The Big Apple

And we then travelled from Boston to New York, I must admit we have been very happy flying with United Airways, although the whole airport security and checking in means you do have to allow lots of time before your flight.   And also there have been so many airports where you actually get a train once you get off the plane to the airport where you get your bags.   It makes our airports look so small in comparison.

We got the Airporter Bus from Newark to Manhattan and luckily it stopped literally a couple of hundred metres from our hotel which is very central and close to Grand Central Station.   I have wanted to stay at the Library Hotel since we first started planning this trip.   Purely because I work at a library, it just called to me!

 I must say, the customer service at this hotel really is exceptional, they cannot do enough for you.   We had a queen room which although small was very adequate for our needs, as I believe hotel rooms in New York are not large at all.

Every morning we went down to the Reading Room for a lovely breakfast, there were cereals, juices, fruits, bagels, toast, yoghurt, you name it, and they have a cappuccino machine which doesn't make it hot enough for me, but David thought it was just right.   The good thing about this room was that it was open to guests 24 hours a day and I went down a couple of times just to sit and read with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit (or cupcake from Magnolia Bakery, which was at Grand Central Station).  

We had a bit of a look around and this really is the city that doesnt sleep, there are people and cars on the roads all day and night.   People jaywalk all the time, cars toot each other for no reason at all, and the amount of people obsessed by their mobile phones walking down the street and while driving was unbelievable.   Also a lot of cyclists as well, who very rarely wear any sort of helmet as they dodge in between  traffic!

Of course we were walking distance from the New York Public Library, which I was so excited to see (again because of my obsession with libraries).   What a magnificent building, but there was not one book to behold!!!  You have to go across the road to the Mid-Manhattan Public Library which is 8 stories high!

I just had to go in and check it out.   Very old stock on the shelves, lots of computers, and the collection is spread over several floors.   They also run lots of computer classes there as well.   And it really felt like you had to be quiet too!!
We ventured downtown and went to a little store called Tiffany's where I was very lucky to get a lovely necklace and earings for our 38th wedding anniversary.   Thanks David.

In return he got a brand new pair of Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones - he says for cutting out the plane noise, but I suspect its to cut out me!!

The shopping continued at  Macy's and I have to admit I found it too big a store, hard to find things and after getting my jeans I had to go, I would have to spend a couple of days there just to get to know it.

We did have a couple of nice meals out - to the Brasserie for our anniversary and also to a restaurant that the front desk recommended called Osteria which was an italian restaurant, very busy but very nice.

Of course, you have to see a Broadway show, and based on recommendations from friends and acquaintances we saw The Book of Mormon, which was very different and politically incorrect in many parts, David thought it was hilarious!!!
David's nephew Jason lives in Brooklyn Heights so we arranged to visit him at his workplace at the World Trade Centre.   What magnificent views he has from his office.   Jason introduced us to his work colleagues and then we went downstairs and had a look at the 9/11 Memorial that has been created on the footprint of where the twin  towers once stood before that fateful day.   It was extremely busy and warm there and we were too late to do the actual tour of the museum but it was extremely well done and very moving.   The names of all the victims are permanently engraved around the memorial.

This is one of the views from Jason's window

 

After work we caught the subway to Jason's place in Brooklyn Heights, what a contrast from the concrete jungle!!!  Quaint little buildings and some greenery.   We met Jason's friends who just kept on arriving because there were Australian's there!!!   We had the best rooftop barbeque with the best views you couldn't pay enough for:-

 

 After our 5 days in New York, it was off to Las Vegas, and the adventure continues!!

The Red Sox

And here we are, the prime reason for taking this trip, we are in Boston, MA.   The day started off a bit of a worry with rain.   To think that we have travelled half way across the world to see a game and potentially have it re-scheduled or even worse cancelled sent shivers up my spine.   But we were lucky and although still drizzling, the game went ahead.

