Travel Diaries: New York (again!!)

Francesca Harper
Nov 4, 2017
4 min read

It's a bit late. I won't lie, I have almost been back two weeks, but my life has been a bit crazy lately.

Nevertheless, here it is. The latest instalment of 'Travel Diaries'...

Wednesday 18th October the drama began at 11pm. I was revising, because I was going to have to do a test early because I had to miss a day of college, until my Dad comes in and

asks me for my passport. I didn't have it. I thought he had it. He thought I had it.

NIGHTMARE!!!

For the next 18 hours we would cry, search, cry, search, and the cycle continued until I had no emotional energy left, and my heart was broken. I wasn't going to go on the trip I had looked forward to for months.

We looked in the most bizarre of places. I'm talking sock drawers, boxes I haven't been in for months. You name it, we looked in it. So the next logical step was to go to Liverpool to get a new one. A last resort for us in this moment of absolute panic. I had to wait a week. A WEEK!!! I would be home in a week's time!!

So, I believed it was time to give up hope, but I had one last glimmer of a chance. My Mom and Sister hadn't come home yet and looked with us.

Low and behold, my Sister was in the house 2 minutes and she found it!! Behind the radiator we had looked behind so many times. It was a miracle!

Then the rush began. The plan was to go to the airport straight from college at 4pm. It was 6pm and we had nothing packed, our Esters weren't printed, we hadn't gotten our dollars yet, and our minds were racing.

Food and drink was the last thing on my mind all day, so I was so hungry and thirsty but I rushed my packing, said my 'See you later's' and we were off. Was that really happening? Because I seriously couldn't tell if it was or not, because I felt like the whole day had been a dream.

Our flight was 8:40am from Heathrow, so we drove down to the airport the night before and slept over in a hotel. It was so hard to sleep, and I just kept freaking out that my passport was lost again. (It wasn't thank goodness!!).

We got up at 4:40am and caught a little 'hopper' bus from the hotel to Terminal 2.

It was a lovely morning, and going through security and check-in was nice and smooth, so we were able to relax for the first time in 36 hours. We snacked on fruit and toast, had juice, and took in the airport travelling lifestyle which I love.

I just don't love flying.

Every time that I go onto a plane I feel like my senses are in overdrive. Everything around me feels stale (well, technically I suppose it is), with the air smelling strange, the food making me feel sick just looking at it and smelling it, and the noise is so loud!!

We flew with United, which was ok. The flight was quite smooth, but I still wasn't able to get any sleep! I was so frustrated that there weren't any foot stools, but what can you do about it?

At about 11am New York time we landed at Newark airport, at a different terminal than we were being picked up from, so we had to go completely the other side of the airport!! Nothing in life is simple that's for sure.

Then, the journey truly began. My favourite part, driving through New York (this time mainly New Jersey) to get to East 42nd Street where the Grand Hyatt awaited.

The first time when you get out of the car and the noise, and the energy hits you is when you finally realise that you are actually in New York, which I think is all a bit mad. I felt at home. In a way, it is my second home (at least at heart).

The days that followed were full of adventures, photography missions, exploring and sports.

My Dad's favourite American Football team - Seattle Seahawks - were in New York on his Birthday, so we went on a two-train adventure to find the stadium. The atmosphere was incredible, and the food too! The Seahawks scored three touchdowns, and won, which brought so much joy to my Dad which was so lovely to see.

On the Saturday night, we had seen the New York Knicks, our favourite basketball team play, beginning with a 20 point lead, and then managing to still lose, but oh well. Again, the atmosphere is just incredible and it is worth so much.

I must admit, one of my highlights from the trip has got to be visiting the RAINBOW BAGEL STORE, where, yes, I actually got a real-life rainbow bagel!

I could hardly eat any of it because of how dense it was, but that was a dream come true!!

On the last night, my legs were weary, and I had had enough, but we were recommended this pasta place for a last night meal. We walked and walked and walked, but we couldn't find it, and then proceeded to find that it was the street next to our hotel!!

It was so lovely, and the vibes were great. The low-key, spontaneous moments are the ones I cherish most about going to a city like New York. I am definitely a city girl.

However, nothing can beat $1 Pizza at 11pm on a Sunday night after a late-night mission to find Bath and Bodyworks!!

I have been fortunate enough to go to New York 4 times now, but it still feels as though there are a million and one things that we still have left to do in the city.

Brooklyn Heights, Central Park, Williamsburg Bridge, the list could go on...