A legacy of prohibition…. It took Simon and Vanessa two years to discover there was a bar in the back room of their favourite hot dog shop. After a night on the town they'd head for gourmet hot dogs and would wonder why groups of people would miraculously disappear without leaving through the front door. When they eventually found it they stumbled on one of the coolest cocktail joints in town. Lucky for us, Simon and Vanessa showed us the secret and we didn...

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! I found it surreal strolling through the streets of New York as I recognized so many places without knowing where from. DC delivered the same feeling. I had seen nearly every monument on the Mall in one way or another before I visited them. It didn't detract from the experience though, and we had an enjoyable day, wandering the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to Capitol Hill. It was a foggy morning, and from...

Saturday in Brooklyn… After a great breakfast, we spent yesterday walking through the old neighbourhoods of Brooklyn. It really is a beautiful area. The old Brownstone terraces shone in the winter sunlight and it seemed to have a much more relaxed pace than busy Manhattan. We walked through Prospect Park, a huge recreational space rivaling Central Park, and had coffee in a small café near by. It really was a pleasant day, stopping at places to eat and drink...

The bright lights of the city, panoramic views and a little culture…. Today began with billboards and lots of them. Yep, we hit Times Square. With its yellow taxis, bright lights and crowds it's the quintessential New York. You see it on telly, you see it in the movies, but you don't realise how big it is till you're standing on the corner and the billboard behind you towers several stories above you. Other than wandering around and staring at the glitz on ...

Start spreading the news; I'm leaving today; I want to be a part of it…..You guessed it! Last night we arrived in chilly New York and it was a bit of a shock after balmy Mexico! Our friends Simon and Vanessa very kindly offered to put us up while we were in New York, so our first stop was Simon's office. After a slight mix-up (who would've thought there'd be two companies with very similar names on opposite sides of the street!) we found Simon and our way home ...