It has been some time since I have written anything. I have come to realise I have to be in the mood for this wordsmith stuff. Perhaps I can just attribute it to Mr Jetlag or Mr Vertigo, whichever, it knocked me flat and I couldn't even contemplate the letters wobbling as my body remained still.
As you can see I am still procrastinating...
July 18th - 24th, 2013
We arrived in NYC to a very hot and muggy 95 degrees, not really that hot when converted to Celsius, but the humidity smacks you about and leaves you limp and lifeless. We stayed at the French Quarter Guest Apartments and after meeting our ever friendly host Colin, we were settled in and ready to make our mark on this dynamic city.
Tony and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary through glassy jet-lagged eyes and some Spanish paella. We all fell into bed at 6.30pm after walking the streets desperately trying to stay awake.
The next few days are a bit of a blur, but I will provide some highlights.
Top of the Rock - a city wide view from the top of Rockefeller Centre. Here we cued and waited and cued again to get this spectacular view of Manhattan. I think what was more impressive to me was the architecture of this building rather than the view. After digging deep into our pockets, we descended 25 minutes later.
Eatery's - our favourite eating place hands down was Hell's Kitchen. This is not the Hell's Kitchen of Gordon Ramsey. The district is Hell's Kitchen with this restaurant featuring Spanish tapas...THE BEST. We went back for a second seating some days later. Another favourite was Amy's bakery, chocolate devils food cake and finally a proper coffee. An array of the finest cakes and breads to just die for. Tony likes to think of coffee in North America as swill, I just think it is watery. Another good find was the Todd English food hall at the Plaza Hotel, basically an upscale food hall with table service...very cool.
One of our favourite outings was to The Art of the Brick, an exhibit by Nathan Sawaya. His fascination with Lego as a child led him to expressing himself in the art form, leaving his high powered job as a barrister behind for little pieces of coloured brick. There was everything from the Mona Lisa, Rembrandt to famous Greek palaces. Who needs to travel the world, it is all here!
Tony enjoyed a night out at Dizzy Gillespie, his favourite jazz spot. Arriving home after 2am, he says it is the city that never sleeps, the streets are just as crowed as during the day.
We attempted to enter the Ground Zero Memorial park but it was a big cue and the weather was once again extremely hot, so we kept walking towards the water to see if we wanted to board the ferry to see the great Lady Dame aka Statue of Liberty. We figured with our zoom lens, we got some pretty good shots and seeing I had the wobbles on, there was no need for another boat ride to add to it.
Our last day was spent walking though Central Park and going to the zoo. I found the zoo to be a bit of a let down with the small enclosures, which were not that clean and featured animals not even present. I suspect the polar bears and the Snow White leopards were removed due to the heat.
New York is a great city, but my next visit will be in the cooler months, outside of school holidays and without my beautiful kiddily winks. :0)
Sunday 28 July 2013
Wednesday 17 July 2013
Hawaii Part 2 - Pearl Harbour
Tony writes;
A day at the Pearl Harbour Memorial . We were not sure what to expect, was full of questions around why we were going and what went on there. A reasonably short drive with Annoying Annie helping out of course, beautiful sunny day, pity we forgot the hats.
On entry it takes a little while to work out which tour to take , it's written in English but sometimes the brain just gets so overwhelmed. Weather restricts the tour of the Arizona, so it's the submarine Bowfin and the Pacific Aviation Museum (PAM) for us .
The Bowfin was really something to see, the cramped space, beds above live torpedo's, even the officers quarters were tiny. I hope they were smaller than me, it was a nightmare just trying to fit through the doorways let alone if you were in a rush. A magnificent feat of engineering to produce a desalination pump on board a small floating tin can so many years ago. Battery powered subs, with manual controls everywhere, children of the 1990's and beyond really didn't have a lot of experience with manual levers and controls. You could imagine a new sub would be all digital, and touch screens pads now. 36 beds, 72 crew hot bed's and when you consider water for the shower was the last priority for the fresh water, yuck?
A very engaging Japaneese/ Hawaiian man was delivering his tour at PAM when we arrived, a true talent to deliver a tour with such passion, day in and day out. His voice commanded attention, he even had Emma mesmerized, Hamish was soon captured as well, a testament to the power of the tour guides speech. If my high school history teacher, actually any of my teachers, could have delivered their message with such passion I would have paid more attention. Probably would have had a better attention span as an adult as well. Some fascinating history, remarkable restorations of the planes and some great photos to come.
Tracey writes;
The big Aussie, yes that would be Tony had his first faux pas driving on the wrong side of the road today, oddly it felt perfectly normal for us both. 2 more strikes and I take over.
Somehow, the Americans are able to draw you in to the big red, white &blue. Everything is big from their pick up trucks, food portions, wine bottles and most of all their gorgeous personalities. I Love It!
Emma writes;
The water was nice and blue, clear and shiny. I loved swimming with the sea life and standing on the edge of Diamond Head. I wish we could stay in Hawaii longer.
NYC here we come!!
A day at the Pearl Harbour Memorial . We were not sure what to expect, was full of questions around why we were going and what went on there. A reasonably short drive with Annoying Annie helping out of course, beautiful sunny day, pity we forgot the hats.
