Gorgeous great groovy Gotham

Arrived in New York late morning on the 4th, and came quickly to grips with the subway system so that I could get from Penn Station up to the Upper West Side, drop my bags at the YMCA and then get down to the Chelsea-ish area where one of the Tribeca Film Festival theatres was. It was the last day of the festival so I was anxious to see something!

I had booked a ticket for a special showing of the 'NY Loves Film' Documentary Award Winner, having no idea what it was going to be (just that it was showing at a convenient time!) Turned out to be 'Zoned In' - really great, and it was amazing watching it with the subject and the filmmaker sitting in the audience. They did a Q & A after as well.

After that I bought tickets for another award-winner, this time the Emerging Documentary Maker award which was for 'Old Man Bebo' about the amazing Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes.

After that I was pretty exhausted and so headed back to the Y to check in, found some salad for dinner at a drugstore on Broadway and crashed. If you leaned the right way towards the small window in my room you could see a sliver of Central Park (it was just half a block away.)

Got up early on the 5th and went for a brisk walk in Central Park; it was a lovely crisp morning which felt a bit like Christchurch. Checked out the Angel of the Waters/Bethesda Fountain (a classic film/TV location), the Ramble, the Literary Walk, the Alice in Wonderland statue, Strawberry Fields. Back to the Y to shower and check out.

Headed to the Rockefeller Center and on a whim got a Rock Pass, which means got me to the Top of the Rock (viewing platform at the top of the Center, obviously), a tour of Radio City Music Hall, and a tour of NBC Studios. I went to the top first, and it was really a beautiful view and a perfect day to orient myelf from on high.

After grabbing some lunch I went to Radio City. The interior is really great art deco stuff, and the attention to detail in the powder rooms etc. is really stunning. It was cool to see the flash dining room and photos of all the famous people who have dined there. We met a Rockette which was supposed to be something really exciting but since everyone on the tour was from overseas we didn't really understand...

Next up was the NBC tour. We saw working newsrooms, make-up areas etc. but the real highlight was seeing actors rehearse Saturday Night Live (according to our guides this never happens.) It was a recurring skit to do with the Democrat race which I had seen some of on previous shows. Clinton is played by Amy Poehler, whose film Baby Moma is currently showing in cinemas.

From here I wandered to Times Square for a first look - went into Toys R Us which is massive and has a ferris wheel and big dinasour from Jurassic Park inside; Virgin Megastore where there were crowds of middle-aged women queuing up for Clay Aiken tickets outside; and M & M world.

I headed back up to the Y to get my bag - checking out the Time Warner Center, an upscale mall, on my way - then went to meet Connie (Mum's ex-colleague's cousin's best friend - yes really!) and went back to her place in Jersey City (about 45 minutes away by train and bus.) We had pizza and watched TV.

On the 6th headed for the World Trade Center, now just a construction site really. The surrounding buildings look a bit strange - there really is a hole in the skyline. Had a peek into Century 21, a designer outlet store but no room for any purchases really so didn't have a serious look. Walked down to Battery Park to see the squished Sphere, which used to stand in front of the WTC, then bought a ticket and joined the one-hour queue for the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands. Luckily I had a magazine with me.

It was great to get up close to the Statue and the views back to Manhattan were pretty good too (perfect sunny day for it.) Tickets to go inside the Statue were sold out but it was great to wander around anyway. Ellis Island was next, the main building is now a museum which tells you about the process for new immigrants who arrived there.

Got back and walked up the street to see the Bull, which unfortunately was wearing a t-shirt to advertise the new Sports Museum. Ahem. Wandered past the Trinity Church and Stock Exchange (and lots of suits), and on to the South St Seaport. Loads of tacky souvenir shops (couldn't help buying the I Love NY t-shirt...) and some great street performers, and good views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ended the day by checking out Chinatown and Little Italy (which is very little.)

Slept in a little on the 7th, then headed to the dizzying heights of the Empire State Building. Walked from there to the Flatiron Building to get some photos, then to Times Square to line up for Broadway tickets. Tried out the Photography museum but it was closed...

Met Connie for Thai-Japanese-ish dinner which was really good, then we saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring James Earl Jones, Terence Howard and Phylicia Rashad. Beyond being starstruck, it was a really great production and we had killer seats maybe 10 rows from the stage. It was very funny amongst all the drama.

Afterwards, took the obligatory photos of Times Square by night and headed home.

On the 8th it was drizzly :( but anyway headed to the Chrylser Building (my favourite) for some photos and a poke around the Art Deco lobby. Walked to the United Nations, sent the postcard for which I had to buy a special stamp because it's not US soil, and bought a UN teddy bear (I've always wanted one!) Took the tour, which was rather exciting in an International Law-geeky way. We sat inside the General Assembly and Security Council rooms, and got to walk through the ECOSOC chamber while it was in session!

Went up to the top end of Central Park to see the three dancing maidens in the Untermeyer Fountain, and walked past the Jackie O Reservoir to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Completely overwhelming... lovely to see some more Vermeer, a good Dali, one of my favourite van Goghs and a huge Greek collection including some rare geometric stuff.

MoMA was next - was disappointed that all bar one of their Dalis is on loan in Europe but saw Starry Night and some other challenging but interesting bits and pieces.

Last stop of the day was St Patrick's Cathedral for a quick look.

On the 9th I learned that a rainy day in New York is not 100% fun.

Started off with some wandering and people-watching in the Village; also had a look at the building from Friends. Next stop was to be the Guggenheim but I didn't fancy queuing in the rain... so went back to the Met where I had forgotten to buy postcards, did that, and then went back to the Village to the Film Forum where they had a Godard retrospective. I saw Pierrot le Fou which I hadn't seen before and really enjoyed, it was a lovely print.

Went back to the Guggenheim - no queue. The building and special exhibit were very interesting but 99% of the permanent collection was off display due to renovations. Same entry price though! I refused to spend any money in the shop because I was so annoyed.

Next I went down to SoHo to look for CBGB's but failed, despite having an address! Wet and grumpy I met Connie and some of her friends for a well-deserved drink and dinner, then Connie and I went to see Iron Man. It was fun and great to see Terence Howard on a big screen two nights after seeing him hop around the stage in a dressing gown with a broken leg!

The 10th - my last day in the US - did very little, packing, washing, posting things. Went to an archetypal American diner for lunch which was nice, then started my long journey... first the usual bus and train into Manhattan, where I said goodbye to Connie, then the one hour bus to JFK. There I checked in and started a ridiculous wild-goose-chase all over the airport looking for a FedEx to drop my cellphone. I don't recommend anyone ever trying to do this! But if you ever need to I can tell you how!

Anyway I was at JFK quite early so it was stressful but not as bad as it could have been.

Wow I have finally blogged my way to the end of the USA.

I will edit this one more time to add some thoughts about the entire 6 weeks, and I am slowly adding photos to my earlier posts. Will start on Europe soon!