Throughout my travels, I met an amazing amount of amazing people. I tried to get a many people as possible to give me the same pose - the world famous Double Guns! Hey - I never ask anyone else to do something I wouldn't do myself. You'll also get a Double Guns shot of the other person in the picture later on.

Below is by no means a comprehensive list of the people I met on my travels - just the people I have photos of. There's a few that aren't Double Guns pictures, as I either met these people before I got the idea, or they refused to give me the Double Guns - even upon the threat that I'd use the worst picture I have of them instead.

As a coincidence, I've got pictures of 93 people here - one for each day of my trip (plus a couple extra). To go with the pictures, I've added names, hometowns, and a short description. So here they are, in absolutely no particular order:

Julius Germany. I met Julius in Buenos Aires and ran into him again in Patagonia. He liked to sleep. A lot. He also hates your country - nothing personal, he's just an anti-nationalist in general. He hates Germany too.

Deby Bariloche, Argentina. I met Deby in a chocolate shop in Bariloche. Deby and I just happen to be fans of the same horrible 3rd division Buenos Aires soccer team - Athletico Atlanta - which lead to a fun conversation and new acquaintance.

Nick Watford, UK. The pride of Watford - I traveled with Nick on and off throughout my whole trip, and you couldn't ask for a better traveling partner or friend. The ladies also love Nick - they say he looks like Hugh Grant.

Jackie Bariloche, Argentina. We met Jackie and her friend Lorena at an Irish pub in Bariloche after watching the Champions League final there. They talked a lot about how they liked to hang out with travelers because they were more "tranquilo" than the natives.

Charles Kopenhagen, Denmark. Charles was my other on-again, off-again traveling partner. Despite that mean look, this self-proclaimed "Viking" has an absolute heart of gold. The highest compliment I can pay him is that he can play on my futbol team anytime. Here's a drunken Double Guns of him also.

Marie-Pierre Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I met Marie-Pierre during the last couple weeks I was in Buenos Aires. In fact, I believe she was the first to shoot me the Double Guns - and therefore served as an inspiration for this whole project. I hope she's proud.

Sam Berkeley, California, USA. We met Sam at the one open bar in El Chalten. He was (and still is I believe) on a long solo trip of South America. Last we saw him he was going to hitch a ride North along the legendary Route 40 (one of the planet's most desolate and beautiful highways) with 4 people from Spain in a 4x4, and was hoping to eventually end up in Columbia.

Sylvia Poland, via Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Sylvia not only looks like a 1950s movie star, she also has the class of one. I met her at language school and ran into her again randomly on one of my short returns to Buenos Aires.

Tim Manchester, UK. Tim is one of the funniest guys I met on my trip - when I could understand him that is. He has the thickest, most incomprehensible Manchester accent in the world.

Nicolas Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nicolas was my language teacher in Buenos Aires, and is the most talented linguist I've ever met - he speaks 5 languages fluently, and at one point would switch between 4 of them in class in order to help each individual student relate to Spanish in their native language. He also knows a ton about his hometown of Buenos Aires and is an all-around great guy. If you're even in Buenos Aires and need Spanish lessons, contact him at nicolasbaya@gmx.net

Felipe Sao Paulo, Brazil. For some reason Felipe didn't like his original Double Guns photo, and made me take this other one. I like them both, so I'll let you decide. Felipe is a flight attendant, and is learning Spanish (he already speaks English) so that he can increase the number of International flights that he works.

Carolina Sao Paulo, Brazil. I met Carolina for a short time in Buenos Aires, and unfortunately wasn't able to meet up with her during my short stay in Sao Paulo. She's a great person, and a wonderful dancer. Of course, she is Brazilian.

Hadar Tel Aviv, Israel. The first Israeli I ran into, Hadar refused to swear in Hebrew with me, to my great disappointment. Despite me continually saying "Cous Imma Shelach!" to her, she remained a friends with me throughout my stay in Buenos Aires.

Juan-Luis Ushuaia, Argentina. This was some random guy we ran into at a bar in Ushuaia. Yes, I literally got the Double Guns from someone who lives at the end of the earth.

Letitia Sao Paulo, Brazil. I lived with Latitia in Cordoba for a week. Quite the fashion conscious lady, Letitia owns about 40 pairs of shoes - and brought 6 on the trip.

