New York, New York, Jun 20-24
Mike needed to be in NYC for a three-day securities industries technology management conference, followed by a day of meetings in Connecticut and downtown, so I went along to do on the East Coast what I do here in Chicago -- shop, read in parks and coffee shops, and spot celebs (not hard in New York!). Despite the very humid weather, I had one of my best holidays.
Me and Frank at a rooftop party at Rockefeller Center, overlooking
St Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
And the GE Building in the other direction.
When in New York it has to be coffee and bagels for breakfast.
Now on my own, I spent the morning in Washington Square Park.
Then moved on to the cast-iron district of SoHo for lunch.
The up-and-coming neighbourhood of TriBeCa.
The West Village's quaint townhouses and tree-lined streets.
And, many hours later, back to Greenwich Village.
The Empire State Building (New York's tallest) as seen from Herald Square, a few blocks from our hotel on W 31st between Fifth and Broadway.
We briefly observed Al Roker, Ann Curry and Natalie Morales doing a cooking segment on Today, the country's most-watched morning programme.
Then Mike headed off to the Hilton for the second day of his trade show.
After visiting Central Park, I wandered through the Upper West Side, passing the Dakota where John Lennon lived with Yoko Ono; a section of the park is named Strawberry Fields in his honour. This apartment building, the Ansonia, was the location of the movie Single White Female.
Meryl Streep arriving at the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Broadway
to promote her new movie, The Devil Wears Prada, on Letterman.
The obligatory Times Square shot.
Nelly Furtado posing for paparazzi after performing
on MTV's Total Request Live.
Former fashion model Tyrese out and about
to publicise his new movie, Waist Deep.
After drinks at the Four Seasons with Frank then dinner with his wife and friends, we met up with our actor-friend Brad at an Irish bar on the Upper East Side.
Early on Friday morning I went to a free Mary J. Blige concert.
And that afternoon I saw Keane -- much more my cup of tea!
Next, to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan to meet Mike. Above is Trinity Church, once the island's tallest structure and now dwarfed by skyscrapers.
This is the Federal Hall National Memorial, marking the spot where Washington was sworn in as the country's first president in 1789. Wall St took its name from a small wooden defensive wall built by the Dutch in 1653 to mark the northern limit of New Amsterdam.
The New York Stock Exchange.
We had a fun night out in the Village with ACTIV guys Bob, Dave and Pedro -- which included live music at the Red Lion and our best curry yet in the US.
A rainy Saturday in SoHo rounds off our trip.
