Memoirs of a Gay-sian

Hello all,

Yes, it's been almost three weeks since Craig and I returned from the US, however, that doesn't mean the holiday blogging is over. You see, in the last week of our holiday, things got quite hectic, so there wasn't really time to find and steal, I mean source a wireless hotspot.

So as I am now trying to keep busy and trying to enjoy this time between jobs, the blogging continues. So hold on to your seats and prepared to be enthralled, or at least slightly amused by my account of our adventures.

xo

After four hectic days in San Francisco, Craig and I decided that it was time for a little P&Q. And so with a whole lot of aggressive homeless people chasing us out of of the Golden Gate City, we headed towards Yosemite National Park.

Before doing that however, we decided to try the wine country in California, also known as the Napa Valley. The same place that spawned the infamous phrase uttered by one, Carrie Bradshaw "If you get tired you take a Napa, you don't you go to Napa!". It was absolutely amazing. The Yarra Valley is stunning, but the Napa Valley is simply breathtaking. It was so picturesque - we went to the Domaine Chandon winery, and it was just beautiful. The scenery was stunning and the service at the winery was second to none. We also went to a winery that specialised in red wine known as the Franciscan Winery. Again, very pretty and just like the reds, my face went bright red after that!

After leaving the Napa Valley, we passed a couple of outlet malls. And man, do the Americans know how to do outlet malls! This is where I teach you how to get a designer wardrobe for under 2000 dollars (excluding your airfare to the US). 

1. Hire a car. 
2. Go to outlet mall. 

The outlet mall that we went to had the standards: Calvin Klein, Levis, etc. But then the other one we went to had: Ralph Lauren, Burberry (!), Coach... I have never seen a Burberry Scarf for under a 100 bucks, but there it was!!! Again, the Americans know how to discount heavily, and this was sooo evident by the markdowns. And they're not factory seconds, but actual stuff that's a season behind. Craig bought a pair of Levi's for 50 AUD!

We then realised that we were way behind time if we were to make it to Yosemite before midnight, so we headed to Sacremento, California's state capital. It's a nice little town that also has an "Old Town" which has been done up to look like a Gold Rush town. Think Ballarat on steroids. After an amusing parking incident where I tried to parallel park on the wrong side of the road (it involved me getting out in a huff and Craig having to park the car... only to have the whole street laugh at me), we had a bit of a wonder. And after five minutes and an enormous ice cream cone later, we were on our way to Yosemite.

The drive was long. It was hard. It also involved me driving on ice and snow for the first time in pitch black darkness. The conversation in the car while I was driving went something like this:

Jon: "The road looks really dusty and that rock on the side of the road looks really shiny."

Craig: "Uh Jon. That would be snow on the side and ice on the road."

Jon: "Oh. That also explains why it's so cold."

Craig (rolling eyes): "Yes."

So after a very lonely stretch of road and fearing for our lives as we realised that we didn't have any chains, were driving on snow and quite often on the edge of a cliff, we arrived... at the wrong hotel.

"Oh no, you want Yosemite Lodge by the Falls. We're Yosemite Lodge."

CRAP.

So driving back through the ice and snow and into what could have been the great abyss off a cliff for all I knew, we finally arrived in the Yosemite Lodge by the Falls Hotel. And we fell asleep as soon as we arrived (after the warnings about the bears... remove all food from the car).

The next morning we woke up to what could only be described as a Winter Wonderland. It was simply marvellous. And we saw the big mother of a mountain that we drove down to get into the park! But the mountains were snow capped, the fields were snow capped, the hotel was snow capped and there were deer. But it was so amazing.

Craig booked us in for brunch at the Awahnee Hotel where the Queen and the Clintons stay when they're in Yosemite. The dining room was so grand, and after 5 trips to the buffet, I was ready to be rolled out into the snow to cool down. We went on a guided walk with the ranger (an absolute cack) which was great, if only had the woman from Venice stopped asking dumb questions such as:

"Do you get Dingoes here?" or my favourite: "Is this this mountain as tall as Ayers Rock?" One of those people that I wanted to secretly punch in the back of the head.

