I have a confession to make – in 2008 I had no desire to visit New York.  I know, I know – what was wrong with me?  Looking back, I was probably being a snob (after all, I’d lived in Harlow for 2 months, which was practically London and so much better than New York).

My sister and I were planning to visit Toronto when we got sidetracked.  She had friends going to New York and thought that we should join them.  I didn’t really care, despite the many things NYC had going for it (theatre, art, culture, and food, to name a few), but I agreed.  A trip’s a trip after all.

I think one of the problems was the perception of New York City, which is grimey and dirty.  London was bright and shiny, full of history, and their subways were really nice.  All the movies I’d seen that were set in New York were not like this (although they were probably all filmed in Los Angeles or Toronto).  I also didn’t want to get mugged or shot. 

So 1 part snob, 1 part wuss.

Eventually I started to look forward to the trip, but the main reason for that is because I got tickets to see Patrick Stewart in MacBeth.  As a theatre nerd this was my Mecca – Patrick Stewart + Shakespeare = ohmygodsIhadtoseethis!  I didn’t care what else we did, as long as I got to see this show.

Honestly, I thought that I’d go to New York, cross it off my list, and then never go back again.  Man, was I wrong.  In the past 4 years I’ve been back twice, and I’m still itching to go back again. 

To be fair, I had one of the craziest experiences ever while in NYC.  Don’t worry, I’ll tell you about it. 

Next week.