The good, the bad and the ugly.

I left DC in a pretty poor mood, I’ll be honest. The last two nights of my trip I had been treated to the gift of a snorer in my dorm and as a light sleeper this resulted in two sleepless nights. T’was 3am on night one of this misery when a dishevelled Sandy made her way to reception to purchase some ear plugs, the reception staff member was very sympathetic to my cause but alas they had run out of earplugs (ffs). I was further disgruntled that said snorer had also checked into a dorm sick as a dog, not wearing a mask or anything. By the time I was checking out I could feel a sore throat coming on and as I was already tired and cranky I was primed and ready to use good and proper strayan curse words at whomever bothered me next. Given that this is my blog and these thoughts are entirely my own I don’t mind saying that IF YOU SNORE, DO NOT BOOK INTO A DORM YOU SELFISH DICKHEAD.

I continued to Baltimore and unfortunately by the time I got there I was feeling pretty sick. I spent the first 24 hours in Baltimore sleeping like a baby but seeing very little. Once I had recovered, I mostly spent my time in the harbour. I found it really beautiful there, the pace was much slower in Baltimore and I enjoyed moseying around in the sun.

My journey out of Baltimore was not particularly smooth either, my bus was three hours delayed and when I finally got on it someone was sitting in my assigned seat and wouldn’t move (wtf). So, I had to sit elsewhere and yeah let's just say a lot of people don’t want anyone sitting next to them. But I eventually made it to Philadelphia.

Whilst in planning mode for this trip I had been lamenting whether to go to Phily because for some reason the accommodation was crazy expensive. I sucked it up because I wanted to go. Turns out, the hectic prices were due to Taylor Swift playing three sold out shows in Phily every night I was there. Given that Taylor is the queen I accepted the price because Long Live the queen (Speak Now TV coming just in time for my birthday yasss), Tay Tay is the best etc etc. There were so many swifites running around in their Era’s merch and I hated them all because I tried to get tickets and didn’t even make the main queue. There were heaps of kids too which really made me wild because they weren’t alive for half of the eras and so could not possibly appreciate the magnificence before them. But, alas, I had a liberty bell to see (lick, IFKYK) so I had to get on with my life.

After a day sight seeing in Phily that included the Liberty Bell, Rocky and a cheese steak (not what I expected but tasty) my day was about to get exponentially worse. Whilst I was out having dinner my handbag was stolen. All of my credit cards, debit cards, cash and ID (other than passport, thankgod) were taken. I was instantly stuck with no money nor access to money. After spending the whole night on the phone to banks (and my sim card provider, international calling) I was left with the rather shocking realisation that there was nothing that could be done to give me access to my bank accounts, I would have to wait until my cards are posted to Australia and then forwarded onto me in the states. Cue major panic. I was also still a bit sick from the douche canoe (I said what I said) in DC which didn’t help. After a sleepless night, my sister had organised a Western Union cash wire where I had a total break down when asked for two forms of identification to allow it (because I only had one left following the burglary). She also victim-blamed me hard which was so unnecessary. My fight or flight instinct had truly kicked in and I was having a very hard time thinking logically like I normally would in a situation. Fortunately, I am an organised traveller, so I was able to get myself to New York as planned (albeit with some very long walking commutes with my baggage in warm weather) and pay for my accommodation in cash (like a drug dealer) and go from there. In the following 48 hours I spent a lot of time on the phone, repeatedly hearing the phrases “there’s nothing we can do for you” and “I’m sorry we can’t help” and possibly the most frustrating of all “we don’t have a policy for that”. I thought I would be coming home given that I had only a few hundred dollars cash left and no way to get more. I can honestly say that this was the most isolated and terrified I have ever felt. The intense stress had started having strange effects on my body including all the skin on my face peeling off, intense thirst and a fatigue so strong I almost fell asleep sitting upright on a park bench. If you’re wondering, I tried multiple banks (including the US affiliate of my bank), Mastercard’s emergency line, Australian Consulate, attempted to use to prepaid debit cards (I couldn’t activate one without a social security number) and to utilise my digital wallet. Nothing prevailed. I was really worried Western Union wouldn’t be an option after my first experience was questionable, however another go at this proved successful and is the only reason I have been able to remain overseas. Upon receiving extra cash, my stress subsided enough for me to think more clearly about what was in front of me. I could then see that, actually, I had booked almost everything that required a card and, yes, cash could get me through until my cards could be delivered to me albeit a few other obstacles to overcome. Luckily, I have great support from home that helped me through this absolute shit storm. Anyways, I’m doing much better now, my skin returned to normal as soon as my stress went away and I’ve got back to doing my thing in NYC with a few tough lessons firmly under my belt. One of the most frustrating parts of all of this is that I had thought hard about all of this before I left. I’ve travelled plenty and not naïve to overseas safety. I had two different transaction accounts with different banks and a credit card to safeguard me if something happened to one of them However, I made a critical error in not keeping one of those cards in my suitcase/hotel at all times- this is the biggest lesson that I hope someone else can learn from. The second biggest lesson is that if you lose all your cards overseas you will be totally screwed and no one will be able to help you – it’s not a situation I would wish on anyone. Not even that bad banana from DC.

