New York, New York

25th March 2004.

Well after 24 years of talking about it, I finally made it to the U.S.A & what a place to start then the "Big Apple". New York had always been one of my top five must see U.S cities, not too mention my top five must see world cities. We had booked to stay in a little place called the Big Apple Hostel, which was in a pristine location no more than fifty meters from Times Square.

We flew in to JFK & picked up a transfer from there to Grand Central Station. The drive into Manhattan was one of those moments you have on a trip. You know the type.. you bite your fingernails in anticipation, trying to peer through any angle of window possible. It also brings to mind memories of every New York movie you've ever seen.

By the time we had settled in to the hostel it was about 5.00pm, so we decided to go and get a bite to eat at Times Square. Keep in mind that I had just arrived from Egypt so every eatery, deli or restaurant we walked past was looking mighty fine to me. We ended up going with a good old New York style slice of pizza. Now I'm not talking about you regular Domino's slice of pizza or even your fancy restaurant slice of pizza. In New York & most of America for that fact the pizza only comes one way... extra big, extra flavoursome & super, super tasty.

When we got to Times Square it was just like you see in the movies. All the signs were lit up, there were yellow taxi cabs beeping their horns, steam rising from the grates & people rushing from one place to another. We spent the evening drifting from one store to another visiting the worlds biggest toy store, music store & even checked out Madame Tussuad's to name a few. The wax figurines on display at Madame Tussuad's are impressive to say the least. It took me a few minutes before I realised I was standing behind Samuel L Jackson & Nicholas Cage to buy my entry tickets.

One of the big places on the tourist trail is Ground Zero. The morning of September 11 2001 is one that changed the world as we knew it. It had been three years since the planes hit the buildings but from the feeling emulating from here you would of thought it just happened yesterday. It was exceptionally silent & had a very eerie feeling to it. There were people crying as they payed their respects, post cards & photos wedged in the fence, scarred buildings still requiring attention & like every other tourist attraction people selling tacky photos of the tragedy try to make a quick buck. After walking around the sight we went into one of the remaining WTC building to an area known as the Winter Garden. Here we read a few of the amazing stories that took place on that day, as well as checking out the plans for the new memorial building already under construction.

That afternoon we took the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty for some amazing photos of Lower Manhattan. Walked through Central Park & and watched the squirrels & local hip hop dancers do their thing. We went to Brooklyn & rode the subway, cruised around Manhattan Island & best of all went to an Ice Hockey game. New York Ranger v the Buffalo Sabers & what a match. The American public are just so patriotic that it feels a little bit weird to a regular Aussie guy. You would be hard by to find someone who sings along with our national anthem at any sporting event not including the B class singer who is performing it. It was the the last match for someone from the New York team so they were all just going ape shit. All in all it was a fantastic night at Madison Square Garden with hot dogs, beer & violence.

Our morning ritual began with breakfast at the exceptionally tasty deli next to the hostel & then a short stroll down to the NBC Studios to try & get on TV for the parents back home. After three days of this, we thought if we haven't got on TV yet it's not going to happen, so we decided to leave. As we walked around the corner we noticed about eight people hanging around the door with cameras so I said lets just hang here & see what's happening. With in 5 minutes the doors flung open & Mini Driver walk out to hop into her limo. Now I have never been a fan of hers but I realised this was the place to be, forget about getting on TV. The next day we came back at 7.00am & who happened to walk out the doors except Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. All the paparazzi started calling out Dwayne, Dwayne can I get a photo Dwayne. Now I knew who "The Rock" was but I had know idea that his name was Dwayne so i start calling out quietly "Mr Rock, Mr Rock". He looks at one of the paparazzi guys & says "I know you, you've had plenty of shot's of me & you've sold lots of them... I'm not giving you a photo". So at this point I thought I have no chance, but I'm still calling out "Mr Rock... Rock" can I get a photo. As he made his way to the car I was slowly pushed out of the crush but still calling "Mr Rock... Rock". Out of the blue he walks over to me & said in his Rock voice "Yeah.. come on in, get your photo". I was stoked.. That photo now hangs in the my lounge room with all my favourite photos. I must say though, I can't see what all the chicks go crazy over, I reckon I could have taken him, he wasn't that big.