November 27, 2003 [Thursday]......Happy Thanksgiving!
The day started early as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade runs from 9am - noon. We went up to see the parade at Broadway & 53rd. The parade has been going 77 years and starts on 77th & Central Park West, heading south and turning onto Broadway at Columbus Circle (59th st) and continuing down to 34th street, arriving at Macy's. Reportedly there are over 2.5 million people lining the streets along the parade route and over 40 million that watch it on TV.

This year they had 32 main balloons and 25 floats. Some of the balloons included Barney, Jimmy Neutron, Uncle Sam, Garfield, Big Bird, Pikachu, Charlie Brown, Mr Monopoly, Clifford the big red dog, Kermit, Wild Thing & Super Grover. There is a history of the parade here....

Some of the stars in the parade on floats included Mya, Hilary Duff, 2 of the American Idols, Yankees player Bernie Williams, and the Wiggles (who had a great pirate ship float). There was also plenty of marching bands, cheer leaders and dance teams. We had great weather, a clear and not too chilly day.

Fast forward to the afternoon, time to take in another great tradition for Thanksgiving, watching NFL football. Next up was some prep time for our first Thanksgiving dinner attempt. Our dinner consisted of roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce (although we cheated and only a small 2 pound turkey breast, the whole turkey can be 18 pounds+), roast vegetables & hot bread rolls. That was followed by egg nog & hot apple pie. Not bad considering we only shopped for ingredients at 10pm last night and started cooking at 5pm tonight. Now, we're full. They say most people consume over 2000 calories in an average Thanksgiving dinner!

November 26, 2003 [Wednesday]......The Night Before
Leading into Thanksgiving tomorrow, we stopped in at Wholefoods grocery store tonight to buy some last minute supplies. We are going to do a turkey dinner, so more on that tomorrow with how it goes.
Another event on tonight is up at the start of the Thanksgiving Parade on 77th & Central Park West where they inflate all the balloons in the parade the night before. Keep in mind that these things are huge and require 15 or more people to hold them down so they don't float away. We got there after 11pm and that was too late as they blocked off the viewing area early this year with their increased security. Have to go back next year.

While walking up the Upper West Side we did see something that takes the cake. People dote over their dogs in NYC, but we saw someone walking along with one of those baby harnesses and a small dog strapped in looking like a baby.

November 25, 2003 [Tuesday]......Whoopi
Only 2 TV show comedies are shot in New York. One is Hope & Faith, which we went to a taping of back in August. The other is Whoopi Goldberg's new show, Whoopi. This had a longer wait list, and tonight we finally went to see the taping. This is the 12th episode for them and it has been on tv here for maybe the first 8 or so. I don't proclaim to have seen more than 1 or 2 but it is always interesting to see how they shoot them.

Now, it's hard to complain about free tickets, but I wasn't happy that we were sitting right on one of the ends of the audience seating area. That meant that out of the 4 sets lined up in a long row, the last 2 were pretty much impossible to see. They just keep moving between each set as needed for the script so some parts are right in front of you, others further away and some you just gotta watch on the monitor. The studio is over in Queens and you arrive at 5:45pm, go through airport style security then wait till the filming starts around 7pm when the cast comes out. During the taping the MC pointed out that the psychic John Edwards and comedian Caroline Rhea were in the audience also.

They wrapped up the filming just after 10pm and we noticed someone had laid down 2 scripts on the front row of the audience stand in front of us. I went and collected them and we then hung around near the front where the actors smooze together after the show. One of the lead guys, Omid Djalili, was signing autographs so I got one of the scripts signed. Normally they never let anyone take the scripts, and looking at them as we left, they were marked as being Wren T. Brown's who is a main actor, and the other was the 2nd assistant directors copy.

