A couple of days ago i visited Monterey with my international friends for the first time. And I've been happily surprised :)
It took us about two hours to get there with the bus from San Jose - and I gotta say that our bus driver was pretty crazy. When we took off I fought against myself no to throw up -.- I'm sorry for this awful detail -.-
Anyways, despite we are still in January, the weather was awesome: Blue sky, just a few clouds that didn't ruin the atmosphere, warm breeze coming form the sea and bright sun.
The group was pretty big and half of us went to visit the famous aquarium; The other half - including myself - went to enjoy the beach and the historic downtown.
We got to the most touristic area in less than ten minutes and the pier was overcrowded.
We tasted like four different soups (clam chowder) - gotta love free samples haha - and we decided to go for the last one.
After that we went up to the panorama view to take some pictures. Aww that was soooo good, love the smell of salinity :)
We moved then to the beach, where an unpredicted wave made us really wet! We walked for a while following the shoreline when we finally met up with the rest of the group.
The guys decided to show off their courage and they got naked - kind of - to go and swim in the ocean.
...
Useless to say that they got frozen haha ;) Actually there were so many people swimming, but most of them were wearing suits to cope with the cold water. If you will ever decide to go surfing or scuba diving on the west coast, be sure you're provided of good equipment. The bathing suit is not enough :)
Afterwards, we went back visiting the town and we ended up in the most famous street in Monterey: Cannery Row.
So many good hotels there, amazing views and a great restaurant right on the beach. We didn't eat there, but I really wish I could go back just to sit there and enjoy the landscape :)
Before going back to take the bus, we passed in front of the United States Army - Presidio of Monterey and then we finally got back to the bus station.
Despite the short time, we definitely had a good time. Monterey is really tiny and nice - maybe a little too much touristic -, and the weather is supposed to be good pretty much all the time. I really feel like suggesting it as a stop if you will ever pass near through the area :) http://www.monterey.org/
C.
giovedì 27 gennaio 2011
sabato 22 gennaio 2011
San Francisco: The Dream City :)
It was not my first time in San Francisco, but everytime I visit it it's like living a dream :)
Josh and I took the train from San Jose at 9am and we arrived in San Francisco at 10.30ish. The first stop was in a cosy bar close to the train station. Maybe it was just the San Francisco atmosphere, but that hot chocolate tasted really good ;)
We walked for a wee while and we ended up in the Union Square. And everytime that massive Macy's looking at me like "Come and visit, Carlotta...Come and visit ;)"...EVIL.
Instead, we took some pictures in the square and (I) spent some money at Victoria's Secret - that's worse than drung, hell -.-
Facing the Union Square there's a very high hotel. We went in and we used its transparent elevators, til floor 32. The view was awesome. And fortunately it was also a really nice day, so we could see pretty far.
Back on the groundfloor, we headed to China Town. That was simply a mess haha...sooo many people walking, talking, buying, moving. We were actually starving, so we decided to find a nice place where to eat. And we ended up in "New Asia", a restaurant in a secondary street. Well. If you have the chance... DO NOT GO THERE!!!Jeez, the worst restaurant I've ever been in! Definitely overcrowded, bad organized and really, really, REALLY DIRTY! When our chicken arrived, we immediately noticed SEVERAL hair on the meal...I wanted to throw up.
Not longer after, we left that disgusting place and we headed to the Coit Tower. On our way, we also saw the Church of Scientology, haha...no Tom Cruise around though ;)
To get to the Coit Tower we basically had to climb SF -.- It's located up to a hill, such an effort to get there -.- , but it totally worh it. The view was amazing :) http://www.aviewoncities.com/sf/coittower.htm
Afterwards, we moved to the bay. We got to the Pier 39. Josh got a huge ice-cream, I had fun watching the sea lions playing. Really close to the pier there are so many shops, so I managed to spend some money. Shit -.- Hella cool though haha:)
After visiting the Chocolate Ghirardelli Factory - they give free samples away, go there! - we headed to the Italian area. Little Italy is really nice in SF, full of nice pubs and restaurants, lights and people :) Definitaly better than the one in NYC!
On our way back we passed again through Cina Town and Union Square (again on the elevator, by night was definitely amazing!) and as last stop we went up to the top of Macy's, awesome!
Back at the train station, we waited for our train to San Jose :)
It was such a nice day, San Francisco makes me always very happy. It's definitely my favourite city in the US :)
C.
Josh and I took the train from San Jose at 9am and we arrived in San Francisco at 10.30ish. The first stop was in a cosy bar close to the train station. Maybe it was just the San Francisco atmosphere, but that hot chocolate tasted really good ;)
We walked for a wee while and we ended up in the Union Square. And everytime that massive Macy's looking at me like "Come and visit, Carlotta...Come and visit ;)"...EVIL.
Instead, we took some pictures in the square and (I) spent some money at Victoria's Secret - that's worse than drung, hell -.-
Facing the Union Square there's a very high hotel. We went in and we used its transparent elevators, til floor 32. The view was awesome. And fortunately it was also a really nice day, so we could see pretty far.
Back on the groundfloor, we headed to China Town. That was simply a mess haha...sooo many people walking, talking, buying, moving. We were actually starving, so we decided to find a nice place where to eat. And we ended up in "New Asia", a restaurant in a secondary street. Well. If you have the chance... DO NOT GO THERE!!!Jeez, the worst restaurant I've ever been in! Definitely overcrowded, bad organized and really, really, REALLY DIRTY! When our chicken arrived, we immediately noticed SEVERAL hair on the meal...I wanted to throw up.
Not longer after, we left that disgusting place and we headed to the Coit Tower. On our way, we also saw the Church of Scientology, haha...no Tom Cruise around though ;)
To get to the Coit Tower we basically had to climb SF -.- It's located up to a hill, such an effort to get there -.- , but it totally worh it. The view was amazing :) http://www.aviewoncities.com/sf/coittower.htm
Afterwards, we moved to the bay. We got to the Pier 39. Josh got a huge ice-cream, I had fun watching the sea lions playing. Really close to the pier there are so many shops, so I managed to spend some money. Shit -.- Hella cool though haha:)
After visiting the Chocolate Ghirardelli Factory - they give free samples away, go there! - we headed to the Italian area. Little Italy is really nice in SF, full of nice pubs and restaurants, lights and people :) Definitaly better than the one in NYC!
On our way back we passed again through Cina Town and Union Square (again on the elevator, by night was definitely amazing!) and as last stop we went up to the top of Macy's, awesome!
Back at the train station, we waited for our train to San Jose :)
It was such a nice day, San Francisco makes me always very happy. It's definitely my favourite city in the US :)
C.
giovedì 20 gennaio 2011
Day 28: Back to California!
...The drive back to San Jose was quite good.
We all were really tired and the guys have been very good in maintaining their focus on the driving.
Sooo many feelings and emotions during the journey, I couldn't believe we actually made it.
32 states in 28 days, 10000 miles, 5 people, 741 arguments, 50 stops at McDonalds, 4 nights spent in the car, about 200 hours driving...AHHH! Simply an amazing experience! Best time of my life to live something like that.
