New York City Day One (part 1)

As I mentioned earlier, I booked a trip to New York City to see my French friend run the marathon.  It was a last minute thing, but I’m glad I went in the end.  I was pretty nervous about it, too.  The last time I was in New York was 10 years ago.  I remember how tough this city could be.  I also remembered how I would get lost riding the NYC transit.  I was getting stressed out.

Along with Halloween Day being on an unexpected day itself, I really had one day to look over my carry on.  My flight was early in the morning on Friday.  Of course I had thoughts of over sleeping, but it was mostly because leading up to that day, I WASN’T getting much sleep.  My friend made me feel better when he called me Thursday night.  He had arrived from France a day earlier.  For the first time in two weeks, I got a excited about this trip.

I had scheduled an uber pick up around 3:45am-4:10am.  My flight was at 5:57am.  Not exactly 6am, but enough to make you question what time they were boarding.  I wanted to miss the rush hour morning commute so I figured if I arrive at the airport before 5am, I should be fine.  My alarm went off and everything happened so fast after that.  I do not think I ever went into a deep sleep.  I got up and washed up and then changed into my clothes.  I was hoping to sleep on the flight.

My uber showed up right on time.  They even send you a reminder, just in case.  I remember being in the uber and praying that there would be no traffic heading to the airport.  I just wanted this part to be over.

Luckily at the airport, I got through security in no time.  I remembered looking at the other passengers at our terminal.  Some of them looked excited for their trip.  I wished I could feel that way, I thought to myself.

Part of the contribution to my nerves was the weather.  I checked leading up to my trip, and it never changed.  Thunderstorms were in the forecast the entire day.  I grew angry when the pilot warned us early on.  “Well the first half of our flight should be smooth; but the second half won’t be.”  What the hell???  I wish pilots could have a sense of empathy for the ones who are scared shitless of flying!

Well, as it was predicted, the turbulence WAS BAD.  I decided to brave through this and not take anything because it was a short flight.  But I never got any sleep.  It was a long 30-40 minutes of pure hell but in the end, we landed safely.  My body was exhausted from being tensed up.

I loved that I had my carry-on luggage with me.  Once we landed I zoomed out of there.  I didn’t realize how many people were at LaGuardia!  It was a bit frustrating trying to navigate towards the exit.  I was stuck trying to figure out what “bus” line I was supposed to take that will lead me to the subway station at Roosevelt.  A nice gentleman pointed out to me that I was to get a ticket inside the airport before I get on the bus.  I saw the customer service counter with the line forming and got behind someone.  Once I figured out that I was to purchase a metro card I ran outside to see if I could catch my bus.  Not yet!  I still had to obtain some receipt.  Again, someone helped me figure that part out.  I had to insert my metro card in a machine to obtain my receipt.  Luckily the bus was still waiting.  I jumped on and tried to give the driver the receipt but she just told me to “go ahead” and move towards the back.  So much for that.

I arrived at the Roosevelt subway station and checked my Google maps to see where I was going.  So far so good.  I caught my train and felt relieved I was on my way.  Of course once I got off my stop I was lost.  I walked around for a bit and found a Starbucks.  I needed to charge my phone so I went inside and ordered a latte while I waited for my phone to charge.  

Believe it or not, the weather in New York was unseasonably warm.  It neared 70 degrees that day!  I had on layers since it was much colder in Chicago, but by now, I was sweating and getting frustrated I couldn’t find my hotel.  I jumped in a cab.  He drove me up to my hotel (which was a surprise to me).  I finally found it!  What a relief!

Well, not exactly.  Apparently, my room was not ready.  I was thrown off.  I wanted to shower and nap for a bit.  Since I did not have a room yet, they agreed to hold my luggage and encouraged me to come back later.  “So, in about two hours?”, I asked.  “We sold out completely last night.  Hopefully.”  That did not sound promising.

