"Where you from? Australia! What are you doing in Cleveland?!?!" That was the phrase I heard the most during my time in the largest city in the state of Ohio. Cleveland has had it rough lately. Once a booming and prosperous industrial city Cleveland fell on hard times when the American manufacturing sector started to crumble. Cleveland is the butt of alot of jokes (Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah at a press conference during a Bulls/Cavaliers playoff series once famously remarked: "Cleveland sucks. When have you ever heard anyone say I'm going on a vacation to Cleveland?"), it's known as the most tortured sports city in America and even people back in Australia were somewhat bemused by my decision to visit Cleveland. As my Cleveland born and bred friend Kim put it "Cleveland people are surprised when somebody from Florida comes here, let alone Australia". Well let me state this here for the world to see:
I loved Cleveland.
That's right, I said it! And I say it without irony or sarcasm, I loved Cleveland. Cleveland to me is what America is all about. Friendly, polite, helpful people. The type of America you hear about but don't necessarily see in the bigger cities or the tourist hot spots. The people of Cleveland were extremely warm and welcoming, proud to tell visitors to the area about the city and give advice on places to see and things to do and always up for a chat. The city itself isn't all broken down industrial sites, indeed the downtown area is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance and when the Cavs are playing at the Quicken Loans Arena or the Cleveland Indians are at home at the next door Progressive Field (Still called Jacobs Field by the locals), downtown is a thriving hub of activity. The Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame is located in Cleveland, while the NFL Hall Of Fame is found in nearby Canton. During football season the cities beloved Cleveland Browns play at the Browns Stadium which sits on Lake Erie. If sports aren't your thing, check out the West Side Market, University Circle, the Old Arcade or the USS Cod Memorial.
My time in Cleveland however was for the most part spent around the southern suburbs. One of the main reasons for my visit to Cleveland was to see my long distance friend Kimberly Price. Kim had previously informed me that due to car issues she couldn't pick us up from the airport, but to get a good nights sleep and be ready for tomorrow. I took her advice and kicked back to watch the LA Lakers host the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks on tv. It wasn't a pretty game to watch and I was hopeful that reason number two for visiting Cleveland, my first live NBA game, would be a better spectacle.
I was very excited to finally see Kim in the flesh. We'd spoken plenty over facebook and had skype'd a few times, but seeing someone in person is always a little different. Kim seemed equally as excited as I was to finally have a face to face and when the diminutive redhead with the piercing green eyes finally appeared at the door I was overjoyed. Kim seemed a little amused and bemused at some of our Australian idiosyncrasies, things that were the everyday to her were new and exciting to us. We stopped to see one of Kim's friends and grab a burger at Wendy's. I think we stopped production there all together. The staff appeared amazed and excited that some Australians were in the store and were delighted when they heard our accents. They were also shocked to hear that Wendy's in Australia is an ice cream chain, as opposed to a burger joint.
Our next stop was a place that is an absolute must for any sweet tooth heading to the States, a gigantic warehouse called B.A. Sweeties which featured the largest collection of lollies/sweets/candy in the USA. I struck gold when I came across the Dr. Pepper flavoured jelly beans. The staff at Sweeties were equally as excited/curious about the Australians in their store, so we answered their questions and gave them info on our home country. For the record, Cleveland is where I had the strangest question I received during the whole trip "Do you guys have movies in Australia?" I replied that yes in fact we do and we sometimes even get them before they screen in the US. The people in Ohio were all generally interested in Australia and all said that they wanted to come for a holiday (when they could afford it). That night, Em and I headed downtown to catch the NBA live at the Q (for my recap of the game, click here). I had played basketball since I was a kid and the chance to see a live NBA game was something I had dreamed of since I began following basketball at the age of six.
Day two was a shorter day, we had a plane to catch to Las Vegas that evening, but I was glad to spend more time with Kim, chilling at Caribou Coffee, eating a massive Chipotle burrito and just generally have a nice chill day ahead of the madness we thought may be awaiting us in Nevada. It was also the day that some beautiful snow blanketed the city. We must have looked crazy to the locals, standing around in the snow with big grins on our faces, but this was a real novelty for us. It was one of the biggest things we wanted to experience while in North America and it happened in Cleveland.
