Our last day in NYC...

What an absolute blast of a last day in NY.

This morning we headed to CBS studios to be part of the studio audience for the Nate Berkus Show. As it turned out Leo was the man of the hour when the comedienne warming us up (Dena Blizzard) realised we were Australian! She loved the accent and kept coming back and back to us for all sorts of crazy things. The show was fabulous and Nate was so nice and friendly. We even got a little give-away of Cha Cha Coral Lip and Cheek Tint plus, I got me a Nate t-shirt for crossing my eyes LOL! I knew that talent would come in handy one day!

After that we headed back to the doors of the David Letterman studio for my final (hoped) star-spot and one which I also managed to pull off. Unfortunately, the hotel computers are working very well tonight so I had to take a photo of the photo and email it to myself but, here it is...I MET DR PHIL!

He was very nice to us and said hello, signed some autographs for the other people standing with us and then said thank you to us for waiting for him and he left. It was short and sweet but holy moly, it was DR PHIL!

That means I got Nate and Dr Phil in one day, both products of the Oprah show and tomorrow we head to Chicago...can we manage the Queen herself?

We also took some fantastic photos of Chris Hemsworth and had a good laugh telling him that we never met him in Australia but the got the chance half-way 'round the world. He was very lovely and, you know what, he's a bit'o twoo twoo too! I will put some photos up of him when I can.

After that, on the advice of Letterman's security guards we went to Five Guys for a burger and then finished off our last day in NY by hitting up Serendipity, the cafe originally made famous in the movie of the same name but then blown out of the water when Oprah plugged the "Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate" they sell.

Needless to say I took the Queen's recommendation and shitehousin it was deeelishoso! I've never tasted anything like that before in my life (I've had many of those experiences this week haven't I)? Anyway, it was really good!

To top it all off we headed home via the Metropolitan (a.k.a. Millionaires Club) and caught a glimpse of Kate Hudson walking into a Charity Gala being held by mum Goldie Hawn. We didn't have time to get the camera out but wow, she looked amazing. She had on some flashy green dress with wings, as I like to call them. Hot mama!

On that note, our time in the Big Apple has come to an end and we've loved every single minute of it. I got to go back to all the fabulous places that stuck in my mind from last time and then some. This city is amazing and I think it is one that I will long to come back to, time and time again. Leo is already planning the next trip here, he can't get enough of the place.

So, it's definitely not a goodbye, it's just a "see-ya-later" to the city that never sleeps...until we meet again.

Goodnight everyone, look forward to posting more from the Windy City that is Chicago.

Px

Il Mulino

Geees, I love the fact that our hotel has free internet, and lots of it. It's so much fun to be able to come "home" and send you all the stories of the day.

So, Obama is in town. I figure this is the perfect time to rob a bank or something because 99% of NYC cops are around the Waldrof tonight, along with most of America's television crews. It's mayhem out there, just like when Julia Gillard comes to town hahahahahaha. Sorry, did I laugh too loud?

The Gleeks are still filming around the corner too, along with Tom Hanks and Richard Gere but they're hiding behind black plastic so we can't see them. How rude!

Nothing super exciting happened today (unless you count more shopping in Macy's) but tonight we had the single best culinary experience of our life so, I'm sharing. The venue was Il Mulino in the Village.

WOW. It was unlike any other restaurant I have been to. The waiters were all in proper suits, bow ties for some, white bus boy outfits for the others. It was typical old school service style and it was better than five star.

The restaurant was very intimate, only sat about 60 people. There was dark lighting and we were surrounded by home made cherry liquour, grappa, a cherry blossom tree and wine bottles as far as the eye could see.

The food was phenomenal.

When we sat down they brought us complimentary brushcetta, salami, cheese (literraly cut a piece out of a 3kg slab in front of us) and some bread...ohhhh the bread, don't get me started!

Then the "capo" comes out to tell us the specials. By about the fourth "special" entree we forgot where he had started and had no idea what to order. He was on about entree special number eight before I gave up and figured I'd just let him pick for me!

