Cheerio England, Watto NYC - Mar 1-2

Smooth isn't the word. Well it is, but just in big, shiny capital letters. Crossing the Atlantic has never been made to look so simple. We arrived an hour early; all the bags were on the carousel before we got to it (although it may have helped that I was taken 'into the office' for 'VISA complications'); the SPAM outfit made it through as hand luggage; and I managed to watch half a series of the Thick of It. Easy. We got the first pints in at Heathrow Wetherspoons, my last cider for several months sadly had to be a Magners; poor show Heathrow.

Anyway, the flight was easy. It literally flew by (*applause). Anywhere I can get a free beer and a curry is somewhere I can enjoy. After landing and coming through VISA control I was taken away to the back office with, originally, no explanation at all. I was genuinely starting to regret the brightly coloured underwear I'd chosen to wear that day, but luckily it was all a misunderstanding, and my trousers stayed firmly on. 

Getting the subway into Manhattan had mixed results. We certainly got the subway into Manhattan, just the completely wrong bit. It turns out just because you're on the right avenue, doesn't mean you're anywhere near where you want to be. Whilst a walking tour of Times Square on a Friday night is great, having a huge backpack, a guitar, and laptop case to deal with makes it a little less enjoyable. However we finally made it to the Chelsea Star Hostel (not before a Starbucks and cheeky check-in on Facebook of course). On arrival it sadly became clear that they'd over booked and we had to be upgraded to an apartment, which was such a shame. 

That evening we braved the streets and subway once more, however this time with just a wallet and some cans of Coors Light (which, btw, is horrible). We met some of Gareth's (Gavlar's) mates in their trendy Brooklyn flat and then crashed another flat party of students and musicians. As far as my research goes, all New Yorkers have record players and enjoy the art deco theme. Whilst Ben was asked several times if he was Australian, it was noticeable what a multi-cultural city this is with only half the people we met actually being American. This was almost a disappointment on the first evening, as I'd come here to meet Americans! It is also noticeable how well travelled the Americans here are. Most had been to England, and I even met one who'd spent several weeks in Saffron Walden. I suppose I'll have to wait til I'm out of New York for my first "Oh my Gaaaad, are you British?!"

The next day was a slow, hard one to begin with. The hangovers/ jet lag taking full precedence. We had to make our way out to pick up the RV, and it turned out the address and a GPS system was not enough for our taxi driver to find the place. Luckily a quick phone call to the wife saw us straight. Again picking up the RV (or HMS Wagon-Mobile, as it has now been dubbed) was simple, although having to wait until Monday to be able to use the water system (long story) means it still has yet to quite feel like home. However this shall not be the case once we've properly decorated and really marked our territory...

I'll end it there for now. RV driving, Spurs/Arsenal, NYC and Times Square next (and don't worry I'll make it a lot shorter). Enjoy a compilation video of the experience below ;)

Oh yeah

'... have you seen Molly?'