It was incredibly hot on the weekend! About 90 degrees farenheight which is like 32 celcius. But after having such a cold snowy winter, and we also had a bit of rain last week, the heat surprised me! One of the aussie girls that flew over with me, Laura, flew in from Seattle for the weekend. I was a bit worried I would have to do some of the things I'd already done once or twice before, but we ended up doing all new things which was great! Saturday, after breakfast in Central Park, we headed downtown, to Battery Park at the very tip of the island, and boarded a very rocky ferry to Liberty Island (home of the Statue of Liberty, duh! :P). The ferry ride was awful because everyone was all squashed in and I felt sea sick. But, as with the Staten Island ferry last weekend, the view was magnificent. I would ride the ferry all the time just to see the view of downtown and the New York skyline. There wasn't really anything to do on Liberty Island but see the statue, haha, but it was good to see it up close and it was relatively cheap to get across on the ferry ($12). When we went, you weren't allowed to walk up inside of her, but we got close enough.
After we got back, we went to 5th avenue, because Laura was thinking of going up the top of Rockerfeller Centre (is about same height as Empire State Building) but she decided she didn't have enough money once we go there. Rockerfeller is the building with the famous gold statue out front, and all the flags. Theyhave ice skating in the winter. We couldn't find the Aussie flag, but at a store nearby they were flying the Australian and New Zealand flags for ANZAC day, whch was nice because it wasn't even an Aussie store (maybe NZ, but I dont know...it was called Cole Haan).
Then we had dinner and lined up at TKTS which is where you get cheap Broadway tickets. Most are about 50% off, so we got tickets for Chicago which still ended up being $70!! But I was so excited to see a show! It was a beautiful old theatre, and the show was great but not what I expected. It was very minimalistic so they only had one costume each, only props were chairs, no backgrounds, little dancing. Great show but if I'd known it was like that I wouldn't have paid so much! Next I want to see Lion King and Wicked - something with more pizzaz, bigger better costumes and backgrounds and dancing.
Sunday was just as hot and sweaty! I went into the city with the girls from my area (while Laura visited a museum) as we were planning on having a picnic in central park. We walked about 30 blocks from Grand Central up to the Great Lawn which is a part of the park that has a huge area for playing sports/sunbathing/picnicing etc. There was so many people it was unbelievable! We had been to an organic food market and gotten fresh fruit and yummy salads to eat - plus some famous yummy cupcakes. It was lovely just laying in the sun, catching up and being relaxed.
That night we had a surprise party for Alissa, as her birthday was on the tuesday. We had a BBQ and all the aussies were there, so it was a nice catch up, and we had dinner and played a boardgame.
Another wonderful week in the city and with my friends - off to D.C this weekend! xxx
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Gigglefest 2009
Sunday (after Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday) was spent talking to Krystle and Jessica back home on msn/skype - which was fantastic! Always good to talk to the people I miss so much! Jessica 'Chut Chut' Grogan and I made a pact to talk once a week, and alternate who gets up early/who stays up late so YAY more talk time with my sister!
Then I went out with the girls for a day of shopping. The 'girls' refers to the Aussie girls in my area
Alissa and Alice: Who are both from Lismore, and are leaving in November. They extended so are now half way through their second year. In America they live about 10mins away from me, on the same street and are best best friends! There host families are very close friends too.
Emma: Who is from Tasmania, and flew over with me in January. She lives about ten minutes away and has twins that are boy and girl, one year older then my twins!
Lou: Who is from Sydney and flew over the week AFTER I did. Her host family is moving to Boston in the summer, so she is spending the first half of her year here, and her second half there which is an interesting change! Lou also lives...you guessed it, about 10 mins from me
Sarah: From Central Coast NSW, was in California for 2 weeks but then transition, and has now been in New York for 2 weeks. We only met her on Wednesday but she is awesome!
Stephanie: From Central Coast NSW, arrived Saturday!! She is braaannnd new and we met her on Sunday.
Frannie: Who is from Germany but spends so much time with us, we think she may have turned Aussie! Frannie is also in her 2nd year.
So there you have it! 'The girls' who are soon to be joined by an Aussie boy in May! We were ALL in the craziest, giggliest, hyped up mood on Sunday as we shopped and then went to dinner at California Pizza King.
At the moment we are trying to organise going to a Yankees game, a picnic in Central Park and a weekend in the Hamptons (which I had to pass on because too expensive)...but its good to have so many like-minded friends in one area!
