New York
In the midst of the pandemic, desperate to get away from home for at least a couple of days, I took the opportunity to book a train journey from Boston to New York. I’d met an architect on a dating app just before the pandemic set in and we had become friends in spite of not being able to meet due to lockdowns. Also, she had met someone locally in New York during the pandemic and was now in a relationship. Nevertheless, she suggested that we meet anyway as we had been chatting for almost a year. Thus, on Saturday morning, the 19th of December, I awoke at 6am, had a shower, dressed, and walked to the station at the end of my street where I took the metro to Boston’s South Station. We had experienced a snowstorm that Wednesday and, as a result, everything was covered in snow. It seemed to be the case each time I was travelling to New York.
At South Station I had a short wait before boarding the beautiful Amtrak train bound for Washington DC upon which one of the stops was Penn Station, New York, where I would disembark and begin my New York weekend. As far as the overall trip, the train ride, for me, is one of the most sensational and enjoyable parts as the train shoots down through Providence, Rhode Island, and then on to the South East coastline through New London, New Haven, and Stamford, Connecticut… a land rich in beauty and historic universities. Upon much of this journey there is beach and sea to the left of the train and forest or harbours to the right. I tried not to gaze to the left too much as a beautiful lady was sat in the seats to my left and I didn’t want her to think that I was staring at her.
Arriving in New York, I exited the station from an unusual exit and took a while to find my way to the hotel. Sadly, it was not ready for check in when I arrived so I dropped my bag and began walking to the historic East Village and the location of the former famous punk club, CBGB, where I would be meeting my friend and, it seemed, her boyfriend. As always, the walk through New York is mesmerizing. Enchanted buildings rising into the sky behind trees stripped bare by winter and the streets filled with people from all over the world looking to make their way. Little did I know that, just before I began my trip, the city had banned inside dining to fight the virus that was surging once more. This meant that all the restaurants had improvised and installed heating outside and, in some cases, had erected temporary huts or tents with heating in which people could be sheltered whilst still being outside.
My friend messaged that she’d be late as they were cycling over and the conditions were worse than they’d originally thought (I had been telling her for several days not to cycle due to the conditions). Thus, I took a photo or two of the CBGB building and then found an Italian restaurant next door with heated outdoor dining. I sat down and ordered a beer. Within a few minutes I was chatting to the staff, starting to feel drunk, and was starting to feel the benefits of taking a trip and breaking routine. I ordered a stronger beer and, due to the walking I had done and the lack of food, started to feel increasingly drunk, but in a pleasant way. My friend and her partner finally arrived and I took an instant liking to both of them. The boyfriend was Australian, and was very calm and funny. We had a few more drinks, some food, then went for a long walk around the east village. A few slips and snowball fights later, we found a bar with outdoor wooden structures that were heated. We sat in one and whilst the couple had tea, I had a cocktail.
That night, the hotel was a disaster. I was on the 5th floor and it seemed that the rooms next to mine had been booked by one party. They spent the entire night slamming the doors of the rooms as they walked back and forth between them. They also spent a lot of time simply standing in the corridors talking, laughing, singing, shouting. Needless to say, I hardly slept. Sunday, I spent the morning watching English soccer in my room but did take a 45 minute walk around Times Square during one of the breaks. On the this walk I found an Irish pub that was 5 stories tall and had an open rooftop bar. As soon as the soccer finished, I checked out of my hotel and went to the bar. It was a beautiful high ceiling rooftop with one side completely open so that it was possible to watch the snow falling and feel completely outside whilst still benefitting from shelter and warmth (a slight warmth, it was still necessary to wear a woolly hat, coat, and gloves whilst drinking). After a few varied drinks served by a very knowledgeable and humorous barman, I left and walked to central park. Once again amazed by New York and, especially, the Christmas atmosphere of the place. Central Park was beautiful but frozen and so I did not stay too long before beginning my journey back to lower Manhattan and to the train station for my journey back home to Boston.
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