All Good Things… Part 2

So we've been home now for just over a week and I have had the worst "man flu" (watch this video for an explanation... video)I've had in a long time! But it does give me a chance to write my final blog entry, but keep your eyes open for Wookey's last post which is still to come!!

Our third day in NYC begins at our regular coffee house, Culture Espresso for a great coffee and yummy breaky while we plan our day.  Our first tourist stop was the “Ghost City Station" on our way to Brooklyn.  This is a closed subway station that you will sometimes see photographs of, but can never really get to without staying on the train at the end of the line and you will go past it, but you have to be quick!


We make our way to Brooklyn where we head to "One Girl Cookie" for some Spiced Pumpkin Woopie pies and hot chocolate.  So yummy, it's not a cookie and not really a cake, but it's soft and tasty! Next stop was the Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain for an egg cream soda!  These are soooo good, creamy, fresh & and slightly tangy.  Contrary to the name it does not contain egg or cream, it's a little milk, chocolate syrup and soda water which is mixed until frothy (check out this link for more info... here). Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain is still decked out like a 1920's drug store and sells all sorts of bottled, jarred & canned goodies, like bloody mary mixes, ice-cream sauces and other yummies.  We grabbed a little lunch and drank our fresh egg cream soda before taking a VERY long walk (due to incorrect instructions from the soda jerk) to the Brooklyn Bridge and across to Manhattan.  Once back on the island we walked though the Grand Central Station Market which is very much like a cross between an indoor Queen Vic Market and the Myer Food hall, and then headed over to the Midtown Comics for some t-shirts and comics.  


It's time for some dinner and if you're looking for some great BBQ ribs then you have to check out "Rub BBQ".  Served on paper plates with paper napkins and with drinks in plastic cups, the ribs are SO good and the chicken wings in American with burn your lips off!! Paper plates aside, the service was fantastic and the food great, but it was time to walk it off.  So we headed down to the gay district of NYC (well one of them), which is Chelsea.  I found it to be a really interesting contrast between New York's gay district and the Castro in San Fran.  The Castro seemed to be busy no matter what time we were there morning or night and just hummed with friendly faces and constant smiles.  Chelsea on the other hand was almost the complete opposite, with very few people around and it really seemed very small and quiet. As we were walking back to the hotel we did come across a little bakery which seemed to be very popular, called Billie's Bakery where I purchased a small spiced pumpkin cheesecake and David got a half kilo slice of banana cake! Without a word of a lie, the slice of cake was MASSIVE!!! 

The weather in NYC took a dive from a very low teens to -3 degrees celsius in the morning and climbing to a modest 0 degrees by 2pm in the arvo!!  This was our fourth day in NYC, where we walked the High Line Park, which is a garden build on the old de-commissioned above city rail line.  It stretches around 23 blocks (1.5 miles) and is a great way to see some of the city.  We then walked downtown to Christopher St and the Stonewall Inn which is the site if the Stonewall riots in the '69.  Again I was a little disappointed as it was kind of a non event. There just didn't seem to be any real sense of "community" here (of couse this could be very different at night?). We then walked across to Union Square and the Flat Iron building where we grabbed some lunch at the Shake Shack.  This was a VERY nice burger and the peanut butter shake was just divine! LOL, Americans LOVE their Peanut Butter favoured food and drinks!!


At this point we really needed to keep walking as we were FREEZING! So it was off to the International Centre of Photography back up in midtown.  This was one of my major highlights in NYC and possibly one of the major highlight of the whole trip.  One of the things I was really looking forward to in USA was seeing a great collection of photography, and until this point I'd been kinda disappointed.  The Centre had three exhibits going when we visited, and we were lucky enough to have caught a free tour of all three just as we arrived. 


The three exhibits were:

• Signs of Life: Photographs by Peter Sekaer

"A Danish documentary photographer, Peter Sekaer (1901–1950) was one of the key contributors to U.S. government photographic projects during the Great Depression."


