Making friends ... Not so much

So Nashville.... Not really a big fan but what can you do... They play country music everywhere... Even in the bathrooms so noone is safe :( we were good though and did that grand opry shit.... I would rather see hinder.. Yeah I said it! AND they stopped serving drinks an hour before it finished!!!! How retarded... I may have fallen asleep during one of the 91 year old midget cowboys song.. Good times! And we totally have a nemesis on tour YAY ... Just the sound of her voice makes me wanna rampage!!! She only eats fruit and air, appears to only drink water and during our photo stop yesterday she ran up and down stairs... Yeah my kinda person... In the land of not :) she was bagging us out to some old bird coz we don't like country .... Ah yeah coz country is lame... I'm gonna ram some blues down her throat today in Memphis ... See how she likes that shit Ok enough of the rant haha I hope everyone is well back home xox

Chicago to St Louis to Nashville

Well we left Chicago on our tour and apart from 2 others, everyone is over 50. Which is fine and kinda what we expected!


Day 1 we went to St Louis which was really pretty and we stayed in the old Union Station at a Marriott with uber comfy beds and pillows, yay!


We went to Gateway Arch and went up the 630 foot arch in 5 person cable cars. Pretty cool feat of engineering, it was built in the 60s.

The next day we continued to Nashville. Both of us dubious as we hate country music! Stopped on the way for some Southern fried chicken and fried okra with 'biscuits' (scones) and gravy. Found out later that a hailstorm with hail the size of baseballs hit St Louis and someone was killed, wow. 

On arrival in Nashville we got to use the hotel's pool and spa, very nice! 28 today in Nashville, a welcome change from Chicago. Then we got ready for our included night at the Grand Ole Opry - a country radio show broadcast nation-wide. Apparently a 'can't -miss' institution, hmmm. We tried to enjoy it but it was crap. Loz fell asleep and I hit the bar. 2 hours we're never getting back!

Today was also in Nashville and after last night's disaster evening we were even more dubious but it turned out to be a wonderful day! We went to Studio B where artists such as Elvis, Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers recorded and had a really good tour there. I got to sit at a piano Elvis has used. 

Then we went to the replica of the Parthenon which was deserted as you can't go inside on Sundays so we got some lovely pics:

Next we had a City tour and then Loz and I trekked 20 mins (well it felt like a trek in 31 degree heat!) to White Castle! For those who don't know, there's a movie called Harold and Kumar go to White Castle where 2 guys spend the entire movie trying to get there. Our trip is based on this so it was good to finally get there!

And it's hardly a blog post without some food! Later we went to a local restaurant and ordered a meal to share, all the below for $18.95! Catfish, frog's legs, cod, shrimp, crab cake, potatoes, fries, mushrooms and onions with 3 dipping sauces - that's meant to feed one person by the way!!!

Off to Memphis tomorrow, yay!

Chicago in a nutshell

Well today we're off to St Louis. Have packed a lot in during our time in Chicago so I won't go into detail but I'll outline some highlights/interesting points:


being called 'twin goddesses' by a homeless man
repeatedly walking in the wrong direction
Chicago Bulls NBA game
3 Michelin star dining at Alinea - including me sucking the taffy balloon and having it explode on my face and into my hair - apparently my face was priceless!
a shop devoted entirely to hot sauces
Hot Doug's hot dogs - the loaded 'Dog' as well as a crayfish and pork one and an Elk one!
Chicago deep dish pizza
Shopping tipsy after lunch margaritas
Taking stupid photos at Cloud Gate (the giant reflective jelly bean)
Loz trying to get 'real' coffee unsuccessfully... forking out for another cup and dumping it in the bin after one sip. Seriously America, get your act together!! Hopefully we'll have better luck down south.


