New York, New York

Monday 18th May

Woke up at 7am this morning to find New York shrouded in fog and a chilly 62 Celsius, not much warmer than back home but at least it was dry.

Time to rethink the itinerary  as I had planned to visit the Empire State Building observation deck which is supposed to provide fantastic views of the city but I can't imagine the views from the top would be much to write home about today so this little venture would have to be put on hold for now.  Wednesday looks like being the best day of my stay so that looks to be the best opportunity.

After enjoying some banana filled pancakes with maple syrup it was time to put the Jeff Gordon baseball cap on,  ready the shades (although I wouldn't need them)  and head out onto the streets.

To start the trip off I decided to head for Central Park which forms a very large part of upper midtown.  To get there I opted for a hop on hop off bus tour which covers many routes around the city, stopping off at all of the major tourist attractions. This deal also includes passes to many of the tourist attractions themselves,  allowing me to skip the queues.

After nearly heading into maddame tussauds by accident I eventually managed to purchase my ticket and jump onto the bus.  This tour would circle central Park, Harlem and other districts, the guide was very good,  knew all her stuff.

The transition in the architecture of the buildings was amazing as we headed into different districts.  Nearly got my head chopped off by low hanging branches on the top of the bus but it was a really enjoyable tour.

Once this was over about 11:30 I decided to head into central Park and explore it for myself.  It is such a peaceful area with beautiful lakes,  footbridges and areas where people can just sit and relax and watch the world go by.  You can see why so many New Yorkers come here to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.

The rest of the city is very organised in terms of its grid system layout it is very easy to get around however it is incredibly easy to get lost in central Park,  which I kinda did,  though it's a nice place to get lost in.

After enjoying the scenery for a good few hours I came across strawberry fields,  famous of course for the John Lennon 'imagine memorial'. Took a few photos of course and sat in this area for a while as tourists of all nationalities came and went.  There was a man sitting get on a bench near the memorial playing Beatles songs on acoustic guitar which gave the area more of an atmosphere of reflection.

From here I walked across the road to central Park West to the outside of the Dakota Building which was perhaps best known for where John Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980 but is now famous for the place that I got ripped off for a chicken kebab (or just a limp piece of chicken on a skewer as it was)  for $7. Avoid those Street vendors!

Having covered most of Central Park south that I wanted to I headed back towards times square to meet up with my friend Sam who had also flown out here yesterday. After a loooong walk back to his hotel we finally met.  As this was my Central Park day we headed back up there this time via a yellow cab and covered the northern part of the park.  Enjoyed the views, especially of the Jaqueline Kennedy memorial reservoir which looks awesome with the new York skyline as its backdrop.  After getting lost again and doing 2 laps of the reservoir we headed back towards south Central Park again to catch a cab back to times square.

About 6:30 I headed back to my hotel for a quick freshen up before it was time to head out again.... Just as I had got my breath back!
This time Sam and I headed to a nice little Italian restaurant where I had a nice pepperoni pizza and a budweiser.... Day 2 on this trip and still no burgers and chips.... Must be a record!

 After managing as much of the huge New York style portions as we could the 3 of us (Sam,  his friend Bella and myself)  headed to a comedy show in Times Square,  something random and totally different but it made for an interesting evening.

By the time it finished it was midnight and still the area was packed with tourists,  shops still open etc,  well they call it the city that never sleeps!  Took some amazing photos of times square all lit up at night,  lots of street sellers trying to flog tickets to shows and other events in the area but I am always skeptical about these so just ignore them.  Heck we even bumped into out good old friends trying to sell their homemade rap CDs..... Sorry... I'm wise to that trick!

Before we knew it the time was 1am, and time for me to head back to the hotel... Write this blog entry and get some sleep after a very hectic day 1...but definitely making the most of my time so far... Who needs sleep anyway.