I was sad to say goodbye to Kim later that day and also kind of sad to be leaving Ohio.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
North America Trip Parts Cinq, Six et Sept: What's Cooler Than Being Cool? Ice Cold.
Em and I had an early start to our final morning in New York, no time to savor one last look around the city, we had a train to catch and that meant being at Penn Station by no later than 7.45am. We were facing an eleven hour train trip through upstate New York over the Canadian border into the francophone province of Quebec and it's largest city, Montreal. So it was goodbye hot dogs, the stars and stripes and the Rangers and bonjour to poutine, le fleur de le (and the maple leaf) and le Canadiens.
The trip through upstate New York was gentle and rollicking, if not somewhat boisterous due to the bucks party group who were on their way to Montreal for a weekend of debauchery and hockey. The scenery was beautiful as we went throu places such as Ploughskeepie and the capital of New York State Albany Snaking alongside the Hudson river. It was around Albany where we got our first glimpse of what was to be something we would see a lot of, but never really become accustomed to, in Montreal: snow. The further north we went, the heavier the snow got until it was at full on snow storm level by the time we got to the Canadian border. Around the lakes of upstate New York there were groups of people ice fishing on the frozen surfaces, trees with limbs bowing due to the heaviness of the snow on their limbs and rustic little houses that looked like something out of Fargo.
The crossing into Canada was interesting to say the least. Em and I had no issues, we are after all nice Australians with the cool accents, however others on our carriage weren't so lucky. All in around half a dozen people were taken off the train at the border and driven back to the United States to be put on a bus home. This held up the train for what seemed like an eternity and everyone left on board was very happy to finally get moving again. Upon arrival in Montreal there was another delay as the doors of the train had to be de-iced.
Arriving in Quebec was an eye opening experience, it's part of Canada yes, but could easily be a stand alone country. Bienvenue Montreal is the first greeting you get, which is a uniquely French Canadian way of saying welcome to Montreal. The first person who asked where we were from immediately corrected my English pronunciation of 'Australia' to the French pronunciation of 'Australie'. Most people speak French first whoever the majority are also fluent in English. Hearing their voice change from the oh so European sound of their regular speech to the regular Canadian accent when they switch to English was also a bit of a shock. Everything is signed in French first, usually (but not always) with English available as well.
The next morning I headed out towards Viuex Montreal (Old Montreal) while Em stayed back at the hotel. She had bravely battled illness throughout our time in New York, but the sub freezing conditions in Montreal finally got the better of her. So while I was sipping coffee at the Old Montreal Port, Em was visiting the doctors. I went to Old Montreal on foot and the bitterness of the cold hit me like a sharp icy punch to the gut as soon as I walked out the hotel door. The high temperature for Montreal that day was to be a balmy -17°c. Still, braving the cold was well worth it. The Americans call Montreal 'Paris without the jet lag' and wandering the streets it's apparent why. Le rue's of Montreal are spectacular in their beauty, especially when they have a layer of snow on their roves and window sills, it was like walking through a city from a Dickens novel, especially in Old Montreal with it's narrow cobblestone streets . After a few stops at local squares and of course at Basillique de Notre Dame to take in the breathtaking beauty, it was down to the port area for a café laite (served in a bowl!) and a chat to the staff. Apparently we had arrived in Montreal during their first real snow storm of the season, hence the transformation into the winter wonderland city it appeared. Montreals cafe scene was very reminiscent of the Melbourne cafe scene, very casual yet with a classy, serious take on the coffee they serve. Also while in Old Montreal I was encouraged to try the Quebec local dish poutine, which is chips, gravy and cheese curds. Poutine verdict? C'est magnifique!
We had a quiet evening watching the NFL playoffs which sadly door Em saw the Denver Broncos get a lesson in playoff football by the New England Patriots. After a good nights sleep (much needed for both of us) and a breakfast of croissants, we headed to the Olympic precinct, where the 1976 summer games were held. Le Stade Olympique used to be home to Major League Baseballs Montreal Expos before their shift to Washington DC. We however were there to go to the Biodome, the former Olympic velodrome turned into a sort of indoor zoo. It featured four different environments, from a south American rainforest featuring sloths, macaws and alligators through to a Canadian maple forest with otters, beavers and a lynx, to costal and arctic environments with puffins, penguins and sturgeon. We headed back to Old Montreal for lunch and more sightseeing before calling it a day and heading to the hotel.
