Where's Ya Bean?

Day 2 in Chicago. It was time for our Power Day, after a reasonably quiet day on arrival to the Windy City. The plan was to head East, towards Lake Michigan and the park areas, and also for James to try and finally get another pair of shorts from Old Navy. We had been advised that Old Navy were the Primark of USA, and we hadn’t had any luck in Philadelphia or Washington DC, so James was desperate to scout one out and do a bit of short shopping.

After passing underneath The Loop, the raised vintage Metro line that circled the CBD and apparently where everything good could be found, the first stop off point was the Buckingham Fountain. A powerful fountain set aside from the busy road that shuttled “suits” in and out of the CBD and the surrounding skyscrapers. A fine sight indeed. And after circling it and taking many pictures, James was off to the “restroom” nearby......probably due to the torrents of water spewing out of the fountain, something that has always seemed to affect the Gray bladder. But sure enough, as I continued circling and clicking away (on my camera, I was being a mental) the monster jet at the centre of the fountain disappeared from view. I reasoned that maybe the jet gets shut off periodically throughout the day, but couldn’t help wonder if James had just done a monster of his own and all power had been re-routed to the restroom nearby.....

The fountain...before the toilet incident

Once the fountain had given us a nice little mist to cool us down we moved on through the park, heading North towards the river. Searching for any form of landmarks or interesting things to see we happened across an outdoor concert. Well, the band were warming up and practicing a rendition of Oh Fortuna, but the setting was spectacular – outdoor flip-down seating at the front and wide open areas of grass at the back, all set beneath a criss-cross of metal beams and lights/speakers. Magnificent. And next to that was the.....err.....well, I don’t know the name of it but it’s that kinda metal squashed ball that distorts the view when you look at it. Yup, that’s the one. That was incredible too, and suddenly Chicago was looking much better than the initial assessment on day 1 – a scaled-down version of New York, good enough, but because we had seen New York so recently I think that the “edge” of Chicago was overlooked somewhat. A quick look at the weird fountain with weird changing faces on it (I didn’t take any pictures of it, not because I didn’t like it, which I didn’t, but there were just too many kids around, and what seemed like too many mom’s all-too-eager to shout “paedophile” at the slightest thing) and we set off to find the mythical Old Navy.

James and the Giant Bean

It was found with relative ease, although it did not yield any shorts for James, I did get a rather natty pair of black suede flip-flops to replace my old ones that just weren’t up to the job at hand. I’ll probably leave them in a Greyhound terminal somewhere rather than throwing them away, so at least some hobo with size 7 feet can get some footwear, and a little bit of style. Thankfully there was a TJ Maxx (TK Maxx’s American cheaper half-brother) just round the corner and Jimmy got his shorts after all, but there was still a distinct lack of any decent hats for both of us – the sun was baking down on us most of the day, and is fine at a comfortable 20-25^o C, but when you’re reaching up into the mid-30’s it gets a little intense. And that was where the Gray brothers paths were to diverge. Only briefly mind. See, James didn’t really fancy going up in the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) after having done the Empire State and Rockefeller in NYC, but I had heard great things about it and wanted to try it for myself. So as I headed up the 193 floors to the Sky Deck in Willis Tower, James headed back to the Parthenon Hostel (in Greek Town) to put a wash on at the laundrette over the road. Was I worried about going up on my own? Nah, the iTunes made sure no crazies started up a conversation with me, and I managed to get someone to take my picture out on The Ledge, the glass viewing platform that juts out 4 feet into mid air. Amazing. And at $17.50 it was cheaper than any at New York too. And it was a nice amble through the streets to get back to the ranch too, expecting James to have returned with piles of freshly-washed and dried clothes. However, he was nowhere to be seen. After a further hour of waiting I reasoned that it had probably taken longer in the drier than expected, but would start a search of said laundrette if he wasn’t back by 6pm. He came in 5 minutes later. Disaster averted.

Tim on The Ledge

At this point I should mention that the hostel has been a good host to us. A small room, but reasonably priced, including an all-you-can-eat-or-stuff-into-your-pockets-when-the-staff-aren’t-looking-breakfast, and two single beds. Locate in the centre (pretty much) of Greek Street, but more importantly only a 5 minute hike to the Greyhound terminal. This, we have worked out through previous stop-offs, is paramount. Especially after Washington DC when we had to trek over half an hour in the baking heat to the bus stop, almost 2 miles we think. So getting a hostel next to the Greyhound stop is a flipping good way to do it, and then walk the extra bit to the sights if needed. I will also mention the policies adopted by the hostel. Check-in and out were usual times, a shared bathroom and toilet (which is fine, we are used to that by now), no eating or drinking in the rooms. Now this last one seems to be a staple of the smaller hostels, and is a fair point, as the cute, tiny, tattooed girl on reception pointed out that there is a common room on the first floor so you can eat and drink there. Bang on. So on the first night, and adopting the travellers-on-a-budget ways, we purchased 6 cans of bog-standard generic American Lager and put them in the fridge for later, marked with the note stating “James and Tim Gray, Room 210” on the basis that we would tuck into these after dinner that night. A short period of time passes and then a though occurs to me, maybe out of my sub-conscious or the fact I am on constant alert whilst on our travels, and I have another look at the Rules and Regulations of the Hostel. About halfway down the page reads something along the lines of:

