NEW YORK
Written by Antoaneta Blagoeva Designed by Sara Torres
A
five-day trip to New York is barely enough to scratch the surface of the city. However, it was enough for me to fall in love with The Big Apple. As a huge fan of Friends, I think I loved the city way before I paid it a visit.
Whether you’re a food lover, an art enthusiast, a theatre lover or someone who enjoys a fast-paced life, New York City is the place for you. When I landed, as you can imagine, I was jet-lagged and in dire need of food and sleep. The flight from Heathrow to JFK Airport was seven hours but still I only got 3 hours of sleep. It was early afternoon when I got there and by the time the bus took me back to the hotel it was already 4pm. Although I was knackered, myself and my friend Sara got ready quickly and went down 8th Avenue towards Central Park. We didn’t really think about the dangers we could encounter when we got there since we were so excited. A stroll in the evening was refreshing and we even got to see the fountain used when filming Friends. Later in the evening, we went to Little Italy for some food. There was this main street that had Italian places next to each other throughout the whole street. Not really knowing which would be best and after scanning several menus, we went in and each had a pizza. By the time we got back to the flat it was already 11pm and we were ready for some sleep. Waking up bright and early the next day, we went to the Tenement Museum and witnessed how immigrants lived in New York a century ago. A family of six members would have to share a two- bedroom apartment. Next on the list was Brooklyn Bridge. This massive bridge goes over the East River! Even though as tourists we struggled to get actually get on it, we finally walked down this neoGothic landmark. Of course our day wouldn’t end there, we caught the subway to the Met Breuer.There they have a whole floor designated for conspiracy art. It wasn’t a surprise that most of the art included conspiracies of the death of Kennedy. There was this one that assumed aliens had assassinated him. At the end of the day, we were glad were both able to legally drink because we found this little, cute pub on 9th Avenue that was the second oldest bar in New York. We literally spent every night there for the rest of the trip. How can you not when they serve $3 pints? The third day came with an early morning and a heavy hangover. But that didn’t stop us to go on the Statue of Liberty Cruise. Being hungover and a little seasick wasn’t the best mix, but I still enjoyed the wind and sun combined with the view of Lady Liberty standing proud in all her French glory. This day was all about the views so of course after the cruise we headed off to Rockefeller Centre. I would never forget the view on top with Empire State Building staring straight at me. We were there for the sunset that settle on the Manhattan skyline. Breathtaking doesn’t even cover it. Our idea was to see the view from Top of the Rock during the day
Me and Sara on the Brooklyn Bridge
and see night time skyline from ESB. You wouldn’t think that the difference from 70th floor to 86th would be that big. It was truly magnificent. From Rockefeller Centre, you would still have some buildings crossing your vision but from ESB you were on top of everything. It was once the tallest building in Manhattan. Our evening wouldn’t end there. We actually went to the legendary gay bar Stonewall. It was the best experience to top off this amazing day. We witnessed a drag show which had me screaming ‘YAAAAS’ after one of the performers would do the splits. The fourth day came around and we were used to the sleep deprived, hungover state. It was our museum day. First was the Museum of Natural History. For only a $1 we got to see what Ross was blabbering so much about. It took us two hours, but we ticked that museum off the list. And just across from it walking through Central Park was The Met. This huge building stored so much art and culture. They even had a room specifically for art from Cyprus. We had our fun, posing like some of the sculptures. It’s hard not to when they were all so dramatic. We spent nearly five hours there until just half an hour before it closed. My thirst for international culture was fulfilled and I was even a bit bloated. To be honest in those five hours we still didn’t inspect all the rooms in store. Maybe next time. A
Left: The view from the Top of the Rock. Right: Times Square
little cat nap later we were heading out for our dinner. We decided on Ellen’s Stardust Diner. With the little money we had left we went full on. Spending $40 plus the waiting outside was totally worth it. The burger was amazing but that’s not the best part.The waiters were all singers who had one goal: get on a Broadway stage.They were all so inspiring and captivating to watch. After that, we found ourselves again in the pub.We stayed until 3am, talking to all the strange people that were regulars. I can’t lie and say it wasn’t fun. We were a bunch of weirdos, laughing it off. The fifth and last day came along so soon, I was near tears when I woke up. Putting everything away, I couldn’t believe how little I got to see of New York. What spurred me on though was the fact I knew this wasn’t the last time I would be here. With all the strength and hope I could muster up, I hailed my bag on the plane. With one promise on my mind: I will see you again NYC.