November 20, 2003 [Thursday]......Meg & Jack White (Stripes)
Anh & I went to the Roseland Ballroom to see The White Stripes tonight, which was delayed since July due to an injury that Jack had. The White Stripes are only 2 people, Meg on drums and Jack on guitar and keyboards. Venue was packed, they sold out 3 nights in a row and are native New Yorkers. A concert by only 2 people in the band sounds weird but that's what they do, and mostly pretty well. Stranger still, they are a divorced couple that describe themselves as brother & sister to confuse everyone even more.

Oh yeah, Anh says she saw Julia Roberts walking on the street this morning on her way to work. I can't confirm it, but at least it's better than the time she told me she saw the guy who played the priest from one of Madonna's video clips 15 years ago on the subway. Julia Roberts was drinking coffee down 3 streets from our apartment *allegedly*.

November 19, 2003 [Wednesday]......Lakers & Kobe
Tonight was the biggest game I will go to this season, Knicks v LA Lakers. Lakers are very strong with Shaq and Kobe Bryant who is playing in between court visits. Made sure to get to the game early to get some photos during warmup close to the court. Normally I turn up during the national anthem just in time for the start but no earlier. As it is a big game, I sprung for a seat in the lower level which set me back over $100. I was in the row behind the ESPN desk and since they have tv monitors on their desk I could see all the replays, nice. After the game I grabbed the media pack from one of their desks that they use to give them all the stats and player histories. Shaq & Kobe both played awesome as did Karl Malone, so the Lakers won easily. It was the first sell-out game I have been to (crowds are even higher at Rangers hockey games usually). The celebrities were sitting courtside in the $1500 seats, I saw Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, Ashanti, Derek Jeter (Yankees) and Hideki Matsui (Yankees), but there was also Jay-Z and a few others around.

November 17, 2003 [Monday]......Knicks
Time to bring out the long winter coat, it's been getting quite cold now. Went to see NY Knicks v Boston Celtics tonight, Knicks coming from 20 points down to win it, pretty exciting game.

November 16, 2003 [Sunday]......Aerosmith / Kiss
Took a trip down to Greenwich Village this afternoon. Cool outside, we went to visit the store "mxyplyzyk" down on Greenwich Avenue which has some nice trendy homeware stuff. We took a break and had some food at the Little Pie Company on West 14th Street. They have some delicious (dessert) pies and cupcakes which I sampled.
Later in the evening it was off to MSG to see Aerosmith & Kiss in concert. These old-timers are still at it and good as ever.

November 15, 2003 [Saturday]......The Real Kramer
Today's outing was one of the top 5 things I wanted to do in New York before we arrived. The Kramer Reality Tour. If you don't know Seinfeld then this won't make sense. If you do know Seinfeld, this is the infamous bus tour run by the Real Kramer. It's a 3 hour trip around some of the famous locations from Seinfeld and where some of the real-life stories occurred that inspired the show. The tv show once did a take-off of it when Kramer ran a "The Real Peterman Reality bus tour" on an episode.

The tour starts at the Producers Club on West 44th Street where Kenny Kramer (real name) talks about the show, how he came to know the main writer / producer Larry David, and then how Larry and Jerry Seinfeld came together. Before getting on the bus we then bought some Kramer merchandise (under his "Kra-Mart" business) a Seinfeld book that Kramer signed. Some of the locations the tour went to included:

- Manhattan Plaza apartment building (where Kramer still lives and where he lived across the hall from Larry David)
- Market Diner (where Kramer & Newman bought blackmarket shower heads)
- Jiffy Car Park (where George parks his car and can't seem to get it out and Kramer is arrested as a pimp)
- Roosevelt hospital (pig-man episode, junior mint show and many other hospital scenes)
- West Side Y (gym scenes)
- Lincoln Center - Juliard theatre (infamous pez dispenser scene)
- Pottery Barn (Kramer nails his mailbox shuts so they can't deliver the catalogs to him anymore)
- Champagne Video store (where George finds out Susan is a lesbian after breaking up with her)
- H&H Bagels (where Kramer went on strike and returned 10 years later before quitting again)
- Loewes 84th street cinema (where the gang go to watch movies like Rochelle Rochelle)
- Toms Restaurant (this is the diner they are in every episode and the famous "Restarant" street shot is from, Kramer posed for photos with each and every one of us in front of it)
- Soup Nazi (we ended up here and got some soup but you gotta follow the rules: state your order, hand over the money and move to the extreme left, no questions, no dawdling, no indecisiveness, or NO SOUP FOR YOU!)