The Robey Hotel

Ending that weekend I hung out with my friend who wanted to hear how my trip went.  It was another hot day in Chicago, and she decided The Robey Hotel would be the perfect place to catch up.  I was finally settling back to my regular chores; doing laundry and tidying up the apartment.  I knew I wanted to get back into the swing of things both mentally and financially.  Sometimes it’s hard adjusting to regular life when you come back from a trip.  As I’m traveling more frequently, I’ve adjusted to jet lag pretty well.  It was nice seeing my friend.  We found a spot at the Up Room and ordered some cocktails.  We couldn’t believe we lucked out on the sunset!  It turns out the Blood Moon was happening, and we took a ton of pictures.  Unfortunately, it didn’t show up too well on our iphones.  Oh well; what can you do?  It was still amazing regardless…

London: Day 1

Last night my mom cried to me.  I felt bad.  She cried because she knows how much I love to travel and go to concerts.  After the scare in London’s tube recently and the horrifying ordeal in Las Vegas, she cried telling me how much she prays for me and my brother's safety.  I cannot imagine a mother having to worry about such incidents.  I confessed that I am not going to stop doing the things I love because of terrorists but I know it’s not the words she wanted to hear.

London is not immune to terrorism as are other large cities.  I know from experience that my mom does not like me traveling solo, but for me, I NEED this.  I need these experiences for ME, for my personal growth, to toughen me up and to learn from.  I may not be traveling down the road to motherhood (or marriage for that matter) but in the meantime I NEED to go out and LIVE. 

I flew out on Monday on September 11^th .  I even went to work that day to get my mind off of flying.  My anxiety was in full swing that Sunday getting my suitcase in order, but as usual, I forgot to bring my European converter plug.  Trust me I write this stuff down but I was more concerned about having my chargers for my iphone and BlueTooth ready.  HELPFUL TIP:  My mom advised me for future travel to leave the converters in my empty suitcase and not store them away in some drawer.  Good tip mom!

My flight was late in the evening at 10:30pm.  I had time to go home from work, shower up and head out via blue line on the CTA.  I’m not far from the airport so I don’t mind at all.  But my nerves kicked in BIG TIME.  I knew I had to have my glass of red wine while I waited.  Unfortunately, I did not see the foreign currency exchange since I was flying out of a different terminal.  I hate it because it meant I would have to do this in London’s Heathrow airport.  Hey I’m a city girl at heart and I always think the worse.  I don’t want anyone following me out of the airport (anxiety worries) knowing I was carrying cash.

Since technically I was flying into the future (landing in London at 12:30pm) I knew half my day was going to consist of finding my hotel with limited wifi.  I ALWAYS print out my Google maps and although I do purchase travel packages through my phone carrier, I use my data for emergency only.  Most of the time I search for hotspots like Starbucks and McDonalds to help me out along the way.

I figured out the tube (London’s metro train) and found my hotel.  I knew immediately by the length of the tube how much London was bigger in comparison to Chicago.  Close to 9 million people in population!  Holy cow!

I checked in and quickly freshened up.  I purposely chose my hotel near Earl’s Court station which consisted of the Piccadilly line and the District line.  These Underground lines helped me get to my points of interest.  First stop- Victoria and Albert museum!  

I thankfully made it in the museum around 3:30pm.  Most of the museums closed at 5:30pm, so I knew right away this was going to be it for me today.  I enjoyed this museum very much and even had time to charge up my phone a bit before it closed.  I couldn’t help myself!  I took a ton of pictures inside.

Once the museum closed up I went to a nearby café.  I normally take 2 cups of coffee a day, and had one earlier on flight.  But I was already feeling sluggish.  I knew from my Google maps that Harrods luxury department store was nearby and wanted to see for myself this iconic retail shop.

Never in a million years did I imagine such a department store!  I must have seen every designer’s full collection!  I also was surprised by the number of visitors shopping inside.  I wanted to get some souvenirs for friends and family and decided on tea from Harrods own line.

Afterwards it was close to 7:30pm.  I decided to head back to the hotel to take a nap.  I knew I wanted to go out for a cocktail later on, but since it was a Tuesday night, my options were limited.  I decided to head to Sky Garden around 9:30pm.

