New York, New York

Welcome to the Big Apple. A city of tall building, interesting people, more Starbucks than you can poke a stick at, and supersized meals! This is true Americana.The end of 2006 was nigh. So two days after stepping off my plane from Perth, i was back in the air. This time with lovely Mirjam, destination: New York, New York!

We decided to go to live the dream of a New Years Eve in Times Square. We arrived on the 30th December, and with jet lag well and truely robbing me of energy we did little more than sleep the afternoon we arrived.

Day two, we meet up with our good friends Dan and Fi, in Rockerfella centre. A coffee at Dean and Deluca then a last minute spur to catch a gospel session at a church in Haarlem. We grabbed a yellow cab, and like a true New Yorker, wanted to get cross town in 10 mins. Well, our driver did very well, was a nice guy who was an ex-cop and gave us some good conversation for the trip. The Gospel was at Mother Africa, so obvously we fit right in with our light complexion. The whole experience was complete with lots of hands in the air, clapping, testifying to the lord and "yes sir" cries from the congregation.

We chose this trip to the Big Apple to live the dream of a New Years Eve in Times Square. We arrived on the 30th December, and with jet lag well and truely robbing me of energy we did little more than sleep the afternoon we arrived. Day two, we meet up with our good friends Dan and Fi, in Rockerfella centre. A coffee at Dean and Deluca then a last minute spur to catch a gospel session at a church in Haarlem. We grabbed a yellow cab, and like a true New Yorker, wanted to get cross town in 10 mins. Well, our driver did very well, was a nice guy who was an ex-cop and gave us some good conversation for the trip. The Gospel was at Mother Africa, so we obvously fit right in with our white skin, and was complete with lots of hands in the air, clapping, testifying to the lord and "yes sir" cries from the congregation.

That night we enjoyed a New Years Eve dinner at a fun Italian restaurant in Times Square. We ate, drank and wore silly hats and then spilled onto the street an hour prior to midnight. A police baricade stopped us from entering Times Square, however we were only 100m away and got the entire taste of excitement and anticipation of the new year. Ten minutes to midnight, the police let us move up to the corner of Times Square, still unfortunately out of sight of the ball, but so close we were loving it. And then as we shouted the big countdown, the crowd went mad, and the sky filled with confetti and cheers. It was such a great atmosphere, so friendly and happy. Afterwards we hit a RnB club in Midtown to bump and grind the night away.

A lot of time was devoted to tonnes of shopping in the Soho and Noho districts. So much in fact, i had to buy another suitcase. We stopped in for a coffee at Starbucks and ran into Mike Meyers in the line. Hardly recognise him out of his many costumes! He grabbed Dan's coffee by accident, so that was his brush with fame.

Got in the audience at the Late Show with David Letterman. Guests were Donald Trump, who was continuing his very public argument with Rosie O'Donald, and "Chloe" from the TV drama 24. We went ice skating in Central Park, and walked around the Park.A peaceful retreat from the hustle, car horns and police sirens of New York. I can see why this park is so important to New Yorkers.

We visited Rockerfella centre, including going to the top of Rockerfella Plaza building for a spectacular view of Manhatten. Also, saw the big Christmas tree and ice skating rink in the Rockerfella centre, living my memories of New York at Christmas time from the many movies i've seen.We indulged in some of the fine American cuisine - hotdogs, pretzels, bagels and a greasy burger the size of a mans head that i defy any human to finish. Most days ended with a painfully saw belly from overeating. An example of this was when Fiona took us to Max Brenner's House of Chocolate, where Mirjam and I had a chocolate fondue, and Fiona order a nice cup of moulten chocolate called a Hug Mug which none of us could stomach after our chocolate "main course".

We took in a show on Broadway at St James Theatre, the hillarious comical music "The Producers" with the classic Tony Danza and Bill Nolte. However i say "we", but poor Mirjam was so jet lagged she fell asleep, leaving me to enjoy the show alone.We did a tour of NBC studio and saw the set of Saturday Night Live. Also, toured Radio City, which was a very amazing venue, and got to meet one of the Radio City Rockettes, the famous dance troupe.

A walk over Brooklyn bridge, a building civil engineering achievement, also revealed the immense size of the Manhatten cityscape. So densely packed, massive buildings reaching for the sky. We walked down to Ground Zero, a moving place, albeit nothing much to see other than a large construction site. However the plaques, photo murials and personal messages are a constant reminder of the lives lost there.

A fantastic trip, satisfied my craving for Americana culture, and i definately left saying "I love NY".

Cheerio
Steve

Make sure you visit my photo website: www.bugbitten.com/steveabroad for all my photos from New York and other adventures. This is also included in the "more of steve" list on the right of this page - "Steve has a bug!".