All i wanted to do was walk to Manhattan, and i did it !!

Meself and Jackie throwing shapes on the dance floor
Note: When i arose from the couch next morning there was a hole in the pants i was wearing that you could stick your head in, that or, Jackie you must have very big hands, you wolf :)


So, practiced my lines yesterday (yesterday being a Monday) but first i updated my blog, yes my blog, i wrote words and put them into sentences (and you just read the pictures)

Walked, yes walked, from Queens to Manhattan, and what an experience that was, you wont find that on too many tourist guides or many people recommending it either. My friend Ali didn't know it could be done, it is possible, like i said, i did it, were you paying attention?

Jackie (this is how i spell it, i don't go for no fancy French spellings) and Ali


Got over the obvious bridge and was walking into some detention center, the guard stopped me (you'd think the razor wire would be a hint)
He tells me 'There are bad people in here', i suppose there's a slim shady in everyone, but with that place there is a bit more 'Shady' to the 'Slims'

He told me to get the bus across the street, i says ok,it was raining, then i says to meself 'Feck it, i'll walk it', so off i went and found the pedestrian 'On ramp', and off i went to Harlem.

Now in Harlem, lots of colored guys hanging out on the corner, every sentence had 'Nigger'. That's racist, hasn't anyone told them that.
Saw one guy greet his colleague on the street, with some 2 handed sign
Ali tells me, that was a gang greeting, 'Hello there' is so 'Old fashioned'

If you were white you'd be in trouble. As I'm writing this i'm listening to Steve Rachmad - Outhouse Soest, Netherlands - September, 2007


A female voice cut in in the music speaking about 'Civil rights', which brings me to 'Bill Cosby'
Bill Cosby has been very vocal recently about colored people, all the fighting for a right to be educated in the 50's and 60's and there's guys hanging out on the street that cant even talk English. Guys making millions playing sports and they cant even write a paragraph. I now know what he's on about.

I passed 116st, where in the movie 'American Gangster', he used to sell $1 million dollars of drugs a day, or was it 112 street, anyway it's the projects
The projects being high rise flats for poor people.

I walked from there to Madison av, it was like walking into a different world, passing shops selling diamonds and little poodles with their own shoes, and the shop windows, VERY NICE

In Melbourne every year, people in Melbourne line up to take a look at the Myers windows, it was like that, but everywhere, no lining up required thank you.

Stopped off on the way and ordered a falafel (i meant a kebab) and asked for chili sauce (hot sauce) and lots of garlic sauce, to which the guy says
'What is this garlic sauce' and so on, i just wanted to keep walking, 'I ended up getting the falafel' and i was like 'Oh fuck, not this', but the guy was wrecking my head, and the worst would be on the way, so i got out of there. I was thinking maybe he might have heard of this 'Fancy' sauce.

I mean if your cooking food where people put garlic sauce into it, you might have heard of it, maybe one of us wasn't speaking English no good

Day 1 in NY,

Dancers perform, Bolero, at the National Academic Bolshoi Ballet Theater of the republic of Belarus in Minsk



Where to start ? Start at the start kieran.

Got on a plane to America, the one i booked in fact. this was largely to do with the pilots at Air lingus not going on strike, thank's lads.

Met up with Ali (from Quito) at her local cafe, but before that.
On the way into the city of NY from the Airport i was chatting to a guy from Florida, after a bit, he got a bit nervous talking and decided it was best to stand up and stand next to the door (taking the pressure off his arse and depositing it on his legs) welcome to America, trust no one, i felf sorry for the poor chap, not all good citizens are like him, but i didn't know that then, i do now.

Stayed in Astoria Queens with Ali, the first night we watched Sex and the city, exciting stuff, but it was my first night and i had no idea of what i was supposed to do.

So first day in the big smoke i walked to the East Village (Lower east side), Central Park, saw the 'I'm the naked cowboy' strums a G chord 'Please deposit $10' errr, is that all you do ?

Highlight of the day, i had 2 slices of pizza, they looked like 2 slices, but in fact they were 2 Lasagna slices, great success, i was starting to like this 'New country' already food from the 'Old country' becoming a faint memory, but the best was yet to come.

Guess what, after a while and maybe a sleep it was morning time and then it was Begel with everything with Cream cheese, yummy yummy.

New topic:
The Metro, needs a paint, graffiti is against the law, but if your willing to paint anything in NY, you should get a medal, the place hasn't been painted in 30 years, now i'll move on and drop this one.

It's hard to admit it, but i'm white

Have you met come teachers in your time? I'll bet you have, here's my favorite one.

Teaches of Peaches



Made it back, all is going to plan. Plan? There's a plan ?

Leaving las vegas, very nice song carefully penned by Cheryl Crowe, does a similar one need to be written about Bogotá or Quito, there's probably a million of them.

Well what have i learnt, hmmm. Well it would be easier to tell you about what i've forgotten, and whats that, Spanish. Oh yeah, thats what i came here for in the first place. Stay away from Gringos and learn Spanish, well on the upside, i did have a good time and thats important, isn't it?

Start at the start, well i wont but I'll take you back in time to a place i call, last week where many brain cells were fried, and since they fry everyting in Columbia, i think it's a fitting time and location to start the story or what i can remember if it.

I came back from Villa de Ayera, met up with Alli from Queens (Hi Alli, i met another girl from Queens, i could be very well heading your way in a month and then on to San Frnacisco, thank you very much)

Well i can truly say I've been to Colombia, partied on a bit in Bogota, didn't see too much of the city during the day, didn't have to wander too far at night either thanks to the local 'We like electronic music and then house parties if we can find a light bulb' and those ones are the best ones i can tell you, especially if you have a local that doesn't speak any English reciting Spanish to you, don't knock it till you try it.

A repeat effort was attempted, Alli bought a kids Spanish book and she was going to recite it to everyone around 2am, sadly she forgot it and i have nothing more to report on that particular experience, time to dry your eyes and move on.

Hung out with a local Columbian in Bogota Eder (Hi Eder, your government should make you an ambassador for Columbia, Cheers)
Managed to bring nearly everything from the 2 Sue hostels to one of the local House music parties in the bar run by the French girl. Good one, or as Borat would say 'Great success'

Went out with Jenny and Eder and crew later, good night, some club up 5 flights with a perfume shop at the bottom, you need a guide to find these places and i had the best.

Back in Quito now, where are the Cafe Tintos, experssos to you non Spanish speakers. One of the best experiences about Columbia is sitting around and drinking Tintos.
I only started drinking Tintos in Columbia, and now i miss it, a lot.
Did some shopping too, bought heaps of movies, tried to get rid of some books, ended up with more books that i really want and cant say no, 'No, i cant say no, there coming with me, and thats that'

The girls around the corner had a party on Saturday night, i was off to Blues for some Electronic music, the kind you don't really get in Cork, what a blast !!
Got up yesterday afternoon and there was some good electronic musing playing with the sun shining, so i didn't move all day, what bliss.
Funny thing is, if i did it, they would have been running out like their hair was on Fire, '.....a rose by other name' comes to mind, and i don't, not now anyway

Now here we go kids, one thing I've said I'd do for a long time and now we are here
I've been telling people about this movie clip for months, possibly years, possibly light years.

It's Dark side of the moon over Wizard of Oz, seeing is believing, take a break from the world and watch it

I'm off for 'Hornado', roast pork and potato cakes for a $1.50, it's nice, i like, and it's not Sunday either, you can have it any day you like, what a country.

K