Set off at 7am for one of the longest drives of the whole trip – 12 hours to Nashville. The scenery was stunning - snow covered mountains and lots of foresty bits.
We swapped as drivers every 2 hours to keep fresh, but we both really enjoyed the driving. Americans seem to be very good drivers, although they don’t tend to indicate when changing lanes on the highway very frequently.
On the approach to Nashville, all you could see was a sky full of stars. It got me thinking about how long it had been since I’d seen stars. They were beautiful.
We found a motel right next to Nashville’s downtown area and checked in before heading out to try one of Lonely Planet’s food recommendations – Princes Fried Chicken. Bit of a drive from central Nashville and not so much of a restaurant as a hole in wall, incredibly busy takeaway joint. Took the food back to the motel and tucked in. It was very tasty and my ‘medium’ was very spicy. Hate to imagine what the ‘xtra hot’ would’ve been like.
Turned the news on to find massive snow warnings and freeeeezzzing temps for tomorrow.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Day 6 - Washington. Not what we thought.
The motel was a Quality Inn – cheap (free parking and wi-fi), cheerful, but unfortunately cold - the heater only threw out lukewarm air. However, the location was great - 10 minutes from a train station 3 stops into central Washington.
We checked out the major monuments: Lincom Memorial was huge and quite powerful, as was the reflecting pool. It was also great fun – due to the cold snap, it had frozen over, and a few people were even playing ice hockey on it in full gear. The local police were not too happy about this, but we did manage a few surreptitious steps on the water. The Library of Congress was impressive, but we were not allowed in the reading room, which was a shame.
The White House: not a disappointment, just a lot smaller than expected. With all the huge monuments and gargantuan buildings, and the way the home of the president is presented in the media, it just felt tiny. In reality, from the outside it looks about he size of a modest Stately Home, built for one medium sized family. Also, it is worth noting that the Pennsylvania entrance seems to be the back of the house, the front lawn faces the monument and you can’t see that side unless you are about a quarter-mile distance. Essentially, it’s an optical illusion – it looks huge from a distance and tiny close up.
For dinner, we went to a local bar, which was having a special event: the meet and greet of the newly appointed manager of the DC Major League Soccer Team, DC United (the MLS top scorer of all time was also in attendance). We have to admit that were primarily there for the free food (mini burgers and chicken wings – very tasty) but we also met a couple of female soccer fans (who followed Liverpool and Barcelona respectively, as well as DC United) – they had a real passion for football, and it was slightly surreal discussing Arsenal in great detail with Americans.
On the way there, we both felt we were being followed by someone, and after a few tests (stopping for no reason, then seeing the person also stop for no reason) we took a detour via a tube station to lose them. The tube station – the closest to The White House – was full of homeless people, somewhat of an irony. They were not aggressive, but the sheer number was slightly disconcerting. Overall, there was a high number of homelessness on the streets.
After spending the day there, and to be utterly prematurely judgemental, Washington feels very much a company town, with the company being government. There seems to be no real soul to the place – it is there to serve a purpose and little else. And after dark, it didn’t feel particularly safe.
We checked out the major monuments: Lincom Memorial was huge and quite powerful, as was the reflecting pool. It was also great fun – due to the cold snap, it had frozen over, and a few people were even playing ice hockey on it in full gear. The local police were not too happy about this, but we did manage a few surreptitious steps on the water. The Library of Congress was impressive, but we were not allowed in the reading room, which was a shame.
The White House: not a disappointment, just a lot smaller than expected. With all the huge monuments and gargantuan buildings, and the way the home of the president is presented in the media, it just felt tiny. In reality, from the outside it looks about he size of a modest Stately Home, built for one medium sized family. Also, it is worth noting that the Pennsylvania entrance seems to be the back of the house, the front lawn faces the monument and you can’t see that side unless you are about a quarter-mile distance. Essentially, it’s an optical illusion – it looks huge from a distance and tiny close up.
For dinner, we went to a local bar, which was having a special event: the meet and greet of the newly appointed manager of the DC Major League Soccer Team, DC United (the MLS top scorer of all time was also in attendance). We have to admit that were primarily there for the free food (mini burgers and chicken wings – very tasty) but we also met a couple of female soccer fans (who followed Liverpool and Barcelona respectively, as well as DC United) – they had a real passion for football, and it was slightly surreal discussing Arsenal in great detail with Americans.
