So one time I went to New York City and fell in love. And even though I had to leave and go back to normal life, I kept the love up with pinning all the New York pictures on Pinterest, and listening to songs about New York on repeat, and writing all about New York here, and reading all the beautiful books about New York in the world, and I knew I’d go back.
And then somehow I ended up on the east coast for the summer, and when you’re on the east coast for a quick moment, why not venture down to the best city in the universe? It was a quick trip, but it was so, so, so fantastic. I didn’t get to see everything that I wanted, but I figure I’ll be back again eventually, so I have plenty of time to finish my bucket list up, right?
And now prepare yourself for the most photo-heavy post I’ve ever written, because I WAS IN NEW YORK CITY. {Give me a minute here first, though.}
We are now the masters of public transportation…well, almost. There were about fifty times that we almost didn’t make it, but everything worked out in the end. For example, on step number 1 of getting there, we just about missed the ferry to the mainland because this is Martha’s Vineyard and this is summer and I swear the whole world wanted to ride the bus that day and take their own sweet time doing it, which resulted in an arrival at the ferry after the final boarding call, and a crazy sprint with our suitcases to the boat…but we made it! So that’s good. I would have been severely depressed if we missed that darn ferry.
After the island bus, and then the ferry, it was the bus again to Providence, Rhode Island, and then finally New York City. One of my favorite parts of the entire time was that drive right before we arrived. It was nighttime and we kept passing office buildings and I was pretty sure we weren’t to the actual city yet but the promise of what was so close to me – something that I’d been dreaming of seeing again for three years – kept me on the edge of my seat and my eyes glued to the window to catch the first glimpse of my city. And then there it was, in all its nighttime glory. And I couldn’t stop smiling. Also, everyone else on that bus was so quiet, and calm, and collected, and I swear no one else was freaking out, so the five us had a silent little freak out session in the back two rows because how can you arrive in New York City and not freak out?
The bus took us right into midtown, passing the temple, and skyscrapers that got increasingly taller and fancier. When we got off and took the escalator upstairs, we walked out the doors, straight into midtown, with all its flashing lights and taxis everywhere and we were in the city air and it was lovely.
That night we walked around a bit, ate some street food, and took a taxi (!!!) to our Airbnb apartment in Brooklyn that was so nice and air-conditioned and quiet and right next to the M train and in a sketchy part of town but it had a fire escape right outside our bedroom window, and that charming fire escape made up for the neighborhood in my heart.
The next day and a half was crazy, and wonderful, and full of the Guggenheim, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street, Century 21, Urban Outfitters, bartering in Chinatown, gelato in Little Italy, bomb Italian food for dinner in Midtown, 4-story Forever 21 in Times Square, the M&M store for a quick moment, Central Park, the Met, the upper east side, Shake Shack, and then a hurried taxi to pick up our luggage and get back to the bus terminal in time to leave at 2 pm. And now here are all the pictures that I promised, so I’m going to mostly be quiet while you enjoy them.
Then Mikelle and I skipped the Met in favor of a stroll through the Upper East Side, on the hunt for unique doors and elegant architecture and Shake Shack.
And then just as soon as we got there, we had to go back to the magical enchanted island of Martha’s Vineyard. But you better believe I’ll be back! New York City, I love you, thanks for a swell time, and I’m not done with you yet!
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T E S S 
oh how I loved NYC! your post and pictures brought so many of my own memories flooding back, so thank you!