Mamma, we're coming home!

Aloha everyone, for the last time.

Six unbelieveable weeks come to an end early tomorrow morning, when we board our QANTAS flight and head home.

We have had the most amazing time over here. We've seen things we will never forget, experienced cultures unlike any other, met some great new friends and, of course, we've eaten both weird and wonderful foods. I can't say enough about the fun we've had and the relaxing we've done. It's been worth every penny and trust me, many pennies were harmed in the making of this holiday!

Our last few days in Hawai'i have been spent just relaxing, front row on Waikiki Beach, two lounge chairs, an umbrella and a few cocktails by our side and, there is nothing more we have wanted to do.

Anyway, I can't leave without another "Picture This" so, picture this, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu.

It's 4pm on a beautiful summer's day. I head down to the beach, find myself a lounge chair and prepare for the water. Off I go, walking at a quick pace towards the beautiful coastline, white sand, clear water as far as the eye can see. I get to the edge of the water and decide to kinda jog in, as you do...hop, skip, KAPUT! HAHAHAHAHAHA. Under the water here there isn't just that beautiful white sand you see at the edge, there are big ass rocks and ones that met me and my feet with an earth-shattering thud. It was pretty funny, nevermind Baywatch, the people of Honolulu found a beached whale right on their shoreline after I went for that ride haha.

So, America. What have we loved? What have we hated? Leo and I put together a bit of list last night. We were aiming for a kinda Top-10 theme but we didn't quite make it so we'll just list what we've got.

WE LOVED

1. New York City - the crowds, the lights, the go-go-go. This place is truly one of the best cities in the world and one we cannot wait to go back to.
2. Waikiki Beach - Bali MY ASS people. I've never been to Bali and having come here, I never want to go. This is all we could ever want when it comes to relaxing, beautiful beaches, tasty cocktails and a friendly culture. Love, love, love Hawai'i, another place on the come back to list.
3. Law & Order Marathons - when all is said and done for the day and you just wanna relax for a while nothing beats the endless episodes of Law & Order that screen over here. No matter what time of the day or which city you are in there is bound to be one channel showing Benson, Stabler, Goren and Eames. We love it!
4. Celebrity Spotting - there is no where else that I can think of where you can just walk down the street (at the right time) and literally bump into your favourite actors. Ice-T, Chris Hemsworth, Dr Phil, Lady Gaga, Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson and the cast of Glee all in one week. Love it.
5. The Food - also featuring on our hate list but for worse reasons, we love some of the foods here. Twinkies, Bagels, IHOP pancakes, a warm vanilla latte on a cold day...there are some things that are made "only in America".
6. Shopping - more correctly, Macys. Myer and David Jones will never be the same again. Macys is the pinnacle of shopping for us now, name brands, in our sizes and for a price we can afford. Fantabulous! Oh, and don't forget our new paisano Jimmy Choo!
7. The Pokies in Vegas - our favourites were definitely the Munny, Dirty Dancing and the Rock n Roller. C'mon Packer, bring 'em to Perth!
8. The Roller Coaster at New York New York in Las Vegas - aaaarrrrrgggggggggghhhhh! Talk about the ride of our life. Just wait until you all see the photo!

WE HATED

1. The Food! It seems like 90% of the foods here are deep fried and served with fries or onion rings. Bacon comes with french toast and maple syrup and a slice of cake is more like a slab. No wonder we're both heading back a good 5kg's heavier!
2. Smoking - eeeeewwww! I didn't realise how much we're used to non-smoking venues until we got to Vegas where the casinos are like walking around a Beijing Street in peak hour. Poooooo!
3. Beggars - lots of beggars here, they're kinda like a good cafe in Rome, there's one on every corner...you get your exercise walking around them though.
4. Tipping - geeeesus this took some getting used to! You pay for your meal or tour or whatever it is but then you gotta add another 18% for the waiter or guide. I understand they get paid crap here and that what we give is their salary but, funculo, I'd rather their bosses paid them properly to start with!

