I want to try and put down all about my first, long overdue and hopefully not last trip to new york city, while it is all still fresh in my mind, the sounds of the honking cars, and just the general exuberance and vitality of the city that never sleeps. As someone said to me " everyone should see new york at least once". I echo this thought. It really is a place that has to be seen to be believed.

I could not think beyond the flight, would my 5000 euro chair that I had been waiting 18 months on make it in one piece, or would somebody tell me I couldn't fly unaccompanied, and refuse to let me board as BA had done last year. There was a sense of celebration as delta had just come out of debt, and were facing a brighter future. With the service and the food, I would travel with them again in a heartbeat! My wheelchair was very promptly brought up to me both in shannon and JFK. The shannon stopover was fine, as it meant I could have a drink and use the loo, US immigration was fine too.

This trip was really only possible because I managed to organise an assistant. I had long assumed that crossing the atlantic would be an event that would never materialise. I was only going for a few days (may 2-7) and knew that I wasn't even going to attempt to try and do/see everything new york has to offer. Looking back we did a lot, but in a comfortable way ( although its easy for me to say this, as all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride, while on a couple of occasions, my poor assistant had to retire to the hotel room, while I went to loew's cinema whch was across the street from the hotel) .

We stayed at the Ramada New Yorker on 34th street, whose location just cannot be beat, with madison square gardens's, macy's, cinema, discount shops (heaven for me) all in the immediate vicinity. It must be in an old part of the city, as there are a number of 3 story buildings, which are very contrasted by their colossal neighbours. We were directly opposite a 24 hour adult shop and my favourite shop NY Man, which sells affordable cool men's clothes. I had died and gone to heaven!

I did'nt like macy's at all. I went on my own (which was probably part of the problem, as the place is so enormous), but quickly decided that I was'nt going to waste an evening in this tourist mecca. So I bought some socks and undies, and went back across to my cheap street where I bought a leather jacket. I am generally not attracted by name brands, and usually cheap & cheerful works just fine for me. But there's no point penny pinching on a long planned for holiday, that coupled with the strong euro, meant I got whatever I wanted and could justify.

We went to the empire state building, and the shop directly opposite it sold everything from pens to digital cameras. I could'nt justify buying the 10.1 digital camera with 2GB HD SD card for $300 (even though it was a great deal) I cannot stand pushy sales assistants, so I got some tshirts and a USB enabled dictaphone, and we were on our way to the top of the empire state.

To be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised by the good access around new york, but also by the priority attention given to chair users at popular tourist attractions. Nowhere was this more welcome than at the empire state, where the queue to get in was scary long! Not only tbe usual foreign tourists, but also a lot of high school students on school trips (our hotel was full of kids from texas).

Its very well organised, and the views from the observation deck are truly impressive. Through staff elevators we got to the top floor, but for a chair user its a waste of time as you won't see anything. In the gift shop we secured tickets for the NY Waterway tour which is very good value at $27, and much better value than the helicopter ride for 7 minutes for $75, which would have meant I'd be no sooner in than out! The NY Waterway tour also provided a convenient free shuttle bus to take us to the harbour, and the bus stop was basically just outside the hotel's front door. The trip was 90 minutes, and the commentary was excellent, a mix of wit and fact. There was a high school choir from virginia there, and some of the teachers took great photo's of me with the impressive background.

As we passed the statie of liberty ( I had been warned not to waste a day taking the staten island ferry just to visit it, and it was good advice) and ellis island, my thoughts turned to all those immigrants, who endured that awful long journey in coffin ships, in search of a better future. I had had the same thought during the long flight over, if the flight was long enough..........The guide was one of the few people I tipped, especially as he had said at the end that " while not expected is always gratefully received". In that spirit, I have no problem tipping (the wad of notes in his fist...........if he makes that every 90 minutes!!!!!!!!), I just hate the feeling to be obliged to tip. So if the hotel doorman opened the door for me, was he simply doing his jo or subtly requesting money. The only time I was asked straightout for a tip, was from a skycap at JFK. On the whole, I think new yorkers get a bad rep, I found them to be genuinely good hearted people.

