Hi again,
So... I've got two days to catch up on. Well, yesterday, I slept in. And I don't mean until 7AM "slept in" (as some of you know, when I work on day shift I get up at 4.30AM!) No, today I didn't wake up until after midday. I imagine it is partly due to jet lag, a number of early mornings, poor sleep, and the fact that I have been walking absolutely everywhere, almost without exception. I've worked out how to get the best night's sleep now. Louise suggested taking earplugs for the flight over. Well, they helped a little, but they have become indespensible for being able to have a good night's sleep in a six-bed dorm with noisy air-conditioners and snoring. Thanks Louise!! Now moving on...

So, even though I didn't wake up until after noon, I still insisted on having breakfast. I went to "Bagel on Broadway", and had a cinammon raisin bagel, toasted with butter. Not much difference in taste to the others I've had here. All have been delicious :)

I met up with two of my roomates Matthieu and (I think this is how you spell it) Yussef back at the hostel. Both very nice french people. Matthieu lives in a small seaside town near the border of Spain. I think it was called "Bialitz". I'd have to check though. He works for Quiksilver, so he he's familiar with Australians and their wild ways (although I don't really think I fit into the stereotype exactly). Yussef lives in Paris, although I can't remember exactly what he did. They were both friends from a management school in "Bialitz". Anyway, enough of my friends...

So we met up, and were planning to go to SoHo to look for clothes. Since I've been here, the weather hasn't been bad at all (it was a dry heat on the weekend, and the temperature was mild). But it has been hotter the last few days, and getting a little more humid, so I was hoping to get some shorts, some more t-shirts, and a hat, because I think the top of my scalp may have been getting a little too much sun.

We went first to Greenwich Village. Couldn't help noticing all the New York University buildings. I love the area, and I'm going to do everything I can to get accepted into their PhD program in two years time (and I'm going to need all the help I can get! It's a tough school to get in to). Had lunch at a Peruvian cafe (which turns out to be one in a chain. Can't remember the name). Walked through NoHo and on to East Village, where we had a cocktail at a bar called "Bua" in St Mark's Place. This street is quite distinctive. There are a lot of stores selling hats, t-shirts with bands or political slogans, and tatoo and piercing parlours. Can't say I'm too impressed with what they had to offer. It's suppose to be a "hippie" neighbourhood. But it just seemed they were selling all the same stuff; and probably more for the tourists. I almost completely lost confidence in the scene when I heard Wolfmother playing in one of the shops. No offence to Wolfmother fans, but why bother? Might as well listen to Led Zeppelin. Anyway...

But still, East village was very nice with all its bars and cafes, and it would nevertheless be a cool neighbourhod to live in (although the Waitress at Bua said rent is about $1000 a month!).

We wandered a little more, and then Matthieu and Yussef wanted to go and jog in Central Park before it got dark. So they went back, while I wandered around the streets a little more, looking at all the different food outlets, etc.) I met up with them later that evening, and we went back to the East Village and had dinner at the "Sushi Lounge". Food was delicious, I had the special, which included Chicken and cashews, with a selection of Sashimi and salad :) I also had a "Sake-tini", which was just a cocktail with sake, and some Japanese beer. We then went back to Bua's, had another beer, then took a cab back to the hostel and called it a night.

They left early the following morning, but before they left we exchanged e-mails (so it looks like my next trip will be to Paris and Bialitz. Not bad...)

Today, I went out alone, checked my e-mail at the Apple Store, and then wandered down Fifth Avenue to find some clothes. First store I found was "Saks". Think of Myer or David Jones, but five times more expensive. I saw leather Jackets there for almost US $3000. Hmm... maybe in my next life. I found another store, "H&M" which was more budget clothing. Bought some tops and some trousers. They were quite nice. The style is bit of a departure for me, but I am pleased with my purchases. Then at Bloomingdales on 3rd Avenue, I finally bought some sunglasses. I have been so indecisive about sunglasses, never seeming to be able to find a pair to match my face. However the shop assistant was very helpful, and I finally purchased a pair of Ray Bans which I am quite happy with.

Tonight the hostel put on a stand-up comedy show. There were about four or five different commedians. But we were a pretty tough crowd. Some of the material was okay - the last one had some good jokes - but most of them failed dismally with the largely international audience. Something about most American stand-up just doesn't work for other cultures. We clapped for their efforts anyway.

So that's about it for now. Hope I haven't bored anyone yet. Tomorrow I am thinking of going to get a ticket to a Broadway show. The one I am interested in is "Spring Awakenings", which recently won a Tony Award, and is supposed to be really good.