So, that's our wrap up of this amazing trip. On one hand we're both sad to be coming home but we're also ever so thankful that we were here. In the words of Peter Allen, "...but no matter how far or how wide I roam, I still call Australia home..." We both can't wait to see our families, our friends and those three little munchkins who have been overly spoilt on this trip! Zara, Charlie & Jessica, Zia and Zio are coming home!

That's all from me people. Thanks to those of you who have emailed and posted comments while we've been away, it's been great to keep in touch. I hope you have enjoyed reading our blog and we look forward to sharing our photos and stories with you all, in person, very soon.

Aloha and Mahalo!
Pina & Leo

ALL ABOARD...Choo! Choo!

I'd like to take a moment to make this very special announcement, separate to the rest of this blog. I FOUND SOME JIMMY CHOOS!

Leo and I happened to go back past the Choo store today and so I figured I'd just ask if they had any sizes...shipments come in, you know how it goes. Well, there were still no black Choos...those sparkly ones I was talking about but, instead, there were these, sparkly silvery-champagne coloured ones. I am officially in love with my new shoes.

Thank you all for your Choo support. They can be hired for the bargain price of $100 per evening LOL!

Will post more tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Px

Aloooo-ha!

Aloha Friends, from what is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu!

Let's start by finishing up on the Vegas leg of our trip...where we continued to drink, gamble, drink and gamble. The Dirty Dancing pokie got relagated towards the end of our trip by "The Munny Returns" (think Mummy Returns). It was a very cool game with one significant downside, the "munny" never returned! We had a blast playing that game though and we filled endless hours at various casino's in search of said Munny.

We also found a fantastic duelling piano bar on our last night, at Harrahs Casinos, courtesy of two new found friends, Mike and Karen from England. Basically, two guys take it turns to play whatever song you request (with generous cash donation)...some they play brilliantly (Benny and the Jets, Livin on a Prayer, Piano Man) others not so brilliantly (they completely killed a Buble' number)! Anyway, we had a great last night with them, drinking and singing along.

So, Monday night and we were headed for Hawaii. We arrived after midnight so had to wait until Tuesday morning to see the spectacular beauty around us. WOW. It really is everything you imagine, palm trees, sunny days, beaches as far as the eye can see. Our room even overlooks the amazing Waikiki Beach, what a way to wake up! We hit the ground running on Tuesday, as we always do, starting with a tour of the Atlantis Submarine.

30 minutes on a rocky boat there and back and some 45 minutes in this submarine, going anywhere from 30-108ft underwater...and what did I learn? I have learnt, ladies and gentleman, that I do not have sea legs, nor a sea head or stomach. I am no person for sea and there shall no longer be any sea for me unless I'm swimming in it or standing on the shore with a fishing rod in my hand!

After that we headed to the well known Kalakula Shopping Strip, oh-la-la. We wandered up and down until we could wander no more and, believe it or not, we only spent money at Macy's! Who knew they would have such wonderful things for us to spend our mulah on?

So yesterday we were up bright and early, catching our bus to Pearl Harbour and the USS Arizona Memorial. We started at the Missouri, walking all along this massive battle ship that was last used in action during the Gulf War. You can't really fathom the size of the ship until you see it and you know what, even when your walking on it, you can't really take in it's size. It is huuuuuuge. Very interesting to see and we got a cool history lesson on how it was used to.

From there, we headed to Pearl Harbour, strolled around the park area looking at various cannons, missiles and other war things. Then we watched a brief documentary about that day, 7 December 1941 - I don't think I've ever seen the real footage but it was heart breaking. The American's were completely unaware and, when all was said and done just two hours later, some 2500 were dead. Tragic is an understatement.

Another boat and off we went to the Arizona Memorial, built atop where the USS Arizona came to rest on that fateful day. The ship is still spilling oil, the smell of which overcomes you as you step inside the white, rectangle shaped memorial area. About 1400 men were entombed in the Arizona when it sank that day and they continue to find their resting place there. What gave us both goosebumps is the fact that there were those who made it out alive that day, only to die years later and request that they be entombed in that same spot, alongside the comrades and friends. It was a pretty solomn day all 'round but one we were glad we did.

