New York

A. and i finally made it to New York. for some unknown reason - not the snow - we were delayed 5 hours, so that instead of landing at about 3.30pm, we got there at night, which in my view, makes things more difficult when you don't know a place. we did get into town, where A. convinced me that walking 11 blocks with 2 big suitcases and lots of snow on the ground wasn't a problem. i don't know how she managed that, but it took us 45 minutes and i was personally knackered!

we started our visit by walking down to Union Square and through Greenwich Village. then we walked uptown, more of less past the Flatiron, Empire State and Chrysler buildings, then took a subway to 81st, as we were supposed to meet one of my old friends from Japan at the Natural History Museum. once we met up with S., whom i hadn't seen in 6 years, we took a leisurely walk through Central Park, which was covered in snow. this was the one thing i really wanted to do, so i was happy. we did make it to the museum too, as S. already had tickets so we didn't have to queue. we saw the dinosaurs before the planetarium show.

S.'s boyfriend Y. met us for drinks back down on 3rd Avenue, where we then also had dinner with C. and N., who'd joined us after work. it was a lovely day, but truly exhausting. i don't think my snow shoes are made for walking this much!