In the end we decided on (well, we remembered so ordered) a kind of mixed entree plate consisting of angel hair pasta with wild boar ragout; porcini ravioli and melanzane stuffed with spicy shrimp. Oh man, there was a huge party in my mouth and everyone was invited. I cannot say enough about the tastes on our plate.

For main I opted for the rack of lamb. I figured a couple of lamb chops and with a sprig of parsley would fill the tiny whole that was left perfectly. Rack of lamb my culo, it was more like half a cow! Out on this silver platter (think big, a-la-Shrek) comes this side of lamb, eight chops to be precise and a half a kilo of roasted potatoes! WTF! How was I meant to eat all of that? Turns out I didn't and they had to give me a doggy bag to take home with me (I was suprised they asked if we wanted to take it away but I guess a lot of people don't finish their meal there)!

Leo chose the spicy lobster, off the shell. It was ridiculously massive; a whole lobster with garlic and chilli. Deeelishous.

Although my mind was telling me enough, there was no stopping the dessert traing. Tiramisu with Zabaglione for me and fresh Strawberries with Zabaglione for Leo but, hold on people, if you have learnt anything from my emails so far you have learnt about the size of things...if I tell you that Leo's strawberries were the size of a lime, seriously, I am not kidding! They were huge and there were eight of them too, I reckon it would've been a good 500g, hands down. Nuts. 

Anyway, it was, seriously, the best meal I have ever had and the restaurant was beautiful. I wanted to take photos but it didn't seem like the type of establishment in which that would be appropriate so you're going to have to take my word for it.

Tomorrow we're off to the Nate Berkus Show and then I am attempting my final celebrity stalk of the city! After that we'll try get to Serendipity for some Frozen Hot Chocolate (yes, you read that right...google it)!

On Friday morning we move along to Chicago, hopefully the tornado that is currently in that zone will have moved well away by then!

Thanks for reading, lots of love.
Px

A giant sandwich and some Ice-T

This is a quick one because I wanted to post before we missed the chance. Had dinner at the famous Carnegie's Deli last night and, well, Leo's sandwich says it all.

This was the "Melo Sandwich" which consists of Corned Beef, Pastrami, Salami, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and some russian style dressing, just for good measure!



I had the Henny's Heaven, a massive bagel with 4 kilos of smoked salmon and enough cream cheese to make a few cakes out of! 

Today I managed one of the star-spots I was hoping for and it was a dream come true. I was fortunate enough to be front row for a book signing by Ice-T! He was very funny and very kind and even took the time to answer some questions. Not known as a shy type of person, I was first to raise my hand and first to ask!

So, it went like this.

Me: I'm only half way through the book so apologies if this is addressed later on...

Ice: Hold up, hol'up, where dat funky accent from?

Me: I'm from Perth, Western Australia

Ice: *mimicking* from Perrrth, Weshtern Ozztraya...and choo flew all da way here for dis tonight?

Me: Absolutely! (There was a bit of banter and bit of laughter and then I continued)...Donovan, have you seen him since you left the army and, if you did, what would you say to him now?

Ice: (he explains who Donovan is, which is his Army Seargent who, when Ice was in the army told him point blank that he was only in the army because he would never be anything worthwhile in civilian life)...then he continues...

Naw, I haven't seen him but I think I would say "thank you" because he made sure I became what I am today (he went on to talk about how when someone tells him he can't do something he is determined to prove them wrong and do it). Then he looks back at me and goes so yeah, I would say thanks and then I would [bleep] him up!

He continued to explain how in the army Donovan was small and he wanted to beat him up more than one time but couldn't because it was the army so now this would be chance.

All up it lasted about 2-3 minutes and it was FANTABULOSO! Here's some photos for you all to see.
 


Meeting Ice-T, yeayyyyyy me!



That's all for now. Byeeeee.

Px

Star spotting in NYC...

Well, I said I wanted to star spot and star spot I have!