Grellen Dublin, Ireland. Grellen had a bit of time in South America before his French girlfriend arrived, so he took Spanish classes in Cordoba the week I did.

Felix Germany. Felix came to visit someone I was living with in Cordoba for a few days while he was on a trip.

Alice UK. I lived with Alice for a week in Cordoba. She taught me the correct pronunciation of "Hermione."

Mariano Cordoba, Argentina. This guy was a creep. He was the director of the Buenos Aires school and pretty much hit on every female student in the place, despite generally being about 20 years older than them.

Simone Holland. Simone was a lovely lady who liked to cook. I liked to eat, so it worked out well - until I ate the last of what she had cooked when she wanted it. That got me trouble.

Romina Cordoba, Argentina. My Spanish teacher in Cordoba. Romina greatly helped me both with my Spanish and my understanding of Argentineans.

Monica Letitia Sao Paulo, Brazil. Monica wanted to learn a second language, but didn't want it to be English. This was good, as it meant we all spoke Spanish while hanging out with her.

Suzanne Australia. Suzanne is one of those lucky people who have found their life's passion at a young age. In her case, the Tango. She doesn't just dance it, she lives it. Suzanne makes drinking a cup of coffee look like an dramatic interpretation of the third act of King Lear. To my great disappointment, she refused my repeated entreaties to dance with me, shattering my one chance in life to dance the Tango in Argentina with a 6-foot tall Australian - which would have automatically made me the coolest person you know.

Wes Tulsa, OK. Wes reminded me of myself when I was first learning Spanish. A bit frustrated and cynical about ever being able to really learn, and just trying to get by. It gets easier Wes.

Tanya Sao Paulo, Brazil. Tanya was one of those people you couldn't help but love right away because she was just so happy. I didn't know her very well, but it was still a joy to be around her.

Blanca Cordoba, Argentina. Blanca gave me private lessons in Cordoba. She taught me the proper uses of the subjunctive. I taught her about how the mob launders money back home, which she found fascinating.

Chris and Yvette Montana, USA and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Chris was a nice Midwestern boy. Yvette was a bad Brazilian girl.

Min Los Angeles, California, USA. Poor Min - she hung around the Brazilians the whole time, but was really just a nice reserved girl from L.A. - which means she was the odd one out when it came to making out with strangers in the clubs.

Adrienne Lansing, Michigan, USA. Adrienne is one of those people just discovering her love of unfettered travel - luckily at just about the right age, 19 (as opposed to my 10 year later discovery). She was on a school-run program and getting pretty frustrated with the guided itinerary thing. We met at a club in Buenos Aires my last night out, and went for lunch on one of my sporadic trips back.

Pepe New York, New York, USA (on the left). His name's Joe, but for whatever reason I stuck with the nickname "Pepe" for him - at least while he was in Argentina. Pepe had just graduated from Medical school, and was taking his opportunity to really get loose. He was one of those guys that makes friends really easily with strangers - even if he doesn't speak the same language as them - and can have a good time pretty much anywhere there's a party, and pretty much at anytime also. At one point I think he was up for 4 days straight partying. He was a great guy, and generally loads of fun to go out with, but I just had no hope of keeping up with either his pace or energy. The guy in the middle is a random Argentinean Pepe made friends with one night.

Diego Buenos Aires, Argentina. This guy was a complete nutcase, but loads of fun. My friend Joe (aka Pepe, see above) who I was staying with met him while out one night, and for whatever reasons they became buddies. His favorite driving move was when he was stopped behind another car at a red light, to pull into the oncoming traffic lane, pass the car, and run the red light.

Jorgito, New York, New York, USA (on the right). Unfortunately, the only picture I have of George (aka Jorge or Jorgito) is with the Argentinean Prostitutes we ran into one night (for the full story, read my entry "Adventures in Recolta). Jorge is another recently graduated medical student. He speaks fluent Greek, and took all of us to a great Greek dinner in Buenos Aires. He also came with me to Pesaj in Buenos Aires. Jorge's also know for his Salsa dancing ability and love of Jamaican women.

Claire and Devon San Francisco, California, USA. Claire and Devon - along with a third friend, Anjali (I might have gotten that name wrong), were just out of high school and looking for a fun and fancy-free summer abroad. I had Tango classes with them, and ran into them again on a separate return to Buenos Aires.

