New York

After an enjoyable and comfortable 6-7 hours' flight from London Heathrow Airport, we disembarked from the aircraft and made our way through Passport Control, Security and subsequently collected our luggage.

We weren't tired. We were ecstatic and excited for the adventure that lay ahead.

It was surreal to contemplate that within an hour we would be wandering the streets of New York City. The city that never sleeps. The city that I had longed to visit for many years.

After a highly frustrating first journey on the subway from JFK Airport to West 49th Street, I recall a short episode where I feared that the city would let me down. I feared that my expectations of the city had become too big, too fantastical and too surreal. The subway was grim, old fashioned, damp, murky and difficult to understand. 'Surely this station is out of town...somewhere in the suburbs maybe...', I remember thinking. The decor in the station was too out-dated and unimpressive to be in the centre of New York City. New York City. The concrete jungle where dreams are made of. I was wrong. It was on West 49th Street, leading directly onto Broadway and literally around the corner from Times Square.

First impressions didn't succeed in 'wowing' me as envisaged. However, we grabbed our cases and proceeded to climb the steps leading up to the exit...THIS was the moment I had been expecting.

As we stepped onto West 49th Street I immediately looked up towards the sky. There was an unusal white glow throughout the city. The tall, imposing buildings were incredible. I was overwhelmed at how impressive the city looked. Hand over mouth, eyes wide open in disbelief, a surge of excitement within, I ran some steps forward and reached the corner of the road. We were on Broadway. I turned to the right and saw The Winter Gardens Theatre where Mamma Mia was playing. I turned to the left. Sean Combs' billboard - taller than my own house, lights flashing. Straight ahead was a billboard for one of my favourite musicals, Wicked.

I could hardly contain my excitement.

A yellow taxi drove by. Another yellow taxi. Another and another and another. It was surreal. I had seen so many films and television series' featuring the famous yellow taxi and now I was standing before one, in real life!

The digital billboards, the lights, the city sounds and the atmosphere were utterly captivating.

We crossed the road and headed towards West 54th Street. The Theatre where the David Letterman Show is filmed was within sight. Incredible.

There was too much to take in. Brakes. Horns. CRASH. Smoke. Cries of 'Oh my God!'. A yellow taxi and a black limousine smashed into one another directly before us.'Welcome to New York City', we said to one another.

Needless to say, New York City didn't let me down.