It's more than two weeks ago now that I stepped out of my hotel in Manhattan for the very first time.

However, I still remember every single impression as if it was yesterday.

My jetlack sent me on my first discovery tour early in the morning. It was only 8am but the city was already pumping.

It was my dream to travel there, and now it was real. What a feeling!

Happy @surfermarly discovering The 5th Avenue

The Streets Of New York - Living my dream

To a surfer girl who lives on a small island where not even a highway exists, a city like New York is overwhelming in any possible sense.

My hotel was located in the 57th Street between the 6th and 7th Avenue, so absolutely central.

I love to discover places by foot, so this was my plan for Manhattan, too.

Lucky me I sat next to a New York expert on the airplane that took me over the Atlantic Ocean who recommended me some nice spots. We put my city map in front of us and he told me where to draw an "X" :-)

Awesome!

It was clear to me long before starting the trip that the Times Square would be the very first spot to visit.

Times Square moment

What an incredible place!

All the stories about it seem to be true.

It's a wild and magical triangle. When standing in the middle you actually don't know where to look first.

Blinking city lights and giant billboards frame this crazy, colorful traffic tank. People and cars rush and run and honk and head to whatever destination.

Man, this was far beyond all my expectations!

Walking down the Broadway

Ask me about my favorite daytime in New York and I'd say: the early mornings.

I loved to witness this place waking up.

In fact I will do a painting to eternalize my memories. It will show fancily dressed business people with their perfect suits and dresses, headphones and sun glasses, balancing their coffee cups while running from one avenue to the next.

The painting will furthermore show morning sun rays crossing the scene diagonally.

That's urban beauty.

Midtown Manhattan how I'll always remember it

To me New York is one of the most fascinating destinations I've visited so far.

What really surprised me are the social differences.

Beggars and bankers, rich and poor, the elite vs. the forgotten. Wow! These heavy contrasts really touched me.

Whenever I had some bucks left I gave them away, even though I knew that I couldn't make a real difference or change this situation.

And in the middle of all that overwhelming and unreal chaos a little surfer soul felt more unimportant but happy than ever. "Marly - like Bob Marley" she used to say when they asked to put her name on the coffee cup.

The guy who attended me at Starbucks that time totally got the message ;)

Jobs fill your pocket, adventures fill your soul. - Jaime Lyn Beatty

True story, Jaime Lyn!

After only one day in New York I already felt how my horizon started to broaden considerably.

And there were still uncountable experiences to come.

Stay tuned, steemians cause this was only the very first small step of a long and incredibly exciting journey...:-)

Hugs and kisses from Madrid (stopover)

Marl(e)y ❤️