Valentina alone in New York – or: A city that never sleeps and a tourist that never slept better

As a first "official" post, I would like to tell you about my short trip to the USA in spring this year.

My trip to New York & Boston actually started as an emergency solution. I had planned a trip to Scotland but noticed soon that all hotels were already fully booked. When it comes to travelling, I don’t give up so fast, so I started to look for cheap flights. That’s when New York came to my mind. How great I also have a wonderful cousin in Boston that I wanted to visit for a long time! So I booked the flight to New York and planned 2 days in the city that never sleeps. Because I was there some years ago already, I skipped some tourist attractions and had time to test some insider tips.

After a quiet flight, New York welcomed me with terrible weather – strong wind and rain. This didn’t impress me much and I tramped to the Brooklyn Bridge. This bridge had already impressed me on my first visit so I didn't mind the weather (well... at least not in the first 2 minutes...). The crossing was adventurous – it was very windy and the rain poured down as I tried to take good pictures, not to get my camera catch water and at the same time not to be blown away from the Bridge . Far and wide were no other people (and I guess if there were, we would all have thought that obviously there are other crazy tourists…).

Back from the bridge I was wet to the skin, but happy – I had caught some great pictures and was again blown away by (but fortunately from) the impressive bridge!

And what more can I say... maybe New York never sleeps, but this night at least I did – wrapped in dry clothes and filled with great impressions!

Battery Park by rain

On the Brooklyn Bridge

The good thing about visiting tourist attractions during terrible weather? You have no other people on the photo! :-)

Beliebte Posts

Uganda in a nutshell - my one week roadtrip

I never thought that my long-cherished dream would actually come true - especially during this difficult time and after postponing the trip once and later almost cancelling once. That I would actually fly to Uganda in the midst of disputed elections, travel warnings and the Covid crisis. How grateful I am that for once I ignored the doubts and fears of my friends and family and dared to go . It could have gone totally wrong. It didn't. It worked out so perfectly that I am still a bit afraid that something bad will happen now (but after one week at home now I guess I will be ok!). I made a lot of new friends, treasure so many beautiful memories and am full of inspiration. I excuse myself in advance just in case my enthusiasm will be to big. But be sure that in reality it is even much bigger! There would be so much more to share! I would like to start with the 2nd part of my journey. After an incredibly educational and inspiring week on Ngamba Island, a sanctuary for orphaned chimp

Letzte Posts

My Patagonian Dream - Part 1: Hola, Buenos Aires!

The love story between Patagonia and me is quite strange. I had never planned to go there. I didn't even know where it is until I dreamed of it one night. I dreamed I was there. And it was nice. Reeeally nice. The next day I woke up confused and asked google where Patagonia was (all I had seen of it before was the logo of an American outdoor clothing brand with the same name). Checked the pictures. Fell in love. That was it. The start of a long-held dream that finally came true this November. Because this trip was so varied, I will write about it in several posts. Time-hopping is exhausting, so let's start at the beginning. I'm Swiss. And I like it organized. That's why my preparations started early. My bag was packed weeks before (itchy feet, itchy feet!) and the whole range of Argentinian Malbec-wine was drunk (acclimatisation, you know - but don't worry. the range in Switzerland isn't that big...) when I finally took the plane to Buenos Aires v

Letzte Posts

Welcome to Hel... (sinki)! Or: How I fell in love with a bus stop

Finland... Already when I think about it, I get quite nostalgic and strangely also a bit homesick. Two years ago, I did an exchange semester in Mikkeli, in the south of Finland, and fell in love with this country. I don't know what it is, but Finland has something that just makes me happy. That's why from time to time I get the feeling that I just have to go back. So I did last week. Read about my 4 day-trip to Mikkeli and Helsinki here. Warning: If you don't like nostalgic posts then you better just look at the pictures! :-) Day 1: Arrival in Helsinki and bus ride to Mikkeli One of the few good reasons to get up at 4 o clock in the morning is travelling. I took the plane at 7 in the morning and after a short stop in Amsterdam, I landed in Helsinki with a big smile on my face. It already felt like home when I came out of the small airport, when I saw the finnish and swedish signs at the bus stop and when the bus driver said "Terve!" to me (I haven'

Letzte Posts

Acqua alta for beginners - a weekend in Venice, Italy

" "All cities are the same, except Venice, it's a bit different" had written Friedrich Torberg in his book "Die Tante Jolesch". He was right! Venice is different. And that's why I love this city more than any other! Venice is unique. Romantic. Wonderful. A dream! A city that you have to see!! Discovered in December 2011 with the family" (Me in my travel diary, 2011) My opinion about Venice hasn't changed much in 6 years (except that I find it a bit less romantic nowadays... :-) ). Since a long time, Venice is one of my favourite cities. So I decided to go back. Everyone asked me if it was a good idea to do this in December, and all I can say is: YES! It is!! There are much less tourists (still too much though), it is less smelly (at least that's what I've been told) and the atmosphere is very special - can you believe that I was more in christmas mood that at home, even if all the christmas markets and the snow were missi

Letzte Posts

The End of the world (and my Patagonia trip) - Meet the penguins!

Do you remember that I had written about our guide asking the group the first day about our motivation to come to Patagonia in one of my previous posts? The landscape, the hikes, the food... And the penguins? To be honest... The penguin-answer came from me. Since a long time, I love those little animals. Especially their clumsy way to walk (maybe there are some similarities??) make me laugh all the time. That's why the last day in Ushuaia was a real highlight for me! I really liked Ushuaia - not only because of our luxury hotel! This city has a very special atmosphere! With its fascinating history (from great and important explorations to the sad history of the native Yamana) I had the feeling that there is still something in the air. And even if there is a Hard Rock Café nowadays, Ushuaia seems to keep its old, adventurous spirit. I wasn't the only penguin fan in my group. The plan was to visit the penguins by boat, but some of us wanted to see them from very near. Th

Letzte Posts

Valentinas Travels

Dieses Blog durchsuchen