NEW YORK | I'm back

I know. It's been a long time since my last blogpost. But let's be honest: I've only written a few so I doubt I have much of an audience anxiously waiting for new content at this point.

The reason I've been absent for the summer was because I decided, quite spontaneously, to go work at a summer camp in Canada for a couple weeks. I also had the brilliant idea that, while there, we couldn't possibly miss up on the opportunity to take an overnight bus into New York City. Because it's basically right around the corner from Toronto right? Wrong.

It took us twelve hours in which my butt grew extremely annoyed with being sat on, my body no longer knew if it was supposed to be asleep or awake and my Cheetos decided the floor was a better place to reside than the inside of the bag. Saying that it was quite a journey would be an understatement. But... I was in New York!

Just to get it out of my system: wow! As soon as we set foot outside the bus terminal, we were immersed in the busy streets of midtown Manhattan. Me and my tiny red suitcase got pushed and bumped into left and right until the herd of people delivered us to the tiny doorstep of our hotel. On Broadway.

At this point I almost felt sort of star struck. As if New York was a celebrity rather than a city, a place with big buildings and bright lights. New York really is alive. It's like an overly enthusiastic puppy greeting you at the door by jumping up against you and licking your face.

For two and a half glorious days I had the pleasure of strolling around one of the biggest cities in the world. From Central Park and the National Museum of American History ('Dum Dum wants gum gum') to seeing the original Winnie the Pooh, the Empire State Building, Wall Street and Liberty Island. And dare I say: it. was. everything.

Even though we paid a mere twenty dollars (!) for two ice cream cones and accidentally pissed off a waiter, and despite the rainy morning spent at Times Square, New York was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. It met all my expectations: the subway with its rushed travellers, the yellow cabs, the numerous food carts on the side of the road, it was all there.

So yes, I've been absent for a while. But I was living my best life in New York. Don't come for me!