On Saturday I swapped Hollywood for New York. That sentence alone sums up what a cool trip this really is.

Saturday was the 10th September which meant it marked my four month anniversary of travelling. How quick that has gone by, I can't believe four months ago I was in Beijing trying to negotiate myself around only knowing how to say "hello", "beer" and "thank you" in Mandarin.

I am very fortunate to find myself knowing a few people in New York so this leg of the journey was always going to be as easy as a duck taking to the water.

The person sacrificing his couch for me is Jason (aka Granddad). Granddad is my friend from back home with whom I used to work with when I was in London. It was great to catch up with him and stay in his fantastic Manhattan apartment. He is truly living the dream.

When I arrived on Saturday, we went out for drinks and met up with another friend from back home, Lena. She has now left London and lives in New York. It was great to catch up and both Lena and Granddad helped me get over the culture shock of leaving California.

On Sunday evening I managed to catch up with Pat & Shauna, the couple I met in Shanghai. They were both looking beaming as ever as they're travelling for a year and a half. It was fantastic to catch up on each other's travel stories. The night out was epic, as we ended up being the only group in there. 20 of us doing plenty of drinking and dancing on the bar. The bar tender was a character and he was also joining in on the festivities. Pat's sister and friends had just completed a 4,000 mile bike ride from portland to New York. And everyone was in great spirits, and a tad emotional with it being September 11th.

It was so fantastic to catch up with Pat & Shauna. It basically feels like I've known them all my life. You certainly know who you're friends are when you plan to meet up four months in the future and stick to that promise.

I stumbled in at 5:30 and had many difficulties opening Granddad's door. After attempting it for approximately half an hour and being willing to sleep in the doorway. His neighbour helped me get the door open as he was kicking his boyfriend out.

Yesterday I met up with Sarah, a family friend. She lives out here in New York and her husband Cameron works on Wall St. She was the perfect tour guide. We went round one or two of the sites including a newly constructed highland park which is an old railway converted into a green walkway. We then ventured to Chelsea Market where we had a spot of lunch.

Next we went to see ground zero. It was quite shocking to imagine what happened 10 years ago. I was just picturing those planes flying into the buildings and couldn't bear to imagine the disastrous events.

We took a walk along the river and up towards Wall Street. I copped a feel of the bulls balls. I didn't know what this was until yesterday. Basically there's a large metal bull near Wall Street, and if you feel his balls it's supposed to bring you good financial luck. I better put that lottery ticket on!

As we approached Sarah & Cameron's apartment, we went past the Stock Exchange and I indulged in a power shake. Sarah was so kind to invite me to join them for Dinner. It was a great evening as we watched the US open final, and later had drinks on the upstairs terrace. I wondered what Sarah meant when she said "ter-ass" (the French way of pronouncing it).

What a great first few days in the Big Apple. I couldn't have picked a better time as the rain has now cleared after hurricane Irene, and the sun is beaming.