What I liked most has been probably the Grand Canyon, as well as the Niagara's Falls. In terms of cities, I really liked New York and Miami. Other story for New Orleans, that was simply unique. The rich culture behind it was really amazing, I actually saw with my own eyes those places that I used to study for my music classes: The birthplace of blues and jazz, yay!
...Feeling happy to be finally back home (back to accessible toilets, comfortable beds and available facilities;)), but also kind of weird beacause of the habit to travel everyday, we arrived in San Jose around 7.30am. We moved all our stuff out from the Megmobile, and finally finished our adventure.
In one word, simply Memorable.
...My crew and I ended up hating each other, OBVIOUSLY, but now things are fine again. More than before! Now it's not that we are forced to stay together 21/7, so we are spontaneously led to look for each other as we shared so much :)
...If you had the chance, don't be scared: DO IT!!!!
...Thanks for following my adventure!
C.
We all were really tired and the guys have been very good in maintaining their focus on the driving.
Sooo many feelings and emotions during the journey, I couldn't believe we actually made it.
32 states in 28 days, 10000 miles, 5 people, 741 arguments, 50 stops at McDonalds, 4 nights spent in the car, about 200 hours driving...AHHH! Simply an amazing experience! Best time of my life to live something like that.
What I liked most has been probably the Grand Canyon, as well as the Niagara's Falls. In terms of cities, I really liked New York and Miami. Other story for New Orleans, that was simply unique. The rich culture behind it was really amazing, I actually saw with my own eyes those places that I used to study for my music classes: The birthplace of blues and jazz, yay!
...Feeling happy to be finally back home (back to accessible toilets, comfortable beds and available facilities;)), but also kind of weird beacause of the habit to travel everyday, we arrived in San Jose around 7.30am. We moved all our stuff out from the Megmobile, and finally finished our adventure.
In one word, simply Memorable.
...My crew and I ended up hating each other, OBVIOUSLY, but now things are fine again. More than before! Now it's not that we are forced to stay together 21/7, so we are spontaneously led to look for each other as we shared so much :)
...If you had the chance, don't be scared: DO IT!!!!
 |
| Crazy American Road Trip: WE SURVIVED! |
...Thanks for following my adventure!
C.
mercoledì 19 gennaio 2011
Day 27: Monument Valley (Utah), Grand Canyon (Arizona) and...Las Vegas!
Finally I manage to write the last two days of the road trip. I've been really busy since I got back to California :)
So, after a freezing cold night we finally woke up. It was 6.30am and we absolutley wanted to see the sunset in the Monument Valley. We collected Tom and Ace - in a good mood after a night spent in the hotel -.- and we drove to the famous spot to enjoy it.
When we got there there were a bunch of people ready with cameras and hot tea. Useless to say that it was incredible. Colours were wonderful and the shadows created by the rising sun emphasized the already amazing scenery. Blue, orange, black and no noise. Really enjoyable. http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/
We stayed there for about half an hour, and afterwards we decided to head to the Grand Canyon.
It took us six hours to get to the park and the drive was really awesome. Certain landscapes were simply...unreal! When we arrived to the entrance, we tried to corrupt the guard to let us in for less money - yes, we used our "Bambi eyes" - but it didn't work =_=
As soon as we got inside the park, I immediately started feeling a deep sense of freedom: Those wide and peaceful sceneries just led me to breathe life.
The Grand Canyon presents so many different landscapes, and the one that made me most excited was the one with huge mountains. Check the website! http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
We spent about three hours in the park, and after that we started heading to our last destination: Vegas!
Before actually getting to the city we had a small stop at the Hoover Dam, which is exactly between Utah and Arizona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam
Back on the road, thirty minutes later we started noticing that the sky was getting lighter and lighter...light pollution, Vegas was close.
And that's it, at 7ish we got to the city where everything's possible! Las Vegas!
We parked the car in the Bellagio's parking and we started our tour. Oh my god, that's not a city. That's a..Fake world! It was really amazing, but also kinda creepy. Everything's all about money and sex, a true Sin City.
All casinos were pretty amazing, lights everywhere, cars, people dressed up and people waving cards in front of you advertising naked women O_O
We saw the New York and the French areas, and all those buildings around.
Pretty amazing. We've also been lucky to see the amazing music-watershow in front of Bellagio: Emotional!
Despite the deeeeeply fake atmosphere, I really liked the city. And yes, that's gonna be the right place for me to turn 21 ;)
Around 11pm we decided to start our long drive back to San Jose, so we went back to the car ready for a long night!
C.
So, after a freezing cold night we finally woke up. It was 6.30am and we absolutley wanted to see the sunset in the Monument Valley. We collected Tom and Ace - in a good mood after a night spent in the hotel -.- and we drove to the famous spot to enjoy it.
When we got there there were a bunch of people ready with cameras and hot tea. Useless to say that it was incredible. Colours were wonderful and the shadows created by the rising sun emphasized the already amazing scenery. Blue, orange, black and no noise. Really enjoyable. http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/
We stayed there for about half an hour, and afterwards we decided to head to the Grand Canyon.
It took us six hours to get to the park and the drive was really awesome. Certain landscapes were simply...unreal! When we arrived to the entrance, we tried to corrupt the guard to let us in for less money - yes, we used our "Bambi eyes" - but it didn't work =_=
As soon as we got inside the park, I immediately started feeling a deep sense of freedom: Those wide and peaceful sceneries just led me to breathe life.
The Grand Canyon presents so many different landscapes, and the one that made me most excited was the one with huge mountains. Check the website! http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm
We spent about three hours in the park, and after that we started heading to our last destination: Vegas!
Before actually getting to the city we had a small stop at the Hoover Dam, which is exactly between Utah and Arizona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam
Back on the road, thirty minutes later we started noticing that the sky was getting lighter and lighter...light pollution, Vegas was close.
And that's it, at 7ish we got to the city where everything's possible! Las Vegas!
We parked the car in the Bellagio's parking and we started our tour. Oh my god, that's not a city. That's a..Fake world! It was really amazing, but also kinda creepy. Everything's all about money and sex, a true Sin City.
All casinos were pretty amazing, lights everywhere, cars, people dressed up and people waving cards in front of you advertising naked women O_O
We saw the New York and the French areas, and all those buildings around.
Pretty amazing. We've also been lucky to see the amazing music-watershow in front of Bellagio: Emotional!
Despite the deeeeeply fake atmosphere, I really liked the city. And yes, that's gonna be the right place for me to turn 21 ;)
Around 11pm we decided to start our long drive back to San Jose, so we went back to the car ready for a long night!
C.
sabato 15 gennaio 2011
Day 26: Santa Fe, Petroglyph National Monument, Monument Valley
In the morning we woke up and everybody took a shower. We said goodbye to the lady and after paking - and checking facebook - we went back on the road.
Before starting our drive though, we stopped in Santa Fe downtown to collect Jamie B., our friend. At that point, the car was REALLY packed O_O We could have been stopped by the police for "overtransportationofstuffandpeople". Hahahha.
New Mexico roads were pretty characteristic, we saw so many ranches and we also went through an apparently "Ghost City"...exciting ;)
We stopped at the Petroglyph National Monument to ask for some advice and they suggested us to visit the Rinconada Canyon Trail. They said it was a pretty famous site for its old drawings on the rocks.
So we headed there, and, yes...It was okay :) We mostly enjoyed the landscape, the typical arid weather and, finally, a human temperature! It was not freezing anymore and that was pretty encouraging!:)
Afterwards, we started our drive to the Monument Valley. We got there in the evening and Ace and Tom decided to book a room. The two Jamies, Jenny and I decided to follow our homeless side and sleep in the car to save money! And that was such an adventure O_O
Before starting sleeping we decided to use the toilets, not too far from the hotel. Those toilets were the ones used by people camping (who the hell go camping with that cold??Haha Jamie M. proposed that...CRAZY!), but we luckily had the code because we previously asked for it at the reception in the hotel.
That place was CREEPY. Nobody around, just us. Looking like zombies. Haha.
Back in the car, we said we could have slept in front of the toilets, just to have them ready...but after a few seconds...headlamps pointing at us... O_O A ghost car appeared from the nothing and approached us...We started the engine, ready to leave. At that point, a man got off from the van and started looking around...in a creepy way...so decided to leave...even if Jamie M. thought that he was lost and alone and wanted to offer his help...(I just said LEAVE NOWWWW!).
We ended up on hill close to the hotel, and we started setting the stuff for the night. We took the cooler off and, at that point, Jamie accidentally honked which made us loud. Exactly two minutes after, the same creepy man arrived with the ghost car. He asked us what we were doing and what we were looking for. Jamie B. promptly replied "Oh, we are just re-setting the luggage"..yes, sure. We were NOT going to sleep in the car.........no......ahaha.
So basically the guard told us to head back to the hotel and to park in front of our friends' room. And so we did, because we were kind of scared.
Once we got there, we started getting ready for the night. Obviously, after five minutes the man drove again behind our car to see if we were in the right place. Creeeepy.
The looong freezing night began, and at least the car was a bit more comfortable being just four people.
Following day: Sunrise in Monument Valley, Grand Canyon...and Vegas!!!
C.
Before starting our drive though, we stopped in Santa Fe downtown to collect Jamie B., our friend. At that point, the car was REALLY packed O_O We could have been stopped by the police for "overtransportationofstuffandpeople". Hahahha.
New Mexico roads were pretty characteristic, we saw so many ranches and we also went through an apparently "Ghost City"...exciting ;)
We stopped at the Petroglyph National Monument to ask for some advice and they suggested us to visit the Rinconada Canyon Trail. They said it was a pretty famous site for its old drawings on the rocks.
So we headed there, and, yes...It was okay :) We mostly enjoyed the landscape, the typical arid weather and, finally, a human temperature! It was not freezing anymore and that was pretty encouraging!:)
Afterwards, we started our drive to the Monument Valley. We got there in the evening and Ace and Tom decided to book a room. The two Jamies, Jenny and I decided to follow our homeless side and sleep in the car to save money! And that was such an adventure O_O
Before starting sleeping we decided to use the toilets, not too far from the hotel. Those toilets were the ones used by people camping (who the hell go camping with that cold??Haha Jamie M. proposed that...CRAZY!), but we luckily had the code because we previously asked for it at the reception in the hotel.
That place was CREEPY. Nobody around, just us. Looking like zombies. Haha.
Back in the car, we said we could have slept in front of the toilets, just to have them ready...but after a few seconds...headlamps pointing at us... O_O A ghost car appeared from the nothing and approached us...We started the engine, ready to leave. At that point, a man got off from the van and started looking around...in a creepy way...so decided to leave...even if Jamie M. thought that he was lost and alone and wanted to offer his help...(I just said LEAVE NOWWWW!).
We ended up on hill close to the hotel, and we started setting the stuff for the night. We took the cooler off and, at that point, Jamie accidentally honked which made us loud. Exactly two minutes after, the same creepy man arrived with the ghost car. He asked us what we were doing and what we were looking for. Jamie B. promptly replied "Oh, we are just re-setting the luggage"..yes, sure. We were NOT going to sleep in the car.........no......ahaha.
So basically the guard told us to head back to the hotel and to park in front of our friends' room. And so we did, because we were kind of scared.
Once we got there, we started getting ready for the night. Obviously, after five minutes the man drove again behind our car to see if we were in the right place. Creeeepy.
The looong freezing night began, and at least the car was a bit more comfortable being just four people.
Following day: Sunrise in Monument Valley, Grand Canyon...and Vegas!!!
C.
martedì 11 gennaio 2011
Day 25: From Texas through Oklahoma to New Mexico!
This morning has been sooo difficult to wake up and leave our warm beds.
It was really cold, plus we were still very tired. But the day had to start! We got ready and also ate something for breakfast (free breakfast has become a V.I.P. stuff haha).
After that, we put all our baggage back in the car and we left Wichita Falls.
The goal was to eat in a really characteristic Texan place, so we set our GPS on Amarillo: we would have eaten at "
We'll then have an ovenight drive til the Monument Valley and then Gand Canyon. After that....VEGAS!
I'm not sure I'll manage to update the blog in the next two days, I'll do it as soon as possible anyways!
C.
It was really cold, plus we were still very tired. But the day had to start! We got ready and also ate something for breakfast (free breakfast has become a V.I.P. stuff haha).
After that, we put all our baggage back in the car and we left Wichita Falls.
The goal was to eat in a really characteristic Texan place, so we set our GPS on Amarillo: we would have eaten at "
We'll then have an ovenight drive til the Monument Valley and then Gand Canyon. After that....VEGAS!
I'm not sure I'll manage to update the blog in the next two days, I'll do it as soon as possible anyways!
C.
lunedì 10 gennaio 2011
Day 24: From Louisiana to Texas: Dallas and Wichita Falls
Incredibly, this morning we managed to leave as scheduled. By 8.15am we were already leaving New Orleans.
Since then, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN TRAVELLING! It has been a pretty tiring day, mainly spent singing, sleeping, watching outside the window. And it was great because we never got lost. Haha.
I actually really enjoyed the drive through Texas, it was exactly like movies portrait it! Wide lands, some farms, dry grass, ranches... Sooo good! And creepy ;)
During our drive we watched the movie "American Psycho", just to relax O_O
When we got to Dallas, around 8pm, we discussed about it, sitting in a characteristic restaurant and eating burgers and steaks :)
Afterwards, we headed to downtown Dallas, which I really enjoyed. It seemed pretty sad and gloomy actually, not so many people around, not so many lights or things to do (that's why someone previously suggested us to visit Hudson or San Antonio). But probably because of that weird atmosphere, I kind of liked it. I wish I could have visited it during the day, but it's okay. I'll be back.
On the road again, we set the GPS to Wichita Falls. Before getting here, we also passed through a town called "Scotland", which was pretty funny. Jamie and I were quite excited, but we didn't manage to find a sign to take a picture with :/
Anyways, after four looong hours drive we got to Wichita Falls. We are spending here the night, and tomorrow we'll head to Santa Fe, where we'll meet another friend of ours, Jamie (yes, another Jamie!).
He'll drive back to California with us - and believe me - it's going to be a big challenge: The car is totally packed and there's no even room for us...Haha, I really start missing my room! :P
...Santa Fe, here we come!
C.
Since then, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN TRAVELLING! It has been a pretty tiring day, mainly spent singing, sleeping, watching outside the window. And it was great because we never got lost. Haha.
I actually really enjoyed the drive through Texas, it was exactly like movies portrait it! Wide lands, some farms, dry grass, ranches... Sooo good! And creepy ;)
During our drive we watched the movie "American Psycho", just to relax O_O
When we got to Dallas, around 8pm, we discussed about it, sitting in a characteristic restaurant and eating burgers and steaks :)
Afterwards, we headed to downtown Dallas, which I really enjoyed. It seemed pretty sad and gloomy actually, not so many people around, not so many lights or things to do (that's why someone previously suggested us to visit Hudson or San Antonio). But probably because of that weird atmosphere, I kind of liked it. I wish I could have visited it during the day, but it's okay. I'll be back.
On the road again, we set the GPS to Wichita Falls. Before getting here, we also passed through a town called "Scotland", which was pretty funny. Jamie and I were quite excited, but we didn't manage to find a sign to take a picture with :/
Anyways, after four looong hours drive we got to Wichita Falls. We are spending here the night, and tomorrow we'll head to Santa Fe, where we'll meet another friend of ours, Jamie (yes, another Jamie!).
He'll drive back to California with us - and believe me - it's going to be a big challenge: The car is totally packed and there's no even room for us...Haha, I really start missing my room! :P
...Santa Fe, here we come!
C.
domenica 9 gennaio 2011
Day 23: New Orleans: It's Time To Feel The Rhythm!
As forecasted, we arrived in New Orleans at 5ish. I didn't even notice that, because I was happily sleeping. Well, happily: Hard to be happy to sleep huddled up in such a small space. Such a bad backache -.-"
We woke up at about 9am, and we got ready for the day. It was quite a shock to wake up with such a cold weather after four days in Miami!
We first visited the Cemetery, very popular in New Orleans. We then headed to downtown, where we had a nice breakfast: eggs, potatoes and pancakes......yesss.
In the afternoon we visited the famous French Quarter: beautiful balconies, houses, pubs. The atmosphere was completely different from any other city visited so far.
Jackson Square and Burboun Street have definitely been my favourite places.
Hanging around the city I got closer to the deep tradition of this place: Everything conveys to the history of slavery and to the convergence of different cultures, a long time ago. Voodo dolls, masks, ancestor worship, religion.. I didn't think I'd have found something like that! This definitely surprised me!
After a nice afternoon spent in hanging around, we went to check-in at the hotel. With our usual routine;)
We ate a pizza in our room (Jamie and Tom went to pick it up) and we chilled for a while.
Also, Ace, Jenny and I also experienced a movie scene while Jamie and Tom were away: The heating wasn't working in our room, so Ace had the brillant idea to call the reception. And of course, they sent someone to fix it. What happened?? Since we were supposed to be just two people in the room (Ace and Jamie), Jenny and I had to hide: Myself in the toilet, Jenny in the closet.
That was hilarious.
By the way, at 9.30 we decided to leave the hotel to explore the city by night.
...SOOO AWESOME! We sat in a dark, tiny and cosy pub, listening to live jazz and drinking something. That was simply amazing! The freakiness of this city soaked into my veins!
Listening to jazz drives me crazy, especially if it's live and well played. I'd have spent the whole night in that small and crazy place.
Now we're back at the hotel, ready to catch uo with our sleep :)
Tomorrow: Ten hours drive to... Dallas, Texas!:D
C.
We woke up at about 9am, and we got ready for the day. It was quite a shock to wake up with such a cold weather after four days in Miami!
We first visited the Cemetery, very popular in New Orleans. We then headed to downtown, where we had a nice breakfast: eggs, potatoes and pancakes......yesss.
In the afternoon we visited the famous French Quarter: beautiful balconies, houses, pubs. The atmosphere was completely different from any other city visited so far.
Jackson Square and Burboun Street have definitely been my favourite places.
Hanging around the city I got closer to the deep tradition of this place: Everything conveys to the history of slavery and to the convergence of different cultures, a long time ago. Voodo dolls, masks, ancestor worship, religion.. I didn't think I'd have found something like that! This definitely surprised me!
After a nice afternoon spent in hanging around, we went to check-in at the hotel. With our usual routine;)
We ate a pizza in our room (Jamie and Tom went to pick it up) and we chilled for a while.
Also, Ace, Jenny and I also experienced a movie scene while Jamie and Tom were away: The heating wasn't working in our room, so Ace had the brillant idea to call the reception. And of course, they sent someone to fix it. What happened?? Since we were supposed to be just two people in the room (Ace and Jamie), Jenny and I had to hide: Myself in the toilet, Jenny in the closet.
That was hilarious.
By the way, at 9.30 we decided to leave the hotel to explore the city by night.
...SOOO AWESOME! We sat in a dark, tiny and cosy pub, listening to live jazz and drinking something. That was simply amazing! The freakiness of this city soaked into my veins!
Listening to jazz drives me crazy, especially if it's live and well played. I'd have spent the whole night in that small and crazy place.
Now we're back at the hotel, ready to catch uo with our sleep :)
Tomorrow: Ten hours drive to... Dallas, Texas!:D
C.
Day 22: Looong Drive through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi to Louisiana!
We were scheduled to leave at 8am yesterday. Yes. Sure -.-
I woke up, without any alarm. I looked around me. Everybody asleep. Okay. I looked at the clock: 8am. Wtf.
I woke up the others and SLOOOWLY we started to get ready.
After ONLY two hours delay, we managed to leave.
We visited downtown, and I really enjoyed that tour. Downtown Miami is exactly like I imagined it, or better, how "CSI Miami" influenced my idea of it ;)
Skyscrapers, palms, police with bicycles...wow ;)
Around 11am we headed to the highway. After twenty minutes drive, someone had the GREAT idea of driving on the opposite direction to go and get a $3 meal in a casino (the same we found on our way to Miami, 3days before).
Twenty minutes drive in the opposite direction (I mean, opposite to our final destination - and we were already out of schedule, shit -.-), we got to that damn casino.
We got inside and with a lovely smile we asked about that meal.
"We don't have that meal"
"But we got it three days ago..."
"Oh..that's during working days"
"Okay.......What about the $10 meal?"
"There's a $16 meal if you want - and it includes champagne"
(=_=)
"The billboard on the highway said it was $10..."
"No, I don't know anything about that..."
Bla bla bla. After twenty minutes, Ace won the battle against the receptionist. He managed to get the offer for $10, and after that we decided to leave. Heading to the closest CVS -.-"
Back on the highway, we drove for about an hour. We stopped for gas. And we noticed that the car said "Change oil". PANIC. We called oour rental car company to ask what to do, and they said we should have gone to the closest department to change the car. CHANGE THE CAR!? SERIOUSLY!? AFTER 6000MILES!???NOOO!!!Our Megmobile...that was supposed to reach the 10000 miles!
