Friday 26 June

My alarm goes off at 7am but I snooze for 20 minutes. I am going to do 2 of my self guided walking tours from Lonely Planet today in Soho and the West Village.

I leave at 8.20am and it's really lovely at this time. Chinatown is only just starting to wake up and I get a coffee a little along the track for breakfast. In both villages it's mostly just to look around and take some photos of particular places. Once again I get lost in the West Village, it is an awkward design of streets. It is raining but I don't mind, it's cooling me down. The weather each day is increasingly muggy so before long I am sticky and feel yucky. Anyway I get the photos I want which don't have much meaning but I have argued with myself whether I should bother or not. If I didn't get them I would be disappointed and it's done now.

I stop and buy a t shirt, what a surprise! then make my way home. I am having coffee with Reece, a friend from Melbourne who now lives here. I have just enough time to plonk down for 10 mins. When Reece arrives he is sick and has come over just to tell me he can't stay out. He lost my number. I walk back towards the East Village where he lives as I want to do a walking tour over there. I stop at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and book into a tour leaving right now.

Our guide, once again, is an expert and has grown up in this area. He is in his 80's and knows what he is talking about. The building is in the same condition now as it was in 1935 when it closed. You can see various layers of wallpaper deteriorated and peeling paint. It's very interesting listening to the stories of a certain family and how 4 of their 8 children died. We learn about the hygiene laws that were brought and how the city went from having the highest child mortality rate to the lowest. I wasn't expecting a tour at this venue so am extremely happy.

I wander off and head to the Brooklyn Bridge. I walk across in about 20 minutes at a good pace. I am sure I have missed a turn when I end up in the city itself. I'm supposed to be down by the water. I know where I went wrong but I didn't bother to check the map when I questioned the fork in the road. It doesn't matter as I need to go to the city anyway. It is very humid and I feel a beer coming on. I find a bar/grill and enter an empty room. I ask if they are open and "yes" comes the reply as one waiter scurries out the back and the other comes to the bar.

I am waiting for him to come and serve me and eventually I have to ask him if he is the one serving. He says he is waiting for me and I say I am waiting for you. I can't be bothered with this service so I leave. I go to the next place which is almost as quiet but am so thirsty I am not moving to another place. I ask for a Brooklyn Lager and it is too strong a flavour. The barmaid offers me a pilsener which is yummy and she swaps my drink for free.

The owner starts chatting to me and a couple of locals drop by. We bond over neighbourhood noises. Lots of talk about Australia and Brooklyn happens and I learn about the old roads that went through the city and that some buildings are odd shapes because of the updates.

I am looking forward to the Brooklyn Historical Society and am gutted/cranky to find they are closed for some reason or other. I decide to go to Century 21, an outlet store that apparently is the best kept secret in New York. Uh, I don't think so! I miss my stop and have to double back. It is later that day that I find out it is a station that would have been used by World Trade Centre folk and is under reconstruction.

This store is an absolute shambles. I hate it! I go straight to lingerie as I am in search of my Calvin Kleins. I am in great luck and pick up about 6 bras, 3 undies and 2 t shirts. In the dress department I say "excuse me" to a woman I need to get past. No response so I repeat. She looks at me with disdain and turns away. My 3rd excuse me carries an appropriate tone and I just push past her. Now, I have found manners in this country to be of the utmost importance to most people but when it comes to shopping I think all the rules go out the window. It's not nice, let me tell you. Women are mean!!

I reluctantly join the very long fitting room queue only to be told that I cannot try on the bras. Really? Well, forget it, I will just leave them here and you have lost a potentially large sale. I find this in a number of stores when things are cheap there is to be no trying on. Bugger that!

As I walk out of the building I find a seat to sit down for a bit. I realise I am at Ground Zero. I am momentarily silenced (in my silence) and try to envisage to 2 city block emptiness in front of me filled with concrete, windows, computers, carpet, coffee and people. There is no longer a viewing deck so I just walk around and find a space to look through the fence.

I saunter down to Battery Park Esplanade and sit for 10 minutes to rest. My blisters are really hurting and hindering me. It's about 5pm and I want to make a decision on my evening's activities. There are 3 broadway shows that I want to see but I really just want to go home and have a shower. Which is what I do!

Little Italy down the street is the destination for dinner. I walk up and down perusing the potential spots while the waiters gathered out the front try to tempt everyone in. Eventually I choose one with decent prices but unfortunately my choice is not a good one. The service is slow and my meal is salt flavoured with prawns. I can't wait to finish my wine and go home to put my feet up and chill out. I detour to get a couple of alco-pops and am home before 9.30pm. Oh look, there's a blister coming up on my other foot! An earthquake in Erinsborough doesn't get much better than this!