before i launch in to a blow by blow account of new york city let me get one thing out of the way. in new zealand i regularly tear up the dance floor. and impress the socks off people. but i thought it was a case of big fish, small pond. but then last night on a dance floor in downtown new york when in response to my dancing some like hip hop professional whispered "damn gurrrl" in my ear, i knew i'd hit the big time.

now for the not-really-but-sort-of blow by blow. i've been in new york since monday. i've shopped. shopped. eaten expensive tasty food, eaten cheaper tasty food, and navigated the subway like a freakin professional.

i went to a concert at madison square gardens and blissed out (that is before i almost passed out, i'm wearing myself out i tell you). and saw al pacino's limo*.

but last night might have been the bestest night so far. erin, the bride to be and my reason for new york being, celebrated her big 3 zero at some bar in nolita (see how these ny areas just roll off my tongue - i'm basically a local now). there were drinks in an oven or something to begin with but then we moved to the main room and i drank strawberry balsamic martinis and they were delicious.

by midnight i was starving (that's the thing with new york i'm either too full to think about food or starving which is why i hadn't eaten dinner yet). so a posse and i went to little italy for pizza. but city that never sleeps my foot because everywhere was closed. everywhere except this one place. where we ate delicious bread and garlic oil and then pizza, while drinking probably poisonous new york tap water. after that we took a limo (see photo...)

to this club. which is where i was whispered damn gurrrrl and where there were impromtu breakdancing battles and there were people banging on drums and they sold water for five dollars a bottle. best water i've ever tasted though. my guess is that water had no contaminants. and the djs were awesome. and everyone was beautiful. and i really understood what missy elliot is talking about when in that song she talks about sweating out all of the troubles of the day on the dancefloor.

i had the time of my life.

now i'm sitting in the best apartment in new york looking out on the rest of manhattan and wondering what the day will bring. i can only hope it will be at least half as fun.

*may not have been al pacino's limo.