By this time it was pouring raining!  I ran back to the hotel to grab my umbrella.  I had read about London’s infamous showers but this was a sight to see!  Most people on the streets were barely carrying an umbrella.  I assumed they must be used to it.

I had to ask around but luckily found Sky Garden and headed up to their  rooftop terrace.  I LOVED the view, I just wish it wasn’t raining so much.  Regardless I made some friends right away and they showed me to the other bars that were in Sky Garden.  The space was impressive.  So far, London was sweet!

 

Up on a roof!

The summer is barely here and I’m already getting bombarded by events.  Unfortunately, Chicago in the summertime is a very busy place to be.  With  concerts, neighborhood food fests and baseball games, the city can get overwhelming.  On top of that, there’s personal milestones such as birthdays, graduation parties, weddings and baby showers to attend!  Oh my!

I was invited to a birthday party on a rooftop during the Bad Axe Throwing Party the week before.  I accepted the invitation, but as the weekend got closer, I can clearly see that it was going to be a very active weekend.  Other invitations came out of nowhere and I had to turn them down due to me getting my chores done.  Lol.  I had to do a ton of laundry, and there was no way around it.  Usually, this is a reminder for me to get some chores in by the weekend, so I don’t spend all of my Saturday cleaning up the apartment.

I did my usual Saturday leg day and then showered up and got ready for the party.  They had suggested to get there by 8:30pm so I took my time.  Out of nowhere, there was another invitation, this one too, a birthday party.  I was already on my way to the first party, I had to turn it down.  What can you do?

I made my way there, but quickly called my mom.  I don’t want to get caught up on my social life that I forget to call her.  FOMO is real here in Chi-town, but at the end of the day, you can only be at one place at a time.  I do not want to burn myself out.

Once inside I found my friends.  It was a nice party, and we got a chance to enjoy the rooftop for a bit.  Afterwards, his friends had the itch to go to Federales, so we walked down Randolph over to Morgan Street.  Luckily, we had some time to get some cocktails before it closed.  At 3am it was all over for us, but then, as usual, you have the one friend that mentions we can still go to a late night spot.  I jumped in a cab and made my escape.  That was enough action for me!      

 

Day 2 Athens

The next day I woke up tired because the couple next to my room made so much noise checking out.   The walls of my hotel room are thin and I could hear them slamming their suitcases around, trying to get out of there.  Awe!  The joys of traveling!  I couldn't fall back asleep so I was up since 5:30am.  I decided around 7:30am to head down and have my complimentary breakfast.  That's when I found out about the earthquake that happened in Italy on the morning news.  How scary!!  I contacted my friend immediately to see if she was ok and if anything occurred in her town.  Luckily my friend is way south so it didn't affect her.  I notified my friends and family that I was safe and decided to head to the Acropolis museum early.

As I hiked back up again, I ran into a couple from North Carolina who were walking my way.  They came in from Santorini and told me their stories on how much they enjoyed their time on the island.  They also gave me some insight of the airport there.  I'm glad I asked because their information would become useful later on.  Once I found the museum we separated ways.  

Since I arrived early there were not many people inside.  I found the Acropolis Museum very interesting and even watched a movie on the history of the Parthenon.  I stayed for a couple of hours before I headed out and that's when I came across a flood of people walking in.  Whew!  Right in the nick of time!  It is known that in Europe, most tourists start their day late.  I was pleased I got this out of the way so I could continue to enjoy my day.

Inside the brand new Acropolis Museum

From there I headed towards finding Syntagma Square.  I ended up finding the Zappeion which reassured me that I was on the right track.  I walked through the National Garden and enjoyed the scenery.  I liked that everything was nearby.  It was hot again in Athens but I took my time walking to each location. 

The entrance to the National Garden!! 

The layout of the National Garden...



Gotta love the selfie stick!