Finishing there we drove through Punchbowl, the National War Memorial and Cemetary and took a short city tour before being dropped at the Ala Moana Shopping Centre, rated the 6th best in America.

LADIES, pay attention! It was here where I finally decided TO Jimmy Choo. I was still umming and ahhing as we walked in the first time but then something clicked and I decided to bite the bullet. I went in for a second time and found the shoes I had seen in Vegas. About a second later I fell in love, with a completely different pair of shoes. They were black and sparkly, a sling back and a peep toe and they were $695. Here's the gold version http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/60041. I asked for my size. There were none. SHATTERED. Not only was there not my size in the black, but there was not my size in the tan snake skin or sparkly silver either. I walked out, crushed and Jimmy Chooless. I think there might be a need for an online purchase here.

Today we are taking it easy before heading off to Paradise Cove for a Lu'au http://www.paradisecovehawaii.com/index.htm. That will involve some singing and dancing, some lei making and spear throwing and some eating and drinking. I can't wait!

So, we're almost at the end of our grand adventure. By the time we land on Monday night we will have completed 13 flights in six weeks for a grand total of 56 hours and 55 minutes of flying. We have had the most amazing time and we've met some wonderful people. We have seen sights we will never forget and some we can't wait to drop from our memory (case in point, the not so slender random European walking down the beach in her bikini this morning)!

I hope to post once more before we leave, a summary and a list of our favourite things so, stay tuned for more.

In the meantime, the sea is calling me...don't worry, I'm just going to SWIM in it this time!

Mahalo!
Px

Viva Las Vegas!

Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!

Howdy from Las Vegas! We've done so much in such a short period of time here that I figured I better write it all down before I forget.

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon and headed for check in at the Palazzo. In the words of Usher, OMG! The hotel is spectacular and, as it is connected to the Venetian, it is the largest hotel in the world, who knew?!

So, we pull up to the "freeway" they like to call valet here and once our suitcases were safely out of the car we bolted, kinda like chickens weaving in and out of traffic, to the foyer. Now, you know how you normally check in at a hotel, take a few steps back out to the left and enter the lift for your room. Not here.

We start the check in process by lining up in the cow rails...yep, there's that many people here. Get to the counter, ID, sign the forms, hand over poor Mr Credit Card and then comes the spiel about what's where and who's who. Once the Check-In Man is done he tells us how to get to our room "When you exit here, take a left and walk all the way to the end of the corridor, through the casino floor to the elevators at the end". Yes people, you heard that right. Lug your four suitcases and your handbag through the casino floor to the lifts at the end! So, off we head for our casual stroll to the elevators.

Fifteen minutes later when we arrive we stare, blankly, at the various groups of elevators before us. One set for levels 1-24, one set for 25 to whatever and the third for whatever to whatever else. Unbelieveable. We find our set, get to the 24th floor and head right, for about another fifteen minutes to "suite" 717. Yes Madam, there are no rooms at the Palazzo, only suites. Well excuuuuuuuse me!

The room is amazing. I have photos to show you all once we get home. It has a huge king size bed, like it's king and then a half; a sunken lounge, our bathroom is almost as big as the blue banana (look it up) and our view is meh, we just look over the golf course accross the road...hahahahahaha, talk about not belonging at Le Pavillion, this is even worse!

That night was pretty much a write-off but, once we woke from our travel coma on Thursday morning we were raring to go. We indugled in a quick continental breakfast in our own private, Prestige Bar (where we can also get free drinks all day, free canapes between 5-7pm and free dessert between 7-9pm...needless to say, I have gained at least 5kgs over here)! Anyway...breakfast, yes, we had that and then hit the pavement for a day of sightseeing.

First stop, the hotel next door, the Venetian. It has a real canal-way through the hotel, the ceiling is painted like the sky, you can have gondola rides and it has both a Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo shop inside, what more could a woman want (short of a nice win at the cas to actually buy a pair of those shoes)?

