New York

After checking into our cupboard (which they called a room) in Murray Hill New York it was time to go exploring.
After wandering up 5th Ave, we headed to the Morgan Library for a bit more history and culture (just incase Washington and Philly wasnt enough). A private collection of art and history by one very rich man (the father of J.P Morgan Bank) with way to much money in the early 19th century - no photos allowed. Then to the Turkish Kitchen for dinner for the most satisfying and flavoursome meal so far on our trip.

The following day was Dom's birthday - to spend it how ever she wanted. It started by shopping on 5th Ave (Saks, Tiffanys, Fendi, Abercrombie & Fitch, Cole Haan ...) before having high tea (and champagne) at The Plaza






After high tea is was off to a rooftop bar 230 5th looking up at the Empire State Building for a few, ok lots, of Cosmopolitans and Brooklyn Brews and partying the night away. This is the view from the bar (the red on the top corners are the glow from the heaters)


The following week was nonstop! Literally! Lots of walking (we bought a pedometer in Philly and Dom averaged about 20,000 steps/day!) and lots of Subway riding (which puts any other public transport system to shame). We either shopped, ate or drank in or around Soho (we found an Italian pasta place here so good we ate there twice), Little Italy, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Noho, Midtown, Fashion District, Times Square, the Battery/Staten Island Ferry, NoLita, Tribeca, Gramery, Flatiron District, West Village (where we stumbled on the Magnolia Bakery from SATC), Harlem, Rockefella Plaza, the Frick Collection, Grand Central Station... and so many more we cant remember right now. We have hundreds of photos that might help explain the magic of this place!

Click here to see this map even bigger

One night we saw The Lion King musical on Broadway at Times Square. "Best musical I had ever seen!" said Dom as we walked out of there theatre - it was pretty darn impressive!


Times Square after The Lion King


Shopping at the M&Ms store in Times Square


My birthday was a little more low key then Doms, but just as enjoyable! There was no baseball games on the the day so the day before we did a tour of the brand new Yankees Stadium, including on the ground and in the Yankees dugout which was really cool. Later that night we headed back up to the stadium in the Bronx to see the Yankees lose to the Tampa Bay Rays. It was tough going for the Rays because I would have been one of about 20 people in a packed stadium of 50,000 cheering (ever so softly) for them.

The following day (my actual birthday) we were up early to go up the Empire State Building before the crowds and queues started. We then had lunch at a Thai restaurant in Noho before heading to the very top of Central Park to walk thru what we hadnt already seen. We were a little tired by this stage and luckily we stumbled accross a patch of grass which resembled a mattress so a snooze was in order. That night it was dinner and lots of drinks at The Peculiar Pub in Greenwich Village. Which had over 300 varieties of beer (including Tooheys New which I had to have because I knew Dave and Matt were doing the same on my birthday too!) and it had the same kinda vibe as Dirty Franks... Just my scene!

The view looking south from the Empire State Building towards Downtown and the Financial District of Manhatten (the big white building bottom centre of where the rooftop bar is where we had Doms birthday drinks the week before


And with a bit of zoom...


Looking north from the 88th floor of the tallest building in NY (it used to be the third tallest...)
Times Square mid left, Central Park beyond that and Manhattan stretching out as far as you can see


Central Park. If you weren't in a clearing you would swear you could be in the Blue Mountains... No city noise, only animals and water!


It is incredible just how big this park in the middle of a city actually is!


Birthday celebrations at the Rockefella Plaza


The Yankees dugout on the stadium tour


Our view for the game


To finish off our time in NY, we ended up at the Comic Strip Live comedy club for a tearfully funny night. This place was the origins of some great comics... Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Drew Carey, Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, Ellen Degeneres... and we were second from the front for $10 tickets! Check out these guys on Youtube to see what it looks like. It is very familiar.

And maybe because we were in New York and it was our birthdays, we lashed out and bought ourselves presents... A sterling silver and diamond ring from Tiffany & Co and a Nixon 51-30 watch...


Can you tell whose is whose?


