Friday, December 31, 2010

link to flickr photos

hi all

we have posted up some photos on flickr or things done so far, the link is below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57659695@N02/

happy new year back home to you all!!!

Day Nine: Wasssshington!

Well today was our first full day in Washington. We began by posting a few little something somethings home! Whilst at the post office though, it reaffirmed our opinion that America has the worst customer service going - and to think they then want a tip most of the time???

Anyway, we headed into town, bypassing the mall, monuments and museums. The older part of town and Dupont Circle is actually really really pretty. Beautiful buildings and happening streets. We did get a little dose of the museum vibe however when we visted the Spy Museum - very cool!

For dinner we ended up at an Italian restuarant/bar called Carmines. As it was busy we sat at the bar...and the bartender slash waiter was really chatty and entertainiing...finally some decent service (i actually gave him a proper tip at the end). The food was actually really good - too much again - but good. And to think between four of us we shared some garlic bread, lasagne and veal scallipone, and we were all full - thats how big the servings are. But again, the food was well above average - so far Washington is representing on the taste front!!!

After dinner we finally hit the monuments for a DC Lights tour. To be honest it was only ok - the highlight being the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, The Korean, and Vietnam War Memorials. The monuments are filled with such history, standing at the spot where Martin Luther King Jnr stated his "I have a Dream" speech, standing before the large seated Lincoln statue like so many others, or standing at the top of the reflection pool where Forrest Gump yelled into the microphone - "jen-ney"

The history fills the streets too - walking Pennsylvania avenue - you cant help but think back to all the Presidents that have made the walk or drive up this road on Inaugaration Day. Really is quite interesting!

The sense of history and rememberence is very strong here - Patriotism and Pride seem to fill the air. Our tour guide actually stated that the Capital Building is probably the most recognised building in the world - (SLIGHT EXAGGERATION ME THINKS) Apparently not though - as when we were driving in the night before, Laura thought that was the White House.

Still, I guess the American sense of achievement and power is what makes America "America". That being said Washington is quite a cool place!

ps - the highlight of the day was seeing an Obama look a like maniquin in the shopfront window - uncanny resemblance!

Day Eight: Frank Lloyd allWright!

We awoke today to cold but sunny Pittsburgh. We hoped in the car early and headed on our way to Fallingwater at Mill Run - about an hour and a bit out of town. The drive was beautiful, but at times harrowing, as this was my first experience of driving on the opposite side of the road. We ventured out into small regional areas, where there was an abundance of snow, mansard roof barns, and deciduous trees.

We finally arrived at Fallingwater - we made it! It was a stunning day, snow blanketed the landscape, but wasnt falling, the sky was blue and the sun was out. We were late for our tour but caught up quickly. Once inside, iit was, very very comfortable actually. It was amazing and quite surreal being able to see up close alll the details and experience all thew views and vistas you have seen in books all these years. Truly amazing. The girls enjoyed it too. They really did.
The most fun part was when we got to sit with a few guides in the guides breakout area, "the sitting room" of the house. As we were late, she personally took us around the bits we missed, then took us into the private rooms where we ate some biscuits and cookies.

We were then able to visit another FLW building which was  in the area, Kentuck Knob. Built 20 years later, and more of a Usonian house, was still very exciting and awesome to visit. They also had a sculpture garden here with a couple of Andy Goldsworthy works, as well as some slabs of the Berlin wall. The snow made for some great photos. Very surreal too, being on the woods, in the snow, just us. Crazy!

We then hopped back in the car for the drive to Washington DC, about a 4hr drive. Was a nice and easy one though. We checked in and then headed out for dinner. We stopped at a place called Bobby Vans. Dont be fooled by the name, this was a classy place. We ordered, what i would have to say was the best steak i have ever eaten, Porterhouse with a New York Stip of Mignon, AMAZING! It fed three of us and at $42 each you can gauge the quality. Was delicious. So full though after it. Washington gets a thumbs up for food from me!

Anyway - tomorrow is going to be a monumental day - hehe - love u all - mat and sim!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Day Seven continued: waiting, wishing, waiting!

So today was officially a right off. After waiting 3 hours for our train to arrive in NYC, we finally were heading to Pittsburgh. The trains are actually really comfy, and very accommodating. We went thru Philly however more travel troubles lay ahead. We had to get off train at Harrisburg and get on a bus for rest of journey to Pittsburgh. Buses not so comfy or accommodating! Anyway, we finally got to our hotel in Pittsburgh around midnight. What a day!

Sadly we won't get to see anything in Pittsburgh really, which is a shame because it's a pretty town. Definitely come back and do properly!

But hey, fallingwater tomorrow! Wooh

Ps-there are a lot of places with burg or berg as a suffix here?


- Blog from iMat

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Day Seven: Winter Wonderland

We woke up today in our hotel room in west 32nd street, pulled back the curtain only to see snow everywhere.