Anyways, we also realized that we should have told them also about the other, umm, "accident" (the stop sign in Wyoming..ahha) before returning the car. So Ace called again to say that. "Yes...there was ice..on the ground..and..we slipped before the stop sign..damaged the stop sign!? NO, NOOO....just the car........" YES. Haha. Eveything worked out though.
SOOOOOOOOO, we had to drive back to ORLANDO to find that other rental car department. It took us like half an hour, and we got there at 5ish. And yes, another show: We had to choose the car that would have replaced ours (R.I.P.).
We chose exaclty the same car, but with a shitty license plate: NEVADA. (Ace's quote: "Who the fuck wants to be from Nevada!??"). Thirty minutes after, and we finished moving all our stuff. Ready to go, and..."CHANGE OIL".
O_O
Wtf! Again!? That was unbeliavable! We had to choose ANOTHER car, and move everything again!!! This time it was a car from Florida at least, it will look cool once we'll ba back to California ;)
After TWO ENDLESS HOURS spent in Orlando trying to find a new car, we went back on the road.
7pm. And we were still in Florida. Crap.
The GPS said that the expected arrival time in New Orleans would have been at about 5am. Go help us.
The guys have been really good with shifts as usual, and I fell aslepp...like an angel. Hahahha.
C.
I woke up, without any alarm. I looked around me. Everybody asleep. Okay. I looked at the clock: 8am. Wtf.
I woke up the others and SLOOOWLY we started to get ready.
After ONLY two hours delay, we managed to leave.
We visited downtown, and I really enjoyed that tour. Downtown Miami is exactly like I imagined it, or better, how "CSI Miami" influenced my idea of it ;)
Skyscrapers, palms, police with bicycles...wow ;)
Around 11am we headed to the highway. After twenty minutes drive, someone had the GREAT idea of driving on the opposite direction to go and get a $3 meal in a casino (the same we found on our way to Miami, 3days before).
Twenty minutes drive in the opposite direction (I mean, opposite to our final destination - and we were already out of schedule, shit -.-), we got to that damn casino.
We got inside and with a lovely smile we asked about that meal.
"We don't have that meal"
"But we got it three days ago..."
"Oh..that's during working days"
"Okay.......What about the $10 meal?"
"There's a $16 meal if you want - and it includes champagne"
(=_=)
"The billboard on the highway said it was $10..."
"No, I don't know anything about that..."
Bla bla bla. After twenty minutes, Ace won the battle against the receptionist. He managed to get the offer for $10, and after that we decided to leave. Heading to the closest CVS -.-"
Back on the highway, we drove for about an hour. We stopped for gas. And we noticed that the car said "Change oil". PANIC. We called oour rental car company to ask what to do, and they said we should have gone to the closest department to change the car. CHANGE THE CAR!? SERIOUSLY!? AFTER 6000MILES!???NOOO!!!Our Megmobile...that was supposed to reach the 10000 miles!
Anyways, we also realized that we should have told them also about the other, umm, "accident" (the stop sign in Wyoming..ahha) before returning the car. So Ace called again to say that. "Yes...there was ice..on the ground..and..we slipped before the stop sign..damaged the stop sign!? NO, NOOO....just the car........" YES. Haha. Eveything worked out though.
SOOOOOOOOO, we had to drive back to ORLANDO to find that other rental car department. It took us like half an hour, and we got there at 5ish. And yes, another show: We had to choose the car that would have replaced ours (R.I.P.).
We chose exaclty the same car, but with a shitty license plate: NEVADA. (Ace's quote: "Who the fuck wants to be from Nevada!??"). Thirty minutes after, and we finished moving all our stuff. Ready to go, and..."CHANGE OIL".
O_O
Wtf! Again!? That was unbeliavable! We had to choose ANOTHER car, and move everything again!!! This time it was a car from Florida at least, it will look cool once we'll ba back to California ;)
After TWO ENDLESS HOURS spent in Orlando trying to find a new car, we went back on the road.
7pm. And we were still in Florida. Crap.
The GPS said that the expected arrival time in New Orleans would have been at about 5am. Go help us.
The guys have been really good with shifts as usual, and I fell aslepp...like an angel. Hahahha.
C.
venerdì 7 gennaio 2011
Day 21: Key West, Paradise on Earth!
This morning we woke up really early, and we finally manage to follow the schedule. Kind of.
We headed to Key West, one of the greatest places close to Miami. It's also the most southern place in the US!
The drive to the last island was really nice (we've been singing the Beach Boys all the time haha), the landscapes were exactly like those that you can see in vacancies brochures...LIKE A PARADISE!
It took us about 3 hours and a half, but it definitely worth it!
When we arrived, Jamie and Ace went to look for information about parasailing - and they also did it! -while Tom, Jenny and I went to look for a nice beach.
We found a really nice one not too far from where we left the guys.
We spent the afternoon there, and after an hour also Jamie and Ace joined us.
Around 5ish we move to Key West downtown to see the amazing sunset, which is a pretty famous moment in the island. Colors were amazing, it was a really magical scenery.
Before getting back to the car, we hung around the city still for a while. Also, Jenny and I went to see the Mile 0, which is basically "a marker where drivers can set their odometers to follow directions in early guide books". Check it out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_mile_marker
Back to the car, we drive back to Miami Beach. Downtown by night was pretty impressive, can't wait to visit it also tomorrow morning.
After that, another long drive for us: New Orleans, here we come!!!
C.
We headed to Key West, one of the greatest places close to Miami. It's also the most southern place in the US!
The drive to the last island was really nice (we've been singing the Beach Boys all the time haha), the landscapes were exactly like those that you can see in vacancies brochures...LIKE A PARADISE!
It took us about 3 hours and a half, but it definitely worth it!
When we arrived, Jamie and Ace went to look for information about parasailing - and they also did it! -while Tom, Jenny and I went to look for a nice beach.
We found a really nice one not too far from where we left the guys.
We spent the afternoon there, and after an hour also Jamie and Ace joined us.
Around 5ish we move to Key West downtown to see the amazing sunset, which is a pretty famous moment in the island. Colors were amazing, it was a really magical scenery.
Before getting back to the car, we hung around the city still for a while. Also, Jenny and I went to see the Mile 0, which is basically "a marker where drivers can set their odometers to follow directions in early guide books". Check it out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_mile_marker
Back to the car, we drive back to Miami Beach. Downtown by night was pretty impressive, can't wait to visit it also tomorrow morning.
After that, another long drive for us: New Orleans, here we come!!!
C.
giovedì 6 gennaio 2011
Day 20: I Am In Miami..Bitch!
Today has been a pretty lazy day. We woke up around 10ish and we haded to the beach.
Everybody worn sun cream, but me of course. I need my tan back!
After a while, Jamie had the GREAT and WISE idea of feeding the seaguls. RIGHT NEXT TO ME =_=
"No Jamie, don't do it..and if you really have to do it, do it two miles from here"
...