Anyway, take care everyone.

Talk to you soon,
Dale

Hi everyone!

Today I went for a slight change of pace. I hung up my tourist hat (or at least I tried to. It's possible it could have gotten caught to the back of my t-shirt and everyone else but me could see it. I didn't know how to use the ticket machine in the subway, and I also missed the sign that the number 1 train wasn't operating. So I was on the platform by myself, except for some workers, until one of them told me there was no train. So it is possible my tourist hat was trailing behind me, and while I thought I was blending in with the locals, everyone else could see I was just a tourist trying to blend in with the locals. Anyway, I'm taking this metaphor way too seriously...)

I left my cameras back at the hostel, traded my backpack for a satchel, took a few books and my journal, and headed down Broadway to 7th Ave, where I had eggs benedict at a little cafe called "Petrossian". They also sold a lot of sweet pastries, but I didn't want any. Maybe another time...

After my late breakfast (it was almost midday; I slept in until 9AM), I headed towards Central Park. I began at the southern end, and moved my way up along the west side. There were lots of people, mostly tourists down the southern end I think. There were childrens rides, lots of food vendors selling hot dogs and giant pretzels (I tried s bit of someone elses pretzel on the grand tour - wouldn't buy one myself now. Think of a bagel, but without any taste!)

The layout of the park is excellent. I wanted to look for a nice spot to sit down and read a little bit and write in my journal, but the problem was there were so many nice spots! And I kept on wanting to see what was over the next hill, what was on the other side of the next bridge, what was around some lake...

I got tired eventually sat down and read a book and wrote in my journal for about an hour. Then I headed out to a cafe on the upper west side where I ordered an "Akabura" chicken breast sandwich - which had American cheddar, fried onions, green capsicum and sauteed mushrooms. Actually I ordered the "platter" version, which in addition to a sandwich, came with fries, tomato and lettuce. I though that sounded more balanced and interesting than just a "sandwich" which was how it was described. It was asbolutely massive! I looked at it and thought there was no way I could eat it all. Well, I was mostly wrong. I left something on the plate - not much - just so I could say I didn't eat it all. Think I will be having a light dinner tonight!

Went back to Central Park and wandered some more. I walked around the "Reservoir", which is the biggest lake in the park, and gives you an amazing view of the cityscape surrounding the park from the east, west and south. There were lots of people jogging around this lake. Eventually I made my way back to the hostel and now here I am posting on this blog!

Anyway, can't think of anything else to write now, and my time is running out. I can't post pictures from here because there is no USB port. I might try going to the Apple Store again and see if I can do it from there.

I think tomorrow I would like to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then who knows...

Anyway, hope evryone is looking after themselves.

Talk to you all soon,
Dale

Hi everyone. I'm writing this post on a 17" Macbook Pro in the 24 hour Apple store on 5th Avenue. Just thought I would post while I'm here because it's free, and it kind of has a novelty value (at least for those who use Macs!) I went on a walking tour of Harlem today. It was good, except I was getting really sunburnt. I already got a bit burnt on the Grand Tour yesterday, so I was kind of keen to get into the shade, and get some sunscreen. I took the subway to Time Square, and ate lunch at the cafe at the Morgan Library and Museum on Madison Avenue. Nice club sandwich, but extremely overpriced. Had my first decent coffe too though. At the museum I saw an original sketch of the Emperor Concerto by Beethoven. Almost a religious moment!!

Anyway, I'll give you all more details later. Want to keep looking around the store some more!

Later,
Dale

Well, I've now had my first full day in NYC since I arrived, and it was absolutely amazing. I signed up to "Jerry's Grand Tour of NYC" at the hostel. "Jerry" is a volunteer tour guide, a former high school teacher who has been taking people from the hostel on his tour every Saturday for the last eight years. Not even September 11 could stop him. The Saturday following the attacks, Jerry conducted his tour, even though he had to change his route - it had included the Twin Towers as part of it.

Anyway, this would have to have been the best possible way to see NYC. It was a 16 hour walking tour, beginning in Brooklyn Heights, a very attractive suburb occupied by the upper middle class, and ended in Times Square, Midtown. Along the way, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, walked through the Financial District, including Wall Street, took the Staten Island Ferry (which was free!), had a meal in Chinatown, walked through Little Italy, Little India, Soho, Noho, Greenwich Village, East Village... did I miss anything out? There was a lot, and enough experiences to fill a book. I have a very good overview of many of the famous neighbourhoods of New York, and feel, having been on this tour, that I have the confidence to go and explore some places further on my own.

