We Took On America: PART THREE - New York

We flew from San Fransisco to New York City on Sunday June 18th. We experienced another massive day of travel and our first glimpse of the amazing city that never sleeps. Like LA I was a little intimidated when we first landed, it took a while to settle in and for our hotel to feel like home.

On our first night we took the long way round the block and were met with a large group of homeless men. We had seen pockets of poverty in Los Angeles but this was something else. The smell was disgusting and I knew it spooked Jacinta. Having grown up in our sheltered hometown of Beerwah this was massively eye opening. From this I made the decision to catch Uber's rather than walk to certain areas. It was all a learning experience and I knew these people had no intention of hurting us but we still needed to feel safe.

On our first full day we visited the Empire State Building, experienced the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and saw the city from the One World Observatory. One World was incredible and my favourite observatory out of the three we visited in NYC. The 9/11 Museum was intense and also very moving. We spent over five hours wandering the exhibits and could have easily been there for another five.

Moments after this photo was taken we found ourselves in an American downpour. Cint and I found shelter under a little souvenir stand but we knew we couldn't stay there long. It was getting late and we needed to find food. Due to New York's crazy construction my maps app was having a meltdown so we decided to brave the weather and hope like hell there was some sort of takeaway place around the corner. We wandered the streets for a good 15 minutes before Cint spotted a beautiful pair of golden arches. I have never been so happy to see a McDonalds sign.

After inhaling our first Macca's meal I tried to order an Uber back to our apartment. Turns out the app wanted us to meet at an alternative destination. The trouble was I hardly knew where we were to begin with so there was absolutely no way I could get to the meeting location. After having a driver cancel on us I did what any tourist would; called the driver and explained our hopeless situation. By some miracle the guy was super lovely and pulled up five minutes later. This whole experience was really intense. I felt a massive responsibility to get us home safely.

On day two we visited the Statue of Liberty at Liberty Island, took a bike tour through Central Park and had dinner at the beautiful Rockefeller Cafe.

That bike tour was probably one of the biggest highlights from our time in NYC. We debated over spending the money but seeing the whole of Central Park and snapping some incredible photos together was something we will never forget.

On day three we ventured to The Australian and watched the second State of Origin game. It was awesome to find a little piece of Australia in the heart of New York. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting to the Aussie owner and eating the spectacular nachos. Seeing Queensland come out on top was also pretty spectacular. In the afternoon we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and took some incredible photos of the Manhattan skyline.

Day number four saw a massive walk along The Highline. It's an old elevated rail line which has been transformed into above ground gardens. I first heard about it for a uni assignment back in 2015 and knew I had to experience it if I was ever in the city. It really was beautiful to see the contrast of the big buzzing city against the small garden oasis. In the afternoon we spent up big at Macy's, Sephora, Pandora and Victoria Secret.

On day five we watched Rough Night at the cinemas, ventured back to The Australian for dinner and saw Wicked on Broadway. Surprisingly Cint and I have never seen a musical before, apart from the high school productions at Beerwah, so to see this in New York City was something pretty special. The show was amazing and I know I will have to get myself down to QPAC and invest more time on these kinds of productions.

On our last full day we went back to the shops and went a little more crazy in Sephora and Macy's. We spent a fair bit of time chilling at a little cafe and reminiscing on our two weeks abroad. Although we weren't doing anything dramatic sitting at Starbucks that afternoon was probably another huge holiday highlight. It was so nice to just stop and rewind for a moment and spend real quality time with Cint. That evening we had a lovely meal at the Rockefeller Cafe and watched the sunset on the Top of the Rock. That sunrise was unbelievable and we have enough photos to prove it.

On Sunday we travelled over 20 hours to touch down in Australia early Tuesday morning. Those flights seemed to drag but meeting Mum and Dad on the other side made it very worth it.

Now that we've been home for two weeks it feels like this adventure is nothing more than a distant memory. Sadly, reality has taken over and it's back to our very busy lives. However, we do have the memories, stories and photos to prove we travelled to the other side of the world together at just 18 and 20. If this experience has taught me anything it's that I bloody love and value my sister my than words can describe. I knew we were close but spending every waking minute together for two weeks and not arguing just proves our close bond.

For those wondering, yes Cint and I were asked whether we were twins at least one a day. It was more than a joke after the first week. I still can not understand how people think we look alike.

Thank you America! We had some very special moments exploring your amazing country and I know we will be back.

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism #america