Last year when I visited New York, tired and weary and on my way home from working on a camp in Minnesota, I hated to admit it but I was a little disappointed with the Big Apple. So many television programmes and films have given us all impressions of New York which were hard to fulfil. Friends made it seem safe, rappers made it seem dangerous and crime ridden and Sex and the City made it seem glamorous.

A year ago I found my self excited and bewildered by the city. It was dirty, full of crazy people, and like a jungle. Lost in the skyscrapers, I wondered around the matrix of New York, scared, but also amazed that I was in the famous New York City.

I had never been to a big city outside of the UK before New York. I dubiously visited Central Park and wandered down Fifth Avenue, walking fast and eying everybody with suspicion. When I got back home I described New York as a busy, jungle like city, with angry and rude people unwilling to give directions. All of this madness was revolving around the calm haven of Central Park, which seemed almost eerily quiet and lonely compared to the city. New York hadn’t lived up to my expectations-it wasn’t as glamorous or outstanding as I thought it would be.

Just short of a year later I arrive in New York again with my boyfriend. I am just as excited to be there as I was last year, determined to give New York another chance. Tired and flustered in the June heat, we luckily find a place to stay (booking is a good idea!). After a good night’s sleep we wake up early due to jet lag, and start to wander the hung-over streets of New York at 8 am. As I found out last year, the best way to get around New York was to walk, but always stay on a main street close by to the centre. We make our way to 34th Street, home to the Empire State Building. Getting past the numerous people aggressively trying to sell us day trips, and cheap tickets to the Empire State building, we make our way to the top of one of New York’s most famous skyscrapers.

Looking over at Manhattan I realise why so many people love New York. The island which I thought of as huge becomes less of a jungle. The water is clear and blue, the sun glaring down, and then in the middle of this vast mass of water is this city with a massive amount of skyscrapers. Looking over New York I appreciate the city, which no longer felt like a jungle, or a place to get lost in, but a place which is to be admired.

On our second day in New York we go on a tour with an old, eccentric guy, named Jerry, who has lived in New York all his life. He rages about his love for New York and its people; which come as a bit of a shock to me as last year I thought people were rude! This year I do change my opinion as business men and other professional commuters seemed glad to help, and are even offering to give us directions if we look lost.

With our aging, but incredibly fit, native New Yorker, we begin a vigorous walking tour. Starting off with a subway ride to Brooklyn we make several random stops around Brooklyn. Jerry wants to take everything in and show us every little bit of New York that he can, we stop to watch children doing a concert, we also look in banks, at fake grass, markets, and people skate boarding. It all seems a bit random and we find it hard to match Jerry’s never failing enthusiasm for all New York places and faces, as he takes photos of various New Yorkers. Jerry shows that it is not unusual to fall in love with a place, and many people have fallen for New York.

As we continue the tour, through the not so tall buildings in Brooklyn, we view Manhattan from the end of Brooklyn. I feel myself getting a little in lust with New York, as we gaze at the skyscrapers against the blue water. Proceeding with our tour we walk to he Brooklyn Bridge and make our way back to lower Manhattan. We walk across the magnificent and lengthy bridge, again with amazing views of Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan is perhaps known as the cooler area of New York, with its boutiques and exclusive nightlife. Things to see are ground zero, in which you can se the many workers building the foundations for five more skyscrapers, so that New York can once again to the home of the worlds tallest building. You can also begin to comprehend the full scale of the damage of 9/11. Police parade the centre of capitalism that is Wall Street and the Stock Exchange. We proceed slowly to the Staten Island Ferry, as Jerry continues to take photos of various New Yorkers. The ferry is a must for budget travellers, as it is free with great view of lower Manhattan, the surrounding boroughs, and the Statue of Liberty.

We return back to lower Manhattan exhausted but still eager to see some more of lower Manhattan. We leave Jerry, hoping to see things a little bit quicker. China Town and Little Italy are just a couple of streets of Chinese and Italian restaurants, but they do demonstrate New York’s diversity. I like Soho, as it is shopper’s paradise with funky little jewellery shops and crazy boutiques, and it is all quite affordable, unlike other New York shopping Mecca’s such as Macy’s and Madison Avenue. After buzzing around Soho we head back to where we are staying on the upper west side, ready to collapse.

With a busy day behind us and one last day to go we go to the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, or as it is a better known, ‘The Met’. On my last visit to New York I ended up in the Guggenheim, as I wandered around not knowing where I was going. The Guggenheim is a brilliant piece of architecture, with its spiral shape. The Guggenheim has a modern art focus with new exhibitions and paintings from Picasso and Kadinsky. The Met explores different art movements spanning 500 years, from ancient Greece to Pop art. The Met building is very big so you will get tired! Despite this it is a must for any art lover.

With my second trip to New York coming to an end I think about how my opinions had changed about New York, from my expectations, to my views after my first trip and now my second. This time I realise how beautiful the skyline is and how New York isn’t a jungle but a friendly island.

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