Ariel and Pauli Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our Tango instructors. Both really had the look - tall, thin, and regal.

Camilla Buenos Aires, Argentina. Camilla was also a Tango instructor - but didn't have that classic look. Nevertheless, she was a great teacher and gave me my first real Tango dance.

Marco Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A friend of a friend, I hung out with Marco one night at a street party in Rio. He had been working in Brasilia and had just moved to Rio a couple months ago.

Duncan, Manchester, UK. This guy had a great job - reviewing music for a porno magazine (I forget which one). Why is that a great job in addition to an interesting one? Because he could do it from anywhere - he was getting paid while traveling around Brazil.

Rotem Netanyah, Israel. Rotem would swear with me in Hebrew, unlike Hadar, the first Israeli I ran into. Of course, she'd also swear with me in English quite a bit.

Ben Bath, UK. Ben's giving himself until the age of 30 (about 2 years or so) to become a rock star. I wish him the best of luck. We got our hair cut together in Rio - he got a Fauxhawk. He only knew one word of Portuguese - "Obragado" - but made quite liberal use of it. Here's another Double Guns shot of Ben.

Michelle Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Michelle broke my heart when she told me I'll never be able to dance like a Brazilian - I'm determined to someday prove her wrong by the way. But other than that, I loved her. Michelle's one of those people that really grows on you - the more you hang out with her the more you like her. She works as an actor in Rio de Janeiro, and is also in the picture of me at the beginning of this entry.

Vitor Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo, Brazil. A fellow Urban Planner, I first met Vitor in Buenos Aires. He was a great guy to know in Rio, and took us around to all the sites and also to the kind of places tourists without Carioca friends don't usually get to see. Originally from Sao Paulo, Vitor gave me my favorite Brazilian league soccer team - Corinthians. He's currently in South Africa learning English.

Sam England. Sam wouldn't give me the Double Guns, but I'll put him up here anyway. He was on the longest trip of anyone I'd met - a year and a half around the world.

Mary Anne and Tracie Brooklyn, NY. For some reason, there two wouldn't give me a regular Double Guns, and insisted on doing these weird Charlie's Angels-esque poses instead (here's another one). They were the folks closest to home I ran into - they actually only live a couple stops from my old neighborhood. We still live in vastly different worlds though - when asked by some Euros if living in New York was like Sex and the City, Mary Anne actually said yes.

Marco and Fabian Buenos Aires, Argentina. These guys worked at the Tango Inn hostel in Buenos Aires - Marco (on the left) looks exactly like your prototypical Argentine. These guys made staying at the Tango Backpackers Hostel a pretty fun time. I'm sure it doesn't pay that great, but from what I saw, the perks more than make up for it for these two.

Alex Busios, Brazil. Alex is a fellow tour guide. He also insists that it's not true that all Brazilians are players - despite the fact that he had made out with two different American girls the same night he told me this.

Anja Oslo, Norway. Anja was happy to hear me refer to myself as a feminist - she's currently studying the subject in Norway. She taught me that Norway's apparently not as enlightened as is commonly thought among folks in the blue states here in America when it comes to that subject.

Tiago Salvador, Brazil. Tiago and I swam with the crocs together in the Pantanal. He's a Chemical Engineer by trade.

Jeremy Indiana, USA. Jeremy was the first person I ran into with a real Midwest accent - this was after almost three months. It made me a little nostalgic for my college days in Wisconsin - but not really too much.

Alison UK. Alison had just got done completing her first Iron Man Triathlon. Damn. Since the thing was in Florinopolous, Brazil she decided to take the opportunity to go traveling though South America afterward.

Ivor England. Ivor is Alison's father - he and Alison's mother came out to see her do the Iron Man, and ended up tagging along on the rest of her trip. Ivor's an old hand at world travel though - he had great stories about going to Kenya, Yemen, and a lot of other places - always finely representing her Majesty's subjects. In fact, as a great big strapping, intrepid traveling Englishman, it sometimes seemed that all he was missing was a Pith Helmet and a "Tally Ho!"

Bianca Munich, Germany. Bianca and I commiserated about our upcoming thirtieth birthdays, and she also introduced me to the wonderful Brazilian drink, the Caipirinha. She works as a schoolteacher in Munich. Here's another Double Guns of Bianca.