Next up, Caesers Palace...think Roman statues and artwork. It's beautiful. Then we headed for the Bellagio which has the most amazing butterfly theme in their foyer complete with a real butterfly enclosure filled with the prettiest little flying things. I could have spent all day just watching those things flutter around! Back over the road and we headed to Paris, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe included.

"Over the road", something we say with such ease but which requires a great deal of mastery in Las Vegas. There's no such thing as "just over the road" here. You have to kinda go around the hotel you're near to the escalators, go up to the connecting walkway, walk accross to the other side and then down the escalator again. Only then can you head for where you really wanna go BUT, God help you if you try to detour through the shops or casino's that do their darndest to draw you in...then your stuck, forever! No kidding, we got "trapped" inside the Luxor (where we were later that day) and had to ask for directions out!

Anyway, I digress. As we strolled around we took the time to visit the Coke Shop and the four-story M&M World. Then it was over to the MGM Grand where we got to see the MGM Lions...you know that ones that go roaaaarrrrr at the start of all those old school movies? The ones in here today are actually descendents of the very first ones in those movies.

Over the road again and we headed to New York New York. The exterior of this place has everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Chrysler Building to the Brooklyn Bridge. It's pretty cool to see. Our main reason for going here though was to go on the Roller Coaster which we could see from the outside. It didn't look too bad, just your standard run of the mill ride we thought. Key word, thought. We follow the signs to the Roller Coaster and lock our things away. $28 later and we've officially put our life in the hands of a machine, with rails, wheels with a long, 12 seat yellow cab sitting on top of it. We climb in and, all the while, we're fine - we've done this a million times before.

Off we go, arms up, woooooooo. Then the roller coaster goes upwards, and upwards, and upwards, and upwards, and upwards. I kid you not this thing rose to a level I have never been to before (in a little car on a little rail anyway). All the while this thing is going up I'm sitting there thinking what goes up, must come down and then... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Holy crap, this coaster dropped like nothing else, twisting, looping, upside down and then over and back again. I'm screaming and laughing, Leo is just screaming and then FLASH, camera! The photo we had to buy, it's hillarious, both of us screaming our lungs off! It was THE BEST, without a doubt, roller coaster I have ever been on. I reckon I could even do that again.

After that, we took a few minutes to find our feet and then headed for Exaclibur which stunk like stale beer so we were straight back out again to the Luxor, a-la-Egypt.

Whilst we were there we took the time to see two exhibitions. One was real relics from the Titanic, everything from bolts and dinner plates and coins and bags/clothes to a piece of the actual ship which was recovered in 1998. All the items have been recovered over the last 15-20 years through various expeditions down to the wreck site (2.5 miles below the sea). This was a really interesting exhibition to go to.

The second was Bodies. This was real humans (who I assume (and hope) had donated their bodies to science) all cut up, pulled up, brains, lungs, you name it...it was all there for us all to see. Although also very interesting to see, this exhibition was probably not the best one to do on an empty stomach!

On that note, we headed back the Wynn, home of Vegas' best buffet. Usher's back. OMG#2. Shellfish, Sushi, Dim Sum, Asian Veges & Noodles, Roast Beef and Turkey on the carvery, Pasta Bar, Pizza Bar, Vegetables and Salad for as far as the eye can see, Vegetarian Indian, Seafood, Chicken (roasted, sauteed, chopped, bwok bwok, it was all here), Cheese Station, "other specialties" and then dessert. WTF! Who the hell can possibly even try one piece of everything they had to offer? And, what do you think we paid for this extravagance? Gold star to those of you who guessed $79, for BOTH of us, including unlimited cool drink.

Heading for home we showered, changed and went down to our theatre at the Palazzo to see Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. We bopped and sang along for 2.5hours without even realising it! Fantastic show and one that Papa Fred would love!

