A New York State of Mind

Sat in an NYC hotel bar (with a cup of tea rather than wine) waiting for my taxi to come and take me to JFK and home to London.

What a great few days I’ve had in quite possibly my favourite city outside of London Town. As I said in my 2019 blog Sass and the City, New York just seems to have this fantastic energy that rubs off on you, it invigorates you whilst at the same time, gives you the space to breathe a little and refocus – whilst of course having lots of fun!

As you only turn 47 once I called my friend Shanaz to see if she fancied a trip stateside. With a resounding YES we booked our flights, the time flew by and we got here last Thursday. And until she went home on Sunday morning all we’ve done is walk and talk! We walked over 14 miles on the first day from our hotel in Midtown West, over to East through all the main sights like Times Square (where randomly we bumped into the UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps…) and Grand Central and then up to Central Park where we just took time out chatting away on a bench over the lake before heading for a scrumptious lunch lakeside.

On Saturday, we headed down into Chelsea and the Meatpacking District before once again happening on Perry Street where we did our best Carrie poses! On the way back, we found a super little wine bar where for about two / three hours we just talked and talked and talked. the rain came down and it was perfect timing as we sat near an open window and reminisced about the 20 or so years we’ve known each other and all our antics. There were belly laughs and tears of laughter but we also took the time just to chat about life in general – it’s so easy at home to get caught up in the here and now, I’m not sure we all talk enough. It was wonderful – it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do that and it’s utterly priceless and probably what made the trip even more special.

Shanaz flew home on Sunday morning, but I’d decided to stay on another 36 hours or so. I wondered after she’d gone whether I should have done the same. But actually I got the best of both New York worlds. I caught up with my NYC friend Tracy – we haven’t seen each other for about 10 years so it was great to see her even just for 90 mins. After that I wandered down to see the North and South WTC pools – this is my fourth visit to NYC and only the first time I’d been – it’s very overwhelming, it’s sad yet it’s peaceful and I can see why the memorial brings comfort to many.

I then treated myself to a ticket to see Chicago on Broadway. TOP TIP! Go on the day to the Box Office and you will get THE best deals! I looked online and the second tier tickets were $150+. I got top tier, 7 rows from the front and aisle seat to boot for $89. Pamela Anderson was playing Roxie Hart and she was awesome – she has the best facial expressions ever and was very funny.

And so, my last day before getting the flight. The sun was shining so took myself to Central Park again with a cup of tea and a book, and it occurred to me that I never spend a couple of hours just sitting and reading a book or people watching in a park and it’s a wonderful thing to do. So once again, New York hasn’t failed to impress (well – apart from the fact that the prices of everything are extortionate now!) But prices aside, this has been a super break, thank you New York for reinvigorating my sass! But now it’s time to get back to my fave city – the one I call home.