I am writing this now in the departure lounge of the Montreal airport awaiting our flight to Cleveland. I have found Montreal an interesting place and seeing massive amounts of snow around the streets was an experience I'll never forget. I even think my French improved a little! So au revoiur Montreal, and Canada, with your loonies and toonies, Tim Hortons and hockey obsession. This has been a place I shall never forget.
The trip through upstate New York was gentle and rollicking, if not somewhat boisterous due to the bucks party group who were on their way to Montreal for a weekend of debauchery and hockey. The scenery was beautiful as we went throu places such as Ploughskeepie and the capital of New York State Albany Snaking alongside the Hudson river. It was around Albany where we got our first glimpse of what was to be something we would see a lot of, but never really become accustomed to, in Montreal: snow. The further north we went, the heavier the snow got until it was at full on snow storm level by the time we got to the Canadian border. Around the lakes of upstate New York there were groups of people ice fishing on the frozen surfaces, trees with limbs bowing due to the heaviness of the snow on their limbs and rustic little houses that looked like something out of Fargo.
The crossing into Canada was interesting to say the least. Em and I had no issues, we are after all nice Australians with the cool accents, however others on our carriage weren't so lucky. All in around half a dozen people were taken off the train at the border and driven back to the United States to be put on a bus home. This held up the train for what seemed like an eternity and everyone left on board was very happy to finally get moving again. Upon arrival in Montreal there was another delay as the doors of the train had to be de-iced.
Arriving in Quebec was an eye opening experience, it's part of Canada yes, but could easily be a stand alone country. Bienvenue Montreal is the first greeting you get, which is a uniquely French Canadian way of saying welcome to Montreal. The first person who asked where we were from immediately corrected my English pronunciation of 'Australia' to the French pronunciation of 'Australie'. Most people speak French first whoever the majority are also fluent in English. Hearing their voice change from the oh so European sound of their regular speech to the regular Canadian accent when they switch to English was also a bit of a shock. Everything is signed in French first, usually (but not always) with English available as well.
The next morning I headed out towards Viuex Montreal (Old Montreal) while Em stayed back at the hotel. She had bravely battled illness throughout our time in New York, but the sub freezing conditions in Montreal finally got the better of her. So while I was sipping coffee at the Old Montreal Port, Em was visiting the doctors. I went to Old Montreal on foot and the bitterness of the cold hit me like a sharp icy punch to the gut as soon as I walked out the hotel door. The high temperature for Montreal that day was to be a balmy -17°c. Still, braving the cold was well worth it. The Americans call Montreal 'Paris without the jet lag' and wandering the streets it's apparent why. Le rue's of Montreal are spectacular in their beauty, especially when they have a layer of snow on their roves and window sills, it was like walking through a city from a Dickens novel, especially in Old Montreal with it's narrow cobblestone streets . After a few stops at local squares and of course at Basillique de Notre Dame to take in the breathtaking beauty, it was down to the port area for a café laite (served in a bowl!) and a chat to the staff. Apparently we had arrived in Montreal during their first real snow storm of the season, hence the transformation into the winter wonderland city it appeared. Montreals cafe scene was very reminiscent of the Melbourne cafe scene, very casual yet with a classy, serious take on the coffee they serve. Also while in Old Montreal I was encouraged to try the Quebec local dish poutine, which is chips, gravy and cheese curds. Poutine verdict? C'est magnifique!
We had a quiet evening watching the NFL playoffs which sadly door Em saw the Denver Broncos get a lesson in playoff football by the New England Patriots. After a good nights sleep (much needed for both of us) and a breakfast of croissants, we headed to the Olympic precinct, where the 1976 summer games were held. Le Stade Olympique used to be home to Major League Baseballs Montreal Expos before their shift to Washington DC. We however were there to go to the Biodome, the former Olympic velodrome turned into a sort of indoor zoo. It featured four different environments, from a south American rainforest featuring sloths, macaws and alligators through to a Canadian maple forest with otters, beavers and a lynx, to costal and arctic environments with puffins, penguins and sturgeon. We headed back to Old Montreal for lunch and more sightseeing before calling it a day and heading to the hotel.