Useless to say he did it like 5metres from me.
In five seconds I was surrounded by 50 starving seaguls, ready to eat my body too. What the hell -.-
And Jamie ran away, LAUGHING. Mean.
Apart from that, the guys started building a sand castle. At the end they were so proud and smug: "OMG, so many people wanted to take a picture with the castle! Oh, also two girls at the end! That was AMAZING!"
..Jenny and I went exploring South Beach in the meantime. This place is REAAAALLY touristic, so many souvenirs shops, clothes shops and stuff. And no doubs, we fell victims of this circle too haha!
In the evening it was raining a bit, and we enjoyed the windy beach by night. That was AWESOME. We felt so hyper for some reason and we started jumping and laughing. Hahah great!
After that, we tried to presuade the guys to drink something out, but with poor results. We failed. AGAIN. They're just so old and sensible. Kill me now -.-
Tomorrow we're gonna explore Key West, one of the most popular attactions here in Miami. We'll leave early in the morning, and we'll probably spend the whole day out. Yessaahhh!
Amazing Miami, amazing!!!!
C.
Everybody worn sun cream, but me of course. I need my tan back!
After a while, Jamie had the GREAT and WISE idea of feeding the seaguls. RIGHT NEXT TO ME =_=
"No Jamie, don't do it..and if you really have to do it, do it two miles from here"
...
Useless to say he did it like 5metres from me.
In five seconds I was surrounded by 50 starving seaguls, ready to eat my body too. What the hell -.-
And Jamie ran away, LAUGHING. Mean.
Apart from that, the guys started building a sand castle. At the end they were so proud and smug: "OMG, so many people wanted to take a picture with the castle! Oh, also two girls at the end! That was AMAZING!"
..Jenny and I went exploring South Beach in the meantime. This place is REAAAALLY touristic, so many souvenirs shops, clothes shops and stuff. And no doubs, we fell victims of this circle too haha!
In the evening it was raining a bit, and we enjoyed the windy beach by night. That was AWESOME. We felt so hyper for some reason and we started jumping and laughing. Hahah great!
After that, we tried to presuade the guys to drink something out, but with poor results. We failed. AGAIN. They're just so old and sensible. Kill me now -.-
Tomorrow we're gonna explore Key West, one of the most popular attactions here in Miami. We'll leave early in the morning, and we'll probably spend the whole day out. Yessaahhh!
Amazing Miami, amazing!!!!
C.
Day 19: After The Long Overnight Drive...Miami Beach, baybe!
The weather was amazing and we immediately enjoyed the beach! 30°C, in January...AHHH!
Not much to say actually, since we just lyed on the warm sand for a while.
After that we drove to the hotel, set our stuff and got fancy dressed for Ace's birthday.
We went to eat in a really nice restaurant close to the hotel. As usual, Tom was not lucky with his order. Hahha!
When the time to pay arrived, we all had a deep feeling of throwing up O_O More expensive than expected....S*it! And again, Tom was not lucky again for taxes and tip and stuff...pooooor thing!
Got back to the hotel, we all fell asleep in like half an hour. Gotta catch up with our sleep hehe!
Ready to enjoy another amazing day in Miami Beach tomorrow, yes!!!!!!
C.
Day 18: Washington DC..and then long drive through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia...!
Yesterday I didn't manage to update the blog since last night we started our long drive to Miami.
During the day we visited Washintong DC, the US capital. The city is really sophisticated, full of museums and monuments.
We first visited the National Gallery: I got to see the amazing Ginevra de' Benci, by Leonardo da Vinci. Pretty good to see it in person. The gallery was really rich of good paintings and sculptures, it was a shame we had to leave so early.
Afterwards we went right in front of Capitol Hill, a really massive and impressive building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill . Since there was a pretty good weather, we managed to fully enjoy the scenerey :)
We couldn't miss the George Washington monument, so that has been our next stop. Definitely huge. And the obelisk's prick stood from the bluse sky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument
We also visited the Lincoln Monument, another symbol of Washington DC. Soo many steps, a great view and a huge Lincoln's statue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial
Last but not least, we went to see the White House! http://www.whitehouse.gov/ I actually expected it to be a bit...umm...bigger?? Poor Obama....haha! Anyways, I'd spend some time there if I could :P
Around 5 we went to eat something, ready to begin the looong overnight drive to Miami. And...ahh...our guys have been amazing! They drove for about 20 hours and the morning after we got to Miami. They had an average of five-hours drive each, then the shift changed. Pretty tiring, also for Jenny and I. But yes, here we are Miami!
C.
During the day we visited Washintong DC, the US capital. The city is really sophisticated, full of museums and monuments.
We first visited the National Gallery: I got to see the amazing Ginevra de' Benci, by Leonardo da Vinci. Pretty good to see it in person. The gallery was really rich of good paintings and sculptures, it was a shame we had to leave so early.
Afterwards we went right in front of Capitol Hill, a really massive and impressive building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill . Since there was a pretty good weather, we managed to fully enjoy the scenerey :)
We couldn't miss the George Washington monument, so that has been our next stop. Definitely huge. And the obelisk's prick stood from the bluse sky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument
We also visited the Lincoln Monument, another symbol of Washington DC. Soo many steps, a great view and a huge Lincoln's statue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial
Last but not least, we went to see the White House! http://www.whitehouse.gov/ I actually expected it to be a bit...umm...bigger?? Poor Obama....haha! Anyways, I'd spend some time there if I could :P
Around 5 we went to eat something, ready to begin the looong overnight drive to Miami. And...ahh...our guys have been amazing! They drove for about 20 hours and the morning after we got to Miami. They had an average of five-hours drive each, then the shift changed. Pretty tiring, also for Jenny and I. But yes, here we are Miami!
C.
lunedì 3 gennaio 2011
Day 17: From NYC through New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia to Washington DC!
This morning we left the Big Apple after four amazing days. We managed to follow the schedule so the day began in a good mood - Finally!:)
It's getting harder and harder to get on well easily, but it's pretty normal considering that we are together 24/7.
So, we left the city around 8 and we drove to Philadelphia. We got there around 12pm and we parked the car right next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Unfortunately it was closed - Tom and Jamie thanked God for sparing them though! - so we just took a couple of pictures in front of it.
Anyways, this museum is pretty popular for being the well-known set of the movie Rocky: The famous scene were he ran up to the stairs and rised his arm up was set exactly there! http://chucksconnection.com/rocky.html
After that, we went to visit the Philadelphia City Hall: Really impressive! I really like the building, it definitely confirmed my idea of the east-coast style.
We then walked along a street for a while, nosed around a 90% sale shop (great-.-) and visited the Liberty Bell. Read something about it, the facts are really interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell
Around 3pm we ate something in a tiny place in downtown. I decided to taste the chacteristic Cheesestake and it was definitely a success. Taste it if you can! ;)
After visiting the city - which I really loved! - we headed back to the car, ready to drive to Washington DC. And here we are, four miles from it. Our hotel is in Virginia, but tomorrow we'll go to downtown, of course. So many things to see, and...in the evening we'll start the very last huge challenge: The long drive to Miami!
