Tomorrow I pick up the hire car to start my road trip, so I thought I should jot down a few notes about my time in New York. I've spent 3 days or so wandering through Downtown, Uptown and Midtown:

• The canyons formed by the tall buildings is amazing and a little intimidating;
• Ground Zero still looks very wrong because there is such a big whole in the middle of the city;
• Greenwich Village is a lovely place to wander around;
• The sky detonated on Friday and Satruday evenings with storms passing through;
• Central Park is beautiful, and was full of people topping up their tans - good for people watching
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art is dizzying with so many things to see - I afraid that I eventually stopped looking at the art and got focused on trying to find my way out. (The view for the top over Central Park was impressive though.)
• The New Yorkers seem to love any excuse to temporarily pedestrianise large stretches of road in the city. There was a street market down 6th Avenue which ran for 16 blocks (or approximately 1 mile)! This sort of thing would be unthinkable in most of England
• I've had some deliciuous meals (Enchiladas, Fillet of Sole). You could spend a lot of time doing nothing but eating and drinking here.
• Macy's seems to have no end. Half of one entire floor was given over to shoes - I didn't know that there could be some many varieties. After black & brown, slip-on & lace-ups I run out of options.
• Again, Grand Central Terminal was massive. The ticket hall was like a cathedral.

This part of my trip was always about getting my feet on the ground and preparing for the road trip. As far as getting my feet on the ground, I am slightly frustrated because, although I've seen some amazing things, I don't think I've really had time to get a feel for the place. 3 days just isn't enough. I think that in other places that I visit (as oppose to travel though), I should try and stay for at least a week or 10 days.

Anyhow, I have got a firmer idea of my plans for the rest of the time in USA. There are still arrangements to make, and nothing is set in stone, but I've extended the blog's itinerary to give some idea of where I hope to be when. In broad terms, I am travelling south-west to visit Janice in North Carolina, then travelling west, picking up Route 66 for a short way, but doing some side trips to see the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, then hopefully seeing some more friends on the Pacific Coast in San Francisco and San Diego. Total Distance ~3,000 miles. :-o Oh, and I must try to remember to drive on the wrong side of the road.

By the way, after burning £20 with the new SIM, I've tweaked some of the phone options and am giving it another go, so I am now on +44 7741 709197.