On the way there, we both felt we were being followed by someone, and after a few tests (stopping for no reason, then seeing the person also stop for no reason) we took a detour via a tube station to lose them. The tube station – the closest to The White House – was full of homeless people, somewhat of an irony. They were not aggressive, but the sheer number was slightly disconcerting. Overall, there was a high number of homelessness on the streets.
After spending the day there, and to be utterly prematurely judgemental, Washington feels very much a company town, with the company being government. There seems to be no real soul to the place – it is there to serve a purpose and little else. And after dark, it didn’t feel particularly safe.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Day 5: The first drive! We arrive in Washington
Woke up early – packed, hit the streets to exchange more cash and get a sat nav for the journey. Ended up bartering for one by accident in Times Square – got a $550 discount, but still was over what we wanted to pay. Macy’s had a few but no staff to sell them. So we started our cross country journey with no sat nav and no map... lucky we asked the rental place how to get to Washington... We decided to go analogue on this trip - we ended up buying a map at the next service station.
Didn’t realise we’d go through so many states on the way to Washington – one, Delaware, we only just skimmed, but Lucy was insistent on getting a fridge magnet from every state we go through. So we took a detour into Newark, Delaware - which was a mainly university town – all to find a magnet!
Ended up in a big truck stop in Maryland (just over the border) and managed to get a Delaware and Maryland magnet and advice from a big trucker.
Got into Washington at about 6.30pm to be confronted with a hideous one-way system – we ended up finding a motel and then going to Wendy’s for dinner. Last night sushi and cocktails in Manhattan, tonight fried chicken in a roadside motel. Love it!
Didn’t realise we’d go through so many states on the way to Washington – one, Delaware, we only just skimmed, but Lucy was insistent on getting a fridge magnet from every state we go through. So we took a detour into Newark, Delaware - which was a mainly university town – all to find a magnet!
Ended up in a big truck stop in Maryland (just over the border) and managed to get a Delaware and Maryland magnet and advice from a big trucker.
Got into Washington at about 6.30pm to be confronted with a hideous one-way system – we ended up finding a motel and then going to Wendy’s for dinner. Last night sushi and cocktails in Manhattan, tonight fried chicken in a roadside motel. Love it!
Day 4: cold. cold. cold.
Minus 8. Again. About minus 15 including wind-chill. The only things we had showing were our eyes, and they were cold.
Breakfast at the famous Harry/Sally Katz deli. Fantastically overpriced, the place was bigger than expected, but the food and service was good. The area was also different than expected – from the film you expect upper west side, not lower east. Finally got our lox bagel and found out that salt beef is corned beef in the States. Lucy had an egg milk shake, but it had no egg. Instead it had seltzer, making it a fizzy non-sweet milkshake.
Next stop was the Tenement museum where we took a tour on the garment district of the late 1800’s and were taken into a recreated tenement building showing how tough, crowded and unhealthy life was for the Jewish immigrants on the lower east side.
Then it was a bus ride around Brooklyn. We got to the bus stop on time, but there was only two seats left in the back. The toilet blocked our view on the right side, the side where most of the views were. So Lucy slept a bit in the nice warm bus and Darren listened to the commentary about which famous director(s) and actor(s) used to live there.
After recommendations from everyone we know, we went to Century 21 but began to melt under our 12 layers of clothing. It was essentially a larger TK Maxx, and to be fair, we were just not in the shopping mood.
Struggled through the subway (bank holiday service – or non-service) to have a quick look at the Friends and Sex and the City apartments in the village then walked to Soho and took refuge in a lovely sushi bar decorated like the inside of a luxury yacht. Also serve great (but cold) sake!
Breakfast at the famous Harry/Sally Katz deli. Fantastically overpriced, the place was bigger than expected, but the food and service was good. The area was also different than expected – from the film you expect upper west side, not lower east. Finally got our lox bagel and found out that salt beef is corned beef in the States. Lucy had an egg milk shake, but it had no egg. Instead it had seltzer, making it a fizzy non-sweet milkshake.
Next stop was the Tenement museum where we took a tour on the garment district of the late 1800’s and were taken into a recreated tenement building showing how tough, crowded and unhealthy life was for the Jewish immigrants on the lower east side.
Then it was a bus ride around Brooklyn. We got to the bus stop on time, but there was only two seats left in the back. The toilet blocked our view on the right side, the side where most of the views were. So Lucy slept a bit in the nice warm bus and Darren listened to the commentary about which famous director(s) and actor(s) used to live there.
After recommendations from everyone we know, we went to Century 21 but began to melt under our 12 layers of clothing. It was essentially a larger TK Maxx, and to be fair, we were just not in the shopping mood.
