Keep Walking.

Lesson #552: Walk. Walk the city that you just found yourself in. You never quite learn as much about a city as you do when you walk its streets on your own two feet, stumbling across new and old, unusual and familiar, all kinds of things and explore its beauty by yourself.

I think the reason I remember New York City so well is because I walked its streets so much. My most memorable moments are the ones I spent counting down the blocks left for the destination to arrive. 

I just happen to be in one of those moods where I close my eyes and find myself walking down 3rd Avenue again. Walking from 3rd Avenue to Times Square. It was the night of the 17th of May 2013, my dad’s birthday and our first night in New York City. We’d just enjoyed a Turkish dinner at 3rd Ave which is usually the place for a lot of restaurants, all in line. The day had involved a lot of driving from Jersey and into the City, with a lunch in a Mexican bistro followed by the yummiest local produce strawberries I have ever tasted in my life, Australia included. I remember carrying those humungous strawberries in a bag with me on the ferry around Staten Island- an island a little way off from where the Statue of Liberty is. The walk, I think, is the most memorable walk of my life. It was a breezy cold night, the wind in our faces. We walked unabated in a unknown city with a GPS for a guide, running into the city’s most iconic landmarks every now and then. There it was, the Grand Central Central Station in all its glory with taxis lined up outside it. Just a little way away you could see the Empire State Building, glowing different colours every few seconds. It was a beautiful night. And the destination? Times Square at midnight- it’s an explosion of colours and if you’re anything like me, it’s an explosion of emotions. You feel like jumping with joy at all that is happening. You cannot help but get embroiled in the feverish excitement that just seems to liger in the air there. It just sweeps you into its fold. No judgment, no questions. Just a warm embrace of being alive.

I think why I liked New York so much was partly because I was because it my last family holiday and I probably appreciate the memories more than the time there itself. 

Anyway, moving on to my next amazing walk. Starting fresh in the morning at Empire state  building for the mandatory tourist pictures and the likes, we walked to Times square to catch the legendary Phantom of the Opera Broadway show. I’m not a very culturally ignited person, neither are my parents to be honest; so really, I blame them. Nobody in my family is, other than my sister. Especially after the half a dozen museums I visited in Washington DC, the only reason I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art was because my sister dragged me to it, being the artsy person she is. Anyway, she was also the only reason we were a the Opera on Broadway- where, also, incidentally, I fell asleep. Yes, I admit it. I did. But after that I did what I do best. I savoured good food and enjoyed that. I enjoyed a wonderful meal at Hard Rock Cafe, right in the middle of Times Square. I took in good music,  enjoyed the service, tried their Legendary Burger and had an amazing afternoon. My dad bought me a touristy I Heart NY Umbrella and then we walked all the way from Times Square to Columbus Circle where Central Park is. There we saw the beautiful city skyline at dusk, the Fountain of Brethren, the little bridges that cross little lakes, people picnicking across huge lawns. We just kept walking. 

I think we ended the evening by driving down to Brooklyn and having a great meal at the local Applebees’ outlet. Recommendation: Their chicken salad is to die for. Try it. And then we went to the iconic Brooklyn bridge. The New York Skyline was the prettiest from the bridge deck. I could stay there forever. It was actually on my request that we actually even bothered to go there. But that bridge. It was just one of those things that I had always wanted to do. I love that bridge. It’s so calm, so peaceful. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there. I would probably not care for Brooklyn’s reputation as a shady neighbourhood if I had that bridge to look out to and run to at arm’s distance.

My next lesson #343 is Roadtrips. But that’s for next time. Until then, keep looking.