No Eating or Drinking in bedrooms – common room is available on the first floor

No Illegal Drugs, Smoking or Alcohol to be consumed within the building – if you violate these rules you will be asked to leave the hostel

My blood ran cold. I stuttered the pertinent Rule/Regulation to James and I rushed down to the fridge to smuggle the contraband out and into my rucksack. Thankfully nobody was around or had noticed, and we were pleased with ourselves that we had avoided a turf-out onto Greek Street. And then it came to light the next day that James had reset the home page of the communal computer to his Blog page so that others might revel in our travels. Not a problem you would think, but then he had remembered that he had mentioned the beers in the fridge next door in the Blog and had had to change the homepage back to Google so we didn’t get rumbled! Phew...that was too close

Wednesday was our mop-up day, so we packed up our things, left them behind reception (thanks to a bit of charm on the tattooed girl from “The British Boys”) and went for a mooch around the north east sector of the city. We hit a beach on the edge of the lake and I had a little dabble in with the fishes. It had been a long time since I had set foot on a beach and I nearly had to do a little run-the-last-bit-as-the-sand-is-too-hot to get into the water. But it was lush and made me look forward to Australia even more so. We made it back to the Greek bar opposite the hostel to watch the Spain vs Portugal match, and supped on two soda refills whilst they fannied about trying desperately not to get the ball into the net but rather kick lumps out of each other. And is it just me, but are Spain actually really boring to watch? Shame Ronaldo didn’t cry again, but we live in hope.

So America is BIG then?

The short trip to the Greyhound terminal after the game was almost enjoyable after recollecting the mammoth trip we endured in DC. And once again, on our 8^th or so Greyhound journey a completely different system was in place to get us checked in and onboard. We had ticket numbers 24 and 25 so we knew we should get on, but we ideally wanted two seats net to each other to write blogs, charge phones, and more importantly, to not get a weirdo sat next to us for the 10 hour journey to Nashville, Tennessee. So that is our next stop. I’ve just given the game away. Oh well, never mind. Next stop......NASHVILLE!!

Sweet Home Chicago

It is another day, and another city. This time the city is Chicago, Illinois. Heard lots about the place and it was one of the first places on the list for the USA from both me and James, but now we can’t really think why. And this was summed up perfectly by a chap sitting outside Al’s #1 Italian Beef (the first Man vs Food place we have managed to get to, although it was not a challenge, it was still a darn tasty sandwich – go for the dipped Italian with hot peppers, very much recommend it!). He asked where we were looking for on the map that we had sprawled out across the table, and we replied that we weren’t looking for anything in particular really, just some good places to go and see some cool stuff. On asking him where he would go to for the best thing in Chicago, he paused, for a disconcertingly long time, and answered along the lines of, “well you will want to go drink in a bar a talk to some hot girls.” Which is a great idea, but given we are on a budget and looking to sight-see rather than get leathered and try our phoney-English accents out on the locals, it didn’t seem the best thing to do. His second suggestion was to see the Chicago Cubs play baseball, but giving no dates or incentive either. So we bode him farewell and set off to wander the streets and see what we could see...

So what bit's the windy bit then??

The “historic” district......wasn’t. The museum seemed a bit samey compared to the Natural History museum we had only just seen in Washington DC, so we mooched on round to the edge of Lake Michigan which was rather pleasing, and vaguely tried to get in the background of a video shoot for a programme on MTV, but very much doubt we will be in it! Our evening meal consisted of a Gyro Meal. Now we had both heard of the Gyro from an episode of Seinfeld, but neither knew what was actually in one. Or even a vague idea of what it was. Could it be a sandwich? Could it be a stew of some kind? No idea. So we sat down to our meal.......and unwrapped a donner kebab, chips and soda. Hmmmmm, again, nobody said this trip would be glamorous, and at least we have tried a Gyro, in the Greek quarter, so I guess the saying “do as the Romans do” applies here.

James decided to try and get us booted out of the hostel almost as soon as we had arrived....

Our coach journey to Chicago had started well enough. A long stopover in Buffalo, and as James has mentioned, you should never judge a city by its Greyhound terminal otherwise I would be slating Buffalo left, right and indeed centre! We left Buffalo and headed to Cleveland for an hour and a half stopover, which was tiny in comparison to the one at Buffalo so we had raised spirits. Sadly there had been a mix-up of some sorts with the drivers and the doors to the coach were shut (full, due to inability to book a seat) with just two people in front of us! Gutted. And had the Indian family of four not pushed in front of us not done so we would have been on the bus and heading to our destination. However, thankfully the Greyhound team pulled one out of the bag and laid on another coach, so we were able to pick out our favoured seats (near the driver and as far away from the volatile chemical toilet as possible) and settle in for the 6 or 7 hour journey. And to top it off we had a female bus driver who was more than likely in a gospel choir in her spare time as when she shouted out the rules of the bus she added onto the end her own little caveat – no foul language. You see, this was not a Greyhound Express coach that we have been used to, and more of an old style school bus, so no PA system, less legroom, etc. And the fact that there was no PA may have been to the detriment of anyone who wanted to get off at Gary, Indiana, for rather than making the scheduled stop the driver simply hollered out, “does anyone need to stop at Gary” and after no reply was ventured she sped on past. It didn’t seem like the greatest place in the world, but I feel sorry for anyone who may have needed the stop and had been asleep or attempting to get in and out of the toilet alive. And I feel sorry for the two (or maybe four) people who didn’t make it back to the coach from a “comfort break” before she just drove off. But all in all I think she has been my favourite bus driver yet. Only just beating guy-who-looked-like-Anders-Breivik.

