My travel article

New York City
“Are you British?” Yes, yes I am.

New York City truly never sleeps. The blinding lights of the concrete jungle leave you in awe of it, indefinitely. The touch, colour, sound – everything about this place – leaves you wanting to experience a little bit more, from visiting the Empire State, Ground Zero and Times Square, to succumbing to the invitation of having my birthday dinner at a transvestite Chinese restaurant.  

Leaving our rented apartment - 9^th street on 5^th avenue – at 8am most mornings was tiring. Especially after full days of walking and sightseeing, with the humidity of the summer air along with it (don’t forget jetlag). Most days I returned back with white strap marks from my sandals and the rest of my feet were black from the pollution! I also had to learn the art of following everyone as they crossed the roads. Even if the green man says go, yellow cabs still make their way through the crowds, beeping their horns. Fast paced, impatient New Yorkers compared to us tourists who like to dawdle.

I was stunned at the numerous amounts of food stalls throughout the city, one on every corner… the same with Starbucks. Super-sized hotdogs, burgers, pretzels (my particular favourite) the size of my face! You would never be lost without food or coffee in New York or ‘cawfee’. Whenever I ordered a Starbucks the reply would be “You’re British!” Yes, yes I am British and no, I’m not ordering a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge.

My most interesting food experience was visiting a transvestite Chinese restaurant called ‘Lucky Changs’ (my birthday meal) They put on a show and made me come up onto stage, dressing me in a wig, pink feather boa and making me sing – not for the light hearted!

There are plenty of places to see and plenty of things to do in New York City. One of the best views is from the top of the Rockefeller centre, giving 360 degree angles. Looking out over the concrete maze, there is the notorious Empire State building and Central Park.

Exploring Central park on the back of a pedi-bike is much more relaxing than walking 840 acres. I’m afraid to say, there’s no ‘Central Perk’ like in ‘Friends’. We were in the company of a lovely Italian man who was soon to spot that we were British, “Ah, you two are British, yes? I love the British accent.” I have a feeling that all Americans do. He showed us the most famous parts of the park, Strawberry Fields, Alice in Wonderland and the lake, but there are many more! 

 Ground Zero. The most heart-wrenching place that I’ve visited. Walking into the 9/11 museum, I was met with audio recordings of final conversations from victims to their loved ones, photographs of the deceased and quotes on the walls from firefighters. Pieces of the planes were in glass cabinets, along with a stuffed lamb from one of the towers nurseries. It gave me goose bumps, but it’s one of the places you have to visit to gain the full experience.

To cheer ourselves up afterwards, we walked along Brooklyn Bridge, stopping to stare at the Statue of Liberty, into Brooklyn where we found a backstreet pancake house. My eyes were much larger than my stomach. Walking back, we bumped into a group of American Yankees… who turned out to be pretty friendly. After they said “Hello” to us, they realised our accent. “You’re British?!” See what I’m talking about. Dawdling back over the bridge in the dark makes the lights of the financial district shimmer, it’s beautiful.

Times Square is like a circus, a jungle like circus. There are so many different things to look at; the neon billboards and flashing lights. Perhaps a man dressed up in a transformer costume. We made a stop to Madame Tussauds and of course, got a photo with Johnny Depp.

Walking further, we made a stop to the National History museum where the outside view is where shots of ‘Night of the Museum’ were filmed. You do need a whole day to explore, become an astronaut or meet a dinosaur.

Coney Island: The Wonder Wheel

I was in New York for a week, and that wasn’t enough time to see everything properly. But extra places to see could be Coney Island, where I fell over on the train, or Washington Park, where you can meet friendly squirrels who like cheesy pretzels. But remember to leave time for shopping! It was one of the best experiences of my life and beat my expectations. I highly recommend that anyone visit, but don’t be alarmed when all of the Americans pick up on the fact that you’re British.