To kill or not to kill

In 8 days it will be 2 years since my last blog post. That's not exactly prolific now is it? I wasn't even sure I'd still have the password to log back in. Obviously the novelty of this whole blog thing has worn off, which makes me wonder if I shouldn't just kill it off and be done with it. This brings into play two of my most charming personality traits:

1. I tend to start things. A lot of things.
2. I hoard things.

It's fair to say that I won't be deleting this blog - but I don't know that I'll giving it much more attention (and let's be honest, I couldn't give it much less).

I would, however, like to at least tidy up a loose end. My last post was part 2 of New York, from our 2011 USA trip. From New York we flew back to the west coast for a week in Hollywood. No mention of that on the old blog was there? Worse still, I've been back to Disneyland this year (being back in Disneyland is not a bad thing, but not blogging about it is a damn near tragedy).

So, for now, I'll pick out a few highlights from the remainder of our 2011 trip, just to close that door. (In fact, I've been working on my novel for the last 2 hours. Another long project with no end in sight. Updating my blog suddenly seemed like a bloody good idea).

Here goes ...

We purchased a New York City pass. It's so long ago now that I can't remember the cost, but it gave us access to many of the city's attractions and was well worth the money (but requires careful planning because the pass only lasted 3 days, and there was a lot to see). In our case it got us:

• Madame Tussuad
• Radio City Music Hall (including meeting a Rockette, which would have been very exciting if I was 60 and knew what the fuck a Rockette was)
• Top of the Rock (as seen on TV. More specifically, as seen on 30 Rock)
• Empire State Building (including a slightly dodgy virtual fly-over narrated by Kevin Bacon)
• Harry Potter exhibition
• A boat trip past the Statue of Liberty
• Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe
• Bike hire for a cycle around Central Park
• The Bodies exhibition

I remember Jez getting tireder and sicker as the trip wore on. She slipped on wet pavement on the way to Radio City Music Hall and hurt her bum. She fell asleep on a subway station platform.

I remember squirrels is Central Park and Madison Square Park.

I remember break dancers on the subway and in Union Square.

I remember spending and hour playing the Roland V-Drums at the Sam Ash music store not far from Times Square.

I remember cupcakes from the Magnolia bakery.

I remember catching the subway to Coney Island, finding it closed and catching the next subway back to Manhattan.

I remember eating at The Olive Garden on Times Square and at TGI Fridays.

I remember crowds of media flooding the city after Osama Bin Laden was killed, and again a couple of days later when Obama came to lay a wreath at this site of the twin towers.

I remember so many tourist gift shops selling cheap trinkets, and camera shops, and wondering how they survive.

I remember eating a Twinkie in Times Square.

I remember a great Jazz band called Tin Pan Alley playing in Central Park, and a great sax player. New York has a better quality of busker than San Francisco. I remember a sexy figure skater and an old guy dancing to music only he could hear.

I remember visiting Grand Central Station, and the financial district.

I remember pushy spruikers for bicycle hire and comedy clubs.

I remember caricaturists of dubious merit with booths showing pictures "found" on the internet from genuine artists like Tom Richmond and Sebastian Kruger.

I remember buying an ice cream and the girl behind the counter asking if we could translate for some french customers who didn't speak any English - because we're foreign!

I remember being the only person in the city (possibly in the whole country) not wearing a North Face jacket.

I remember the streets being filled with yellow cabs and Lincoln town cars. Very few private cars.

I remember loving New York city and not wanting to leave - but when we did, the subway to JFK was much easier than the bus, three flights of stairs and subway that we needed no arrival to get from La Guardia to our motel.



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