MORE FROM NEW YORK

There's no such thing as 'budget accommodation' in New York City. Well - there is, but even a skinflint like me would draw the line at the standards of the budget hotels on offer. So it was 'splash-out' time. Thanks to expedia.com we did secure a pretty good hotel 'The Martinique' which is part of the Radisson chain.

Well situated just off Broadway on 32nd street, it was (on paper) a 10 minute stroll from Times Square. Of course, in New York, there is no such thing as a 'stroll'. You just jump into the never-ending stream of people heading in your direction and get carried along, until it is time to 'jump-off' at your desitination. The trick, naturally, is not to jump off into the stream heading the other way, or you merely find yourself back where you started. It took a few attempts for us to master this process, but in the meantime, we did see some streets we wouldn't have seen otherwise!

The hotel had a nice bar/restaurant downstairs which was quite reasonably priced. New York City flies in the face of everywhere else in the US. Everything in NYC is expensive, in contrast to the rest of the country where everything is dirt cheap. The 'rack-rate' for The Martinique is around the $500 US per night mark, but I booked the room months ago for about $148 per night.

The Radisson Martinique

The foyer of the hotel



Chloe and Chanelle hit the streets

Madison Square Garden

Macey's Department Store

"Let's go look at clothes"

Chanelle doesn't look too impressed with Karen's shoe shopping at Macy's

Typical New York street scene

and another....is he talking to her?

Some really nice honest guys selling quality goods off the back of a truck

"Where do we go now Chloe?"

I think this guy's had enough of New York!

Karen takes Derwent to the "Build-A-Bear Workshop" for a new outfit

Derwent tries on a London Policeman's outfit

Karen helps Derwent with his New York Policeman's outfit

Yep, he likes this one!

Karen leaves Build-A-Bear with Derwent's new outfit

Derwent looking cool in the hotel foyer

On the shuttle bus to JFK airport, our last view of the New York skyline

Derwent with his "don't mess with me" attitude waits for his flight at JFK

Chanelle passes the time at JFK

Our plane awaits us


And so after about five incredible days in the big apple it was time again to move on. Just being there in the vibe is exhausting. I can now see why New Yorkers embrace Central Park so much, as it is the only peaceful haven anywhere in the city. There is no such thing as a 'quiet corner'. Nowhere to sit idly in some street cafe and watch the world go by. It is pumping the whole time.

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So our US odyssey ended at New York, and I imagine if there's anywhere to finish then that's the place. Go out with a bang, so to speak. They say that NY is one of those places that you either love or hate, and this is probably true, but for me the jury is still out. I can't decide. As opposed to Las Vegas which I love, New York is still an enigma. It may simply fall into one of those 'nice place to visit' locations, but I think to truly discover the place, you'd need a year or more. Chloe and Chanelle of course embraced it totally, as you would at that age.

So, on that, it was time to go home