All up, it was a great tour for a Seinfeld fan, you can ask Kramer anything you want and he is a excellent tour guide. Plus you hear the story of who the real Newman is.

November 14, 2003 [Friday]......Art Show in Brooklyn
The teacher I had in Painting class at the New School, Joel Longenecker, sent me an invitation to the opening night of his new exhibition that was on tonight. It was over in Brooklyn in the Williamsburg area where there is a healthy collection of galleries. I caught up with Marc, one of the other students from the art class at the show. Williamsburg is typical of one of the neighborhoods shown in the recent Ben Stiller & Drew Barrymore movie, Duplex. Lots of younger people are moving to these areas to get away from the high Manhattan rents but still be close to Manhattan.

November 12, 2003 [Wednesday]......Fracture Update
Saw the wrist specialist today and had some more x-rays taken. No improvement over the last month so it's now in a splint for the next month to immobilize it. I went to a specialist that sees lots of pro hockey, basketball etc players, they tell me the pro hockey players are the ones with the least attitude.
At night it was off to see a New Jersey Nets v San Antonio Spurs basketball game in a rematch of last season's NBA finals. The Australian player Shane Heal is on the bench for the Spurs but didn't get any court time tonight. Closest he got was warm up time.

November 11, 2003 [Tuesday]......Veteran's Day
Went to a Rangers v Edmonton hockey game last night after taking the day off. Today is Veteran's Day, the equivalent of Anzac Day. Even though everyone is so patriotic, the Veteran's Day parade is very poorly attended. Gay pride week parade on the other hand was packed. Pretty much took an easy day before going out to Jersey at night for a WWE live wrestling event.

November 9, 2003 [Sunday]......Meet The Parents - Day 10 (finale)
Mum and Dad depart today after an action packed week. Everyone has a couple of blisters from lots of walking and some more wear on their sneakers. The only way to see Manhattan.

Took an easy morning, Mum & Dad picked up a box of Krispy Kreme for morning tea at our apartment and we did some last minute printing of photos and reorganising suitcases. No more sightseeing, just picked up a couple of t-shirts & hats before taking the subway out to the airport. Service changes meant that became more complicated but 3 subways and a shuttle bus later, we were out at JFK. That's a $2 total trip compared to the $47 quoted to Dad for a taxi so it pays to know your way around.

So at around 7pm, flight QF108 departed to LA then over to Sydney & Adelaide, bringing the week and this part of the blog to a close.

November 8, 2003 [Saturday]......Meet The Parents - Day 9
So after an intense amount of pounding the pavement this week, today was somewhat of a respite. A more traditional NYC tourist day, starting with the Empire State Building. This is over at 34th Street and 5th Avenue and it is best to get there early to avoid the huge lines that form during the day. We arrived before 10am and after several queues, finally made it to the top, up at the 86th floor observatory. From the south side we peered over and could spot our apartment building. It was a perfect clear day, but windy and a cool 6 degrees out, no doubt colder again up that high. Plenty of photos and a look over all corners of the building later, we were ready to head back down.

On the street we caught the crosstown bus and rode to the westside, over to 12th Avenue, then walking to 42nd street where the 3 hour Circle Line cruise around Manhattan departed. The cruise we enjoyed as it took you the full loop around the island of Manhattan and the tour guide had all sorts of knowledge of the different sections and boroughs. You also got to see all the bridges that join to Manhattan up close, another look at the Statue of Liberty and find out all the apartment buildings the stars live in.

Back on solid ground it was time to do another bus / subway combo to get to the Empire Diner on West 22nd Street and 10th Avenue. This place is an old style boxcar diner that you don't see many of at all anymore. After some refreshments we took a walk down to several of the Chelsea art galleries down 22nd Street despite the chilly weather. Later in the evening it was time to sort through all the photos taken.