The next day we took a walk to the lower falls of Yosemite Valley. The water falls are amazing as when the water hits the rocks, it becomes ice. It was spectacular and again, breathtaking. 

We then left Yosemite and headed off to Sequoia National Park.

Sequoia National Park is named for the enormous Sequoia trees that grow there. The park is home to the world's largest living tree, General Sherman (the volume is in the trunk, much like many American women). Let me say that I did not expect Sequoia to have more snow than Yosemite. Sequoia is at a higher elevation that Yosemite at 7000+ feet (2000+ metres), and hence had a lot more snow. The only problem being that the GPS didn't have the road that our hotel was on, it was basically keep driving and hope that we don't get eaten by a bear, or get frozen solid first. So after driving along the road hoping a magical turnoff would supposedly appear to our hotel, a snow capped sign finally jumped out at us pointing to our accommodation. YAY!!!

We checked into the very lovely Wuksachi Lodge (after yet another bear warning), with a very very lovely central lodge where reception, restaurant, bar and conference rooms were located. The room itself was lovely and very warm (we had a queen size bed as well as an extra sofa bed). The hotel was snow capped, and was so snowed in that little lane ways needed to be plowed to connect the central lodge with the rooms. So just imagine your window looking out over a snow capped forest... and hoping not to see a bear.

After checking in, we decided to see the "Oldest Living Tree in the World", General Sherman. Given that we had a convertible (and despite the fact that it was about 0 degrees), we cruised on in with the top down. THANK GOD FOR HEATED SEATS! Surprisingly enough, with my butt toasting on the heated seats, I could not feel the cold at all.

Upon arriving at General Sherman, we saw a few other people milling around taking photos. And we came upon our favourite couple for the holiday. While we were taking photos of us and the tree, I noticed that there was a couple sitting nearby talking quite loudly. After snapping photos of Craig and him of me for a while, I suddenly heard in what I thought was a very New York accent:

"You guys want a photo together?"

And so it came to be that Marcos and Jamie Gonzalez became good friends of ours. After talking for a bit and comparing the US's welfare system (abysmal) to Australia's welfare system (less abysmal), discovering a mutual love of travel, and realising that we were staying at the same hotel, they soon figured that they'd never shake us off... and people who know us well, know what Craig's like (talks to anything that moves). At one point, Craig told me to go to the tree so he could take a long distance shot. So I ran to the tree (rather inelegantly in the deep snow) and waited. But then he got to talking again. And I waited. And waited. And waited. I pretty much almost decked him when I ran back to him.

That night at the Wuksachi, we had dinner with Marcos and Jamie and chatted into the wee hours of morning. Until we realised that we had to leave pretty close to the wee hours of morning to Death Valley, given that they'd closed a few of the roads off. So instead of taking a fairly direct road, we had to circumvent the national parks and take the long way in. Jamie and Marcos advice for Death Valley: Bring heaps of water.

So after a full breakfast (who serves a full serving of french toast with a breakfast wrap?!) and a fairly short sleep, we set off for the one of the driest, hottest places on Earth: Death Valley. Yes, and just like the name suggests, it really is a desert and it gets up to almost 52 degrees Celsius in the Summer. Literally hot enough to fry an egg on the road, except it'd be gritty and gross. But while driving to Death Valley, we had a rather scenic drive out of Sequoia; purchased three three litre bottles of water and passed through two cities that literally stank. We couldn't quite figure out what it was (and why the locals didn't notice it) - it could have been the sewerage, or the obese skanky sweat all around us... either way, Tulare and Bakersfield were not pleasant. And the fact that Craig got served a beef burrito at Carl's Junior Family Restaurant didn't help either. I can still taste the crap.

