Douglas Shaw & Friends - 8 Days in the Big Apple.
Day 1:
Got up dirty early to get our flight at Gatwick, got searched and questioned at security (had to take my shoes and top off). We were running late and went to the wrong gate (not our fault!). Got to the right one and got told off by the flight attendant who said they were leaving in 5 minutes. In-flight movie = White Chicks = poo poo (except there was a dance-off bit which was quite funny). Flew into Newark airport so I got to pretend I was in The Sopranos. Two of us were in a hotel and the other three (including me) had rented an apartment for the week. Got to our apartment....so GOOD! Two minutes from Times Square on Little Brazil Street, absolute bargain too. Wandered a little bit, grabbed a bite to eat and then went up Empire State Building at night.
Day 2:
Went to Grand Central Station, got the subway to Battery Park. A hobo-lady fell on Mario, very funny. Got the boat to Statue of Liberty, again I got searched and they went through my bag and they found a knife (forgot I was carrying it) they let me keep it anyway. The boat journey on the way back was fun, it was really rough and everyone was falling over. Ate in a deli, big portions. In the evening went to see De La Soul at BB Kings bar and grill; amazing! Less than 400 people there, also on were Pete Rock, Masta Ace, Wordsworth etc. Expensive drinks though $90 a round. Sadly no pics because camera wasn't allowed. Did get a dollar bill signed by them all though.
Day 3:
Three of us went to Woodbury Common which is like a town turned into a shopping mall. Loads of designer stuff. Stav and I went to Little Italy and Chinatown. Good shit. Lots of mobsters and lots of dodgy food items in Chinatown. Went to see The Lion King on Broadway in the evening.
Day 4:
Deli in the morning with the biggest portions I've ever seen. Spent the whole day in Central Park. Went to the zoo there and watched the humping monkeys. They were pretty gangsta, they had their own hot-tub. Went to the Guggenheim, bit boring really. Went to TGI's in the evening and had the biggest long island iced tea ever.... it was a bad idea as I'd already been drinking. Onto a pub.
Day 5:
Late start. Deli. Spent most of the day wandering around shopping in Manhattan. Went to Toys R Us in Times Square, brought most of my souvenir shit for people. Andreas felt ill so we went round to his hotel room and brought him food, because we're nice like that. There was a low fog which made everything look proper bo! The buildings dissappeared into the mist. Didn't get much done today but nice soaking up atmosphere of NYC.
Day 6:
The other two had flown home in the morning. Deli first thing. The weather was amazing today, lovely and sunny and 20 degrees C. We were going to get the subway to Chelsea and Greenwich but the weather was so good we walked all the way. Went to the Chelsea Hotel and had a look where Sid killed Nancy. Chelsea was strange, one minute it stunk of piss the next minute it smelt of freshly cleaned clothes. Lots of gays and a Gay Street too. Had a stroll through the meat-packing district, I'm vegetarian but it made a nice change after walking through the fudge-packing district. Greenwich was good, would be a nice part to live in. Ended up down by the river, very sexual. Sun was setting behind the New Jersey skyline. Saw a street biker gang of over 40 superbikes screaming down the road. I appreciated that. Walked back to the apartment, had a nap and then got ready for Halloween. Went to Third Avenue where there are a lot of bars. Found a cool Irish one where the bartender gave us free drinks the whole night after we paid for the first two. Met a few random New Yorkers (including our first SHY New Yorker). Also met some guy from Birmingham. Started doing shots.... it got nasty. I scared a tramp on the way home.
Day 7.
Late start. Mini-hangover. Deli in the morning. Stav went to look at museums. Fiona and I wandered around Manhattan. Went to the Disney store and Trump tower did some general shopping. Sadly FAO Schwarz was closed for renovation. Had a look in Tiffany & Co and saw a diamond ring for $1,475,000. I purchased that so I was pretty much out of money for the rest of the trip so went back to Central Park and found a little dog called Pepe (that's what we named him anyway) who was a little confused. Ended up eating out in a cheap pizza parlour.
Day 8.
Last time in a deli. Packed. Home..
All in all a really good time, highly recommended. Sorry if I bored you.
Photos:
Apartment sitting room, it had a bath/shower, kitchen with full cooker (which never got used), kettle, toaster, coffee machine. Had hair dryer, ironing board, trouser press. Everything! All for cheaper than staying in a hotel!
View from the apartment window. Very NYC.
Andreas getting excited.,
Fiona, Andreas, Me, Mario, Stav.
View from Empire State Building (much more sexual in real life).
No pictures can describe how cold it was up there.
Typical shot of Grand Central Station.
Manhattan skyline.
Bin o' Birds.
The Statue of Liberty was not as impressive as I had imagined.
Everytime we went to the sink we ended up getting splashback (that was my excuse anyway). This happened about 273,635,000 times on holiday.
Fat sleeping bastard at the zoo.
Monkeys on their rock. Humping had been happening shortly before.
Andreas looking strangely happy at sitting on that mans lap.
Me looking very worried at the prospect of my bowl-sized long island tea.
Me ready for the evening drinking.
Nice food in the deli's.
Times Square in the fog. Sexy.
Us in Central Park.
Pepe. The confused dog.
Down by the river.
Me and Stav.
Saw a poster of a drag queen who was doing the exact pose of a friend of mine back home. Cue gay photo opportunity.
Me ready for halloween.
Me and Stav and Jack (small pumpkin taken from the restaurant)
Some randomers we met in the bar. Stav, Zak, Paulina, JP and me.
Too early for photos.
Ice rink in Central Park and Manhattan skylines.
The apartment was located at Oxbridge District Apartments, 32 West 46th Street, NYC, 10072 and was booked via Expedia.co.uk
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