NYC, A Little Girl in a Huge City - MY TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY WITH EMILY AND DAN

So... I don't even know where to start to be honest. So much things happened on this trip... from adventures to enlightening thoughts in my mind. A strong, overflowing and emotional feeling that I haven't felt in a very long time. But for now let's keep the poetry by side and start with what actually happened on my trip to New York City together with my darling Emily(@emilinalove) and Dan(@d.davies_photography).

On Monday evening I left to my first stop London as our flight started at the Gatwick Airport. That one was quite chill to me. Funny because last time I literally pissed my pants just by thinking about flying alone and finding a way through the airports. The way wasn't new to me so everything went completely fine. I arrived late in the midnight and Emily was so kind and picked me up from the bus station. In this night something woke me up from outside. A dramatic howling coming from the dark streets. Emily calmed me down and said it's only a fox. Wait, a fox? "Yea they are quite common here and you can hear them howling in one or another night." Then we sneaked through the curtain and there was he, sitting in the middle of the street and whining like a lil baby!

On the next day it was time for our hair dresser appointment at Live True London. But firstly I went to a café just around the corner for a coffee and breakfast before Emily came back home from work. 

She was so kind and arranged the hair appointment at Live True London for both of us. Honestly, I haven't been to a hair dresser in like six years what I have mentioned in my first YouTube video already. I find it very hard to trust people, especially when it comes to my hair. But I reached such a low point in confidence about that which was lower than giving my mane into hands of someone else. Paco Latorre's work seemed really nice to me so I just couldn't say no.

Beginning from afternoon we stayed there till evening. The studio is really comfortable so it was quite nice to stay there throughout the long time. My hair got bleached followed by dye and a new fresh cut. The result is just stunning! I'm honest, at first I was very skeptical. Especially in the first two days. But I reminded myself that it's just new and I will get used to it. Now two weeks later I can totally feel the new hair style and love it so much! Especially that it's healthy again. Changes are so important here and there and I can finally run around again without hiding my hair under a beanie! If you're interested to know about the exact hair dye and the result you can check out Emily's YouTube video she made of the day.

On the next day the headed of to Gatwick and before met Dan at the train station. That airport was a bit different to the ones I'm used to. Bigger, louder, more stressful. But we made it and so the same with the flight which took over 8 hours! Such a big achievement to me. "Just imagine you get a panic attack on the plane." was repeating in my head for weeks before the trip even started. Now thinking of that leaves me cold as my fear is gone completely! The airline was super comfortable and I was watching two free movies throughout the flight too. It must have been Harry Potter who calmed me down!

The John F. Kennedy National Airport in NYC was probably the worst from all as we had to wait in line for so long due the Visa/ESTA check etc. We also took a Uber to the hotel as it was quite late already.

Our hotel & hostel located in Upper West Side was surprisingly nice as we didn't paid much for the whole stay at all. The service was great. Fresh towels and beds everyday. A warm room with a ceiling fan and a heater so we never felt too hot or cold. One little thing I noticed was the WiFi which wasn't that great in our room but I've found out a little secret: Whenever you go on the toilet just take your phone with you. The connection there is awesome! :D

On our first day we went out for a coffee first which was just around the corner. Amazing coffee there I tell you! Almond milk available too. One of my favorite spots throughout the whole stay. Went there for three times. After that we already made our way to the central city, checked out the Empire State Building area with the Flatiron Building. I posted a three second video on my Instagram at that time and I don't know how this happened but I already got more than TWO MILLION VIEWS on it like how? haha! You can check it out here. We made a quick stop at Starbucks and I'm 99% sure that I just saw Charlotte Free walking along the window on the street outside! Was such a strange moment as I was a huge fan of her back in time when I was obsessed with the brand Wildfox she modeled for. 

Then Emily and me headed off to our first NYFW show hosted by Style Fashion Week. This one was from Malan Breton. We didn't went to the other one in the evening as we got stuck at exploring the city, hanging around at Sephora trying on different lipsticks(I tried purple as you can notice on the one coffee picture hehe. Later went back to our Hotel then checked out the local supermarkets on our street. This was was a huge shock to me. In a positive way of course. I will tell you all about this in another special "Vegan Paradise in NYC" blog entry which I'll publish later but I can already tell you it was a vegan heaven!!

