New York

After a seemingly endless round of goodbye drinks, meals and emotional extractions from people and places we finally made our way to Exmouth station on Saturday lunchtime and got this show on the road. With the final decision to actually put the plan into action made when I got off my bike in Albufeira last July we realised that we have a similar amount of time away before us, a jointly terrifying and exhilaring prospect.
First things first though, my case. A wheeled hold all/backpack, managed to get on my tits wheeling it from Kerry's mum's car to the platform at Exmouth which of course does not bode well.
The train from Exeter to Paddington was notable for my realising that in my haste to get going I'd left my travel hat and sunglasses at home and then for a 90 minute delay due to a lightning strike near London. Sitting stationary for an hour outside Newbury is one thing but to do so whilst listening to a teenage chav uttering drivel to her mates throughout made it almost unbearable.
As we were now so far behind schedule we decided to eat at the Lebanese just off Praed st before heading to Heathrow. The tube to the airport is a bit of a drag, not helped by the posse of Asian kids in our carriage screeching and hollering and then the crazy dude getting on at Hatton Cross with his 4 carrier bags full of rubbish and his lining ripped in his coat so he could get more in there. Whilst he rearranged the trolleys at terminal 3 we caught the hopper to the Ibis where I ceremonially removed the beard that I'd been stubbornly nursing for the past couple of months. For so
E reason shaving goes out ov the window for me when I'm on a mission. Timetable production, cycling to Portugal and moving to Devon all those years ago were or are all presided over by the wild man of Borneo.

We were up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and whilst on the bus to T1 I checked our departure to realise we actually needed T5. This probably gives you some indication of how stressful the pat few weeks have been.
After a hearty fry up we were on board and the 7 hour flight zipped by, there being do much to do on planes these days. I watched "one night in Turin", a cracking docu-film about italia 90 and then listened to some music from the on board iPod thing. So much for doing my USA homework which was the plan.

As we came in to land at Newark we glimpsed skyscrapers and liberty which was really exciting and, having negotiated the rather stern border control guy, we're soon on the sky train bound for Penn station. (no realation Inky)
Penn was incredibly difficult to work out. We were exhausted, hot, tetchy and not really in the mood but, of course, we endured and travelled by subway to canal st, the heart of Chinatown where our gaff is.
You can't see the manhattan of skyscrapers and wonder from here, just filthy and crowded streets more reminiscent of Naples than anything. We wheeled our infernal cases for about a mile and eventually found the mayor hotel, a supposed bargain at $165 per night. The room is adequate but the bed has to be lain on to be believed. The mattress is so thin it feels like you're camping or sleeping on a park bench.

After a quick wash we went out for food and I felt compelled to have a burger and fries so as to immerse myself as quickly as possible into the culture here. I resisted the urge to whoop a "yeeeee-haa" as I ate it though.

Having slept like lambs, despite the bed, Monday, Kerry's birthday, was a fabulous day. The weather was baking and we elected to see the city by bus tour, a bargain 4-route offer of only $49. We took the subway up to 49th having first purchased tickets from the rudest customer facing person I have ever encountered(and when you consider I have worked on BR then that is some statement) and went on the uptown loop, a fascinating 2 hour pootle taking in more sights than you can really digest in one go. Highlight for me I think was the Dakota building, John lennon's former home and where he was shot by Mark Chapman.
Our guide was a 50 something Ukrainian I
ImMigrant with such a heavy accent that unless you worked very hard was difficult to understand, unfortunately a theme of the guides on Gray line bus tours.
We ate lunch in a deli wher the choice was so vast that it's almost headache inducing and then we walked to the awe inspiring times sq for the downtown bus loop. If you know NYC then you'll know what this encompasses. If not then just let me say that it is a gob-smackingly awesome experience through streets you think you know already and passing buildings of such magnitude,beauty and individuality that it is almost criminal if you do not experience it in your lifetime.
We took a breather at battery park at the southen top of the island and walke to ground zero before resuming the tour and ending up back in midtown for our joint birthday meal and cocktails.
This cost an arm and a leg as you might imagine, blowing our budget into smithereens but it won't hit every now and again and I'm sure we'll recover financially once we hit central America.
With the lock on our door broken (ah so, we wait for part, flom china) the receptionist has to accompany us to our room to let us in. As he wasn't there tonight when we wanted to turn in we had to wait for him to return from his meal break by which time I was livid. To compound matters he then sat and started to eAt before realising we wanted to go to our room though he did partly redeem himself by crediting us $20 for inconvenience.

Tuesday, my birthday, was another full on sightseeing extravaganza visiting Brooklyn, staten island and taking the night bus tour over the manhattan bridge for views to die for. This truly is one of the most amazing cities, possibly the most amazing, I've ever had the privilege to visit and to see what I've seen on my birthday, in baking heat, is about as good as it gets.
Highlight of today was probably the two buskers who started playing beautifully melodic guitar music at the ferry terminal. It's that type of impromptu and unexpected event that burns into your brain and makes the travel experience so incredible.

After Monday's spend fest we drew our horns in today and lived so cheaply you wouldn't credit it. We only spent about £80 each and that's for room, food, entertainment, bus tickets to DC for Thursday and deposit on our hostel for Thursday night. Ripper!

Right, that's it for now. The bones of my arse are poking into this bed so I have to move.
Next update within a week.