Chris Evans in Times Square

Picture this, New York City, 2011. Leo and I are on our way to see Mary Poppins (ok, you can stop laughing now...no really, stop). Anyway, we take a stroll around Times Square and walk past this black dude, leaning against a pole outside the Marriott Hotel. Leo's "nudge" almost landed me on the other side of Times Square and it was only then my jaw dropped and OMG...it was none other than Samuel L Jackson. We didn't know whether to go back or forth but the swag of security people were ushering us, for want of a better word, in any direction that was away from the man himself. We couldn't believe it as we kept walking; I actually think my jacket caught the end of his...star spot number ONE!

So, once Mary finishes singing and the children all go back to Mum and Dad Banks, Leo and I walk back towards the hotel and, there again, in Times Square we see cameras, microphones, lights, security...you name it. We stop, we watch. This time it's Chris Evans filming scenes for the upcoming Captain America movie! Amaaaazing!

View from Empire State Building

Ok, bit of background info now. Good Friday and well, the city that never sleeps didn't sleep. We went down to the Empire State Building first thing and go up on one of the first elevators. Took a look around and then came back to earth for our faces to thaw out...man it was cold up there!

Piano from Big

We also went to FAO Schwarz on Friday, saw the piano from the movie Big and we went on a tuk-tuk around Central Park. Hahahaha, ok, another picture this for you. Picture this, Central Park, April 2011. This poor little Somalian, no more than about 65kgs asks if we want a ride around the park and I don't know what possessed us but we said yes. It was no more than 30 seconds in when he broke a sweat and both Leo and I got the guilts. How was this povera bestia gonna ride our two butts around the park for half-an-hour?! Everytime he stopped to tell us about a movie site or a star home it was like *huff, puff* "This is where...*huff, puff*...Angelina *huff, puff* Jolie lives *huff, puff*"! It was funny but geees we felt bad...needless to say we gave the dude a fair tip, he was gonna need it to buy some food...

Mmmmmm, Lobster Bisque!

Moving along, after Mary Poppins on Saturday we headed towards the original Soup Man http://www.originalsoupman.com/. Leo ordered a Lobster Bisque, paid and, would you believe it, the chick looks at him and me and says "STEP TO THE LEFT". We quickly shuffled along, no way we wanted to hear the famous "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" line! The soup was awesome by the way.

Fondue!

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, I died and went to heaven as we experienced Easter dinner at Artisanal http://www.artisanalbistro.com/ a fromagerie with over 250 different types of cheese. It was literally heaven...golden, creamy and cheesy. Our fondue was served with beef tips, bread, potatoes and apple. Yes apple. It was remarkably good. You should try it sometime!

 

Today we headed out for breakfast and, again, Times Square is blocked off to the all dancing, all singing GLEEKS! I don't know their names nor am I a massive Gleek myself but it was, again, very cool to see!

We have just come back from a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman; on the show were Bill Maher (never heard of him), the lovely Cote de Pablo from NCIS which we love (she is HOT) and Lupe Fiasco...some rapper dude who was trying to sing about somthing! We had a great arvo there (minus the fruitcake woop-wooping behind us for the duration of the show...freak)!

We're about to head out again but we have no idea where we're going. Rest assured though we have the camera and, as honourary members of NYC's Paparazzi, we are ready to snap!

As a heads up, I have a couple of special, possible star spot opportunities planned for tomorrow and Thursday so, stay tuned to see if I have managed to pull them off! Speaking of Thursday, we are going to a taping of the Nate Berkus Show...hope he has some freebies for us hahahahaha.

Ok friends, hope you have enjoyed your Easter/Anzac break. Look forward to writing more soon.

Px

"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning; we will remember them. Lest we forget"

Ahhh NYC...and a bit'o' James Blunt!

It's 11.30pm and the traffic outside is a-la peak hour Perth. I cannot believe the amount of shops that are open, people that are out and cars on the road. That said, welcome to New York City; the city that really does not, ever, sleep.

