New York! Well, we've been here for a couple of days now and it is NOISY! People shout, the music in the department stores blares (less than five minutes in Macys was way more than enough to convince me never to set foot inside again) and the traffic roar and other, unidentifiable, background noise assaults my ears. For anyone reading this who doesnt know me, let me tell you I am a Londoner, so it is not that I'm not used to city traffic. Fortunately, our hostel ...

(Part Two of) an eventful beginning The entrance to the hostel was a locked doorway between two shops. It was not obvious how to get in. We could see through the glass door and down the empty, and uninviting, corridor. We could see various buttons for buzzers on the outside of the door. While we were debating which to press someone came out and let us in, pointing to 'reception' as they left. Reception was an unmarked room but the door was ajar and I made th...