Alright this is going to be a big one. So big it’s split into parts, so I suggest you get comfy, grab a drink, maybe a snack or two…
I did it, I finally did it! I had been going on and on and on about visiting New York for so long, it’s all I wanted to do. There were two reasons why I left it so long to go. Money, and company. It was never going to be a cheap trip and making sure I had enough to do all the things I wanted took some time, having someone to go with was just part of the experience. But when I found myself ready to go but with nobody in the same position I decided to do it alone. I’m glad I did.
Don’t get me wrong, solo holidays can seem a bit weird, it wasn’t, I had it all planned out, what I did every day, where I’d be, what I’d see and it was all on my own terms. Selfish, maybe, but given the chance wouldn’t you do the same? There’s something about traveling and exploring a place on your own that you just don’t get when you travel with someone and I’m glad I experienced that.
So where did I start? After my flight from Heathrow to JFK I got a taxi into Manhattan. My hotel was just outside of Hell’s Kitchen. I arrived at night so on the journey there the distant city lights drew nearer and nearer and my excitement grew. You’re thrown straight into it, people, cars, buildings, everything going at 100mph and you’re just in the middle of it. I arrived at my hotel, checked in and got some sleep. I had an early start the next day. Here’s a fresh faced me en route to the airport and a very tired looking me in my tiny hotel room after arriving.
I woke up the next morning having hardly slept, not from jet lag but the excitement. I got dressed, packed my camera gear up and headed outside to find some breakfast. I remember the first moment I stepped out of the hotel and onto the street, surrounded by buildings, noises, so much noise and people, all starting their day. I opened up my maps (saving grace for navigation) and started heading south planning my route via Times Square.
When I got to Times Square, which was only around the corner from my hotel, it was still dark. The tourists hadn’t woken up yet and it was all about the commuters. Times Square, was empty, just some maintenance guys cleaning it up ready for the days stampede. I managed to get up the steps and get a couple photos, one of which was on my instant camera, something I tried to use a lot out there. From here on I went in search of breakfast.
In all honesty I’d planned on stuffing my face with Dunkin Donuts every morning for the week, but I thought I’d be more civilised seeing as it was my first day and I found a cafe on 7th and settled in for a coffee and some breakfast. It was quiet, still early and a lot of people were still commuting or coming in right before work, so I found a window seat and just watched everything go by. I could have done that all day, but I had places to be. I finished up my coffee and went straight back out again heading south. I didn’t actually consider how long it would take to walk this entire stretch of Manhattan. I just picked up the pace and went in the direction I knew I needed to be, but I’m so glad I did this instead of taking a taxi or subway. In fact, I walked for the majority of the trip. I walked for blocks and blocks, watching people arrive at work, parents drop their kids off at school, street vendors sell snacks and newspapers, police direct traffic and people selling Christmas trees on the street. It was late November so the entire city was decorated and ready to go, the lights on the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre were due to be switched on later that week too. But the smell of pine needles every time you went past some fresh cut trees was amazing. I passed a couple of older guys sat on a bench who said “Good Morning” and I wish I’d stopped to talk, but time didn’t allow, my boat for the Statue of Liberty was leaving soon.
On the way there I walked past Freedom Tower and the old Ground Zero site. Something I had planned on doing later in my trip but accidentally stumbled across it on my way. Everyone says how strange and quiet it is there, and it’s true. As I got closer to the site, even though I didn’t actually know where I was is was the change in sound that got me first. The sound of traffic, people, general city life slowly goes away and your left with the roar of the waterfalls, that transition is so seamless but really catches you off guard. There were a lot of construction boards up as I approached but as I came around the corner it was all there. The scale is something I couldn’t fully explain and photos can’t do it justice. I stopped for a minute to take it in and continued on my journey knowing I’d be back later.
I arrived at Battery Park with some time to spare, picked up my first bottle of Snapple from a street vendor and got into the queue for the boat. More and more people started to arrive and we made our way into the building where you get your bag searched and go into another queue for the boat. After getting through all of that and being herded into the warehouse for boarding we were told the water was too rough and we would have to wait for it to calm before we could get on. I already had my day planned out and wasn’t sure if I’d get to come back and do this again later so I figured I’d stick around and wait. I wasn’t in a hurry and could take my sweet time, but it did cross my mind that maybe I could have stopped and spoken to the two guys I saw earlier.
Before long the water settled and it was time to go, I picked a spot at the top of the boat and waited for us to get going. It was up here I got talking to a guy who was also visiting New York for the first time, seeing one of his friends who was working for the day so he was off sight seeing in the meantime. We talked about a lot of things, England mostly, everyone always asked about Brexit. The journey was short but was a great opportunity to shoot lower Manhattan from the water (if you can avoid the seagulls) and before we knew it we were at the statue. As I arrived on the island the weather took a turn for the worse so I made the decision to walk around it a couple times, get some photos and jump onto the next ferry back which stopped off at Ellis Island. Fortunately I think I beat the masses to it and it was pretty quiet, so I took my time around the Immigration Building. Some of the stuff there was fascinating, the things on display, the stories, the building itself. A huge amount of history there and I’m glad I got to see it. I took a few photos, mostly of the main hall, the symmetry caught my eye and the vastness of the space was something I wanted to capture.
After that I jumped back onto the ferry and it was time to find some lunch. I pulled an emergency lunch out of the bag on this one and hit a Starbucks, made myself comfortable and had a look through the photos from the day. I was sat next to someone and got talking, I was honestly so surprised at how friendly people were. We talked about what we were doing their, they wished me a happy birthday for later that week and went on their way leaving me to edit.
I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with an old friend who also happened to be visiting at the same time. We had an overlap day so agreed to meet up for a drink. So until then I just explored, I went up and down streets, finding landmarks, went into massive shops, discovered 368 and Casey Neistat’s studio, and then the rain came. I think this was the only day of bad weather I had which isnt bad for November but man did the rain come down. About the same time I was trying to locate my friend which meant a lot of walking and crossing streets, eventually we found each other but in doing so we got soaked. So we headed to the nearest bar to grab a few drinks, which turned into a few more drinks, which then turned into plans for dinner. I like those kinds of nights. We got the subway back to our hotels to get changed (my first time on public transport there) and almost got left on my on because they hadn’t topped up their metro cards. After that we jumped in a taxi to theirs and from there to a restaurant for what I can only describe was the thickest steak I’ve ever eaten. And like that the first day was over, I headed back to my hotel and watched some wholesome American TV before falling asleep, ready for my Birthday the next day…
