SIGNING OUT

Dear all,

You may well know that I am finally back in England after flying back from New York on Saturday. Before signing off, here's a word on the gigantic New York City...

New York City is a fantastic place, everything here comes supersize and you have endless choices. On my first night i ordered a pizza on the phone. Being used to eating whatever is on the menu in most of South America the guy on the other end of the phone started to get a little annoyed when I just asked for JUST a pizza...

What kind of pizza?
Well what have u got?
Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Chicken, Spinach and Ricotta, blah, blah...
Pepperoni will do.
Anything else? Any veg?
What have you got?
We have onions, peppers, jalapenos, blah, blah...
Onions and peppers.
What size?
What size have u got?
12 or 14 inch.
12 is fine.
Any extras?
What have you got?
Wings? Garlic Bread?
No.
Delivery?
Yeah go on then.

Every corner has a coffee shop and a dunkin donuts. As the slogan goes 'America runs on dunkin'!' It couldn't be more true.
When you order a coffee there are 10 different types, 10 different toppings, 10 different types of milk and 10 different sizes.
If u get a sandwich they are stacked high like the skyscrapers here, and there is a whole wall of fillings. 10 different types of bread. 10 different types of mayonnaise, mustard or ketchup.
It goes on and on and I love it.

Not only is there a choice on food, there are endless things to do...

I walked the length of Central Park in the biting cold, admiring the autumn trees under a bright blue sky, drank more coffee and went to the top of the Rockafella Centre for a view over the city. The sight of Central Park, with its slick edges sitting in the middle of a city is incredible. When walking the streets you find yourself craning your neck most of the time as the buildings are so tall, and that was the case in the awe inspiring Times Square. Lights, billboards, people. This is America - everything in excess.

After meeting my friend Ali from Guatemala, we walked to Ground Zero where they are building the Freedom Tower. Its like a big FU to the terrorists, and good on them. Then to the very entertaining Museum of Sex. We were in a funny mood and when we entered the place everyone was reading the history of porn in complete silence while porn movies played all around them. We walked in and immediately started giggling like little kids!! I don't understand how these people can keep a straight face or concentrate on the text when all these films are playing all around them...or maybe I am just immature!

More boring tourist activity included seeing the The Statue of Liberty and walking Wall St, Broad St, Chinatown, Little Italy and Soho. I've seen it so many times in films, on TV and in pictures and it was great seeing it from a boat welcoming me to the city, just like all the millions before me. Wall St was disappointing and in my opinion our square mile beats the s**t out of Wall St but i didn't tell any of the New Yorkers (in case they sat on me). Also I can confirm Grand Central Station is pretty grand, very central and definitely is a station.

One of my best nights here was forgetting my ID and instead drinking hot chocolate whilst watching locals and tourists ice skating in Bryant Park with a friend from Uni, sitting in times Square for hours at 1am (it was still busy at that time!), and sitting in diners drinking iced tea, coffee and eating bagels all night. I now agree with the claim that 'NY city never sleeps' - you don't have to be in a pub or club to enjoy yourself.

For those of you who know the film 'The Warriors,' you will be pleased to hear that I went to Coney Island riding the Subway all the way just like the gang in the film. I even managed to get a Warriors T-shirt and got a picture on the beach, just like those guys...how cool am I?! Also down there was famous Nathan's Hotdogs which I felt obliged to try, and found out that the world record is 68 hotdogs in 10 mins...apparently a little Asian fella accomplished this. Wow!

My final days were Thanksgiving and its Eve. After a boring visit to the Museum of Modern Art, I met a friend at Madison Square Gardens for some college basketball. What an arena that is. Its not huge, but its enclosed and creates a fantastic atmosphere. I can only imagine what its like when it is packed for a Knicks game. it must be loud!! That night Rich took me for some beers which turned into me not sleeping and missing the Thanksgiving parade. After that I was invited to my mum's friend's house for dinner. I ate so much food that I could barely bring the fork to my mouth. Unsurprisingly, there were 10 different desserts, and after 5 of them the room started spinning and had to go for air! I'm obviously not cut out for the eating habits of the Americans!

So then came the final day of this epic journey...a day of shopping in New york City, Being Black Friday it was rammed with people and I misjudged the time it would take to get around the town. I visited famous Macy''s to buy a jacket and it took me 20 mins to get in and out of the place! By that time I was in a rush for the airport and when I arrived they had moved my flight FORWARD an hour...I almost missed it as they were already boarding when i arrived at the airport...

The final journey was via a freezing cold Iceland and when I landed in London, I had a huge adrenaline rush like when I left almost 16 months ago. Finally home and dry.

I cannot describe the feeling knowing you have encircled the globe passing through 25 countries and 4 continents.
I've seen beautiful waterfalls and deep canyons, long rivers and shimmering lakes, white sand beaches and dense jungles, steaming volcanoes and towering mountains, all under tired eyed sunrises and colourful sunsets.
I've visited ancient ruins, temples and churches from many different religions, seen museums and markets from contrasting cultures, and met people from a myriad of cultures.
I've travelled in buses packed with people and animals, in boats where I had to bail out water, on motorbikes over muddy roads, on busy, long distance trains, with crazy airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, in jeeps, trucks and on bikes.

I've enjoyed 100s of different beers with 100s of different people from all over the world.

I've skydived twice, bungee'd 7 times, scuba dived 26 times, ice climbed, glacier walked, caved, tubed rivers and surfed sand dunes and volcanoes.
I've used 5 pairs of flip flops, 3 different cameras, lost pretty much everything I left with and grew my hair to a ridiculous length.
I've done the best thing I could have ever done and it's been a incredible.

It's an experience I will never forget.

So signing off for the last time, this is Will aka Greek finishing his journey through time and space.

Let's see how long i last in England...

;-)