It's supposed to take us about 16 hours, but we're pretty sure we'll spend more time due to stops and stuff like that. Our MegMobile (this is how we decided to rename our car haha!) will have a hard time!
I hope I'll manage to update the blog as soon as possible, but even if I won't manage to do it...I'll be back soon!
Let another adventure begin!
C.
It's getting harder and harder to get on well easily, but it's pretty normal considering that we are together 24/7.
So, we left the city around 8 and we drove to Philadelphia. We got there around 12pm and we parked the car right next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Unfortunately it was closed - Tom and Jamie thanked God for sparing them though! - so we just took a couple of pictures in front of it.
Anyways, this museum is pretty popular for being the well-known set of the movie Rocky: The famous scene were he ran up to the stairs and rised his arm up was set exactly there! http://chucksconnection.com/rocky.html
After that, we went to visit the Philadelphia City Hall: Really impressive! I really like the building, it definitely confirmed my idea of the east-coast style.
We then walked along a street for a while, nosed around a 90% sale shop (great-.-) and visited the Liberty Bell. Read something about it, the facts are really interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell
Around 3pm we ate something in a tiny place in downtown. I decided to taste the chacteristic Cheesestake and it was definitely a success. Taste it if you can! ;)
After visiting the city - which I really loved! - we headed back to the car, ready to drive to Washington DC. And here we are, four miles from it. Our hotel is in Virginia, but tomorrow we'll go to downtown, of course. So many things to see, and...in the evening we'll start the very last huge challenge: The long drive to Miami!
It's supposed to take us about 16 hours, but we're pretty sure we'll spend more time due to stops and stuff like that. Our MegMobile (this is how we decided to rename our car haha!) will have a hard time!
I hope I'll manage to update the blog as soon as possible, but even if I won't manage to do it...I'll be back soon!
Let another adventure begin!
C.
domenica 2 gennaio 2011
Day 16: Last Amazing Day in the Big Apple
Today was really...SUCCESSFUL!!!Another "girls" day, and it was amazing!
The guys left the room around 6ish to go and see the statue, and we stayed in bed for a while. Yes, also after the alarm rang-.- I carefully switched it off, swearing I'd have slept only other five minutes. Yes. Sure.
We woke up an hour later, and the plan was to meet Derek at 9.30am. And it was 8.45. Dammit!
We quickly got ready and went out to take the subway. Direction: Columbia University!
We arrived thirty minutes late (woooops.....!) and we visited the campus with Derek. It was really nice, and I totally feel for the journalism department. Arrgh, that was totally awesome, as well as the two huge libraries!
After that we got a coffee from Starbucks, because seriously...our brain was still sleeping.
Back in the subway, we set out in the direction to visit the house that used to be the set of the tv series "Friends"! It was in a really nice area and the neighbourhood was really welcoming! A woman even stopped her car because she noticed that we were kind of lost, asking where we needed to go.
Afterwards we headed to Washington Square, where we met a cute and friendly squirrel. So friendly that Derek thought he wanted to attack him -.-'
As promised before, Jenny and I wanted to visit the Met again. Derek joined us, and we got there after walking for a really long time. The visit was really worth it, once again I managed to see many famous pieces of art. The Egyptian, African and Asian areas were really impressive. Famous european names stood as usual, and I was really pleased to see one of the most beautiful of Van Gog's portraits.
After the Met, Derek and I had to say goodbye because he had to leave. Awww, I already miss him! It was so nice spending some time together, especially in a city like New York!
Jenny and I kept going with our tour, and we ended up visiting the American Museum of Natural History.
Probably thanks to good karma on us, we got in for free. After maybe ten minutes, we got lost. Jeez, that building is...umm...huge! O_O We hang around for about an hour, then we finally got back to Central Park.
My goal was to see the Balto statue, and it was a huge pain finding it! It took us maybe...an hour? Haha poor Jenny...she kept saying "What did this damn dog do...?". We finally found it - after asking for directions from at least five couples - and I was totally satisfied!
We headed then to 5th Avenue again, passed in front of the Plaza Hotel (I grow up watchin Home Alone, yes!) and went to do some shopping. Completely wrecked, we then moved to our last stop: The Rockefeller Center!
We went up to the 70th floor, and the view was amazing! We could see the World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park.. If you have the chance, visit it! In the meantime, check out the website http://www.rockefellercenter.com/
Somehow we managed to get back to the subway, passing through Times Square, and we got back home. Super tired! The 5-hours energy's effects had worn off ahah!
New York definitely touched my heart, I'm already planning to come back at some point!
Plan for tomorrow: Visiting Philadelphia and getting to Washington DC in the evening!
C.
The guys left the room around 6ish to go and see the statue, and we stayed in bed for a while. Yes, also after the alarm rang-.- I carefully switched it off, swearing I'd have slept only other five minutes. Yes. Sure.
We woke up an hour later, and the plan was to meet Derek at 9.30am. And it was 8.45. Dammit!
We quickly got ready and went out to take the subway. Direction: Columbia University!
We arrived thirty minutes late (woooops.....!) and we visited the campus with Derek. It was really nice, and I totally feel for the journalism department. Arrgh, that was totally awesome, as well as the two huge libraries!
After that we got a coffee from Starbucks, because seriously...our brain was still sleeping.
Back in the subway, we set out in the direction to visit the house that used to be the set of the tv series "Friends"! It was in a really nice area and the neighbourhood was really welcoming! A woman even stopped her car because she noticed that we were kind of lost, asking where we needed to go.
Afterwards we headed to Washington Square, where we met a cute and friendly squirrel. So friendly that Derek thought he wanted to attack him -.-'
As promised before, Jenny and I wanted to visit the Met again. Derek joined us, and we got there after walking for a really long time. The visit was really worth it, once again I managed to see many famous pieces of art. The Egyptian, African and Asian areas were really impressive. Famous european names stood as usual, and I was really pleased to see one of the most beautiful of Van Gog's portraits.
After the Met, Derek and I had to say goodbye because he had to leave. Awww, I already miss him! It was so nice spending some time together, especially in a city like New York!
Jenny and I kept going with our tour, and we ended up visiting the American Museum of Natural History.
Probably thanks to good karma on us, we got in for free. After maybe ten minutes, we got lost. Jeez, that building is...umm...huge! O_O We hang around for about an hour, then we finally got back to Central Park.
My goal was to see the Balto statue, and it was a huge pain finding it! It took us maybe...an hour? Haha poor Jenny...she kept saying "What did this damn dog do...?". We finally found it - after asking for directions from at least five couples - and I was totally satisfied!
We headed then to 5th Avenue again, passed in front of the Plaza Hotel (I grow up watchin Home Alone, yes!) and went to do some shopping. Completely wrecked, we then moved to our last stop: The Rockefeller Center!
We went up to the 70th floor, and the view was amazing! We could see the World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park.. If you have the chance, visit it! In the meantime, check out the website http://www.rockefellercenter.com/
Somehow we managed to get back to the subway, passing through Times Square, and we got back home. Super tired! The 5-hours energy's effects had worn off ahah!