This was a really interesting exhibit for me, I found his strongest images where those of his portraits.  He had a really great way of being able to connect with people and portray a very human and "real" story in him images. I found some of his architectural shots really captivating, especially those with great detail captured. He had a very good eye for being able to "document" details and a strong ability to create great stories in a very simple image. However, like a number of documentary photographers of his time, he wasn't above "stepping into the frame" and creating an image if one did not present itself.  What I mean by this is, there's an image of a group of children fighting over something on the ground in front of the photographer. What had occurred was that Peter had seen these very poor children playing and had thrown a handful of pennies on the ground in front of him, thus "creating" the image he needed, showing how poor the children were and that they would fight other each other just to get a few pennies. Ethical? You decide...

• Harper's Bazaar: A Decade of Style

"In the ten years since Glenda Bailey became Editor in Chief of Harper's Bazaar, she and Creative Director Stephen Gan have carried on the magazine's tradition of publishing high-impact photography. This exhibition distills that decade into a choice group of nearly thirty images by some of the most important photographers working today..."

This was a fantastic exhibit of outrageous colour and fashion, both fun and thought provoking.  Images ranging from extreme high fashion, tongue in cheek faux paparazzi & mockumentaries, to classic beauty portraits and unorthodox "naked" beauty portraits (ie without any make-up).  There were some truly stunning images here. I really recommend checking out the website to see a selection of what was on display.  - ICP website

• Remembering 9/11

"In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the International Center of Photography is collaborating with the National September 11 Memorial Museum on Remembering 9/11, a major exhibition of photography and video that addresses the issues of memory and recovery from disaster and explores how New Yorkers and volunteers from across the U.S. responded to this inconceivable tragedy."

This is one of the most emotional exhibits I've ever had the privilege of seeing in my life thus far.  I have not had such a strong emotional response to a collection of art since visiting the Vincent van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. This exhibition spans 5 rooms each with it's own photographer, except for the last room which is a collective of works.  

I was going to write a small piece on each of the five parts of the exhibit, but I don't think that my words are really adequate to capture and impart the emotional impact that the images evoked. The room that had the biggest impact for me was the "here is new york: a democracy of photographs" part of the exhibit.  

This is a collection of photographs captured by anyone & everyone, from world famous professional photographers to police officers, firemen, businessmen, housewives, school teachers, construction workers, and children. These images are so raw and in your face, images filled with pain & exhaustion, fear & hope, anger & grief.  I knew this was going to be a difficult exhibit to view when I heard about it, but these images just got to me, they are so powerful I moved to sobbing tears. I wish we could have spent more time here, but as has been the case all through the trip, we just ran out of time!  I feel I have not done justice to this exhibit so I strongly encourage you to check out the images for yourself. (here is new york: a democracy of photographs)

After an exhausting day; both physically & emotionally; it was time for room service dinner back at the hotel!

Our next day was spent SHOPPING!  (so gay!)
But then it was off to MoMA for some more culture, and again we were pressed for time so it was a real whirlwind tour with only enough time to whiz through the top two floors, before heading down to the third floor to the photographic exhibits.   You could easily spend a full day in this centre of art. Of course we did lose 45mins having to wait for the cloaking service so we could check our backpack.  

Welcome Seamus!

After an afternoon of culture and fine art it was time for some seriously childish fun, so it was off to FAO Schwartz, New York's most famous toy store, the place where they filmed that famous scene from the movie "Big".  One of the main reasons for coming here was that a friend (Thanx Blair!!) had told us about the "build your own Muppet" counter!! And thus Seamus was born!!  It's such a fun and easy process, you're given a full kit with three bodies to choose from, and you just use the supplied stickers to create your very own Muppet! It was so much fun.  The rest of the store is pretty awesome too, but I was surprised that it was so small, apparently it used to be about 5 floors, now it's been reduced to 3. I highly recommend checking this place out, it's just that much fun and such a great way to finish our night.


Our second late day in NYC (and the USA), we began the morning with coffee followed by shoe SHOPPING! (Yeah I know, so gay!)  I am pleased to announce that I have found my new range of comfortable and spunky shoes - Timberland!  There are sexy work boots, comfortable runners and very classy dress shoes, all in the one range!  But enough about shoes! LOL


It was now time to write postcards and blog entries, before getting ready for my birthday surprise Dinner & Show evening. After showering, shaving and sprucing up it was off to Broadway!  


