Since I was eight years old, i've had this *little* obsession with New York, after being bought Home Alone 2 on video, my love affair began, I wanted to be just like Kevin McCallistar, go on the huge airplane, sit in a hotel room stuffing my face with all the yummy deliciousness, I wanted to play all day in FAO Schwartz, and I wanted to walk through a snowy Central Park and feed the pigeons with the scary lady. My first crush began and I need to go, pronto.
It soon became obvious, this wasn't just a silly crush, this was to be my first true love!
I would talk about it all the time, watch the film every day, I would beg my mum to take me there, and she promised, she promised that before I turned 18, I would go. I held on to that promise.
February 14th 2009 started like any other day, except my Mum had insisted I go to the airport with her to pick up a family friend, obviously being the lazy teenager I was I moaned a little, but then I agreed to go along, I can always go back to bed when i'm back after all!
So we are standing in the airport, with my Mum and Step Dad (why we all needed to be there I don't know), she asks me to check her passport to make sure it was definitely hers so I open it up, and panic hits..
"Mum, you've got my passport, this isn't yours!"
I'm then told,
"You might as well have this as well then"
and given to me was a New York Guide Book, things still didn't trigger for me, I remember feeling confused, then I'm asked
"Would you like to go?"
Thats when I realised, in that moment I WAS GOING TO NEW YORK, RIGHT NOW, I instantly burst into tears, this was it, it's actually going to happen.
I can't even begin to tell you how magical this trip was. Stepping off the plane and heading off to our hotel, even just driving along the roads made me feel content, there's something about America that makes me feel at home! That first sight of the city itself was incredible, the child in me was jumping up and down in my seat, squealing with excitement!
It was everything I could have imagined, 9 years of planning and expectations this City had to live up to, I knew damn well it wasn't going to let me down. Over the next 4 days, we visited so many places, the obvious ones, the Statue of Liberty at Sunset, The Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Centre, we even visited a British Pub to watch a game of footy on the tv! (necessity obviously!). We ventured to Madame Tussauds, The Nikon Camera shop, Ground Zero and even had a magical limousine ride through Times Square!
I've been yearning to go back ever since we came home almost 7 years ago! A part of me is still somewhere in the midst of New York and I think it would only be fair to head over there again in a few years. So in 2019, I am off again, however this time, I will be sharing the magic with Abbie, sharing with her my most favourite place in the whole world, experiencing some of the things I missed before and watching her soak up every little bit. And of course it'll have to all begin with snuggling up and watching Home Alone 2 together, at the same age I was, only 20 years later.
What's your favourite holiday?