This place is amazing. It was the one city I was dying to come back to on this trip and now that I am here, I'm already sad about leaving one week from today. I know I am going to miss everything about New York; the ridiculous driving, 15/1 taxi cabs, honking cars, lights of broadway; the shopping, crowds, eating and friendly people. Everything about New York just makes you want to be happy and happy is where I am right now.

So, the reason for my post at this fine hour is because I have just witnessed the phenomenal James Blunt, live in New York City. Now don't all you haters start up!

The venue was NYC's art deco Beacon Theatre. The three tiers only house about 2000 people so the concert was intimate, as far as concerts go, and the performance was nothing short of magical. He sings with such unwaivering passion and you can really feel every lyric of the (as he puts it) miserable songs he was singing. The up-tempo songs on the other hand had you bouncing out of your chair and singing along. It truly was one of the best concerts I have ever seen (and, to put that into perspective, I have been dying to pee for about 3 hours and instead of coming back to the hotel and running upstairs I came to the computer to post this) LOL!

So, other than seeing Mr Blunt this evening we spent today touring the city and wandering around the World Trade Centre. I can't believe how far things have come in the five years since I was last here. The buildings that now stand in place of the old WTCs are huge and they're only going to get bigger! There is now a permanent memorial office near by and St Paul's Church also houses many pieces of memorabilia. Still a very sombre sight and one that left me shedding a few tears.

We also saw a few movie star sites in Central Park and stalked a few homes of the rich and famous, only like Angelina Jolie, Al Pacino, Woody Allen and Celine Dion. None of them were home though. Oh, oh, oh and...for those of you who know it, we went right past Zarin Fabrics - you know, Jill Zarin, the Real Housewives of NYC! I was soooo excited, we might just have to go back there tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, it is Good Friday so we're not sure how much we're going to be able to do but first stop will be the Empire State Building which we know for sure is open! After that we'll hit up the Bull on Wall Street and FAO Schwarz too.

Ohhhh, forgot to mention, I thought I lost my credit card but, never fear, I very easily found it again in Macy's...chiii-ching!!

Saturday we're off to see Mary Poppins *sings* "...chim-chim-e-ney, chim-chim-e-ney, chim, chim, cheroo..."

Ok, now I really do have to go pee! Happy Easter everyone, I will post again soon.

Px

P.S. Sorry this post has no photos...

Eastward bound...

Greetings and salutations.

We have jam packed a fair bit into the last few days, starting with a trip to the Napa Valley on Friday morning. First winery stop was at a perky 10am, with six different wines to get through. Next winery, three more wines and then a pit-stop for lunch. Thank goodness for that because "perky" wasn't quite the word for how we felt after all those tastings! Funny how it never looks like a lot when they're pouring but down a few in a row and you could almost start singing. To top off a fine afternoon we made one more wine tasting stop and then we each hit our own personal "snooze buttons" for the bus ride home...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

The Bagna Calda

That night we ventured to the highly recommended Stinking Rose restaurant http://www.thestinkingrose.com/, which specialises in cooking with garlic. Our entree was what they called a Bagna Calda, about 50 roasted garlic cloves with olive oil, a dash of anchovies and some parsley. Oh, and there was bread; you had to eat it somehow!

Main meal for Leo was half a cow with garlic spinach and garlic roasted mashed potato whilst my lovely piece of Sole Fish was buried somewhere, under about 40 of my own cloves of garlic *burrrrp*...mmmm, garlic.



The freaky white alligator!

Saturday saw us vist the California Academy of Scienes - OMG, what an aquarium they have in there. It was absolutely spectacular and something my photos will never be able to do justice.

They also have an albino alligator which is freaky (to put it nicely) and a funky planitarium which gave me motion sickness so I "watched" most of the movie with my eyes closed!

A postcard of Lombard Street
because none of our photos
look this good!

On Sunday morning we found Lombard Street, eight tight hairpin turns on a 16 degree incline and us, smart as we are, decided to go UP the damn thing instead of down it. IDIOTS. Nothing more to say.