November 7, 2003 [Friday]......Meet The Parents - Day 8
Later start today after the last few hectic days. The D train took us straight up to 161st Street, otherwise known as Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We were there for the daily Yankee Stadium tour. This proved to be one of the highlights indeed. The one hour tour took you to the press box area, players locker room, Yankees dugout, around the field itself and out to Monument Park where there are tributes to all the Yankee greats such as Babe Ruth.

Coming back to Manhattan, we stopped over at the Upper West Side and a look at some of the famous areas like H&H Bagels, lunch at Zabars, a walk down Broadway past 72nd Street and Gray's Papaya, Verdi Square before ending up at Lincoln Center at 66th Street. At the time the were filming the cast of the musical Fame record some songs for the Thanksgiving show on CBS.

Another walk to 72nd Street and Central Park West brought us to the Dakota Building, where John Lennon lived and was then shot in front of. The last part of the day was a 2 hour walk through Central Park and luckily the weather much much nicer today, even the sun was out. The walk started near 72nd Street and in the Strawberry Fields garden dedicated to John Lennon. It lead north past The Lake and up to The Great Lawn. At one point there was this spectacular large solitary tree with bright red leaves, a great sight in the Fall. South from there we passed by Turtle Pond, Delacorte Theater (where they hold Shakespeare in the Park during summer) and over to Belvedere Castle. South from there we passed through The Ramble, a wooded more dense area. Next is the Boathouse where in summer you can go out in boats onto The Lake. Following was an impressive area with the Bethesda Fountain and a tunnel section which was under going restoration for some intricate tile work from yesteryear. The Mall is the name of a long paved section with a grand look about it which we walked down. Then we crossed over the running track where Diddy was training before the NY marathon, before stopping in at The Dairy, referring to the former use while part of the farming area. Another short walk and we were out the southern end of Central Park and over to Columbus Circle for a subway ride home.

Mum & Dad stopped back at Macy's for final shopping and dinner, while I went to the NY Knicks v Sacramento Kings NBA basketball game. It was my first NBA game this season and a great start as the Knicks won in a thrilling final quarter after being down all game. Allan Houston's 39 points was amazing.

November 6, 2003 [Thursday]......Meet The Parents - Day 7
Today was designated the shopping day. Started up at Macy's on 34th Street where Mum had a good browse through. Next was a walk past Herald Square and over to Bryant Park on 42nd and 6th Avenue which has the New York Public Library as a backdrop. At the north end of the park is the F train subway entrance and possible the fanciest subway entrances with its intricate fence decor.

The subway ride was to the Rockefeller Centre stop where we exited on the 6th Avenue side to see Radio City Music Hall. On the first floor roof they had the christmas decorations of the tin soldiers that move back and forth. After surveying the street, numerous buildings and CNN studio, it was time to go back down to get a krispy kreme.

Back to the Rockefeller Centre, a walk along Rockefeller Plaza and past all the Farmers Market that is there this week. Dad tried a apple pie and hot apple cider. New York has the best apple cider hands down, in winter it's a treat. Next we moved around to see the Rockefeller Plaza ice skating rink which opened in the last few weeks. It's a spot for tourists to go ice skating as the rink it small and it is expensive, locals go to Woollman rink in Central Park. There are plenty of shops in Rockefeller Plaza, Mum seemed to find Crabtree & Everlyn without trouble.

Moving on, we landed back on 5th Avenue, prime shopping district. Saks Fifth Avenue was close by and we made a brief stopover. Down the street, we had a look inside St Patrick's Cathedral which is very grand indeed. I didn't bother stopping in at the confession booth this time. Slight drizzle outside, so we took relief in the Luis Vutton store. The only thing they got going on nowdays is using JLo in their ads. No sale sorry. Continuing on, we stopped in at the Trump Tower foyer which is quite grand.