We pushed on. We filled up with petrol expecting no more petrol outlets in Death Valley. We headed into the Mojave Desert expecting to see nothing for ages... but there were more petrol stations than I could count on my fingers. After a slight hallucination and a nice windy drive into Death Valley in pitch black darkness. I too was beginning to see that I got all the "interesting" driving periods. And given that our hotel again wasn't in the GPS, and the address of the hotel was "Highway 40, Furnace Creek", we did get slightly worried driving after driving for a few hours in Death Valley itself. I couldn't have been happier when I finally saw the lights of the town in Furnace Creek, the only little township in the Death Valley National Park. I couldn't have been more disappointed to find however that the hotel receptionist had a full set of teeth and didn't look like the crypt keeper.

After a night at the Furnace Creek Ranch, it was time to head out to Vegas... but after one more adventure out in the wilderness (as if bear warnings and non-existent hotels weren't enough). It was time to head out to the legendary Area 51. The much mythicised Area 51 is actually a US Army Base in the state of Nevada. It was at this point I realised: WE WERE STILL IN CALIFORNIA. It was true what they said: You can ski in the morning and swim in the evening. Truly amazing. 

Jamie and Marcos warned us about driving the Highway 375 in Nevada, also known as the Extraterrestrial highway. Named for its proximity to Area 51 and the numerous reported UFO sightings on the highway. At a certain time in the day, US aircraft will use cars along the freeway as target practice and purposely drive very low to the cars before shooting off. And if you get too close to Area 51, before you can say "Mulder and Scully" you will be surrounded by the military. So we decided on two things:

1) We would drive Highway 375 in the day time. As Craig put it: "If we were driving in the evening and I saw a light flashing, I would wee myself.

2) We would keep to the highway, thereby reducing the chances of the military approaching us.

After several miles on the extraterrestrial highway, we got a little bored. Where were the low flying planes that road signs kept warning us about? Where were the UFOs? All we saw were suicidal birds that flew out at you when you car approached (go figure), and several road signs dotted with bullet holes. Yes, bullet holes. The locals must be an riveting bunch.

In the middle of the highway, we stopped at the Ale-E-Inn hotel which stocked lots of alien paraphernalia. But when the locals don't really believe, it sort of spoils the fun. Although they were weird looking.

Further down the highway we passed the alien museum (shut), and proceeded to Vegas (open 24 hours). We were about 150 kilometers from Vegas when Craig and I noticed a rather bright glow just over the mountains. Oh my God. It WAS Vegas.

We arrived in San Francisco after a long drive from Ventura (about 7 hours), with a brief stop in Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach.

Yes, the same Pismo Beach mentioned in Clueless and Bug's Bunny, famous for clams and for the earthquake that all but wiped out the town. 

We drove through San Jose and the much talked about Silicon Valley. Yes, being the IT Geek that I am, I did a little wee in my pants (don't take that in the literal sense) when we passed through the home of Apple.

Arriving into San Francisco was amazing, the lights, the Bay Bridge and the rather confusing roads! We checked into our hotel, after being harassed by a random homeless guy who offered to look for a cheaper parking space for a fee. I left Craig to deal with him and quickly took our stuff up to the hotel.

The next day we picked up our friends Mel and Kel from the airport (they're also the guys renewing their vows in Vegas). After dropping them off at their hotel, we headed off to do a bit of exploring around San Francisco city... also known as shopping. We did a bit of hunting around, and met up with Mel and Kel again in where else but in Louis Vuitton. After being amazed again at how cheap everything was and being even more amazed at how I walked out empty handed, we headed to our dinner destination: Chez Panisse. Touted as one of San Francisco's best restaurants, with a two Michelin Star rating, Chez Panisse is a remarkable yet affordable little restaurant in the San Franciscan town of Berkeley (home of the university and free love). It was a sublime meal, and after finishing up, we headed back to our hotel for some well needed rest.

