31 August 2011 - New York! New York!

A tearful departure was somewhat delayed when Victor discovered he had left his camera at Nathan's house, but we set off bravely with tear- stained faces at around 10:30 under the cheerful protection of a bus driver called Jim.

A deadly silence fell over the the bus broken only by the gentle snoring of the sleepy inhabitants and the rattle of the windows as we sped our way inexorably down Highway 91, towards the city of New York. We saw very little sign of Irene apart from a few broken branches and most of our crew awoke as we crossed over the Hudson River and the silhouette of the Manhattan skyscrapers became visible against the rising sun. Our first sight of the city that never sleeps!

The Hotel Wellington strikes one as a gracious old lady slightly down on her luck with frayed underwear showing. We were kindly allowed to settle into our rooms and ate a hearty breakfast before being picked up by our tour guide, Doug and his mono-syllabic driver/friend Sanchez. Doug proved to be an unusual guide with a slightly quirky perspective. Our first stop was outside the apartment building where John Lennon met his end at the hands of a crazed fan. We walked from there to a quiet memorial in his honour. This area of Central Park has been named Strawberry fields in his memory.

The park is huge and forms a green lung for the inhabitants of the city. It is full of interesting places, carefully designed to delight the viewer.

We were then taken on a journey through places of interest around the city, many of which stand out because of familiar films and television episodes; the Friends apartment, the court steps from Law and Order, the boat pond from Stuart Little etc.

Under the watchful eye of the New York Police Department Sanchez stopped the bus, often to the blast of taxi horns, to allow us to see the Catholic Cathedral, the Statue of Liberty and the bomb site from 9/11. Doug made this stop especially poignant by telling us his personal experience of that day. There is a small 18th century church which miraculously survived the collapse of the towers in spite of being mere metres from the epicenter. It is a beautiful and humbling reminder of man's ability to rise above tragedy.

We then set off across town to our final destination; the Empire State Building. Although our knees felt jelly-like we were appropriately impressed by the magnificent 360 degree view. After this the kids were allowed to explore the delights of Broadway and Macey's and the numerous shops in the area. As we strolled home we were drawn to a gathering crowd at the back door of the theatre where Saturday Night Live was being filmed. We felt like paparazzi as it became evident that the centre of attraction was no one other than Alec Baldwin and we snapped away merrily with the numerous photographers. We are now seasoned New York travelers, but will be sad to leave a city only half explored with our limited time. So its J.F.K early tomorrow morning and then the long trip home.