So good they named it twice. I'd forgotten how amazing this city is. It is truly, jaw dropping. I wondered why my sister and her new husband chose New York as their honeymoon destination initially - but now I understand. This city tests and tries you on so many levels.It's been about five or six months since I was last in this great city. I promise not to leave it as long until the next time I frequent. It's not just the noise and the neon lights - it's the assault on the senses. It's the level of intimacy with the locals and the famous attitude they possess.
The noise, no matter where you stay in New York, is never ending. For those of you that ever wish to visit Manhattan and want a quiet holiday - don't bother coming here. It's Noise City Central. The sirens roar at all times of the night, no matter where you are sleeping. I remember trying to sleep on the twenty fourth floor of a hotel about two years ago - it was located next to an emergency ward - I may as well have been working in it as being 24 floors above it.
The smells of the city are equally as invasive. I do remember my first trip here almost fifteen years ago. You can get a disgusting odour one second and then an enticing, alluring smell the next. The concentration of businesses and competing shop owners is full-on. They all want your business, and will do anything to entice you into their shop or to their stall. Would you blame them really? They want your business.One thing you can taste for free is the underground. Or the Subway, as they call it in New York. I'm reliably informed that this is where the sandwich shop franchise of the same name, was taken from. If you pass over any one of the grilles on the street in the city, you are liable to get a blast of hot, smelly, rustic air. The kind of air you want to cough back out of your lungs. It's no wonder that many residents and visitors avoid even walking over them - even though they are safe to do so. It's just because they are smelly - no other reason really.
One taste that everyone must do is the streetside vendor hot-dog. You might think that these are seriously dodgy health-wise and to avoid at all costs. But no! I actually encourage this! This is the ultimate complete New York experiment that everyone should enjoy. I remember my brother-in-law eating six of these in one day alone - and he's still alive. 
I jest of course - he actually ate seven and paid for all seven for himself. And paid for my seven too - it was his first visit to the USA and he wanted to pay. Neither of us had belly ache that nigh. True story.The views of New York from wherever you are standing are simply stunning. Whether you are taking a picture of the Meat Packing District, Greenwich Village or any of the 59 districts inside the five boroughs of New York - you aren't going to take a picture of any city like this one. Each district and borough has unique perspectives and perceptions from behind a camera lens, that no other area in the world can offer.
Some people might find New York a bit rough around the edges. A trip to a city that may not be "quite their taste." It may be the personality of the people, the noise of the streets or the proximity to other people in close quarters. If that's your preference, go to Alaska or the Southern Arctic. Penguins will absolutely love you there. Polar bears will eye you with salt and pepper as they lick their lips.
Believe me when I say that New Yorkers have their full sense of entitlement and empowerment back in abundance. Their confidence in themselves had taken a knock over the past ten years or so, but it is now fully reinstalled. I got major attitude from a stall seller this evening, when I didn't tip him on a $3 bottle of water. He really expected a tip for passing me a small bottle of water! From a stationary mobile fridge! Really?
That's one of the reasons I really like New York. They contain a certain cynicism and sarcasm that other most US states don't possess. The have the ability to converse with the outside world (outside of the USA) in a way that is unique. You could nearly say that they speak, like Europeans. After all, this city's personality is based on the attitudes and cultures of all European nations. No wonder they get sarcasm - that's maybe why I like them so much.