Hot sauce shop

"

Cloud Gate:

Hot Doug's:

Chicago.. wings and all that jazz

So after our travel day yesterday we kinda chickened out on the hot wings we were planning to try - winner of hottest wings in Chicago 3 years running, the sauce is made from the Bhut or ghost chilli which is the 3rd hottest in the world... so yesterday we tried some of the lower level wings they make which were tasty but not at all hot, so today we went back. And we had a more more useful waitress who said we could just get 1 wing each instead of having to buy a whole basket so we split a basket of mixed wings and then got one hot wing each to try...

We had to sign a waiver to eat them hahaha.


Loz had her hot wing first and started sweating immediately and her glasses fogged up, and her lips swelled up too, I filmed her eating it. After a few bites she had a rest and I decided to try mine...


I was a bit worried! but I cut mine with a knife and fork as i didn't want it to get into my fingers or lips and I ate it on one side of my mouth only in case it ruined my taste buds - and it was hot but i didn't sweat or anything so I thought it was ok... and then the burn intensified and started to spread! and didn't stop and i had to have sprite in my mouth at all times or i felt like my mouth would explode. We had to sit there for around 20 mins sipping drinks before it was safe to move.


And all day random parts of our bodies started to burn!


The lady was telling us about their hot wing contest, the winner this year ate 52 in 5 mins!!! and they're jumbo wings. Insanity!!


After the wing madness we shopped some more and came back to do laundry. 


Tonight we had fish n chips at the Irish place next door which was ok.


Wing waiver: 




Wing of death: 


Oh yeah, we went to the aquarium as we are all cultured n stuff... after walking 3km in the wrong direction that is! Got to see a bird eating spider (or its legs, it was hiding) and experience around 30 school buses of screaming inconsiderate kids banging on the glass and generally being ANNOYING!!! Trust us to go on kid day...


Apparently Tassie is a country!

Nemo!

Piranha:

Tacky witches or historic gem?

Just at the airport, awaiting our delayed due to mechanical failure flight to Chicago....


Yesterday was Salem, which was the cutest little gem of a town, I wish we had longer there! Although it was 7 degrees with an apparent temp of 3, so it wasn't that fun to be outside!


Arrived on the train at Salem depot and jumped in a cab. '47 Summer St' I said and was asked by the stinky taxi driver 'which town?'! Apparently all the local towns have a Summer Street... anyway we arrived and the b&b was shut up tight. Hmmmm, so Loz called the number and Peg (the owner) had no knowledge of our booking as her email got hacked around the time we booked! Luckily tourist season isn't until next week so the room was free (well the whole b&b was!) So we waited and Peg came and met us and we got to check in at 11am which was a nice change!


Peg the owner was awesome, she gave us a map and drew directions to all the places we wanted to go and others her previous guests recommended. We walked into town which only took a few minutes, such a tiny and cute town! 


We took the 1 hour trolley tour around and got heaps of info on the history of the town and the buildings. Much more to Salem than the witch trials of 1692.


Afterwards we had lunch and then hit the tacky witch shops. It's interesting, half the town is trying to milk the witch trials and the other half is determined to show tourists that there is more to the town.


I had a tarot reading with creepy cross-eyed Michael and then it started pouring so we went and had coffee and decided to see a movie, saw the Hunger Games.


Afterwards we hit Finz seafood, which we had researched beforehand. We both ordered a glass of Californian merlot and spicy Tequila lime shrimp enchiladas - YUM!!


Afterwards we walked back in the rain (as the town is so small it was hardly worth getting a taxi) and relaxed on the world's comfiest sheets - really velvety and soft. Asked Peg about them in the morning and she said that everyone comments on the sheets and they're just from a discount store!


This morning Peg laid us out a continental breakfast feast - 2 types of cereal, whole fruits and berries, tea and coffee. Then she advised us of 6 different types of bread she had and 4 types of cake! So we had some English muffins and then I had some raisin and pecan toast and Loz had a cinnamon roll. Go Peg!


Salem housing/mansions:

Tacky store window display:

Tequila lime shrimp enchiladas!