Dinner was at the elegant Barbetta, a 106 year old classic, elegant and stylish Italian restaurant.  This place is  so good that even ex-president Bill Clinton & Hillary Clinton eat here!!  Of course we only found this out once we arrived at the restaurant, as the staff were being briefed about security for Mr & Mrs Clinton, who were to be dining here the following night.  I find it a little rude that they didn't invite us to join them!! ;-P  

Barbetta

Service here was very good but not excellent, we did have to ask were to cloak our coats as opposed to being asked if we would like them cloaked for us.  We were also served our food from the wrong side and they forgot to provide spoons for our coffee.  I know these all sound like little things and may even seem like knit picking, but at a place of this standard, it's the difference between good service and outstanding service!  The food on the other hand was just divine, so this more than made up for the little errors in service. After a very yummy dinner it was time for the Show!!  

Secret Show Revealed!

I'll be really honest here, I had no real desire to see Mary Poppins at all.  Even when it was playing here in Melbourne with one of our friends as the musical director, we didn't see it.  It probably didn't help that I'd never seen the film as a child, so I had no familiarity with the story or music at all. I had this strange preconceived idea that it was going to be a bunch of brats on stage singing about how wonderful they were. I'm really not sure where this idea came from, but it was so far off the mark.  


I'm so glad that David secretly brought tickets for this production.  It was just Magical!  The sets are fabulously elaborate, the music is so much fun and the story is simply wonderful.  It was full of emotion and magic, just like almost everything Disney does.  The actors were amazing and you can see just how much fun they were having doing the show as the audience was watching it.  I would highly recommend seeing this musical production whenever and wherever you get the chance, because it is just Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!! You really do come out of the theatre saying, "why didn't I have Mary Poppins as a nanny!"... Or maybe that's just me! :-)  Needless to say this was a wonderful way to finish our time in NYC and a magical birthday present!  Thank you my Love.

Empire State Building

Our last day in New York City, and America was a very quiet one moving at a nice slow pace.  We enjoyed our last coffee and Culture Espresso, then headed to the Empire State Building.  Of cause this was one of the only days that we had major cloud cover and it was kind of drizzling all day.  This meant that there was going to be zero visibility at the observatory level, but it was our last day so... 


It was an express ride up to the observatory level due to the limited visibility and there was NO line at all.  Once we arrived at the observatory level you understood what the term "zero visibility" really meant.  It means you can see white. Yep just white.

Empire State Building

As luck would have it, the wind kicked in and the fog began to lift and I did manage to get some really nice shots of the city with this dense white fog behind it.  After about an hour or so admiring the city from this height we needed to get into the warmth again and defrost.  So it was off to lunch and some famous New York cheesecake.  Mmmm creamy rich baked cheesecake, it was really very nice. Then it was back to the hotel and time to pack, followed by a brief trip through New Jersey to the airport and the beginning of our 20 something hour flight home.

There is so much that we didn't get to do in the US, so we will definitely be coming back.  Next time I think I'd give LA a miss and just go straight from Disneyland to San Francisco for another week, and then back to New York. I've really enjoyed my time in America and can't wait to return.


Thank you to everyone that has followed us through the blog and on facebook, your comments and support have been great!

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

All Good Things… Part 1

So here we are in the airport lounge, undertaking the final leg of our three and a half week journey; and as the saying goes; all good things must come to an end.

One thing I can say for certain is that I don’t think I’ve walked so much in a VERY long time! Once I’m home I’ll log into Google maps and plot out all the walking we’ve done around NYC, just to see how far it really was.  It’s crazy, you feel like you’ve done so little, but it’s not until you stop and reflect on what you did that day, that you really get a true sense of what you’ve accomplished.

This is partly due to that fact that you get caught up in the “pulse” of the City.  New York City has a heartbeat, and you really don’t understand that until you’re immersed in it. By which time it’s too late and you’ve already been swept up by it. You spend so much time “doing” and “moving” that before you realise it, it’s 10 o’clock at night, you’ve forgotten to have lunch and you’re just now looking for somewhere to eat dinner!

It so easy to do miles of walking a day in New York City, because the places you plan to go are within a few, to several blocks from each other.  So you begin walking 5-10 blocks to your first point, then another 10-20 blocks to the next one, then 2-4 long blocks over to the next and so on.  Soon you have walked so much that your feet are aching and your shoes are filling up with blood.  Ok slight exaggeration, but you get the point!