After that, yes people we were still going, time to donate to the casino that was looking after so well. I headed straight for Baby, Johnny and the Kellermans...plonking my culo down in front of the Dirty Dancing Pokie. What a cool poker machine! It has clips from the movie, bonus rounds and the little symbols that spin around include Baby's dancing feet, a record player and a watermelon hahahaa! I spent about 2 hours on this machine and, although I still cannot afford a pair of Choo's or Louboutin's, I had a great night. Do you know they serve you free drinks as long as your gambling here? Heheheeee.

So, that was day one and today is day two. Today we shopped, again. You'd think we would have learnt by now that there is NO ROOM LEFT in our suitcases but meh, we'll just rearrange and figure it out. We both bought pretty new prescription sunglasses today; one pair Chanel,  one pair Ralph Lauren, done in 3 hours, polarised and everything for $700. That seems awfully cheap to me. Then I did something I've wanted to do for ages, I got my teeth whitened! Not like Ross in Friends but I think they look pretty good and it only took 20 minutes.

We're now going to grab a bevie and then get changed and head to Fairmont Street, Old Vegas to see the light show. Who knows what the weekend will bring and which other shows we'll go to see but I hope to share it all with you before we head to Hawaii on Monday night. What a place this is. I think we're gonna keep having a lot of fun here!

Talk to you all later.
Px

Naw'leans...I like it!

What a cool city this is! Not literally cool because it's like 35 degrees and 85% humidity at the moment but cool, like totally awesome dudes!

First stop on our trip to the Big Easy was a walk up and down the famed Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter. It's, I dunno, a mile and a bit long probably, all full of bars that serve icy daiquiris (yes, you can drink on the street here too), tacky souvenior joints and restaurants. It's getting a bit neon and wacky with some of the shops (think red light district) but I guess that happens wherever tourists congregate.

After a good long stroll in the sweltering heat it was time for a bevie and some traditional southern style food (I did mention this trip was going to involve a lot of eating)! Southern is red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish etouffee (it's french for something) and jambalaya and we had it all on a lovely tasting plate. Can't say the food was all that lovely but the plate sure did look pretty.

Let me side-step here and say for as much as we love(d) the atmosphere in Memphis and New Orleans the food is, well, shite. Ok, so it's nice to try things like ribs, fried catfish, gumbo and jambalaya but how the heck can you eat that stuff all the time? What they think is good I don't think is so good and those of you who know me will know it must be bloody awful as I have resulted to eating numerous Greek Salads in recent weeks. ME, eating LEAVES...you heard it first on the blog.

Another step, to the other side this time, to say that we don't have many photos of this place although we like it so much. There just isn't much to photograph...hardly seems worthwhile to take pictures of a random street!

Anyway, after we had adequately melted into our chairs at the restaurant we started the journey back to our hotel. Think 1800's chic. I don't know how we picked this place but we seriously look like we belong at the Homeward Suites next door, not here! The foyer is somewhat grand, massive crystal chandliers and old school lounges/tables/chairs (think the Ritz or something). It's flash. Very flash. That was us pretty much done for that day.

On Sunday we took a city tour and that was just what we needed because a) we didn't have to fight the rising heat and humidity and b) we got to see where everything is! We went past Jackson Square and the Farmer's Market, through the Garden District (saw where Sandra Bullock lives, nice!) and down into a local cemetary. I know it seems creepy but they do cemetary tours here. Burials in New Orleans are different; each family has like their own personal little tomb, above ground. When you cark it, they take off the "door" of bricks on the front, slide your coffin in and brick it back up. They don't open that door for at least one year and one day, or until the next person in your family dies. When that happens, they take out the first coffin, sweep your bones and whatever is left to the bottom of the tomb's pit (good reason to get on with your family from now me thinks), throw away the box and put the next one inside. Ewwwwww hey! It's grose but makes sense, there were family tombs there dating back to the mid-1700's which I think is cool. The only way they get rid of your tomb is if it is in disrepair and no one has been burried in it for 50 years. The way to prevant that, you can pay the cemetary to have "perpetual care" of your tomb which means that they can never, ever, ever, ever take it down and they always have to fix it if something goes wrong, I like that idea too.

