So many people in New York City walking the streets alone, some with cameras, some with suitcases, some with the most absurd handbags you could imagine, drifting from place to place, ticking off the sights as they go.

My body clock is a mess, a dawn that went forever and patchy sleep on the plane has left me too tired to speak at 6pm and wide awake at 1am… I guess its the lag right?

So here I lay at 1am penning this post to you all.

My hotel, as expected is a shit hole. It is old, dirty and run down… you know that point where stuff isnt antique, it’s not ‘still good’, It’s just crap…. yeah that’s Hotel Pennsylvania. I didn’t expect more, it’s the midtown location I was after.

The day was spent walking the city, I found the bar for lunch I’d head about a few blocks from my hotel, District Taphouse. True to their online claims they had a superb tap list. What better way to wash down a New York burger than a Grimm Splish Double IPA from Brooklyn… what a spectacular beer! I won’t lie, an out of towner grabbed my attention for first drinks though… this was from Hill Farmstead, a gorgeous IPA called Harlan. Harlan was like dank fresh weed in a glass… just mental. I feel so spoilt!

When a New York barmaid with a gruff voice tells you ‘Darlin, you know your way around a beer list’ you know your preparation and research has paid off 😉

From the lunch spot, I ventured west through the Garment District to the northern end of The High Line and jumped on. Wow, what a great way to see city, I walked the entire length ending up down on W 14th St where I hopped onto the path along the Hudson River down to W Houston St in Lower Manhattan. From, here, steadily making my way back through the Midtown chaos back to where I started.

I’m not much of a city person, more than anything else, I am curious why people are drawn together like this to all live on top of one another. I can think of nothing worse. I guess this is why my initial way to see the city was from an old raised railway turned into a huge park… at least its kinda back to nature in such a bonkers place. Anyways, I won’t harp on about my disliking cities, I did just fly into one of the biggest so I best shut up and explore.

I best be resting my tired legs, tomorrow will be more adventure… this post will need revision as my brain function has slowed…

 

3am, can’t sleep… the air conditioner in my room is broken and the endless sirens are driving me crazy… how do people sleep in this town?

Reflecting on my first day in Manhattan, I’m pretty happy with how I went, I covered a lot of miles, saw a heap of the city I didn’t expect to see on my first day. Sampled some amazing beers, had one those crazy novelty size NYC burgers, checked out a few shops along the way… a job well done really. My photography could be better, much better. I’m struggling isolating something to focus on, there’s just so much, it’s so huge. We’all see how that progresses in the morning… if I ever sleep.