New York blog

NEW YORK! how exciting! I can't believe we are here! I've wanted to visit this city for so long. Didn't do it on the last trip and so glad we are here now. I love this city!! 

MONDAY: After resting on Sunday we were both ready to hit the town. We headed to Times Square today. Love it. Absolutely love it. Because it was Monday it wasn't as busy as some of the other days so it was nice. We walked around checking out some of the theatres and had lunch at TGI Fridays. Got our bearings and chatted about the plans for the rest of the week. We went to the Harry Potter exhibit (New York is it's last stop) and then after lunch went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I was impressed I must say. I think they finished it off well. 
Walking around times square we got stopped by a guy giving out David Letterman tickets. Thankfully James got the trivia question right so our plans for Tuesday altered as we got tickets!! Had dinner in the city and headed back to the apartment. 

TUESDAY: Straight to Museum of Modern Art for our first museum stop. I liked this museum. It was fresh (hence being modern lol) and kept me interested. They had a Kathryn Bigelow exhibit which was very interesting. After MoMA James and I headed to CBS Studios for the Late Show with David Letterman. Lined up, got our tickets and then were hand picked for front section seats! I was so excited!!! When we were seated we had second row and in the middle. A great view of the whole stage particularly the guests of the show which were a jazz band, two of the soccer girlsfrom the USA team that came 2nd inthe world cup and Steve Carell!! Woohoo! Was a great show and a great experience. 
Walking back down to Times Square we got drenched but it didn't matter. 

WEDNESDAY: We firstly decided to try to get lottery tickets to Wicked. Unfortunately were unsuccessful. :( But keeping the spirits high we headed to the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum. Took the metro train up there and walked across central park. The Museum itself is very cool with a very different architecture to it but I was extremely disappointed with the exhibit they had on. It was from an artist called Lee Ufan an seriously this kind of 'art' a five year old could do. All it was was pieces of metal on top of rocks. Or a rock in the middle of glass. Or a very simple painting on white canvas with a box in it and there were about 15 of these with the same box but in a different spot onthe canvas!!! BORING! Thankfully the museums permanent art collection included some Monets, Van Gogh, and Picasso and that made up for it. 
We headed back to the centre of the city to try once again for the Wicked Lottery. Alas no luck again. So we decided to go to the top of the Empire State building. 
What an amazing view from up there. It was a little hazy but still beautiful. Times Square is so bright with all of the. Advertising panels and the Chrysler building looks pretty cool. We went up at dusk and stayed for about an hour and a half til dark. Then headed home after a long day on our feet. 

THURSDAY: We went to the Financial District today. It was extremely hot. Walked down Wall Street and then down to Battery Park to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.   I thought the statue was pretty cool and all that it represents for America. The crown was closed to the public today. 
After the islands we walked to ground zero. They are re building there a new memorial which will open on the 10 year anniversary so we couldn't see much as it was all blocked off. A very sombre place. Even I could feel the terror and tragedy that rests there. 

FRIDAY: Thinking I need a holiday from my holiday!! My feet are exhausted. Seriously. We have been walking quite a bit every day and my feet and calf muscles need a break! Still I am thoroughly enjoying this holiday and I'll rest when we get to Fiji in a few days. 
First on the agenda, breakfast at Tiffany's. :) Eyed off some nice jewelry that was way out of my budget and felt like Audrey Hepburn. 
Then Museum day! Off to the American Museum of Natural History then to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Big day!! 
Highlights at AMNH-Star show in the planetarium and the big whale. 
The Met- the Monets, Van Goghs and all the Art from that era, plus the sculptures and actual architecture of the building. 

SATURDAY: Massive itinerary today. James and I planned an attack of some sights to visit and quickly take photos today before we headed to MARY POPPINS on broadway!!!!! 
After washing some clothes, we first went to the exterior of the Friends building and took some piccys. Then to the Washington Arc, then off to Mary Poppins! Mary Poppins was amazing!! I totally loved it. Money well spent. We then travelled home via the State Library, the NHL store and the NBC store. 

