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The return to New York City proved to be much more different to our time in Manhattan. A change of perspective if you will. Staying with one of Juliet's Canadian friends Brad, in Brooklyn, outside the main city, I learnt to truly appreciate NYC for the rich mix of cultures that it is. Whether it was a feed influenced by a night of heavy drinking or an early morning dabble, the endless number of Latin American grocers meant we would never go hungry. Brooklyn is one of those places that gives you bad vibes initially, but once you learn to love the street art and somewhat rough appearance it is actually "cool" and "hip". The locals (mostly a younger crowd) made me feel like I was always underdressed (and I thought I had swag!).
We experienced a few of the many trendy bars along Bedford Av including the Charleston and Union Pool which were always packed. It was almost as though we were making up for lost drinking time spent in CT, and it being the weekend, it was almost a given that our last few nights in The States would be big ones.
This turned out to be exactly what happened, as everyday began with us all even more tired, hungover and hungry than the day before.
I was also lucky enough to see some of my favourite bands like Tiger's Jaw, Modern Baseball, Pity Sex and Cloakroom at the Run for Cover Records showcase in Manhattan. Something that I was so, so excited to see and will probably never experience again.
We managed to tick off more of the typical tourist delights in the City, visiting places like the flat iron building, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty etc however we avoided official tours due to the number of tourists visiting these places and were both quite content on wandering around people watching. Brad introduced us to an enormous Italian market called "Eataly" (haha) and the infamous Porchetta roll which I kid you not, satisfied my hunger until the late hours of the night. That roasted pork, olive oil, rosemary and sea salt combination on a crusty sub roll tantalised my taste buds like no other. So much so that I am having trouble currently wiping the saliva off my screen as I write this. It felt like an episode from "man vs food" a certain contender for some of the best food I ate in NY.
Our last night of partying in the USA got off to a flying start when we returned to the forever unforgiving 123 bar to make the most of our $50 voucher. There was no holding back on the order placing and once the two tower beers came out everyone now knew the beers were soon to be flowing (literally). These (accidentally ordered) towers consisted of around 3L of beer each, and in almost no time, one tower down, I felt myself starting to pay the price for our swift menu choices. That was nothing compared to the Dirty Bird bucket that came out later - 12 wings, different styles of fries and myriad of sauces in a huge bucket. Murcia!
The bad decisions continued later into the night when we arrived at The Charleston for a round of Pickleback shots: whiskey shot with a pickle juice chaser, delicious. It was actually quite good. I was definitely expecting the worst, however the pickle juice definitely saved my stomach and gag reflex from activating. We continued well into the night, ending up at the hostel at a ridiculous hour. A perfect end to the trip.
We spent our last night in Jamacia, near the airport for an early morning departure. Myself to Buenos Aires, Argentina (via Colombia) and Ju back home (via Vancouver). For me it was a frantic scramble to get my documents, clothing, emailing etc all done before my flight, for Ju it was a chance to sleep off the hundreds of litres of alcohol consumed over the past 3 weeks (she was way less stressed than me).
I can't thank her enough for being the legend that she is, especially on this trip. My indecisiveness with the stupidest things (ordering food for example), lack of navigation skills and a number of other flaws would have driven anyone else insane but she took it all in without any complaints. The classic airport goodbye was of course tough, but we had such a good time that it was nothing but laughs and well-wishes for each other.
So now as I'm sitting in Bogota airport for my 10 hour layover, trying to make it out of the airport, into the city and back before my connecting flight. I wonder what it will be like to be truly on my own, travelling solo. I am excited, nervous and a mixture of many other emotions. I can't wait to get out there!
Until next time!!
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