Ok, off that and onto a happier note. Who has some spare green to throw around? This is going to be our ONE AND ONLY chance ever to say we live next door to Brad, Ange and the Von Trapp kids. Yes, an apartment right next door to the mansion the Jolie-Pitts live in is up for sale and it's under a-mill. We can do it people, a few of us chip in together and wholah, we're living the high life with the Jolie Pitts! Who's in?

On a sader note, we also saw much of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left behind. I can't believe it's been six years and this country, the one that always boasts about having everything and being the best in the world, still has so much to do down here. There are still streets full of houses that require repairs or that have been abandoned or that just need to be completely demolished and rebuilt. You can still see the water/mould line on some of the houses we went by and it's crazy to be driving around in a bus and having the tour guide tell you that the water here was 5, 6, 8, 10ft high...that's impossible to imagine and it went on for miles and miles.

There are houses with "check" marks still on them, marked with a cross which told the state what date the house was inspected, who by and how many fatalities were found there. It was so sad and yet, do you believe, there were idiots on the bus taking photos. Seriously, who does that? What's worse is that the floods that we just missed in Memphis are heading this way and they expect the place to flood again mid-next week. These people haven't even recovered from the last lot, how are they going to cope with this? Hmmmm.

So that was that for Sunday, we got dropped back at the Farmer's Market a took a couple o'mile walk back to the hotel to end our day.

Yesterday, God what possessed me, we took a swamp tour. Yes, swamp...with all the lovely bugs you can imagine thrown in for good measure! I do have to say though, that once we passed the point of no more flying, sticky things around us, it was beautiful. Shrek was right, swamps can be beautiful! Huge cedar trees and hanging moss, clear water as far as the eye could see and a few alligators thrown in for good measure. It was something I had never seen before and it was really pretty and, don't worry about the 'gators, they were happy eating the marshmallows and sausages the Captain had for them. Our tour guide yesterday was great, funny guy that Cap'ten Ted! He told us all these stories about the swamp, restoration, preservation, all that kind of stuff and he was the best at it. He was born and raised there and still lives there to this day.

He also had his own story about Hurricane Katrina, said that just the day before the storm hit he was cursing the fact he had to go out on a boat again with a bunch of tourists because he just wanted to sit at home and read a book. Little did he know that 22 hours and 10 minutes later he would have no house, no job, and he'd be standing on the street with one sneaker on. It broke your heart to hear it. It took them (his community) 9 months to clear the area around their houses and to start getting the swamp tour company back up and running. It was almost two years before they had all rebuilt and the tours were ready to go too but, there were no tourists at that time. He said that only really now, in the last 12-18 months, have people started to go back and he realises now what a wonderful life he had before the devastation hit. To copy the phrase, he said it's really very true that none of us realise what we've got until it's gone. I reckon I can just imagine it after hearing the stories he had to tell.

So, on the way home yesterday we decided to walk Magazine Street, 6 miles of shopping and we went into NOT ONE shop! It wasn't exactly our type of shopping but hey, who doesn't like a stroll in 35 degree heat with about 95% humidity yesterday haha!

Today we're heading down the street to stalk Nicholas Cage! He is filming his latest movie about two blocks from our hotel, who knew! After that we're going to WalMart...why? Because we can!

So, this is our last night in the very cool big easy and yeah, we like it. Tomorrow we're heading to the bright lights of Las Vegas. It's our second last stop on this amazing trip of ours and we're determined to enjoy every minute we have left because this time next week we'll be home!

Look forward to writing again from Las Vegas.
Px

Eat, drink, boogie, repeat!

Ahhhh, Memphis. Home of the Blues, home of Rock n Roll. Home of Elvis, Cat Fish and Ribs. I'm sure it's home to many other things but these are the important ones for now!

We arrived late Tuesday and headed straight out the Rock n Soul Museum for a bit of a history lesson on the beginning of music, as we sorta know it today.