SUNDAY: Bit of a late start to the day. But once we got going our feet took us to the Intrepid Museum of Air, Space and Sea. James was like a big kid in a toy store! It wa pretty cool seeing some amazing planes and a submarine and the actual intrepid ship which is what the museum is housed in. Afterwards a trip to some flea markets. We were very disappointed as they were classic flea markets with very very old things. Would be good if you were after antiques or 1940s clothes but we weren't! Anyways we made our way to 14th street to meet Tamara!!  Yay!! Had dinner with Tamara then to Hillsong NYC. Very different to Hillsong in Sydney but still just as crowded. :) We managed to find a Max Brenner after church and I got myself a chocolate syringe so I went and shot up in Union Square and fed my chocolate addiction. Lol

MONDAY: Time to attack Central Park on bikes. Thankfully the weather had finally cooled down after some scorching sticky days. At 29degrees it was much more comfortable than 38. So we hired bikes at the park and went exploring. It's been years since I've been on a bike and I'll admit it took a little getting used to but in the end apart from being extremely unfit I was ok. 
We went through Strawberry Fields and saw the John Lennon memorial Imagine Mosaic, then to the Friends fountain and other fountains and along the way passed carousels, the place where they have ice rinks in the winter, and many beautiful little bridges. 
After our bike hire was over we sat down and injected ourselves with all the calories we had just lost bike riding. Lol. Tamara then met up with us again (Yay!) and we hit a few little spots around town. First to the Alice in Wonderland Statue. It started to rain on the way and neither of us had umbrellas. Oh well. It's only water! Then to Serendipity. Unfortunately there was an hour and a half wait to sit and eat so just had a few photos then went to the big toy store called FAO Schwarz where Tom Hanks played on the Big Piano in the movie Big. You guessed it James and I had a go on the piano too! 
Had a great afternoon with Tamara. Was good to get the opportunity to see her. :) 
T dropped us home and James and I dried off before heading out to dinner and a movie. We watched Horrible Bosses which was pretty funny!! 

Today we head to Coney Island and then off to The Addams Family cal starring Brooke Shields. 

Tomorrow we head back to LA for a few hours before boarding our flight to FIJI! Where there will be no use of electronics. It's our Holiday from our Holiday. 

Back on the 1st August. See you all then. :) xox

Denver... City of my American family and the Rockies!!

I had a great time in Denver with Nanette and Ray (my sister in law Savannah's parents for those that don't know) and everyone else. I'm so glad we dropped in for a few days and were able to kinda relax a bit a reenergize. Thankyou to Nanette and Ray who looked after us so well. James and I love you both and we enjoyed every moment!!

THURSDAY: Had a dreadful time getting to Denver. Plane ended up broken so we had to switch planes and ended up 2 hours later than expected. Oh well. :( we got there in the end, a bit worn out after getting up so early but still keen to get into the itinerary planned for us!! :) dropped our things off at the Gottfried's and had a some homemade lunch!! Yummo!

We then headed to the city to meet up with Uriah (Sav's bro). We also met up with Caleigh and Michelle and their friends and family for some yummy crepes. Mouthwatering!! Then off to the Rockies baseball game. Had so much fun there with the girls and enjoyed yelling Go The Rockies! When it's meant to be Go Rockies. and laughing with Caleigh trying to do an Aussie accent. Rockies won 12-2! Smashing. Extremely exhausted we headed home to rest up for Friday. It's a shame this was the only time we saw Michelle. There always be a next time!

FRIDAY: The rain had cleared and after a little sleep in we headed out to the Rocky mountains and Idaho Springs. We headed up to the Lookout mountain and got a great view of Denver. Met up with Nanettes niece Sarah and her hubby Grant and little girl Desi. After some happy snaps we headed to Idaho Springs for a classic Colorado treat at Beau Jos pizza. They have these huge mountain pizzas so yummy.

The fresh mountain air was beautiful and so refreshing after all the cigarettes in Vegas. On the way back I fell asleep but not before spotting buffalo and deer. :)

We had dinner with Uriah and his wife Sarah and Nanette. Was great fellowship with family and great food. Ray came home later on and we spent some time chatting and enjoying the catch up! He also showed us his gun collection... 

Ray reminds me of my Dad quite a bit. :)

SATURDAY: Red Rock day! I discovered along the way that Ray owns a Harley Davidson. :) very nice. Ray took me for a ride up to the place they call Red Rocks. So I got all Harley'd up with my helmet and my black outfit and was ready to ride. I had so much fun on the back! It rained on us but I didn't care. We were dry in seconds. What an awesome experience to ride up the mountains on a Harley! Thanks so much Ray! Sorry Dad... Your turn next time. :) when we got up to Red Rocks unfortunately the theatre was closed. it's an open air theatre created using the natural red rocks around it. Pretty impressive. Ray used to production manage it. Great views from the top too. Uriah and Sarah joined us as well.

On the way home Nanette drove James and I to the place where Dave proposed to Savannah. But first we went on a deer and buffalo hunt. We found deer but no buffalo. At Denver golf course there is a beautiful view of the city. It would be very romantic there at night and I know Dave chose the best place. I wanted to go up there to see the special place that would mean so much to my bro and sis in law. :) Love you guys.

