Our first day in New York felt like a dream, that comes as no surprise after all as you’d expect we were severely jet lagged! But Day #2 was coming on strong….
Day #2 New York, I love you
I woke up fresh at 8 in the morning local time which is something that rarely never happens… The time in Belgium must have been…… I do not care o’clock! We treated ourselves with some sugar full sweet bagels for breakfast from the local deli and after that, we stepped out and started walking around in Williamsburg so that we could get to know our way around a little bit. There is a very European vibe in Brooklyn, although still very different. Williamsburg has interesting restaurants and bars in every corner, it is filled with hipster-y second hand clothes shops, artsy bookstores, pop up stores and loads of pizza joints of course. A few blocks away from the place we were staying is where I first saw and fell in love with Whole Foods 🤩. I kid you not, I love this place! I might just go back to New York only to be able to shop from that shop again. Capitalism, hipster and ‘fake’ Bio shit in their full glory and I am loving it.
En suite, we took the metro the train (that’s how they call the metro in New York apparently ) and we hopped off when we reached Central park. Let me tell you, even the simple fact of taking the train was exciting in New York! I realise that it is the magic of being on holidays where even the simplest boring fact of public transport is an enjoyable experience. Still, beats taking STIB. Not to mention that the view on some of these routes…..just breathtaking.
Take me to the Times Square!
The first thing we saw coming out of the station next to the central park was the Drumpf tower (edit: turns out that was the Drumpf Hotel as we found out later on from Matthew) what an ugly – pretentious – show off that I am rich – old fucking building much like the person who built it…. However, we did not lose any time there and instead walked our way straight to Time’s Square like real tourists do 😁 Time’s square was a bit smaller than I imagined but really busy and flashy like I was in a Japanese game show or video game. I saw ads of all the broadway shows all around me and realised that I should have done some research before visiting New York. I really wish I could see ‘The school of Rock’ or the ‘Mean Girls’ musical (a note for next time I visit)
In Time’s square there are ads for literally everything it is an advertiser’s heaven. Of course I could not help but thinking what a challenge would be to make and ad for a space that big and busy that will have to look attractive enough ands as to capture people’s attention amongst a million other images that are fighting for your eyes.
If there is one place where you will be expected to constantly look up it is there for sure. Aaaaand there it was, in the most touristic area of Manhattan where my dear husband fell in the tourist trap. While holding his camera trying to capture every moment in the busy streets he got caught in the web of fake Spiderman. This guy just approached us and started to pose in front of the camera proposing all sorts of funny poses that you could just not say no to! At that moment we felt foolish to give 20 dollars for a few pictures with a man in a costume but right now it is just a funny story to tell. And the pictures are not that bad either!
On our way to Broadway!
We spent the rest of the day walking on Broadway avenue storming shops such as Macy’s, the Hard Rock Cafe, Toys R Us, the lego store and the geeky Forbidden planet. After the shop frenzy calmed down a little bit, it would not be worth it to spend all of our money just on the first day anyway, we ate some delicious hot dogs from a truck and visited the legendary Flat iron building. It is very impressive, makes me wonder how would it look on the inside… do we know? I am sure we don’t otherwise there would be pictures of that somewhere online…..
No sleep in Brooklyn
In the evening we headed back to Brooklyn and to Warsaw Concerts a big venue not so far form where we stayed, to see a hardcore show that Tanguy had tickets for. I had no clue which band we were going to see and I was not really enthusiastic about seeing a hardcore concert with bands I did not know. Hardcore is not an easy genre to love, I would prefer to see a drag show instead but again I had done zero research but in the end it was a good night. People in new York know how to party; see for yourself. The venue was big with tall ceiling which means that it is perfect for concerts, there was a bar in the next room where I could escape the mosh pit whenever I needed a break and drink a beer. The energy of the concert was something else like most hardcore shows I have seen with Tanguy even more lively, I do not know if it was still jet lag, my energy was on an all time low and I could see all these young tattooed girls jumping up and down insanely making me feel a bit like a grandma because while I loved the vibe, I felt like if I moved I would break all of the bones in my body!!!!! I was happy to be back to the AirBnB after the concert to sleep!!!!! I am excited for Day #3!!!!!!
Yes there is a Pain Quotidien in New York and no I did not go to eat there and by the way it is not a big deal ugh.