That night we indulged, straight up in "The Best Meal on Beale", ribs and catfish, paired in perfect harmony. Mmmm, mmmm, deeeelishous! I can feel my arteries clogging right now.

Beale Street is like a mini times square (light wise) and it's always pumping the Blues (loudly). Instead of take-away coffee, you can grab yourself a bucket of beer or a 20oz cocktail as you walk down the street. There's kids doing backflips up and down the pavement and then waving a bucket in front of you for tips. It's interesting, to say the least. The Street really gets going at about 7pm and goes on into the wee hours...until 3am to be exact before the coppers and cleaners come in to prepare it for the next day.


Beale Street welcomes all bikers and their bikes on a Wednesday night!



Wednesday was all about one man. Elvis. We boarded our shuttle to Graceland and arrived at the hallowed turf shortly before 11am. Platinum tickets were the order of the day considering this has been Leo's dream since like, forever!



The main entrance at Graceland



We started at the main house, wandering through the "formal" lounge and dining room, catching a glimpse of his parent's bedroom, then into the kitchen, tv room, jungle room, lounge/piano room (where he played his last song on the morning he died) and then through the gardens to Vernon's Office.



The Jungle Room



After that it was into this extensive corridor of Gold Records, one after the other after the other and that just led into his Racquet Ball Court, now completely covered with Gold Records too. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many we saw along with his grammy's and other awards. Special doesn't even begin to describe it.

The Gold Records

From there we went out to the memorial garden, to see where Elvis is burried along with his Mum Gladys, Dad Vernon and Grandmother Minnie Mae. There is also a plaque there honouring his twin brother Jesse who was stillborn.

Then we headed into another section of the house where we got to see a bunch of Elvis' clothes and some other bits n pieces like rings, shoes etc. We also had tickets for other exhibits including the '68 Comeback Special (Leo's favourite) and we got to see his car museum and climb aboard the Lisa Marie, Elvis' very own plane. That thing is super flash with suede and twede seats and it even has 24ct gold plated seatbelt buckles!

We didn't exactly "leave" Graceland on Wednesday, we were kinda ushered (or pushed) onto the last bus of the day at 5pm! I can't believe we spent so long there but wow, there is so much to see and I bet we probably didn't even see one-quarter of if.

Upstairs at Graceland is totally off-limits because that was Elvis' private space. He used to receive guests downstairs so that's why we're all allowed to tour there now. The gardens of the house are actually maintained by his cousin Jimmy who we got to say hi to. Nice, down to earth man.

Graceland was just as good this time 'round and Leo absolutely loved it. He even got goose-bumps when we arrived because he was so excited to be there, that was cool.

Last night we headed to BB Kings Blues bar for some soul music and southern food! I sat down to a Lucille, a refreshing mix of vodka, raspberry rum, something else, something else and probably some blue curacao (because it was blue). The band was playing the blues and I had a beautiful, glazed rib eye in front of me. Well, that's when one Lucille turned into two which turned into three and that's when I realised that those 20oz glasses aren't small! 20oz, I soon figured out, is 591ml! No wonder everything felt so good! Hahahahaha.

Playing the Blues at BB Kings

Today we started at Sun Studios for a bit more of a music history lesson. Heard some funky tunes as they were recorded back in the 50's and some funny stories too. Makes me wish I was a fly on the wall back in the days of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. Sounds like they had a blast. We even got to hear one recording where, as the story goes, Perkins was pulling faces to Elvis through the window as he was singing, about three lines in and Elvis cracks up laughing. Was awesome to hear.

After that we headed to the Civil Rights Museum, where Martin Luther King Jr was shot for some more history. That place is insane. If you had to stand there and read all the notes and plaques they have posted there, I swear it would take you the better part of two days. There is so much to read and see there it's crazy. We ended up "fast-forwarding" through some parts and were out in about three hours but that's still a long time!