Craig realised the next morning that he needed to finish his assignment, so we hung out in the hotel for the morning. I found American TV :-), and yes, I loved it! We then headed for a much needed cultural experience at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). It's a beautiful building with amazing works. It brought back memories of my last visit to San Francisco, which reminded me why as to why I love the city! After that, we did more exploring... okay, shopping. San Francisco's Union Square has no shortage of stores, and that brought us to dinner. Mel, Kel, Craig and I decided to have a drink in San Francisco's Henry Denton's Star Palace, also known as the bar with the best views. Upon arriving, we were a little disappointed - it was a cross between velvet brothel meets the nightclub on top of Westfield Shoppingtown in Doncaster. Yes - the most tackiest thing I've ever been to, and it must have been forties+ night. After a quick drink (I've never downed anything so quickly before), we left.

On our final day in San Francisco, Craig and I decided to do the real touristy things. We caught an F-Line Tram to the Embarcadero (San Francisco's version of the Esplanade in St Kilda). The trip to Alcatraz proved to be a fascinating trip into San Franciscan history. I recommend the audio tour that has real prison guards and prisoners that used to inhabit the island. It was a bit creepy being in solitary confinement, but it was informative all the same. After that, we headed back to the mainland, and decided to take a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. That was truly amazing. We rode along the Marina, the Presidio and then over the Golden Gate Bridge over to Sausilito. Craig and I realised how unfit we were by the time we got to the bridge, so we decided to catch the ferry back to the city instead of riding home. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and would highly recommend it to anyone as it gave us fantastic views of the city and the bridge.

After arriving back to the city, we walked up to the "World's Crooked-est Street" also known as Lombard Street. I suggest to anyone who goes there to approach it from Hyde Street rather than Mason Street as it is a very very steep hike! We took a few happy snaps and then made our way back to the city on one the city's famed trolley carts. Feeling adventurous (and there was no space on the trolley), we got to hang off the side while it sped its way into downtown. Funniest part? Craig almost taking off a car mirror as we sped through. Again, a nice once in a lifetime experience. We stopped off in boutique gallery, after seeing that they had works from Picasso, Dali and Chagall for sale. The wonderful woman who worked there gave us a tour of the gallery and we ended up having a fantastic in depth discussion on art and architecture. Craig and I quickly decided that upon our next visit to San Francisco that we would buy artwork!

San Francisco is a truly wonderful city. It is hip and happening, and Craig and I can obviously walk hand in hand without anyone batting an eyelid at all. It is also a bit of a trend setting city, and has the best culinary experiences I've had in American city thus far. The biggest let down? The homeless. Whilst I do feel for the homeless, being harassed aggressively by anyone less fortunate or not, is never a pleasant experience. And these guys have some real cojones (Spanish for balls)!!! They will ask, plead their sob story and then get increasingly aggressive if you refuse. After having a rather unpleasant woman sing at me while I was at the ATM, I mentally decided to look like I didn't speak English :-).

So now, we're in Yosemite National Park. I'll tell you more about the drive in later, and how to get yourself a whole designer wardrobe in under 2000 bucks. It can be done without using fakes! 

Yosemite is beautiful and there is snow everywhere!!!

But got to go... I'm kind of hungry! Even after my five course buffet at the Awahnee Hotel (where the Queen stayed once).

After flying from New York City with a feverish cold, and feeling like shit, Craig and I caught a shuttle from LAX to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. And it would have been if I hadn't had a fever and if I didn't feel like throwing myself in front of the next passing vehicle.

Craig and I checked into the Disneyland (Craig forwent his room with a view to check me in quickly because I felt so awful), and I had a nap, after which, I felt good enough to try out some of the rides in California Adventure Park.

The biggest change from NYC to Anaheim, was... the fat people. Manhattanites are relatively thin with their obsession with fashion and all things stylish. Californians on the most part, aren't. California Adventure Park and Disneyland were just filled to the brim with obese people who rode (and I kid you not) scooters because they felt that they couldn't walk the park. NEWSFLASH FATTIES EVERYWHERE: IF YOU WALK, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT!!! The funniest part though was watching these people transfer from their little scooters and squeezing their fat, obese arses into the relatively smaller seats on rides. Note that they have closed the "It's a Small World" ride to deepen the channel that the boats float on because FAT people were weighing the boats down and jamming them!

