I can has Van Gogh?

I never thought I would be so moved but I tell you what, walking into a room full of Van Goghs and Monets and the like-it was amazing! These are works I had studied when I was younger and to see the real thing up close in person...wow! The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a real highlight of this leg of my New York stay-even moreso because I didn't expect it to be! This time tomorrow I will be in Dublin. I'm quite scared, to be honest...also I've met some really cool people here that I will miss. Hopefully I will meet some cool people in Dublin too...right now it's 3 aussies, an argentinian (the second, one left yesterday), a french clown, a guy from the netherlands and a mix of people from other european countries. The argentinian guys are an absolute hoot! One left the same time as the other arrived...but I have a newfound respect and adoration (if you can call it that?) for argentinian people :). I've been socialising with the other travellers here much more than at the last place I stayed at in the city. I was worried this place would be cold and alienating like the last one but it's anything but! I'm so glad! Today a few of us went to chinatown, which was an experience! I'm blogging from my phone so I can't go into much detail but let me say it was an experience! It was so cold, too...-4`C (roughly 22`F) and windy. I know I've been in much colder temperatures but for some reason this was really biting me. The play offs were tonight and the poor bastards were playing in -2`F temps (like -15`C, roughly) but the New York Giants won so now they are off to the Superbowl! Yesterday I ran some errands and went for a long walk down Central Park. Also went to the Magnolia Bakery in the early evening-there was a massive line outside waiting to go in! But oh man I'm glad I waited...the cupcakes are so delicious! So, so, delicious...the frosting is so yummy I want to know how they make it! The day before yesterday I went to the New York Aquarium and Coney Island in Brooklyn. The aquarium was quite good-they had a nice cnidarian exhibit and seahorses and a sweet walrus...poor guy was swimming the same lap of the tank over and over again. The underwater equivalent of stereotypical pacing. Argh the heaters in this hostel are crazy-so noisy! Plus the room is boiling hot...at least it's not freezing like the other night. The good desk guy is on tonight, not the usual grumpy bums they have here. Anyway...I think I have already said how Paul the aussie and Pablo the argentinian and I went ice-skating in Central Park the other night...and we saw a racoon! So I had best leave it there for now. I wonder how much it costs me to update this from my phone...most probably still less than paying to use the internet here! Mucho dinero... Ok have fun in Australia and eat a sausage roll for me...I'll eat a slice of greasy NY pizza for you! xxx leash