Struggled through the subway (bank holiday service – or non-service) to have a quick look at the Friends and Sex and the City apartments in the village then walked to Soho and took refuge in a lovely sushi bar decorated like the inside of a luxury yacht. Also serve great (but cold) sake!
Day 3 - A foodie day.
Still no lox bagels – seem to be finding every non-Jewish deli in NYC. Ended up just grabbing a Starbucks and having breakfast in a snowy Central Park. The park was full of joggers, as expected, but less expected was the lack of flat open space – everything seemed to be – very beautifully – landscaped and designated for a specific use.
The cold around the reservoir was just a bit too much and we took a bus back to midtown and had a wander around FAO Schwarz – smaller than expected and the Big keyboard didn’t look much like the one in the movie.
We then went to Grand Central Station and had lunch at the famous Oyster Bar – a ridiculous selection and the fish was amazing – we had oysters, scallops and mahi mahi. The Station itself was immaculate.
Took a downtown bus tour – Grey Line –the guide was fantastic – sounded like he was from the deep south but knew NYC inside out.
Evening was spent at the top of ‘The Rock’ – 67th floor of the RockefellerCentre – great views of the city and the Empire State Builiding – but at night, in high winds and -18 temperatures (taking into account wind-chill), virtually impossible take good pictures. Interesting that the iconic picture of high steel workers having lunch on a beam was men building this tower – unless ‘The Rock’ have just claimed it for themselves.
Wanted to go bar hopping in the village but it was just too cold. Instead we stayed local to the 51st hotel and found that 9th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen) had some great restaurants, bars and a fun vibe – you really felt this was where native New Yorkers chose to hang out. We ate in an restaurant populated exclusively by hip gay waiters, called 44x10. Phenomenal modern American food – and some very interesting mixes of tastes – a blue cheese stuffed olive martini, a lobster burrito and a fried chicken on a maple syrup waffle.
The night was completed by having a night cap cocktail in a 1920’s themed Thai bar/restaurant called Room Service. Lucy had a Key Lime Pie cocktail which tasted literally like its namesake.
The cold around the reservoir was just a bit too much and we took a bus back to midtown and had a wander around FAO Schwarz – smaller than expected and the Big keyboard didn’t look much like the one in the movie.
We then went to Grand Central Station and had lunch at the famous Oyster Bar – a ridiculous selection and the fish was amazing – we had oysters, scallops and mahi mahi. The Station itself was immaculate.
Took a downtown bus tour – Grey Line –the guide was fantastic – sounded like he was from the deep south but knew NYC inside out.
Evening was spent at the top of ‘The Rock’ – 67th floor of the RockefellerCentre – great views of the city and the Empire State Builiding – but at night, in high winds and -18 temperatures (taking into account wind-chill), virtually impossible take good pictures. Interesting that the iconic picture of high steel workers having lunch on a beam was men building this tower – unless ‘The Rock’ have just claimed it for themselves.
Wanted to go bar hopping in the village but it was just too cold. Instead we stayed local to the 51st hotel and found that 9th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen) had some great restaurants, bars and a fun vibe – you really felt this was where native New Yorkers chose to hang out. We ate in an restaurant populated exclusively by hip gay waiters, called 44x10. Phenomenal modern American food – and some very interesting mixes of tastes – a blue cheese stuffed olive martini, a lobster burrito and a fried chicken on a maple syrup waffle.
The night was completed by having a night cap cocktail in a 1920’s themed Thai bar/restaurant called Room Service. Lucy had a Key Lime Pie cocktail which tasted literally like its namesake.
Day 2: Walk!
Felt like we were the only people in Manhattan, as we braved the streets on New Years Day – early morning. Walked south on Broadway from 51st until we ran out of Manhattan. On the way we had a terrible deli breakfast – sold bagels but had no lox! Found an amazing gourmet food deli by the name of Dean and Deluca – followed by stumbling across the Mayor’s Inauguration just as Mr. Bloomberg was being sworn in at City Hall for a third time. We could hear it all through the echoey PA system, so have no idea what he said.
We paid our respects to Ground Zero. The fire station next door had a very poignant memorial.
We took the Staten Island ferry just for the views of the Statue of Liberty. Much smaller than expected – half of the height is the stone base. As usual the myth is bigger than the woman.
Had a late lunch at Virgil’s real BBQ, a massive American meat fest. After having walked for four hours, we went back to the hotel to rest.
