Hello Royalty.
Beware:
This is a picture-drunken post.
You already know I’m a sucker for traveling and seeing new places in every little way that I can. This is an old post…I should have done it in November, but the end of the year is not the time to sulk, so here goes my little New York tale.
New York reminded me of Lagos and she made me smile. The first time I saw NY was in 2017, because I had stopped over at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, to catch another flight to Dallas, TX that same day. I remember looking forward to the much talked about yellow cabs and the bustle that everyone mentioned when it came to talking about the city. But on this day, I was too busy trying to secure the next available flight at another nearby airport that I did not get a good glimpse of the city. Plus, most airport areas are the most boring places to be in. It’s just an expanse of land and moving cars, so you get the gist.
However, during my first Thanksgiving this year, I had the opportunity to see the city again, and for real this time. I went with a few family members and we had an amazing time in 48 hours.
~LET’S GET INTO THE DEETS~
Day 1: Thanksgiving Day
It was a road trip, and an exciting one too! Yes, it took about four hours to get into the state itself, and an extra hour to get to Long Island. Now this is why New York reminded me of Lagos: car horns and traffic, and yes, the yellow! A few minutes after we drove into the state, I heard a car blow its horn behind us. In a few more minutes, I heard another one. Then I began to notice the roads…crumpled spaces, houses kissing one another with their sides, and a few littered streets.
We got to a family friend’s place at night, and had some amazing thanksgiving dinner. The sight of the turkey killed all of my interest. I was so “fed up” from almost every other thing on the table that I ended up not having any Thanksgiving Turkey on Thanksgiving Day. When we left, we retired to the hotel, where they had that cute TED Talk door hanger that needed a picture lol.
Day 2: The Day After
I know “The Day After” is an obvious way to describe this day, but forgive me for lack of a better phrase. We set out quite early on this day, and tried to see as much of the city as we could. We drove to the train station, and it was time to get into the city – precisely Manhattan. As soon as we got down from the train, I was overwhelmed by the commotion of people, and guess what? I loved it! Again, it reminded me of Lagos. The first time I found myself in the US, one of the first things I asked is “Do people walk here?” New York answered that…people walk and bump into one another, and I mean people from all walks of life. It was crazy, especially with a minus-one-degree-Celsius-weather.
Guess what? It was also Black Friday and people were head over heels in love with shopping. We walked into the popular Macy’s store in Herald Square, known as the world’s largest store. However, I read that a Korean store, Shinsegae, has surpassed it in title in 2009. I haven’t seen Shinsegae yet, but I know that this NY Macy’s store had me “mouth-open” and it was filled to the brim – as in people were queuing up to use the toilets! They also have seven elevators, and people were taking turns to go in. We couldn’t even do any shopping. It was crazy.
As much as we wanted to, we couldn’t see Times Square because we had a train to catch, but I was sure to tick one of my travel desires off my list. It was standing in the middle of the street in NY to take a picture. And yes, I wore yellow on purpose. I packed the yellow knitwear in my travel back for that purpose. Don’t judge me. I also saw the Empire State Building from a distance, and yes, it seemed like a huge one.
Day 3: Time to go Home
I did not want it to end. But it was that time to say goodbye. We set out on the roads pretty early too, and it was a smooth ride – thankfully. Did I forget to mention a few states I saw in-between? They are Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. I enjoyed every bit of my experience and if I have the opportunity to go to New York again, I am seizing it without a thought!
I know it’s Christmas season now, and a lot of people are traveling. Have you visited any new place, or are you about to? Want to share a sentence from your experience? Please leave a comment, or maybe at least let me know if you would seize an opportunity to go to New York City!
PS: My phone knows I am not big on vlogging, so it made me a nice video that shows the experience of day one and two.
Enjoy!
Goodbye Royalty,
With Overflowing Love,
Alexandra Zion.
Cool post. Funny I was in NYC for Thanksgiving as well and got to explore the city after the black friday craze had died down. Great blog you have
Thank you very much. Oh that must have been fun! The craze was what it was – crazy, LOL.
I enjoyed this blogpost ?, I have gone to New York before, but couldn’t see all the landmarks because of the time, but I would love to visit again.
Oh I can imagine. Remember to get an extra ticket whenever you plan to visit. Thank you so much for reading too!