One of the things we wanted to do was to do a tour of Fenway Park which is one of the oldest baseball grounds in the USA.   According to the website, tours are held on game days, on the hour until 3 hours before the game starts with tickets available on a first come first served basis.   We were there well before the last tour only to find that the tickets went on sale at the ground at 8.45 am that day, and were all sold out.   They didn't tell you that on the website and you couldn't book them online.   Disappointing, but what can you do, at least the game is going ahead.

The atmosphere is really pumping around the ground with street vendors selling all sorts of foods with of course the hot dogs being the most popular.   We actually found a little bar to sit in and shared a table with a very friendly Canadian couple who had flown down for the game.  
We had a burger there and a couple of drinks, just diet coke for me as it was quite humid.

The Green Monster

One thing we have discovered since being here is how polite and friendly people are here, us Australians could learn a thing or two, that's for sure.

The interesting thing is that they then clear Yawkey Way which is the entrance to the ground, and you then queue up and present your tickets and have all bags searched, as there are no cans or bottles allowed inside.

After making our way to our seats, it was like watching a passing parade of people and food!!! One thing for sure is you would never go hungry in this country.

These guys come by all the time and you can get drinks, hot pretzels, pizza, hot dogs, you name it, all without leaving your seat.

The atmosphere here is terrific, and almost everybody comes with their supporters gear on.  Also you don't get people abusing each other just because you support the opposition, unlike our AFL matches.

The ground was filled to capacity but as it has a capacity of 38,000 it is small compared to our football grounds.

The two guys sitting next to me had also flown in for the game from Dallas, Texas, and were very friendly as well. 

 Before the game starts the national anthem is always sung.   This time it was sung by Trace Adkins - a Country Music star who just happened to be in town performing concerts.

At the end of the 7th innings which is called the 7th innings stretch, the organist plays "Take me out to the ball game" and of course the whole crowd sign along as well!!  Its fantastic!!

Another tradition for Boston matches is the song "Sweet Caroline" which is played before Boston bat in the 8th innings.  Some parts of the song such as "good times never felt so good" are repeated by the crowd - "So good, so good, so good".   Its great crowd involvement and gets everyone going!!

Unfortunately on the day Boston went down to the NY Yankees, but it was a great game and we both thoroughly enjoyed it, which you can see by the look on David's face - big tick off that list!!

David - a happy man

Even though the weather was drizzling, it then got really cool, and because we weren't expecting it we had to go and buy warm tops from the Red Sox shop to keep warm, otherwise we would have frozen!!

An additional bonus for me was that the author Stephen King was sitting about 6 spots up from me.
I didn't know that he is a huge Red Sox fan and actually co-authored a book about their season in 2004.

All I can say is bring on the next game - I'm a fan!!

Stephen King

The Smithsonian Museum of American History

Another thing on my list to see was Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian museum of American History.  

I must say that the Museums here are amazing and very well done.   Here's some pics:-

The cookbooks she used

Julia and I

She won an Emmy award for her TV show and spawned a whole new lot of TV Chefs!

The First Ladies exhibition was also worth seeing.


Michelle Obama's dress she wore for the second
inauguration.

Barbara Bush, Hilary Clinton & Laura Bush's gowns.

We also saw the presidential china which was interesting as not all First Ladies chose new china.   The only time that the china generally got replaced was when there was not enough crockery to hold a State Banquet.





Of course this visit would not have been complete without seeing Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz:

Arlington Memorial Cemetery

Today we visited the Arlington Memorial Cemetery.   The locals call it "Stone City", and it was amazing!   The American people really do respect their war heroes here and it is a sea of gravestones with people who have served in all the World Wars as well as the more current wars.   Some young men were only teenagers when they died, so sad, and a lot had their wives or partners buried next to them.

A sea of headstones

 

The place I wanted to see was the final resting place of John F Kennedy who is buried alongside his former wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, as well as a stillborn daughter and a son Patrick Kennedy who only lived for 2 days.

