New York

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(Before reading this story please see overview)

New York City! The shining jewel on our American adventure was an experience well lubricated with both alcohol and kindness by Cormac, the best friend of a very good friend of ours from Guatemala. This man who had never met us, took us in to his home and then proceeded to show us the likes of hospitality that I have never before come across.

The coolest little speakeasy

We were met in the China Town, Manhattan, and taken on a stroll and pub-crawl through Little Italy, Soho and Greenwich Village. We stopped in a total of two bars before returning, by metro, to his apartment in Queens, depositing our bags and promptly leaving for more drinks in the local area. Our new friend refused to let us pay for drinks (mostly unsuccessfully), gave us intermittent quality facts about the city, for which he was once a tour guide and, of course, provided quality conversation.

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Back in his apartment he gave up his bed and slept on the couch.

Over the next two days he took us on trips around the city through Cambridge University (where we met up with another friend, James), Central Park, Brooklin, Times Square, and then to the coolest little speakeasy. On Saturday evening we were taken to a party where he introduced us to his friends and made sure (as previously suggested) to lubricate the whole experience with ample supplies of alcohol. We had a great time