The Blue Brothers

England are playing Italy in the quarter finals of the European Championship today. That’s all that this Sunday has to offer really. That and another overnighter on the ol’ Greyhound. It would be a shame to be leaving the quaint little mom n pop hotel that we had been staying in whilst visiting Canada, but sure enough we had to pack up the rucksacks and head on out again. Thankfully, the weather Gods had been kind to us and offered up a very reasonable day for us to hike down to the bus terminal after one last look around (North) Niagara Falls.

The last moments in the hotel before setting off...

We had returned to the bar we had eaten in on our first night in the deserted town, a place called Grand Central. The irony being that it was the exact opposite of its namesake in New York...the streets were empty, even for a Friday night, and only roared into life when a biker tore down the road on his chopper for lack of anything else to do, and the bar was much the same. But they did a good portion of fish n chips so I was happy with that. After purchasing some supplies for the overnighter we had been left with a heavy handful of Canadian money – which can’t be used in the US although US dollars are accepted in Canada. So we realised that we could grab a footlong Subway and have half for lunch and half for dinner on the coach – nobody said this trip would be glamorous! And with the change we would have enough money to order two Root Beers from Grand Central, on the basis that we were entitled to free refills!

The only good thing about that trip was the free refills.

So here I am in Buffalo, New York, sitting on a blue plastic chair (probably made from HDPE) in the Greyhound terminal at 22:06. The bus was late leaving Niagara Falls, and it took another 20 mins or so to get through Customs after explaining that the only things we had purchased in Canada were snacks. It’s been over half an hour since we got here, and the smell from the toilets hasn’t wavered since our last visit, and we should hopefully be pulling out of the depot at 11:55. A stop-over in Cleveland at 03:00 for an hour and a half and we should (hopefully) be on our way to Chicago, Illinois, the city of.....ummmmmm.....well there’s the......aaaah......well we’ve heard it’s lovely anyway so we both want to go there.

Have enjoyed Canada and it’s people very much and really hope to visit again someday, maybe to explore the northern territories and see some bears catching wild salmon or something! Anywho, I will leave this entry here and hopefully be able to put something interesting in tomorrow!

What Lovely Niagara's...

What a difference a day makes! Well, to be more specific...what a difference a bed makes, when compared with a faux leather seat on a Greyhound coach. And a big double bed too! After sleeping in various conditions over the last few days (bunk beds, shared double bed, aforementioned Greyhound seat) it was absolutely outstanding to have a couple of beers and climb into a spacious double bed, and in a room you could swing a cat in. Actually, it was so big you could probably swing a tiger in here! But I wouldn’t want to...not unless it had been properly sedated. Plus it’s got to weight the best part of a ton.

James plots world domination from his laptop

The schedule [ske-dule] for the day only really had one thing on it – see the Niagara Falls. Our wander down the road, past Dad’s Diner, was interrupted continuously by a variety of runners, both old and young, sweating like beasts in the already hot morning sun. But they all seemed very nice and light-hearted, with a few jaunty hellos and thanks when getting out of their way, which you certainly wouldn’t have got in New York. Already I was beginning to like Canada a lot. And that’s even considering the strange liquor licensing laws which means that offies close whenever they like or at by 6pm on some streets.

When we finally got to the Falls it was just an amazing sight. It certainly beats any waterfall I had seen in the Lake District, and the fact that the sun was again out and blazing just made everything seem that much better. Thankfully the Falls throws up a torrent of spray into the air, and if the wind changes you can get a thoroughly refreshing mist shower, much like the artificial ones we tried to get from the sprinklers in Washington DC! After seeing The Falls from the road we ventured onto the Maid of the Mist – the small passenger boats that ferry people in their delightful blue waterproof smocks up to the Horseshoe Falls and pauses there with engines on full blast whilst we all get a drenching from the torrents of water thundering over the cliffs. A great time, and hopefully some great pictures too, but it was hard to get a good shot when there’s so much water in the air!

On the Maid Of The Mist

The evenings task was a trek to The Silo, a restaurant on the US side of Niagara, that serves a rather large steak, cheese and has brown hogie, that was featured on Man vs Food. However, this plan had to change when we realised it was a 6 mile trek there and 6 miles back, with the possibility of negotiating passport control. So we ended up somewhere local, by Niagara Whirlpool, where apparently the words “with soup” means “with chips”. But being English I didn’t complain. I just ate my chips (and turkey/swiss sandwich) in peace.

And that’s all really. Next up.....Chicago (after another overnighter on the Greyhound).

Is Anyone Out There?