I am writing this now in the departure lounge of the Montreal airport awaiting our flight to Cleveland. I have found Montreal an interesting place and seeing massive amounts of snow around the streets was an experience I'll never forget. I even think my French improved a little! So au revoiur Montreal, and Canada, with your loonies and toonies, Tim Hortons and hockey obsession. This has been a place I shall never forget.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
North America Trip Parts 3&4: Uptown, Downtown, Turn The Beat Around Town.
Frank Sinatra once famously sang about wanting to wake up in the city that never sleeps. Well Frank, guess what? That's exactly what I did on the 11th of January. I imagine you're wondering what we did on our first night in the big apple, where there is something happening 24/7. Let me put your curious minds at ease, after our first day in NYC, both Em and I were asleep by 8 o'clock, completely drained from the long haul from Melbourne to New York via China and LA. Not so much jet lagged, more just overwhelmed by the tyranny of distance. But this was Wednesday, a new day with new things to see and do. I awoke around 10:00 am to find Em already up, showered, dressed and ready to go. Today would be another day pounding the pavement of Manhatten, our first stop, Penn Station and Madison Square Garden to pick up our train tickets for our next stop in Montreal. Just seeing the outside of the Garden was a huge thrill for me, being a lifelong NBA fan as well as a hockey and WWE fan I knew the history of MSG quite well. I was even more excited about the following nights hockey game that we were attending.
Two of Em's bucket list items whilst we were in NY were to go to Greys Papaya so I could get a hot dog there (Em being vegetarian couldn't eat one herself) and a trip and a drink at Slattery's Pub. We wandered the back blocks of Manhatten searching for where Greys Papaya should be but it was to no avail. We later discovered that the original store closed down and they had moved to a second location. To make up for it, we went for another New York staple, a slice of pizza. There are a slew of pizza joints around New York, all teeming with customers and at $1-$1.50 per slice why not? The slices were about the sizable of one of our large pizzas in Australia and I happily smashed into my two slices of pepperoni chased with a Dr. Pepper all for only $4. We had better luck locating Slatterys Pub however, a little Irish pub on East 36th street. It was fairly quiet on this day, we both had a drink (Coke for me and yes US Coke and Pepsi do taste differently to what we have in Australia) and a chat to the Irish lady from Limerick behind the bar and flicked through the New York Post which was NFL heavy in it's coverage of sports, with the Giants being in the playoffs. We took in some more of Central Park, 6th Avenue and the UN building on our way back to our hotel. We went back early to get ready to go to a show at The Comedy Strip comedy club that night. The Comedy Strip is very well known in NY, it was where the opening credits of Seinfeld were filmed and many big name comedians had perfomed there including Jerry Seinfeld himself, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano, Dave Chapelle, Paul Reiser and Chris Rock. Chris Rock apparently used to bus the tables for free when he was starting out there in exchange for more stage time to help him get noticed. The entrance is covered in signed pictures of many of the people who have performed there, most of them looking extremely young! For everyone in Australia we had been told that Carl Barron and Dave Hughes had also performed there as well. It was a very small crowd, but a full house for most of the night. We were sat right in front of the stage and were got to interact with the performers all night. All in all we saw around 20 comedians for the evening. The first half of the show was tremendous, the comedians went over well and the show moved at a cracking pace. After the halftime break however people slowly started filing out of the building, making it tough for the remaining performers to build momentum. By the end of the night, there were four of us left in the audience. I had a chat to one of the MC's, young comedian Jordan Rock, afterwards whilst watching some of the LA Clippers vs Miami NBA game. I asked him about performing in front of that few a number. He was ambivalent about it, "Hey man, it happens" he said with a shrug "It's a late night, people gotta go to work tomorrow, you don't take it personal." When I mentioned Flight Of The Conchords once performing for one person who left halfway through (yes this was featured on their tv show, but it was apparently a true story) and how they went on to have their own HBO series, Jordan nodded and said "I've performed in front of two, three people. You just go out and do your thing and if they like it, cool."