I ventured out onto the streets to explore while the girls got ready. The streets were practically empty. For a city that supposedly never sleeps, it was pretty damn tired.

I walked up Broadway, past Macys and upto Times Sq. Snow was everywhere - it was AMAZING! Trucks were trying to clear the roads but it was a long and arduous task.

I then walked a few more blocks up to Radio City and Rockefeller. This was surreal, no one was on the streets. The tree and rink were deserted. I managed to get an amazing photo of the tree and the angels covered in snow.

After walking 20 blocks or so I then headed back to the Hotel down 5th avenue - and I mean I walked right down it's snow covered centre. So surreal - felt like Will Smith in that movie...?

Anyway, I'm officially a fan of snow again. Truly spectacular, amazing to think that the busiest city in the world can be brought to a standstill by the snow. Roads, subways and even the post office are closed or not
operating properly. At the post office all i could think about was Newman from Seinfeld. It was funny...for those that are familiar with the NY postal building, on top it says "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"...well we were told we couldn't post out parcel to Australia, the African American lady put it like so "have you seen outside, it's snowing?"...hmmm!

Anyway, we are currently waiting for a train to Pittsburgh at Penn Station. We've had to take the overland option as the planes are cancelled still, costs are rising. But hey, its been worth it. This mornings snow in the streets was amazing. Here's hoping that we can make it to fallingwater. Not looking good tho...

Ps- The funniest moment of the trip occurred today. When getting to Penn Station, overheard an African American women on her phone say, "damn, there's a lotta snow in this motherf...er!" priceless.


- Blog from iMat

Day Six: snow,snow and more snow

Today started a lazily. We had a few hours to kill before we went to airport to head to Pittsburgh, so we went to Madame Toussauds. Was interesting but really, not that amazing. But it came free with our pass.

Then - Uh Oh!

Snow! When we came out of the wax fest, we were greeted to a light flurry of snow. At first it was exciting, we were loving the snow. We hopped in a cab to JFK, however once there, we discovered our plane, along with over 1000 others was cancelled.

It was officially a BLIZZARD!

Not such a fan of snow now!

Things began to get expensive, we now had to find accom for the nite, as well as forgo our Pittsburgh accom and hire car.
Hopefully we can make it for the 28th, otherwise it's no Fallingwater for me.

Anyway, we made the most of the situation. After heading back into town by cab, which was cool as our driver was a really interesting New Yorker, we headed to Grays Papaya Hot Dogs. Really really good. For $4.45 you get two hot dogs, grilled might I add, and a smoothie - awesome!

We couldn't really head out tho that nite, the snow had gotten really heavy, and winds were fast. There was even Snow Thunder, which I don't really know about, but the NBC news guy was super excited about on the TV. Americans really make things into a big drama. All the channels were running round the clock updates of the Snow storm, called Eye On The Storm.
I must admit it did get quite heavy and by the morning it was 15-20inches of cover.

So once again we made the best of the situation, we ordered in some Indian food and watched Forrest Gump in our apartment.

It was a good opportunity for everyone to catch up on some rest - it's been a busy week.

Missing u all.

- Blog from iMat

Day five: Christmas Day

Well Xmas day in New York was very different, but exactly what we were after.
We started the day opening our presents we each brought one another the day before and cooking breakfast in our apartment.
We then headed down to The Garden, or Madison Sq Gdns for those playing at home. We saw the NBA game between the Knicks and the Bulls. What a game, very close and with the Knicks just winning, made for a great atmosphere. Honestly Americans know how to cheer and make noise. Was a great experience sitting in the stands eating a giant pretzel and drinking a Bud watching NBA. The Knicks are actually pretty good this year, people are excited.
In the afternoon we went up to Central Park and had a twilight Ice Skate. We got there and it was packed, but strangely things moved pretty quickly. This seems to be the New York way, things get crowded but they still work. Surprise surprise Donald Trump owns the rink, he owns a lot of property in the city, his name is everywhere.
This was an amazing experience. Skating in the park with the city looking over you, listening to Billy joels uptown girl over the loud speaker, doesn't get much better. We skated for over an hour or so until the night came down and enjoyed a hot chocolate with marshmellows and cream. The coffee here maybe crap but the hot chocolate is mighty good!

That evening we went back to Hells Kitchen district for dinner and had a really nice Mexican feed.

We capped off Xmas day by checking out the Rockefeller Christmas tree and skate rink, before heading to the Top of the Rock. The observation deck here is awesome, better than Empire. Was so beautiful, New York lit up at nite - spectacular.

All in all, Christmas in new York was all I expected it to be, apart from the lack of snow!!!

On that note...


- Blog from iMat

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Day Four: Christmas in the Air

Today began with a trip to the Internet cafe. We also managed to find the first decent coffee in the city.
Today is Christmas eve and that means only one thing - shopping. So we did as New Yorkers do and went to Macys- the worlds biggest store. After spending a few hours there we strolled up Madison ave and 5th avenue. The shopping here is a who's who of fashion. We wandered into Tiffanys, Saks and my favourite - the NBA store.