After that we were "kinda, sorta, just a bit" tired so decided it would be a good idea to just relax and stroll around Union Street, maybe do a bit of shopping *cough cough*. I think our poor little credit card nearly had itself a fit after just the first stop. We found the Armani Exchange and so did our plastic haha! Then we hit up Macy's and just when Mr Plastic thought he was safe it all started again! Chi-ching!



Rule #5 at Alcatraz, a good
one for those of you with kids!

 Today we caught the ferry over to Alcatraz, a.k.a The Rock (and no, I don't mean Dwayne Johnson).

Interesting place Alcatraz and jails in general; no one ever wants to go to jail and yet, when they close down everyone wants to peek inside. Boh. Anyway, it was a good history lesson over there and another tick on the map.



Cherry Blossoms at the Japanese Tea Gardens

Somewhere in this past week we also visited the Japanese Tea Gardens; it was like our little personal ode to Japan, the place we missed on our travels this time around. The gardens were beautiful and peaceful and just left us hanging for more. Now we really can't wait to visit Japan one day.



We also found IHOP, the International House of Pancakes and mmmm-mmmmm, they make the best blueberry pancakes I have ever tasted in my life.

And so we've reached our final night in San Francisco. What a wonderful little city which, oddly enough, lends itself to being more like Perth than a lot of other places I have been to in my life.

The biggest surprise for me here has been the homeless people. There are lots of them and whilst I'm sure some have caused their own homelessness it still breaks your heart to see them laying on the concrete, in the cold, clothes torn and with nothing to eat.

Then there's the crazy people - one in particular is a guy who hides in a rubbish bin on Fisherman's Wharf and then, as unsuspecting people walk by he waves a cap at them and shouts "white trash"! I spent I don't know how much time just watching this guy and the reactions of the people he scared (myself included, of course)!

The best thing about the city has definitely been the amazingly friendly people, Fisherman's Wharf and a nice warm Starbucks vanilla latte when the wind chill is making your face look like a dog with your head out a car window!

So, start spreading the news people, we're off to the Big Apple tomorrow where we will look for Lady Liberty, watch the Easter Day Parade, visit Trump Towers, Bubba Gump, Rockefellor and Empire State, hope to see a broadway show and maybe, just maybe, get Mr Plastic out of hiding again.

Not sure when I'll next be able to post so, if I don't get to it before, Buona Pasqua a tutti...take care over the mini break and, a presto!

Px

Sittin' on the dock of the bay...

Morrrrrning!!

After a crazy 23-hours of travelling we touched down in San Francisco. For half that time I was piggy in the middle to Leo and some other random who made himself at home spread eagled and snorting as he slept...ahhh the joys.

The taxi drive was, ahhh, interesting. Ever seen National Lampoons (or similar) where the teenage child is learning to drive? Stop, start, stop, start, chuggggg, stop, start...that's kinda what it was like...for the whole 30 minute drive. Not quite sure where he got his licence from but can't say I was sad to see the back of him!

We were able to check in straight away so did that, cleaned up and pretty much headed straight back out. We had some energy so figured best to use it while we could. About five minutes from our hotel is the beautiful Fisherman's Wharf where some deeelishus clam chowder awaited us for lunch. It's served, I must say, in a very convenient sour-dough bowl! Talk about being useful, not only does the bun store your hearty, creamy, clam based soup but, once it's empty you can eat it! Smart people these San Frannys. We also saw the famed San Francisco Seals on Pier 39.

We then decided to jump on the traditional, touristy, hop-on-hop-off bus to get a real look and what's around this little place we're in. We went 'round Union Square, to the Civic Centre, saw the painted ladies (a.k.a the house from Full House), Golden Gate Bridge and then some. We knew our day was done however, when we both dozed off on the front seat of the bus, like all good nonni do. It was pretty funny, both of us "waking up" as the bus jolted to a stop. Time for a sleep so back to the hotel we went.

We did go back out last night, looked for the Apple Store but, wouldn't you know, America is out of iPad's too. Can't understand why a company would make something and then not just put it out there to be sold. Noooo, there's only a few a day so line up (the salesman reckoned) anytime from 1am, they open at 9 and it's luck of the draw. Pfffft, yeah right!

