackler Wing, to the way the shadows play between the curves of the Guggenheim, to the myriad of dream-like stoops and fire escapes lining the charming streets of the West Village. For me, it is in these details that I found a true love for this city.
I believe the most revealing way to explore New York, or any city for that matter, is to start walking and stop only when you can’t walk anymore. The true magic of this city is in the discovery, not only of world famous cultural landmarks, but of the small yet beautiful unearthing’s too. Those places and experiences you weren’t even looking for and didn’t know you needed. You may not be the first to explore this place, and you most certainly won’t be the last, but that doesn’t take anything away from the experience.