One of the best things about our New York trip was seeing the enjoyment it gave to Rachelle and Sian. They really lived the experience and the only time they weren’t smiling was when they were ready to drop. A combination of fresh air, walking a fair bit, late nights and various alcoholic drinks tended to take its toll on us all sometime around 1.00 or 2.00 am local time. On one occasion we even considered making an early morning call to the UK as our families would be getting up for work about the time we were going to bed. However, we squashed that idea as being a little on the cruel side. We did sometimes get very silly though…
We enjoyed bright sunshine almost all the time we were there, but this was offset by an icy wind. In fact, the wind wasn’t normal. Clearly the Americans had done something nasty to it so that we all froze despite the sun.
We travelled around by foot, tour bus and subway. The latter is not something I’d like to use after dark. London Underground is bad enough but in New York the stations are dark and dirty, and poorly signposted once you are below street level (but quite a bit cheaper than over here).
New York is as diverse as London. The people are are mostly friendly, although we did find a few sulky types. There are plenty of street traders, hawkers and other assorted pedlars, including at least one drug dealer who was offering Ecstasy! For some reason Rachelle attracted more than her fair share of weirdos.
Despite an apparent diet of burgers, steak, hot dogs and pancakes, New Yorkers aren’t as overweight as you might expect. I can only assume they don’t eat out that often because the restaurant portions are enormous.
Every cafe and bar seems to offer a choice of breakfast. This consists of at least three eggs, cooked how you like, plus toast or bagel with optional extras like sausage, bacon etc. and sometimes a form of fried potato. Alternatively, or as a side dish, you can have pancakes with fruit, cream, ice cream, and/or bacon; and with every pile of pancakes (and it is a pile) you get a jug of maple syrup (even if you order bacon). And then there are a range of giant waffles…
Dinner (for we rarely had anything at lunchtime) comes in equally big portions. Unless you seek out an Indian or specific vegetarian restaurant (and we could not find any near the hotel or Times Square) vegetarians have a very poor choice. Americans seem to put meat in everything, so I ended up having pizza three nights out of four, with something Mexican on the other night. Karon tended to have a starter each night! A side of chips, which became a staple for us, will serve up to three people. When we arrived back home I couldn’t wait to drink proper tea and have some marmite on whole meal toast.
The sights and sounds of New York really lived up to the pre-trip excitement. Whether its the lights and atmosphere of Times Square, the tranquility of Central Park, the incredible views from the top of the Empire State Building, or the somber mood of the 9/11 memorial, it is a fascinating city. We had a fab time and I’m sure we would all go back for more.