Pretty - Salem at night:

Loz first post

So I think this is going to blog and shit... I'm on my phone so expect child like spelling :) all I have to say is I smashed the shellfish platter at barking crab Boston... I was a walking crab crime scene... I had a bib and a bucket and a smile hehe I stank like a crabby whore but who cares coz im on holidays baby :) my feet have been pretty good but I have discovered I have old lady hips... Like popping creaking zimmerframe mofo hips waaaaaaaa but I'm pushing through the pain (I'm hardcore like that) off to Salem now to get my freak on with some cat dolls and a shitload of lace curtains.... I'm hoping for some hideous accommodation and an overly friendly Peg to look after us! I want tacky witch hats and spells... Prepare thyself Salem ... The crab whore is on her way

Off to Salem

Well it's 5.30am here... why am I up? Because we decided to have a nap before dinner last night and never woke up! So now I have 2.5 hours to kill before breakfast.

Speaking of breaky, our hostel sure knows how to put on a spread! There is a cafeteria style line where you get served hot food - porridge, eggs, crispy bacon, spuds, sausages, French toast - there is a make your own waffle bar!! as well as cereal, fruit, fruit salad, bagels and spreads, pastries, juices, coffees, etc. Awesome. Bring on 8am, pretty hungry after skipping dinner!

Yesterday we spent most of the morning and early afternoon on our feet. Wandered from the hostel towards the wharf area where the markets and some tourist attractions were. Stopped off at the site of the Boston Massacre and then went to the Cheers bar replica for an early morning bloody Mary! Had a really friendly bartender who gave us some tips.

Next stop was Hard Rock to pick up some shot glasses for my collection - I may need a new spot to store them after this trip!! Then we did the Harbour Walk which was very scenic and ended up at Barking Crab for our lunch reservation

Loz got the chill platter - lobster, crab, oysters and prawns while I got the fried fisherman's platter - scallops, clams, prawns, fish - yum! Portions are HUGE and very well priced over here.

Afterwards we got a taxi to Hynes Convention centre for the Boston Comiccon, which was insanely busy but a lot of fun. Many people dressed as their favourite superheroes, some better than others! Lots of comic book illustrators were there so there was some fantastic art on display and for sale.

Next we hit the shops for an hour or so before coming back for our 'nap''.

Today we are off by train to Salem for the night, should be fun!

Me at Cheers:

Me and my giant lunch:

Me and the Ghostbusters at Comiccon!

Boston Baby!

Morning all, well it's morning here in Boston, which is a city that apparently never sleeps... thought it must be 8am when I heard blaring music but it was 2.38am and someone was just driving past.


We are staying in a hostel which is pretty basic but has free breaky, wi-fi and a popcorn cart full of delicious of popcorn! The small things :-)


Yesterday we caught the train here and walked to our hostel, 3 blocks in the wrong direction first of course! Had lunch at a local restaurant, got a table at 5 to 12 when it was pretty empty and by 12 it was full! Loz got the 1/2 soup, half salad and I got the calamari pomodoro on angelhair pasta - HUGE for $11.95.


Afterwards we went and caught the train out to Harvard and wandered the beautiful campus. Back to get changed and then off to Island Creek Oyster Bar, TripAdvisor's no 1 Boston restaurant for tea. We had to book 2 months ago to get our reservation but it was worth it! Amazing food. Free bread with butter infused with honey, cayenne pepper and salt, followed by some natural oysters - the range had over 10 different Massachusetts oysters and some from other regions. I then had the New England chowder as you have to do that in Boston after all! and it was the best I've ever had. My main was a lobster roll, lobster in a tangy sauce in a baked rosemary roll. Mmmmmm. Meal of the trip so far.


Today we have a booking at another seafood restaurant and Loz is sooooo excited. Also planning to go to the Cheers bar and the Boston ComicCon (Comic Convention for you non-nerds).


Below: Calamari pomodoro

Harvard campus:

New England chowder:

Lobster roll: yes it came with Kettle chips!

New York New York

Hi all, me again!

On a 4 hour train ride from NY to Boston at the moment, gotta love how everywhere in the US has free wi-fi! Some lovely scenery outside but I thought I'd catch up on my ''admin'' of travel diary, cataloguing my photos and doing a blog post. Planned to write postcards but forgot to buy them!