Once I walked out of the garden I found the square and noticed a crowd gathering by.  I knew what was happening so I rushed over.  Sure enough, the changing of the guards was taking place.  The military guard announced we were now allowed to take pictures with them after he prepped them up for us.   





That military guard is too intimidating.  I took my picture from afar.

Syntagma Square

Afterwards I was growing tired again. so I slowly made my way back to the hotel.  I had to take a nap.  I was exhausted being up so early and doing so much sightseeing.  

Once I woke up (2 hours later) I knew I had to stay up.  I sat outside a cafe sipping on coffee to wake up since I slept too long.  My stomache started acting up and that's when I knew I had to have some food in my system.  I asked a shop owner where would he eat in the neighborhood and he recommended a restaurant for me.  I didn't want anything heavy like the night before.  I settled for a Greek salad but it was huge.  Again a block of feta cheese sat on top of my plate.  I sat and played with my food if anything.  I was pretty amused people watching during lunch and I didn't want to leave just yet.

The infamous feta cheese topped over my Greek Salad.  It was delish!

After I ate as much as I could I decided to walk it off since I was too full.  I walked back up to Acropolis on a different path and came around a less glamorous view. Graffiti trains zooming by as well as some homelessness.  I still felt safe since I was surrounded by a lot of people.  I continued walking around and eventually headed back down once it started to get a little dark.  I was concerned about the lack of lighting up there.  I quickly made my way back to the same restaurant and went up to their rooftop for a glass of wine.  I enjoyed my evening messaging my friend in Italy and taking advantage of the free wifi. 



Walking further down Plaka...

Grittier side of Acropolis...

Afterwards I went back to my hotel room to freshen up.  My tiredness was catching up to me again. I rested but was still hoping to go out.  I wanted to enjoy some nightlife but was pushing through my exhaustion.  I showered and got ready.  I knew I wanted to take a photo up on the rooftop of my hotel since I knew I'll be checking out the next day.  I went up and there was a group of 8 that had been drinking and were kind of loud.  I didn't want to disturb them.  I took some selfie shots and made my way to the other side of the bar.  There was a family of 4 sitting and drinking.  The lighting was much better so I tried to take a selfie there.  Someone offered to take my picture and from there we striked up a conversation.

They were from New York and were staying in Athens for 2 weeks.  We exchanged stories until they closed the bar down.  I was still tired.  I went for a short walk and then decided to head back to my room.  It was midnight and I knew I couldn't go out even if I wanted to because I was crashing hard.  So much for that...  

The view is simply breathtaking! 

London House!

After the devastating news that surrounded us last week, I was grateful my friends wanted to meet up for drinks.  I've been very sensitive lately, and I knew in my heart I wanted to see familiar faces.  My friends are definitely the close family I wish I had.  They know how to make me feel better.  I'm nervous about my upcoming trip, and getting together was just what I needed.
I made my way down there before anyone else.  I noticed there was a pretty intense line.  I figured I would wait it out until my friends arrived.  If the line wouldn't move up much, I would assume we would go somewhere else.  Don't get me wrong, people did leave.  I understand not wanting to wait 45 minutes to get inside a venue.  But the host insisted it would be worth the wait, and she was right!
I finally walked in and I fell in love!  What a beautiful view!  People couldn't help themselves with their selfie posts.  My friends were finally on their way and I gave them a heads up.  I made some new friends myself waiting in line and we all walked over to the bar.  This place gave us a rush.  We were living for the moment!
I had a wonderful night with everyone.  It made me love my friends even more.  I wish I can keep everyone close to me, but I know deep down that's impossible.  No matter where our paths lead us, they will always be in my heart.  I wish things would get better in our world.  I've never felt an uncertainty about where things are going in this lifetime than I do now.  I will never give up on wanting a better life for ourselves, free of hate and violence.  It's moments like these that make it feel possible for peace...

London House!

It's gorgeous at night!

Couldn't help myself for a selfie...

Seafood platter...

My new friends.  They're from Guatemala!

What I wore to London House.  My shoes are new from Stuart Weitzman...

They made it!  lol