New York New York

Home sickness was still raw on arrival into New York.


As we waited to collect our luggage, a young man was clutching a huge bouquet of cream and red roses, his eyes glued to the Arrivals Gate. When the lady he was waiting for finally appeared they just held each other for five or six minutes, only momentarily loosening their grip to kiss one another’s nose and mouth. The lady was followed by a huge family, with every generation accounted for, from toddlers to grandparents. They all laughed and cried and hugged. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes but I couldn’t look away. Sometimes it takes being away from the ones you love to realise how much they mean to you.

The climate in New York was much more bearable and after surviving the many near death experiences in the cab getting to the city, we wasted no time in venturing out to explore.
Ill never forget turning onto Times Square for the first time. The hustle and bustle of the tourists melted away and I was left totally gobsmacked by the sheer size of it all. The colours, the noise and the smells merged together and I felt like I was in the middle of a circus. I couldn’t move, I just wanted to look and take it all in. Those who have been to New York though will know that in the city, you can’t stand still for too long (there are even street signs which say ‘no standing at any time’!) and amidst the camera flashes I was hurried along with the rest of the gawping foreigners.

We stayed for two and a half days and walked around until our feet bled, trying to cram in as much as possible.

We took the ferry to Staten Island, relaxed in Central Park, wandered around the impressive Financial District and heard stories from people who lived to tell their September 11 tale during a guided tour of Ground Zero.

I loved New York and its crazy locals. Sarwah and I saw one guy karate kick each street light he saw, a lady with half a face said to me, “Buy me a hotdog. It’s awful” and Steph was swiftly dragged back from her SATC dream world when a man shouted at her in the street, “ Suck my c**k bitch - go to HELL!" It all added to the experience though!

We only skimmed the surface of New York and I plan to go back in the next couple of years.

Our last evening in the Big Apple was spent meeting our new Contiki tour group at the Marrakech Hotel. It was very exciting, so exciting in fact that afterwards I happily skipped out into the street to hail a cab and was very nearly mown down by an angry New Yorker on his bike. He swerved, I screamed, but a lesson was learnt that night. Look right, look left, look right again…and then cross.