On entry it takes a little while to work out which tour to take , it's written in English but sometimes the brain just gets so overwhelmed. Weather restricts the tour of the Arizona, so it's the submarine Bowfin and the Pacific Aviation Museum (PAM) for us .
The Bowfin was really something to see, the cramped space, beds above live torpedo's, even the officers quarters were tiny. I hope they were smaller than me, it was a nightmare just trying to fit through the doorways let alone if you were in a rush. A magnificent feat of engineering to produce a desalination pump on board a small floating tin can so many years ago. Battery powered subs, with manual controls everywhere, children of the 1990's and beyond really didn't have a lot of experience with manual levers and controls. You could imagine a new sub would be all digital, and touch screens pads now. 36 beds, 72 crew hot bed's and when you consider water for the shower was the last priority for the fresh water, yuck?
A very engaging Japaneese/ Hawaiian man was delivering his tour at PAM when we arrived, a true talent to deliver a tour with such passion, day in and day out. His voice commanded attention, he even had Emma mesmerized, Hamish was soon captured as well, a testament to the power of the tour guides speech. If my high school history teacher, actually any of my teachers, could have delivered their message with such passion I would have paid more attention. Probably would have had a better attention span as an adult as well. Some fascinating history, remarkable restorations of the planes and some great photos to come.
Tracey writes;
The big Aussie, yes that would be Tony had his first faux pas driving on the wrong side of the road today, oddly it felt perfectly normal for us both. 2 more strikes and I take over.
Somehow, the Americans are able to draw you in to the big red, white &blue. Everything is big from their pick up trucks, food portions, wine bottles and most of all their gorgeous personalities. I Love It!
Emma writes;
The water was nice and blue, clear and shiny. I loved swimming with the sea life and standing on the edge of Diamond Head. I wish we could stay in Hawaii longer.
NYC here we come!!
Oahu, Hawaii Part 1
ALOHA...This was the perfect place to thaw out and recover from some jet lag. After a 9 hour flight and a 16 hour time change (reliving Friday), We landed in Hawaii to a pleasant 27 degrees, after picking up our car we had a 30 minute journey to the east coast where we stayed in Kailua. Kailua has a small town appeal with a gorgeous stretch of white sandy beach. Quite a distance away from the tourist trap of Waikiki and over crowded beaches. A quick change out of our travelling clothes and donned our bathers and proceeded to walk the 250 steps to the beach from our cute little bungalow. The trade winds were up and the sky was cloudy and grey, but that didn't stop us. The kids had a great time swimming and even though the rain came, for all of 2 minutes, they continued to splash and roll with the waves.
Diamond Head (Le'ahi)
This massive crater erupted some 300,000 years ago during a single, brief eruption. It was now time to climb the 754 feet ( km) high and with a 2.2 km by foot to the summit. The crater comprises 475 acres and this includes to the rim and outer slopes of the crater. The information board clearly stated that we were in for a 1.5 to 2 hour return trip walk for the 2.2 km, not really sure which demographics they were stating this for, but we did it in less than 30 minutes, one way, with 2 kids. We promised the kids a snow cone at the bottom if they made it to the top, onward and upward.
It received the name Diamond Head when the Western explorers came through in the late 1700's, they thought they were seeing diamonds in the rock on the slope of the crater, when in actual fact they were calcite crystals.
Now for a yummy snow cone.
Dolphin Excursion (Tony writes);
A long drive with annoying Annie, our nickname for the GPS, telling us how to get there. Finally after an hour of driving at over the speed limit we arrived with 15 minutes to spare. The crew of the Dolphin Star were fantastic and very welcoming . Not far out from the harbour the skipper slowed down to allow is to see a great big sea turtle floating off our port side. 20 minutes out to the dolphin sanctuary and it was well worth the trip. Bottle Nose dolphins and Spinner dolphins were abundant, amazing to see Spinner dolphins launching out of the water and doing their tricks. Almost impossible to get the perfect photo of them in mid air flight but still awesome to see.
Back to the harbour to drop a few people off then out to the south for snorkelling with the fish. A nice relaxing snorkel session for us all, numerous fish swimming around very close to us . The second location for our snorkel started with the Metcalf kids deciding doing dive bombs off the side of the boat was better than snorkelling, so I joined in a great session as 'bombies' ensued. Emma and I went out for a snorkel just in time to see a Bottle Nose dolphin swimming close by. A very surreal experience to be floating in the water, head just below the surface, breathing through our snorkels like we belong in the water only to see such a majestic water creature cruise by and show us what it is really like to belong in the sea underwater, simply amazing.
Diamond Head (Le'ahi)
This massive crater erupted some 300,000 years ago during a single, brief eruption. It was now time to climb the 754 feet ( km) high and with a 2.2 km by foot to the summit. The crater comprises 475 acres and this includes to the rim and outer slopes of the crater. The information board clearly stated that we were in for a 1.5 to 2 hour return trip walk for the 2.2 km, not really sure which demographics they were stating this for, but we did it in less than 30 minutes, one way, with 2 kids. We promised the kids a snow cone at the bottom if they made it to the top, onward and upward.