Valentin Germany. I forgot what city Valentin was from - somewhere near the Black Forest I think. I met Valentin (who's probably got one of the best names of anyone I've met) in the Pantanal, and ran into him again on Isla Grande.

Emerson Mato Grasso do Sul, Brazil. Emerson was our guide in the Pantanal. He was very into meditation. Like many other of guides, he actually spoke better Hebrew than English (Israelis are big on traveling), and after learning I was Jewish, insisted on speaking Hebrew to me, even though I don't really understand anything other than the swearing.

Marco Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marco was my friend Felipe's father. You don't get a Double Guns of Felipe because this particular project is limited to people I MET on my trip - and I had met Felipe three years earlier in Spain. Marco was a very funny guy and gracious host when I went to his house for the evening while visiting Felipe in Rio.

Flavia Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Flavia is Felipe's sister. I didn't talk to her that much. Felipe also has a cute-as-a-button younger brother who's about 6, but I didn't get a Double Guns of him, as it was his bedtime.

Kim Kopenhagen, Denmark. I ran into Kim a few different times during my trip. The first time was in the Pantanal, where we participated in the worst campfire singalong of all time together (my ears are still hurting from that one). I bumped into them again at a futbol game in Rio and then again on Isla Grande. Kim hopes to open a tourism and travel company aimed at backpackers in Denmark.

Frederick Kopenhagen, Denmark. Frederick was Kim's traveling partner. He had to leave abruptly from Isla Grande when I ran into him. Something about a Argentinean girl and a broken condom - I didn't quite get the whole story.

Arald Oslo, Norway. Arald did me a great favor - he put my mind at ease about turning thirty. He explained that the early thirties are actually the best time in life - you're still young enough to do kid stuff (like backpack around South America) and not feel like the old guy in the room, yet grown-up enough to do grown-up stuff and not feel like a kid playing dress-up. The more I though about it, the more it made sense, and the more my three-year-long late-20s crisis (it's the new midlife crisis!) faded.

Al Watford, England. Al was Nick's buddy from Watford - he came out to join them in Rio.

Camu Isla Grade, Brazil. Camu was the guy who took the tourists between the hostels and the beaches on Isla Grande - generally while smoking a joint and trying to pick up female backpackers. He was almost a caricature - this guy's only English words were "no problem man" and he was covered with really bad tattoos, including one of Wolverine (yes, the guy from the comic books). He also had the worst monobrow I've ever seen.

Jacob Kopenhagen, Denmark and Karen Kopenhagen, Denmark. We three went on a big hike through the jungle to an abandoned prison - which I, of course, found fascinating but was a bit anticlimactic for them.

James London, UK. I never knew people from London could be surfers until I met James. A born-and-bred Londoner, he's been surfing since he was a kid. He's currently heading around South America, trying to catch some good waves. We met running down the side of a mountain together - which was a blast.

Chris, UK and Dan, UK. Like so many Brits, Chris and Dan are currently on a round-the-world trip. I ran into them in Buenos Aires and Isla Grande.

Australian Guy Australia. I feel bad - I did know this guy's name and hometown but completely forgot. I kept him in because it's a good Double Guns picture. You can't waste those.

Fredje Isla Grande, Brazil. Fredje owns the most popular hostel on Isla Grade. He makes a killing, lives on an Tropical Island Paradise, and his job is to entertain the beautiful young foreign women that come to stay at his house. Has he got the life.

Ereid Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Ereid was taking a short vacation on Isla Grande to get away from it all when I met her. She had spent the past couple of years with homeless children in Rio, trying to put together footage to pitch a documentary. Despite this noble and interesting cause, she was (unfairly) most noteworthy because she had the entire male population of our hostel absolutely drooling after her. I profusely apologize for my half of the human population.

Erica New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Erica was on her first real trip abroad and made the classic mistake so many of us do - she brought way too many clothes. She's currently in nursing school and hopes to be able to spend time in both the United States and Brazil pursuing her career. And, of course, my thoughts and good wishes are currently with Erica and her family in New Orleans.

Christina, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Christina (aka Buck) is my friend Ronnie's girlfriend in Philly. We all hung out for a weekend, where we got drunk and wrote my Friendster profile. Fun times.

Asaf, Israel, by way of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Asaf works (and might own, I'm not sure) at the aforementioned Tango Backpackers hostel in Buenos Aires.