The second day started grey. Weather wasn't that good but hey that shouldn't affect us of course. We took pictures on the street and a guy came over us wanted to take pictures with me too haha. He was super funny and cool dressed with its layers of necklaces :D

We had our first stop at Le Pain Quotidien which I spotted spontaneously. I saw porridge on the menu and have to admit that it was the first time having porridge outside from my home as I usually make it for breakfast on my own everyday so I just had to try it. Cooked in almond milk topped with banana, walnuts and maple syrup hmm was so good! We stepped outside again, checked out a cute lil book store around the corner and made our way to the National Memorial 9/11. This was a very emotional moment of course. Couldn't understand that some people and couple took selfies in front of it. 

A few streets up there was a little park where the ferry to the Statue of Liberty left too. I spotted the first squirrels in the park already and had no idea that they're so tame! I hope you have followed my story on my Instagram where you could see how they've touched my hands. I guess the little guys thought I have food for them.

We didn't took the ferry but went to Chinatown which such a was super crazy place! Most of the stores weren't even in English so you couldn't read anything. It was nice to see all these strange and interesting booths there though. Even if some of them weren't, well, not really vegan friendly. Then later there was this one supermarket where I grabbed a bottle of water with white grape flavor. This stuff literally changed my life. I have troubles to remind myself to drink enough water throughout the day. This stuff tastes so good it was empty even before we arrived back at our hotel! I didn't even managed to take a picture of it haha. More on this later...

Day three which was Saturday already called for the second show which I was super excited about. I jumped into my favorite yellow plaid pants which I posted a pic of on my Instagram here. We got welcomed by loads of photographers taking pictures of us when we were crossing the street to enter the location. Such a crazy feeling to me but it was amazing. Also the show itself was such a stunner. Not only the clothes but the music in the background which created such an amazing atmosphere. A few days later I found out that Whoopi Goldberg was sitting just on the other end of the room and we didn't noticed her. Damn :D But we were talking to a few photographers afterwards which was really lovely.

Shot by Chiara Obscura

I arranged lunch for both, Emily and myself at by Chloe, a vegan chain I found online before already and I thought this must be an amazing place to check out! I got myself something from the new menu, fish & chips hell yes! Always wanted to try that out and it tasted amazing. Especially the sauce was so great. I also chose a few sweets which I took back home with me to the hotel. Two cupcakes which I shared with Dan, a sugar coated cookie with coffee flavor and also a chocolate chip cookie which was my favorite of all. So chewy and yummy. Really recommendable!

After lunch we met Dan and went to the Brooklyn Bridge. This day was probably the most emotional one to me. It made me realize a lot. The view over the city which was enhanced by a veil of fog was so surreal. Like I was in the exact place in one of my dreams a few months ago. I just sat there.. watching the sky getting darker.. maybe letting a few tears dropping down my face staring at the other side of the river. There was a bench next to is with a few lonely balloons so I grabbed them and we took a few funny pictures with them too! Sometimes it's the best to let things go. Like the balloons who raise up into the sky.  Make space for even more wonderful things. Make space for the future.

Shot by Dan

 Shot by Dan 

Once it was completely dark we went back to the other side and decided for a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to find our way to the Times Square. It started to rain heavily but that made the lights everywhere even brighter. Probably one of my most favorite places as it was so full of energy there! I also spotted a Line Friends store full with stuff from the app LINE if that says something to you. So cute!!

On Sunday we started our day at the cool café again and stayed in our area. Strangely literally everything's open on Sunday. Also the Urban Outfitters store which was located on our street. They had so much cool stuff there like the Naruto Sweatshirt or the Peter Pan shirt I felt in love with. I just wish everything wouldn't be so overpriced ugh. But Emily and I got ourselves a pair of new glasses! I wrote a few postcards for my friends and family on that day and we had loads of fun at Walgreens taking pics with cute plush toys in front of a fitting shelf full with Valentine's Day cards! 

