New York, NY - Wednesday 30 October

Perhaps it's an inevitable side effect of seeing it after three weeks in sunny California, but Manhattan has so far proved a disappointment. A perverse part of me was quite looking forward to some colder weather, but it is in fact simultaneously 20°C and damp and drizzly - in other words, sweaty and horrible, and calculated to make one think black thoughts about what mankind is doing to the planet. I mean, shouldn't it be more like 10°C in New York before halloween?

Needless to say, the night flight from LA to Newark was a terrible idea (too short to get enough sleep, especially when sat right at the back next to the toilets) - I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

On a brighter note, there wasn't much in the way of a queue for the top of the Empire State Building. On a cloudier note, the zero visibility eplained why not:


Don't spring the extra $20 for going up the final bit, if you want my advice

Ah well, I had a decent dinner at the bottom afterwards.