First we went to Central Park and ate hot dogs and pretzels from a street vendor. That was very exciting for me and I made sure to load it up like they do in the movies with onions and saurkraut and the whole nine yards...mmm, good breath after that:o) Central Park is absolutely massive so we only saw a small corner of it, but we did get to see the skating rink from Home Alone.

We walked by Bloomingdales and Trump Tower where we got to see a somewhat larger than life size cardboard model of "the Donald". There was some space for rent next door with a huge sign the said "the world's best rental space"...surprise, surprise.

We made our way to Rockerfeller center, saw them putting up the huge tree...one guy told us it's 80 ft tall and 45 ft wide...massive! I wish we could be there when they light it up... I think that happens this weekend. I think New York has got to the best place to get into the Christmas spirit...all the stores get so into it with their display windows and music. I loved it!!

Times square always blows me away. We saw it during the day and at night and it almost seems the same for all the people that are there...plus with all those lights, you almost don't notice the sun go down. When I'm in TImes Square, I feel like I'm in the centre of the universe... with all the information and huge screens showing news updates and advertisements. It seems like if anything were to happen anywhere in the world, you'd be the first one to know if you were standing in Times Square. I'm know it's not true, but I don't know how else to describe the epxperience of being there.

We got tickets to a comedy club for the evening (the same club that Jerry Seinfeld used to start and end each episode), so while we were killing time before the show, we checked out Canal Street and had some amazing New York pizza in Soho. I loved Canal street because it reminded me of Bangkok...with all the small shops selling "brand name" stuff and being able to barter for a good deal. Market shopping...it's the way to go:o)!!!

Before the night was out, we still hit Grand Central Station, the Empire state building and Times Square one more time...oh my gosh, by the time we got back to our hostel, our feet were dying and it wouldn't have mattered how hard the bed was, there was nothing preventing us from falling asleep:o)

Sunday was a bit more laid back... we checked out Wall street and Ground Zero. It was good to go back to ground zero to see the progress they're making. The last time I was there, it was just a hole in the ground and now they have done a lot to start building again and there are is more in the way of memorials and pictures to bring more emotion to it. It felt like there's some definite healing that has taken place, although the pain is still very real.

After a bit more time in Soho, we had to hit the road again. The driving was a half the fun too. Rounds of "Celebrity 20 Questions" and "I've never" provided hours of entertainment:o)As for the rest of our life at the moment; we've been keeping very busy with work and friends. It's hard to believe how much of our lives we spend at work...seems like way more than we spend with friends and even spouses. I really feel like rebelling against this trend and yet...what can you do, money is one of those necessities of life. But I'm working on a plan...:o)