Up 5th Avenue a little further was Tiffany & Co. where the next part of the day was spent over 3 of the 5 floors. Around the corner on 56th street, if I recall, was a walk through the 5 level Burberry store where there was no end to what you can buy and for how much. Back along 5th near the southern tip of Central Park was the toy store FAO Schwarz, famous for Tom Hank's lifesize piano scene from "Big".

Over to Madison Avenue we detoured over to Barneys and then back to Bloomingdales (Bloomies). In Bloomies we ended up kinda lost in the lower levels before a personal store guide found us and personally escorted us through the store up to the 7th floor eatery which we were very impressed with. Leaving Bloomies, we took a side trip over to the Waldorf Astoria, checking out the foyer and in particular a very impressive& old style clock in there. Despite the inclemental weather, we walked over to the Chrysler Building foyer to see what limited parts you are allowed to see. It has an art deco interior, but from the street you can look up and see the stainless steel eagles protruding from the building corners some 60 or so floors up. Lastly, another walk back to Grand Central to get the subway back downtown.

At night we went down to SoHo for dinner at a Thai place called Peep. Not only does Peep have well presented food and good service, they have a funky place that includes bathrooms with one-way mirrors back to the rest of the diners and TV's playing old movies. After dinner we walked back toward Greenwich Village along Bleeker Street and up MacDougal Street the main hotspot at night.

The night had cleared up nicely and a long walk over to Rice To Riches, home of the best rice cream in NYC was in order. That took us back to Spring Street in the SoHo / Chinatown area. All enjoyed the delicious rice cream and hot drinks before we called it a night.

November 5, 2003 [Wednesday]......Meet The Parents - Day 6
Tonight we will got to a Broadway show so in the morning we went down to the TKTS windows at South Street Seaport to buy our 50% off tickets that you can buy on the day of the show. Thanks to Paul's advice several days early we went to this lower traffic queue as the Times Square office can get very busy. Tickets in hand, we walked back to the subway which we rode up to 42nd - Grand Central Terminal. Now this is one big hall, it was around noon so we avoided the rush hour crowds. As we were leaving Grand Central, one man rode in on his Segway machine, the second we had seen this week (one guy in our building has one also). If you don't know what a Segway Human Transporter is, then check here. From the street, we had a brief look up at the outside of the terminal, and how the roads were diverted around it and through the building itself. Next block over is the MetLife building, one of my favourite buildings only because it used to be the Pan Am building before they went bust. So this was all in the heart of the Midtown area.

A shuttle subway took us crosstown where I had hoped to stop in at the Soup Nazi for lunch but he has not yet re-opened after his annual summer hiatus. Instead we opted for a bagel deli, a New York bagel is a must for a true NYC experience. I followed this up with another NYC favourite, the Black & White cookie. As Seinfeld says, the trick is trying to get an equal portion of both sides with each bite.

Next was a trip over to the Upper East Side and a couple of hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) which is at 82nd street bordering Central Park. One of the big shows on presently is the painting exhibition of El Greco. We also spent time looking at collections of Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Rembrandt, Picasso, Matisse. I also enjoy seeing the works of some of the modern artists Pollack, Howard Hodgkins and Terry Winters. We looked at several other areas at The Met before it was closing time so time to go. Outside it was raining by this point and we rushed back to the subway line. It is 3 subway rides to get home, including a transfer in the madness of Times Square at rush hour and trying to cram into a packed subway car as the doors are trying to close. But that's just New York, why wait for the next crowded train when you can jam yourself into the current one?

After a rest and some dinner, it was back to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on West 49th Street to see the Broadway musical "Nine".

November 4, 2003 [Tuesday]......Meet The Parents - Day 5
Weather reports had predicted a nice day, how far from reality they ended up being. Overcast day and a faint, light but persistent drizzle. Today was spent downtown. A trip on the 1 train down to Chambers Street where we then walked over to the World Trade Center Ground Zero site. A short walk down the block then led us to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. Back up the street was the Trinity Church which Mum was interested in. Next, on to Broadway toward Bowling Green park and the large bull statue for some photo shots.