The eternal flame burns and has only gone out twice since it was lit, once in a storm and once by a group of catholic schoolchildren who sprinkled the flame with holy water!

Robert F Kennedy and Teddy Kennedy's graves are also nearby.

Washington DC Big Bus Night Tour

After our epic walk to Georgetown and back, we then walked into town passing the White House on the way!   Where we are staying is about a 20 minute walk into town so very central.   The traffic here just seems to go all day and night and its amazing how they love using their car horns all the time.  Also people jaywalk constantly, we don't as we have to remember to look to the left not right before crossing roads.

We got downtown a little earlier than necessary and Janine just had to pop into Macy's here and walked out with a couple of sleeveless tops for the bargain price of $38 for 2, its quite warm here so sleeveless is the way to go.   We then had a drink and by then our tour bus was ready to go.

We were recommended by a couple of people to do the night tour and we were not sorry.   We had a very animated young man as our tour guide, who was very knowledgeable about Washington and the monuments and sights to see.

The White House, 1000 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC

This house is smack bang in the middle of town and was actually not as big as I thought from what you see in movies and TV, not set back that far from the street either.

 Capitol Hill - where the business of Washington happens!

Washington Monument - no mortar holds this together, has only recently been re-opened after maintenance as you can see by the colour change in the bricks.   This is held together by sheer gravity and weight - incredible.   There is a lift inside that you can get to take you to the top.

 Martin Luther King memorial

Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial - he is huge!!

Very balmy night outside and it was good sitting on top of the bus, my knee was pretty sore by the end of the night though with the getting on and off after all the walking we did, so I slept pretty well!

The sweet life in Georgetown

One of the things on my list to see was to visit Georgetown Cupcakes!  For those of you who may not be familiar with this Washington institution, DC Cupcakes was a little business started by two friends who baked cupcakes in their own home, which then grew into an empire including a TV series - Cupcake Wars.

There was a queue out the door when we arrived after a 20 minute walk from our accommodation, but it moved very quickly and there I was facing a beautiful case of cakes and the decision as to what variety of at least 20 that are baked fresh every day until sold.   For $3 each and a decent size too I chose two varieties to take back.   Here's some photos:

Georgetown cupcakes store

Choices, choices

Salted Caramel & Red Velvet

And the cakes are as good as they look!!   Till next time.

From Melbourne via Auckland to Los Angeles

Well, we have made it to the west coast!!! Lovely warm weather here today around 27 deg felt so good getting out of the terminal to see the sunshine.


Good trip over on Air New Zealand.   First time in Premium Economy in their "Space Seats", heaps of room with the configuration of 2, 2, 2.   Great food as well, we have always been happy with Air New Zealand.   And also the difference in what to do while onboard, we must have had at least 100 movies, tv series complete seasons, audiobooks, music, games and the list goes on.   Very nice cabin staff as well.


We had a pretty swift journey through customs and arrived at our hotel - Embassy Suites North LAX, which comes under the umbrella of the Hilton group.   David was feeling a little under the weather by then so he retreated to have a bit of a nap soon after we arrived.   I investigated the Business Centre where there are 3 computers to use free of charge, plus printing, fantastic!!  


Checked with the front desk as to how long it would take to get to the local Westfield centre so we can get mobile while here, and once David woke we were off.   Very friendly and helpful T-Mobile store where we are now back online with new sim cards for both phones and a card for my ipad as well - happy days!!


We arrived back just in time for happy hour!! Free wine, soft drinks and spirits, plus nibbles!!
We decided to have dinner in the restaurant at the hotel - Cafe Aero which was really nice and the hotel had given us a 15% off voucher to use, so I had a lovely piece of Salmon and what did David have??? Can you guess??? A fillet mignon of course.


We are just heading upstairs now for a bit of tv then it will be bed for us for a good sleep becuase we are off to Washington tomorrow morning!!   Watch this space.