The City that never sleeps
New York.
Such a big city, so little time.
A little while ago I hopped on another airplane to finally discover the Big Apple. First time for me. By now I got pretty much used to the fact that in the US everything is bigger. But when you're standing at the Top of the Rock (the Skydeck of the Rockefeller center), breathing in the fresh air, and just watch the sky changing it's color to purple at first, and then turning into a deep, dark blue before the night completely covers the city that never sleeps. A million lights turn on, and I try to remember the last time I actually saw the stars. Must have been somewhere in the desert between Nevada and Arizona.
It is indeed an impressive city. It's loud, people are rushing, always in a hurry, and the first day it took me a while until I managed to be run over by those hectic humans all the time.
But I got used to it.
I arrived early in the morning on Thursday and met up with Leo, who arrived the day before, in our supposedly "beautiful, clean room" in Queens. Well. Despite the lack of necessities like toilet paper and the continuous absence of the hosts or other residents that knocked at the front door like maniacs in the middle of the night it was... A room. It's not like we wanted to move in there. But hey, the price was okay.
We used the first day to take a stroll through the city. Central park. Went downstairs to discover the biggest Apple shop I've ever seen. We had the best burger in Soho, visited fish markets in China town and had Cannoli and a talk with a helpful restaurant manager in Little Italy. Shivered when facing Ground Zero. Walked the Brooklyn Bridge in the golden light of the lowering sun. Tried not to get run over by people at the Times Square.
The night ended with a beer at a rooftop in Manhattan with a few former international cast members. I love how the Disney program brings people from all over the place together, and no matter how different their characters might be, there's always something that connects you.
By the end of that day we were exhausted, but it was amazing.
Day two - well, you can't go to New York for the first time without visiting a certain Lady. So despite the rain we took the ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty. After following that audio guide with the familiar voice we hopped on the next boat again to spend the rest of the day in the museum of Ellis Island. Setting foot on the ferry that brought us back to the city again felt disturbing after learning so much about immigration in the last centuries.
We made it back, bought an overpriced but also oversized umbrella because the rain got really annoying, and wandered around until it was finally time to take a seat in the Amsterdam theatre to cross another thing off my bucket list - a Broadway musical! Since we got a cast member discount we chose Aladdin. Even though no musical will ever beat Wicked as my favorite, it was amazing. I loved the performance, the stage setting, the songs, the jokes and especially James Monroe Iglehart, who just killed it as genie! And of course the magic carpet ride through a night sky of shooting stars.
Saturday and Sunday was all planned out. For a second time we were welcomed under the sparkling eyes of the crystal owl as "headliners" at the Electronic Daisy Carnival. The EDC New York was similar to the one we went to last year in Orlando - the main stage was the same, a few acts as well, but it was way bigger. And so much colder. And rainy. After pondering long enough for other people to almost buy out the stores we finally decided to get jackets from the merchandise shops, because with temperatures around 10°C and wind it was just too uncomfortable.
One day probably would have been enough, but again it was a great experience. Zedd was probably the best act, but also Oliver Heldens, Afrojack, Kaskade, Dillon Francis, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, David Guetta... After two days of raving I could've used some sleep...
But of course the trip wasn't over yet. I continued exploring NY alone since Leo left to visit his family. Alone in the Big Apple. I enjoy the feeling of being anonymous, independent, among hundreds of people hurry down the streets, while I can just stand still for a minute and watch the craziness around me, appreciate that I'm lucky enough to travel to so many places.
I finally visited the Museum of Modern Arts, saw so many paintings that I remember being projected to the wall during art history lessons, but it's way more impressive and awesome if you're actually standing in front of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or the reason why I started to love arts to begin with, Dalí's "The Persistence of Memory". I spent most of my day there until closing time, mostly in the rooms dedicated to post-impressionism.
Little did I know: As a cast member I would've gotten in the museum for free. Next time!
Last stop for the day: Top of the Rock to watch the sunset over this amazing city.
Another place on my list was Ground Zero with the 9/11 museum. I still shiver thinking about it. They did a great job with the museum, and if you ever get to visit it, you will leave with images and voices in your head that you will never forget. Phone calls from the victims on the plane, or from friends of those trapped in the building, leaving their message on a mailbox that will never reach the recipient. And for me personally, besides so many shocking photo and video footage, I also can't forget stopping in front of a half-burned sign saying "that's all folks", that they recovered from a Warner Brothers Store in the shopping mall underneath the World Trade Center.
I walked miles and miles through the city, browsing thrift stores and visiting Williamsburg. The Starbucks there is probably the definition of the hipster subculture.
After enjoying the nice view at the skyline of New York from a little beach-ish strip, having a mediocre lunch because I was fooled by how cute the café looked, and a last visit to Times Square I picked up my luggage and hopped back on the plane, home to Orlando.
Not for long though - the next trip is right around the corner!