Then I went out with the girls for a day of shopping. The 'girls' refers to the Aussie girls in my area
Alissa and Alice: Who are both from Lismore, and are leaving in November. They extended so are now half way through their second year. In America they live about 10mins away from me, on the same street and are best best friends! There host families are very close friends too.
Emma: Who is from Tasmania, and flew over with me in January. She lives about ten minutes away and has twins that are boy and girl, one year older then my twins!
Lou: Who is from Sydney and flew over the week AFTER I did. Her host family is moving to Boston in the summer, so she is spending the first half of her year here, and her second half there which is an interesting change! Lou also lives...you guessed it, about 10 mins from me
Sarah: From Central Coast NSW, was in California for 2 weeks but then transition, and has now been in New York for 2 weeks. We only met her on Wednesday but she is awesome!
Stephanie: From Central Coast NSW, arrived Saturday!! She is braaannnd new and we met her on Sunday.
Frannie: Who is from Germany but spends so much time with us, we think she may have turned Aussie! Frannie is also in her 2nd year.
So there you have it! 'The girls' who are soon to be joined by an Aussie boy in May! We were ALL in the craziest, giggliest, hyped up mood on Sunday as we shopped and then went to dinner at California Pizza King.
At the moment we are trying to organise going to a Yankees game, a picnic in Central Park and a weekend in the Hamptons (which I had to pass on because too expensive)...but its good to have so many like-minded friends in one area!
Brooklyn Bridge is falling down, falling down...
...wait is that the lyrics? Hehe. Well I walked across the famous Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday. I like its architecture and that its mix of tourist and local use. On one side is the jogging/bike path and the other is the walking/dawdling/picture taking path. You walk above the cars and through the two arches. Its about a 25 min walk not stopping, but we probably took about 35, stopping to enjoy the amazing view and take photos. There is views into Brooklyn (obviously) but also of downtown Manhattan and some of the Manhattan skyline. You can usually see the Statue of Liberty, but our view was obstructed by a large, menacing crane! When we (me & Emma) got to the bottom we just wonder the streets of Brooklyn, through an area they call DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). New York is big on their acronyms. The famous neighbourhoods Soho, Noho, Nolita and Tribeca are all aronyms. South of Houston Street, North of Houston Street, North of Little Italy, Triange Below Canal Street are their meanings respectivley. It's like fancy nicknames haha! So back to the story...wandering around DUMBO, we walked under to a park that sits diagonally under the Brooklyn Bridge and offers a nice view up of it, and of the water. We stopped at a deli for lunch and they had 'flake' 'crunchie' and 'malteasers'. It had some middle eastern writing on the packet as well though but I tried a crunchie and it tasted the same from what i could tell.
We then took a subway back to Manhattan to then catch the free Staten Island Ferry. It drives (or floats or whatever the word is for boats haha) past the Statue of Liberty and gives you a fantastic look for free - I decided to actually go there another day. It also gave you a breathtaking view of lower Manhattan - so amazing that so much fits on such a small island!! Then we got to our destination - another island - Staten Island. We didn't see much, just sat on the pier looking back at New York and the water.
So a little lesson about New York....
New York is a state, and then there is New York City. Which is actually not the capital (Albany is) but is the most populated city in America, and 3rd in the world (behind Tokyo and Jakarta).
So when people are talking about New York City they are referring to the 5 burroughs (see map one) Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Manhattan and Staten Island are both islands, and Brooklyn is on Long Island (which is where the Hamptons are, a famous vacationing spot).The Bronx and Queens however are attached to the state of New York. So all 5 burroughs are what is referred to as New York City. HOWEVER, when people visit New York City, they primarily go to or are talking about Manhattan. This is where Times Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue, Empire State and most of the places I mention, or you here about, are on Manhattan. Queens, Brooklyn and Bronx are more residential areas where people live slightly out of the city so they can have backyards and less noise. There is a few touristy things in these burroughs - Bronx Zoo, Brooklyn Bridge (which connects Manhattan to Brooklyn) but not much. THEN to make it even more confusing, Manhattan is broken down into neighbourhoods. The main ones you may have heard of are Harlem, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Midtown, Greenwich Village, Soho, Chinatown, Lower East Side, Financial District, Battery Park...there a quiet a few more. This is similar to having the Gold Coast (as Manhattan) and having Nerang, Surfers, Burleigh, Helensvale (as the neighbourhoods or suburbs).
