West 50th and 8th - home sweet home

So we finally arrived in the Big Apple! It was surreal to drive in from the airport knowing I would be here for some time this time round. Everything is a study. I find myself looking at everything - makes of cars, the clothing people are wearing, the music, the houses - with that traveller lens that compares things to other places and wonders why are they like that. It's fascinating being a foreigner for a change.

The apartment is great - spacious (its all downhill from here), 24th floor so we have some views to the East River and can glimpse Central Park in the distance, friendly staff. We will be very comfortable here, and I must say I am glad that we have our own rooms as mum snores and after 2 nights she was driving me nuts.

After mum and I unpacked a bit we took to the streets for dinner and exploring. It was a balmy summer night, which seemed strange in such a big city. At 8pm the sun still hadn't set and it was 20c, perfect for strolling around. People were still sitting in their balconies and sunbaking anywhere they could. New Yorkers and tourists were out in force eating ice cream and dining al fresco (its a long weekend here: Memorial Day, the official start of summer). Heaps of sailors around in their white uniforms. We ate at an Italian neighbourhood place and walked up 8th to Columbus Circle, which is on the edge of Central Park, then back home via Times Sq.

We must have heard 10 diferent languages on our stroll, plus plenty of Brooklyn and Queens accents twanging on. Sometimes its hard not to laugh.

Totally jetlagged and now 'seasonally confused'. Could not stay awake on the plane from LA and then wide awake at midnight watching crappy real crime drama. Giving the sleeping pills a workout :(