Bright and early, 8am once again, ready for the final day of being in the city. With an our or so until we have to check out of out rooms, we take the time to quickly look at the ABC / Disney studios a couple of blocks away from our hotel, and then have a wonder around Central Park which was right next to our hotel, before we had to head back in around 9.30am to leave our rooms and abandon our bags for the day until we collected them later that evening ready to head back….

We then headed down to the island of Manhatten to the very bottom to go visit the Statue of Liberty. With a queue to get to the island as long as the island itself it would seem, we took it upon ourselves to take a ferry tour around the harbour instead, with a queue much shorter so we could maximise our time for the day. The tour took little under an hour, going around the Hudson River, past the Statue of Liberty and along to the Brooklyn Bridge and back. It was a good trip, and with great weather I managed to get some good photos.

After getting back off the ferry and looking around Battery Park and at the building used in the Men In Black movies as thier HQ, we headed back on the Subway back up towards Fifth Avenue and Times Square again, this time though to go to the top of the Rockefeller Center to get some photos of the city in the day, to go along with the photos of the city at night form the Empire State Building.

After spending time at the top taking a load of photos we headed back to get a bite to eat and then do some shopping before we had to leave for good. Not before long though it was already getting dark, and with shopping bags in tow, we slowly made our way back to the hotel while taking some last photos of the streets and such like.

It was an amazing city, and somewhere I would love to go back to one day, next time for longer than four days though! It was just a shame we didn’t have a whole heap of time to go everywhere possible, but we managed to go to all the ‘big places’ and it was all good in the end, and after another 12 hour coach journey we were back Sunday morning to properly sleep!

With little over five hours sleep, it was the start of another day - back out of the hotel again at around 8am as to try to make the most out of our short time in the city. You couldn’t really ask for better weather - bright blue skies without a cloud in sight, pretty amazing for the end of November, and how it had been raining for the entire previous day.

The morning was spent generally taking photos of the city in general, browsing some shops up and down what would seem to be the main shopping street; Fifth Avenue which led down to Times Square past the Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building.

The morning seemed to be over in a flash, and having ended up taking photos of people Ice Skating outside the Rockefeller Center, we headed inside for our pre-booked NBC Studios Tour, which we had organised back in Charlotte a week or so before the trip. Sadly photography inside the studios was prohibited, however it was a couple studios for NBC News, NBC Nightly News and the Saturday Night Live studios, all of which air in America obviously on NBC. Being an enthusiast of all things TV and Media related I enjoyed it, similar to the BBC Studios tour I went on a year or so back in London. Afterwards we went around the NBC Store located at the front of the building to buy some NBC, and, Studio 60 merchandise!

Times Square & Empire State Building  

By now it was mid afternoon, so we popped down into Times Square for food and more photo taking, this time in decent weather. The plan was then to head over to the Empire State Building to get some photos of the city, in the day, during sun set, and at night all in one go. How wrong were we. It would seem everyone else had the same idea, and after standing in a queue for three hours - yes - three hours to get to the top, it was already dark. However, we took a load of photos, even though without tripods it proved slightly challenging not to get blurred shots with it being dark - but thankfully I did get some decent photos.

  After the Empire State Building and heading back to the hotel to unload all the photos we’d taken so far that day, it was back out down into Time Square at night - we didn’t want to waste any of our time there. So, we explored Time Square at night and again got alot of photos. We headed into the ESPN Zone to get a meal and sit down for a bit, while eating our ‘ESPN Burgers’ - thats what they were called! It was a pretty cool place with a nice atmosphere. 

The City That Never Sleeps  

Its true what they say, New York really is the City that never sleeps, by midnight the streets around Times Square were as busy as they were in the day - it was pretty insane. Come 1.30am, we were still around the square having purchased some souvieners from very late night opened souviener shop! When we happened to come across a row of police bikes, with the cops just standing around chatting and such like. We noticed other people asking if they could sit on the bikes and have photos taken, and so, we did too! So, at 1.30am in the middle of Times Square, we were each sitting on a police bike in turn having a photo taken! Its was pretty cool, and something I would have never expected - I can’t even imagine something like that happening in the UK at that time of night.

Even though we could have stayed there forever, we had to make ourselves go back to the hotel so we could wake up again the next morning! So after making our way back into the Subway, we ended up waiting around for 25mins for our train to turn up. While we were waiting, a singing guy (I would say hobo, but he seemed well dressed as if he simply did it as if he was bored) was on the platform performing a variety of songs. Now, not like any other random weirdo on the streets who sings for change, he was actually pretty good, and over the time we were there was building up an audience for himself. Everyone waiting was listening to him, giving him change, even singing along and recording him - he was a legend in his own right!

As the weather man predicted, Thursday was going to be raining all day. From the early hours we were up and by 8am out the door wondering the streets again! First stop was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade which was basically happening at the end of our street, so for a couple of hours we stayed there watching the parade go by… even with the rain loads and loads of people turned up. But after a while of getting drenched we decided to abort the parade….

The next task was to try to work out how to buy subway tickets, and then how to use the subway! First stop was Times Square. A rainy day would have been perfect for shopping, but, with it being Thanksgiving nearly everywhere was closed, so after getting something to eat we took it upon ourselves to try to find David Blaine, who was performing a stunt involving a massive giroscope with him in the air for three days… but unless he had already finished by the time we got there, we couldn’t find him, not even the cops knew where he was… This would end up being the first of many visits to Times Square, and so photos were ‘reserved’ for the following day with better weather!

