Holidays can teach us many things — about a destination, about other people and about ourselves.
I'm the kind of person who gets lost in my own house on the way to the bathroom at night. It's a disaster waiting to happen. It's even worse out on the streets. Lacking a sense of direction is a nightmare in a new city in a confusing and foreign land. Google Maps isn't always there to help. I believe a big lesson from travel is orienting yourself. It used to be a chore, now it's my favourite part of arriving in a new place.
I spend the first day getting my bearings. Once you know your north and south it all comes into perspective. I was in New York staying in a hotel that looked out over Central Park. Once I worked out we were facing north, Manhattan opened up. Downtown is south, Uptown north. Suddenly the Lower East Side, Upper East Side, East Village, Midtown West . . . it all makes sense. Knowing which way you are going and where you are at enriches your experience. You can look up and around instead of down at your phone.
A tip on the Subway, even if you know which way you are going, learn the difference between Local and Express. I got that wrong and overshot the American Museum of Natural History by miles.
