Wanderlust

From the beautiful heat of an Australian January, to sitting in the back of a cab driving through Queens with a numb sensation coursing through my entire body. How on earth did I end up here? Impulse. Pure impulse could land you on an overseas flight. Maybe it’s simply because I have an incurable case of Wanderlust. There’s nothing quite like throwing yourself into an unfamiliar city, learning to navigate your way through unfamiliar streets and even waiting for 5 hours in a line when it is snowing. When in Rome! Well... when in New York! I booked flights on Webjet, used Air BnB for accommodation and before I knew it I was sitting on an airplane, on my way to New York in the 4th coldest winter the city has ever experienced, or as I later learned was affectionately nicknamed “The Polar Vortex”. I will always remember stepping out of the terminal at JFK and taking that first breath of air. I thought my lungs had immediately frozen and were about to shatter into a million pieces. When I finally got into a cab and headed to the promising and vivacious island that is Manhattan, I knew that my adventure had begun. My ears had gone bright red, my nose felt like it was about to snap off, and my heart was beating at a superhuman pace because to me it was all just proof that I was living one of my dreams. I was staying in an apartment on 9th Avenue in a suburb named Hells Kitchen. Much cleaner and friendlier than it sounds folks! Customers in cafes and stores would hear my accent and have a chat, giving me hints on little gems that were hidden from the tourist spectrum of things to do, and I got to experience two sides of the same city. While the public transport system is excellent in New York (buses, trains, horse carriage rides, you name it), I decided to mostly get around on foot. That way I would really get to experience the city and notice little things I wouldn’t normally have noticed. If I can recommend one particular walk, it would be to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s probably about a 45-minute walk over the bridge. You get such stunning views of the Manhattan Skyline. On my trip I discovered how independent and adventurous I can truly be. I’d never travelled on my own and it was liberating! No pun intended about Lady Liberty. I would recommend visiting New York to anyone who is willing to have an adventure in a fast paced, bustling city full of life and experiences waiting to happen!