Hello everybody! I think I’m back for good this time. A lot has changed since the last time I wrote on the blog. For starters, I’m now 22. Yeah it’s been two years, time flies; but I’ve been busy with so many projects that you would be proud. So how does this have anything to do with the title of the post? Well, it’s all related, just wait for it.

My dad recently moved from New York to go live on the other side of the world in Dubai… Yeah…I know, that’s far. 16 hours in the air to go there. Anyway, he moved from New York from one day to the next practically and guess who needed to go take care of the stuff he left there, ME!!

Surprise road trip to New York and it was delightful! For a guy who loves to drive, I went there by car and it was the first time by myself. The road was honestly super easy and if you leave from Montreal at 2pm on a Friday, you miss both rush hours! You have to be ok with driving a bit at night though.

After six or seven hours of driving with good music (cause that’s ALWAYS the most important) I got there and found parking right away in a spot that was free during the entire weekend. If you ask any New Yorker, they won’t believe you. That’s some crazy luck right there!

What to do when you get there?

First things first, get a good night sleep cause after driving that many hours practically non-stop, trust me, you’ll be tired…

The next morning, I went for a walk in Central Park. When the weather is nice, it’s a breath of fresh air! (It’s really amazing to see that in a city as busy as Manhattan, this park feels like a real trip to the great outdoors!) On my way back to the apartment (yes I was lucky, I didn’t need to get a hotel room), I stopped by Joe & The Juice. It’s this trendy little coffee-shop-style juice bar where you can just chill there while having a refreshment. In my case it was the middle of winter so I took a hot chocolate.

After having warmed up, I walked (probably 50 blocks) all the way to Ground Zero to see the memorial and this new piece of architecture called The Oculus. I had never seen it. My honest opinion is that it was a spectacular piece of art but a really cold building…(full disclosure, I can’t find my own picture of the Oculus on all my hard drives so I took one from a stock photography website, sorry. The link to the artist is on the image.)

From outside, you’re actually in between infinitely tall towers and from inside, you feel ridiculously small…

Next stop: sunset on the pier 15mins away from Ground Zero

As soon as it was dark it was time for me to head back to the apartment and start packing for the road the next morning. This day in the Big Apple was amazing! I have to say, I was lucky, most of my expenses while I was there were covered by my dad since it was kinda for him I was there…however, if you do go on your own dime, here a few tips you don’t want to miss:

• The first one is don’t be cheap on the hotel. The first time I made the mistake of going to the YMCA Hotel chain and honestly, worst mistake! It ruined my trip. It was so disgusting I had to sleep completely dressed! Anyway I’d rather not go too much into it, but DON’T GO THERE!
• The second tip is go by plane, and once you’ve made it from the airport to the city, walk and take taxis (or the metro, if you’re into that. However, I heard it was extremely complicated unless you’re a real New Yorker)
• The last tip is for food, don’t cheap out as well. You can be cheap, but there is so much variety that it would be a shame to miss. There’s also plenty of little places like Joe and The Juice that are extremely trendy and so worth it! Another one is Dr. Smood if ever you were curious. (I wonder when these two will be coming to Montreal…)

Now let’s go home!

That’s it for me today everybody! Here was my trip to New York in a nutshell. I hope it will inspire you to travel as soon as this virus is over. Have an awesome day and stay safe!

If you want to read more about my outdoor adventures, click here.