New York - Madonna in Miami 2004

5th August 2004

Hello all!

Well last time I wrote it was the end of my UK adventures and off to NYC.

I failed to mention in my last email though that on the Tuesday before I left London, Cath Slade, a friend of Colin's was able to give me a personally guided tour of Westminster Parliament building which was great! I got to see the House of Commons and the House of Lords first hand and even got to stand right where Tony Blair stands when he addresses parliament. Geeky I know!!!

A big thanks to Cath for arranging that and showing me around...it was great!!

Ok, so that was the end of my London adventures all wrapped up and complete...so here we go to NYC!!!

I arrived Thursday into NYC and have been setting a never ending pace of adventure since I arrived. When I got here I got to Simons house on the upper East Side, dropped my stuff off and off we went to dinner! Had a great dinner at this cute Italian restaurant near his house and then headed out for some drinks in Midtown Manhattan and then off to Chelsea for more drinks and a bit of a dance...all pretty good for a Thursday night and eventually we called it quits around 11pm..I thought I had done very well to last that long as it was 4am London time and my body clock didn't feel a thing...maybe it was the Jack Daniels and Coke blurring my senses...needless to say I was the one who called it a night...Simon was still keen to stay out and he had to work the next day!!! He felt the effects and I was vindicated in my decision to leave!!!

Friday was a day for sightseeing and getting in as much of NYC as possible. I went down to the World Trade Centre early in the morning to have a look around and I was quite shocked as to how big the hole in the ground is. I remember in 1996 when I was here I went to the top of the WTC and now to see a big gaping hole and to think of the way it all happened was a bit too much...also a bit too much was the people selling books on the "Tragedy of 9/11" around the place...showing all the photos of the day it happened...thought it was a bit unnecessary that they were profiteering from it actually...

The WTC wasn't the only sight I went to on Friday though. I was quite active and took in the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Wall Street, Times Square and Central Park as well...all places I have been before but I had to go again!!! I'm not in NYC every day...on my way back from sightseeing I stopped off at a Pizza bar for a bite to eat and the Coke rep from Coca-Cola NYC happened to be in the store at the time...once I realised who she was I introduced myself, got chatting to her and within minutes she had invited me to go to the NYC Yankees Game on Sunday in the Corporate Box at Yankee Stadium...unfortunately I had to explain to her that I couldn't go as I was going to Miami but we did exchange business cards and it was very funny to have met her...

My night activity was catching up with a good friend Vicky here in NYC...we met up at her office which overlooks Times Square, took some pictures from the office and headed out for drinks and dinner...we had a great night out. Went to loads of different bars…drank too much, got home too late and felt very rough for Saturday's early morning flight to Miami...And Miami here I come!!!! What a great idea it was to go to Miami to see Madonna...for those of you who have seen the Birdcage, you will understand that it is a beautiful place filled with too many beautiful people...we hung out during the day, went to the beaches and generally took it easy during the day and went out until all hours at night...that's what people do in Miami and that was pretty much the order of the day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There was a fleeting idea to hire a car and drive down to Key West but to be honest, I think that is best left for another return trip to Miami...need 2 weeks there to do it properly I think as spending time on the beaches has to be done, but so do trips to the Bahamas and Key West etc...have to plan better for that next time..

But of course the highlight of the Miami trip was going the Madonna concert on Monday night...it was great fun and I was on my feet for the entire 2 hours of the show!!! From Vogue to Holiday, Madonna did all her hits, looked great, had great visuals and performers and the whole show was AMAZING!!! I only hope some of my photos turn out...it was quite scary during Like a Prayer however as a guy from 5 rows behind us tripped and fell forward landing on the girl behind me and hitting me a bit...was a bit frightened but as soon as I knew he was OK I kept on dancing!!!! Too much fun!!! Went out afterwards and considering it was a Monday night, the club we went to knew that the only people that would be going would have been to the Madonna concert so they were playing Madonna songs all night...it was hilarious...

And that's it. Had a funny experience on the plane from Miami to NYC exchanging Madonna stories with the person sat next to me on the plane...very funny and I'm sure the rest of the plane were wishing I would just shut up!!! Never mind. It was fun! When we got back to NYC I headed down to Times Square to take some pictures and buy some DVD's. It's amazing what DVD's are available in NYC…things that have only just come out at the movies...crazy stuff!!!A

nd that's it…packing/cleaning today to get ready for Montreal tomorrow...and edging that little bit closer to my return to reality in Sydney...

Until next time, hope you are all well and I can't wait to tell more stories in the flesh!!!

Dave
xxx