Another thing I’ve learnt from this trip is that going to a theme park like Disneyland, on the first or second day of your holiday, is THE BEST way to get into “holiday mode” allowing you to forget about home or work!  Of course we almost lost our voices in those first two days, but it was SO worth it!

Anyway on with the story!  We arrived at New York City JFK airport at around 10.30pm due to the plane being delayed in San Francisco.  This meant we arrived at the hotel around 11pm, so it was dinner in the hotel restaurant/bar called Niles.  Dinner was alright but I was feeling very horrid by this point.  Something had not agreed with me from that morning (or perhaps I was just getting a touch of flu?), so it was an early(ish) night to bed.

Our first real day in New York and I was still feeling pretty horrid with aches and pains all over and a not so happy tummy, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend the day in the hotel!!  So it’s off to Chelsea for breakfast (waffle & fresh fruit for me), before hitting the subway (after spending 25 mins working out how to buy a stupid metro card!!!) for Central Park.  We walked through a small section of the Park, before heading to the Museum of Natural History, where we spent the rest of the day walking our way through 4 levels of this huge building, including the planetarium, which was very ace!  By this point David was also feeling pretty crappy, so it was back to the hotel for dinner and bed.

Our second day was a much better start, though no coffee as I was still not feeling so crash hot in the tummy.  We made our way to Time Square to climb aboard the tour bus.  In retrospect, I would not recommend doing this in NYC as the traffic is just nuts!  Do yourself a favour and pick up one of their maps which will show you some great sightseeing points, and catch the metro.  We decided to get off at the Lower East Side (LES) stop so we could check out the legendary Katz Delicatessen.  

You walk into this unassuming corner store into what can only be described as organised chaos.  As you enter you are given a ticket for each person, this is your EXIT ticket too and must be provided upon exit whether you make a purchase or not.  If you lose your ticket you pay $50 upon exit, minimum!! After being given your ticket you make your way along a massive counter where 15-20 people are all serving the customers.  There are takeaways, soups, sandwiches, dinks & sides and you need to make your choices fast, or get left standing there.  The rest of the place is filled to squashing point with tables and chairs, where people have to share with strangers because it’s just that busy! Once you order your sandwich; we went with the Pastrami on Rye with Swiss cheese; your server with slice off a piece of the hot, fresh pastrami for you to sample, and there is only one word….. yyyyuuuuuummmmm!

Fresh rye bread, a thick spread of grain mustard, mountains of hot, juicy pastrami, a thick slice of swiss cheese, followed by more juicy pastrami. Oh, and a plate of assorted pickles! It just doesn’t get any better than this!

After licking our fingers clean, we pay up and head back to the subway, heading for the ferry to Liberty Is.  Sitting on one of the bench chairs in the subway station was my first piece of genuine NYC collectable street art, and it was photography to boot!! So I quickly pocketed the printed image and made our way to the Liberty Island ferry to see the Copper Lady.

The view from the ferry back out over NYC is pretty awesome.  And it only gets better at night when all the lights come on!  I have to say that the Statue of Liberty is a fairly impressive monument; she's elegant, regal and statuesque. We walked aroung the island, took some shots and enjoyed the view, then took the ferry back over to the mainland before heading off to 30Rock, AKA Rockefeller Plaza.  

The Rockefeller is a stunning building and offers an equally stunning view of the City from her roof top.  It's all very romantic (not to mention bloody cold!), and was just beautiful to see the City lights shimmering in the distance.  You gain a real understanding for just how huge this City is from this vantage point.

It was now late evening (like 11pm!) time for dinner, upon the recommendation of one of the Rock's employees we had dinner at "Del Fresco’s" which is across from this beautiful building, and the food was divine!

Part 2... shortly!

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

The Bear(s) in San Franciso

I'm sitting in Starbucks on 31st Street, across from the hotel, sipping a Caramel Apple Spice hot drink, it's 6c degrees outside and I'm in New York City writing my second last blog entry...


Wookey keeps asking me if I love NYC yet? And all I can do is think back on my time in San Fran!


Cue dreamy wavy lines...

