Day 1 Touchdown--"Welcome to the Big Apple" our super friendly head stewardess says as UA flight 905 smacks down on the runway. I had a feeling at Heathrow that this could be one of those coincidental meeting days when you bump into old friends at airports. Bang!! Mike Leigh is on the same plane to New York. It doesn't get any more coincidental than that. Mike & girlfriend Charlotte, bless me with a lift into the city of cities in one of those massive 'GMC' type vehicles. Manny, our driver, talks us through the early evening, sunlit vista as we hit the midtown skyscrapers. We roll up outside the Regency Hotel to drop Mike and Charlotte off and I grab a yellow cab way way uptown to west 106th street and Broadway. It's not the Regency, but thanks to my truly great friend Giles and his fantasticly generous girlfriend Rebecca I have an apartment all to myself for eight days. It's unheard of in NY to have so much space, especially an out of towner. DAY THREE Kinda lost day two (the journally stuff that is), so will storm ahead with the third day. Ok - so this is my second New York brunch in two days - but I'm saying it's cause it's the weekend, I'm in NY and actually I'm Hank Marvin (starving). The brunch here is more than a meal - more in the sense that you get coffee, fresh orange juice, toast, fried potatoes and eggs (any way you want them) and a lot, a lot 'a chat. One of the odd things about NY is many cafes and some restaurants are tiny, making seats a premium - usually there is a queue for tables, so I've sussed that bar counter seating is quickest and most entertaining. So much food; food is everywhere, always with coffee and the obligatory glass of water. Yum yum - stuffed. Spent the afternoon winding my way through Central Park from West 110th St. A surreal journey through the cyclists, skaters and musicians to 72nd St. There is a memorial Strawberry Fields in a small section of Central Park just of 72nd St where John Lennon was mournfully killed by a whacky long term stocker/fan. Everybody remembers that day and what they were doing. My dad went ballistic and blamed all Americans for his death - he played the Imagine album (vinyl in those times) non stop for at least a week - sadly this never helped him forgive the US for the demise of Lennon, which on reflection, now I'm in these tranquil gardens to mark his passing was the whole point of Imagine; John Lennon loved the human race and wanted to pass the message of love and peace on. You either get that or you don't and this little piece of Manhattan was poignantly gifted to the world as a reminder of those sentiments by Yoko. DAY FOUR Another late morning diner experience: I love the whole breakfast thing here. The service is pure magic with attitude, NY attitude which is efficient, friendly and fast. They seem to multitask pretty well - even the guys. The staff are always regular folks running around doing the best they can to make day to day life as pleasant as they can make it for themselves and the customers. Took in the Guggenheim, scooted over to Brooklyn to see an old mate and shot back to downtown Manhattan to checkout the music scene. We are talking serious freakin music. My great friend Stu - the best read, undisputed biggest lover of music and most knowledgeable person I know in that field, suggested I check in to 55 Bar & Grill on Christopher St between 6 and 7th Ave. It's Monday night, late, I pick up the last few bluesy/jazzy songs of the first set. Playing, is Mike Stern and his band. They're a small band but they sure sound cool. These cats can so play. Later, after shootin the breeze through the second set I hop underground. Is it a bad thing or a good thing being on the subway serously late at night (2am ish) heading from deep downtown to deepest uptown. I'm saying it's an experiential moment. This place is alive, alive with all sorts of crazy oddball people. Most friendly but always with an edgy air of anything could happen. DAY FIVE 5TH OCT I'm worn out. I've peaked with the tourist thing. It's been one long movie for four five days of yellow cabs, tall buildings stretching my neck up as they stretch into the sky, NY accents, ferries, coffee shops, jazz clubs, more skyscrapers, singers, skaters, sirens, cops, ground zero, Staten island, Statue of Liberty, Wall St., Chrysler building. Guggenheim, Brooklyn Bridge, Dean & Deluca, it goes on and on. One of the small things I've noticed in all of this is the rather biggish size of some folks in the US and the too too tininess of the Subway seats. Unlike the tube in London, the seating in NY Subway is individually moulded in a row of eight. Which makes for a lota fun when things get busy underground. Basically it's two people, space, two more big people. I often try to squeeze in one of those slim spots with a lot of " are you crazy" looks from the New Yarkers. There is a system here - it's eat as much as you like, but leave a blank seat on the subway. New York is so much more chilled than London. It's more organized, less stressful, friendlier, hipper, it's polite, sophisticated and cleaner. I think I'm starting to get a little understanding of the oddities; they are over polite and can come across a little affected in many manners but I reckon that is to do with a slight over reaction to what may, and often does, bubble over into a major spillage. This city has learnt to cope with all its divercities. Spanning many decades it has found politeness a solution to underlying tensions. Tonight, more than at any point, the magnitude of this year of traveling has dawned on me. Luckily, I find myself, once again, in a more that cool jazz bar with terrific (terrific is positively a favorite word in New Yark) music. It's bustin at the seams with all sorts. Had a classic event when a drunk geezer pops in to declare he used to "sing at the joint before the gorgeous bar staff was even born". All very well but he had to go cause there is no room for his sad old ass. But the world is with me on one issue tonight; I'm taking things easy for a bit. No need to fret about nothin nor nobody. Just watch this wonderful world play itself by. WED 6TH 0CT So much has gone on. Started the day with another classic mountain of breakfast that took me right through to 130am, when I snuck into a dodgy diner to try out the chicken parmesana (recommended by Andrew). I don't really eat chicken but I was pure starving. I've walk a million miles - been up to the Bronx - spent a good while being the soul caucasian. Was truely out of my comfort zone for a bit and I'm sure it showed. Grabbed another yoga class and shot out to 55 Bar and Grill to soak up some more of that funky music. This is the real deal. A young woman on drums played a seriously wicked set. She was unbelievably cool. Three young dudes from England on their second day in NY stuck out like a hot shaving rash. They just stumbled into 55 Bar and couldn't believe how brilliant it was. 7TH OCT I had considered bypassing the Empire State building until another visit as time now seemed tight. The English guys I met happened to mention the view. It's weird but sometimes it seems like there are very few tourist in NY and I've wondered if it's an especially quiet time in Oct. The first thing that happens upon entering the Empire State building is queuing. Suddenly, like myself, thousands of tourists have decided maybe it is best to trek up to the summit of the tallest building in Manhattan. Spent minimum two hours marveling at the most fantastic views. A real sense of history from pioneering days, taking in the depression and then the 50's, right through to the tragic events of 2001. NY has suffered and there is evidence everywhere.