New York, United States

I've been up for hours before there's any sign of Liz or Simon. Their epic night of Cuban smoke and Scottish malts has put paid to any idea of an early morning stroll through the city, so I fill my time with breakfast, a bit of work and updating my blog.

It's 11am before Liz emerges so we wander off to a coffee shop for a caffeine perk before heading down to the Staten Island Ferry for a quintessential New York experience. Just as we're about to jump on the subway, a text from Simon pings through. "Don't leave without me!" so we hang on til he joins us and reunited, set off for another adventure.

It's remarkable that you can ride the ferry for free, getting fantastic views of the Statue of Liberty and the island of Manhattan in the process. As ever, the terminal is thronged with tourists, cameras slung around their necks, and we all jostle and barge our way onto the boat, craning for position to get the best shots.

As we're coming into dock at Staten Island we spot Miss New York City in her sash posing for photos along with Miss Metropolitan so decide to get a snap but the janitor on the ferry is having none of it. "Clear the decks," he yells at us, halitosis almost paralysing me on the spot. "I said clear the deck, sir!!"

"I'd just like to get a photo of Miss New York," I say, trying not to gag as he wheezes in front of me.

"Don't make me call the cops," he rasps. "I've told you to disembark, now move away RIGHT NOW or I'll have you arrested!!"

I glance over to the nearest cop, a rather corpulent chap more interested in staring at the blonde glamour model than pulling his gun on me, and calmly lift my camera above the janitor's head and snap my shot. Then we leg it before Old Man Crachety can catch us!

We hop on the next ferry back to Manhatten and ride the subway up to 23rd St, trying to work out the direction as we go, the signposting being confusing the the extreme. "Uptown, Queens," I suggest as the most likely route. "That's us!," exclaims Simon with a laugh.

We emerge at the Flatiron Building. By now the sun is high in the sky and baking down on us all. The temperature is in the 80's and we have a long walk to go to find our next destination, Hotel Americano in the Gallery District.

25 minutes later we slump exhaustedly into the foyer, awaiting our contact Nate. This is where we're doing the front cover shoot tomorrow and we're here to scout out the location. Nate shows us around the hotel, taking us up to the rooftop pool and bar area which has great views of the New York skyline. It's remarkably tranquil and with gentle chillout music playing we soak up the semi-tropical vibe, feeling we're more in Miami than Manhattan.

Liz and Simon make a list of all the set-ups we need to do tomorrow, working out sightlines, backgrounds and schedules before we sit down and grab some lunch. The heat has sapped the energy out of us but suitably refreshed we leave this little haven of calm and head out to find a camera store to grab some more equipment for the shoot.

Right next to Hotel Americano is the brand new High Line, a disused elevated railway line that snakes down the west side of Manhattan. It's recently been transformed into a pedestrianised garden walk that runs for 20 blocks or so, giving a different perspective on the city. We ascend the stairs and walk the last few blocks to get a little taste of it, but it's so crowded with weekend strollers we don't get to soak up any peace and quiet.

I leave Simon and Liz to do their business in the camera shop and head back to the hotel to get out of the heat. Once they return we jump in a cab and head out to the videoshoot which has moved to an incredible location called 5 Pointz in Long Island City.

As we drive along, a crazy rollerblader joins the traffic and grabs hold of the car in front of us. As it speeds off he keeps hold with one hand and, headphones on, starts dancing on one blade, waving his free hand in the air and singing like a mad man, which he obviously is, as he hurtles up the road for the next ten blocks before we all stop at a traffic light and he let's go, and high-fives some astonished onlookers as he skates off into the distance.

Over at 5 Pointz the view is jawdropping. They're setting up a shoot on a graffiti-strewn roof with a city backdrop that's worth a million dollars. We take Conor up there and Simon gets shot after shot of him in this urban landscape.

Once the camera crews are all set, they start rolling and against a dramatic sunset Conor runs through his performance again and again, a huge boom camera doing aerial shots, sweeping into him and flying up high to get panoramic views of him singing along.

The shoot goes on late into the night so eventually we take our leave, flag down a cab and drive back to the hotel passing through Time Square as we go, its neon craziness attracting tens of thousands of Saturday night revellers on to the streets. We get a ringside seat as we coast down 7th Avenue and then walk through the doors of the Marcel hotel, waves of fatigue crashing over us.

We're starving, having not eaten for over eight hours so opt for a bite to eat at the restaurant next door, Inoteca, getting brushetta and eggs on toast. Tomorrow is an early start for the front cover shoot and Liz is almost falling asleep in her food so we head straight to bed arranging to meet at breakfast first thing.