It is mindboggling to try to contemplate how to blog about New York City. We emerge from Penn Station and find ourselves in the taxi queue where lines of yellow taxis wait to carry others just like us off to their destinations. Ours is a short ride and we are deposited at the front of the Sofitel New York: infamous of late due to the recent scandal surrounding Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Our suite is on the 25th floor and has views of some great buildings apart from the Empire State and the Chrysler. We can see some of the art deco buildings which reflect what comes to be a signature sentiment in New York city: a ‘can do’ attitude and a liveliness which is clearly related to the sheer volume of people.
I’m catching this blog up mid-flight as we leave New York well to the East and the muddy bends of the Mississippi perform their serpentine meanderings below.
Our first afternoon in New York finds us getting aquainted with the Subway. We opt for the 7 day Metro card pass which is $29.90 and entitles us to all the travel we want. It’s then onto the subway and downtown to 14th Street before changing to the L train to Chelsea.
The Chelsea Markets are a treasure trove of wonderful cheeses, chocolates, fruit, veg and just about anything else. They also have free wi-fi and a great attitude toward setting out the expectations. 
This End User Agreement states the expectations clearly but without some of the more serious overtones we tend to be used to. This is to be a repeated theme in lots of contexts: that with give and take and acceptance of some common rules and protocols for doing things, we can all get along just fine. After stocking up on a few goodies, and finding a market which sells beer, we head back to the Sofitel for a rest before tackling the night.
The evening finds us in one of the many Irish pubs just off Times Square. It seems that the ‘Irish’ brand is transferable the world over and we’re able to have a relaxing drink and something to eat before climbing a couple of flights upstairs to where a form of ‘Live’ Karaoke is taking place. Singers are able to get up and sing with the live band who are not a bad band; shame about the lack of care on the part of the sound guy.
We stroll along for a look at Times Square and then call it a night.
