James In The Usa

Monday

I woke up and went downtown to Times Square to do my last bits of Shopping. I went all over Times Square hehe to M&M's World, Hershey Store, Nintendo World and The MTV Store where I got little pressies for the family and then stuff for myself. I also got I (L) NY tees! I decided to treat myself to one last Chipotle in the USA, so I braved the queue of businessmen and women and finally got one. I really am gonna miss these hehe. I then couldn't be bothered to stay out much longer, so I went back to the Hostel, had a shower and then got ready to go to Shea Stadium.

Yes, I was going to see the New York Mets face the Atlanta Braves tonight at Shea, I was really excited. So I got back on the Subway to Times Square, changed to the 7 line and within 30 mins I was at Shea. The atmosphere outside was buzzin! I picked up my tickets from the self serve machine, tryed the free Choco Pudding sample and went to take my seat! I was in the top tier in line with the pitcher. Was a great view!

Mets were pitching first and the Braves obtained no runs. But good old Jose Reyes managed to make it round in Mets' first innings to put NY up 1-0.

It remained this until the 6th when a home run was hit from David Wright and as the Mets already had someone on a base, 2 were scored. Braves scored 2 in the next innings, but it finished 3-2 not needing the Mets' 9th inning! Go Mets Go! Was really cool when the crowd sung Sweet Caroline and Take me out to the Ball game.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0		2	5	0
NY Mets	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	X		3	5	0

I got the subway back to the Hostel and picked up some Booze and Pizza and chilled on the roof with the crew. Then to bed.

Tuesday to Wednesday - Goodbye USA

I finally was leaving the States. 3 months had passed and I cannot believe I was leaving to return home! Crazy shit. It was September 11th today and I was going to go to ground zero to see the ceremony, but I woke up and it was pissing it down with rain. So I woke a lil later, finished packing and checked out. But I stayed upstairs on the rood as I had a shuttle to the airport at 1445. I got myself some pizza for lunch and just waited for the shuttle.

Eventually 1445 came and I boarded the bus to JFK Terminal 4. There was a really nice girl called Holly on board who turned out to be on the same flight as me home! That was cool. We picked up a Scot named Callum who was cool and 4 Frenchies! The driver was fucking wierd, talking to himself and dancing etc in the seat. We were quite scared lol. When the frenchies were dropped off, they tipped him and he got back in his seat and laughed so hard I thought he was gonna explode.

So anyway me and Holly got off at JFK Terminal 4 and we checked in for VS046 JFK to LHR! The flight was full so we couldn't sit next to each other which was a shame. So we went through security (after I had to run and find a mail box lol) and sat by the gate. I had pizza again and got ESPN magazine to read. The plane was late arriving, so we were delayed for boarding. We started boarding at 1950, when we were meant to depart! But we all seemed to board quickly. It seemed to be my luck, I was sitting next to another person around my age and not some old fuck! The lovely Gemma and I started talking almost instantly and was a right laugh to sit next to her. She had been at a camp as well.

We ended up taking off at 2150 because the Captain said Air India messed up their taxing instructions! Hehe. So I watched Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother and Arrested Development on board. The meal was chicken and rice which was quite nice! Eventually, we started our descent down to LHR. I was feeling like shit, I had been going in and out of sleep for quite a while which sucked! We landed smoothly at 0930 (1hr 45 late) but unfortunately because LHR was busy we had to park at a remote stand, which meant getting off the plane and onto a bus. When we got off the plane, it was freeeeezing cold despite it being sunny. Guess it aint humid back home! hehe. We got through security quickly, our luggage was there quickly and I was about to walk through to the main terminal within 45 mins of stepping off the plane! I said goodbye to Gemma and then went and found Mum and Dad. It was so good and emotional to see them. After lots of hugs and kisses, we made our way back to the car and out of the airport...........

......thus ending my story and blog of an amazing summer. I have so many memories that I will never forget and hopefully will live with me for the rest of my life. Thanks to all who made it special!

James

Posted by JamesBB2 at 11:53 | Permalink | Comments

Monday


Well, after a rough day yesterday, we woke early to go to the Port Authority to get the bus to Six Flags Great Adventure theme park. About an hour on the bus and we were there! From the bus stop, there were so many rollercoasters on the horizon, which made me excited! We were using the Dunkin Donuts Buy One Get One Free promotion. So in no time, Simon and I were on Superman The Ride! It was great!