9:30am. The Greyhound bus rolls into Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. This looks more like it, nice and quiet, with an early morning sun that is not burning the flesh off our skeletons. The journey had been bearable, and probably better than we had expected really. Although I had not slept very much (in direct contradiction to what the American girl thought in a very similar blog doing the rounds on this World Tour) I felt that it was definitely an option for later travel if we needed to do it. Plus it meant that we would save money on accommodation as it was essentially covered in the Greyhound ticket.

The first leg of said overnighter was back the way we came, from Washington to New York as there was no other route we could take. But it was quiet, and we could have had 4 seats each if we had wanted! But that would have been silly. It was strange to be back in New York so soon after leaving only a few days earlier (and all I can hear in my head now is the voice of Louis Theroux......mainly because James has constantly been mentioning him throughout our little jaunts into towns and suburbs) and the lights were shining just as brightly on our approach as they had been upon the top of the Rockefeller Center last week. But this was not a sight-seeing tour, far from it. A transfer from gate 75 to 22 with an hour to spare seemed a very easy task...almost too easy, and in the same vein as the first leg of the trip, just too easy. Sure enough, we hit problems at Gate 22 as there were huge numbers of people queuing and questioning an old-timer who was trying to sort out a back-log of people that had missed the last bus, due to a back log of the people from the last bus, and so on, and so on, and so on. Apparently the “first come first served” process was in operation so me and James sidled into the queue and awaited our fate – if we missed this one we would miss our second transfer in Buffalo. 20 minutes late, but with two seats next to each other we set off for Buffalo, bracing ourselves for trying to get as much sleep as we could, our neck pillows only offering slight comfort on the faux leather chairs that never fail in giving you a moist backside.

Yes, that IS a pirate in the queue!

Two breaks later and we trundled into Buffalo just after 7am, having missed our connecting bus by minutes. But as there was another one along in half an hour it was no big problem. That can’t be said for the toilets at Buffalo Greyhound Terminal. A quick passport check on the bus to Niagara Falls (we were staying in a hotel across the border on the Canadian side as it has much better views, apparently), and again at the turnpike a few meters down the road and we were out of the US, only a matter of days after entering. The short trip to Niagara Falls terminal got us in two and a half hours before we could check into the hotel so we sat in Edwin’s Cafe with a coffee and broke out the cards (cue dialogue from Trainspotting). An Amtrak train goes by some time later which excites James no end, and all-but confirms my assumption that he is a secret train enthusiast, and then that’s it...time for the station to close for the day! So we make our way to the hotel, check in, and find a room fit for a king. Well, a king that has been on the road for a few days, and stayed in less-than-amazing places. The room contains two double beds, space, a fridge, a private bathroom including a bath! Brilliant. We were very pleased with our lot here, that’s for sure.

Hello?? Anyone there??

The town seems very quiet, especially as it’s a Friday. As after having lunch at Dad’s Diner and failing to watch the football on ESPN as the telly doesn’t have it, we wandered into town for some tea. And it felt like a scene from 28 days later. Nobody around, except for the faint tones of music and a DJ coming from what we thought were bars/theatres, but on closer inspection turned out to be from speakers adorning the lampposts the length of the street. Eerie. And even eerier than that, one of the streets was Eerie Avenue. Eerie. OK, that’s one too many eerie’s. Nevertheless, we got a small case of beer, James broke his duck on asking for his meal to be wrapped up to eat later, and we finished the evening on the balcony of our small mom and pop’s hotel supping a slightly too warm can of Molson Canadian Lager. Well, when in Rome...!

DC Lofty

It’s Wednesday. It’s Washington DC. It’s 37^oC.

At least that is what the young German girl told me yesterday it would be. She is staying in the same hostel as us (DC Lofty) and is on her way to or from Orlando, I wasn’t really listening. That’s because Golden Boy (guy in yellow t-shirt) is shouting instructions and stories at her that he knows from his time there. That’s just two of the characters we have met here. There’s also Josh. He is a student from South Korea staying here for 6 days (for some reason) and turned up at the hostel at the same time as us. Incidentally, we trekked the distance there in the hot hot sun, through a bit of a dodgy neighbourhood, and finally rocked up at half 2 to find (a) Josh just arriving, and (b) a note on the door stating “Gone for lunch, back at 4.30pm”. Well this really doesn’t help our situation. Baking hot, sweating cobs, and thirsty beyond belief. How long do they need for lunch?! And the England game was kicking off at 2.45pm too! So Josh and James set off to find a convenience store and a bar to watch said football, and I stayed with the luggage outside the hostel, in the vain hope they would return early. After 5 minutes some old woman came out and I managed to get me, Josh and the luggage inside (James was still nowhere to be seen, but he knew where we were) and into the blissful air-conditioning. I might say at this point that Josh is brilliant. He is so over-the-top with enthusiasm. See the following dialogue:

Josh – So how long are you guys travelling for then?

James – Oh, a little over 6 months.

Josh – SIX MONTHS?! OH MY GOD THAT’S CRAZY!

James – How long are you travelling for then, Josh?

Josh – Me? About 3 months.