Back at the ranch we prepared for the party held in our honor. Was so good to see Caleigh again and meet some more people from Colorado! Thanks again to Nanette and Ray for all the trouble you went to for the party! Unfortunately I had the beginnings of a migraine so couldn't stay up too late but enjoyed it still. Even had a skype chat with Dave and Savannah! 

SUNDAY:Another early start to the day and a long flight to New York. I really wasn't feeling the best today. In fact really sick with a migraine and flying was the least of what I should have been doing. We made it to New York though and met up with our host for our AirBNB room Ben. We are staying in Downtown Manhattan near Greenwich Village. It's so convenient to everything. Anyways... I was really not well, so we ended up sleeping the afternoon away and getting some Thai for dinner. First day we haven't taken any photos... weird. But I felt so much better and ready to face anything the next day!

Vegas... Sin City continued...

VEGAS Cont... 

MONDAY 11th July: Today the four of us hired a car and headed out to the middle of nowhere to see a great wonder of the world. The Grand Canyon!! It was amazing. I'm a little scared of heights when there is no barrier so I stayed away from the unfenced edge an just admired Gods creation.

On the way back we encountered some full blooded rednecks from Arizona. They pulled into the petrol station drunk and got out of the car saying "hey you wanna see the rattlesnake we just caught?" ah I don't think I had a choice!! The others came out of the shop and joined me to see this deadly snake in a bucket (there was a mesh lid stopping it from coming out). It was mad. Very mad. Made a very loud rattle noise. Then the crazy American thought it would be better for us to take photos with the lid off!!! WHAT?!! So he pulled back the lid. James got a couple of photos see below. It's a green mahive rattlesnake. One of the most deadliest snakes in America. To top it all of our first experience of an American with a gun walks out. Exactly what you see in the movies. Long white beard, cowboy hat, gun in his gun belt, cowboy boots and strolls over to the crazy snake catches. He knows them as they are locals. his wife tells us to stay clear of that snake. I had every intention to!! Lol.

On the way back we stopped at the infamous Vegas sign for some

Pics then to late night happy hour teppanyaki. Chef was awesome and food tasted so great after a long day in the desert.

TUESDAY: today James and I went down the south end. We went to the MGM grand first. I wish we had done this earlier. They have a cool lion habitat there but just my luck they let the cubs take a rest on tues and wed from photos where you can actually touch them for only $25 you get a great photo with them and able to PT these amazing creatures. We leave on Thurs morning so that really sucks!!!

Anyways after doubling Lisa's $10 on roulette for her we watched the lions for a while. Then headed to the M&M Factory. So cool in there you can even personalize your m&ms! Then on to hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Excellent juicy steak and great cocktails. We passed the Harley Davidson cafe on the way back to our room. Pretty cool inside.

We even braved the New York New York rollercoaster! The rest of the day was spent cruising the strip, avoiding card flickers and we even came across a drunk smoking 70year old Minnie mouse!! Lol. 

On Tuesday evening we had dinner with Jackie and Jamie and Brendon and Laraine at the Paris restaurant called Mon Ami Gabi. James and I then went up the Eiffel tower for a great view of the strip! 

WEDNESDAY: Our last day in Sin City. I headed down to the MGM for their daily 11am tournament whilst James went to the Gun Store to shoot some automatic machine guns. Unfortunately I fell just short of the money again. But I had a great view of the Lions whilst playing. James came back from the gun store looking like a kid walking out of a toy store! Lol. He had fun needless to say.

I had a couple more casinos I wanted to look at so we went for a final walk of the strip. Went into the Bellagio and I got a one dollar chip, kept going on to Caesars Palace then to the Mirage. I liked the outlay of the mirage. Had a look at the out lay of the casino and the inside gardens and even won $15 on blackjack. :) Then we went across to Treasure Island before heading to the Venetian to see how Brendonio and Jackstar were doing in the Deepstack main event. Both doing ok at the time so Laraine joined us for some free drinks courtesy of Brendon's tournament tickets. Had a little trouble using them but ended up with $60 free drinks!! Woohoo!!

Said our goodbyes to Brendon, Laraine and the gang before we headed over to Treasure island again to see the Sirens show. WOW! how disappointed was I?!!!! It was basically lame actors and dancers that clearly can't get jobs in the real world and here was the only place they got hired! It was terrible. Choreography was terrible, script was terrible, was a complete waste of time but at least now I can say I've seen it. Lol. Do not be fooled. This is not a kids pirate show as it used to be!!

Thankfully on the way back to the Flamingo we stopped at the Mirage wondering why everyone was staring at the water feature and we got a great volcanic eruption show to watch. Totally made up for the lack of a pirate show. Was pretty cool!

Nice way to end Vegas. Til next year!!!!