We stayed at the "Inn on Castro", which is a B&B at the start of Castro Street.  Very quiet, wonderful host and excellent breakfast spreads!! Seriously, they have a fabulous array of food on offer, fresh fruits, cereals, a choice of two cooked breakfasts and fresh cakes and muffins.  In the rooms there is brandy, soft drinks, water and fresh fruit all on offer as a part of the room charge.  This is a wonderful option to choose if you are looking for a B&B.  We will definitely be staying here again when we return!

The Castro in San Francisco is the heart of the gay district in the city. Even here there is a very noticeable poverty and homelessness problem, which is very confronting. This has been a continuing theme throughout our time in America and was very similar to our time in Europe back in 2006/07.  But even given this sad situation, at not time did I really feel threatened or in danger, though there were a couple of very dodgy areas we did travel through VERY quickly if it was needed!! No need to tempt Fate! 


But social economic situations aside, I found San Fran to be comfortable, accommodating and very friendly.  This really isn't that surprising when you find out that the state's animal is the Bear! San Fran's gay community appears to take this to heart by embracing the lager man, with the unofficial Bearbucks (a Starbucks populated largely by bears and their admirers), to their love of "Bear" themed t-shirts, and what felt like an appreciation of "bears" in general.

There were moments of surprise walking down the streets and seeing two men or women walking arm in arm or holding hands laughing and fully feeling comfortable in their surroundings. Suddenly we found ourselves doing the same and it felt REALLY good!  We may have a better social economic standing in Australia, but I am yet to come anywhere as close to feeling as comfortably as this in Melbourne, and I find that very sad.  Even outside of the Castro we still felt comfortable enough to embrace or kiss in public without anyone really batting an eye.


I wont repeat Wookey's retelling of our tourist adventures, so I will finish off my entry by saying that I found a piece of my heart in San Francisco and long to begin planning my time to return...


Sorry New York City, but I'm seeing someone else!

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Golden Gate Gaytime!

There is a reason why San Francisco, a city of just over 750,000 residents, is a world destination. Over it's hills and through it's valleys you can enjoy a variety of experiences covering food, art, science, people, travel and peace.
The best food is not always where they tell you it is in the tourist brochures or travel books. This I have learnt many times. We experienced some great little restaurants and cafes in our local area of the Castro. This included the delectable tapas tid bits from Canela, the Hot Spiced Apple drink from Bearbucks, simple, but flavorsome pizza from Firewood, juicy and fresh fried chicken from Harvey's and the clean tastes of Zandir; a little Vietnamese restaurant that sated our appetite as we waited for our clothes to clean at the local laundromat called Sit and Spin.
Each day in the city by the bay was filled with different adventures and experiences. We often planned to do more in a day than we actually achieved. This was mainly due to us being oblivious to time and being lost in the intrigue, interest or excitement each activity could offer.
From the breezy, but not easy, bicycle ride across the Great Golden Gate to Sourcilido or the Freezy Bay Cruise on the Golden Bear ferry, we saw the city and it's waters from above and from a distance. We also got to see the bay from under the water courtesy of the Aquarium by the Bay; the highlight of an otherwise overly commercialised Pier 39 (not including our slippery little friends, the sea lions).
A stroll through the Haight-Ashbury area is one of contradictions. Seen as the centre of the alternative lifestyle and culture boom in the 60's, Haight Street at the Golden Gate Park end is crowned by the hamburger capitalist king's golden arches whilst across the road, lost teenagers huddle at the park with their blankets and spliffs, trying to uphold Dr.Timothy Leary's mantra. The shops all offer there wears, many trying to profit from the hippie foundations. However, like many Baby Boomer ideals, the message lost to the money. Despite this, the Haight-Ashbury still attracts many young adults looking for a different way to achieve an American Dream or perhaps just somewhere to roll one and not be judged by hypocritical eyes.
For a place to truly relax, the Japanese Tea Garden provides peace and tranquility (as you would expect) with the odd little critter foraging in the leaves for mild amusement (both ours and theirs). To experience the Earth and the heavens, the Californian Academy of Science offers a fantastic recreation of life and life as we know it. The planetarium's production of life taken from the building blocks of DNA to the final frontier of space was awe-inspiring, whilst a walk up and through the different levels of the recreated Amazon rain forest including diving down below the rivers and reefs is amazing.
There is still so much to talk about, but I can leave that to my travel companion. Suffice to say that you do leave a little bit of your heart in San Francisco.

