It\u2019s that time again. Time to say farewell to the city we fell in love with in 2010. All those years ago we thought it was a trip of a lifetime. It was. But once she gets into your blood, you can\u2019t stay away. 2011 was a quick visit and by 2013 we were visiting for a month each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time it\u2019s 23 days and our last meal tradition is always a burger at Shake Shack. So we are up early and packed by 11.00am. We head out. One last call into Sephora for Mardi and we then loop back for our burger. We sit and watch the passing pedestrian and vehicle traffic on 8th Avenue. It\u2019s a very grey wet and dark morning. The burger is good. Warm. Filling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We leave the restaurant and walk back in the rain. Two AKA umbrellas over our heads. It\u2019s time to say farewell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York isn\u2019t so much a holiday for us as a life journey. As we change over time, so does the city. It evolves with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2019 we\u2019d made nine trips – since 2010 we’d only missed 2017, due to work commitments. The pandemic delayed our tenth visit, but we always knew we\u2019d be back. The big question for us this time was whether the magic we\u2019d discovered between 2010 and 2019 would return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic changed us all in different ways. It changed people, cities and how we all interacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019d created traditions such as Bosie. The pandemic forced its closure. We loved our regular high teas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A visit to Eleven Madison Park, a fine dining Restaurant. While Eleven Madison still exists the pandemic changed it. It is now a plant based space. We sampled it in a pop up in Sydney a while ago and it wasn\u2019t our thing. So we didn\u2019t visit this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But some things never change. The splendour of Central Park, the charm of Greenwich village, the vibrancy of Union Square and the arctic wind that blows right through when you\u2019re walking the High Line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We discovered new experiences. Tea at Harney and Sons. The Upper West Side. Walking without a plan. We\u2019ve experimented more with food and enjoyed more steeet food, especially in Queens. And that\u2019s part of our evolution. We\u2019ve been a bit slower, a bit more relaxed this time. Don\u2019t get me wrong we\u2019ve seen and done a heap, but we\u2019ve also taken a breath. We know the city so well. So getting anywhere is easy and not stressful. We\u2019ve done so much in ten visits that this time we could walk around with our head up a little more and really absorb and enjoy the differences, enjoy the experience. We are also a little slower these days. It\u2019s been 13 years since our first visit and we’re now in our mid-fifties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The evolution will continue. As I said New York is a journey for us. It\u2019ll last as long as we can, I suppose. Direct flights from Sydney aren\u2019t too far off. Which while long will remove the hassles of a stop along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today as we leave we see first hand how changeable the city is. Yesterday it was sunny and 18 degrees. We leave with temperatures around 5 degrees and an inch of rain is currently washing its way through and across the city. Washing the city for the next wave, the next phase of evolution. In a way cleansing it for what\u2019s next. The key thing being no one knows what\u2019s next. That\u2019s the ultimately beauty of New York and why we keep coming back. You never know what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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