Craig and I enjoyed Disneyland on the second, did more rides and I was definitely on the mend by then. We had breakfast with Minnie Mouse and a few other characters. Minnie Mouse and I bonded over her lack of engagement ring, even after dating Mickey for the last 20 years. We're gal pals now. We had heaps of photos with characters and many of the rides. 

On the third day, after a late rise, I finally got to meet Mickey Mouse! We did the last of the rides, but unfortunately given the weather, the fireworks were cancelled. What we did realise however, was that Winter is the best time to head to the theme parks because there are literally no lines!!! And a word of warning, if you are planning to visit any theme park, do purchase the "fastpass" tickets as they will allow you to bypass all the lines for popular rides like "Finding Nemo".

The day after, we headed into Hollywood, on the day of the Oscars. We didn't stay long on Hollywood boulevard, only long enough to see them do last minute preparations. We then headed to Universal Studios. It was also our first of driving... another word of warning, if you're in Anaheim and you want to head back to LA, you will need to either drive or catch a cab. Public transport in California is ridiculous as there basically is none. Craig only almost killed us once but turning INTO oncoming traffic. So we developed a rhyme: "RIGHT IS TIGHT" (pronounced like New Yorker from Queens where Right and Tight are three syllables long) and "LEFT IS LONG". Trust me, when you're driving in the States, it's a handy saying to remember!

Universal Studios was fun but cold and wet. There was no line for the Jurassic Park ride and we quickly found out why. It was an outdoor water ride, so needless to say at the end of the ride, I was well and truly saturated (and the stupid dinosaurs squirt water at you). For those who know me well, you'll know that I don't like horror movies - but because it was so wet and cold, I decided it would be a good idea to go the House of Horrors at Universal. Here was I thinking it was just a museum of horror props, but erm... no, I was scared shitless by the time I reached the end. The dead mother from Psycho chasing me with a knife was definitely the crowning moment where I literally squealed like a pig.

After Universal we headed back to our hotel for the drive down to San Diego to see the zoo and then the long drive back through LA toward San Francisco. San Diego zoo was fantastic except there were a lot of fatties in the zoo and these weren't the elephants or hippos! But Craig and I were able to see how San Diego Zoo gained it's world reputation, it is a fantastic place.

We then decided to leave San Diego and make our way to San Francisco. After some slight deliberation, we decided to stay in a little town called Ventura. However, on the way, we got pulled over by the highway patrol. Oh my God, we had never been scared in our life! The natural inclination for any Australian when someone tells you to pull over, is to pull over on the left... but because they drive on the other side, pulling over to the right is the etiquette. We ended being screamed at by the highway patrol "PULL OVER TO THE RIGHT!!!!" over the loud speaker on the freeway. Craig, shitting himself ended up having to pull off the freeway. When the cop finally pulled us over, he looked at Craig's licence and pissed himself. "You're Australians?!" He told us that he pulled us over because we were "weaving" and thought we were drunk! Basically swerving from side to side in the lane. The other thing is that when you're driving and from Australia, you have a tendency to veer to the left of every lane and you end up overcompensating and veering to the right. After a laugh with cop, we were back on our way to Ventura.

Pulling into the hotel in Ventura (which looked strangely like the Bates Motel from "Psycho"), we decided to stay despite how dodgy it looked. The woman with two teeth and nine children (they only have six staying with them at the moment - who knows where the other three are, maybe they've been eaten?!) gave us our key, and we quickly went into the room, bolted it and then barricaded the locked door in our room with our suitcase which we're sure adjoined the next room!

After a restful night's sleep, we were planning to make our way to San Francisco. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas. Having a convertible, and it being such a beautiful day, Craig decided to pop the roof down, which would have been fine... if the roof and the boot actually hadn't got stuck and stopped in the middle of opening. In other words, the convertible broke!!! Two and half hours later, a tow truck arrived with a new car and we were on our way to San Francisco via Santa Barbara.

