Howdy. This is Lee posting on Jess' behalf.


I am going to be acting as an intermediary since I kinda nicked all of her internet time chatting (whoops). Therefore I'll be feeding back to you what we've been chatting about over the course of about 20 minutes.

So let's begin no ?

Today Jess has been super duper busy yet again since she has just 2 days left in New York, New Yorrrrrrk before she jets Westward to San Francisco for a month's worth of wwoofing.

She woke early (as she does) and jumped out of bed at like 6:30 (ish) for a spot of breakfast before heading outside to see the stuff, and man did she see the stuff !! She went alllll over the Southern half of Manhattan, starting with the King of the Stuff - the Empire State Building.

Jess fearlessly rode up to the lofty heights of the 86th floor observation deck and stood atop the tallest piece of stuff the city has to offer like a pretty british super hero, taking in upto 50 miles worth of sights *on a clear day (I just checked that), and also getting away from the wafty bin type smell that kinda lingers around in the city streets below (refer to previous post for more info on said wafty bin type smell).

Next up, she took a brief hike Southward 18 blocks (which is just under half a mile) to Union Square where the Union Square Greenmarket is usually in full swing (held Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between 8 AM and 6 PM year round). It is kinda like the farmer's market in Stroud, but with the addition of street performers, people sunbathing, old dudes playing chess, maybe the odd man or two on a microphone telling everyone to repent and possibly another guy on possibly another microphone telling everyone that Swine Flu is a conspiracy - that kinda thing.

Leaving the hustle and bustle behind, she continued a leisurely stroll South into Greenwich Village which Jess describes as "more hippy and all the buildings are lower by law and there are lots of trees... its 'bohemian'". While there, she checked out Carrie Bradshaw's house from Sex & The City (pictured) - and may or may not have walked up and down the stoop outside as if she was Carrie Bradshaw - several times - or at least had an epic inner struggle with the idea (although this is my own opinion and not based on fact).

From there, she swiftly sauntered South-Eastish alllll the way down Bleecker Street which runs diagonally across Greenwich Village ("which there was a market on - it was soooo hot though - 26 degrees or more - and humid")" and then caught the bus over to Ground Zero where the new World Trade Center One (formerly Freedom Tower) is under construction. She says: "They have the first steels in for the tower, you can see them from ground level.".

Still thirsty for more adventure, an eager Jess then took the Brooklyn Bus Tour (sometime before 3pm - which is when the website says the tour runs until) from the nearby Battery Park on the South-West corner of Manhattan, travelling through Camden Plaza, Brooklyn Heights, Old Fulton Landing, and onto the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Next, Jess visited Grand Central Station in East Midtown NYC (the one in that B&W picture you always see at Ikea (pictured left)) - saw that, and then walked alllllll the way back 2 miles West to her hostel, stopping in at a deli to get some well deserved dinner - "a Siciliano Panini". I can't find any images of a Siciliano Panini on Google, but I'm sure it was a taste sensation.

Then she got on the web about 6ish and chatted with moi.

Her favourite part of the day was Greenwich Village.

Tomorrow Jess is going to explore uptown Manhattan, including a ferry ride and a museum or two. Stay tuned...

She sends her best wishes and much love to everyone back home.