It received the name Diamond Head when the Western explorers came through in the late 1700's, they thought they were seeing diamonds in the rock on the slope of the crater, when in actual fact they were calcite crystals.
Now for a yummy snow cone.
Dolphin Excursion (Tony writes);
A long drive with annoying Annie, our nickname for the GPS, telling us how to get there. Finally after an hour of driving at over the speed limit we arrived with 15 minutes to spare. The crew of the Dolphin Star were fantastic and very welcoming . Not far out from the harbour the skipper slowed down to allow is to see a great big sea turtle floating off our port side. 20 minutes out to the dolphin sanctuary and it was well worth the trip. Bottle Nose dolphins and Spinner dolphins were abundant, amazing to see Spinner dolphins launching out of the water and doing their tricks. Almost impossible to get the perfect photo of them in mid air flight but still awesome to see.
Back to the harbour to drop a few people off then out to the south for snorkelling with the fish. A nice relaxing snorkel session for us all, numerous fish swimming around very close to us . The second location for our snorkel started with the Metcalf kids deciding doing dive bombs off the side of the boat was better than snorkelling, so I joined in a great session as 'bombies' ensued. Emma and I went out for a snorkel just in time to see a Bottle Nose dolphin swimming close by. A very surreal experience to be floating in the water, head just below the surface, breathing through our snorkels like we belong in the water only to see such a majestic water creature cruise by and show us what it is really like to belong in the sea underwater, simply amazing.
Saturday 13 July 2013
So the story begins...
Sydney, Australia
We set off with 5 suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 2 scooters and Frog. I think I may have to rethink the luggage situation, I keep thinking about those 120 steps in Positano. The excitement has been brewing for several days, now after 3 years our dreams are a reality.
We have 24 hours in Sydney to see some of the sites, eat, sleep and refresh before the 9 hour flight to Hawaii. We were blessed to being staying with our gracious hosts Fran and Emma. Fran and Tony went to school together, so there were a few stories about the boys...we will leave it at that. Our plan for the next day was to hop on the ferry and see the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and a few other sites which are stunning from the water. Fran squashed that idea, as there was no need to go on the ferry with the plebs, he was more than happy to take the morning off work and take us out on their private boat. Away we went and after fuelling we were off to see the Bridge, Opera House, the prison, for those convicts that were sent over from the U.K., this is a small island located within the Harbour. We saw the original site where people were held for quarantine, this was an eerie site as I could somehow visualise those people wandering the vast green lawns whether they were healthy or sick, while some had already met their demise. I was left to ponder those thoughts as we headed for 'The Heads' to see if we could spot any whales. We followed the tour boats out to the vast open waters of the Tasmen Sea, but were unlucky to have a siting. That would have been too much to ask for after our already sensational morning on the water. After an impromptu stop for a coffee, we hit the water again to be dropped at a nearby marina featuring many launches oozing character, sexiness and wealth. We were informed that this is nothing compared to what we will see in the South of France.
Bondi Beach was the next stop for a bit of sand play and lunch. We finished off with walking through The Rocks and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, another extraordinary view of the Opera House. So after 6 hours we felt we packed enough in and on we continued with our journey. See you in Hawaii!
I have since learnt that I am not able to upload our photos to this site from an iPad, I would have to be on a computer. Plan B will be photos on Facebook.
We set off with 5 suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 2 scooters and Frog. I think I may have to rethink the luggage situation, I keep thinking about those 120 steps in Positano. The excitement has been brewing for several days, now after 3 years our dreams are a reality.
We have 24 hours in Sydney to see some of the sites, eat, sleep and refresh before the 9 hour flight to Hawaii. We were blessed to being staying with our gracious hosts Fran and Emma. Fran and Tony went to school together, so there were a few stories about the boys...we will leave it at that. Our plan for the next day was to hop on the ferry and see the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and a few other sites which are stunning from the water. Fran squashed that idea, as there was no need to go on the ferry with the plebs, he was more than happy to take the morning off work and take us out on their private boat. Away we went and after fuelling we were off to see the Bridge, Opera House, the prison, for those convicts that were sent over from the U.K., this is a small island located within the Harbour. We saw the original site where people were held for quarantine, this was an eerie site as I could somehow visualise those people wandering the vast green lawns whether they were healthy or sick, while some had already met their demise. I was left to ponder those thoughts as we headed for 'The Heads' to see if we could spot any whales. We followed the tour boats out to the vast open waters of the Tasmen Sea, but were unlucky to have a siting. That would have been too much to ask for after our already sensational morning on the water. After an impromptu stop for a coffee, we hit the water again to be dropped at a nearby marina featuring many launches oozing character, sexiness and wealth. We were informed that this is nothing compared to what we will see in the South of France.
Bondi Beach was the next stop for a bit of sand play and lunch. We finished off with walking through The Rocks and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, another extraordinary view of the Opera House. So after 6 hours we felt we packed enough in and on we continued with our journey. See you in Hawaii!
I have since learnt that I am not able to upload our photos to this site from an iPad, I would have to be on a computer. Plan B will be photos on Facebook.
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