One of the most ubelievable parts about all this is that the tour only cost $10, plus the cost of the metrocard (we had to take the subway a few times), and $10 for the meal in Chinatown - an extremely cheap activity but will be one of the most memorable. I hope to try and visit as many of these places again in the next four weeks, so I will try and write about them in detail in later posts.

Perhaps I should just briefly mention some of the highlights. Soho has aa lot of art galleries. I spent a few minutes in the "Opera" Gallery, which had a lot of amazing works of art (and very expensive too - I think I overheard the gallery owner offering half price on a $30,000 "Kaplan" to a dealer - slightly out of my budget I'm afraid!). Also along the streets of Soho there were a lot of artists selling their original artwork and prints. One guy who spoke to us makes scultptures out of mesh - flywire, copper, etc. Soho is also good for clothes shopping. There was a sale going on for designer denim. Might have to venture down there in the next few days and see if anything attracts me.

We went to Washington Square Park, where of course there is this massive arch. There also happened to be the "NYC Annual Dyke Parade". Lots of loud drumming. I can't imagine seeing anything like it in Melbourne!

We went into the Grand Central Terminal in Midtown. Unbelievable!! Flinders Street and Southern Cross Stations have nothing on this work of art!! I have never seen a train station like it!

We also went into the Marriot Hotel in Times Square. A very interesting hotel, architecturally. There are 86 floors, all around the edge. The inside is hollow all the way up, except for a long pillar with these elevators that look like futuristic pods zooming up and down. We went in one of them up to the 86th floor. They are VERY fast, and it is just amazing looking out the glass as you go all the way up to the top of the building!

Anyway, I'm sure I could remember a alot more, but my time is running out on the internet. I'm going to go and have breakfast in a couple of minutes, and then I am going to do the tour to Columbia University and Harlem to see the Gospel choir!

Until next time, take care!

Hi everyone!

Well... I made it... just! There were no hijackings on the plane, JFK wasn't blown up... I didn't get mugged, stabbed or shot. It's all good :)

However, my journey over didn't quite go as I envisioned. Firstly, my itinerary appears to have left out a few minors details. For instance, Sydney and Los Angeles. When I booked my flight online, I was under the impression it was a direct flight from Melbourne to New York. Not so. I don't quite understand, but for some reason, the journey from Melbourne to New York was given one name: UA840; and for some reason that is a good reason not to inform the purchaser of this airfare that they will in fact be flying to New York via Sydney and Los Angeles! I don't know... The good thing was that, because I went through immigration and customs in Los Angeles (yep. they let me in. Again. Fools...) I was able to get off the plane, get my luggage, and more or less get the shuttle to the hostel.

Talking about Los Angeles, immigration and customs, unfortunately I experienced a repeat of history. I don't entirely blame myself - the single unified journey known as "UA840" in fact had two connecting flights. The one from LA to New York began boarding about 40 minutes after I got to immigration and customs. It was an incredible rush (not in the good sense either).

Going through the security scan seemed to take forever. Some guy's luggage seemed to keep stalling before mine could get through. And I also had to remove my shoes. This is all about 10 minutes before my next plane was due to depart. After I put my shoes back on, I proceeded to find gate 73. But the arrow was ambiguous, and I ended up going down some escalator that I thought would lead me to "gate 73". I was wrong.

But not only that, I realized as I was going down the escalator that my passport was missing. I knew roughly where it was. I had seen it when I was at the security scan. Then I got to the bottom of the escalator only to realise that I had just exited the terminal, and would have to do the blasted security check all over again. By this time I was starting to feel a little on the nervous side.

I found my way back again, and an officer kept on asking me for ID, and I kept trying to tell her my "ID" - my passport - was somewhere on the other side of the x-ray machine. We went round in circles for a moment, and then another security officer intervened. I eventually showed them my drivers license. I went through the scan - AGAIN. Just as slowly too. Then I approached someone on the other side. She casually went to some desk, and told me if it had been handed in, her supervisor would have it, but that he had gone to the bathroom. I explained to her that my plane was a bout to depart. She referred me to someone else, who finally handed me my passport. I then sprinted to "Gate 73".

Anyway, I'm here in NYC now. I just came back before from a diner on Broadway, where I had some dinner (a Mediterranean burger. It was pretty good!)I am staying in a hostel on the Upper West Side. The room I have looks decent. There appeared to be only one other occupant.

Anyway, time is short, so hopefully I will post more soon.