City Story: New York
It was the February of 2011 when I first came to the United States. Knowing little English, my heart started beating fast as my plane had arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport, the busiest airport in New York City.
Six years from then, here I was, back in town. I booked my place right near Central Park with two of my friends from high school. Coming from a much smaller city in China, we were all excited that our reunion took place in this world-renowned metropolis.
It’s probably like this in every metropolis around the globe: the crowd consists of thousands of characters with their lives and stories, streets full of cars and noises, skyscrapers built one in front of another, which are like forests made out of concretes and glass shells. Here, I felt like a grain of sand, a drop in the ocean, and a leaf on a tree. I felt so small that I felt so free. I felt like that I was back in China.
In my worthless opinion, it is such a delight to be a New Yorker. It is already romantic enough to live in a place where tons of movies, novels, and songs take place, let along using its world-class resources and enjoying the pride the city brings. Probably only when I become a New Yorker will I completely know how it feels to be a New Yorker, but while traveling, I was only trying to enjoy every second of this getaway.
We tracked down every Chinese restaurant in Manhattan that is rated five-star on Yelp and eat our daily meals in these places. You could call it “the pilgrimage in the name of the homesick stomach,” but the answer is yes. New York is the place for Chinese food, and for any food from around the world.
To get the most stunning and professional photographs and post them on the social media, we picked some places that are attractive but unique. The MET is my must-go in Manhattan. If I ever could, I would spend the whole day there from the time they open to the time they close. From room to room, piece to piece, painting to painting, not only did I feel like I was traveling around different countries, but also going in the Odyssey, the Tale of Genji, and the Rosetta Stone.
Before the trip, someone unimportant recommended us to go to the World Trade Center instead of the Empire State. It was spectacular to see the whole city from above and to watch it slowly turned from a messy, chaotic place to a charcoal black canvas painted silver, gold, and hundreds of colors that lighted up the darkness.
Sometimes, all you need to do is a ticket to another city and a place to stay there. It can be somewhere brand new, and it also can be an old friend to visit.