With umbrellas in full use, we headed back to the subway and further down Manhatten to Ground Zero. Other than a crazy preaching woman who seemed to be shouting and protesting about everything under the sun, the area had a very somber feel. It was hard to believe that the scenes from 9/11 that we’ve all come to know happened where I was standing five years before.

By now it was already getting pretty late in the day, and with the rain still pelting it down it was time to head back. With news that the weather would brighten up for the next couple days, all eyes were on them to get everything else done.

Well, when I say ‘day one’ I really mean ‘day one and a bit’. Tuesday night. 10pm. We were all leaving Charlotte for an eagerly awaited break to New York City over Thanksgiving. With a 12 hour coach journey ahead of us to get there, all we could do is try to sleep.

 After what would seem as a life time on board the coach - which atleast was a decent new one this time, as opposed to the older one we had going up to Washington DC. Anyways, we finally arrived in New York at around 10 - 11am after stopping off at a service station near the New Jersey Turnpike for breakfast, and after the driver drove around the same blocks 3 times trying to find the hotel…

After getting given our rooms and sitting down for a little while, we were all back out again for a coach tour of the city, where we basically went around for the afternoon being shown where we can go such as the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero and such.

The next morning the Thankgiving Macy’s Parade was going to take place, so later that evening we were back out again, this time walking up a few blocks to get to where they were inflating the massive balloons for the following day’s parade. It was pretty cool, seeing them up close, which a load of people all there bustling about! See photos in the next blog post.

Like with my Washington DC blog; more photos will be added along with each blog post, day by day until the end, this trip I took over 1000 photos - so it’s gonna take me a while to sort through and upload the best photos up onto here!

Today there was a basketball game at the university, with the Charlotte 49ers (UNCC’s team) against Hofstra University, to you and me, thats a university up in Long Island, New York. It was a good game, and in true ‘me’ fashion, I took a load of pics which you can see in the gallery, as well as a video clip which is at the bottom of this blog post! In the end Charlotte won, by 8 points (I think!), even though come the end it was getting pretty close!

But, as always, there’s always crazy things happening - and this game was no exception! For starters there was a brass band - with drums - in one of the stands. Every so often they would all burst into tune, normally during time outs and at half time. You’d think a band was just a band though - but they seemed pretty energetic! Even with thier big instruments, all standing in what must have been pretty cramped seating for them, they were moving with the music, from just swaying, to turning around all the time during one song after - er - the chorus? - I’ll call it the chorus… Anyway, for a band, they were pretty amazing…

…there were also quite a few people dressed up as everything, from bears to smooties and from suns to a big nut and bolt… mainly advertising stuff, but at half time they had a crazy little basketball game of thier own - pics in the album, all i can say it was pretty crazy. There was also the Charlotte team mascot - Norm the Niner - who went around, propelling tshirts out of a cannon, or, as the pic shows below (the one on the right) using a fishing rod and a fake spider to scare people!

I also recorded the team entrance for the Charlotte team, which you can watch below. In true American style, its was all big, lights and music!

For you facebook and RSS readers, the video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73PIy1tEhcY

Merry Christmas everyone! I can’t believe it’s this time of year again - it only feels like Christmas was 10 months ago or so! What? IT WAS!?!?!

Hmm, well, must be a time zone difference thing. Either way, its Christmas! Or - atleast there are some people who think it is… Let’s set the scene, November 1st, the day after Halloween, and we go shopping at our ‘local’ supermarket - Harris Teeter, and the first thing we notice - Christmas products on sale! Now, we think its a bit early, but we go along with it…

Today however in the bookstore on campus, they were playing music from a radio station, and, nevertheless, they were Christmas songs. It’s November 5th I would like to add. It’s a bit strange, but again, we go along with it… buying a few campus t-shirts and such with Christmas songs on in the background… its all good.

When I got back to my flat, being bored as always, I could either do work or do nothing. So, I decided on the latter… after a while I decided to check out the same radio station’s website which was playing in the bookstore. What do I find? Christmas songs - all weekend. They’re even playing Radio Jingles saying stuff like “Wishing you a very Merry Christmas K104.7″. Even while I write this, ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ is playing in the background.

The question is. When is early, too early?

Hey folks, so the other week - well it must be a couple now but I havn’t blogged in a little bit it seems, I managed to get an interview - exclusive I might add - with Sherri Shepherd for the unofficial site I run about the digital UK channel ABC1; www.abc1uk.co.uk, which some if not most of you already know I do!

Anyways, for those who don’t know, she plays Ramona in the ABC comedy Less Than Perfect over in the states, which in turn is shown in the UK on ABC1. After emailing her agent who seemed enthusiastic, I sent off a bunch of questions. Now, I expected to have to wait a few days - even a few weeks for a reply, but behold the very next day I got her response!

 So, then I got on to the task of publishing it to the site, and after a short while it was online! Amazingly about a week later, someone signed up to the forums, apparently Sherri herself, and replied to the forum thread about the interview! Now, I’m not 100% sure it was her - but - its pretty cool to think about!

You can read it at: http://www.abc1uk.co.uk/interviews/sherrishepherd.php