So there you have it...a lesson in New York.
xoxo
Monday, April 13, 2009
Best of Boston...
I just had one of the best weekends I've had since I;ve been here! Definitly in the top five!
On friday at about 10am I took the bus for the tedious 5 hour drive to Boston. It was bearable because I drifted in and out of sleep. The worst part was the old woman across from me who was disturbingly plucking her chin hair during most of the trip...eeewwww. SO glad she didn't sit next to me!
I got to Boston about 3pm and met my aussie friend Allysha. I stayed the night at her place, and her lovely host mom took us out to 'Outback Steakhouse' which is an Aussie themed restaurant. The food wasn't particularly aussie but the room was all themed with stereotypical aussie stuff. But the food was utterly amazing! I swear it was the best food I've had since I've been here...tenderloins, chips and sweet potato. YUMMMMMY! And cheap too.
The next day Allysha and I made our way into Boston and started off at the Prudential Centre...one of the tallest buildings in the city. We were planning on going up the top to the skywalk to see the view of the city, but it was too foggy. That was the start of the bad weather! It rained allll day long, was freezing cold and to top it off my umbrella died :( But that didn't spoil the fun. After the Prudential Centre we made out way into town to Quincy Markets and Fanueil Hall. Not that I've ever been but Boston looks like how I imagine England would. The area of Quincy Markets was all cobblestoned paths, old lamp posts, and a real market place/little village feel. I loved it! Fanueil Hall was quiet small and just had some small mainly souvinear stores inside. Quincy markeys were very old, and was basically a food court. A long hall with food stalls every side, especially alot of seafood which Boston is famous for, being right on the coast. I had fish and chips and it was delicious - eating out is quiet nice here, especially considering the food at the supermarkets is never good. Allysha and I wanted to go for a walk but it was just to wet and cold and miserable to be able to go anywhere, so we just explored the shops while waited to catch up with AJ & Casey. The girls had been to Fenway Park in the morning, but Allysha and I didn't make it (next time!!) and once we all met up we went exploring in Chinatown. Nothing at all there (worst chinatown ever!!) so we went to get dinner and have a chat/catch up.
Casey and Allysha went back to Allysha's and AJ & I stayed at our hostel. It was quiet a nice hostel actually, and we met an Aussie that had been living for London for a few years, but was now backpacking America!
The next morning we all met up at the subway (the Boston subway is much cleanier/easier/overall better then NY's) to take it to Harvard College! We did some more shopping before our tour started. It was a very large group maybe 50 or more people, and two tour guides. You could tell they had done it so many times, everything was memorized with these fake cheery voices, but we still learnt alot. The architecture was great, but it wasn't really what I imagined. Then again it was a Saturday and so there wasn't exactly students milling around. It was on a very large plot of land, and everything was so lovely and quaint.
After Harvard, we went back to Quincy markets and I tried some clam chowder (a famous food from Boston). It was like a really thick soup and it was nice but I wouldn't order it again. I had some yummy gelato too - so relieving to find good food! We met some sailors after that! And just explored the shops around.
I didn't get to do alot of the things I wanted to because of the rain - Beacon Hill, Freedom Trail, Public Gardens and Fenway Park - but I want to go back so its okay. Next time I'll go in the later Spring or summer, would be much nicer. The best part though was spending time with the girls - we had so much fun, and they are such good travel buddies!!
One of the best weekends so far!
On friday at about 10am I took the bus for the tedious 5 hour drive to Boston. It was bearable because I drifted in and out of sleep. The worst part was the old woman across from me who was disturbingly plucking her chin hair during most of the trip...eeewwww. SO glad she didn't sit next to me!
I got to Boston about 3pm and met my aussie friend Allysha. I stayed the night at her place, and her lovely host mom took us out to 'Outback Steakhouse' which is an Aussie themed restaurant. The food wasn't particularly aussie but the room was all themed with stereotypical aussie stuff. But the food was utterly amazing! I swear it was the best food I've had since I've been here...tenderloins, chips and sweet potato. YUMMMMMY! And cheap too.
