“Travel Isn’t Always Pretty. It Isn’t Always Comfortable. Sometimes It Hurts, It Even Breaks Your Heart. But That’s OK. The Journey Changes You; It Should Change You. It Leaves Marks On Your Memory, On Your Consciousness, On Your Heart, And On Your Body. You Take Something With You. Hopefully, You Leave Something Good Behind.”
Anthony Bourdain
After months of planning I made it on my first solo trip to New York. I’m going to give you guys the process, the feels, and experiences , and what did I learn. One thing I’ve learned over time is you can continuously find reasons not to do something….you can wait for people to solidify plans or you can take a leap of faith and just do it. I’ve always been the type to mention planning trips to friends but trying to coordinate the times and availability of multiple people is sometimes unreal and you’ll be planning forever. So on a whim I just booked a ticket to New York in October and I told myself I’ll figure it out. I had 4 months to put it together.
The Process
Like I said, I had four months to put it together so it was pretty sweet to plan; nothing too stressful. Since I bought my ticket early it was super cheap…about $100 round trip, I paid a little extra for my seats and added my checked bags later. Once that was done I had to figure out what New York was like in January so I could decide what I needed to pack and what type of activities I wanted to partake in. I asked around…and basically NY is pretty cold in January. I live in South Florida where cold is about mid 70s maybe a little lower if we get lucky which meant i needed to invest in some serious outerwear and boots. So throughout those four months I did some MAJOR shopping but luckily Black Friday and holiday sales were among us. Next, I did some research just to see what necessities people found important when traveling alone. I must say traveling alone as a woman is fun but it can definitely be intimidating. Everyone is literally in fear for you, the article I read definitely mentioned a rape whistle…(for some reason I found that funny because it’s a real thing…dark humor sorry), i also saw something about making an itinerary so worst case scenario someone knows where you are, and just being extremely aware. I was a little shooketh but I lived on my own for years now so that sounded pretty accurate. A week before leaving I decided to purchase my airbnb. I don’t recommend doing that if your picky about where your staying. Being that I was traveling alone, I wanted to stay somewhere that had transportation nearby, bars and shops within walking distance, and not too far from the city…all for a reasonable price. Now, try matching that criteria a week before your trip…It took some real dedication but I ended up in a pretty cute place in Williamsburg. I would say those were the main things I had to get together before making it on this trip.
The Experience (What Really Happened)
So I had to get there. For some reason I always fly jet blue…it just works. My wonderful cousin woke me up early…got me to the airport nice and early…But of course it wouldn’t be my flight if it wasn’t delayed two hours. It was cool though I had time to wait 30 minutes in line for a plain bagel with cream cheese and socialize.I actually met someone from DR going to NY for a wedding, someone else from Jamaica heading back to Georgia, and another person from Flatbush. All super nice. The flight was dope somehow I ended up with free drinnks, and no I am not a member of anything so that was a plus;the flight was empty so it was quick in and out. When we landed I got my luggage fast and caught a lyft and this is where my NY trip begins…
Day 1
Let me tell yal…I tried to be cheap and do the little Lyft ride share”saver”. You just walk a little bit…no big right. YO first of all they dropped me off like a block away from my airbnb at night WITH LUGGAGE and it was cold asf. My attitude was on 10 during that walk. I finally get to my airbnb building and end up dragging my luggage up and down 3 floors in the wrong direction. Anyone who knows me knows I pack like I’m not coming back. NY was like 30 degrees that night I was sweating like it was 90 at that point but eventually I found it. NY started a little rough but after I got adjusted it was about like 8:00 so I was like what the hell.. I might as well go for a stroll grab food. I ended up at this cute spot Bā’sik in Williamsburg. I always get bourbon or whiskey drinks as my first drink whenever I’m somewhere cold. Warms the soul lol. I definitely ordered one of those and I had the most amazing pork sandwich; the bartender was on point making drinks but also with the playlist. He played all the 90s throwbacks you wanna hear. It was definitely a vibe. I found myself socializing again and ended up participating in this event where I made gourmet salts and sugars. Somehow 2/3 am crept up on me…myself and a few of the people i met decided to leave and we break off in our different directions. Five minutes of me walking by myself my phone dies and I have no idea what street I came from. Everyone is always like you can’t look lost in NY…It was definitely too late for that. I didn’t panic but I had to legit start approaching people to tell me where I was and where I needed to be, I eventually made it back and called it a night.
Day 2
Thursday. I actually did take the advice from the article about traveling alone and made an itinerary so I pretty much knew what I was trying to touch on everyday. In this case I signed up for a 6 hour walking tour of NY through airbnb. Google maps transit came in clutch because I had to meet up with the tour group in the city which meant I was catching the train. Surprisingly, catching the train came to me pretty naturally and that’s how I mainly got around everyday. Timothy was our tour guide and he was the bomb. Hes a born and raised New Yorker so the way he would tell you stories about the different locations was A1, super detailed and from his own personal experiences. We went to the Rockefeller center,Central Park, St Patricks Cathedral, NBC, we took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and the 9/11 memorial. I think the 9/11 memorial had to be my #1 location that we visited. Partially because Timothy’s real time story of where he was during 9/11 gave me chills. And when looking at the memorial he explained how every piece of it was created with meaning the way the names are arranged, the water, the trees all had a meaning. After walking those 6 hours I wanted to convince myself I was going to go out but it definitely ended up being a night of Hulu and chillin.
