New York didn’t disappoint. Before leaving Panama, we had to decide how we were going to get home. Our only commitment was a booked flight from LA airport back to Australia. We toyed with the idea of going to Jamaica (the farmer’s family history has links to the country) but decided upon four days in NY instead. Jamaica can wait until another time.
It really was a four-day whirlwind tour. Fortunately, our hotel was in midtown Manhattan, across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station, the busiest commuter hub in New York.
We arrived at the JFK airport in freezing temperatures, in the early morning wearing warm-weather clothes, totally unsuitable for the conditions we found ourselves in. On landing, the farmer was wearing shorts, short-sleeved shirt, and runners. We headed straight for a clothes shop. Macy’s just happened to be the closest.
experiencing new york
My only knowledge of New York had come from the media. The city was busy, alive, colourful, and sometimes challenging. That which struck me as most interesting was how the black people in NY dressed. I had never seen such class, style, and elegance in one place. They drove the fanciest cars, wore the shiniest shoes, and stood proud.
We walked the streets of NY, listened to jazz in downtown Manhattan, visited an art museum in the Frick Museum on the East Side in Manhattan, walked through Central Park, trudged our way through the snow for a show at the Lincoln Centre by the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, and formed part of the tourist scene in Times Square. Our senses were certainly enlivened.
One of my greatest memories will be of the night we saw real snow for the first time. The day before we left NY, cold, snowy weather was forecast for the following few days. On the way to the Lincoln Centre Plaza, the snow was slowly beginning to fall. By the time we left the centre, the ground was covered in snow. We were slipping and sliding and trying to catch a cab along with everyone else. In my mind, it was so exciting because I was so far away from the reality of my little life in downtown Merredin.