But eventually I left my hotel and saw NYC! Reallyyyy lived up to the hype! Easily my favourite destination so far! The city is so cool, there are so many things to see and there is something about the pace of this city that just seems to agree with me. I love that the ‘green man’ (although its white here) is very much a formality when crossing roads and how people and traffic and everything just goes. Central Park is even more beautiful than I imagined, as is the Brooklyn Bridge. I thought the subway would be quite intimidating but it’s great – hectic, but no more complex than anywhere else. Unless you want to take the 6 downtown, that train eludes me I don’t know why. It hides at every station. Chelsea Market would be my unexpected highlight, coolest indoor market ever and the food options are top notch. I opted for a Taiwanese noodle soup and it was incredible.

The pizza here is as good as they say. Now I’ve had a taste of the good stuff, it might have wrecked all other pizza for me, but I can die happy now I’ve had the quintessential experience of folding my pizza and it going everywhere amazingggg.

The coffee has been a big step up on everywhere else – and by god did I need a good coffee. And a strong margarita. This has never been my go-to drink but they are a standard happy hour inclusion, and the Mexican vibes are strong here, so I have leaned into it.

I’m sad I lost two full days here in meltdown mode, I would have loved to have spent more time in Brooklyn than I did (I mostly wandered Dumbo) as that area felt like a real vibe. I also wanted to see the Natural History Museum (well, dinosaurs) but ran out of time.

Other things I did here that were great/worthwhile: the 9/11 Memorial, walking the High Line, Staten Island Ferry, Times Square, Four Seasons Park on Roosevelt Island and watching people play pickleball in Central Park lol (mostly is looks like adults playing a game for children, idk smh).

For the runners, Central Park is so good. There is so many paths and the trail around the lake is for runners/walkers only and probably the only totally flat track in the place – it would be perfect for a threshold/tempo run. I’ll be honest, after being robbed I lost my mojo for a few days (and physically was not in a good way) and only putted around here but you could do any session you wanted. The perimeter loop is an undulating 10km that is as iconic as you could imagine. The only thing missing is a synthetic track! Beggars can’t be choosers, but a girl can dream. Roosevelt Island has a great jogging path around it and out of the bustle. The cable tram over is very cool too. There are miles of flat running down the Hudson but, I’ll be honest, unless you’re staying in the Upper West Side (and I don’t know why you would be) then it’s not the easiest to get to. I’m staying on the East Side of Manhattan (Midtown) and it’s a pain getting the subway over there, it’s like a three-transfer and a walk situation.

Putting the robbery behind me (easier said than done), I ended up seeing plenty and really enjoyed my time in NYC. People rave about this place for a reason. I continue to Boston with a short stop in New Haven on the way. I’ve been looking forward to Boston since I decided to go to the USA, it remains to be seen whether it lives up to my own personal hype.