It is 1pm here in New York on Sunday 5 July .. 18 hours behind my normal time and about 15 hours behind where I'm travelling to next.. Brisbane Australia. I have been in extreme temperatures of 10 fahrenheit which is equal to about - 8 celcius and in the wind chill at -20 I have never experienced anything like it. So I'm looking forward to some 35 degree celcius temperatures in Australia for sure! The Christmas lights here and in Brooklyn were beyond amazing! We took a tour over there and saw the most phenomenal houses and tried some canaloni which was this sweet pastry treat (ate the whole thing made myself very ill) and New Years was an experience! Millions of people crowded into small spaces, no bathrooms, hours of standing, freezing temperatures, no drinking, and all to watch a ball drop at midnight! With the lights glowing in the background in Times Square after the countdown you don't even register whether the ball dropped as it's all very distracting! Thanks to the awesome nypd policeman and the Florida family for making a few cold hours go incredibly fast .. Six hours seemed traumatising but they made a few hours of it entertaining. The policeman said between him and his wife they earn a 200 thousand salary and are only classed as a low to middle class income here in the city.. Apartments go for millions of dollars! We have hiked the city, shopped until we dropped, experienced a snow storm and a ton of snow, skidded on the ice on the sidewalks and taken a fall in Central Park! One dropped phone but was able to say that it survived a broken screen which made me very happy .. Third one in two months would have crushed me! I'm ready to leave now .. When I was here in the summer I had a few days here and the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees game which was an awesome experience and I thought that I could live here. This time apart from some pretty scenery in with the snow it really isn't a place for me to live give me whangarei any day.. Customer service is ok to average, the weather is too cold for my poor wee body, the streets are quite grimy and rubbish is collected from the sides of the streets! The snow has taken days to clear and although it was pretty its just brown ice now with big puddles at the crossings so jumping from one area to the next is a mission. The sirens blare constantly.. Being a fire fighter here must be insane. The Statue of Liberty is beautiful, the 9 11 memorial is perfect for remembering those that passed in the event and the bus tours got you all the info you needed... Instead of crazy tour guy who was completely off his rocker! Can't believe we gave him a tip! Felt sorry for him I think. Vee has been a great travel friend she is easy to holiday with which is hard to find. The runway at jfk has been closed this morning due to iciness and a plane sliding off on landing! Our flights appear to be on schedule. I am sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for our shuttle to come as a siren from the ladder 4 fire engine from next door goes by and cold blasts of air come through the opening doorway. Bye New York ... Bye really hot gut Zachary Levi in first date what a fantastic show... Bye New Years you once in a lifetime experience.. And bye the most amazing Christmas lights I can now officially tick you off my list ;)