Thursday was our last day in New York and there was still a number of things to be checked off the to do list. We made our way that morning up to the 59th street subway station and caught the train downtown to the Whitehall ferry terminal and Battery Park. The weather was not great, extra cold coupled with that misty sort of rain that isn't really good for anything. We walked through Battery park towards the Statten Island ferry and were pleased to see squirrels scurrying between the trees. The squirrels are very conditioned to humans and would let you hand feed them. Very cool experience.
We boarded the ferry (which is free for anyone who maybe going to NY soon)and set off to view the statue of liberty. The misty rain made viewing from land difficult, but the ferry scooted past Alice Island and we got a great view of the grand lady. The statue wasn't as big as I expected, but it still draws your attention, it's one of the most famous landmarks in the world after all. Lady Liberty is portrayed all over New York, but the actual statue has a quiet dignity about it, contrasting some of the more boisterous New York attractions like Times Square or Broadway.
After a stroll up Wall Street and a bite to eat, I continued on alone. Em had been gamely battling illness since our arrival in New York and it had finally gotten the better of her. She headed back to the hotel and we arranged to meet at the NHL Store before the hockey that night, then I went to the 9/11 memorial site. Entrance is free but a donation is appreciated. Security around the site was extremely tight, similar to going through the airport and security staff and police were everywhere. The wound that America, in particular New York, suffered that horrible day in 2001 is still very much sore and will most likely never go away. Where the twin towers once stood now sits to pools with the names of the victims of the tragedy inscribed around the edge. It's both moving and humbling to read the names, hear the stories and see some of the twisted debris and battered FDNY helmets of those brave souls first on the scene. The memorial itself is classily unsderstated, a place for reflection with a community square feel. There's no flag waving or chest beating on the site, more a sense of wonder at how such a heinous act could be committed by one group of humans onto another. September eleven is a defining moment for my generation and being on the ground where it all happened was surreal. I'll never forget.
Our last night in New York was a hockey game between the NY Rangers and Ottawa (read about it on the sister blog to this one http://shotdownsports.blogspot.com) followed by a cab trip back to the hotel. Tomorrow we would be off to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, our New York adventure over. For now anyway. New York, you haven't seen the last of me...
Two of Em's bucket list items whilst we were in NY were to go to Greys Papaya so I could get a hot dog there (Em being vegetarian couldn't eat one herself) and a trip and a drink at Slattery's Pub. We wandered the back blocks of Manhatten searching for where Greys Papaya should be but it was to no avail. We later discovered that the original store closed down and they had moved to a second location. To make up for it, we went for another New York staple, a slice of pizza. There are a slew of pizza joints around New York, all teeming with customers and at $1-$1.50 per slice why not? The slices were about the sizable of one of our large pizzas in Australia and I happily smashed into my two slices of pepperoni chased with a Dr. Pepper all for only $4. We had better luck locating Slatterys Pub however, a little Irish pub on East 36th street. It was fairly quiet on this day, we both had a drink (Coke for me and yes US Coke and Pepsi do taste differently to what we have in Australia) and a chat to the Irish lady from Limerick behind the bar and flicked through the New York Post which was NFL heavy in it's coverage of sports, with the Giants being in the playoffs. We took in some more of Central Park, 6th Avenue and the UN building on our way back to our hotel. We went back early to get ready to go to a show at The Comedy Strip comedy club that night. The Comedy Strip is very well known in NY, it was where the opening credits of Seinfeld were filmed and many big name comedians had perfomed there including Jerry Seinfeld himself, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano, Dave Chapelle, Paul Reiser and Chris Rock. Chris Rock apparently used to bus the tables for free when he was starting out there in exchange for more stage time to help him get noticed. The entrance is covered in signed pictures of many of the people who have performed there, most of them looking extremely young! For everyone in Australia we had been told that Carl Barron and Dave Hughes had also performed there as well. It was a very small crowd, but a full house for most of the night. We were sat right in front of the stage and were got to interact with the performers all night. All in all we saw around 20 comedians for the evening. The first half of the show was tremendous, the comedians went over well and the show moved at a cracking pace. After the halftime break however people slowly started filing out of the building, making it tough for the remaining performers to build momentum. By the end of the night, there were four of us left in the audience. I had a chat to one of the MC's, young comedian Jordan Rock, afterwards whilst watching some of the LA Clippers vs Miami NBA game. I asked him about performing in front of that few a number. He was ambivalent about it, "Hey man, it happens" he said with a shrug "It's a late night, people gotta go to work tomorrow, you don't take it personal." When I mentioned Flight Of The Conchords once performing for one person who left halfway through (yes this was featured on their tv show, but it was apparently a true story) and how they went on to have their own HBO series, Jordan nodded and said "I've performed in front of two, three people. You just go out and do your thing and if they like it, cool."