Having spent the last 45 minutes clip-clopping through town on a beautiful hourse and carriage, we're now back at the hotel for some rest before hitting up Beale Street again (it's the street right behind our hotel so we don't have far to go)! I only managed the Lucille last night, there were nine other drinks on that menu so I have some work to do!

So, we're now just over half-way through our trip with three stops to go. We're off to New Orleans on Saturday then Las Vegas and Honolulu. We've been very lucky weather wise; we've missed the rain in most places, dodged the tornados that were whirling around and now we're just about to miss the rising of the Mississippi. The river will peek at 48ft early next week and it hasn't been that high since 1939. Eeeek.

I don't think I'll post again before we head off so, see you all when we get to The Big Easy!

Hope everyone is well.

Px 

Chicago, hmmmmm...

Chicago. I don't really know what I expected from the Windy City but I found it (dare I say) a bit boring *gasp*!

Speaking of wind, did you know that Chicago is not called the Windy City because of the actual wind (although it has been blowing a gale here)? No, it's not. It actually got that term back in the late 1800's because the of the politicians here all being full of hot air hahaha. There, see, you learnt something new today!

Anyway, the highlight of Chicago for me was a chance to see the Harpo Studios. Boring as that may be for many of you it was enough for me to just be there and walk around. It didn't hurt that we also caught Lady Gaga as she was leaving that morning's taping! It was a shame that we didn't arrive earlier to maybe score a ticket to the show but, they're so impossibly hard to come by that I have to be content with the fact that I have just been.




I finally made it to Harpo Studios!

 


Lady Gaga - she was super nice, took the time to sign autographs for all who were waiting and even
spoke to one girl's boyfriend on the phone! She spun out when we said we were from Australia
and said she would be back soon.

 
The weekend was filled with us seeing all the major sites including Sears Tower, Millenium Park, Navy Pier and Soldier Field. We walked up and down State Street and the Magnificent Mile (found my credit card again, damn it!) and we even took the time to eat some of the traditional Deep Dish Pizza that Chicago is famous for.

Coming to Chicago both our suitcases were already overweight so we've had to invest in another carry-on suitcase to get our things from city to city as well as handbag for me to carry the essential items! I tell you what, if my suitcase doesn't make it home this time around I will curse to no end, there are six glorious pairs of shoes awaiting the Perth pavement in there!

On a separate note, I guess I can't sign off without at least paying reference to the biggest news item around the world at the moment, Bin Laden's supposed death. I say supposed because there are a lot of sceptics out and about this morning wondering why the news stations haven't shown a picture of his body. They're also wondering why he was supposedly burried at sea just a few hours after being killed.

What makes all that more interesting is that this mission was purposely a "gun battle" and not as simple as just dropping a bomb. The news is saying that was done so that they would minimise civilian death and so that they could be sure that the deceased was in fact Bin Laden. If that is really the case, then someone must have a photo, right? So, why not release the photo and put everyone's mind at rest once and for all? As for the burried at sea part, really? Why?

Last night, as the news broke, the stations were frantic speculating as to how it happened and when. One of the news readers was actually jumping up and down, cheering, clapping and woo-hooing this historic day for the USA.

Obama's speech, I have to say, was perfect. He is so well spoken and, although I'm sure he does not write his own words, he delivers them so well. He spoke about how the mission had been going since August when they received intelligence as to Bin Laden's whereabouts. Then he said that on Friday, before he headed to the tornado ravaged city of Alabama, he signed off on the mission to locate and kill him. That happened on Saturday morning and it was announced here late Sunday night. The President made his speech at just after 11.30pm Eastern Time.

So, I guess it remains to be seen what will come of this development but I have to say that whilst I believe it is a positive that he is no longer a part of this human life, it also begs the question of just when the retaliation attacks will happen, and where.  Let's pray that it's not as disastrous as 9/11.

On that note, there's not really much else to report from the "second city" but tomorrow we're off to Memphis so, in the words of Paul Simon "I'm going to Graceland, Graceland, in Memphis Tennessee"...

Talk soon
Px

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