New York

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Hello from the Big Apple!!! Firsly all i can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a city!!!

Everything you have heard, read or seen about New York City is true! It's MASSIVE, its tall, it's cool and American and i mean American!!

The cars, the noise, the taxis is sooooooooooooooo from the films its unreal. All i keep doing is staring thinking am i really here!?! Plus everyone is fat and i mean FAT! its making me feel concious!! Ha Ha. But i am loving every second of it.

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Ok.....so my story so far.

The flight from Heathrow was bang on time and the flight was excellent. I was a little nervy but that soon settled after the complimentary Heineken!! They went down very well. I think the airsteward thought i was a bit weird as all i kept doing was get up to stare out the window but for some weird reason i didnt want to miss a thing. Seeing the Empire State building was amazing, all the while it still dint feel real.

I got a bit confused on the trains to the city as i bought the wrong ticket and ended up spending $30 to get there, could have got a taxi for that!! anyhow so i decided to walk to the Hotel with by backpack, took me over an hour!! by then i was soooo tired all i wanted to do was sleep plus that fact i got the hotel @ 10 which was 3am your time and my bodyclocks time!! The Hotel is ok, if not a little basic but cheap and cheerful so it will do. It's right in the trendy part with loads of bands playing in the clubs and old pubs(dives they are callled here) so am pleased as punch.

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Yesterday i was on a mission. I decided to do New York in rush hour! You just hold on to your pants and off you go, no time for stopping or dawdling otherwise you would get crushed! Firstly i got a Starbucks which is something i have always wanted to do in New York then off i went to the Subway which i have to say i have found rather easy to get my around, easier then London thats for sure!!

Off i went to Times Square which is unreal, much much better then i expected.Big screens, big lights, lots of honking cars and so many things to do and see. Then i headed for Macys which didnt open until 10 so thought 'ummm what can i do' turned around and saw the Empire State Building, you can guess the rest.

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After climbing 86 floors (in a lift) i got to the top and i have to say whatever people have said, you cannot fault the view.It is breathtaking! i snapped and snapped and snapped away on my camera. It is something you have to see to believe, you can see for miles and miles. I listened on some Yonker talking about the different states and whats New York City and what wasn't etc, very interesting though and i actually learnt something.

I then headed back to Macys which i wasnt overly impressed by, was just like a big House of Fraser, all designer and all out my league, worth a look though. Then i headed to H&M for a little retail therapy but bought nowt.

Then i decided to walk downtown to Greenwich village, Soho, The Village. It was a long walk but i think you have to walk in New York to get a feel for everything, be a part of it.Greenwich was beautiful, big steps like in the films, fire stairs everything.Soho was cool and trendy with cool people(i fitted in well!! ;) ) I finally ended up @ Ground Zero which was fenced off so you cannot see a great deal but does make you think. I went to the memorial which was moving and eary, lots of people taking pictures of pictures. I then headed East and stumbled across Southside Seaport which was cool as it had a massive old ship right in front of the skyscrapers.You could see Brooklyn Bridge in the background. I strolled around looking in the shops and treated myself to new pair of sunglasses from a stall. Making my way back to Chinatown i walked through some scary areas but you do feel safe eveywhere you go.In Chinatown there was a rally going on about immigrants, it was going on Nationwide, so hanged about watching that.In Chinatown i felt like the only non Asian person! and i really mean that but it is so lively.There are stalls with so much food and the smells was yum yum yum. I then walked up to Little Italy and had a beer called Sam Adams which was mmm mmm mmmm even though the bloke couldnt understand me.He said Sam i thought he said San so thought i was going to get a San Miguel!! oh well, still it went down a treat! Strolling The time i got back to Union Square where the rally i left had arrived and turned in to a Massive demonstration!! There were people shouting for immigrants to go home, loads of police and me in the middle taking pictures!! ha ha ha! There is only so much ' Equal Rights' you can here so i headed back to the Hotel. After a little nap to recharge the batteries i decided to go out. I eventually found a bar called Stonewall which is a famous Gay Bar (all to do with rioting in the 70s) so that was my fist stop. Within a few minutes 2 Yonkers started chatting to me about England etc. They seem to think everyone lives in London! Eventually you just say you live there, it's easier. I asked about New York what to do and where to go - plus i was getting my drinks bought!! tee hee hee after a few hours i went to a bar where there was karaoke.They love it here and take it SO seriously, i was even tempted to do me Elvis but needed the glasses! still it was a nice place but not overly busy. Going back to the Hotel i  got caught in a Thunderstorm and it lashed down and i got SOAKED! Theres me running through New York like a nutter trying to work out where my hotel was!! I managed to find it in the end.

Today, so far i have come back to Times Square and am sat in Mid Manhatten library using the tinternet for an hour. I 'm going to watch the football in a bit, $2 a pint so cant be bad and watch Man Utd lose!!

Tonight im off to watch a band called The Cribbs so i will let you all know how that night pans out.

Now lets talk food! Everything, every country, big or small you can find it here.They LOVE their food, no lets rephrase that, they idolise their food! Everywhere you turn there is an eaterie of some kind.I swear i have put on a few pounds. Yesterday was hot dog, danish,McDonalds,iced coffee and ice cream!! There is so much choice you wanna try it all and its dirt cheap which helps! so Kirk i think you will be right as i will be coming back a stone heavier......

Anyhow thats enough of me for now........i am loving every second and i could write and write but i have probably bored you by now. One last thing i will say is if you have never been to New York...you should.....you cannot help but be mesmorised by it.

PS i am trying to find a place where i can upload photos as they are strict over here and everywhere i go wont let you...grrrrr