New York Day 1-3

Hello dear readers, this is soon my last entry! I'm currently sitting in the Subway in New York. Since the rides in this huge city always take so long, I brought my iPad with me and I'm writing about my experiences in New York so far. When I start writing, it's my second day here. I was so tired yesterday. Instead of 4:00 AM, I woke up at 2:00 AM from some noise in Boston and couldn't fall back asleep...I was at the airport at 5 AM, and finally I didn't have any trouble packing the two suitcases. But they are both full, one suitcase has reached the maximum weight of 49 pounds and the other one is 44 pounds heavy 😊

At the airport, I had a delicious breakfast sandwich with Portobello mushrooms, avocado, and tomatoes, and a fruit salad. Yummy!

The flight only lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, it was once again a slightly larger plane with three seats on both sides. I landed in Newark. When I arrived, I was amazed, every restaurant had iPads on all seats (see photos!) Is this perhaps the future? At first, I thought it was just a restaurant that installed the iPads to take orders, but it was really like that in every dine-in restaurant. Somehow progressive, as many people, especially solo travelers, check their emails or surf the internet while they eat. But you also always read how unhealthy that is...

After I picked up my luggage, I wanted to take an Uber. But since the WiFi wasn't working, I had to rely on a taxi. A man with a headset in his ear noticed me and asked if I wanted a taxi. I nodded and he asked me to follow him. But he didn't go in the direction of the taxi stand, but towards the parking garage, which seemed strange to me. I had to go up two floors and asked him if he was an official taxi. He confirmed. But when we arrived at the car, it was just a normal black van, there was no taxi sign to be seen. I immediately said that I won't be coming along, I just wanted an official taxi. He became nervous and grabbed some brochure from the car, which somehow looked like an instruction manual, waved it in front of me and said: 'I am official!' But I turned around immediately and walked back quickly. He yelled after me: 'Why are you running like a baby?' (Well, you can't really call it running with two suitcases 😂) But I don't care, I'd rather be insulted than abducted! Yes, I read and watch too many thrillers, but there are indeed many fraudsters.

A short time later, I was back at the taxi stand and was assigned a driver who could have come from a movie: tall, very fat, Black, wearing a wig, in a summer dress... We took our seats in the ancient Ford taxi, there was hardly enough space in the trunk for my suitcases 🙈 She asked me where I wanted to go, and in a very reassuring way with her typical Afro-American accent she said: 'I have no idea where that is.' She started driving, typing on her phone WHILE DRIVING and swerving dangerously. After about five minutes, she asked me to enter the address. It said that the ride would take about 50 minutes. After another five minutes, she finally buckled up 🙈 The ride was uncomfortable not only because of that, but there was also no air conditioning in the old car. We crossed several bridges and drove through tunnels, had to pay customs several times (after my car tour, I'm becoming more aware of such things!) Here, the customs didn't cost just one dollar, but once even 15 dollars and otherwise 2 dollars. The driver repeated again that she had no idea about the area of Long Island and Queens, but I smiled politely and said that the GPS would bring us to the right place. She turned out to be very nice, told me about her sons and her divorce, and that she had to earn the money alone and would soon go back to school to improve her English, she couldn't finish school... The ride cost a whopping 131 dollars with taxes, tip, and customs. On the way back, I'll take an Uber or Lyft, depending on which one is cheaper!

When I arrived at the hotel, I enjoyed that a staff member took my suitcase, that was already a sign that I had spent a little more money on this hotel. (800 francs for 6 nights) But it was still about 400 francs cheaper than comparable hotels in Manhattan. The room is nice, modern, and clean, and as you can see from the pictures, I have a lot of space, a kind of entrance area, and even a balcony. For the 'final destination' of my trip, I wanted to relax a bit and especially have my own bathroom, as I thought I would be tired and would appreciate the comfort. The hotel was located in an area unknown to me so far, there are many Mexican workers and Mexican restaurants there. I'm still not quite clear about the exact name, sometimes the route description says it is 'Queens', but an Uber driver told me last time that the area is called Astoria (10 minutes from the hotel are the Astoria film studios, a film museum, and a cinema) Well, it doesn't matter. I still think it's well located if you don't just want to see Manhattan or if you don't mind taking the subway. The 39 Av subway stop is 1 minute from the hotel. And 10 minutes away are Queens Plaza and Queensboro Plaza. From there, it's 2 stops to Fifth Avenue! Because of the good location, I only took Uber once, when I was very tired, because the subway is much cheaper (only 2.75 dollars) and the time-saving effect is eliminated when you have to wait so long for the car.

