Our New York adventure is over and we didn't have a single drink. I would have gladly had a beer in a pub, or a house wine in a restaurant, or some bubbly in our hotel room, or a cocktail in a lounge. But my partner stuck to his idea of dry January. My temptation to drink came from thinking of not drinking as a long term, forever thing. If I'm not drinking all days except special occassions than I should by rights be allowed one on a special occassion! And being in New York is a special occassion in my books. I'm not one to drink alone, though. Unfortunately that led to the situation, and I'm being honest and vulnerable here about my shortfalls, where I put pressure on my partner to have a drink. I apologized to him, and I have to forgive myself because it is times like these where you really see that it IS an addiction even if you only have 2 drinks over an evening and don't get drunk.
We were away from early Sunday to late Sunday, and I came down with a bad cold on the Thursday. Luckily, I had packed loads of fun into the first few days. Monday we went on a hop on hop off bus, took the ferry to Staten Island, and went to the Native American Museum. Tuesday I did a full day walking tour of lower Manhattan with Free Tours By Foot. The guide we had was amazing, and the tour really made me see the beautiful side to New York (which is a very dirty and harsh city). On Wednesday I walked up to Times Square from our hotel, stopping at a book store and some touristy stores along the way. Then saw &Juliet which was my favourite show I saw on Broadway. Thursday I tried leaving the hotel room but quickly scampered home because I felt like I didn't have my full brain power, you need your wits about you in a big city. I thought I was being weak and pathetic getting overwhelmed for no reason, but it turned out I was sick. Luckily I bought a book about New York history and so enjoyed a lazy hotel day reading and watching New York themed content. On Friday my partner was done his course and we went on a loop through little Italy, Soho, then up through Greenwich Village. We transferred hotels to one close to Times Square, then saw a depressing musical. Who knew there was such a thing. It was about alcoholism, which was apt, and I didn't think about having a drink again. On Saturday we went to see the Intrepid, an aircraft carrier. It was a big old boat. Then we did a little downloadable walking tour around Midtown, the best part of which was visiting Grand Central Station. I didn't think there was much point in going there, but it is truly a beautiful building. We saw Lion King in the evening, which was pretty enjoyable for the costumes and puppetry. Then Sunday home.
I had to call in sick today because I woke up without a voice. I have a few days off after that so hopefully I feel better soon. Half the people on the flight home had the same cough as me. I hope none of the family get it, it's clearly very contagious.