'Do you think I'm a Nasty Girl?'
Well. There's a first time for everything, NYC gets the thumbs up!
# Evening One
Leaving London Gatwick flying to JFK Airport NYC was relatively easy, a slight hiccup with online checkin lost us a bit of time but we saved £18 in the end by seriously faffing with our mobile phones. Duty Free was a bit rushed but a good idea to take advantage coz on the way back after travelling it seems like a bit of a ball ache.
Arriving in JFK it can be cool to download LYFT as an alternative to Uber, it's well easy and is quite reliable, I wouldn't want to navigate my way around the Subway on the first day or as we made it there late afternoon/ evening.
Rocking up in East Harlem we made it to our rented apartment to be welcomed by our host, it was amazing and the three of us girls were happy with our digs; all finding a nice section to take over, mine being the sofa bed by the balcony, as I smoke (vape). With only a short time before we wanted to hit the sack to make the most of our first full day sightseeing we bought some essentials at the grocery store, it was lush (reminding me of a scene in a film where a Vietnamese woman encounters an American store post War). We also picked up some authentic Fried Chicken, which wasn't anything like greasy KFC that you get at home.
All in all arrival was a success!
# Day One
Yo, so from East Harlem we walked downtown to Central Park which is huge! Taking some nice pics along the way in the park, which I can't show because the other two girls wouldn't like it on my blog. We walked through some of it seeing Cleopatra's Needle (reminiscing about Liz Taylor and how she had good innings) plus Belvedere Castle where we looked down on all the dirty rascals at the bottom, by this time we were quite fatigued and were looking for a nice place to have lunch later opting for a large hotdog. But doing a deal with Mo a cool rickshaw cycler, we got to see a bit more of the park with all it's wonders (the FRIENDS fountain, bridges, the underpass inc buskers who were kick ass) and then the John Lennon IMAGINE memorial site made by Yoko Ono.
Mo dropped us off at the bottom of the park where we got 99 cent Pizza (I stubbornly waited for a Pepperoni much to the annoyance of all the other customers in the hustle and bustle of this part of the city). Then we had our first encounter with the Subway to get us back home, nothing like the UK where we have NSEW in NYC it's just uptown and downtown, it can be tricky to find your way. One of us downloaded a google map for land above ground which you can access even offline. That came in well handy!
That evening we went see the 'Moulin Rouge' on Broadway, the song Nasty Girl by Inaya Day is still ringing round in my mind. The show incorporates a lot of memorable modern songs whilst bustin some serious dance moves, obviously surrounding the story of 'Satin' and the history of the Moulin Rouge in Paris France where the can can originates from. 'Satin' decides to give true love a go on her deathbed, like us she was trying to cram a lot in!
# Day Two
Our second big day sightseeing we headed towards MoMA hastily breezing through Bloomingdale's where I picked up and apple muffin and crumble with a nice Mocha from a quaint bakery stached in a corner of the store. MoMA is awesome! You seriously couldn't find that much quality modern art all in one place anywhere else in the world. To me 'Art Bitch' it was like being able to scream in the Grand Canyon after going through a distressing time, I suppose these years what with the Pandemic it has been harsh (also this being the first time I'd left blighty since it all kicked off). Cathartic.
We got a well nice meal in Applebee's Mac n Cheese with some sweet chicken and a nice American beer. At which point I was a bit tired, and tantrums and tiaras were subdued but rising to the surface fast, so the girls goded me on to Times Square. I was so glad I made it there coz it was totally wikid! This pic of the Empire State building was a stretch, lol. After a tussle with the right Subway station to get home I insisted on an LYFT and one of the other girls gave up and surrendered also!
# Day Three
On day three I insisted on taking a chill day! The other girls didn't put up much of a fight as they were getting on like a house on fire, and probably didn't want me mouching behind again. They were set to see the Statue of Liberty and the 911 Memorial grounds. Well done ladies, yo these women rose up and laid down the law! They weren't taking and prisoners.
So I lazily got ready and headed out for a meal at Santiago's as we were in Spanish Harlem. A couple of Mojitos later with a meal and dessert it was time for a nap in our cosy apartment.
Finally! My cousin Brian. An authentic New York guy for the girls to meet. And for me a chance to show off about my knowledge of our ancestry. Cash and Carry has some wikid selections of beer and cider. By that time I was pretty wasted! I think if I'd had gotten my hands on a spliff I would have pulled a whitey and thrown up. So it was best just to go home and get some rest before our journey back.
# Au Revoir
These girls were mashin up New York! Insisting that we should frequent Bagel Tree that morning. In America smoked salmon is called Nox or Nox (Nova), so I got some of that with cream cheese. I get the impression that because this place was near a Police Station the quality of the food was top notch, so I crammed in a strawberry parfait as well...
Being pretty hangin after the night before and quite broke we decided that the Subway back to JFK was a good option, encountering and array of homeless I myself was in the same frame of mind, which was tired and docile. So no one really bothered us and we made our way along the blue line to the JFK shuttle Air Rail service. I was stoked that I had 6 dollars on my Metrocard and two dollars in my pocket to cover the cost.
If I go to NYC again I well want to bring my mate Lucy! She's totally dope! Probably a bit of a moucher like myself.
I probably would buy flight socks next time I go on a plane as my feet were quite swollen when I got home.
Now I'm home in my Flat, all is good!
Thank you NYC!
The Big Apple.