I’m going to start off with my first trip to NYC. When I was younger I wanted to mirror the adventures of Macaulay Culkin, only without the abandonment and burglars trying to murder me. So in the summer of 2002 our family holiday was a brief but incredible trip to the Big Apple followed by a visit to Disney World in Florida. Thankfully my parents, unlike Kevin’s would be present in both New York & Florida.
Unfortunately I don’t remember much of the trip itself as this happened over 14 years ago but I do have some vague memories. The landmarks and sheer scale definitely left a lasting impression on a very small 9-year-old and I could barely contain my excitement when my parents finally let on that we’d be staying at the Plaza Hotel, just as Kevin did, although I feel I would appreciate the architecture a lot more if I was to make another trip there now. At check-in we learned first-hand about movie magic, as we discovered that the Plaza Hotel had no pool, not that I’d been planning on losing my shorts whilst cannon-balling anyway, but the opportunity was taken from me nonetheless.
One thing that really stood out to me was the vastness of Central Park somehow concealed in this concrete jungle, we took bikes from a vendor and headed off along the seemingly never-ending roads and paths. I’m also fairly certain I learnt to ride with no handlebars too whilst there, quite an achievement at the time. My parents then took a photo of me climbing along some rocks within the park which I accidentally came across in the new Spiderman game on PS4, whilst at a friends house over Christmas, it felt a little surreal with some of my fondest memories of a holiday being brought to the front of my mind by a few pixels on a screen. It’s funny how even the little things can circle back round eventually.
After a few days of exploring, we inevitably said goodbye to the Big Apple and though I probably didn’t realise as a child, deep down I found a love for New York and after revisiting I have only built on the fondness I have of the city which I will talk about in future trip recollections and hopefully I’ll have more visits back there in the future.
One day I would love to call it home, as long as Harry & Marv leave me alone.
