The New York Travel Diary

New York has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure what exactly triggered an intense longing to visit, experience, live in the city (though I have a nagging suspicion that watching endless episodes of Gossip Girl sparked it off), but the second it took hold in my mind, I was obsessed. To the point where it became ritual to respond with "New York" when my father asked us where we wanted to go on holiday, and it was the automatic answer to the question "if you could live in any city in the world, where would it be?" I was relentless. I begged my dad to take me. And when he said no (not because he's evil, but because he and the rest of my family are just completely disinterested by the greatest city in the world), I would tell him - and anyone else who'd listen - that when I was old enough, I'd be packing my bags and moving to live in New York City, preferably in an apartment overlooking Central Park. I know. I believed big and dreamed bigger. Or maybe I was just stupid and naive, who knows. But my point is that for over ten years, New York was my favourite city in the world and the biggest dream of that stupidly naive heart of mine. And anyone who knew me, knew it.

You'll be glad to know that over time, I became more realistic. And so, while I knew that living and working in New York was as unfeasible as Liverpool winning the league, I settled for "one day, I'll visit New York". If I could just see it, I would die a happy girl. But in my mind, that was always a long way off in the distant future. If you had told me that in 2016, my biggest dream would come true, I would have told you that lying is a sin and that crushing a girl's heart with said lie, is an even bigger sin. But come true, it did. And it was everything I have ever dreamed of and more.



Being in New York City was...surreal. It was - and this is so awfully cliched and yet so painstakingly true - like being on the set of a movie. I ventured out into Times Square and I flashed back to Spiderman (the original Tobey McGuire version in which the Green Goblin chases him on his hover board). I walked some of the 800+ acres of Central park, strolled down Fifth Avenue and visited Grand Central Station, and I reminisced timeless Gossip Girl scenes. I stared in awe at the Empire State Building from my hotel room window and thought of King Kong. I stepped foot into Rockefeller Plaza and I felt the nostalgic hit of Christmas nights watching Home Alone. Iconic sights that made me fall in love with New York in the first place, that made me almost for a second think  that it can't possibly be that breathtaking in real life, that rendered me speechless when I saw them right before my very eyes. Because it is, truly, the New York of movies. The city's quirks - the architecture and street signs, the yellow taxis, hanging traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, the infamous landmarks and apartment buildings, the commotion and traffic and sheer energy you're swept up by as you delve into life as a New Yorker - it all feels simultaneously familiar and dream-like because it is as whimsical and captivating as the books, movies and people's stories make it out to be.

I was only in New York for seven days and I feel like in those seven days, I conquered the city. I toured the Upper East Side and Downtown Manhattan; I went into The Bronx and travelled into Brooklyn by both day and night; I stood at the dizzying heights of the 86th Floor of the Empire State Building and at the Top of the Rock of Rockefeller Centre, mesmerised by having the city laid out in front of me from a bird's eye view; I was swamped by the neon lights, bustling crowds and the flurrying excitement of Times Square; I got a peek into Hell's Kitchen and Chinatown and SoHo and suddenly, the books on my bookshelf that reference them took on a whole new meaning; I became a momentary lady of culture as I roamed the crooks and crevices of the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; I mourned a day that I couldn't possibly have mourned fifteen years ago when I stood on Ground Zero and felt haunted by the very real, raw insight into the terror attacks that shook the world; I experienced a night I didn't want to end as I was engulfed by the magic of Aladdin on Broadway; and I watched the most beautiful sunset that I have ever witnessed in my life from the River Hudson, entranced as the Manhattan skyline faded into a silhouette of skyscrapers as day turned to night - and that was the moment I knew that the city had enraptured me, heart, soul and mind.

Dream became reality and yes, New York is absolutely still - and always will be - my favourite city in the world. It is a city that, for no apparent reason, meant so much to me and now...well, now, it means a whole world more. It is a city that every single person should see and experience at least once in their lifetime. I mean, New York is New York...it is dangerously epic and describing it in words is damn near impossible and as for photos, well they too could never do it justice but I've handed over both to you anyway. This is my snapshot of the holiday of a lifetime, of the sights and city that blew my freaking mind. I made some unbelievable memories that will live with me forever. And I can only hope that one day, you're lucky enough to visit a place that is a sight to behold. To live, and not see New York City and experience life in The Big Apple, is a life incomplete. Believe me when I say that even with the movies and books and songs that poetically bring the city to life, it is incomparable to the reality.

I guess this is a fraction of that reality. Just hit the play button on the videos below, make sure your sound is on, click bottom right to watch it full screen (and watch it in full brightness), keep an eye out on the bottom left to read the occasional captions and enjoy a little taste of The Big Apple.

P.s. if you're reading this post via mobile, click here to go to my slideshow page to watch them, though the quality and soundtrack is not as great as the desktop version which I'm gutted about but can't seem to fix. Ah well, here's hoping you all read this post the good old-fashioned way on the laptop.

Happy viewing folks! x