Yesterday we spent a full day exploring NY city. It's our second time here and we did most of the sights in 2007 so we spent a few hours in the early morning wandering Times Square - it was a pleasant change for it to be uncongested. Weather in NY is very similar to Hobart so it was a cool morning.

Our plan was to go to the American Museum of Natural History so we jumped on the subway, only to discover that it was the wrong line and was going nowhere near where we wanted! So we got off, asked directions and bought more tickets. Jumped on the right line but realised at the next stop we were going in the wrong direction! Take 3- we got on the right train and got there right on opening time.

Spent 4 hours wandering the 5 floors of the museum - some fantastic displays of HUGE mammals, the world's oldest rock, the world's largest tree, every colour rock and gemstone imaginable, dinosaur bones and fossils, primates, Mayan and Aztec artefacts and more. Puts Hobart's museum to shame! Some pics below. Highlights were the sheer size of some of the mammals, the giant blue whale replica, python skeleton, dinosaur and extinct species bones and fossils, Easter Island statue.

Lunch at the museum then subway back to Times Square, Visted Hershey World, M&M world and a few other shops. Decided we would go see a musical so had a scout around and decided to see Sister Act. Rocked up at the theatre half an hour before the show and got front row on the mezzanine level at a discount, awesome! The show was great too. Went for a late night slice of pizza at Sbarro (yum) and back to the hotel to pack.

Me and the replica blue whale - took up the length of the hall!

Spider crab and other crustaceans:

Largest tree in the world - wouldn't even fit in the camera lens!!

Giant python skeleton:

T-Rex!

By Request...

The Emirates food! Breakfast on Dubai to NY leg: spinach and ricotta crepe,mushrooms, mini sausages, bacon and a hashbrown plus fruit, croissant, roll, juice.

and some random shots from Dubai airport - Arabic Fanta, squeezy spreadable cheese, souvenirs and te airport:

We are now in our NY hotel, having slept off the jet lag and ready for a big day in NY - off to the Natural History Museum!

Flights and Dubai

So Jetstar eventually got us to Melb, after we got to spend an extra half hour on the tarmac courtesy of another late plane. Lame but luckily we had time to kill.

We checked in and eventually departed on Emirates for Dubai. 6 rows from the back of the plane, near an annoying chatty lady who kept asking her friends stupid questions.

Emirates - good leg room, excellent entertainment system, but apparently they made the seat cushion from bricks. Have been off the plane for a while and my butt is now getting some feeling back in it. Food was decent, got dinner around 11pm - chicken with veg and mushroom sauce or lamb tagine with pulao. We both had the chicken and approved.

Breaky was scrambled egg with chive, sauteed mushys, potato and tomato ragout, also a croissant and fruit salad. Decent.

We were too lazy to get our cameras out hahaha so no food pics yet. Flight was 4 hours.

Now in Dubai airport, awaiting our second flight to NY (13 hours) - we should have had a stopover as neither of us wants to get back on a plane!!

Loz scored a free Sprite at the supermarket/duty free/shop that had a whole wall of Tang and bottles of spreadable cheese for sale - the lady claimed to take 16 currencies but then couldn't break Loz's $1 US notes - so she gave it to her!

But looking forward to a power nap at the hotel and then off to Times Square to soak up the atmosphere and grab some dinner. More later!

Last Supper

Mum was kind enough to produce my request of a roast dinner - lamb AND chicken - with alllll the trimmings. Go Mum. Under all that gravy is meat, roast potatoes and pumpkin, beans, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, onion and cauli with cheese mmmmm.


Last home cooked meal for a while.... 12 hours and 2 mins til we board our Emirates flight!

Nearly time to go!

Well we've been planning for quite a while, and the guest list is down to 2.... but in 4 days Loz and I will be at the airport ready to board our Jetstar ticket out of here... let's hope they're on time!

Loz has packed basically nothing and I always packed too much so between us we should just survive. Bring on the adventure!