All good!

Hi there!

Sorry about the late first posting, but we've had no access to wi-fi and been very busy out and about!

We're all well and having fun.

Monday after a mostly smooth flight we arrived at Newark, with squeals of excitement as the New York skyline appeared below.

The transfer by bus to Manhattan also went smoothly. We checked in to the YMCA which is in an ideal location, close to a lot of the sights.

We then walked four blocks to Grand Central Station, a massive and stunningly building, and had some tea in the food courts.

Most people were asleep early, as to us it was already midnight when it was 5pm here; we've been waking up ridiculously early!

Tuesday we packed in a lot; we had breakfast in our breakfast-diner, which we packed to the rafters; it was very New-York (including the fact that they got enough tables in by carrying them in from their neighbour's cafe!

We then took the subway downtown to Rockefeller Plaza to see the outdoor ice-rink, and took the elevator to the 'top of the rock' with breathtaking views over all of Manhattan- over Central Park uptown and downtown towards the Statue of Liberty.

In the afternoon we walked along Bleecker street; famous in the Sixties for Bob Dylan, and in the Noughties for Sex and The City. Draw your own conclusions on what that says about modern culture! We then had some time in the very cool area of Soho for shopping, mostly on Broadway.

In the evening we went up the Empire State to see the city at night. At 86 floors it's a mind-blowing view of the whole city lit-up spectacularly.

After that we split into groups and some went home; most went to see Times Square with it's myriad of video-billboard towers.

With all that walking we were in bed at a good time, but more adapted to local time so most of us made it to at least 10pm. Rock and roll!