The Wookey.

LA la Land is covered in tin foil…

So after much excitement and a little sadness of Disneyland we make our way to West Hollywood in Los Angeles.

We arrive at the hotel and check in to the very rude shock of a $500 authorisation required for "incidentals". Not only that, but the authorised limit increases each time to charge something to the room such as eating at the in house restaurant. So you have to ask "WHAT THE HELL IS THE $500 FOR?!?!" That aside the hotel is nice and the location great, but I would never stay there again due to the financial screw up they did (including charging our credit card for a second $500 without our knowledge or consent!).

West Hollywood is a great little area with some interesting clubs, and a few good places to eat, including the Abbey which we only found the day before we left.

My major issue with LA is, unless you are fully into the Hollywood scene including celebrity hunting & TMZ there is very little to really see or do. On our first day in LA we took the tour bus from Hollywood; where we saw Spiderman & Darth Vader among others; and 90% of the info on the tour was related to Stars and Films, very little was about the history of the city.

A few of the more interesting things that we did whilst there were to visit the Tar Pitts, LA Museum of Contemporary Art (LA MOCA), The Wall Project; which is ten sections of the Berlin Wall on display to the public; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Cocktails at the Westin Hotel revolving lounge overlooking the skyline of LA at night and even caught a screening of Immortals in 3D, which was not a bad flick.

We did reserve one day in LA to visit the Universal Studios theme park, where we rode the Simpsons ride, Revenge of the Mummy & Jurassic Park. We also took the Studio Back Lot tour which included the new King Kong 3D show (very cool!), and it was very interesting to see where some to the most famous films and shows were filmed and the sets used. About half way through the day at the theme park I was feeling that it was a little… lame. However, I started to think it through and realised that all the rides in Universal Studios are based around the technology that they know and do best; sight, sound & special effects. You see, almost all of the rides are indoors, including the only "real" roller coaster in the park, so once I shifted my thinking I realised that it was really pretty good, but you do need to understand that you are not going to be getting a Disneyland of Six Flags experience.

Our last day in LA was a bit of a mixed bag of experiences, beginning with a trip to the Annenberg Space for Photography, one of America's most important photography centres. One of my main reasons for coming to America was to see as much of their fantastic photographic works as I could in such a short time, and I was really excited to be visiting this home of some brilliant photographic art. Fate, it would seem, had a different journey for us, as the Annenberg was closed! Now I know what you're thinking; those dizzy queens haven't bothered to check the days its open, but we did! It turns out that the gallery was closed due to prepping for their upcoming exhibit to open on Dec 17. It would have been really good for them to update their website to notify the public. Grrrr…

But all was not lost. This gave us the time to go out to the other side of LA and visit a few private photography galleries, including one that was exhibiting works from Bob Gruen; famous for his backstage rock music artists photographs; and Terry O'Neill for his celebrity photographic portrait works. After taking in these great art works it was time for some trash. So we walked down to Pink's Hot Dogs. Pink's Hot Dogs is "world famous" for their many different types of dogs on offer. While these dogs get a huge celebrity endorsement, are they really that great? In short, no.

Overall, I was left feeling underwhelmed by the city of angels and I have to say I probably would never go back unless there was some specific reason for doing so, like going back to Disneyland! Please, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there, I just wasn't impressed. I did find it really disappointing that a city that was on the forefront of the photographic movement in America in the 60's & 70's and had such a huge impact on the art form itself, had such a limited selection of photographic art available to view or celebrate.

