The Danger of Expectations - Surprises in New York

I love hearing about peoples trips and seeing their photos, as I start building ideas on a country or city and whether it's somewhere that needs to move up my travel list. While the world swoons over New York, it had never really appealed to me. Vegas, yes, Hawaii, yes, the cities of the Civil War & Deep South, yes, Alaska, most definitely. But New York? Not a shopper, and tall buildings don't really do it for me. And that was what all my friends had mentioned - "Oh, you must shop here" "Go to the top of the Empire State Building" and so on.

My partner got into the New York Marathon, so we were off, and I had no choice in the matter of destination.

I begrudgingly went, investigated a few things I knew I would enjoy, gathered recommendations rather half-heartedly (The number of people who told me to spend a day at some outlet centre in the suburbs was amazing. I wouldn't do that here so I have no idea why they thought I'd spend one precious day out of seven in a new city in a shopping mall?!).

As you can imagine, I loved New York! What's not to love? There was a whole world that had never been mentioned to me, or at least not described in a way that would sell me on the destination.

1. The Village Feel

I didn't realise how much of Manhattan is low rise. We spent most of our time in the Meatpacking, Greenwich, SoHo and so on, where there was a feeling of space and community. I loved pottering around these areas, and if I had my time again, we'd stay there. I was also completely taken by surprise to discover big modern New York had cobble stone streets!
One of my favourite moments was watching from the High Line, and seeing the workers unpacking carcasses of meat on one side and on the other side of the street, the glamorous high end fashion boutiques and their patrons. It was a surreal juxtaposition that gave me great delight.

2. The Historic areas

I loved the area around Columbia and Grant's Tomb. Not one person ever told me to visit there but the vibe is completely different to anything else on the island. I felt I'd almost been transported back in time to mid-century England, by the architecture and remoteness. In a busy city, the lack of people can have a profound effect. While I'd been prepared for how different certain areas would be - Chinatown, Spanish Harlem and so on, I hadn't really understood how enormously different the architecture was across all parts of the city.

3. Quirkiness

Linking with #MuralMonday

I was repeatedly told of all the sophisticated things we could do in New York. Opera, Concerts, Restaurants - and I did love those things. More delightful though, was the quirky art works or displays we would stumble across as we strolled from here to there. This is by far the best thing about New York, and if travelling with kids, something they will enjoy, no matter what the planned itinerary of the day. They will be entertained just walking the streets.

4. The Friendliness

We were constantly helped by strangers - we didn't ask, they'd approach us and offer directions, advice or just recommend something to see. On the subway, safety advice was given, on a corner, directions offered as we looked about in confusion. The reputation of New Yorkers seems to be an undeserved myth, in my opinion. They are proud of their city and happy to share it with visitors.

Of course, it worked in reverse too - we stayed the first few nights in an apartment in a youth hostel so we then had enough money to switched to a suite for big bucks in a hip hotel. The suite was smaller than our room in the hostel, had noisier lifts and air-conditioning that didn't work. All for $800 a night more. The fab bar, where we held our post race celebration, had the worst service - and for $30 a drink, I got to clear the table too. I won't name and shame but I will never return to them.

In The Phantom Tollbooth, Juster writes "Expectations is the place you must always go before you get to where you're going. Of course, some people never go beyond Expectations" New York was a lesson for me. Everyday it exceeded my expectations, sometimes by the art in the gallery, or the magnificent performance at the Opera, or the intimate Marsalis concert in the Lincoln Centre, but more often than not, by something delightful on the street, just as we passed by.

Practicialities:
The High Line  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highline
Columbia University  http://www.columbia.edu/
General Grant National Memorial  http://www.nps.gov/gegr/index.htm
Lincoln Centre  http://lc.lincolncenter.org/

Quote from The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster, Collins Modern Classic, 1961 p.17.

Linking with #OurWorldTuesday