After hours of shopping we made it home before heading out for a nice Xmas eve dinner at a restaurant in Hells kitchen district - which is where we are staying we discovered.

Xmas in New York is great - but not as great as home. Missing u all and Merry Xmas


- Blog from iMat

Saturday, December 25, 2010

day three: THE RABBIT!

Today was - well an eventful day to say the least!

We began by taking a bus right up the upper west side to Harlem, circling the park then coming back down thru the upper east side down to the Plaza Hotel. After spending a long time in FAO toystore, u know the one with the human size piano that Tom Hanks plays in BIG, we ventured around fifth and madison avenues before we went on the Sex and the City Tour.

First things first, there were other guys on the tour, three in fact, and yes, i did enjoy it. It was a really good way to explore the city as it took you everywhere; Union Sq Madison Park, Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, SOHO, and Bleeker St. We even went to a bar from the show and had Cosmopolitans (i had two, i needed them). But the highlight was definitely the Pleasure Chest Sex Toy Shop that they take you to - what an eye opener (if you know what i mean)! The famous Rabbit was there on the shelves as was a game called ass ring toss.

The night ended with the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Hall. What an amazing Theatre. Truly beautiful. I really enjoyed it actually. The dancing girls known as the Rockettes were amazing and it really made me feel like it was xmas. On the way back home we passed the Rockefellar xmas tree and ice rink before ending the nite with a Papaya Dog - Hot Dog!

Merry xmas to you all - have a wonderful day. Have plenty of food and Aussie Beer for us! We'll have a Bud!

day two - let me take you down cos im going to...

Day two started off by heading uptown - we saw the Guggenheim in the morning and the Natural History Museum in the Afternoon. Museums consume your day here, they are massive! At nite we went to a contemporary dance show by Alvin Ailey Danco Co.- the girls loved it - it was ok! Best part was the Black Gospel inspired number at the end - apparently his most famous piece from the 60's.

John Lennon popped up again today - we went to Strawberry Fields in Central Park and also saw where he was shot outside his hotel - very sad!

For me the highlight was of course the Guggenheim,  FLW's spiralling ramp had me in a spin! Cool exhibit on at the moment too linking conflict of early 20th century with classicism.

Natural History Museum was enlightening but way too big and convuluted - so hard to find your way around. I feel i could go a couple of rounds of trivia with Stephen Fry after it too! Still very cool - in particualr the entry hall, The Teddy Roosevelt Room - very interesting!

We also got the chance to wander a bit thru Central Park - very beautiful, but scary at the same time. Its amazing that you can feel so alone and isolated in such a massive city.

All in all, another hectic day in the big apple!

ps - the coffee is terrible here - eeewwwwwwww!

Day One: This is New York

Day one begun with us hitting the ground running. We literally did all the highlights of NYC. Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Wall St and Financial District and Times Square. We finished the nite with a Broadway musical, The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane. Was a funny adaption.

At first you feel like youre in a normal city, Sydney perhaps, but a tiny bit bigger (sic). Then you hear that New Yorker accent and you realise that youre a long way from home.

We did the touristy hop on hop off bus tour and to be honest it was awesome - you really do get to see a lot - and it helps get your bearings a bit.

My day highlight would have to be seeing the John Lennon Imagination Playground - it was a weird find, and i didnt realise where i was until i was there.

The funniest part of the day was the NYC skyride - it came free with our Empire State Tix, basically its a video screen slash ride, where the chairs shake and you get taken on this virtual ride through and over new york city by kevin bacon and scotty from Star Trek - SHITHOUSE!
Very funny though - so tacky, cliche, patriotic Americana - not to mention the bad Kevin Bacon footloose gags and beam me up scotty caper. But hey, it was free!

Anyway - day one over - exhausted!







Day 4 - NYC

Just a quick update, NYC is phenominal - more on that later though. (We're about to go Christmas Shopping)

As it's Christmas Day in Sydney, Mat and I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Sorry we can't be there to share it with you, but keep us up to date and send us through some photo's from the day!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Evening from Manhatten

Well we've made it.

The drive into Manhatten is amazing, the city skyline plays out in front of you, with the Empire State Bldg shining the brightest. The scale is crazy!

We're in our apartment now on West 37th St. It's a quaint, typical New York walk up, complete with abandoned fireplace; an external fire stair catwalk and air conditioners hanging out each window, rendering them unopenable.

All in all it's fantastic - a few blocks from Empire State Bldg, which is our first stop tomorrow!

Anyway - very tired now- it's been a long 40 hours and it's still Monday the 20th.

Let the adventure begin!


- Blog from iMat

Location:New York

Monday, December 6, 2010

Welcome - we're getting close now!

Two weeks away from take off now - excited, nervous, stressed and well...EXCITED!

So welcome to Simone + Mats travel blog through North and South America.

Looking forward to sharing it with you over the next 3 months!


- Blog from iMat