I arrived in Manhattan, New York City, with a fierce capsule, any weather wardrobe (and an attitude to match!) an empty suitcase for all my shopping and a head full of dreams. Of course, I'm never happier than when flinging myself, suitably dressed, halfway around the world.
I had made it in one piece deciding to see the sunny side of everything:
Iberia rescheduled my return flight meaning I lost 3hrs - no problem, I'll probably have run out of funds by then!
Iberia no longer let you choose your seat without paying - no worries at least it's an aisle seat on the two and I'm not stuck in the middle of the four!
It will be freezing - chill out! Everything I have packed can be layered on top of each other, plus I can just buy warmer clothes there!
And what about a birthday date, internet or leave it to chance? - I don't have enough time there to leave it to chance, the internet will have to be my Cilla!
(Cilla Black was the host of a UK 80's TV show called "Blind Date").
I got to Yotel later than I had expected and by the time I'd checked in, unpacked and refreshed it was quite late so with the help of Yelp I found myself a Thai restaurant within walking distance. Fair to say the best thing about the meal was the Singha and discovering a Subway opposite the hotel.
The next day, Friday, I rose early got my coffee and muffin to go and hit the streets. It wasn't quite as cold as I thought it would be and I was truly delighted as I marched through Times Square (it's not) on to Grand Central Station, the Chrysler building, Macy's and was stopped several times along the way to be asked "Are you a model?" (Honestly!) and "Where did you get that jacket? It's so cute!". "Cute" is not a word I would use to describe myself but whatever, I'm in New York and sucking up the compliments!
I had done some research before I set out and knew that entrance to the MOMA was free after 16:00, I reckoned most other tourists knew this too and wanted to get there early. I was starving and my feet were killing me (and carrying a kettle from Macy's), now seemed like a good time to head back to the hotel, grab some lunch (Subway) then head back out. Native New Yorker as I now regarded myself as, I decided to take the actual subway. Then behaved like a proper tourist by holding up the queue until someone kindly informed me that if you have a note of 20$ or more the machine won't take it. THANK YOU!
I didn't have time to feel like a twat so, head held high, I strode up to the lady in the booth and asked in my best teacher voice for a metro card, speechless she grinned at me, whilst I considered asking her in Spanish then she said "You're the most polite person I've spoken to all day, of course you can have a metro card young lady and enjoy your stay here in New York!" Kindness my friends, is timeless!
Now, you might be wondering why of all the inexpensive street/fast food options in New York City I was so happy to find a Subway, here's why.... I love Subway, I am (maybe misguidedly) convinced it is healthy and having eaten Subway in Australia, Argentina, Dubai, Spain and UK, I wanted to add USA home of the original Subway to the list. I feel no shame!
Suitably fed and watered I jumped on the subway and sped off to the MOMA. Despite it being full of people taking photos of the works rather than actually looking at them, it was great to get up close to some of my favourite pop art pieces.
It's the weekend, it's my birthday I wanted to be taken out and wined and dined! So, I set up a profile on a dating website a few weeks before I left, explaining exactly that. I figured this would give me enough time to meet someone, have a good idea whether or not we'd get on and maybe, just maybe there might be a whiff of the romantic sparkle dust.
I had a few responses, some mad, some just bad. But it turned out the very first guy to get in touch was on my wavelength and after a bunch of messages and a few Skype chats, we made a date.
That night I was picked up from my hotel by my native New Yorker, "where are we going?" I asked, "The Village" he replied.
The bar was busy but cosy, conversation flowed easily just like the gin and tonics. "You want to go dancing, right?" "Hell yes!" We moved on to the next bar where to my delight a live R&B band were performing and at midnight when I declared "It's officially my birthday!!" a glass of champagne magically appeared!
We got on really well, we spent the next day together having lunch in Soho, taking the Staten Island ferry and dinner in Harlem. Throughly exhausted and wanting an early night before a big day outlet shopping he dropped me off at my hotel. There was no sparkle dust but I made a new friend.
The next day I had devoted to my favourite activity - augmentation of my already extensive wardrobe. I had done some research and had chosen to spend the day at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. I arose early to catch a bus from Penn St station. During the journey there was a palpable sense of anticipation as women conferred in hushed tones over a map of the centre armed with a highlighter (OK, that was only me!).
We arrived to discover the Woodbury Common is an outdoor, village type mall and, in March, very, very cold. However, I did a quick scan and spied my favourite store DKNY and was unperturbed, HERE WE GO!!!!! I had died and gone to shopping heaven. Cozy - 49$, tops for 10$!!!!! I laid down a cool 200$ and left with half the shop.
The rest is a blur as I made my way through my carefully highlighted list of shops and stopped for lunch at..... Subway.
After 7hrs of retail therapy (I think, it was dark when I left), I boarded the bus sated and smug with my many shopping bags and returned to town. Back at my hotel, I decided to stay in in order to make the most of the next morning. Not wanting to miss out on any part of my New York experience, I chose to order a genuine New York pizza. I called the number provided by reception and attempted to place my order, to which the pizza lady replied, "¿Hablas español?" Luckily, I do and the pizza was delicious! 
The next morning I headed out to Central Park - cold, Barney's - even I was scared to touch anything, Bloomingdales - ya, I bought one of those bags and Century 21 - don't believe the hype!
Then it was time to go.
I very much enjoyed soaking up the sights and sounds of this weirdly familiar city (you've seen it so often on TV, it feels like home) and now I was ready to go home.
Thanks Ed, I had a great time!
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