More to come...

Still no sign of other bag... maybe it's in New Zealand?!

What can I say?! 

I love New York City. Kate took us out for breakfast on our first morning in NYC at a French Bistro, Artisanle. It was really quite lovely and very reasonably priced. We then went shopping after making our insurance claim for our lost luggage (see last post). So Kate left us to it and Craig and I had 1000 bucks to spend on 5th Avenue. Thank goodness for the flailing US Economy, as 1000 dollars actually went a really long way. So after some heavy duty Abercrombie and Fitch (refer to photo with model), H&M , GAP, Zara, Saks, Macy's shopping we found ourselves with a lot of shopping bags! And the shopping lasted two blissful days with an appearance by Catherine who made us better by doing some shopping of her own :-).

We also caught a show on Broadway, the infamous Avenue Q. After seeing the line at TKTS (the US version of HalfTix), we decided that we'd pay the extra to get a good seat and not line up at the 200 people line. After the box office lady found out we were Australian, she told us that her girlfriend of 25 years was also Australian and gave us the house seats at the cheapest price! YAY!!! Avenue Q is basically muppets doing and saying some very inappropriate things. It's been a raging success on Broadway so hopefully it makes it to our shores one day.

The second evening was spent spicing up our life!!! Yes, the three talentless hacks plus two fairly talented girls entertained us for a couple of hours, and ended up with me with a very soar throat. Although I think Craig didn't realise how much I'd get into it.

The next morning found us at the Empire State Building followed by a day full of sightseeing. The vista views of NYC from the Empire State Building can only be described as phenomenal. Although it was rather windy!!! So windy that they closed of the west side of the building, so all our photos are of the north, east and south sides of NYC. We then made our way to the very southern tip of Manhattan Island (Battery Park) to take the Staten Island Fairy which gave us fabulous views of Liberty Island, Ellis Island and the Manhattan Skyline. It also took us to Ellis Island... erm, we spent a whole minute there before taking the ferry back :-). WHAT? It used to be a dump!

We then talked took a bit of a walking tour through Wall Street, Ground Zero, Chinatown and SoHo. Wall Street was pretty, but a very quiet place... and Wall Street types? Balding and Fat guys who wear trench coats. Ew. Ground Zero was pretty amazing. What's left there is a big building site and the proposed project is pretty amazing, but the pictures that show that fateful day which stopped the world are quite moving and you can't help but admire the resilience of a city that can move on even after such horrific events. The most disturbing thing were the hawkers selling cheap merchandise and capitalising off the sadness.

Chinatown was a short stroll up, and just like every Chinatown it was full of dodgy merchandise, good and cheap food and crazy locals yelling in Chinese. But it is the largest Chinatown in the western world!

SoHo was another short walk up, and has become one of my favourite parts of NYC. Basically the bohemian apartments that you see in movies and television are what you see in SoHo, except each of the apartments now has a designer store on the ground floor :-). It's been gentrified a whole lot, and now it's very very trendy to live there. So maybe some New York Real Estate? :-).

We then had dinner with Kate at another lovely French bistro and then had drinks at a rooftop bar midtown, which provided us with more beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline... except with zero degree temperatures and me being a little drunk, something was bound to happen. And that's how I started to become sick...

Our last morning in New York found us Uptown on the Upper East Side. And everything they say about those women is true! Cashed up, Prozac-ed up while their husbands rake in the cash and their mistresses... and botoxed up of course! But Uptown is quite amazing, and of course is where the infamous galleries and museums are including the Whitney, the MET and the Guggenheim. By this point, it was freezing and I was getting a little sicker. After taking refuge in the MET for a while, we walked to the Guggenheim to take photos... unfortunately we didn't have time to explore and the Guggenheim was covered in scaffolding. We decided to take a scenic walk back through Central Park through various landmarks including the Jackie Onassis reservoir, the lake and the ice skating rink.

