New York, New...you know the rest

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We have been in NYC for a few days now and yep i love it. What a great place this is, we really don't feel unsafe here...we felt more unsafe in vegas really. If you avoid certain areas after dark you can't get into too much trouble...

So far we have seen (as puddy previously mentioned) the seinfield cafe..that was the first thing we did actually becauise it was only 9streets north of where we were staying. We have been up the empire state building, that was fantastic...again they give you an audio companion thing to listen so you know where to look and what you are looking at...you really don't appreciate how big this place is until you see from the top of the empire state.

we have eaten a fair bit of NY style pizza...its pretty damn good..we also had our first NY hot dog yesterday...we did it with a little bit of hestitation, not sure exactly what to expect but i can report that they are actually quite good...not the big hot dogs that you can get at the footy but quite tasty. We did that on Wall street actually which was really cool to see..the stock exchange has a massive american flag attached to it and shines as a beacon of money, capitalism and america....greatto see.

We of course went to ground zero...its really hard to comprehend really that biuldings that were that tall are now a 35m hole in the ground. The rebuilding has started...it has been nearly 5 years....we saw the plans for the new Freedom Tower....its nothing like the original ones...there will be one huge one and 5 smalller ones...im glad to have finally seen it.

after the finnacial distict we headed down to battery park for a look at the statue of liberty...i studied new york history in yr 12 and did my CAT on the statue aka 'liberty enlightening the world'...ever since then i have wanted to come and see it...because it was late in the day we decided not to get the ferry then but to wait until thursday morning.

after that we headed off to little italy and chinatown for a look around and a few games of pool...im actually getting better and win about one in every 5 games....after that we shot back across town to our favourite restuarant in greenwich village, the minetta (also matthew brodericks favourite NY restuarant) then we headed over to the mercury lounge in SoHo

because

Thirsty Merc were playing. yep Dubbo's biggest export have finally made it to the city that never sleeps. In fact not only was it their first NY show but their first foray into the US. I just happened to spot their name while flipping thru one of those free nightlife magazines....anyway the guy that signed Jet to electra was there! MArcus will know the guy i mean he is one the Jet DVD and has long dark hair....the door lady was an aussie and we were talking to her and she said that he was coming and sure enough he was there...she didnt say that he was there to sign them up or anything but its pretty cool anyway..Anyway the boys from thirsty merc played the show with the "oh my god we are playing a show in NYC" look firmly planted on their faces and i...umm....i actually....well...umm...really enjoyed it....there i said it...i said it....honestly when i saw their name i thought..well theyre aussies but they are fairly ordinary but aussies...why not...and they played a ripper set...im not sure if it was seeing something so australian in a city thats so not...or seeing a rock band after going to a few crappy dance places in toronto....or the 7 pints of sierra nevada...i really cant put my finger on it.

I also bought a cd from a folk singer girl who played after them who was absolutley phenomenal....unbelievably good...all on a tuesday night in NYC...god i love this place.

THis mornign i went for a walk to the chelsea hotel....its where bob dylan wrote "sad eyed lady of the low lands" and where sid vicious died....its fairly early here...pudds just having a quick shower then we are off for ice skating in central park followed by seeing the matinee session of phantom of the opera on broadway.

anyway we are having such a great time here...how can you not? Its new york city.


John and Kristian

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Comments

[fliss]

sniff
Yo biatches. Jealousy seeths through my body as I write this, but my heart is nonetheless warmed that you're showing so much love for new yorks. But yeah, who wouldn't... So if you're staying on the upper west, go to Broadway, and between 104th and 105th is a bar that I spent far too much time in, Eden. Have yourselves an apple martini, yes rather feminine, but if I can get marcus to do it then so can you. Along with cheese pizza, its the taste of new yorks really. Also across the road between 103rd and 104th is Broadway pizza - best pizza in town, hands down! If you feel like another broadway show, go see Avenue Q, crass halarious puppetry at its best. They actually do a ticket lottery most weeknights at 5:30, where they draw out 12 front row tickets for $20 so well worth giving that a shot. The free weekly Village Voice is a handy companion, as it will tell you every gig thats going on in town. Another awesome thing to do is the circle line ferry tours from Seaport that go around both the Brooklyn and New Jersey sides of the island, give you fantastic views...as does the promenade that runs along the edge of Brooklyn Heights and overlooks the east side, its only one stop out of Manhattan on the red line (also a good chance to see Brooklyn sans the ghetto, hehe). Ok I'll shut up now, have fun, and dont forget to go to Strawberry Fields and show some respect! xox

[Anna]

Hey fellas, Good to hear you're having an awesome trip - New York is the fricken best, so much to do. Don't eat at TGI Fridays in Time Square cause its crap as crap can get and there's a bogan american waiter who says "welcome to TGI Fridays, the happiest place on earth" in this monotone gay arse voice with a long sulky look on his face.. Well I guess the poor guy does have to work at the crap place so it makes sense I suppose.... Take care boys, good to hear all the updates. Be good or not. whatever. xoxoxox Anna Ps its happy hour from 5pm -7pm everyday at Busters garage some funny pub just near or about 10 mins walk from ground zero, annnnd it's 10 bucks all you can drink!!! for 2 hours!!!!!

[marcus]

its hard life for a pimp out 'ere
i supose i should add my two cents to all this....as previously stated ny is an awesome awesome place. i think someone once said "you can never know new york, you can only know your new york". and its so true...a lot of places you guys have mentioned ive never been to but definitely want to next time im there! funny story...our new drummer (crutey) had one of friends out here from LA writing and demoing songs...on her way back to LA she was sitting next to no other than Thirsty Merc! Of course she hadnt heard them but talked to them the whole way there...theyre just every where! john - vines new album comes out on the 1st of april over there so make sure you grab a copy. no patrick but the songs still sound pretty good.