Leading from there was the South Ferry area at the tip of southern Manhattan. A new monument erected in the gardens there is a huge sculpture that was salvaged from the WTC site. It is a copper sphere shaped sculpture that was on the WTC plaza and amazingly escaped with several punctures and dents but essentially intact.

Despite the very average weather, we caught the ferry over to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty upclose. I never knew it was 300 copper sheets erected over a framework structure, I assumed it was solid. A walk around the island and then back to the next ferry and over to nearby Ellis Island. This is where several million immigrants were first processed upon arrival to the USA until 1924. We looked through the buildings and some of the informative displays and exhibits. Back once more to the ferry and over to Manhattan.

Despite some hunger by now, we pushed on, a short subway ride up to City Hall and a walk around the premises and past the area where one of the councillmen was shot dead in August. City Hall is where shows like Spin City is based. Back to the subway and to find a spot for lunch, albeit a late one.

Light drizzle continued but I pushed our group on.... we still have a lot to see. The afternoon was spent on a mini-Greenwich Village tour. We passed by New York University (NYU) and into Washington Square Park, one of my favourite parks, although I have 5 favourite parks nowdays (anything with a dogrun!). Over at the north end of the park is the famous Washington Square arch, seen in many tv shows / movies. It is under-going some significant reconstruction at present to preserve it into the future so it has a lot of scaffolding around it. Until 9/11 you could also stand back and see the Twin Towers through the arch.

Heading further west, we made it over to Bleeker Street, one of the coolest streets in New York. Stumbled on a cool dog shop, The Four Paws Club, where we spotted a pug money box that we had to have, you will find no cooler money box anywhere. The same store also sells lots of clothes for dogs. That's right, and it is very popular, they even stock doggie Burberry jackets.

Back down Bleeker Street, ultimate destination would have to be none other than Magnolia Bakery, home of the best cupcakes in the world. Saved them for later that night.

So last night I arranged to get some New York Rangers tickets for the parents to the game against the Dallas Stars I had a ticket to. Dad was keen to see an event at MSG. We all sat on centre ice, my preferred seating, and luck would have it we saw a historic game. First period was a little slow, the second much better as the Rangers scored 2 goals. The third was fantastic; Mark Messier scored his second goal for the night and became the 2nd highest scoring player in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky, and passing Gordie Howe's old mark. The crowd went crazy, he got several standing ovations. Another bonus, we had a couple of good fights for the game to spice it up a little.

So how do you top that? Easy, go home and eat a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery.

November 3, 2003 [Monday]......Meet The Parents - Day 4
Today we started up at the museum mile area on the Upper East Side. The Guggenheim is at East 89th Street and has the most interesting architecture of all the museums, the building from the outside looks like a set of huge round slices on top of each other, while the inside is a single ramp spiralling up to the ceiling with all the artwork on the outer side of the ramp, so there are no stairs. Currently the main exhibition is James Rosenquist with some of the largest paintings you will ever see.

Today was one of the hottest November days on record, being in the 70's. A glorious day, we walked through Central Park south of the Reservoir, around the baseball fields, past 100 or more squirrels and through to Ccentral Park West. Time for lunch, so a stop in at Cafe Lalo on West 83rd was in order. This is where some of Tom Hanks' You've Got Mail was filmed and we sat at the table behind where he and Meg Ryan were. They have an enormous selection of cakes & cheesecake in that place.

Coming back out to the street, it was time to see why the street was lined with production trucks. Turns out they were shooting the tv show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in one of the buildings. Last stop of the day would be over to the American Museum of Natural History on 77th Street. This place is enormous, I could easily spend a whole day there it has a very diverse collect of exhibits. I spent time looking at Meteorites, photographs from the moon missions, a space show at the planetarium and ocean life displays.

Later in the evening Anh cooked up some mighty spring rolls & noodles, spectacular as usual, but nicely topped off this time with some Krispy Kreme donuts.....mmmmmm....

