Weather is still hot, though I think it may have cooled a little. Had omelette for breakfast in a café near Central Park.

It seems strange that in a culture that emphases looks in the media, you can't get a small breakfast. After breakfast we headed downtown and then went for a ride on the Statten Island ferry past the statue of liberty.

The breeze on the ferry was nice as the day seems to be getting ever hotter.

After that we went to the empire state building. The queue was over an hour long so we paid more for an express pass that lets you skip all the queues. The views from the top were amazing, though it was strange looking at where the twin towers used to be.

Then we went to Macy's but were disappointed to find that they didn't really have a toy section. However, the children's clothes section went up to age 20. Some of the escalators were old, wooden ones that seem to take you back to a different era.

We then headed back to Times Square and had a few beers before a shower and a rest. We then set of for Little Italy and this time managed to find it.

We found a nice restraint. To start with I had clams and Andrew had a massive mixed plate which was a meal in itself. For main course Andrew had ravioli and I had big squares of pasta in a creamy ham and mushroom sauce. It was very nice but very filling and I couldn't eat it all. We also had a bread basket with plain bread, cheese and onion and tomato and basil bread, which tasted very nice and this was all washed down with some excellent wine, though the waiter seemed to be filling my glass up more than Andrew's.

After that we had a few beers before heading back to the hotel. I was amused on the subway to see a 50ish year old grey haired bloke in a check shirt and shorts, looking very respectable reading a thick heavy hard back book with no dust jacket. A quick glance revealed the chapter title to be The Slug Club and a quick glance at the spine confirmed that it was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Still no news from the Australian High Commission.

Day 2    Day 4