I'm in New York, New York: the best place in the world for stammerers and amnesiacs

We made it across the ocean like the cousins of our colonial forebears, although we admittedly did it in gigantic flying buses and not in ships and our food was a pretty delicious continental breakfast followed by chicken in tarragon sauce for lunch and a Chicago-style vegetable pizza as a "light snack" before landing.

Oh America, I fell in love with you when you called a pizza a "light snack".

The flights and connecting flights all flowed smoothly and as a result there is nothing particularly exciting to remark on there, save for three things:

1. The Wolverine is an absolutely excruciatingly bad film
2. The Family is a lot of fun but kind of lacks chemistry
3. Doctor Strangelove (French title: Docteur Folamour) is still one of the best, quotable, generally well-acted movies in film history.

Also: it is entirely possible to score a free gin and tonic through mild-to-serious-flirtation with the fantastically camp air hosts. I know you don't come to this blog for travel tips but there's a free one nonetheless.

Getting from JFK Airport to the hostel, however, proved to be just a touch more tricky. For a start, unlike civilised cities like Paris and London, there are no signs to indicate the next train nor is there any sign to indicate in which direction the next train is travelling. Instead, trains hove into view and you take a risk. Elena - my travelling buddy - and I took a train that we thought was going North and, well.

You can see where this is going.

In any case, we recovered and got up to 103rd and Central Park. I saw Central Park. I genuinely can't overstate what a totally weird experience it is to be familiar with this part of Western film and comic book culture almost from birth and then to actually, really see it. It's bizarre.

In any case, we made our way to the location indicated on our maps and the stood about like puzzled tourists. There should be some sort of flag, we said to each other, listening to the snap-snap of fabric behind us. A big flag that said "American International Hostel". Snap-snap, went the fabric.

Yeah. The flag was behind us.

We're all going to Chipotle now so...

Update: we're back from Chipotle and we have MASSES O' FOOD. We had the fastest food ever: the food zipped along a production line so fast that I was still ordering when the lady at the other end was asking for payment. The Doctor could learn a thing or two from Chipotle.

The look of love

From back: "I can do it", "I shouldn't have done it", "I've nearly done it", "GET IN MAH BELLY."

The look of...I don't know what that is.

So we're all now massively well fed and there's apparently a comedy show tonight. I don't know if I'll make it but I know I'm keen for my bed so I'll be signing off here.

TTFN all. More to come tomorrow, no doubt.