"Take a lift to the top of the Empire State"

Guess who got to meet Blogland's most notorious character?
That's right, me!
More of that in a while...
So after some well earned (especially on Hyde's part) chill time our Friday evening started with some medicine followed by a brief trip to the roof of Hyde's building where there was a party going on. There was also a party on the roof of another nearby building. How very cool; you don't get that in Crapsville! After a brief chat with NDN it was time to move.
We then took a cab to the East village where we had a little wonder around including a brief visit to the pub that Evil recommended (cheers for that, dude!). We then settled in a little Hawaiian bar. The drinks & the conversation flowed freely, only broken by my need to occasionally go outside for a smoke & Hyde's phone.
At one point she got a message that literally made her dance about in glee. It was, of course, Narc.
Shortly afterwards it became clear that Narc was coming to this bar. I have to confess to being quite challenged by this turn of events. Obviously all of Hyde's readers know of Narc & his, ahem, "unique" way of treating her. So I knew it was going to be difficult to keep my own negativity towards him in check, that said Hyde was clearly happy & as she is my friend & my extremely kind host it was clear that the only real course of action was the bite my tongue & try to be cool about it all.
Soon enough he & a group of his friends arrived & we joined them at a table together. I was separated from Narc by Hyde. I actually didn't talk to him much at all. Though one conversation I did have had me snarling behind my polite exterior. He said that vinyl sounds better than CD which I heartily disagreed with. He then pointed out that on his $35,000 stereo system the record deck had blah, blah, blah, etc. While Hyde was kicking me under the table I calmly replied that those of us who live in the real world wouldn't have any knowledge of such things, so to me my initial statement remained correct. Ironically enough, he later bummed a cigarette of me. Still I can't say that I saw anything to bad from him so I'm sorry to disappoint but no acts of Flashy violence were forthcoming. At around 3.30am Hyde & Narc went off to do their thing & I returned to Hyde's lovely sofa to drift off into a lovely slumber.

On Saturday morning I went out sight seeing. I got myself some yummy breakfast in a little diner & then went to the Empire State Building.
Wow!
It's a pretty obvious statement but the views are absolutely spectacular. Beyond any words I have in my vocabulary. Needless to say I took grillions of pictures, which I'll be showing off upon my return to Blighty.
Another really good thing about it was the cost; under a tenner in Sterling!
If it was in London they'd be charging at least double that.

From there I took a walk back to Hyde's place & hung out for a bit with her. Then we rode the subway down to Brooklyn Bridge. We then walked through the financial district, close by to Ground Zero, past Wall St and finally arriving at the Staten Island ferry terminal. Here we met Hammer. The three of us then rode the ferry. It was really cool & our timing had been immaculate. The sun set just as we sailed past the Statue of Liberty. Marvelous!
By the time we'd reached Staten island it was dark & the view of NYC's skyline all lit up was breathtaking. When we got back to Manhattan we (eventually) got a cab to Hammer's place in the West village. We hung out just for a little while before going out again. We were initially on a very important mission for me. As we walked to our destination, I was shown the bar where Hyde very first met Narc.
Then we were there.
I cross the street & stood in exactly the right spot to view this most amazing of sights. The apartment building used in Friends! Yes, Monica & Rachel's & Chandler & Joey's! I was so very chuffed, though I was a bit miffed that I couldn't get a decent picture of it. For some reason I couldn't get the flash to work on the camera.
We then went for a bite to eat before retreating back to Hammer's place where we had a joint & watched Saturday Night Live. Given the previous 2 nights frolics, it should come as no surprise that we just crashed & burned then. Hyde & I got a cab back up to her place & an early night was had, if you call 1am an early night.

This morning, for the first time here, I awoke feeling bright eyed & bushy tailed. Hyde was having lunch with her sister today, so I headed out on my own to see some more sights. I pretty much retraced last night's steps so that I could take a trip out to liberty island & see the old girl up close. I deviated my route slightly & walked past Ground Zero. I kinda regretted it. I quickened my pace as I walked past. I found myself feeling very uncomfortable, my camera stayed in it's case as I tried to distance myself from the hordes of tourists having their picture taken at the site of such incomprehensible tragedy.

I arrived in Battery park to get my tickets to Liberty Island only to find that I should have listened to advice & booked in advance. There were no more tickets available for today.
Oh well.
So I walked round to Wall Street, saw the Stock exchange & got the subway upto Times Square. There's nothing quite like seeing a forty foot Jennifer Aniston, I tell thee! After several more photo's I wondered up to Central Park which was just peachy. The weather here as been wonderful since I arrived, bright, sunny & warm but not scorching. So it just made my walk in the park so very lovely.
I then followed that with a visit to the Lincoln Centre to see a buffoon in a big goldfish bowl. Yup, David Blaine is doing one of his "stunts". There were lot's of people there. I couldn't get too close but I did manage to get a couple of snaps of the crazy fool.
From there I hailed a cab & came back to Hyde's place for some chill time. And that's us up to date.

Today's lyric is taken from the Human League's "The Things that dreams are made of", I'm not sure if anything as ever been more appropriate. It all really is once in a lifetime stuff. One of the best things & slightly unexpected things is how much time Hyde & I have spent together. It has been truly wonderful, she is an exceptionally kind host & has also been a delightful guide for me. I know for a fact I've seen & done stuff that I wouldn't have if I'd just come out & stayed in a hotel. I genuinely mean it when I say, I cannot thank her enough.