MONDAY

It was an early start, leaving at 5:30 am, after Simon (Taylor) had been dropped off at our house. Got to Heathrow in good time, parked, caught the bus to the terminal and checked in.
Had (overpriced) breakfast at the airport, waited around then boarded our plane!!

Landed at Newark Airport at about 1:30pm local time, did the long immigration queue, then caught the coach to Manhattan.
We'd arranged to stay in an apartment in Soho, so got there and had to have a few drinks in the nearby Cafe Noir while we waited for our contact to meet us with the keys. It was eight flights of stairs up to the 4th floor, which was a killer on our first day, but got easier as the week went on.

For our first night in NY, we decided to make a return visit to Salsa Con Mambo at Session 73, where Grupo Latin Vibe were playing. We got there quite late and just caught their second set. A few other UK people were in the house including Moe Flex, and Vicki, Julia and Claire from the Midlands.

Salsa-Central got a shoutout from our friend DJ Babaloo, who runs this night.

We decided to get the subway home, but it took so long that we gave up half way and jumped in a cab.

TUESDAY

Woke up early as a result of construction work on a hotel opposite, and the lack of curtains in the apartment (!!). Mel and I headed up to B&H to get Mel her a zoom lens, while Simon did a little exploration of the local area. After B&H, we browsed a few more shops and I got myself a new After Effects book, then headed up to El Barrio for some CD shopping from El Barrio Music.

It was great to see Frankie and Rey again after so long - Lou doesn't work there anymore since moving to Philly. Bought a few CD's then headed into the Bronx, so Mel could get her hair cut (No danger of missing a flight, so we were fine). Caught the wrong subway, so had to walk a few blocks through the South Bronx to get to the other line (getting a Coconut Ice on the way), then headed up to Gun Hill Road where Mel's cousin Lauren met us from the train.

While Mel was getting her hair done, Lauren and I headed up the road to get some food. It wasn't the greatest area in the Bronx, so I was getting a few stares, but the food was worth it!! Barbecue Chicken, Fried Chicken, Snapper, Rice & Peas!! Nice!!

That night I was due to DJ at one of the official Congress launch parties, at Sabor Salsa Tuesdays at Iguana (240 W54th St), run by Marlon Int'l and friends. Got there about an hour before my set, so went to get a drink from the bar... I didn't have my Id with me so ended up getting a bit of verbal from the woman behind the bar who was trying to get us chucked out.

We managed to sort it out with the manager of the venue, and I soon started my set. I was DJ'ing alongsode Antonio 'La Conga' (who runs the La Vieja Guardia Socials in NY) and a DJ from paris. My set went down really well and I was getting great feedback for days following!! Not a bad debut!!

WEDNESDAY

Mel discovered a little scratch on her new lens... cue panic and worry! So, the three of us headed over to B&H determined to get it replaced. Queued up in the returns line and eventually got served by a guy who'd been quite abrupt with previous customers. I pulled out the lens and told him 'the lens we bought yesterday has a scratch on it' in a manner which suggested I wasn't to be trifled with! 'So why don't you wipe it off' was his reply, pulling out a microfibre cloth and briskly removing the mark. He chuckled, I felt a little silly, so we went for breakfast across the road.
We walked from there up to Times Square in wonderful weather, then across to the Hilton as Simon wanted to see the congress venue. We went inside and up to the main area, but that wasn't enough for Simon, he wanted to go into the ballroom himself, where we were promptly stopped by staff who were setting up for an event to be held there the night before the congress... a 2,500 capacity room was being used to host dinner for 29 people, they told us!!

Leaving there, we headed into Central Park, walked round there for a bit then headed back towards the apartment.

On the dinner itinerary tonight was a visit to 'Lombardi's' in little Italy, NY's first Pizzeria. Had dinner, then on the way back spotted 'Rice To Riches' a rice pudding shop with the funniest window signs ever!!! Stopped in Yellow Rat Bastard on the way back to the apt for a few new T-shirts then home.

Tonight was the official 'Meet and Greet' pre-congress party with free buffet and bar. Nice! We got there right at the start to make the most of it, and Simon took part in Baila Society's class.

A lot of the artists were in attendance and Jimmy Bosch also turned up, so I ended up having a brief chat with him. I also got a lot of great feedback while there about my set at Iguana the previous night, which is always nice!!

We left in the early hours, had a brief chat with El Malo and Osmar Perrones outside, the got the subway home (all the way this time)

THURSDAY

In an effort to actually do some sightseeing, we decided to go to the American Museum Of Natural History, grabbing breakfast on the way. This is the museum that's featured in the 'Night At The Museum' films, and you're greeted by two large dinosaurs upon entering the main foyer. The whole place is enormous, and more than you can see in just one trip, but we saw quite a bit, including 'Dum Dum' from the film. We then went to Chinatown for dinner before going back to the apartment.

Today was registration for the Congress, so after going through all the getting ready shenanigans (inevitable when I was sharing with these two!!), we caught the Subway to the Hilton and got our wristbands. Then, we all fancied a bite to eat so made a nearby diner stay open an extra half hour so we could eat.

Back to the Congress. I was due to DJ at the congress, but didn't know when, and couldn't find Ray who was in charge of the DJ scheduling, so went to film Cubanoson, who were on stage at the time. At the end of the song, Mel tapped me on the shoulder;

Mel: "I just soke with Ray, you're on in this room (the main room), after the band"
Me: "When do the band finish"
Mel: "In 45 minutes"

Normally, that would've been fine, except that my CD's were in the apartment.... a 20 minute cab ride away!! Cue a manic couple of cab rides staight out of a film, and I got back to the congress with 10 minutes to spare. Nice!! I went on at midnight, once the band had finished, and was on for over an hour. Very nervous to begin with, but I loved every minute of it... a real buzz!! Feedback was great too, with a number of people coming over!!

TO BE CONTINUED...