New York definitely touched my heart, I'm already planning to come back at some point!
Plan for tomorrow: Visiting Philadelphia and getting to Washington DC in the evening!
C.
sabato 1 gennaio 2011
Day 15: New York, New York!
The idea for today was to have a pretty chill time... i.e. shopping and visiting places which are close to each other.
Of course we ended up walking miles and miles, again!
Times Square in the morning, pretty busy as expected (and, oh my God, HOW MANY NICE SHOPS!!), Hard Rock Cafe (which was exactly in the square), Brodway, 5th Avenue (which has probably all the designer brands of the world!), \and...I met my friend Kerri, a lovely lady met back in Edinburgh in January! It was so nice seeing her again, especially in her city! Once again, a friendship that goes beyond time and space! She was our guide through Little Italy and China Town, where we met - after hours of research =_= - the guys for dinner.
We ate something in a tiny chinese restaurant - it was me, Jenny, Kerri, Derek, Jamie, Tom and Ace, such international company! - and after that we decided to go back home.
We took the subway until Grand Central Terminal, where I said goodbye to Kerri.
Jenny and I finally took the subway to get back home, and here we are. Tired as never before, but really satisfied. It's has been really nice actually to be able to spend some time together, without the pain of having the guys with us.....hahah I'm kidding! But still, our "girls talks" have made this day interesting haha!
Going to bed now, ready to recover a bit in order to exploit the last day in The City!
C.
Of course we ended up walking miles and miles, again!
Times Square in the morning, pretty busy as expected (and, oh my God, HOW MANY NICE SHOPS!!), Hard Rock Cafe (which was exactly in the square), Brodway, 5th Avenue (which has probably all the designer brands of the world!), \and...I met my friend Kerri, a lovely lady met back in Edinburgh in January! It was so nice seeing her again, especially in her city! Once again, a friendship that goes beyond time and space! She was our guide through Little Italy and China Town, where we met - after hours of research =_= - the guys for dinner.
We ate something in a tiny chinese restaurant - it was me, Jenny, Kerri, Derek, Jamie, Tom and Ace, such international company! - and after that we decided to go back home.
We took the subway until Grand Central Terminal, where I said goodbye to Kerri.
Jenny and I finally took the subway to get back home, and here we are. Tired as never before, but really satisfied. It's has been really nice actually to be able to spend some time together, without the pain of having the guys with us.....hahah I'm kidding! But still, our "girls talks" have made this day interesting haha!
Going to bed now, ready to recover a bit in order to exploit the last day in The City!
C.
Day 14: New Year in New York City!
Ready to spend the last day of the year in the Big Apple, my crew and I took the subway to the Statue of Liberty.
We got there around 9am, and...OMG, the queue was ENDLESS O_O
We bought the tickets anyways, and we started queuing. After a while, the guys decided to give up - because the tickets to the top of the statue had sold out - and head to another place. Jenny and I choose to stay. Yeeeees, girl power! The weather was really nice, so the two hours queuing passed pretty quickly.....yes, kind of. Ahah. My legs were already dead!
We were getting close to the front of the queue when Jenny noticed our friend from the IHouse in California queuing in the express lane. So we called him which embarassed him in front of everybody - his face was a beetroot shade of purple haha. Small world!
We finally took the ferry to the island, and it was great!
I took some pictures of the Manhattan skyline, and of the Statue of course. It was massive! If you will ever go to New York, this is definitely a must-see!
After getting the wrong waterbus, we finally went back to downtown.
Our next stop was the Guggenheim Museum: My dad OBVIOUSLY reminded me to visit it, he was like "Omg, you cannot NOT go there!". So, yeah, dad, that was really good! ;)
I had goosebumps every five minutes! It was sooo good to get to see all the paintings that I used to study. "Ahh look at Monet!" "Oh my God, that's a Picasso!"
I am so happy I managed to visit - it was really worth it!
After that, we headed to the Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Unfortunately we only got to see a small part of it because it was going to close in twenty minutes. We decided that we will visit it properly in the next few days though :)
We briefly walked through Central Park, and that was reaaaally romantic - despite the lack of men haha.
After walking for ages and ages, getting lost like a hundred times and complaining like kids (damn knees!), we took the subway to go to Brooklyn. The plan was to join Derek and his friends for New Year's Eve, eating somethind at his place and then enjoy the countdown from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Around 22.15pm we left the apartment and got to the bridge. It was exactly as I've always imagined it: Massive and impressive! It was not too cold, so it has been a really enjoyable New Year's Eve! I'm very happy I spent it with some good friends in this amazing city. And from an awesome perspective!
After a really good celebration, Jenny and I got back home. It was really nice meeting new - drunk - people in the subway though, haha O_O
Damn huge amazing city, I'm ready for another great day - my legs maybe not though ahah! :D
PS: NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NEW YORK CITY at least ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, people!
C.
We got there around 9am, and...OMG, the queue was ENDLESS O_O
We bought the tickets anyways, and we started queuing. After a while, the guys decided to give up - because the tickets to the top of the statue had sold out - and head to another place. Jenny and I choose to stay. Yeeeees, girl power! The weather was really nice, so the two hours queuing passed pretty quickly.....yes, kind of. Ahah. My legs were already dead!We were getting close to the front of the queue when Jenny noticed our friend from the IHouse in California queuing in the express lane. So we called him which embarassed him in front of everybody - his face was a beetroot shade of purple haha. Small world!
We finally took the ferry to the island, and it was great!
I took some pictures of the Manhattan skyline, and of the Statue of course. It was massive! If you will ever go to New York, this is definitely a must-see!
After getting the wrong waterbus, we finally went back to downtown.
Our next stop was the Guggenheim Museum: My dad OBVIOUSLY reminded me to visit it, he was like "Omg, you cannot NOT go there!". So, yeah, dad, that was really good! ;)
I had goosebumps every five minutes! It was sooo good to get to see all the paintings that I used to study. "Ahh look at Monet!" "Oh my God, that's a Picasso!"
I am so happy I managed to visit - it was really worth it!
After that, we headed to the Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Unfortunately we only got to see a small part of it because it was going to close in twenty minutes. We decided that we will visit it properly in the next few days though :)
We briefly walked through Central Park, and that was reaaaally romantic - despite the lack of men haha.
After walking for ages and ages, getting lost like a hundred times and complaining like kids (damn knees!), we took the subway to go to Brooklyn. The plan was to join Derek and his friends for New Year's Eve, eating somethind at his place and then enjoy the countdown from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Around 22.15pm we left the apartment and got to the bridge. It was exactly as I've always imagined it: Massive and impressive! It was not too cold, so it has been a really enjoyable New Year's Eve! I'm very happy I spent it with some good friends in this amazing city. And from an awesome perspective!
After a really good celebration, Jenny and I got back home. It was really nice meeting new - drunk - people in the subway though, haha O_O
Damn huge amazing city, I'm ready for another great day - my legs maybe not though ahah! :D
PS: NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NEW YORK CITY at least ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, people!
C.
Iscriviti a:
Post (Atom)