Guilt-trip all over from last night, this morning we got all packed up and put our cases behind the reception. We were still leaving today, but at 11:50pm, so we didn't exactly wan't to be hauling around all our heavy luggage through Manhattan all day! We had some breakfast, i had some sausages with fried potatoes which was lovely, and LOADS of coffee this morning. I knew I would need that caffeine boost for later on in the airport.
We didn't have much planned for this day i guess, as part of the day involved leaving the hotel and all that airport malarky (which by the way, takes 10 times more if you are travelling to or from America, when compared to Europe. The Americans are SO careful about all the checks and everything. I suppose you can't blame them really...). However, today me and my friends went shopping in Soho, and had a meal in China Town. Bought a few lovely things in Soho- a nice bracelet, a cool neon orange croptop (to wear in Glastonbury Fest- not EVER anywhere else of course!!) and a nice cheap pair of skinny jeans. I'm not sure though that i was terribly impressed by Soho, or Chinatown infact. I thought Soho would have been a very posh area, but really it was just a bit of a slummy place with a few expensive shops really- thats all. And China Town- My God! How terribly underwhelming! I mean,I have been to the one in LA and it was much nicer, much more colourful exotic fruit + veg stalls and dragon-y things lying about. This place was just a dump really. Our tutor took us to a little restaurant called "Jaya". The food was allright but i wouldn't really reccomend it that much. Our group of 31 ate in a sort-of "banquet style"- they brought out several dishes and we all served ourselves from these big platters. That would have been a cool idea if the different dishes hadn't arrive at such radically different times like it did. It was like, yaay, a few spoonfuls of beef in black bean sauce........waiting.....waiting....oooh here comes another dish! Oh wait its just some plain rice, which we dont have any other dishes at this time to have it with. And the chinese female managaress, even though she had agreed previously with our tutor how much the group was going to pay, she tried making him pay more AND tip more at the end- which was so rude and ridiculous, they were like properly arguing and everything. Its like- we just brought 31 people to this dump that was completely empty, and now your making us pay more? Yeah- Basically, a little lame. Still, the group had fun, messing around with chopsticks though, haha.
After the meal it was kinda time to go back to the hotel, grab our bags, and start our long journey back to good ol' blighty!
So what did I think of The Big Apple? Well i had a wonderful time, and i found the trip really interesting- as usually all the people I hang around with/ my friends are all at least 30, so i suppose it was a bit of a change to suddenly be hanging round with two dozen 16 year olds, lol. It made me realise that in some ways, I am younger than i think, and that every so often i do miss having friends my own age to hang around/ go out for meals/ socialise with. The girls that I was staying with reminded me so much of my friends i had at school as well, so the whole experience was fairly nostalgic. But then again, i reckon there must be a reason why over the past few years i haven't made any friends my own age. Don't know what it is, but perhaps i act like i'm in my forties without even realising it. Also, my opinion about my own generation still remains the same- 90% of the people my age that I have ever met (and basically everyone on this trip except the girls I was hanging about with) are utter screaming morons. They are into crap music, they are repetitive, they talk about absolutely NOTHING, they have no class, and they are utterly obsessed with how themselves and others look. And they say the most stupid things as well, its just like, GOD shut up. They may be able to get better A levels than me perhaps, but could they cold a reasonable conversation in a group of people at least double age- No. Hell no.
Sorry, going on a bit of a rant there. I liked New York, but i'm not sure I liked most of the "New Yorkers". Here is a brilliant example of the New Yorker attitude:
I see them as more British in a way, than America. Remember- I am totally over-generalising here. But i have met Calafornians, Nevadans and Floridians, and overall they much more friendly and more what we would think of as stereotypically American (you know, the whole "have a nice day!" thang). New Yorkers (the middle aged/older ones at least- the true new yorkers) are much more sarcastic and ironic, like the english, and they don't suffer fools gladly. If you say anything stupid, or ask perhaps a bit of a touristy question, they are a bit aggressive about it, like "what? you mean The Chrysler building? whaddaya mean? huh!?". But i guess you tend to have more rude people in capital cities- a lot of people will say people in London or Paris are ruder than people in the rest of the country. I could certainly vouch for that.
I felt like i got so much done and saw so much. The only thing i didn't really bother with was going to see a Broadway show, but i feel like i hadn't missed out too much really. It was really expensive (about $130/£100 a ticket) and i'm not too big on the theatre anyway.
I didn't fall in love with the city, and i think the only reason i would come back would be to go with my boyfriend or friends again- and show them around the sites. I feel the most knowledgable about a city after leaving it than i ever had before- after five days i feel like i could bring back people and show them round- as if i had lived there!
Overall a fun, yet tiring trip. When i go for my next holiday, i wouldn't mind having a bit of a lazy beach holiday really. Just sleeping as much as I want, eating loads, drinking coctails, and getting a bit of a tan. I love all these holidays when you see all the sights, and walk around everywhere- but next time i go away, i just want to relax, let go a little- have a bit of a break.
I'm thinking somewhere in Italy next, so maybe my next foodie travel blog entries will be all about pizza, pasta and gelato! Until next time, Ciao Bella!
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