Lea | Me-Time In The City

by Au Pair in America

Let me start off by saying: What a ride it’s been so far! Hey everyone, Lea here. I’m currently an au pair in Virginia. Ever since I’ve started my Au pair in America journey in May 2017, I’ve experienced a lot! Last summer, for example, I got to travel for four weeks straight. You’re probably wondering: “Why did she have so much time off?” Well, my host kid went to summer camp, as so many American kids do during their summer break. So I just happened to have loads of time off. There’ve been so many moments during my au pair year so far, that I’d like to share with you! That’s one of the reasons why I am more than proud to call myself an APiA blogger. I also just love blogging in general, so let’s just dive right into it, shall we?

Street graffiti that says "New York"

Finally in New York City 🍏❤

The first weeks in the USA are probably the most exciting weeks in your whole au pair year! In my case they were especially exciting because I lived really close to New York City at the time. Since it only took about an hour to get to New York City by train, I decided to go there for an impromptu day trip on a warm Sunday. Which is exactly what I’m going to be telling you about in today’s blog!

A picture of part of NYC's skyline and Hudson river, shot from a park.

New York City through my eyes!

TAKING OVER NYC – BY BIKE!

When I arrived in New York City, my first thought was to just walk around for a while, and to go shopping on 5th Ave. But I also wanted to do something a little more exciting. So I decided to rent a bike to cycle through New York City! First stop: Central Park. Did you know that there is a dedicated bike lane through the entire park, specifically for bikes and skaters only? I didn’t, and I had to find out the hard way when a guy came up to me and told me to use the bike lane, rather than the little narrow roads that are meant to be used by pedestrians only. So I put my book back in my backpack, and off I went, on a self-guided bike tour through Central Park! It was so amazing. Feeling the New York breeze on my face, I really felt like a part of New York City!

A bike leaned against a tree by the river.

A bike tour through NYC? Highly recommendable!

XOXO, GOSSIP GIRL

Once I had made it through Central Park, I decided to make the most of my bike rental by exploring New York a little bit more. First I checked out the Upper East Side and basically went on a little Gossip Girl tour. Did you know there is an actual Gossip Girl tour that takes you to all the famous places form the infamous Empire State Building to Dan’s apartment? Pretty cool, but you can probably save both time and money by just going by yourself.

A look at NYC's iconic Brooklyn Bridge from the Brookyln side of the East River!

A look at NYC’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge from the Brookyln side of the East River!

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

After my little time travel adventure to Gossip Girl World, I hopped on a subway to SoHo, which is another beautiful part of New York City. I decided to hang out in Washington Square Park for a while. For me personally, the most amazing thing about NYC is that you get to see so many different people from all over the world just walking around, chatting to each other or playing music. I sat down in the grass, enjoyed my afternoon coffee and listened to some soothing guitar tunes in the distance. It was such a genuinely nice experience!

SOHO

With my now empty coffee mug in my hand, I soon started to take a closer look at SoHo’s shopping districts. I fell in love with all little shops they have around there, which to me are far more interesting than the big ones that you will find on 5th Ave! After a lot of “Oh, I want that cute little thing” and “OMG, I have to buy this”, I found this amazing little food place, where I ate the most delicious salad I’ve ever had! It’s such a shame that I can’t remember the name… However, I do know how to get there, in case I ever feel like going there for lunch again. But of course, that won’t help you guys, especially if you’ve never been to New York before. Sorry about that! But there’re plenty of these tiny, really yummy food places, not just in SoHo but anywhere in NYC. So just keep exploring, you’ll eventually bump into one of them!

A hipster coffee shop

SoHo is big on independent boutiques

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

Afterwards I made my way back to Manhattan where I spent some time at Tiffany’s before I took the train back home. It is a little tradition of mine to end my day at Tiffany’s and checking out the new collection. Even if I only can look at it, cause I sure won’t spend $800 on a necklace! Back at home I ended my day on a quieter note: I curled up and watched a movie, whilst looking back on what a great first day I had spent in New York City. It’s such a beautiful city, and I was surprised as to how easy it was to go on a little sightseeing tour via bike.

Beautiful Big Apple's Central Park at dusk.

Beautiful Big Apple’s Central Park at dusk.

And that’s it for now. I  hope that you guys are having a wonderful time abroad as well! If you enjoyed my little blog, make sure to come back for more, I will be posting on here on a monthly basis. Also, if you happen to speak German, you can check out my personal blog www.tweetgirly.wordpress.com or my travel blog www.travelstage.wordpress.com. See you next time!

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