Thursday was our last day in New York and there was still a number of things to be checked off the to do list. We made our way that morning up to the 59th street subway station and caught the train downtown to the Whitehall ferry terminal and Battery Park. The weather was not great, extra cold coupled with that misty sort of rain that isn't really good for anything. We walked through Battery park towards the Statten Island ferry and were pleased to see squirrels scurrying between the trees. The squirrels are very conditioned to humans and would let you hand feed them. Very cool experience.
We boarded the ferry (which is free for anyone who maybe going to NY soon)and set off to view the statue of liberty. The misty rain made viewing from land difficult, but the ferry scooted past Alice Island and we got a great view of the grand lady. The statue wasn't as big as I expected, but it still draws your attention, it's one of the most famous landmarks in the world after all. Lady Liberty is portrayed all over New York, but the actual statue has a quiet dignity about it, contrasting some of the more boisterous New York attractions like Times Square or Broadway.
After a stroll up Wall Street and a bite to eat, I continued on alone. Em had been gamely battling illness since our arrival in New York and it had finally gotten the better of her. She headed back to the hotel and we arranged to meet at the NHL Store before the hockey that night, then I went to the 9/11 memorial site. Entrance is free but a donation is appreciated. Security around the site was extremely tight, similar to going through the airport and security staff and police were everywhere. The wound that America, in particular New York, suffered that horrible day in 2001 is still very much sore and will most likely never go away. Where the twin towers once stood now sits to pools with the names of the victims of the tragedy inscribed around the edge. It's both moving and humbling to read the names, hear the stories and see some of the twisted debris and battered FDNY helmets of those brave souls first on the scene. The memorial itself is classily unsderstated, a place for reflection with a community square feel. There's no flag waving or chest beating on the site, more a sense of wonder at how such a heinous act could be committed by one group of humans onto another. September eleven is a defining moment for my generation and being on the ground where it all happened was surreal. I'll never forget.
Our last night in New York was a hockey game between the NY Rangers and Ottawa (read about it on the sister blog to this one http://shotdownsports.blogspot.com) followed by a cab trip back to the hotel. Tomorrow we would be off to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, our New York adventure over. For now anyway. New York, you haven't seen the last of me...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
North America Trip Days 1&2: Empire State Of Mind
32 hours. Four timezones. Four cities. Three continents. One day. That has been the beginning of this odyssey to the good old US of A (and Canada of course). It all started of course back in Australia, leaving Melbourne and flying for 9 or so hours to the southern Chinese city of Gaungzhou for a stop over before continuing another 14 hours to Los Angeles from which we waited for our connecting flight to the big apple itself New York City.
We arrived at New York's John F Kennedy airport at around 8 am local time, current temperature, 1° Celsius! Welcome to the northern winter! We were both incredibly tired but this is New York City, the city that never sleeps, and our time here is only short so we decided that after checking into our hotel on the upper east side of Manhattan and taking the opportunity to freshen up, we'd put feet to pavement and explore the city with our final destination being Times Square.
