My most important travel memory

“What, with just Mariana?” Again.   Do none of my friends ever think outside the box?  It is difficult to explain my decision to go to New York City with only one of my three children.   My middle child does not have the forceful “me-me-me” personality of the other two, and I wanted to spend some time on my own with her without the other two constantly interrupting and demanding my attention. At 16, I felt she was at a turning point in her life, waiting for GCSEs, just about to start the IB, and spending way too much time in front of the TV and on Facebook.  Sometimes I wondered if she had been born with those funny white wires coming out of her ears and disappearing into her hoodie.

New York City, although far more tame than our usual holidays, was the perfect choice for us.  She has a dream to go to university in the US.  “How are you ever going to afford that?” Another ‘I-like-the-inside-of-my-box’ question.  My thought answer:  “If that is her dream, she will make it happen.”  My spoken answer:  “Scholarships.” 

I had found a flat on a home exchange website.   We stayed in a gorgeous little one-bedroom apartment in a converted brownstone on the posh Upper West Side for a fraction of the cost of a hotel. 

New York City surprised me.  The skyline, often portrayed in black and white or greys, is actually very colourful.   They skyscrapers are metallic blue or pale sea green,  terracotta, and creamy pink.  The East River, when we went, was a deep sparkling sapphire.  New York’s skyline is beautiful.

The city where everything is done “in a New York minute”  is renowned for it’s hustle and bustle, but every day we found  a quiet park with secluded benches, winding paths and huge oak trees casting shade.  You can walk, sit and picnic on the grass anywhere in New York.  Another surprise.

We alternated general sightseeing and attending university tours and informational talks.   The fondest memory, for both of us, was sitting on a bench in Central Park, jet-lagged, exhausted, watching the sparrows hopping around on the path.  After about 20 minutes, Mariana added her own sound effects to their bounces:  “Boing…...Boing……....boing-boing-boing……..BOING!”  We were in hysterics.

To me, travelling has always been about discovery.  I’ve travelled in Asia Minor, Europe, the Americas and I’ve even travelled within the United Kingdom!  I’ve discovered ancient ruins, modern art and to-die-for regional cuisine.  My discovery on this summer’s trip to New York City was this:   If you give a gentle, mild-mannered 16 year old enough space and time, and if you sit quietly at a restaurant and don’t say anything, then eventually she will speak.  And what she says is insightful, funny and opinionated.  This summer I had to travel five thousand miles to discover what was right there in front of me all the time, and I made perhaps the most important travel discovery of my life.