Bob, Akron, Ohio, USA. Bob - like Pepe - is another one of those Hypomanic people with an energy that you can't help but feed off of. I'm always great at playing the straight man to these kind of people.

Dan, Tel Aviv, Israel. He's not actually from Tel Aviv, but from one of those outside suburbs whose name I can't remember.

Katarina not Prague, Czech Republic. For some reason, there were three hot Czech women doing a long-term stay at this hostel in Buenos Aires. I only got a Double Guns shot of Katarina (in fact, I forgot the other two's names). One of them kept giving me the eye, but seemed quite disinterested when she learned I was American.

Lance Queensland, New Zealand. Lance is teaching English in Sao Paulo, and has a great accent.

Marco Brisbane, Australia. One of those guys that quit their high-paying finance job to go traveling. Kind of like me - without the "high-paying finance" part. And I didn't notice until just now that he's actually giving me the finger - not the Double Guns.

Guy from Mexico City This guy was very cool, but that didn't stop me from forgetting his name. The second worst monobrow I came across on my trip though. The worst is in one of the pics above.

Girl from Mexico City I should have written down her name right away. I don't know what it is about people from Mexico City, but apparently I can never remember their names.

Paloma Sao Paulo, Brazil. Paloma worked at the hostel I stayed at in Sao Paulo, Praça da Arvore. I'm guessing "Paloma" means "Dove" in Portuguese as well as Spanish. It took a little while to get her to do the Double Guns, but it was well worth it.

Celest, South Africa, by way of London, UK. Celest and I spent a great day together in Sao Paulo. She was spending a few day there before heading to Salvador for a couple months, where she was very excited to study Capoera, which she also does in London.

Sam, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. My friend Sara's boyfriend, who I met in Atlanta. As you can see from the photo, Sam recently knocked out all his front teeth in a biking accident.

Renato Sao Paulo, Brazil. I had to make place tickets in Sao Paulo - I got dragged around to five different places before this guy managed to come through. I tried to get him to shoot me the double guns, but I didn't manage to convince him.

Anji, London, UK. Anji just recently got back from a huge trip through South America. We lived together in Buenos Aires and spent a weekend together in Montevideo - most notable because we both noticed at about midnight that neither of us had any money. Anji also taught me a Brit slang word for kissing - no, not "snogging" (which I already knew) - "pulling." Anji refused to give me the Double Guns, but I couldn't quite stick to my threat of putting the worst picture I have of her up here.

Renato (left), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Renato was the only guy I met from Belo Horizonte, and was always up for a good time.

Carol, Canton (I think), Ohio, USA. Carol (left) was the first person I met upon my arrival. We lived together for over a month in Buenos Aires and took a tour of Jewish Buenos Aires together.

Caz and Ally, London, UK. I met these two in Bariloche, and they actually came to visit when they dropped by New York. This picture was taken at my house on their last day of their round-the-world year-long trip. We compared parasite stories. Ally's were way better (and grosser) than mine - I mean, his invoved pulling worms out of his back and quarter-sized hole in his arm. Didn't faze the guy though - he's a South London boy. Which I gather is much like being a Brooklyn kid.

Traveling is a balance - sure, we'd all love to be on the road but there's life to consider - careers, friends and family, money, time. But for those of us who don't have the ability or desire to make the big leap to full-time vagabond, there is a second-best thing: living in New York. For the kinds of people who like to travel to see different types of nature and scenery, perhaps "California" should be substituted. But for those of us, like me, who travel out of a sense of curiosity and exploration for people, cultures, and (especially) different types of urban areas, New York is definitely the place to be. Instead of going to see the world, the world comes to you. And the world may not think so highly of America right now but let me tell you, they LOVE New York.

Everywhere I went in South America, people wanted to be associated with New York - the people in the big cities would always ask "so this city is like New York, right?" But it wasn't just the people - even the buildings wanted a piece of the action. And not even just New York in general, as in this Resto-Bar in Montevideo - even the boroughs get love, as is evidenced by Edeficio Brooklyn (literally translated "The Brooklyn Building") in Rio, and this clothing store in Buenos Aires' Chinatown - which is made somewhat ironic by the fact that while Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn all have significant Chinatowns, the Bronx does not. The Bronx actually seems to be more popular abroad than at home - I also ran into a clothing store called "Bronx" in Valencia, Spain.

