Flying into Laguardia I peeked through the small airplane window to view my first glimpse of Manhattan. As we came through the clouds I felt my eyes glued to the skyline, as it surpassed my expectations from previously viewed images. As the plane touched down on this brisk March Sunday I found myself reflecting on how long it’s taken me to get here. Considering myself reasonable world traveled, New York has always been on my list. One of my oldest grade school friends has lived here for 3 years. I have no excuses not to visit. However the last time I attempted to visit I had three flight cancellations including a plane that was shutdown due to a lightning strike in Atlanta on the runway. There were forces keeping me from this place for awhile.

Hoping in the cab I gave the driver directions to the Cowgirl a bar/restaurant where my friend and his friends were meeting up for brunch. Off we went and within 20 minutes I was gazing out the window at the streets of Manhattan. Arriving with just a backpack for this quick 55 hour in trip I cracked open a Tecate and started catching up. Following brunch we made our way to of all places a Wisconsin themed bar which I was told is packed for Green Bay Packer games on Sundays. It was enough to make me feel right at home. Our last bar stop for the afternoon was to watch March madness, had a college like theme. Shots were taken buckets of cold Miller Lite were drank. When I mentioned to the bartender this is a lot more than i'm used to on Sunday she smiled and said this is New York. Three girls in their late 20s stood next to me debating what clever caption they could make for her instagram posts caption. I gave them a couple ideas one they used and they started chatting me up. Eventually one of the girls noticed a ring on my hand and was in utter shock someone as young as me was married. They told me no one in New York gets married that young because you have so many options to which I smirked. As the game ended my friend and I made our way to my first pizza slice at the famous Joes. A corner pizzeria by the slice spot. The grandmother slice was perfect with a good amount of pesto mixed in the red sauce. Following the slice we made our tour of Time Squares at night. The lights and screens draw the people in like flies. Even for a Sunday night it was packed. We made our way to other NYC sights. I was impressed with the New York Public Library Lion Statues that I had seen so many times previously through TV. Making our way to Grand Central Station, my friend gave me a quick lesson on how to use to Subway, which if I can manage anybody can. I was back at his place and crashed hard with the window open listening to the sounds of the city.

Social media has it pros and cons. This morning it is a pro. I am meeting with a friend from South Africa I have not seen in 6 years. Somehow in my instagram feed I saw she was in New York so we are meeting up to spend the day together. At 9am I hear the apartment buzzer, and we make our way to get coffee and plan the day. Being an Art teacher with limited time I knew I had to see one museum. I choose the Museum of Modern Art because it has so many of my favorites. Making our way to the museum I needed the instant gratification of seeing some of the most popular paintings in the world on the 5th floor. Although Starry Night is impressive I was most impressed seeing Chagall's, I and the Village in person. I had no idea how large some of these works are. Following the museum we made our way to Central Park. The contrast of the nature and the skyline is stunning. Watching children play and a couple taking wedding photos, I was filled with optimism. There's not many places like New York where you have such a mix of people with different backgrounds living together. Maybe if more people were less secluded from different races and beliefs we would not have so much hate and prejudice in the world? This is not to say New York is a peaceful paradise. I witnessed the arguing of many interesting subway characters and people most likely will not smile back at you like they do in the Midwest. Overall I felt comfortable in a population of over 8.5 million people.

Ending the afternoon we took the Staten Island Ferry across the bay to view the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan Skyline from a distance. The first view of the Statue Liberty overwhelmed me with emotions as did the Skyline. The ferry itself is free and offered tall Modelos we drank from brown bags for 6 dollars. It was a perfect day in my opinion and I enjoyed catching up with my friend who now has thoroughly convinced me to come visit South Africa.

That night I met back up with my old friend and his girlfriend for chinese in Chinatown. At the world famous Joe’s Shanghai known for their famous Soup Dumplings which I can tell you are more than worth the time waiting to get a seat. Following dinner we made our way to Mr. Purple for a glass of wine and one of the best views of both the Downtown and Midtown Skylines. Before coming to NYC I did not get the appeal to living in the city year round. But after conversation and seeing the city I get it, but it is still hard to describe in words. My time was almost up and I promised my friends I would return for a longer trip again.

The next day I had a few hours before my flight left and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge taking in more stunning views. As I made my way to downtown Brooklyn I popped into random shops and streets. I had previously looked online and saw the popular street art that was in the working class neighborhood of Bushwick a half an hour taxi ride northeast. The taxi driver had no clue where we were going and had never been in that neighborhood. As we drove I took in the sights of the all the graffiti painted on the walls. I got out and began snapping more pictures and walking the streets. See my post about Brooklyn Street Art to see the photos. Before I knew it over and hour had passed and I was in the middle of nowhere. After desperately trying to get a cab or uber I was feeling hopeless my flight was in less than two hours and was half an hour from the airport. Poor time management on my part but i like to make the most of my time on my travels. I made my way into a small deli and asked for help. The man behind the deli counter in his white t-shirt and Brooklyn accent called his buddy and before I knew it I had a ride to the airport. Weaving in between streets and potholes I made it just in time to catch my flight as it was boarding. My brief 55 hours were up in NYC but i'll be back again to see more.