After signing in at reception and dumping our stuff in the room we wandered out for a stroll to Stoney’s Bar, apparently the one place in DC that MAY be showing the football (other than the DC Lofty living room), and grab a beer and some grub. Thankfully England won, to the despair of Ukrainian/American Office-worker guy, but who knew a LOT about English football. Apart from the fact, and I still vehemently argue this point, that he believed the only reason that Man City won the league this year is because Milner played nearly every game. He also said that Joe Hart was rubbish. So maybe he didn’t know all that much after all.

Mmm-hmmm that WAS a tasty burger!

A quick stop off at the local deli store and a load of laundry washed and cleaned later and we were discussing our next moves through the US of States over a glass of $5.99 Shiraz.......from a red plastic cup. Josh was in and out, asking us about New York whilst waiting for a coat hanger that the staff had apparently gone off to get for him:

Josh – So how much did you guys pay to stay in New York?

James/Tim – Hmmm, about 400 dollars or so for 4 nights at the YMCA.

Josh – 400 DOLLARS?! THAT’S CRAZY MAN!!

We had still not yet the two mystery guests who would be using the second set of bunk beds in our room, but we knew their luggage was in the locker and they would be here soon. Hopefully they weren’t working in a casino or something and come back at 4 in the morning and wake us up. But as James left the busy living rooms downstairs to get his Blog Book from upstairs, he returned to inform me that I had been correct. I had assumed that the our bunkmates were a couple, due to the matching padlocks on the lockers. And sure enough, on returning to the room I was introduced to Kyle (29) and Betsy (21). A married couple who were in town looking to get an apartment to rent, or failing that, to move back to Savannah. As this was our first night sharing a room with people we didn’t know we were unsure of the etiquette of how it would work, but we got chatting and they aborted their third and deciding game of the Magic Card Game (or whatever it was...something to do with wizards and elves and stuff....but they assured us they weren’t geeks). A quick introduction turned into a chat. The chat turned into several discussions including, in no particular order: their political stand point, their favourite Beetles album, slavery, English history, hiking, Top Gear and both me and James having “perfect hair” that was an indication that we looked English. Over 2 hours later and it was most definitely time for some shut-eye, as we had to “do” Washington in a (very hot) day and they needed to get their apartment sorted. Sadly, they informed us that they were only staying the one night, so me and James would need to wait and see who our next guest of honour would be...

An early start was in order, to try and beat the heat that was on the way later in the day. Heading off to the Washington Monument it seemed warm, sure, but still comfortable enough to get on with the obligatory sight-seeing. A mooch round the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art and the Capitol Building and we were ready for some grub, a beer, and more than that...a good cold shower on return to DC Lofty!! It was hell getting around in that sun, I sure as heck haven’t seen that weather in good ol’ Blighty before, but we will acclimatise to it in no time.

I don't know why he didn't use a proper toilet...

After the cold shower and a shave (a beard on day like that is not a good idea, and I should have shaved it off before going out...may have strange sun tan mark on my face now :o\) our new bunkmate entered the room whilst James was downstairs. Now we had been worried about getting someone who was a little bit.....different, and had obviously hoped for some people of our own age, interests, etc. So I was clearly quite happy when in walked Anna, a 20 year old blonde Swedish girl. Not bad, could have been a lot worse I thought to myself. After nipping to the bathroom to top up my water, I find James back in the room and Anna packing up her things! It turns out that she had managed to switch rooms to the one next door where her friend is staying, so we get the room to ourselves, hurrah!

A night of planning tonight and then it’s off to Niagara Falls tomorrow. Greyhound here we come again!

A Rocky Road

The morning of Monday 18^th June began with a big apple. A Golden Delicious. A tasty brand and one favoured by my big brother, as it was he who kindly supplied us with them from the local shop round the corner.

The plan for Philadelphia had always been two-fold: the Liberty Bell and “the Rocky Steps” otherwise known as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A quick scan of the local streets to see some Benjamin Franklin-themed buildings and plaques first thing, and then a wander to the main drag to see the Liberty Bell before lunch. It was nice and green, a far cry from the concrete jungle that is New York. The Liberty Bell was good to see, although I kinda felt me and James should be keeping our heads/voices down as it was all about “long live America” and throwing off the shackles of the oppressive regime lead by the evil British tyrants.

A big bell

So that was point 1 done, and now for point 2 – the Rocky Steps. As it was still relatively early we grabbed a cup of hot brown and headed to the North West corner of the city. Having been advised by Shaun at work that it was a very long trek we did think about bussing or taxiing it, but then we thought that we are the Gray Brothers and we can make it there and back no problem! And also, we kinda had nothing else to do either. The obligatory run up the steps, posing for pictures at the top and wander round the (outside of) Museum was enjoyable, and that was that really. Philly done!

Rocky...?

Or was it? Well, on heading back to the ranch we stopped off for a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, and boy did it hit the spot! Definitely glad we tried one in Philly, and hoping there are some more available in the other states. It did remind me of a doner kebab, and that was no bad thing, as I felt much more comfortable (and less drunk) eating this than the last time I had a doner kebab and chips in Leeds.