The late night was spent at Caroline’s comedy club in Times Square – saw some great comics – all very different but the recurring themes were to be race and masturbation – and it ended up with a man-on-man lap dance. We got home later than New Years Eve.
We paid our respects to Ground Zero. The fire station next door had a very poignant memorial.
We took the Staten Island ferry just for the views of the Statue of Liberty. Much smaller than expected – half of the height is the stone base. As usual the myth is bigger than the woman.
Had a late lunch at Virgil’s real BBQ, a massive American meat fest. After having walked for four hours, we went back to the hotel to rest.
The late night was spent at Caroline’s comedy club in Times Square – saw some great comics – all very different but the recurring themes were to be race and masturbation – and it ended up with a man-on-man lap dance. We got home later than New Years Eve.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Day 1 - We're Here!!!!
Day 1 of Big Trip USA: We’re Here!!!!
The day started with a 7am departure from home to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. It was our first time at T5 and we were interested to see if it lived up to the hype. Well it did. The lines were quick and efficiently run. The building is very nice too. Because of the higher terror threat to the US at the moment we had to go through a second search at the gate which meant a 90 minute delay to departure.
The flight was fairly uneventful apart from a dodgy looking guy and condensation dripping on me during landing...
On the approach to JFK, as far as the eye could see everything was covered in snow. All the houses, fields – it was beautiful!
Lines weren’t too bad at JFK – we were outta there at 4.15pm and into a yellow taxi. From this point, the driver started talking and didn’t stop. He was a Russian-New Yorker, with a very unusual accent, and was very insistent that we go shopping today not tomorrow. We also got a good dose of marriage advice.
As the NY Skyline came into view, it really hit us – WE’RE HERE!
We chilled and got ready at the hotel until 7.30pm and then went to brave the crowds and get to Times Square. We had a specific entry point but we were on 8th and needed to be on 6th but all the streets from 33rd to 59th were blocked off by police. So we had to get a cab up 9 blocks, across 2 blocks and then down 11 blocks – just to get to the entry point that shouldv’e been a 15 min walk!
Here’s a summary of our $250pp experience at the Olive Garden
Great location – wow – just behind the stage and with view of the famous new years eve ‘ball’.
Food, very average – a 6 option buffet
Drinks – very generous spirit servings – huge ameretto
Great service
Friendly people inside – Jerry from Texas and Daphne and Dana from Conneticut and Orlando
At 11.30pm, cops let us out of the restaurant and on to the street – with a direct view of the ball drop and next to people that had been in the rain and sleet for over 6 hours in a pen.
Saw J LO perform.
Great NYPD – cheerful, friendly but firm.
Walked back in only 15 minutes . In bed by 12.30!
The day started with a 7am departure from home to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. It was our first time at T5 and we were interested to see if it lived up to the hype. Well it did. The lines were quick and efficiently run. The building is very nice too. Because of the higher terror threat to the US at the moment we had to go through a second search at the gate which meant a 90 minute delay to departure.
The flight was fairly uneventful apart from a dodgy looking guy and condensation dripping on me during landing...
On the approach to JFK, as far as the eye could see everything was covered in snow. All the houses, fields – it was beautiful!
Lines weren’t too bad at JFK – we were outta there at 4.15pm and into a yellow taxi. From this point, the driver started talking and didn’t stop. He was a Russian-New Yorker, with a very unusual accent, and was very insistent that we go shopping today not tomorrow. We also got a good dose of marriage advice.
As the NY Skyline came into view, it really hit us – WE’RE HERE!
We chilled and got ready at the hotel until 7.30pm and then went to brave the crowds and get to Times Square. We had a specific entry point but we were on 8th and needed to be on 6th but all the streets from 33rd to 59th were blocked off by police. So we had to get a cab up 9 blocks, across 2 blocks and then down 11 blocks – just to get to the entry point that shouldv’e been a 15 min walk!
Here’s a summary of our $250pp experience at the Olive Garden
Great location – wow – just behind the stage and with view of the famous new years eve ‘ball’.
Food, very average – a 6 option buffet
Drinks – very generous spirit servings – huge ameretto
Great service
Friendly people inside – Jerry from Texas and Daphne and Dana from Conneticut and Orlando
At 11.30pm, cops let us out of the restaurant and on to the street – with a direct view of the ball drop and next to people that had been in the rain and sleet for over 6 hours in a pen.
Saw J LO perform.
Great NYPD – cheerful, friendly but firm.
Walked back in only 15 minutes . In bed by 12.30!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
