I must say that New York is not my dream city. Everyone I know gets crazy about New York, the 5th Avenue, Soho, Tribeca, Central Park and bla, bla, bla but I really don’t understand why. It’s a cool city, full of different people, smells, energy but it’s also a chaos city. Too much traffic, too much noise, too much dirt.I guess this is my forth time in New York but all the trips were different. Different ages and different purposes.

I was about 15 when I first came to New York. My mum used to take me with her to some work trips. I was too young to this city and we stayed in Newark (my mothers half sister used to live there). Newark is terrible…. Nothing to comment…

The second time I was already working for H&M and I came with some press for a Fashion Show. I stayed 3 more days and had the chance to explore New York a little bit. This time I visited the main touristic places and streets. Empire State Building, MOMA, MET Gallery, Ground Zero (they were just starting the rebuilding), 5th Avenue, Central Park, St. Patricks church, Times Square, Broadway, China Town, Soho, Little Italy, Tribeca, Rockfeller Centre, etc…

Third time, again with H&M I stayed three more days with a friend and it was completely different. Both of us already been to all these main touristic places so it was more about feeling the energy and the people. We went to very specific places that she knew special cafés, vintage stores, etc…

Even not being my dream destination, I must say that this time was the best one and it hasn’t ended yet. First it was decided from one week to another in a very specific moment of my life. A very good friend who lives here teased me to come and I said, why not? Then, to have someone who totally knows every story of every corner is amazing. You won’t go to places most people goes. You’ll go to that specific alley, a very particular restaurant, places you couldn’t find by yourself. Meet people, be part of it.

Everything is scandalous expensive, the food is not worth the price. If you want to go shopping maybe you’ll go crazy with some stores but you need to have the pocket full because they can be really expensive like American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, etc… but you can find most of the rest in Europe (Portugal) and much more cheaper.

I’m still not crazy about this city but I’ll definitely go back home happier, more human and with a bigger heart. Thanks to my friend Tony…