I once heard it described as the ‘capital of the world‘ and for me it really feels that way.
In fact, even though I’ve been there many times already (even before I was a travel writer) – I’m about to go back again.
I am of course talking about New York City, USA. I know, I feel like it’s the biggest cliché in travel, saying: I Love NY, (like the t-shirt).
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Checking out Tiffany and Co around 20 years ago. (Supplied)
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I’ve only met one person who declared she did not share my adoration for the city – we are no longer friends.
For me, New York is just the ultimate destination. I love it so much I am willing to pay to fly all the way there from Sydney just for three days, as part of a trip elsewhere in the US.
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It’s hard to describe why I am so devoted to it. It’s just ‘that’ buzz. The feeling of being at the centre of everything.
Of course I’ve done all the tourist sites, but these days it’s all about the simple pleasures – wandering the busy streets, rummaging in vintage shops, drinking vodka cranberry in a dive bar, and catching a Broadway show (or five) is enough for me.
The NYC skyline is world famous. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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I remember the first time I visited. I was 17. I was with my mum on our first trip from the UK to America, after my dad died.
It was supposed to be a family trip, but we left it too late for him.
Instead, my mum and I drove up to the fancy Roosevelt Hotel (now closed and recently housing asylum seekers) in a yellow taxi, absolutely gobsmacked.
We did a helicopter ride, visited the Statue of Liberty, shopped in Macy’s (DKNY clothes, Hard Candy nail polish and CDs were the hottest buys back then) and went to the top of the World Trade Centre.
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Checking out old department store, Barney’s in New York in 2016. (Supplied)
The Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown was the first hotel I ever stayed at in NY. (Getty)
Those were the days when you’d book a package trip from a holiday brochure at a travel agent (it cost around $1000 for five days I recall) and attend a ‘welcome meeting.’
I recall the host taking a pen and scribbling through the Lower East Side on our paper map: Do Not Go Here.
A couple of decades later though, it was an area I’d party in after its transformation to trendy.
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In TImes Square, tourist hub. (Instagram)
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That first holiday more than 25 years ago sparked a lifelong obsession.
I returned with my pals in the late 90s when hiring a stretch limo to get from the airport was the coolest thing I’d ever done (even if we did pull up at the Comfort Inn).
At one point I had a friend who moved to Manhattan. It was a thrill to visit and hang out with ‘locals,’ (albeit when I lived in the UK when it was much closer).
And I’ve returned multiple times with my husband, with pals, and even solo (when I met some new friends in a musical singalong bar).
Taking the subway in NYC. (Supplied)
From standing on a Broadway stage, (thanks to an actor I know) to wandering the lesser-known parts of Central Park on a local’s tour (where we saw a man walking his tortoise), I’ve experienced so much in the city.
I’ve skated on the ice at Central Park, ventured to beachside Coney Island, and dined on Puerto Rican food in Washington Heights.
As a keen youngster, I waited for hours to spot celebrities outside film premieres and awards shows (must dig out that photo of me with Tom Cruise).
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I’ve experienced so much in the city. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
I’ve stayed in hostels where you’d be woken in the night by a security guard as ‘someone hadn’t paid’ and others with head-height walls between the ‘private rooms’.
And I’ve splashed out on the hottest new Ian Schrager hotel.
I once even rented a fancy sublet with a doorman off Park Avenue on website Craigslist for six weeks and pretended that was my life (you could see the Empire State Building from the loo).
Of course, there have been NYC mishaps too.
I once had a mirror fall on my head in an Airbnb and had to go to an emergency doctor with concussion. I was ordered to spend the next few days in bed.
I’ve sweltered in smelly, steamy summers and I’ve bundled up in minus 12 degrees.
I even went on a night out with a dating expert when I was writing about being single ala Carrie Bradshaw style… but failed to find Mr Big.
Though, I did eventually marry an American, but not from New York.
I’ve been to this city ten times – but I’m going back again (Supplied)
Things have changed a lot since my first visits.
I recall using tokens for the subway, when $1 equalled US$1 and when every bill didn’t demand a 20 per cent tip.
When getting your nails done at a salon was a novelty not yet offered outside America, and the food portions were the size of your carry on suitcase.
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Magnolia Bakery is famous for banana pudding. (Getty)
Speaking of food, while New York is home to some of the world’s best restaurants there are three things I can’t wait to eat again on my upcoming trip.
New York pizza slices, bagels and banana pudding (a creamy southern dessert) from Magnolia Bakery.
Just like the city, there’s nothing else like them.
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