Back at the Society Hill Hotel we managed to catch a bit more football, a bit more sleep and look at planning a few other things for the trip. After realising that we wouldn’t be able to get the Greyhound bus from Washington straight up to Toronto, and that it may be a struggle to get from Buffalo to Niagara Falls some work was needed to ensure the next leg would be viable. Many options were discussed and we are now booked on an overnight Greyhound trip from Washington to Niagara Falls direct, which will take a hefty 14 or so hours. But we will save money on accommodation so that’s a positive thing......right? Two more nights booked in the Crystal Inn (I think) in Niagara Falls with a double bed each will be a delight to catch up on the sleep we won’t get on the overnight Greyhound!

Our last night in Philly was a reasonably quiet one – a few more sights in the local area, a Monster Burger and (proper) French Fries, a couple of buck-a-beers and we hit the hay ready for the trip to Washington DC. Only two days/nights in Philly, which was enough I think, but a bit weird when you just start to get to know the place and then you’re off again! But that’s something that we will have to get used to....

Philly

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground was where I spent most of my days......

Yes, we are in Philadelphia. NYC is far behind us and everything here is at eye-level, so no more craning of necks to see how far up the buildings go! Sunday was a fairly quiet affair, getting everything together and leaving the Vanderbilt YMCA and catching a rather nice Greyhound coach down to Philly. I thought that I had got the "crazy" sitting next to me, but it turned out she was rather nice. A Colombian woman who gave me a few pointers on what to do (Liberty Bell, etc) and what not to do (West Philly).

Our digs is right in the centre so no more busses or metros for us, everything is very much walkable, which is nice! First night in and we needed a quiet one, so after catching the football and finally managing to fix my what-looked-like-a-now-very-expensive-paperweight (phone) we headed out for a stroll to see what was what. Lulu’s seemed like the best place to eat as they did cheap beers too.

Our digs above the bar

Hanging around the bar trying to decide on a beer from the usual choices of mainstream beverages – Coors, Bud, Miller, etc – the baseball-capped chap at the bar sparks up a conversation and advises us to try a Yeunglings, a tasty tipple from a micro-brewery somewhere in the North East. And a fine choice it was too! As we supped the ice-cool beer and tucked into (yet more) pizza, the conversation blossomed between Gray brothers and Chaz, as was his name. A chef-cum-musician apparently, but he kept us entertained with stories of US politics, music, the local area, and his desire to travel Europe/the world. And he even paid for a round of our beers too, what a guy! So he is now our latest friend on Facebook.

A quick stroll to the pier and down the water-front, including a 180^o turn around at the end before it looked like we might need the ol’ mulit-tool, saw us plodding back towards the main streets that we already knew and loved. One last beer in the bar below our hotel seemed like a fine idea, but no micro-brewery choices for us here – it was Tecate for $3 (a 355ml can of Mexican beer)....which did the job. It will never win any awards, but as we sipped it back in the bar with only the barman and red t-shirt guy for company it felt nice to have had such a chilled out day. After red t-shirt guy had left (with one last swig of tequila from behind the bar) and James had scampered off to find the “restrooms” I thought I’d chance my arm and chat to the barman, as we had had such good luck with Chaz at Lulu’s. "Is that American Ninja Warrior you’re watching?” I questioned, and sure enough that was all it needed. About an hour later we had covered lots more Anglo-American topics, and even picked up a tip on how to get a cab in Las Vegas (apparently they will not pick you up of the street, you have to order from a hotel. Which is good because I can imagine me and James out on The Strip getting thoroughly irate if no cabs were stopping to pick us up! And James would probably think it’s a big conspiracy or that people just don’t like the look of him after being avoided several times in the New York subway...). OK, he didn't get us a round of drinks, but still, it showed with no shadow of a doubt that people in New York aren't that friendly, but once you get out of the big city everyone welcomes you with open arms.

Know Your Rights!

Morning. Greenwich Village. Nice. After the hustle and bustle of the centre of New York it was rather nice to get out into the “sticks” and enjoy a little bit of the quiet side of NYC. Green trees, small parks, a leafy University campus, relatively quiet roads.....and people drunk/asleep on benches at 10am in the morning. But aside from that last one, it was very nice for a stroll through and would advise anyone heading over t’pond to pay a visit. There was a mural to Joe Strummer, out of some band called The Clash. Doubt they’ll be successful with a name like that. Annoyingly we later realised that Katz’s New York Deli was just round the corner and I could have stopped off at my first Man vs Food challenge eatery....but it wasn’t to be. Although I have just done a quick bit of research into Philly and there’s a few round there that may be well worth a cheeky look. Oh, and we also stumbled through Noho. Not Soho, but Noho. Ummmmm, I have no words to describe it. It was pretty generic and I didn’t even realise where we were. So all you would-be visitors......I wouldn’t go out of your way to get there!

Know Your Rights!

We also stopped off at the Greyhound terminal to enquire, and pretty much purchase, our 60-day Discover passes – a few hundred dollars that should hopefully be well spent! Now I know that we are British and we invented queuing, but flipping crikey this was an absolute joke! ONE person behind the desk who took ages to handle one enquiry, and didn’t seem 100% confident in what he was doing anyway, and about 4 people standing around doing jack-all, or merely directing people to the auto-ticket machines, even though we couldn’t buy ours there....gnnnnarg! And our hearts sank when the lady (who took over from the incompetent dude) asked us for ID......especially as I only had my driver’s license and James only had......his word. But we got em in the end, and a “free” upgrade if we book in advance for the special sexy coaches with plug sockets, leg room, Wi-Fi and reserved seating....whoop whoop!