Since I couldn't check in at 11 AM, I just briefly left my luggage and headed towards the subway. I was very tired, but what can you do when you can only check in four hours later. Next to the subway station was a fast food restaurant called 'Checkers', which was still on my to-do list (rather to-eat list 😂). It was paradise, they have very unusual dishes there, so I decided to go for a burger called 'Baconzilla' and 'Chili Cheese Fries', which are fries covered with minced meat and melted cheese! I was actually hungry, but I only managed to eat about half of it. And unfortunately, I felt very sick afterwards... So I later went to a great organic supermarket to buy supplies for the next few days, maybe my body and mind just crave healthy food again ☺️

I went to Union Square and spent some time in the bookstore Barnes & Noble. After that, I made several beauty appointments for the next few days in the area. I strolled through areas on 1st and 2nd Avenue that were completely unknown to me and discovered New York in a completely new way - I was here four years ago, and my memory is not the best, but I mostly remembered New York for its tall, impressive skyscrapers, many people (Times Square!) and shopping streets. On this walk, I discovered many cute little cafes and bakeries, tiny shops, and many stores with fresh fruits. That was more interesting to me than the stores on Fifth Avenue, as I have seen enough of them now (@Bee: I haven't been to a Sephora since the end of August!)

On Friday, after about 12 hours of sleep, I went jogging near the hotel. That wasn't such a great experience because there were many car garages and spare parts dealers around, and it smelled strongly of exhaust fumes. That may also be the reason why I only saw two other joggers! (In Boston, you saw dozens of joggers everywhere!) While jogging, I noticed that New York, apart from the center, actually looks exactly like many other cities I've seen on my trip. Like in Boston, I found residential areas with beautiful red brick buildings and, as mentioned above, many small shops from all over the world. I noticed three differences from other cities, even large cities like Los Angeles, Toronto, or Boston: 1.: There are very rarely pedestrian buttons at the traffic lights (a detail, but it catches my eye😊), 2.: It is SOOOO loud!! Around my hotel, the noise of jackhammers mixes with airplane noise (La Guardia Airport is not far away), and when you go further towards Manhattan, you naturally encounter the typical sirens and constant honking of cars... No wonder there are so many yoga and meditation centers here, and no wonder that many people walk around with headphones! (I'm already looking forward to the soothing sound of the Spreitenbach river 😃) 3.: It stinks!! Again and again, you pass by drains or pipes that transport some vapors/ smells/ stench from the sewer system upwards. And then a food truck is right around the corner again... Roasted almonds...then five meters further hot dogs...I haven't noticed so many smells/ stenches in any other city.

I find it very interesting to discover the city now from a completely different perspective and in a completely new stage of life. When I was here last time, I perceived everything completely unbiased and with amazed eyes, as I had never been to America before. Everything seemed gigantic to me (that's still the case), hectic (but that was mainly because I wanted to shop and experience as much as possible in a short time) and glamorous, like at Times Square. After seeing so many cities and villages and not having a long to-do list anymore, I can now enjoy the almost empty subway at 11:45 AM and go wherever I feel like going. It's truly an exciting city, these differences between residential areas and entertainment and financial districts are very attractive if you were to decide to live here. You can do a lot, but you also find quiet places like parks (or my favorite, to escape the noise: Barnes & Noble 🤗) (about the parks, I have to say that it's not always quiet there either, for example in Washington Square Park, someone played a different instrument every few meters or tap dancers and other performers appeared...)