But anyway, it's tough to get bored in New York, which is good for the kind of people that like to travel. There's always a new neighborhood to visit, new types of people to meet, something going on that you haven't seen (or even heard of) before.

Of course, if you live here, it doesn't take that long to do all the basics. If you stay interested, you start to get further and further off the beaten trail. At this point, I've been most everywhere in this town you can go without a badge. I get some satisfaction from being a tour guide and showing others around the more obscure parts of town (e-mail me at NYCTourGuide@gmail.com if you'd like one of my custom tours of New York City), but there's still an exploration fix I need when I'm not on the road.

Luckily, there are still some interesting places to go that I haven't been - although they aren't always the easiest (or most legal) places to get to. Still, I've been on quite a kick since I've gotten back. New York is great in that it's a three-dimensional city - meaning some of the best places aren't on street level, they're actually above or below ground. Since I've been back I've hit some of each that most New Yorkers never even know exist - let alone get to see.

I'll give you a quick example of both a below- and above-ground place. First below ground: While not as numerous as the abandoned stations of the London Underground, the New York City subway system does also have several abandoned stations that are pretty fascinating. While looking at pictures is usually good enough for your average subway enthusiast, there's really something about seeing them in person that appeals to me (my friend and colleague in Guerilla Urbanism, Steve Duncan, really puts in better than I can here). And to boot, you find stuff written in the tunnels of the New York City subway system you won't come close to finding anywhere else in the world. For instance, there's a graffiti writer, REVS, who for about 6 years wrote his diary on the subway tunnel walls (I actually went to go see his very first entry, dated 12/11/1994, a few weeks ago).

I've had the good fortune to be able to visit two abandoned stations recently (well, two and half if you count a very quick, aborted attempt at the 18th Street station). One of these was the old Worth Street Station on the Lexington Avenue line. While this trip very extremely fun (and educational), it was also one of the dirtiest times I've ever had. And for those of you who've known me a while, that's saying quite a lot.

The Worth street station was closed in 1962, after new construction on the City Hall station directly south of it led to an entrance only a block away from the entrance to Worth street, and the MTA decided it was no longer necessary to keep it open. You can read and see more of what this station's now like 43 years later here (and if you poke through that site you'll find a few more underground adventures I've been on lately).

As for the above-ground example: Remember one of my very first entries where I linked to that strangely phallic building the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building? Well, back when it was the tallest building between Manhattan and Paris, it actually used to have an observation deck, which was closed to the public in 1977.

Now the view actually leaves a lot to be desired. Downtown Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan look like a big jumble, because the deck isn't high enough to see the Hudson river between them (the deck is only about 400 feet high. Contrast this with the soon-to-be-opened Rockefeller Center observation deck at 850 feet high, the Empire State Building observation deck at 1,050 feet high, or the old World Trade Center observation deck at an astounding 1,400 feet high). It's also too far away from Midtown to get a good view of it, you can't see the Brooklyn Bridge at all, and there's so much masonry and fencing obstructing the view that you almost feel like you're indoors. Probably the coolest part of the view is getting a close up look at the big clock.

However, there is one interesting thing about the deck. The Williamsburgh Savings Bank building is a landmark. This means the exterior can't be changed. So the old signs from when the deck was active are all still up. They're all about the Revolutionary War, and point out various spots of historical interest that you can see from the deck. Unfortunately, in a month the entire building is going to be converted to luxury condos - I'm guessing the 2-floor penthouse that happens to have this deck will probably go for about 3 million dollars. I did take pictures of all the signs (although #10 is already missing), as well as close ups of the text, pictures, and maps on them, so they can be viewed and appreciated virtually by someone other than whatever yuppie stockbroker happens to buy the penthouse (check back on the forgotten-ny link I gave above - that's probably where they'll be). Hopefully, the new owner will have an appreciation for either the historical value of those signs or at least for the landmarks law, but I'm not optimistic. If you pay 3 million dollars for an apartment, you're probably going to want to remodel it how you like.

You can look forward to one more entry about the people I met on my travels, but in terms of places seen, that's it's for this blog. I had a blast writing it, and I hope you guys got a kick out of it also, and maybe even learned something for when you go traveling. I can't say I don't miss being on the road, but it's OK. There's a lot to see out in South America and the world, but thankfully, there's almost as much to see among the Bright Lights of New York City.