Day 8: Last day in NY - "Well, you can go out and chase some dessert if you want to"

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New York, New York! Getting into the vibe of the city that never sleeps, only a few hours after we'd hit the hay Craig was up and on his way to Central Park for some dawn photography. The rest of us continued sleeping and at a far more civilised hour made an apperance at the free hotel breakfast. Our bellies filled with cereal, watery OJ and not-so-great coffee, we headed out for a nice touristy bike ride around the flat and shady oasis at the centre of the city. I'm not really sure what posessed us to do that in the middle of a day that hit the 40 degrees mark but in hindsight it wasn't the brightest of ideas. The experience did certainly help me gain an understanding of just how big the park really is, while at the same time reminding me that things that appear flat from 102 stories up may in fact contain substantial inclines when viewed from the seat of a bicycle.

After a good workout, Gez, Stu and I went our separate ways for a few hours. Gez returned to the park to explore on foot (and I think take a quick nap) before hitting the museums, Stu found the Letterman studios and hit the shops; and I went to meet Amber for a leisurely lunch. Actually, lunch for the day rates as the best of the trip so far. Maybe just because it wasn't pizza. After lunch we were contentedly wandering down to Fifth Avenue in the sweltering heat when Amber was unexpectedly doused with stinky New York garbage juice courtesy of a careless workman. I think he was a bit nervous though when we went back later to get a photo.

Leaving Amber to find a shower and a new shirt I headed back towards the hotel via Macys. There was a sale on. A massive sale. Despite a few moments where I felt like the main character from The Nanny I left with just a few essential items and soon rejoined Craig and Stu who were already relaxing in the hotel room. Our last event for the day was a tour of NBC studios where we learned lots about a whole bunch of TV shows none of us had heard of along with a couple that we had. Interesting but probably not an essential outing if you are visting New York. Unless you are a massive fan of Dr. Oz....

By this stage Gerry had returned from his wanderings and so the four of us regrouped for dinner and then, thoroughly worn out from lots of walking and lots of sunshine, we called it a night comparatively early. Tomorrow it's Vegas, baby!

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