Some final words on NYC

I don't think there's any doubt that I enjoyed every minute in New York City. I can easily understand why many refer to it as the greatest city in the world. I feel really blessed that I got to experience New York in all the aspects that I possibly could (which most tourists unfortunately never get a chance to do): I visited the famous landmarks and walked the regular residential streets; visited most of the Manhattan neighbourhoods (at least all the major ones) and some of the other NY boroughs; ate the best of the American classics and tried some of NY's cultural foods; travelled underground (subway), on ground (foot and taxi), by water (public ferry), and by air (tram); partied in NY's night scene and took a peaceful stroll through Central Park; enjoyed the bustling Broadway shows and quietly mused over art at the MET; and went from living like the upper class (my stay at Rockefeller Center Hotel), to the middle/lower class (my stay at the hostel), to (very, very briefly) sleeping on the streets.

My one and only regret was that I didn't get to see Queens (which I had planned to do the day I got sick but then completely forgot about it the rest of the trip) and so I never got to see places like Flushing Meadows Park, Silvercup Studios, Citi Field, and its different residential communities. For some reason though, I didn't have any motivation to see the Bronx.

I think I had one of the best beginnings and endings for a trip to NYC that anyone could ask for: New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, and watching SNL live in the studio. And as a result, I got to see free live performances by Jennifer Lopez and Alicia Keys which I never thought would've happened; I'm not much of a concert goer so it's something different for me. I've also noticed that somehow I was in Times Square at least once every single day I was in NY (except the day cut that was short when I got sick)! It was like the place had some kind of hold on me hahaha.

Now back to Grand Theft Auto IV. While we were chatting, Amanda asked me how I knew where to go and what to see in New York since it was my first time. I didn't even do any research before arriving in NY, and the minimal brief "research" I did while in NY was just using Google Maps to figure out how to get to where I wanted to go. I told her I just knew because it was NY and NY was famous, but in actuality, it was because of GTA IV. I know it might sound ridiculous, but since Liberty City in GTA IV is so heavily based on NYC, I already got to "see" a lot of what NYC had to offer (like when I went to Coney Island) while playing GTA IV without having to read about it! Every time I'd go through Star Junction (GTA IV's equivalent to Times Square), I'd always imagine and wonder what it'd be like to be walking through the real thing, and everything I saw in NYC totally exceeded my expectations. So it may be crazy, but I have GTA IV to thank for much of my time in NYC; there's always some thing that inspires people to visit certain new places, and for me, GTA IV inspired me to go to NYC (though I'd always wanted to go to NYC, GTA IV gave me the final push).

NYC lived up to its name and everything I imagined it to be and more. I definitely cannot wait for another opportunity to visit The Big Apple, I could have used at least another week there to see and do everything I wanted to. But until next time, later New York City!