Stage VIII - New York City <- Back to projects

Introduction
Stage 1 - Frankfurt Airport  |  Stage 2 - Frankfurt  |  Stage 3 - Munich  |  Stage 4 - Amsterdam
Stage 5 - Paris (Hostel and Night Life)  |  Stage 6 - Paris (Grand Tour)  |  Stage 7 - Paris - Versailles
Stage 8 - New York City

The cherry on the sundae of my European trip was being able to see New York for a few days at the end of it all.  I didn't take any pictures, but the story is still pretty good.

Before I left Europe, however, I had to go to the Frankfurt airport again, and it was not without its horrors the second time.  The last few days I was in Europe, it became evident that I had contracted some sort of cold or flu.  In a move that I am going to credit to my fevered delirium, I decided I was going to stay at the Frankfurt airport overnight so that I wouldn't have any trouble catching my plane the next day.  As it turns out, this was a stupid idea.  Also, I hadn't showered that day.  This was also a stupid idea. 

I spent a semi-feverish 13 hours contemplating my sanity in the horrific vastness that is the Frankfurt airport.  I still thought it looked like the setting for a zombie video game, but it was even truer the second time around because it was dark and I wasn't feeling too great.  To make a long story short, I finally boarded the plane and spent another 10 or so sleepless hours in dingy clothing, crammed in a corner not really wanting to talk to anyone, even English speakers.  When the plane finally landed, we were holed up for another hour or so due to a sort of airplane traffic jam.  I felt like a drowning rat on the Titanic, or something.  I wanted to get off that plane so badly. 

It actually felt pretty good to be back in the States.  After weaving through the long customs line and making my way FINALLY out of the airport, it probably took me another half hour or so to locate the airport tram that would take me to my subway station.  It took me a while to figure out how the darned station worked, too... as I mentioned earlier, the ones in Paris are easier.

I waited waited waited for the train and eventually boarded.  I sat next to a very talkative little girl on the subway who just happened to be Dutch.  I wanted to tell her that some good, friendly American advice was to not talk to people on the subway, but I refrained.  One good thing about going to Europe alone is that once you get back, you feel like you can pretty much go anywhere and get your way out of any jam.  When the going gets rough, I still think to myself, "At least everyone's speaking English."  It's so true.

To make another long story short, I dragged my homeless-looking self across Brooklyn and eventually got to the hotel and met my mom, dad, and extended family.  It was great to see everyone, and there were many relatives around that I hadn't seen in quite a while.  Then, I took a REAL SHOWER, WITH REAL, DRY, TOWELS.  Words cannot express how fantastic that was, since I'd been using a foot-odor and blue pen ink contaminated tee shirt for the past week and a half. 

Later that night, I met with another friend and he showed me around the city a bit.  I'd never had Korean BBQ before, but that's what we had, and it was pretty delicious.  I later found out that one of the things I ate that night was cow tongue, which is totally weird.  I had to apologize, because I'd spent quite a long time without sleep and I was pretty tired that night.  Actually, "pretty tired" may be the understatement of the year.  Nonetheless, I had a fantastic night out and it was totally worth the sleep deprivation.  I know there was a rumor flying around for a while that I was "underwhelmed" by the architecture of New York after being in Europe for a couple of weeks, but that wasn't the case at all.  New York is a beautiful place, and I would like to at very least spend Christmas there someday.  Something about the city is magical.

The whole reason for my being in New York in the first place was to attend my cousin's Anne's wedding, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful.  I was very proud of myself for not shedding a single tear in Europe, even when the going got tough, but I have to admit that I broke down a little bit when I saw her walk down the aisle.  The ceremony was wonderful, and I am very happy that I was able to make it.

I saw a lot of amazing things on my trip, but my stay in New York reminded me that the greatest treasures of the world are those moments we share with our family and friends.  To all of my family members, family friends, and friends from the even wider world of the internet, I thank you for the great times, and I hope I'll have the opportunity to visit you all again very soon. 

The End