I'd wager that on foot it's nearly impossible to get lost in New York, the streets are numbered so it's very easy to navigate. We started off by strolling the upper east side, wandering Lexington Avenue, Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue, home of companies such as Tiffany & Co. It is also where the famous toy store F.A.O. Swartz can be found. What makes it so well known? It's where the floor piano from the movie Big with Tom Hanks can be found. If you were wondering yes we did have a go on it and yes it was as much fun as it looks! It's the kind of store where if you had the means you could easily drop a couple of k there and still want to go back and buy more. From there it was on to my versions of crazy toy stores, the NBA & NHL stores. If you have little kids and are into basketball then the NBA uniform onesy's are very cool, ditto the mini hockey jerseys. We got chatting to one of the staff at the NHL store, a guy named Otto who had been to Australia and spent time in Sydney and Melbourne. One of the things that has really struck me about NYC is how friendly and helpful the people are. Yes there's the hustle and bustle of a city this size, but the average New Yorker takes great pride in their city and is more than happy to offer some good tips and advice to a couple of Aussie tourists of cool little spots that maybe off the tourist map.
Times Square really has to be seen in person to be believed. It's a symphony of lights and sound, constant colorful video images assaulting your eyes and colorful characters around the heart of the square. Our first stop was of course the Hersheys store and the M&M's store. As soon as you open the door the delightful aroma of chocolate hits you and is intoxicating. The range of products at the m&m's store in particular was immense. Pretty much anything you want can be found there branded with the logo or characters of the company. If you're a people watcher, Times Square would be your nirvana. The constant swell of people throws up some of the most bizarre people you'll see. We saw people dressed as spiderman & Mario, taking photos with tourists for tips. Elmo wasn't there this day.
Tipping is something quite bizarre and foreign to us as Australians, as is the sales tax situation here. If an item's shelf price is $24.00, you should expect to actually pay around the $27 mark. As for tipping, fair to say that that confused the hell out of us! Thank god we don't do it back home!
We finished our day with a stroll past well known landmarks as the Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall and the NBC Rainbow Room as we headed back to our hotel. It had been a long and crazy day, but so enjoyable. Let's see what you have to give us tomorrow New York.
We arrived at New York's John F Kennedy airport at around 8 am local time, current temperature, 1° Celsius! Welcome to the northern winter! We were both incredibly tired but this is New York City, the city that never sleeps, and our time here is only short so we decided that after checking into our hotel on the upper east side of Manhattan and taking the opportunity to freshen up, we'd put feet to pavement and explore the city with our final destination being Times Square.
I'd wager that on foot it's nearly impossible to get lost in New York, the streets are numbered so it's very easy to navigate. We started off by strolling the upper east side, wandering Lexington Avenue, Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue, home of companies such as Tiffany & Co. It is also where the famous toy store F.A.O. Swartz can be found. What makes it so well known? It's where the floor piano from the movie Big with Tom Hanks can be found. If you were wondering yes we did have a go on it and yes it was as much fun as it looks! It's the kind of store where if you had the means you could easily drop a couple of k there and still want to go back and buy more. From there it was on to my versions of crazy toy stores, the NBA & NHL stores. If you have little kids and are into basketball then the NBA uniform onesy's are very cool, ditto the mini hockey jerseys. We got chatting to one of the staff at the NHL store, a guy named Otto who had been to Australia and spent time in Sydney and Melbourne. One of the things that has really struck me about NYC is how friendly and helpful the people are. Yes there's the hustle and bustle of a city this size, but the average New Yorker takes great pride in their city and is more than happy to offer some good tips and advice to a couple of Aussie tourists of cool little spots that maybe off the tourist map.
Times Square really has to be seen in person to be believed. It's a symphony of lights and sound, constant colorful video images assaulting your eyes and colorful characters around the heart of the square. Our first stop was of course the Hersheys store and the M&M's store. As soon as you open the door the delightful aroma of chocolate hits you and is intoxicating. The range of products at the m&m's store in particular was immense. Pretty much anything you want can be found there branded with the logo or characters of the company. If you're a people watcher, Times Square would be your nirvana. The constant swell of people throws up some of the most bizarre people you'll see. We saw people dressed as spiderman & Mario, taking photos with tourists for tips. Elmo wasn't there this day.
Tipping is something quite bizarre and foreign to us as Australians, as is the sales tax situation here. If an item's shelf price is $24.00, you should expect to actually pay around the $27 mark. As for tipping, fair to say that that confused the hell out of us! Thank god we don't do it back home!
We finished our day with a stroll past well known landmarks as the Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall and the NBC Rainbow Room as we headed back to our hotel. It had been a long and crazy day, but so enjoyable. Let's see what you have to give us tomorrow New York.
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