New York City, USA

Warning: This post probably has the most pictures compared to my previous ones—because why not?

New York. The greatest city in the world? Maybe. The city that never sleeps? Literally! With all the ambulances, police sirens, and Broadway tuk-tuks, good luck getting any rest.

This trip was organized by Iris (as usual :P) and Kerwin, my brother-in-law, who lives in New York. Having Kerwin around was not only super convenient but also a huge financial help, since we didn’t need to book a hotel room. If there’s one thing you should know about New York, it’s that calling it “expensive as f***” is an understatement. I’m not sure if it was the feeling that every move had a price tag, or if we were just spoiled in France where you get une carafe d’eau for free in every restaurant.

Aside from expensive being the norm and the ever-present noise pollution—man, the city is amazing. I always set my expectations low when visiting a new place, and New York didn’t disappoint. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the city that draws you in. I only had two things I was truly looking forward to: the planetarium and Madison Square Garden. But by the time we left, I already wanted to go back. >.<

We might return—but definitely not anytime soon. It was surreal to see the skyscrapers that were destroyed in Avengers, eat a pork-pineapple bun in front of the courthouse from Law & Order: SVU, walk beside those iconic yellow taxis, navigate the wave of people (mostly tourists) in Times Square, get intimidated and confused in the subway (pretty sure that was Seth Meyers standing next to us), overlook the entire city from the vertigo-inducing 100th floor of One World Observatory, sprint across the Brooklyn Bridge under the scorching sun, and be blown away by the talent on Broadway. By the way, I highly recommend & Juliet to all the Titos and Titas out there!

And of course, stepping inside the Mecca of Basketball—Madison Square Garden—was just… fucking amazing.

Hopefully by the time we go back, Kerwin and his flatmate Alyssa—whom I had so much fun chatting with every morning over coffee—will still be there so we’ll have a place to crash. Because if I haven’t said it enough: this city is not built for people with minimum balances in their bank accounts.

Lastly, fingers crossed for better weather next time we climb the Empire State Building—because all we saw this time was a sea of clouds. 😄