It was at this point that both Gray brothers decided a clothes wash was in order, so 7 quarters later we had freshly washed gear ready for the hastily-hung washing line in the prison cell...I mean the bedroom. Although it is distinctly smaller than the one that Ronnie Barker used to live in in Porridge. And we have no cupboard door full of lewd pictures. Shame really.

This also gave us the opportunity to catch up on some football (and a quick 10 minute power-nap as the football was so dull!) which unfortunately saw one of my key bets crash out. After the first game, a convincing 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic, a coyly-placed couple of quid on Russia to get to the final seemed the easiest money I would ever make. Aside from the filming of my armpits for Australian TV...but that’s another story for another day. So after the washing was done and hung we headed out to our favourite dollar-a-slice pizza store to top up on some carbs before hitting the High Line.....a renovated section of raised railway that has been turned into gardens. Lovely little stroll through as the sun was beginning to set, and some cracking graffiti too (see pictures). Then it was off to Time Square at night, which is SO much better than at daytime. With heavy backpacks. And a sweaty back. Great to “people watch” apparently and it didn’t disappoint. Apart from the **** who would not sit down and is in pretty much all my pictures at that point!

Times Square

Next on the agenda......Top Of The Rock. Looking out across the city at night from the top of the Rockefeller Center is just amazing. Empire State in daytime is great, matched by this I would say. Totally different experience and one that will stay with me for ever. Poignant. That’s twice I’ve used that now.

Anywho, it’s our last night in NYC and my last can of Asahi is empty so it’s time to hit the hay, ready to get over to Philadelphia on the morrow. Night Night.

Amazing Views

OK, so that last entry was for the 14th June and the following is for the 15th June. Because it automatically logs the date in and I was late putting it in. Anyway....

Did I mention my blisters yesterday? No? Well, I have blisters developing on both little toes which is proving to be a bit of a hindrance, but will soldier on as there’s lots to see and do!

First things first...... Empire State building. A short subway ride and we were standing at the base of the mighty beast. After hearing horror stories of people queuing for hours to get in through the front door let alone up to the top, James and I had decided to beat the crowds and get there early doors, even before the doors officially opened, but they were happy to let all the eager folks straight in and up the lifts to the top of one of the worlds most amazing landmarks. And afterwards what could be better than grabbing a nice cup of fresh cawfee from the local Starbucks. OK, so it’s a bit cheesy and touristy, but hey, we ARE tourists! And we ARE cheesy!

The view from the Empire State Building

A quick stop back at the Vanderbilt and we tried looking for accommodation in our next-but-one stop, Washington DC. A quick search on our most-visited website www.hostelbookers.com and we had booked a place in no time....one more thing not to fret over. A quick SKYPE back tot eh folks in good ol’ Blighty and we were on our way to Downtown. Not to see Wall Street, not even to see Little Italy, or Little China, but to an Irish pub to watch the football. Yes, we are in New York and yes there may have been other things we should have been seeing or doing, but we are English through and through so it seemed like the best course of action. A shared Beekman’s BLT and “French Fries” later and it was time for kick-off. After a slight scare by the crafty Swedes we were celebrating, with about 3 other people in the entire place also supporting England....for reasons unknown, as there was no discernible accents to speak of.  

A quick check of the now-fraying map of Manhattan and James suggested an amble through Little China and Little Italy. I wasn’t sure just how little these places or the people would be, but I agreed nonetheless and we set off, at an amble as me blisters were crying merry hell! And as we had bought some sushi for dinner from the local Korean place (who also sell a mean can of Asahi, although that does pale into comparison when compared to the behemoth of a can of Corona I got from the Duane Reade last night.....which I got ID’d for BTW) we didn’t feel the need for having a sit-down Italian meal.....or buying loads or various tat from the other side of the dividing road through both Little areas.

Come on England!

The idea was to nosh the sushi, neck a beer, shower and hit the Rockafella for a night-time view of New York. That idea didn’t come to fruition though as the aforementioned blisters needed some time sans footwear and I think that generally speaking the last couple of days may have caught up with us slightly, so we have indeed feasted on sushi and Japanese lager, plus blogged, uploaded and (of course) checked Sky Sports News for the latest football caveats. Friday will be a “mop-up” day of one/some/all of the following: Rockafella Center, Seinfeld Cafe, the Chrysler Building, Katz’s New York Deli, Greenwich Village, Flat-iron Building and the Bronx. But not the Bronx. 

Exploring New York

Day 2 in New York, New York. And part of me wishes I had taken a pedometer with me! The day started by ambling down to Grand Central Station to see the native New Yorkers scurrying around, making their connections and grabbing a cup of cawfee. An amazing sight no less, and puts Kings Cross to shame! A short metro ride later and we are at the fringe of Central Park, south-west corner. After noticing a small and decent-looking food stand (not like the guys selling hot dogs and pretzels from their wheelie-bins) me and James decide to try and blend in with the crowd by ordering a cup of hot cawfee and a ‘dawg. And boy did we need the food as the next 4 hours took us all the way through Central Park and up to the top, emerging into Harlem.....albeit briefly. It felt safe enough, but one look at a liquor store made us divert round and back towards uptown, and yet another metro station.