All in all, we had the best time in New York! The location of our place, what we saw, where we shopped, ate and drank, the whole experience was unreal! It is definately a place we'll be coming back to. And as we both agreed, definately a place we could live and work in for a while!!!

Philly

Outside City Hall, this spire is only 7 feet shorter then the Washington Monument... 548ft tall


The view from the top looking towards the Museum of Art, the 'LOVE' sign infront of the fountain




In the 'arms and armor' exhibition in the museum




Where the Declaration of Independance was signed in 1775, kicking Britain out of power and forming the '13 united states'


Mary Ann from Moberg took us out to an Amish area outside of Philly. They are really religoius and communal people with simple (no electricity or dependance on the outside world) but satisfying lives. Some of their beliefs and ways made a lot of sense. We visited an old Armish house and farm which was an eye opener
These were taken driving around




At a music gig with Ben and Sara


Our last night in Philly, and surprise surprise - we spent it at Franks with Dick, Sheila and Sara

Washington DC

After a short stopover in Philly for the weekend (mainly at Dirty Franks - including breakfast there on Sunday at 4pm), Washington DC was next.

Canberra on steroids! So much stuff on their history and in their museums that you need to spend weeks in each museum to look and read most of it.

We were going to write more about what we did but to get this thing currentish, just photos and descriptions...

Outside the Capitol, the guy on yop is 9m tall!


At work with old mate Barrack and the dumb one


Dom addressing the nation


Having a snooze on the grass outside the Capitol


National Air and Space museum - the most visited museum in the world


Pretending to be an astronaut


Washington Monument, 555 feet tall


Spotto Dom bottom left with her arms up


The view from the top, the WWII memorial, the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial in the distance


The only decent view of the front of the White House was from the top of the Washington Monument. We walked around the whole thing looking for a better view but all we got was sunburnt


The Lincoln Memorial


Doms favorite bar in Adams Morgan - the Madams Organ


Shooting pink teddy bears on the ipad

Vegas Baby Vegas

Wow, what a surreal place that never sleeps. Thanks to The Bellagio on night one for the spending money! A few $10 winning hands at roulette paid for the Blue Man Group show we saw at the Venetian. Then, over the next few nights we set about eventually losing it all throughout the other casinos, which luckily wasn't that painful.


Each casino has a completely different draw card and we spent days walking thru all of them. The Ballagio has a huge fountain show every half hour each night (it's only water but it is so impressive!), the Venetian has a canal complete with gondalas running thru its shopping centre, the MGM Grand has a lion enclosure, New York New York a roller coaster. Others include pirate shows, waterfalls, real flamingoes...

Night one, after our win


The Bellagio Fountain


The Blue Man Group; hilarious, awkward and mind blowing all at the same time!


Underneath the lion's den at the MGM Grand


Me in St Marks square... Oh yeah, it's in the Venetian Casino/Hotel..


Not sure what's gone wrong with me in the photo but we had a caesar salad in a mexican restaurant on a Venetian canal at 10pm (the ceiling is painted with sky and clouds as the whole place is this lit up all day long. Like I said - all very surreal


Dom on a bridge over the canal, just a short stroll up from where we had dinner

Los Angeles

Finally had some time to work out how to load these photos up here on the iPad... So here goes:

First stop was LA-
Dom with Shirley Temples tiny hands and footprints from 1935, just outside the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard


The closest I'll ever get to meeting my (second) favorite girl


Also day one we went on a celebrity homes topless bus tour thru Hollywood, up to the big Hollywood sign, thru Beverly Hills, Belair and down Rodeo Drive... We saw a lot of front gates and hedges including this one - formally Michael Jacksons


We were one of the first thru the gates at Universal Studios which was good. We had all of the major rides done before the crowds arrived. We even had time to do 'The Mummy' ride twice which, according to Dom was "scarier the second time because I had my eyes open!"
Just outside The Simpsons 3D ride


The last day we took to buses down to Santa Monica and back thru Rodeo Drive. We were a little under dressed for the weather and the classyness of the area so no photos of us that day
Santa Monica on a bitterly cold and windy day


Who on earth could justify spending US$1100 on a pair of shoes.. Its only ribbon tied in a bow around a shoe!