It was a long day but El Toro, Batman The Ride, Nitro, Runaway Train and Medusa were all amazing coasters!

But the best was ACTUALLY the best. We rode on the worlds tallest and fastest coaster launching you at 128MPH in no time at all, 400ft+ into the air and then back round! I seriously cannot describe how amazing this was. You had no time at all to change from Appreshensive to the end of the ride and sheer amazement!

This is definately the best theme park I had been to in my life, and 1 day I would love to go back!

We got the bus back to NYC, had dinner in Ruby Tuesday's and then back to the hostel, as we were up at 5 next morning!

Tuesday - TV Stars!

I had arranged myself and Simon tickets to ABC News' Good Morning America programme and also MTV's TRL. As Good Morning America was an early morning show, we had to be at the studio at 0615 am! So we queued and watched the sun rise upon the Times Square studios and after a while we were in the studio! They do the first part of the show in a closed set upstairs, and then the anchors move downstairs, where we were.

At 8am, half of the crowd moved outside (us included) where the Anchors introduce themselves to the watching TV Audience! Simon and I were clear on shot at this point, and I was trying not to laugh as it looked so funny! We went back into the studio for more segments and yet again myself and Simon were on the shots! It was over in no time, and we got a photo with anchor Diane which was cool.

After this we had a wait until we had to go to MTV at 11am! So we went to Maccy D's for breakfast! A little while later and a browse in Virgin - where I played Pro Evo for the first time in 3 months! - we were in the queue outside MTV's studios! At precisely 11, our ID's were checked, we were given MTV wristbands and then we were going inside to the studio complex for MTV TRL!. In here, we had to check in all of our belongings and we were eventually let into the studio! We were placed in a main corner which was really cool!

The atmosphere was pumping inside with tunes like Kanye West and Kat Deluna playing around the studio! Then next thing, Damien (the presenter) was inside the studio, doing a live link!

I noticed that outside in Times Square (the studio overlooked it) that they were showing the video feed on a massive screen opposite - this was cool! Next thing I know, Damien is infront of us and we go live on MTV Networks for Total Request Live! Our side of the crowd was really extatic, and often Damien was positioned infront of us doing links and also the cameras were often really close up in our face!

I guess one good thing about camp is that because I had to be extatic during song sessions, I was used to being extatic, something we needed to do in the studio! I really enjoyed this experience on a TV show, and it was great to be on USA TV, twice in a day! Hehe!

After this, we went to Chinatown for a spot of lunch, and then on to the site of the World Trade Center - Ground Zero. It was really emotional to be at this place after what happened nearly 6 years ago. We went into the museum after this which really was emotional, especially after seeing some of the recovered items from the wreck.

So we had soul food on this night from Sheilas or sumin in Harlem. Was dead good!

Wednesday

It was nice to have a lie in this morning, we woke up casually and met up with Julie and Shlomi from camp. We met in Central Park and had a wander around there. Then we decided to walk to Times Square which, according to Shlomi was 3 blocks away, was in fact 30! Hehe silly Israeli. It was cool to have a wander, we looked around the shops in Times Square and then went to 34th Street and went to this amazing Burrito place called Chipotle! WAS AMAZING! So tasty! Ok, lol, so after a lovely lunch I got some new ecko sneaks from a shoe place. They look so sexual! hehe.

So we wandered aimlessly around New York City, went to the apple store - they had announced new iPod's today (I'm gonna take mine back hehe!) which was cool! We went to Applebees in Times Square where we met with Michelle, Dave and Claire from camp which was really nice. Myself and Simon were soooo tired, so we went back to the hostel and to bed!

Thursday

I woke up early today as I was going to the US Open in Flushing, Queens. I had always wanted to go to the tennis there as I love going to Wimbledon and watching major tournaments! So I got the subway to Shea Stadium, picked up my tickets from the Holiday Inn and then made my way to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. I had seats in the Arthur Ashe Stadium (the equivalent of Wimbledon's Center Court). They were right at the top, but the view was good. I hated the price of food, nothing much cheaper than $10 and it all tasted like shite!

These are the matches!