After jogging, I spontaneously booked tickets for the boat to Liberty Island and Ellis Island and had them printed at the hotel. In place, I was glad to have my already printed ticket, there were of course many people waiting in line! But I still had to wait a bit in the sun because a security check like at the airport was carried out. The ship was amusingly called 'Miss New York'. The shipping company, which was the same as at Niagara Falls (Hornblower), is recommended, you pay 18.50 dollars for the ride and can stay on both islands as long as you like. Tickets can be obtained either online or by lining up at the official counter - apparently, there are also many scammers there who want to rip you off in Battery Park. If you want to take a closer look at the Statue of Liberty, you can also buy a 'Pedestal' or 'Crown' ticket, but they are always sold out early. On Liberty Island, I of course took tons of selfies, as you can see 😊

Back in New York, I continued on to Union Square. On the way, I visited the 9/11 Memorial, which was very impressive... Next to it is a huge, futuristic shopping center (Westfield), which I can't remember from my last visit to New York, maybe it's not been there for long. Since it was so warm, I was in the mood for either ice cream or Cinnabon, but I didn't expect that right next to the Westfield Center there is a Cinnabon outlet in Burger King. Yay! I had been looking forward to eating such a cinnamon roll again for a long time. They are simply the best! But it's almost impossible to eat them 'nicely' (not like a pig 😂) because they have so much icing.

Another thing I always find exciting is when something is going on somewhere. For example, you often see people filming something here, or people queuing up for something. I passed two such blocked queues and wondered what the reason might be. In one case, it was a shop from Google that sold something in the shape of a donut (see pictures) and in the other case, it was simply a bakery that seems to be popular 😊

In Tribeca, I visited another Barnes & Noble branch, and ultimately I attended the 6 PM showing at the cinema at Union Square. I wanted to watch 'The Mountain Between Us' with Kate Winslet (and a cute Labrador ☺️). What an exciting movie about a plane crash! (Kate Winslet in the ice again 😂) In the cinema, I saw trailers of movies that will be released soon, but unfortunately, I'm not in the US anymore: 'Murder on the Orient Express' with many superstars like Johnny Depp (harr!), Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz.... or 'The Snowman', an adaptation of a Jo Nesbø crime novel! I'll have to watch those in Switzerland 😊

On Saturday, I wandered along Fifth Avenue and finished my last shopping. This area completely exhausted me, TOO many people, so much honking, exhaust fumes, crowds everywhere... I'm glad I did my shopping in the other cities because it would take twice as long here with so many people in the stores! As a light at the end of the tunnel, at the end of Fifth Avenue, I found a Lindt shop, so I could get two Lindor truffles for energy 😂 Speaking of food: I ate at a restaurant where I already wanted to go in Boston, '5 Napkin Burger'. The burger is supposed to be so juicy there that you need 5 napkins 😂 At first, I wanted to order the original 5 Napkin Burger, but since there was an Oktoberfest special advertised, I opted for the 'Knockwurst' burger. It tasted interesting, especially the mustard-onions, I've never had that before!

In the evening, I planned to visit the 'Queens Night Market', which I discovered on the internet. They have many food and other stalls there. But I walked around the huge area for about an hour (it's a park with several sports stadiums, a zoo, a museum, a theater, and more) and I only saw two or three carnival rides. Unfortunately, there was no bus or subway stop in sight, so I had to walk a long way back. It was already dark and slowly getting cold, not so pleasant for an evening walk. But what can you do. I'm in no hurry. The area, like around my hotel, was also populated by South Americans, Latino trumpet sounds were played on the street, and there were many Latino supermarkets. I even found a plain yogurt there (you rarely find that!) but unfortunately, it didn't taste anything like the yogurts in Switzerland.

On Wednesday, my last post about New York will follow, where I'll tell you about my experience as a spectator at a late-night show and - if the result doesn't look terrible - show you my new hairstyle, I have an appointment tomorrow to cut and refresh my color 😃