Next, we drive up the coast and the 101 to San Francisco…

Wookey's Return to Disneyland

Disneyland
Pure joy, pure exhilaration and pure fun. These are just some of the emotions when you visit the place that lays claim to being the happiest place on Earth. The Disney Corporation excel themselves in being able to ensure the magic kingdom is just that. From the moment you arrive, the sense of excited anticipation flows through the lucky crowd who arrived for the Magic Morning and are strolling down the magnificently reproduced Main Street USA representing memories of Walt's home town. Everyone is polite in Disneyland as everyone wants to maintain that shared experience of a perfect day. When people do break the rules due to being over excited, not to cheat the system, the staff are professionally firm and polite to ensure the Utopian experience is sustained for all.
And that is what the Disneyland experience is about: the thrill of the rides, the courteous store attendants, and the significantly improved cafes and restaraunts which is now just another reason to keep coming back. The attention to detail is supreme.
The only tears are when you know the mystical adventure must end and the smiles will wane a little, but Disney have once again created wonderful and wondrous memories that have rekindled my love for the little mouse with big ears and his comical pals.
...
California Adventure
Day 2 and Disney Theme park take 2. Well not quite. The thrill rides are quite spectacular (California Screamin' lives up to it's name and the the Hollywood Tower of Terror is a literally jaw dropping). There is however,an overall sense that the park is still struggling with trying to define it's identity.
The staff are still professional and extremely courteous and helpful and the park is immaculately clean and runs as smoothly as a Vaseline slide. However, it doesn't have the same magic as Disneyland which is partly to do with the more adolescent to adult appeal of the park (alcohol is sold at the eateries here, but no one appeared to take it to excess). Of course, it would not make sense to put another Disneyland next door to the original; that would be theme park suicide.
I guess the noticeable difference is the 'all for yourself' attitude of the patrons. The politeness and consideration of the previous days guests has been replaced by selfish pushing and indiscriminate '1st world' whining from both adults and kids.
However, it is still a fun day with many enjoyable experiences to be had including the 3D Toy Story arcade ride, Goofy's flying school, the drenching grizzly bear river run; no bears though :-( and the broadway style Aladin production where Geanie steals the show.
To cap the day off, I highly recommend booking dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria which includes priority tickets to the World of Colour' spectacular. This high tech water, light and laser show draws on the Disney movies since The Lion King and showcases them in a visual and aural sensory delight.
Unfortunately, it all came to a grand finale too quickly leaving both of us starry eyed ... or maybe that was the effect of the lights from the Mickey's Paradise Pier Ferris Wheel reflecting of our tears of joy knowing our Disney adventure had come go to an end.

The Happiest Place on Earth...

So it's our last morning in Aniheim and I'm feeling a little sad, a lot tired and I've lost my voice! But lets step back in time a couple of days, after all we are at the most magical place on earth and anything is possible!!
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Disneyland
We woke up nice and early for the "magic morning" which lets select pass holders enter the park 1 hour before the general public. This means that the most popular rides have no or very little wait times.
You go through a small security gate where your bags are checked, before gaining access the the park ticketing gates.  After scanning your ticket you are then inside the park and the magic truely begins.
We headed straight for "Space Mountain" and I a only have one word for you... Super-Fucking-Amazingly-Awesome!!!! And the day just got better from there, with Indiana Jones, the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Light year, Star Tours, etc... we took time out for lunch at the Carnation Cafe, where we had Oscar's Special Chefs Salad. Oscar has been the head chef at this cafe since 1955 when the park first opened, and it was very simple and yummy!  I also ordered a cup of the "baked potato soup" which was chunks of baked potato mixed with cheese, sour cream, onoins and bacon. Delisious but so very rich!!
After we took in lunch, we sampled some more rides and did some of the best ones for a second time. When dinner rolled around we checked in at the Blue Bayou for a little bit of New Orleans.  The interesting part of the restaurant is that its "inside" the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  As people cruise by in their little boats the customers are eating their food outside by the river. It's important to understand that it is always nighttime at the Blue Bayou because it is a part of the artificial environment created for the ride, so it's the perfect romantic spot for dining! By mid evening we were riding the train around the park and then a quick trip on the monorail.  A short walk through Toon Town and it was time to head home to the hotel, but not before Disneyland made it snow!!! Yes Snow!
One massive impression that is made on you is this, the cast members (by which i mean the staff) of Disneyland go out of your way to ensure that you have the best experience ever possible. Our Disney rep at the hotel had arranged our dinner bookings also gave me a "Happy Birthday" badge with my name on it as we had mentioned the trip was part of my birthday celebrations.  This meant that everywhere I went within the park the cast members would say "Hello" & "Happy Birthday" JASON.  This gave a very unique and personal experience to my visit, one in which I was made to feel incredibly special. While I know its such a small thing, it makes a massive difference.  This attitude of the cast members coupled with the expectation of the public that attend the park, makes it an experience in personalized service, supreme customer service, and exceptional manners. Everyone including the people attending the park and the cast are so polite. There is no pushing and foul language and everyone apologises even if its not their fault! 
Disneyland is an experience I will never forget and allowed me to find and celebrate my inner child again!
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California Adventure Park
More on this later...
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Back to the present time... Now we are just waiting for the shuttle bus to take us back to Disneyland for the very last time (for this trip anyway!), to get some more photos with characters and do some last minute shopping!  Then it's off West Hollywood LA for the next leg of the US adventure!!

