New York City

Hello again,
So we have a fair bit to catch up on. It’s been a very very busy week. We have moved from DC to New York in Harlem, and then went to Philly for Muse, staying in New Jersey, and then moved back to New York, and we are now staying on the edge of Chelsea & the Meatpacking District. So we have moved over 4 states.
Arriving in New York the first time, we were dropped right near Penn Station in the middle of it all, right near Madison Square Garden in a bustling part of the city. It was a little overwhelming to say the least. I think New York’s one of those places that just has a feel...it’s really hard to explain, but I felt a part of something big the second we got here.
For the first 3 nights we stayed in a dingy hostel in Harlem. It was highly amusing up there and the characters we came across were priceless. A few were students studying & staying in the hostel as it was all they could afford, others were just New Yorkers that hit a hard patch, and then there were of course a few internationals as well. I was very glad we were there as it was an experience I am glad we had, but it was on the end stretch of a lot of Dorm Beds, so I have to say it is nice to be back in a private room.
Harlem was really interesting, we got to go visit the Apollo Theater, The Seinfeld Restaurant (Tom’s) and we just spent a bit of time walking around.
We walked down to Times Square both days walking on each side of New York. The first day we went down the Westside. We spent time strolling through Central Park, watching the kids sledding on their snow day, building snowmen & having snowball fights. It was awesome, I love the snow. If I could be somewhere that was only summer & then snow, and skip the whole messy rain bit I would love it. Snowball fights are soo much fun.
We visited Strawberry Fields & the Dakota building which was absolutely overwhelming. I may leave this incase Benny wants to elaborate, but to be where John Lennon died was really bizarre and kind of surreal.
When we went down the Upper Eastside it was definitely not what I expected. I guess it has all been highly glamorized and the names of Park Ave, Madison & 5th strike certain images in your head. The designer stores were all still there, and I could imagine it at its finest, but in the winter with all the trees leafless and snow being piled up on all the pavements & melting, it certainly wasn’t the high end images I had envisioned thanks to SATC & Gossip Girl. Still I was so happy to be there.
Times Square is everything it has been hyped up to be. It takes a few minutes to look around & take it all in. It’s bizarre actually the billboards are just everywhere. We noticed some that just seemed ridiculously placed. On the top of buildings miles away, just because they are viewable from Times Square. That said I guess we saw it, so maybe not so silly after all.

Times Square has a few specialty stored that we also saw fit to visit. The M&M store was somewhere I could have easily, and quite unreasonably spent a lot of money. You can make your own M&M mix. With colours that do not exist anywhere else. Being budget conscious we made a tiny mix of green and gold M&M’s to snack on. Go Aussie! There is also the Massive Toys R Us store that has its own Ferris wheel, and leggo replicas of the Empire State Building & the Chrysler building.
We have also visited Broadway, as it’s in the same place of course. And I would absolutely LOVE to go to a show, but it doesn’t seem like even with the half price tickets that they offer that it is within our reach. One day though. I shall return with moneybags!
Yesterday we spent the day on our feet. We strolled through Chelsea, Soho, Little Italy (although couldn’t find much that screamed Italy) Chinatown (which is huge) and ended up crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s massive & from there was good to look back into Manhattan & take in its size. It really is incredible. We also took notice of where the twin towers would have stood. From there we also got a nice view of the Statue of Liberty from a distance.

Once we realized how close we were to the World Trade centre site, we decided to fit it in to the day’s events, so we continued walking. It was full on. They are only now just starting to build on it again, so it is still just a massive gaping hole, 8 and a half years on it was not something I expected. I know that they hadn’t built much yet, but as it is in the opening stages of construction it resembles a wrecking yard. Was definitely a time for reflection.
Aside from these sights we have also visited Trump Tower and Trump International Hotel, we had a look around Madison Square Garden, but didn’t get into the arena, and we went to Radio City Music Hall.
New York is amazing. There is still so much to do and it has this magical way of making me want to spend, to eat out to see shows, to do so much more than we can. At the same time I’m kind of enjoying how we are living we have moved into a hotel on 14th Street as I said earlier in Chelsea, it’s on the fourth floor so we have to climb these killer stairs to get up here. It’s cramped, with only a microwave & a fridge to eat from and we overlook 14th street. It’s never quiet. There are always sirens, and right now I’m sitting up here typing on the laptop, telling my story. I feel like a New Yorker. O doubt I’ll have a lot more to say, but this is a novel in itself, so time to say goodbye.
We have a shitty cold, but are very happy & loving NYC.
Peace
xxx

Once again I dont have the patience for the pics to upload so sorry, it's just the novel for now xxx