Hot Dawg!

A quick stop-off at the Vanderbilt to charge relevant gadgets and grab a generous slice of pizza (for a buck) for lunch and we were on our way again.

Our way, was to the World Trade Center area to see what the place looked like and to see the new Freedom Towers going up. Pretty impressive and pretty sombre moment, but definitely worth checking it out. From the WTC we headed onto the legendary Staten Island Ferry, heading across the Hudson to.....Staten Island. There’s nowt there really, but it’s free to cross the river and you get a good view of the Statue of Liberty. You have to pay to get on to see the actual statue, and you can’t go up it or anything, so the free ferry trip was just right.

The Statue of Liberty, standing proud

Got off the ferry and back onto Manhattan and set about searching for the Brooklyn bridge. It’s clearly visible so we could just follow our eyes and get on it, yes? No. It seems like you can’t just get on it, and it levels out to ground level some way inland, but we found a shortcut to get up there between a number of roadwork signs, of which there are many in New York! A decent hike across the bridge was very enjoyable, but my feet didn’t seem to think so. They had had enough by that point and were in urgent need of a rest as the gel-heels I had purchased in readiness for plenty of walking, had slipped into the middle of my foot and were giving me right jip! So we had a quick nosey round Brooklyn, saw some guys playing football and headed towards the metro to get back to the shack.

To keep the costs to a minimum ($6.75 or a pint of Harp on our first night!) we decided to grab some sushi from the Korean shop round the corner. Good idea? Yes. Any sushi left at half 8? No. So we headed to the local Duane Reade to get a large Russian (!) salad and a mammoth 24oz can of Corona......mmmmmm! All in all, a massive trek round NYC and much more subway action is gonna come into play tomorrow I think, and first stop is the Empire State Building in the early morn.......

NYC Baby!!

The time is 17:43. The room is small, basic and has a bunk bed in it – something that my brother and I have not seen since the late eighties. The city is NEW YORK!

The infamous Yellow Taxi....that must mean we are in New York!

After a night of hardly any sleep and last-minute packing and re-packing, we finally made it to destination 1 of the World Tour. Thanks to the folks for the early-morning drop-off at Manchester, and to BA for 2 flghts and 3 meals, including a complimentary can of Dutch lager and a generous helping of white wine, we arrived at JFK Immigration with plenty of time to spare before needing to check in at the Van Der Bilt YMCA. And it was a good job too! Needing to get from JFK airport to the Metro line took only a few minutes of our time. Then we had to negotiate the labyrinth of ticket options from the guy selling sweets at the end of the line! Never an easy task. Next it was on to the Metro heading for Manhattan, how hard could that be? Well, after missing the stop for Times Square (it wasn’t very clearly labelled in our defence!) we had a myriad of choices to get to Grand Central Station, although the ideal connection was delayed for some reason and waiting for ages on a stiflingly hot platform was not high on our list of things to do! So, doubling back, we headed to Times Square stop again and connected to Grand Central Station no problem. Although it didn’t seem that grand to me. Must’ve come out of the wrong door or something. Anyway, a short, moist hike to the VDB YMCA and here we are!

Now, next few tasks are to check amenities with reception, get some food, have a complimentary beer at O’Neills round the corner and get some much needed shut-eye! 

Watching The Clock

So it looks like my entries are falling in line with the England games in Euro 2012. This is not on purpose, I can assure you.

It's late on a Monday night and I am tapping away on the little netbook whilst I have a mountain of boxes and bags of stuff all around me after saying an emotional goodbye to all and everything based in Leeds. Josh has now entered the fray to look after Huw's cats and house while he is still out and about in Costa Rica and I have managed to get my "Leeds life" back to my parents place in sunny Ainsdale, with a small portion being ensconced away in Adam and Philippa's loft and James and Jo's garage! 

One full day left to pick the Travellers Cheques and sort a few last minute things out before one last night out with the folks, followed by an early night as we need to be up at 3am I believe! Ouch...yes...but worth it...definitely!!

Til next time....

In The Beginning....

OK, so first entry into my 2012 Travel Blog...

It's the 2nd of June and England have just beaten Belgium 1-0 at Wemberlee. I have a gin and tonic in my hand, half-filled boxes all around me and a near-to-capacity Jalan 60+15 Berghaus rucksack eyeing me from the corner of the room. Oh, and a cat trying to clamber onto my keyboard and generally get in my way.

It's less than 2 weeks til me and my brother James jet off to NYC and it's all starting to feel very real. A strange feeling of "unpreparedness" is floating round my head but it's not like booking a two week holiday in the sun, there's no way to have everything sorted before D-Day (Departure Day). There is also a sense of excitement, naturally, but still a lot to get sorted in the meantime. 

Now I need to do a little more research before sticking a movie on to relax to. Maybe something high-brow like The Expendables...