I’m not quite sure how to start this post.  So many people have raved to me about New York and I can see why it would be a great place for a holiday – especially shopping!  But for me it felt a little too touristy, especially after the time in Boston and Washington.  So whilst I will cover off the sights of NYC in a blog soon, here’s a slightly different post about our time here.

Our introduction to NYC (aka the bad)

Firstly, our trip to NYC didn’t start well…. which I’ll admit may have coloured my view somewhat to start.  We caught the bus from Boston to NYC as there are some really great bus deals – $30 for both of us compared to about $600 on the train. The bus ride was surprisingly good..that is until we hit the grid lock that is Manhattan traffic on a Friday night!  We were staying in an airbnb and the host was waiting for us to hand over the keys, so watching the clock tick later and later as we inched through traffic was not good for the blood pressure.  Once we arrived at the bus station we faced the next challenge, catching a cab in NYC rush hour.  I should also mention that it was about 33C and humid as hell so you can imagine how we were feeling.

Eventually we nabbed a cab and were on our way.  By this stage our host had left the keys across the road from the apartment at a cafe so we weren’t as stressed about the time.  A quick trip to grab them, and a promise to pop back for a beer and we were feeling like we had made it. That would be too easy.  You see old apartments in NYC seem to have rickety doors – and we couldn’t even get into the building, let alone the apartment.  Thankfully after about 5 minutes another resident came home, and showed us the trick.  Phew.  Now just the apartment door. Our host had left a somewhat complicated description of the three locks to turn – and wouldn’t you know it .. we were stuck again.   Thankfully after another 10 minutes the same kind woman popped back out, and was able to help us figure it out!

Finally in the apartment we took a moment to get over our nerves, and to work out exactly how the door worked before we ventured back out and across the road, for that very well deserved beer!  I should note, that aside from the tricky door – our apartment was great, loving Airbnb so far.

The ugly 

Two big uglies of NYC both resolved by the end of our visit.  First up.. the subway.  Now I always thought I was pretty decent at figuring out public transport, and so far we’d managed American public transport without a hitch.. but then there is the NYC subway.  If you’ve never had the pleasure, let me paint a picture. Normally you’d look at a tube map and say ‘ok we need to get on the tube at Canal Street’ so you’d go to Canal Street and find the station. However in NYC you have not one, not two, not even three, but four Canal Street stations.  Each with three different lines running through them.  So by now you’ve walked past three of the four, because of course the ‘A’ line is at the one furthest away, but then you’re sorted, right?  Nope – not even close.  Cause now you’ll find that there are actually two different versions of this one – one going north, and one going south.. and yes you want to go north, but you’re outside the A line going south.  Time to cross that road… again.   Oh and just when you’ve finally got to the right place, watch out for the pesky Express Trains or you’ll sail right past your destination, and be forced to back-track.  Sometimes they’ll announce it’s an Express, sometimes it will be on the side of the train, and sometimes it’s just a ‘jump on and hope’ scenario!   Needless to say,we caught a few wrong trains in NYC.

So my tips for anyone travelling to NYC, firstly download a good NYC tube map or app.  And, buy a weekly unlimited pass – it’s the best $30 we spent, and at least you won’t be shelling out extra for the incorrect trips you inevitably take.

The second ugly isn’t limited to NYC, but in NYC we found the solution.  Yes I’m talking about the brown sludge that American’s seem to think is called coffee.  It’s hard to describe exactly what it tastes like, but if you imagine the cheapest instant decaf coffee you can find, heated to scalding, then topped with (also scalding) milk, you’re pretty close.. yummy.   Thankfully in NYC we found two coffee shops owned by Antipodeans – Happy Bones, and Ruby’s cafe.  Ruby’s also does a great brunch (vegemite for any home-sick Aussies) and dinner.

Finally the Good

Before you think I hated NYC, there were three real standouts in NYC, that were highlights of our whole American adventure.

The first was the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.  There aren’t any words that can explain what it is like, but I will say it is incredibly moving and my absolute ‘must-visit’ for anyone coming to NYC. The memorial is free to visit with two pools of water representing the towers, and the names of all who died that day engraved around.  It’s such a strange thing to think that all those people came here every day to work – and one day didn’t return.  The museum is fascinating and incredibly sad.

Secondly, thanks to my lovely colleagues at PayPal who gave us a wonderful leaving present, we had a night out at Perry Street restaurant.  We were able to splurge on a three course meal of beautifully presented and tasty food, topped off with a toast to the Australians with a bottle of Barossa red.  This was a real highlight and something we wouldn’t have done had it not been for such a generous gift.

And finally, a NYC show on Broadway.  We saw Chicago, and were both blown away.  The perfect last night in NYC.