November 2, 2003 [Sunday]......Meet The Parents - Day 3
Today is the New York City Marathon. It is a 26 mile course which winds its way through all 5 NY boroughs. One of the big attractions is that Sean "P. Diddy" Combs the rap star is running to raise money for NYC schools. We caught the subway to Brooklyn at the marathon's 7 mile mark. We had timed it almost perfectly as we walked out of the subway station right onto the street where the runners are on, and within 1 minute the race leaders would pass by us. We stayed at that point for the next hour and a half before the tailenders made their way past. It was fascinating to see all the runners, some serious others not so. Some even stopped to take photos of the scene. If they had family on the side of the street they would stop and everyone would be so excited. The best part of course was actually seeing P Diddy run past. Despite the throngs of people it was easy to spot him as a tv crew were filming him and he had several bodyguards running alongside. He did finish the race I saw after - in 4 hours, 14 minutes. Diddy had a "diddy runs the city" theme which got a lot of press in the last few weeks.

Next stop in Brooklyn was over to the famous "Junior's" for lunch. Junior's is an old style diner that is famous for serving THE best cheesecake in all of New York. I may have hyped this up, just as it was done to me before trying it, but afterwards no-one dared to suggest it was not the best cheesecake they had tried anywhere. It is that damn good. Hopped on the subway from there and got out to see some of the larger buildings in Brooklyn before walking down the picturesque tree-lined Monteque Street which has many cafes, bookstores etc. That led down through Brooklyn Heights and to the Brooklyn Promenade, a lovely scenic view over to Manhattan. We walked aong the promenade ending up at the Brooklyn Bridge which we walked across back over to Manhattan. The bridge is probably a 25 minute walk and offers some nice views.

Determined to keep walking, we turned up Manhattan through to the Lower East Side. From Canal Street we had a short subway ride up to East Village and walked down St Marks Place toward the East River. One store we passed was Australian Homemade Chocolates which sold specialty chocolates and icecream in a funky store. When we reached Avenue A, we turned up and walked along Tompkins Square Park in the area that is known as Alphabet City (Avenue A, B, C, D). This is around the area Madonna lived in before she was famous.

Later in the early evening we all stopped by Madison Square Garden and then over to 8th Avenue to the huge United States Postal Service building with its endless row of steps. From there we continued up past Port Authority bus station and over to 42nd street. Went along 42nd street amongst the crowds over to Times Square, heading north up Broadway all the way up to 59th Street and the start of Central Park.

It was a nice evening out and we decided to go on a hansom cab ride (old school horse drawn carriage) through Central Park. This was a nice scenic ride through the park and our driver pointed out lots of the buildings on the way along with what celebrities had penthouses there and where some well-known movies had been shot.

November 1, 2003 [Saturday]......Meet The Parents - Day 2
After some much needed rest we started the day giving a tour of our apartment and the building. Leaving there, we walked down to Madison Square Park, stopping on the way to look at the Flatiron building. After the park and looking at the dog run, we took off down Broadway arriving at Union Square where we walked through the weekend market which is a must-see there. Next we headed toward Chinatown via Mulberry Street. On the way we stopped in at a cafe for lunch where they have this awesome type of flatbread that is delicious. After a diversion through Little Italy, down at Chinatown we sampled the hong kong cakes from the street vendor and dropped in at the chinese grocery stores for supplies.

From Chinatown we caught the subway back to Chelsea and a short break to catch our breath. That night we all were invited to Ellen & Paul's for an early Thanksgiving dinner. After catching one subway uptown, we were waiting for a 2nd to take us across town but that never arrived, so we ended up getting on the bus as cabs were hard to come by.
On arrival, Ellen gave a tour of their apartment including the living room where the plaster recently collapsed from the ceiling, falling dangerously below. Ellen & Paul live up on East 57th Street in a nice quiet and historic neighborhood. Dinner had several courses and Ellen had certainly put a huge amount of effort into it. We all thoroughly enjoyed the feast and had a great time.