Day 3
Friyay! I remember Friday pretty well. Idk what it was about how I slept the night before but I woke up feeling amazinggggg. I had a jam sesh to Easy Life. Morning vibes on point! So after an hour or two of that, I was back on the train to Bushwick to meet a friend. I actually met this guy on the train because he caught me staring at my google maps intensely…I’ve gotten on the train in the wrong direction before SO I STARE lol. Everyone says New Yorkers are mean but this guy actually just got off work and walked with me in the opposite direction of where he lived to make sure I didn’t get lost. He may have had some conflict of interest lol but the gesture was still nice. I finally made it to my friends place and we decide to hit the gym. Idk what possessed us but after that workout I was sore the rest of my time in NY. Then we went to this really good fresh market up the street from her house so we could grab food before we got ready for the night. We went to the House of Yes. You have to go there…it’s an experience. They were actually having a burlesque show. Even though I came with my friends…we arrived late so I ended up getting pretty acquainted with this woman and her husband from New Mexico because I needed him to lift me up to sit on the bar with them. Short people problems. But the show was nothing short of picturesque. You could see the couples looking at eachother like you better act like you like this shit less than you do. Too funny. After that ended my friends went to Manhattan and I caught a lyft back to my airbnb to catch up with another friend. This part of the night started with beers and good conversation.After like two hours of talking we went on a mini mission to find food because majority of places in the area closed their kitchens. We ended up at this bar that was also a vibe playlist on point and their food was pretty good…and that followed with more good conversation and we headed back to the airbnb and binge watched you and that was our night. I would add some feelings in here lol but right now you guys are getting the brief summaries.
Day 4
My plan for Saturday was to do Philly. I caught the train to Penn Station and purchased Amtrack tickets to take me to Philadelphia. I had to wait 1.5 for my train. I ended up meeting this guy Roldofo. He sat right in front of me and my nervous twitch is a smile. I think for the first 5-10 mins we were just awkwardly smiling at e/o until he spoke. So he just gave me the run down…he just came from Italy…stayed in NY for a little to head to Richmond for College. He curved my antisocial talked to me the whole 1.5 hours and he gave me chocolate from Italy…Funny enough we were boarding the same train so we sat together…I’ll leave it at that it was interesting lol. Philly was cute but it’s not quite NY. I thought my ride was kidnapping me for a second she completely bypassed my stop and showed me the city for like an extra 15 mins but she bought me back lol. I went to the Delaware River and it was a lovely spot for couples and families…I had to get out of there lol. So i ended just walking back over the bridge through the city for an hour and caught a lyft back to the Amtrak Station. On my way back I was solo and able to enjoy some music for the 1.5 hours to get to Penn Station. By time I got back I was burnt out so I just ended up binge watching dynasty in my airbnb until I passsed out.
Day 5
We’re on Sunday. I will forever brunch on any Sunday while i’m on vacay. Idk what Saturday did to me but i guess seeing people with their friends and families made me a little needy for companionship. Literally the day started with flakiness…everyone was bailing. Luckily one of my best friends happened to be visiting her family and just flew in the .night before. We ended up coordinating brunch but we are the most indecisive when it comes to picking locations. We were on google for an hour searching. By the graces one of my friends sent me a list of places hes been to in NY and we ended up going to 230-fifth Rooftop Bar. It was. pretty nice…drinks and views is always a vibe. After that we went to the museum of sex they had some lovely souvenirs. In the spirit of NY I was sooooooo tempted to buy the shirt that said “good pussy is dangerous.” They didn’t have my size so I just took that as a sign. Afterwards, my friend and I had to split and she was heading back to queens and I had catch the train to Bushwick to meet up with another friend. Lately, I have been having this craving to just dance. That was my request…”take me anywhere that has bomb music where I can dance.”We caught a train, took lyft and walked to this hookah spot that had nice range on the music trap to slow jamz r&b.The rest of the night…HAH!!! Best description I could think of.
Day 6
Monday aka the day of recovery. I got home around 9 or 10 that morning, , showered, sat in the dark for a good minute trying to catch some balance lol. I went on a stroll to a taco shop right up the street. I ordered a fish, chicken, and steak taco with a beautiful blue Gatorade to replenish the electrolytes. After that, I just walked back to my airbnb and hibernated until 6pm. When I did wake up, I packed my bags and climbed back into my bed and watched netflix the rest of the day.
Day 7
Tuesday. Time to go home. I slept in until 9 and walked to a deli up the street and grabbed a panini with some coconut water. I figured since it was my last day in NY when I got back to my airbnb I’d go to the roof and have my lunch. It was freezing but the view of Brooklyn was amazing. Eventually I caught a lyft to the airport and did the things you do in the airport. Then I was back to reality in FL.
Epiphanies
Guys I went on my first trip by myself, to New York of all places, met new people, saw new places and did not get kidnapped. I think that’s a big deal. In all seriousness, traveling alone will give you some perspective about yourself. This is what I learned:
