When I stepped off the plane at LaGuardia airport, I'd already been to NYC twice before - once as a tourist and the second time as part of a documentary. I'll admit that I hadn't really embraced the city like most people do, and I never raved about its glamour and gold. But this last visit to see a very good friend changed my mind.
It was Labor Day weekend and the airport was unusually overcrowded. There were lines from one end of the terminal to the other. I began to panic a little. Then due to a malfunctioning security gate, missed my flight completely. But by the time I had changed and stood waiting on the kerb for Lillie the previous dramas blew away with the breeze.
We drove back to her place in Stamford, Connecticut, and rushed to meet her friends for all-you-can-eat sushi in Manhattan. We got lost - which became the theme for our weekend. But it was all part of the adventure of the rabbit hole that is New York City.
After giving in to a cab ride, we made it to the restaurant safe, a little rattled and very hungry, but with only 30mins left to eat all the sushi we could. What followed was the biggest sushi food baby I've ever had, and the night out was only just beginning.
Saturday brought the promise of a beach trip to Long Island and by the time we got ourselves together and organised, it was quite late in the game. But we battled on through tennis open traffic (getting lost again) and made it to a very quiet side of the city, where we were asked to hop into a man's trunk to sneak into the exclusive beach club. We definitely don't do that in Australia!
And because of a hurricane off the coast, I was surprised to actually see waves and a decent surf. So even though it was a tad chilly, and after much internal debate about freezing, I jumped right in. It was strange to be able to hang out at a beachside cabana and walk through the wooden village of huts and facilities provided by a beach club. As the sun came down, our beach day turned into a seafood dinner with Lillie's friends at a famous nearby eatery and then we headed into the city for another night out on the town.
We were lucky enough to get two free nights accommodation at Lillie's colleague's apartment near the Empire State building so beach-heavy we drove into the city with her friend, Chris, in tow. With another big night planned, Lillie and I scrubbed up and got our party shoes on. That Saturday night I met more of Lillie's workmates, was plied with drinks and boogied on the dance floor.
Our lazy Sunday called for shopping and wandering around Times Square and the markets, where we bought trinkets, head bands and hats. The city was very much alive and loud with people dressed in patriotic Brazilian colours. For a long time, we had no idea what was going on. Ah! Of course...Brazil Day in New York City. They'd closed down some of the central city streets for the event with live music performances, and Lillie and I got stuck trying to get to an ATM.
Monday we were invited to spend the public holiday with Lillie's friend's friends in Central Park. It was a beautiful late summer day. The sky was written with a marriage proposal and I felt the love of the city.
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