Day 1

So it's 7.40am and very foggy here at LAX.
We've arrived safely, though right now we are sitting on the tarmac waiting to be taxied into the airport.
The food was surprisingly good on the 380 plane and there was a good amount of legroom. However the service from one of the attendents was down right rude.
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Now waiting for bags to arrive before we head for the transfer bus to Anaheim, the home of Disneyland!!!!
Woot!
But right now all I really want is a shower, some light food to ease the stomach and a good coffee! :/
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Just stepped out of LAX and had my first breath of fresh air...LA smells! It's also really cool and foggy.  Now to find the transfer shuttel to the hotel.
OK, this is not going to be easy, our travel agent advised ti catch the "Disney Express" shuttle from outside the airport. Problem? Every other bus has "Disney Express" written on it!!! So of course when we arrvie at the hotel the driver then tells us that he doesn't accept our travel company's voucher! So we had to pay for it AGAIN.  Oh well, live and learn.
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Checked into the hotel, took a cab downtown and picked up a sim card, back to the hotel for lunch.
I thought the prices were a little high, but then it is a hotel.. But then the food came out and it was HUGE!!!!
Now fed and we can barely keep our eyes open...need some sleep...just a few hours...
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3 hours later and we wake up watching American TV. Later some light dinner and tomorrow it's Disneyland!!

Check & Check!

Taxi arrived on time, check!
Arrived safely at the airport, check!
Checked in using Qantas Club Express lane, check!
Survive the security check-in process, check!
Get through Customs, check!
Weave through all the DutyFree sales task force, check!
Arrive at the Qantas Lounge and get fresh coffee, check & check!

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." 
- Francis Bacon

And so it came to pass...

It's time.

Work is over, Uni finished last night in a mad dash to the very end and the packing is complete!  Didn't sleep the best last night, not sure if it was tiredness or excitement... But with an early start, a quick shower, blog, and coffee (I think it may be our last great coffee until New York in 2 weeks!) and it's off to the airport to.....wait!  Yes the whole stupidity of the fact that you need to arrive somewhere and wait for a minimum of two hours before you can board the plane and for your true journey to begin.  

But at least we have the Qantas Lounge for what it's worth!  :)

The REAL journey begins in just over 17 hours!!!!

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind."
- Francis Bacon

It's only two more sleeps...

So here we are again!

2011 and we're once again taking out over the great blue oceans of the world and touring the huge continent that is the "US of A"... Well, three of it's major cities anyway!

Beginning on Wed 30, we fly out of Melbourne (well here's to hoping that Qantas doesn't ground us anyway!), and Land in Los Angeles at 6am.  From LAX we travel to Anaheim, home of Disneyland and other theme parks.

After checking in at our hotel (and showering!), we'll take our first look at the Mouse with the Big Ears' Home... Disneyland!!  WooT!  I am now really excited...  Wookey's been a number of times, but for me it's my first.  I have no idea what to expect and can only imagine, based on my hazy memories of the TV show "The Wonderful World of Disney", when they would do the rare live show from Disneyland or Disney World... But on with the show...

So after a few days in Anaheim we are off to LA, home of the giant Hollywood sign and streets where you can walk on Stars! ;-P

After LA it's a drive down to San Francisco, where we will be staying at a B&B on the famous Castro.  Then it's on the plane and off to New York City baby!!

In total it's about 3.5 weeks... and now I realise it's all too short! :(

More to come......

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind."

- Francis Bacon