Welcome to New York

So here I am in New York city. Yesterday was a bit of a blur due to pure exhaustion and a feeling of…I think nostalgia. I’m in a first world city and my mind cannot help but draw parallels between London and my current reality.

There is that mole tunnelling a hole feeling on the subway, the multitude of people from all walks and cultures scattering to their destinations with ordered chaos, the crisp bite of Northern hemisphere air and well the fact that everything seems to work.

Even my walk last night from the subway station to my hostel felt like an evening stroll in Putney.  Dark but safe and teeming with life from bars, to coffee shops and late evening shoppers.

But now I am at the entrance to Central Park. A place only my imagination knows and what I have learnt from years of watching Hollywood films. Already, sitting on a bench taking in the the weak Spring sun, it has met my expectations….runners, people sitting and drinking takeaway cups of coffee, dogwalkers and strollers. I am however surprised at how many of them have their noses stuck in their mobile devices, missing the serenity and beauty that surrounds them in the foliage and cobbled walkways.

Spring is here, the birds are singing in the trees and little buds of green are pushing their way towards the sun to become miniature solar panels for the myriad of trees. But Central Park is for another day. I have just looked at the cookies through the jar, I know that the experience will be good but it will be even better if I delay the gratification for another day.

My taste buds are a serious travel companion. The path they want to take is straight to upper Broadway to find Absolute Bagel and in no time I sink my teeth into the toasted outer, travelling past the soft chewy dough and into a landing site of thick cream cheese with blueberries. This delightful surprise centre squeezes out the sides trying to escape my Bagel appetite to no avail. Soon it is all gone but the memory of satisfaction carries my feet to the next task at hand…the lights of Times Square.

Leap into this land of light and sounds making sure to take your mind with your body for the lights draw you in like a bull to a red cloth. Buy this, do that, take this, part with money here. I am only betrayed by my wits once as the MnM store calls my name. Who can resist the joy they sell in cellophane packets filled with your choice of the rainbow? What was my mission here? Oh yes, cheap Broadway tickets and a hotdog. I am on course again,  Matilda tickets in hand, hotdog in belly but my taste buds were not overwhelmed by that experience.

Criss crossing the streets a few sights speak to my senses. A slight breeze whips up the cherry blossoms of the spring laden trees, spinning them in circles and dancing to the ground like snowflakes.  A fire hydrant gushing water into the streets, parks with vegetable patches and plants lovingly tended by the residents of the area. Little havens of refuge between the bricks and mortar.

One such haven is the Highline parkway. An elevated railway line given new life by converting it into a walking garden. A place to see life growing and view life in the streets from a different angle. It is unique, it is people transforming their city. The sweet aroma of flowers intensifies around every bend and here my senses find satisfaction.

Look carefully at that one, the Lady Liberty is waving her flame at you from a distance.