10 Nov Some thoughts before I start
I got 6 hours left till my flight takes off and I’m already in the airport.
Story of my life I guess…always getting to places earlier.
Never late, just early enough that they aren’t ready for me yet. Places, people, you name them.
I spent a week in New York. Alone. And while many people do travel alone for more than 7/8 thousand kilometers this trip meant a lot to me.
I had booked it instantly, being a bit tired and upset both in my personal life as well as in my work.
I had just opened the laptop and bought the laptop and started buying. Flights, accommodation, theatre, sports, opera, shows, monuments.
Yes, I know a really expensive way to deal with stress but that is how I handled it on this occasion.
As promised on my first post this will not be just about reviewing my flight, accommodation, restaurants as usual but will go more into depth both on a cultural/material way covering things I have seen/learned and things I felt walking on the streets of New York.
I will try to break the story of New York by days. I will take care of them one by one then write a 2/3 piece post about the food I tried here then focus on the events and spectacles that I attended.
I will detail you about the app I used throughout all my journey, things I loved taking pictures of, comparing iconic buildings and even sport events held in the same arena.
My goal here is not to list things and let you read but accompany you thru my tale, making you smile or consider the things I said.
And when you come to think that during my last week home, before leaving, dark thoughts entered my mind: won’t I get bored alone? What if I miss someone? Should I have stayed and taken care of my personal life? Should I cancel the trip?
In the end, as days passed all things solved themselves. I was never bored, just tired. I didn’t miss someone but I gained a special friend that kept me company along my whole trip.
I didn’t need to stay because I fixed my personal life from a distance. Or rather it fixed itself.
And as you guess I did not cancel the trip but went on it.
So before diving in and start my story by days I want to run by you a few numbers and ideas.
In 7 days I walked 110 km, took the subway for 57 stops and the bus for 35 stops. 3 months ago I had an appendectomy surgery which kept me in hospital for 8 days and on medical leave for 3 to 4 weeks.
And while my numbers might seem low I would like you to take in consideration that.
And of course the stress I had each time my surgery sent small spikes warning me to slow down a bit.
Except one day I had visiting in the morning till 15-16:00 hours then go home, shower, change and leave for a different event each day.
And each night I spent my time speaking with someone more than 7.5 k kilometers away.
Not only nights but days also. Keeping me company for lunch or breakfast or enjoying the pictures I took on my trip.
Because you see, even though I am a quiet man I am social. When I start talking you can just sit and listen as I can go from hours and jump from tale to tale or from subject to subject.
As days passed and for the first time in a long while I noticed how good it feels to speak with someone who is on the same length as you are I started dropping/ending things that I kept on hold. I started slowly pushing people out of my space and making more space for future ones.
I ended boring and forced conversations that kept dragging for too long and focused on how good it felt to speak with a person who actually thinks and sees the world(or part of it) as you do.
So without boring you more here is how the New York series will look like:
- Alone in NY-published
- Some thoughts before I start
- Day 1 to 6
- Articles on restaurants
- Entertainment in New York
- Accommodation in New York
- Special article for my favorite restaurant
- In the end.
- Special notes on my flight and first and last day in NY
So I hope you are ready because it is a long story and I hope you will enjoy it.
03.11.2017