A short stroll around Union Square, popped into a few shops and then it was into Mason's Diner for a dinner bite before. My baby shrimp quaesadilla was quite the treat last night. Homeward bound we boarded the traditional Cable Car for a hilly sort of ride, up and down the streets back to the hotel...*sings*..."and they called it puppy lurrrveeee"...

Today we've actually got the camera with us so will be happily snapping as we travel. Tomorrow we're off to the Napa Valley for a bit'o wine 'n' cheese and Monday it's Alcatraz.

Happy reading!

Px

One more sleep...

I've washed the car, filled the tank, cleared the laundry basket, vacuumed, changed the bed and starting preparing the little things...you know iPod, camera, XD cards, spare batteries, plane pillow etc etc. The fridge is empty, plugs all switched to off. Passports are ready, tickets in place and US dollars exchanged.

Whilst I've somewhat robotically gone about our pre-departure duties I'm not sure it's actually hit me yet because I'm still not excited but, we are leaving tomorrow. TOMORROW! No clown, you don't have to wake up and go to work! When did that happen?

Although we haven't planned too much of this trip yet there are the main things we want to do - visit Alcatraz, Pearl Harbour, Graceland and Ms Liberty herself. Eat a NYC hot dog and a slice of Chicago's Deep Pan Pizza. See a show on Broadway maybe. There's Harpo Studios and Jimmy Choo; Trump and Rockefeller; Macy's and Bloomingdales. There's walks on Hawaii's beaches and the all American dream of winning big in Vegas...

I've also decided that I want to star spot on this trip...like, I literally want to hunt someone down! On Location Vacations is giving me the tips on who's filming where and my camera is primed...it's a mission people and one I have chosen to accept. Elliott Stabler here I come!

So, with a-little under 36 hours 'til boarding time it's safe to say I'm ready. Bring it on.

Px

T -132 hours...

Work's big awards night is over with and I spent last night rocking n rolling with Lionel...who knew a 62-old could sing and dance like that! The man has definitely still got it, pulling out all the hits including 80's big guns Hello, Say You Say Me, Endless Love and We are the World. It ended as we Danced All Night Long and On the Ceiling...with Guy Sebastian too!

62 and still going strong...look forward to seeing you again next year Lionel, you promised!

Woah-oh, what a feelin'...

That said, there's only a few things left to do:
- Pick up the tickets. Can't go far without those!

- Obligatory family visits. They'll happen this weekend too. We'll eat too much, complain about the noise and then move right along the next house. 

- Stock up on the drugs. Sleeping pills, travel calms, muscle relaxers...you name it, they're coming with us.

- Pack. Kinda important for something like this.

- Make it to the departure gate on time. Not normally an issue if you're stuck flying the eternally delayed JetStar but, chances are, the big boss of the family (QANTAS) won't be quite so kind.

First stop is Sydney, 6-hour layover and then another 13 glorious hours in the sky en-route to San Francisco. We'll then mosey on down to Fisherman's Wharf and take residence at the local Holiday Inn (left) for a week of rides on wonky cable cars, a visit to Alcatraz (why is we never want to go to prison but yet, when they shut down, we head there in droves?), a stroll over the Golden Gate Bridge, a day of drunkedness in the Napa Valley and...well...who knows what else.

I look forward to posting more soon, from here orrrr, from the other side [insert twilight zone music here]...

Px

Testing, testing...

Ok, so most of you know that I like to write the odd essay while I am away. I'm well known for spending endless hours in those charming, ok mostly dingy, internet cafes before hitting send and giving you pages and pages of (useless) information to read.

This time, things will be different. I've started a blog (that's this thing you're looking at here)! Now, you can read about our travels if you want to and not read about them if you don't. I'm even going to try to upload the odd photo as I go...note the word try as this grand idea may not eventuate at all!

So this is the first email, a test, sent T - 175 hours. Stay tuned for updates about where we're headed and happy reading.

Px