So, we descended the Empire State and began planning the wedding. No date or definite plans as yet, however here’s a sneak preview if you’re interested… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ChbqaTIs8

 

Then a hot dog for breakfast, before a horse and carriage ride around a snowy Central Park. Our horse’s name?

 

Chance.

 

 

 

 

 

Following Christmas lunch at a McDonald’s, and buying a Barack Obama woolly hat, we decided to visit the Central Park Zoo to share our good news with the animals, a la Rocky and Adrian…

 

 

A walk through the park followed, reading the bench plaques as we went towards Strawberry Fields and the Dakota but more importantly the San Remo, where Sigourney Weaver’s apartment was in Ghostbusters, plus some streets full of Brownstones that also looked strangely familiar. The rest of the day included a few celebratory drinks, a visit to Madison Square Garden, and a cracking Chinese meal including… you guessed it, fortune cookies.

 

Boxing Day, still no bags, and off we went to the Statue of Liberty – a dream come true for me. Especially wearing the foam crown. Ellis Island was also an incredible experience, I searched for my forefathers on the database to be avail, but the coincidence to beat all coincidences came on the boat back, as we boarded ‘Miss Liberty’ with the real Miss Liberty in the background.

 

 

The World Trade Centre was a surreal experience – not because of the eerie life losses or rebuilding taking place, but because we saw the same French couple that had been sat next to us in the McDonald’s and stood by us at Liberty Island.

 

The rest of that evening was simply brilliant, we got soaked on Wall Street, had ten beers at the Heartland Brewery at South Street Seaport, and the most perfect meal at Les Halles, the Brasserie owned by one of my heroes, Anthony Bourdain. The steak tartare, made tableside, was especially good.

 

Then, we returned to the hotel to find a bottle of champagne had been sent by our families, plus one of our bags had finally been delivered. Although, a couple of things, including two of Lisa’s Christmas presents, had been stolen. Unbeknownst to me, William (http://www.jonathangreenbank.com/archives/57) had been employed as a baggage handler at Heathrow.

 

Our final full day took us uptown on a bus tour to Harlem, Bloomingdale’s, and Serendipity – although it wasn’t meant to be, the three hour wait put paid to our lunch plans, instead heading for Katz’s Deli which unfortunately is best known for the scene from When Harry Met Sally (please don’t think that Meg Ryan was omnipresent on this trip) when instead it should be best known for its amazing sandwiches and the overall experience of eating there.

 

Walking through Little Italy, then Chinatown, I found a business card for the Good Luck Car Service and we walked the Brooklyn Bridge as the sun was setting and everything was right with the world. We even found the Ghostbusters headquarters – now a fire station – before arriving at the Spotted Pig, a wonderful gastropub serving offal and fine ales, owned by Jay-Z amongst others. There we were served by a lookalike of my old flat mate Doug.

 

Still, the best was yet to come.

 

After hours of searching, Lise found the ring of her dreams at a jewellers in the Diamond District, next to the exact phone box from which we’d rung our parents three days earlier to share the news. Eddie made the ring, Seymour cleaned it, and I sang Beatles songs with Reginald Dollar, the coolest Coolio impersonator you’ll ever meet. He tried to sell me a wedding suit before divulging the details of his lawsuit against WalMart.

 

 

 

You had to be there.

 

But we weren’t for much longer. With a heavy heart, and a missing holdall, we returned to JFK, to be upgraded and be offered $100 compensation. On the plane back I watched Julie and Julia, a great reflection of what it’s like to write a blog you think nobody reads, and upon return the second bag turned up – with more stuff missing out of it, therefore BA are currently dealing with our complaint.

 

Jetlagged for the remainder of the month, enough of the Fortune Tellers’ tales had proven true – seeing an engagement ring on my hand around thirty; crossing the water and having a good time; coming into money, and getting good news on December 17th.

 

New Year’s Eve brought with it an entirely new chapter…

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