I never thought I'd visit central America. However, when I heard that my Canadian friend Mathieu was going to be spending New Year there, i was very tempted. I decided New York was one of those places that had to be visited in a lifetime and now was as good a time as any. Rebecca (my annoying little sister) decided to seize the opportunity as well. The New York toy stores didn't know what was coming at them!

It was quite something actually being in New York, the city that is just everywhere all over the world. I didn't fall in love with it, like I seem to do with everywhere else but it was really great to see. Just a bit too big, developed and materialistic for my liking. It wasn't dramatically different from Britain, just bigger and more famous.

On arrival, STA travel had messed up our hotel booking and we were left shelterless for New Years Eve! Not the best of starts and it was extremely unlikely that we would be able to find somewhere else to stay. However, perserverence eventually paid off and they found us a grotty room to stay in. New Year was fantastic, passing through the crowds in Time Square to get to The China Club (very fitting!) We felt like VIPs. Definitely celebrated the new Year in style.

Times Square is the heart of the city and all the adverts are quite something. We definitely got to appreciate them whilst we queued for cheap tickets to Broadway. We saw Bombay Dreams (absolutely fantastic) and Mama Mia (tacky but fun). Our favourite destination was The Toys R Us store that had a big wheel in the middle of it and much to our delight, Fraggles!! A visit to the UN headquarters is very worthwhile. Another highlight was our 'Champagne Limo tour.' 1 hr in a stretch limo, cruising the streets of New York, sharing with some very fun Mexicans.