I'm In New York State of Mind
by
Eiva Poppins
- 14:17
When landing in New York I actually felt like my dreams came true however cheesy that sounds! Go on and judge me and let me tell you that I also cried when we were landing. I found more than I was hoping for and felt heart broken when I was leaving. It felt like I had to leave my new good friend behind. Everything I was hoping for in New York was true and there was, even more, to fall in love with. One thing I was wrong about was the atmosphere since what I expected was a busy street full of people rushing to places but that's not what I found. When I went everyone seemed very relaxed and it wasn't hectic (apart from tourist traps such as Times Square). There's this friendly community vibe and New Yorkers are funny, friendly and straightforward. While in NYC I stayed with a family in Harlem (upper Manhattan) through Airbnb and that was pretty good. I haven't done Airbnb before and I must say it saved me lots of money. I cannot say there's anything I didn't like about NY. It was like a dream. I really hope I can come back soon and I wonder if you've heard about Norwegian and their planned Edinburgh-NY route?
My favourite film since forever has been You've Got Mail based in Manhattan... so unsurprisingly the first day I spent checking out locations of the movie. Firstly I went to see Kathleen Kelly's house on 328 West 89th st and Riverside Drive, then to Riverside Park five minutes away from where the last scene of the movie is set. I was so excited.
This is the park from the last scene.
Obviously had to go to Cafe Lalo where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had their argument and also Barney Greengrass on Amsterdam Avenue where not only You've Got Mail but plenty of other movies and series were shot. The owner is proudly showing off photos of himself with all different celebrities in the shop's window. It is cute.
I even went to Verdi Square where they had a little chat on the bench and Gray's Papaya where they ate hot dogs. I told you I love that film.
Not at all looking fashionable on Carrie Bradshaw's doorstep but I still there I am...and I went to Magnolia Bakery! Yeah.
Another thing I definitely wanted to do in NYC was to go up Empire State Building. There was no queue and I was in up no time taking it all in when guess what! Jude Law! He was there for a charity thing and probably to meet me, let's be honest. When he was leaving I said 'bye' to him and waved and he waved and said bye to me as well! I had a really bad cold that day but I felt cured in that moment haha.
I should also share the best photo I took in New York. Thank you, stranger sailor for letting me. 'Can I take a photo of you, please?' 'Me?' 'Yeah, you look cool.' 'Okay.'
Central Park is massive! I new it was big but still I was surprised. Also, I used to think it is just a park and I wasn't sure why was everyone making such a fuss about it but yeah I get it now. It is nice and clean and you cannot actually hear many sounds from the city and it makes NY just more chilled in general. There is a lot of space, there're runners, people playing football, cricket, tennis, people boating on boats (I just invented that cause I am brilliant) and there are squirrels, birds.... and at night it gets pretty spooky and there are loud racoons!
Remember how I said I thought New Yorkers were really nice? This is Subway Therapy project which I love run by Levee who told me he goes and gives free advice almost every day in different subway stations. He also puts out sticky notes out for passing passengers to express their opinions on certain topic or and just to write a message for everyone. I had to take a part in this. So beautiful.
I was there few days after Donald Trump was elected so there was a lot of anti-Trump messages.
There's obviously lots of unhealthy food in NY and that's mostly what I've been eating while out there. Not that I eat healthy at home anyway. It was good and big big portions. I must say I found it hard to buy fruit or anything healthy but some of the street stands had apples. Also, their off-licence are massive. There's like one billion different sort drinks in there. So basically as you can tell, I am afraid I cannot advise you on what are best restaurants as I don't usually travel for food or don't plan my day according to where is a nice restaurant. I like street food and random places for food when travelling.
I haven't had time to explore Brooklyn. Seriously I only had about six days and that's just not enough to see everything. Hopefully next time..but at least I crossed the bridge and saw both Brooklyn and Manhattan from it and that was cool.
I was always planning on going to Museum of Modern Art in New York as it might be even the most famous one in the world. As you might know, I love Modern and Contemporary art and this was everything I expected. There was work by many Czech artists which made me once again Czech and proud ;). Oh, it was just so massive and you could spend there days.
When you've got a cold but have to keep taking photos because you're on a holiday.
So this is a little bit from my trip and quite a few photos. I walked miles and miles in NYC, I saw lots of places and spoke to some nice people and I had a great time. I also know I only saw a little bit and already I have a long list (in my head) of placesI need to see next time. I miss you, New York.