One day, we were making our way from st pat's cathedral ( be sure to see it) to the rockefeller centre, when we spotted too late, a big hole in the ground beside the pavement. Of course I nearly toppled out, but at least six people came over to check on me. Another evening on my own as I was making my way back to the hotel from loew's cinema, I had underestimated the width of the pedestrian crossing and had run out of breath halfway through (fat bastard that I am) but stil some nice guys (still suited and more than likely on their way home) came over and pushed me back to the hotel!

Times square really has to be seen to be believed. I can well understand tourists from new york coming to ireland, and thinking that our capital city is just a quaint little village. Thankfully I was with a new yorker who knew where to go. I have no sense of direction, and would not have been able to get off our hotel floor if left to my own devices. You have to be brave to drive in new york, there is no room for error, and you will be blown off the road for the smallest transgression! But the grid system of new york city is well planned, and people seem to get where they want.

One of the things almost at the top of my to do list was to see a film called The Cake Eaters at the tribeca film festival. One of the character's has friedreich''s ataxia. I knew I wouldn't make the thursday show, and they told me in loew's that as I had no ticket, and given that the film was popular, my best bet was to go early, get in line and hope for the best. When I got back to the hotel room late on thursday night, there was an email from mary caruso, one of the founders of the FA society in new york, telling me that she had two spare tickets. A missed opportunity! I emailed her back, asking her to try and pull some strings on my behalf. So near and yet so far! Her responce was that (the director) Mary Stuart Masterson could'nt even pull strings for herself on thursday.

So we took the subway, came out at ground zero, stopped for a few minutes at this haunting site. I was'nt going to be one of those stupid tourists getting photo's with their fake smiles against the railings. Its too ignorant and tacky! There was a hawker selling pictures in the vicinity, and I remember an american woman said "shame on you" to him. After encountering a lift (same language but in the us lifts ate elevators, loos are restrooms, full sleeved is long sleeved, and I spent 10 minutes in Ny Man looking for a waistcoat, only to find out the americans call them vests) which was out of service, we took the road to tribeca in the heart of the financial district , an area which does'nt have the typical city atmosphere.

Anyhoo we were at the top of the line for spare tickets by 6.20pm, with the film not starting til 8. We finally get in and mary stuart masterson, scriptwriter/star jayce bartok and actor bruce dern are all there. Happy days !There was a Q &A session after the film, where they came up to me (I hadn't put all this effort in to get here, to go unnoticed at the back). Mission accomplished, we had planned to go to a club in chelsea, but an out of servcie elevator sign put paid to that, and we decided to go back to see time square at night which was just magical.

From day one, I was delighted with the wheelchair access in new york, curb cuts that came all the way down, lots of accessible buses and friendly, helpful people if all else failed. I had been braced for the worst. I was told new york is far behind other american cities, but for me it was very doable.I did not like the bathroom in our hotel room, where the wash basin area came up to my shoulder level, and rinsing after brushing could be hit and miss! Also the handrails and low toilet took some getting used to. An assistant, friend or family member is a must!

Sunday, the last day, was central park day. Oh before I forget, ALL TOURISTS NOTIFY YOUR BANK BEFORE GOING TO THE US!!!!!! I thought I had planned enough, I had put plenty of money into my credit card a/c, taken care of the mobile. I withdrew $900 in grand central station on saturday, but after that my problems started. I spent $443 in a shop near our hotel, duly handed over my card, but was told it had been refused.It took an hour before it was sorted out. But the next day it happened again. With not the price of a can of coke in my pocket, and being my last day, I had to phone back to ireland, to be told that I had triggered a security alert on my card. After a few routine security questions, restrictions were lifted , and all was well.

What a place John Lennon lived in! I was told new york is on the same longitude as rome, which accounts for the hot summers. I was also surprised that there were not more obese people around, given the food options and the portion sizes, but I was told that new yorkers walk it off, plus they always have central park. We saw the fabulous bryant park and metropolitan museum (even though we did'nt have time to go in). There was a huge israeli pride parade, and my assistant had to tear me away from the hardline stand which sold tshirts saying "Not one Inch" around a picture of an upturned fist (no prizes for guessing what that referred to). After that it was off to the hotel to pack. We passed the queue's for the broadway musical "The Color Purple" which I would dearly love to have seen, but hey, I guess that just means I'll have to come back..........