New York, New York!

So it's been nearly five years since I last signed into this blog, let along updated it. But I'm off on another adventure so I'm waking it back up to keep people posted (and to remind myself of everything I get up to while I'm away).

First things first; I'm in New York, as the title might suggest. I got the train up to Newcastle yesterday afternoon (and cried a little bit - I love travelling, I just don't like the leaving bit so much). An early start for the airport this morning and one slightly delayed flight later I was in Dublin rushing to make my connection. The signs for US preclearance vanished abruptly and it meant I ended up coming out into baggage collection by mistake and had to rush back through security again. I made the gate during final boarding call. I don't like being that rushed and I ended up with untied boots for the entire 7 hour flight across the Atlantic.

All in all the flights weren't too bad. The seats weren't too unbearably close together and uncomfortable and the transatlantic hop had individual screens with a reasonable selection of films. I didn't manage to nap at all but it could have been worse.

It was strange coming that far north. I was on the right side of the plane to see the top of Greenland as we flew past (and there is absolutely nothing green about it) and we flew over all the ice in the Newfoundland sea. I've seen more snow in the last 10 hours than the past two years, I think. I'm definitely expecting more, though. There's a whole massive area of Canada which from the air seems to be little more than dark rock, snow and frozen rivers. Maybe it's less desolate when you're down there...

New York isn't as cold as I'd worried it might be. It's chilly and raining, but not unbearable. I just wished I'd stopped to put my lenses in at the airport instead of waiting until I got to the bagel shop.

Thankfully I'd worked out how to get to where I'm staying ahead of time. It's bad enough being somewhere unfamiliar on your own - if you don't have a clue where you're going it's definitely worse. (I distinctly remember crying in front of a Montreal bus driver because I was lost, tired and travel-stupid).

Timing is a little off in meeting my friend and getting into the flat so now I'm sitting in a bagel shop with a coffee and a bagel I don't really want to eat anymore, waiting for my friend to finish work and come meet me. There's not really anything wrong with either of them (except the coffee is lacking in sweetness of any kind), I'm just feeling a bit travel-rubbish and meh. I got a banana as well, which was actually much more what I needed.

I'm also trying not to cry again. It's raining and I'm tired, and all I really want is a shower and a nap to see me through. Part of the reason I'm updating this now is to distract myself from the fact I'm current alone in a strange city about 5000-some miles from home. That and the fact that I feel like I'm on a boat in rocky water.

I promise the next update will be more cheerful. I suppose we should all just be grateful that this journey was nothing like my trip out to Canada at the beginning of this blog. One slightly delayed flight and a minor bout of early homesickness is nothing compared to that.

I'll try to keep up to date with this thing, but given how terrible I am at keeping in semi-regular contact with people (including my mother, I'm ashamed to say) I can't promise anything. I'll aim for once a week and see how we go.

This post is definite getting longer than I'd planned. Maybe I'll just keep rambling until either the shop closes or my friend shows up. Whichever happens first. At least it's dry and has free WiFi.