The next day Allysha and I made our way into Boston and started off at the Prudential Centre...one of the tallest buildings in the city. We were planning on going up the top to the skywalk to see the view of the city, but it was too foggy. That was the start of the bad weather! It rained allll day long, was freezing cold and to top it off my umbrella died :( But that didn't spoil the fun. After the Prudential Centre we made out way into town to Quincy Markets and Fanueil Hall. Not that I've ever been but Boston looks like how I imagine England would. The area of Quincy Markets was all cobblestoned paths, old lamp posts, and a real market place/little village feel. I loved it! Fanueil Hall was quiet small and just had some small mainly souvinear stores inside. Quincy markeys were very old, and was basically a food court. A long hall with food stalls every side, especially alot of seafood which Boston is famous for, being right on the coast. I had fish and chips and it was delicious - eating out is quiet nice here, especially considering the food at the supermarkets is never good. Allysha and I wanted to go for a walk but it was just to wet and cold and miserable to be able to go anywhere, so we just explored the shops while waited to catch up with AJ & Casey. The girls had been to Fenway Park in the morning, but Allysha and I didn't make it (next time!!) and once we all met up we went exploring in Chinatown. Nothing at all there (worst chinatown ever!!) so we went to get dinner and have a chat/catch up.
Casey and Allysha went back to Allysha's and AJ & I stayed at our hostel. It was quiet a nice hostel actually, and we met an Aussie that had been living for London for a few years, but was now backpacking America!
The next morning we all met up at the subway (the Boston subway is much cleanier/easier/overall better then NY's) to take it to Harvard College! We did some more shopping before our tour started. It was a very large group maybe 50 or more people, and two tour guides. You could tell they had done it so many times, everything was memorized with these fake cheery voices, but we still learnt alot. The architecture was great, but it wasn't really what I imagined. Then again it was a Saturday and so there wasn't exactly students milling around. It was on a very large plot of land, and everything was so lovely and quaint.
After Harvard, we went back to Quincy markets and I tried some clam chowder (a famous food from Boston). It was like a really thick soup and it was nice but I wouldn't order it again. I had some yummy gelato too - so relieving to find good food! We met some sailors after that! And just explored the shops around.
I didn't get to do alot of the things I wanted to because of the rain - Beacon Hill, Freedom Trail, Public Gardens and Fenway Park - but I want to go back so its okay. Next time I'll go in the later Spring or summer, would be much nicer. The best part though was spending time with the girls - we had so much fun, and they are such good travel buddies!!
One of the best weekends so far!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Falling in love...with New York
This past weekend I spent both days in the city with Megan (one of the Aussie girls that flew over with me, who is now living in Boston). Saturday we did some touristy stuff for her benefit - 5th avenue, central park and times square (which I've all done before). Central Park is always amazing, so I could go there a million times and I don't think I'd get sick of it. Even though its the beginning of Spring, not many things have blossomed yet but it is still lovely. Then on Sunday, we took a tour bus of downtown New York, which was utterly amazing. We drove through all the neighbourhoods that I can't wait to walk around - Greenwich Village, Soho, Lower East Side and more. It was good because it helped navigate me around the city. Our tour guide was pretty funny, and I learnt lots of interesting facts about the city. I would pay to go back on it again haha! Then after that Megan went home, and I met up with one of the girls from my area, Lou, in Chinatown. I had general tso's chicken for lunch and it was okay, i've had better, but it was really disturbing yet fascinating to see all the dead animals hanging in the window! After that Lou and I went shopping looking at all the jewellery, perfume and bags. I picked myself up some Chanel earrings and a beautiful Chanel bag! I'm loving it!
Although I'm pretty much over the touristy stuff by now (gotta do it once more when my friend Laura comes in to town in a few weeks, but she's fun so should be fun!) I am just so in love with this city! It has so much to offer and you can be doing a different thing every hour, utterly amazing!
So I have a few weekends booked up - Boston tomorrow, Silver bay aupair course the following weekend, then Laura's coming in and first weekend of May I'm going to stay with AJ in Washington D.C, horray! So once I get back into the city, it should be well and beautifuly Spring - which means excellent walking weather to do some walking tours around the city - I can't wait!
Miss everyone lots, hope all is well
xxx
Although I'm pretty much over the touristy stuff by now (gotta do it once more when my friend Laura comes in to town in a few weeks, but she's fun so should be fun!) I am just so in love with this city! It has so much to offer and you can be doing a different thing every hour, utterly amazing!
So I have a few weekends booked up - Boston tomorrow, Silver bay aupair course the following weekend, then Laura's coming in and first weekend of May I'm going to stay with AJ in Washington D.C, horray! So once I get back into the city, it should be well and beautifuly Spring - which means excellent walking weather to do some walking tours around the city - I can't wait!
Miss everyone lots, hope all is well
xxx
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