There was this one wonderful bookstore too where I bought a pin for myself and a few gifts for my friends that I took home with me. We made a stop at Hex & Company. That place was so cool we just had to step in and take a break with coffee and games. Cards Against Humanity was our choice, and my favorite actor Keanu Reeves chose to be on one of my cards too haha. That was a very funny one I tell you!

It slowly became darker outside and so the dust settled down on the pretty park with trees on each side which were decorated with lights. There was also a church later we went into. In the evening we checked out a local pizza place with vegan options. Dan and me got pizza and took them back to our Hotel for a late midnight dinner. 

On our last day, Monday we began the morning with a walk in Central Park which wasn't far away from us. I had the leftover pizza from the night before with me and decided to have it for breakfast on a bench there :D Felt so glorious with my greasy fingers, baggy pants, no make up on, messy hair. But it's an amazing feeling to give a fuck about my appearance for once, even if most of you told me I still look sassy on my Instagram post. I guess my kind of "normal" is different. I just love to make fashion to my colorful playground and sometimes act and look like a two years old girl who's in her element!

After the refreshing walk we were checking out the Westfield World Trade Center. As you can see the weather changed quite strongly on that day. From a grey sky to a clear blue one without a single cloud! We went back to the one supermarket from our second day in hope to get my hands on another bottle of the white grape sparkling water, with success yaass!! This didn't lasted long again as expected already and got me in troubles later haha.. wait for it...

Going back to the hotel we grabbed our luggage and took a train back to John F. Kennedy International Airport to get our flight in the evening. On the half way where we had to change the train I needed a loo so badly because of the white grape water I just couldn't hold on anymore. Emily was so kind to search for a near toilet with me. Well that was the moment where we saw another side of New York. I think it was Downtown Brooklyn where we left, going into one store after another asking and begging for a toilet in time-pressure due our next train in anxious to miss it while everyone either rejected or completely ignored us. A few blocks later there was a gas station which saved my life and also my bladder ugh. We also didn't missed our train which was such a huge relief to me!

Our flight back had a delay of like three hours but the airport had good places to sit down, almond milk coffee and great WiFi so it wasn't that bad at all. The flight itself was also only like 6 hours, whereto I slept 3 of them so it was a short stay in the air. 

Back in London, with a strange sense of time, of course started the day with another coffee, then later just felt asleep at Emily's place back in her cozy bed with the heating blanket. I woke up in the evening again but felt asleep in time at midnight so my sleeping schedule was quite fine again. On the next morning I had to take my flight back from Stansted to Leipzig. Emily left earlier for an appointment and I took a bus to Victoria Station another one further to the airport. My flight was also super easy. Honestly, my luggage was so damn heavy I was worried that someone will notice it haha but I was lucky with Ryan Air and everything went smoothly.

Now a few last words after two hours of writing down the story of my trip with most of the little details I can remember. As I told you before: this trip changed so much in me. A dream that I had on my life goal list came true. I faced a nightmare of mine, maybe even a few ones together at once. But I managed it. And I'm seriously proud of myself even if I don't say it that often. I'm thankful for both, for Emily taking me with her on this adventure as I would have never done this on my own, but also for Dan being such a nice company and lovely soul I got to know better through this trip. It's hard for me to trust people overall. I already felt so comfortable being with Emily when I invited her to Berlin last year. But this trip now made me loving her even more on top of giving her all my trust. She's like a sister to me. Even if we live far away from each other she's always so close in my heart. I love you so much Emily ♥

 I also hope you liked to read through our adventure and I hope it will inspire you a bit to get over your fears, especially when it comes to traveling or leaving your comfort zone. It feels like this trip took the fear away from me to 98%. I think the longer I am at home, the harder it gets to get away again so I try to get a balance between traveling/going to places and spending time at home. But please never get stuck in your current situation. Jump over your shadow. It's a process of learning and the gift you'll receive from it is much more worth than any comfort or material thing in the world. By the way, you can also check out Emily's vlog she made and published on her YouTube channel of our trip here
I also filmed on the trip and collected content as you can see in one scene in the video too. I just haven't got the time to edit it yet. I'll stick to it!

♥