Goodbye New York

Hi all,
I should start by saying that I decided not to take the job at NBC (see Sam and Jane's post below). It was awkward saying no to the apartment on the upper west side, the company car and the house in the Hamptons but I don't really think weather is my thing. I think I am more a late night talk show person and there weren't any positions available. It is probably a good thing because I already have my flight booked to go to Yosemite. Seriously though, the NBC tour was lots of fun. We saw a few of the studios and heard about what happens behind the scenes. It was also fun to do it with Sam and Jane as there is no way I would have put my hand up to be a volunteer if I didn't have them on either side of me nudging me forward.
Since my last blog I have visited galleries, more museums, had lots of fun with Sam and Jane and spending time with some new friends I have made here. Some of the highlights...the Metropolitan was incredible, Ellis Island was really interesting and visiting Radio City Hall for both the Christmas Spectacular and the tour was really fun. New York at Christmas would be amazing and I think I will come back for Christmas here one year. Christmas decorations are already up in the stores and they look really beautiful. One thing I have remembered about myself is that I don't enjoy shopping. I went out to Woodbury Common and felt a little like a fish out of water as I was one of the only ones without an empty suitcase to fill and didn't run off the bus. At least I saw some nice scenery on the bus trip! Later that day I went to the Guggenheim and really loved it even though I had to miss a significant chunk of one of the main exhibitions because it was a bit yuck. The building was amazing though and I enjoyed walking through it.
Another highlight has obviously been being here for the election. It was very exciting watching it play out and sending texts to people back in Australia as it happened (maybe that's why my phone bill has been so expensive this month??). The american political system certainly makes for better television as it is simply the first person to get 270 electoral votes and as each state closes their polls and the state is called then however many electoral votes that state has gets allocated. Obama didn't really win the popular vote by a huge margin but it was a landslide because of the states that voted for him. At the JFK museum it said that he one by a very small majority (something like 51%) and the result wasn't even known until the next day but in the next few months 63% of voters claimed to have voted for him. I wonder if this will happen for Obama. He seems very tired by the whole thing so I hope he is able to live up to the expectations. So many people think he is the answer to all their problems.
Enough about the election. What to do on my last day? This was the big question as there is so much I could still do but I didn't want to rush it. I chose to visit the Cloisters which is connected to the Met but is at the northern tip of Manhatten and is devoted to medieval art and sculpture. It was a really lovely thing to do as it was different to being in busy Manhatten and quite beautiful.
I have enjoyed the restaurants here. I went to a great Thai restaurant in Brooklyn with a girl who is staying with the people I am staying with (hi Trinity!!) and tonight I went to a great hamburger place with the people I am staying with (hi Glen and Carole!). I am really sad to leave New York. I have been here now for 12 days and it has been so much fun. Bye New York!!