Women's Doubles - Semis

Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)[5]/Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)[5]
def
Agnes Szavay (HUN)[14]/Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE)[14]
6-2 7-6(5)

Men's Singles - Qtr. Finals

David Ferrer (ESP)[15]
def
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)[20]
6-2 6-3 7-5


Mixed Doubles - Finals

Victoria Azarenka (BLR)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)
def
Meghann Shaughnessy (USA)/Leander Paes (IND)
6-4 7-6(6)

Was great to see the mixed doubles finals and see some silverwear being presented! Another cool thing was during the Mens Singles match, planes flew over writing advertising in the sky - was really wicked!

So I made my way back into town, met Simon and we went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. Was really tasty! Again, we were really tired, so we had a wander then went back to the Hostel. There was a really gorjus and really friendly girl called Tina in our room, so we chatted to her for a while and then went to bed.

Friday

Simon's final full day in the USA, we made our way Downtown after I did a bit of washing in the laundrette. Our first stop was South Ferry where we boarded the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island. Was really cool to see the sights from the water and we went right past the Statue of Liberty! The return journey was around 1 hour in total and when we got back we went towards the Empire State Building. We popped into Macy's where I went a lil wild! I bought 3 Ecko Tees, 1 G-Unit Tee, a new pair of Levis, a new bag and a Mets cap. All for the equivalent of around 50 quid. Also because I was international, I got a further 11% off! I love you Macys!

We then went to the Museum of Sex. I can't really say much apart from it wasn't seedy, but fucking hilarious. The fetish section I was laughing uncontrollably. Watever people get off on..... hahaha. It was becoming dark, and we went up the Empire State. We had to queue for around 40 mins and by the time we got to the observation deck on the 86th floor, it was dark and a breathtaking view of NYC at night! I loved every minute!

We went back to the hostel, got ready and then went back downtown for some clubbing. I picked up and downed 3 tinnies in like 5 minutes - so I was light headed! When we got into Times Square, we went to a bar called Hawaiian Tropic - better than Hooters as girls were walking around in Bikinis hehe - and I got served! Was amazing. So we finished up, got on the subway to 23rd Street and tried our luck in a club called Porkies. I got carded and the bouncer let me in WTF! So we got very drunk, had a celebration and a boogie and eventually headed back at around 2 am! I got a kebab and it was sooooo goood!

Saturday

Simon was leaving today! :( We checked out of Jazz on the Villa and got a cab to Jazz on the City, where I would be staying for my final 3 nights. I dumped my bags there and we both went to get some breakie. After this we made our way via Subway and Airtrain to JFK Terminal 4. We just chilled in a bar until Simon had to check in. After he had checked in, we went to get some food and then he went through to Security. I was on my lonesome....

I made my way back downtown to the Apple Store and I exchanged my iPod for the new one! Was dead chuffed! Then I made my way back to the hostel. I checked in to a room of 12 and thank god the other guests were top stuff. I had an English bloke and 5 Canadians. We went to get some munch and then got some beer and chilled up on the roof for like 4 hours, chatting to 2 Aussie girls and some other yanks. Was a right laugh and I was proper relieved that I am with decent people!

Sunday - I am a Jets fan!

I had been looking forward to today ever since I booked the tickets back at camp, I was going to Meadowlands' Giants Stadium to see New York Jets vs New England Patriots. So I woke up and made my way to the Port Authority on 42nd to catch the shuttle to the stadium. It was a quick journey and when I got there I bought myself a programme and a Jets jersey! Looks so cool! My seats were amazing, right at the top but a great view!

They had all the cheerleaders or the "Jets Flight Crew" who rand on the pitch with flags when the Jets came out with a huge firework display as well! The atmosphere was crazy, the NY Jets first game of the season and was great to be there! I had a bloke next to me that explained all the moves and the players which was useful!

Unfortunately the Jets lost 38 - 14 but I thoroughly enjoyed the game! Afterwards, I had to join a huge line to get the shuttle back into the city, which was really frustrating, but my only option!

Once back I went to the Hostel, showered, and went out with Anna and Jenn (Aussie girls from the Hostel) for some food. I got a chinese takeaway lol. We then bought some booze and sat up on the roof with the Canadians and Dan and the crazy Belgian girl Jey! Was another good evening!

Posted by JamesBB2 at 19:14 | Permalink | Comments