Hooked up on Hollywood movies practically all the time, nothing could be more exciting than visiting United States of America and unleashing the inner Carrie Bradshaw. In fall 2013 (September-October) me and my younger sister decided to storm the one country we always longed to visit.
There is so much to say about New York but yet nothing really. It's a place which takes over your senses life a heavy gust of wind.
From India to New York we stopped over in Dubai and Milan, both the places in stark contrast with each other. Dubai is all shiny, tall buildings and Milan is uniform amiable bungalows. (At least according to my bird eye view from aircraft and airport)
However deep in details I go, I will always fall short in explaining my quest in New York. But only thing I can really tell is, I didn't do what most tourists do.
I didn't see:
Rockefeller center, UN building, Statue of Liberty (from close), complete Central Park.
I rather explored the streets, nooks, corners, cafés, bistros, graffiti stained walls and all those things which a typical foreign traveller wouldn't. And that's when when you know how this city lives and works!
AND fall is the most enticing time to visit the States.
P.S.- Please carry a map or find a cheap place to get it. I spent a fortune on that!
The pair of us hogged on our dinner at John’s Pizzeria, one of the finest places I have ever visited both food wise and ambience wise. It is beautifully crafted inside of a church so therefore has amazing carvings and it gets better with the food. When I dug in my pizza, a stream of cheese just oozed out of it. Heaven! You are surrounded by boisterous crowd and something about the place just stets the mood right.
First thing first, however touristy it maybe we had to see the Times Square foremost. Stumbling and finding our way through the streets and avenues we finally reached the Mecca of a shopaholic and dived straight in the outlets. Because we were given limited cash we shopped only in affordable stores. Forever21, American Eagle, H&M, Charlotte Russe, Victoria Secrets it can go on forever. The thrift stores on 5th Avenue are also worth a checkout. They have some vintage stuff doing rounds at a very cheap rate. A Parisian boutique was one where I got a pair of dramatic shoes. The more you explore and indulge more exciting it gets. We ate our lunch at Panera bread- a must visit eatery when in States. New York City’s Hard Rock Café is an inevitable place on the itinerary. We all know how HRCs are, well this one is a magnified version
We were in US in the Halloween month and the preparations made us acutely aware of the celebration that was to take place on 31st. Sleepy Hollow as the name suggests is a locality serene in the afternoons and eerie as the night approaches. Walking alongside the Hudson we heard some ear blasting music and we decided to check out the place. It was a Halloween carnival going on! Like and excited child I bought the tickets and loved each second of the 30 minute Halloween stroll.
