Business Travel Is The New Canker Sore

So I have just returned from a whirlwind forty-eight hour trip to New York City. Got in late last night and, despite the fact that I arrived home exhausted and frozen to the bone, still woke up at 7 a.m. this morning. Damn this internal alarm clock, it refuses to let me sleep in.

Let me just start by saying that I love New York City with all my heart. Except in January. In January I apparently have to recite over and over to myself "I love New York, I love New York" in order to not want to flee and never return. Really, that's not fair to either of us. The problem with this trip is it was A) too short and B) planned by others. Now, I have visited Manhattan under a wide variety of circumstances over the years: with a purpose or for fun; alone or with an assortment of companions. She has never disappointed. Apparently, that is because I have never before had to overnight in her bowels, aka the Financial District, with a mere three hour window of time with which to do as I pleased before having to subject myself to obligation.

Compound this with the fact that my business traveling companion - we'll call him Rocky - has not developed the same passion for Her as I have, which obviously can only be because he has not spent enough time there. Yet he has listened to me express my own love for the city enough times that I felt absolutely responsible for justifying it on this trip.

Well, we didn't start out well. For starters, they don't exactly roll out the jumbo jet for the fifty-odd minute flight to LaGuardia. When you have to walk across the tarmac to get to the plane, it's pretty freaking tiny. The mini aircraft did not agree with Rocky, nor did the rather long and turbulent drive from Queens to the bowels. I think he would have preferred that I leave him alone to recover, but I was on a mission. The concierge suggested SoHo for our extremely short leisure time, and off we went.

Maybe we did it wrong. I don't know. But SoHo? Not my favorite neighborhood. I'm at a loss for words here, because I don't want to misspeak...to me, it seemed even more touristy than midtown, and what I didn't want was touristy. Between my inner disappointment, poor Rocky's still weak stomach, and the insufferable January cold, it was not quite the explosion of "You were so right about this city!" that I was hoping for. Defeated.

Everything in between SoHo and my return was obligation-related. Obligatory business dinner Thursday night. Obligatory ferry ride to Jersey City Friday morning to attend obligatory business meeting. It was a bittersweet experience to gaze across the river at Manhattan during the obligatory lunch - a little like watching your best friend laughing at someone else's joke. We took the obligatory car service directly back to LaGuardia after the meeting, which meant far too many hours sitting in an airport. There is little in this world that I dislike more than waiting at the airport. If my travel plans are up to me, I factor in as tight of an airport experience as I can manage. Alas, Rocky and I were on the same flight home as well, and the return car ride was no less tormenting to him than the initial one, so it was not only a painfully long wait but a very quiet one. Poor Rocky.

Oh well. I can only hope I find a way to visit again soon, perhaps with Boyfriend. At least I can now scratch "stay overnight in the Financial District" off my list of Things To Do Before I Die. Oh wait, that wasn't on the list.