We walked on over to Bloomingdales and then over to... Manolo Blahnik. After admiring a few masterpieces, we took photos in front of the Museum of Modern Art. Yes, I understand that we're supposed to view the masterpieces and not merely take photos in the foyer, but time wasn't permitting and besides, after all the shopping and all the boutiques, I felt like I'd viewed some masterpieces already. I also felt like I was about to drop dead as I could literally feel the cold wind blowing through me.

Craig dropped me off at home and did the remainder of souvenir shopping. After he got back, I felt well enough to venture into the cold again to Greenwich Village. Now, to Friends and Sex in the City aficionados, you'll know that:

1. Friends is set in "The Village"; and
2. Carrie's stoop, although supposedly set in SoHo is actually located in Greenwich Village.

Greenwich Village is also the site of Stonewall, a moment that changed gay and lesbian rights for the world. The Stonewall Inn is where a police raid occurred in the late sixties, that sparked a massive protest of homosexuals in New York. This started the legalisation of gay bars and night spots in NYC. To commemorate the event is a monument that Craig and I made a pilgrimage to. Well, after we made a pilgrimage to Alexander MacQueen and Jeffreys.

After a few photos of Carrie's stoop and a stop at the bakery that featured in Sex and the City (Magnolia) and picking up some amazing cupcakes, we had our final dinner in New York with Kate. It was then off home before a very early morning flight to the happiest place on earth...

My thoughts on NYC? I just loved the city. Those who know me will know that I love Paris, but I can say that NYC comes a very close second and that in some cases, NYC is even better. The shopping is amazing and because Parisians are more conservative with their fashion, New York is more willing to push boundaries and take risks with their fashion which Craig and I loved. It's easy to get around and everything is so cheap right now. God bless the flailing American Economy!!! Of course there are the expensive places to eat and shop, but if you want designer goods and good food, things are quite often CHEAPER than home and the variety much wider. Yes, I understand that we have to support our Aussie designers, but if I pay 100 bucks for a shirt that falls apart by an Aussie designer, versus a 100 bucks for a Prada shirt, I know which I'd be choosing! It's not to say that all Aussie designers are of a bad quality or that they're all overpriced... but it's amazing here. Yes... I'm trying to convince Craig that we could move there one day - I miss New York!!! :-)

Our sincere thanks to Kate and Catherine - two of the best tour guides in the world, with a hospitality that cannot be rivalled anywhere else in the world.

We safely arrived in Los Angeles today only to find that one bag had made it, and the other well... still missing in action. And then 8 hours later, we arrived to 0 degrees Celsius temperatures with well, one bag less... so we have no luggage.

And then, we had to wait for our shuttle bus from JFK Airport into Manhanttan which involved watching go past and then coming around to pick us up 15 minutes later.

The one redeeming thing in all of this is that our lovely friend glowing friend Kate (fresh from Clinique and a shopping expedition), was there to meet us at Grand Central station and is generously (and graciously) providing us with accommodation that is a few doors down from the Empire State Building... photos to come!!!

Yes. Craig and I only have the clothes that we're wearing on us. So, after passing several H&Ms, GAPs, Macys and the like, WE'RE SHOPPING!!! SCREW UNEMPLOYMENT, I'M FUCKING COLD!!!!

Rant over.

But so so so excitied to be here :-)

PS. I didn't really sleep from Auckland to Los Angeles. And then didn't really sleep from Los Angeles to New York.

The first day of holidays is always exciting if not a little anxious! An argument, a few chinese translations and last minute shopping requests... And all at Melbourne Airport! There's a long flight ahead followed by more flying, followed by Americans. It's going to be a lot of fun! Will keep you posted. Watch this space...

And after hours of putting a whole lot of blog posts on Facebook in the notes section, I thought that I'd use something slightly more glamorous to publish my thoughts and experiences, and thus I found a blog site that I'd created a year ago and was yet to use.  Actually, there are several blog sites that I've created through the years... but after a friend suggested the title of my blog "Memoirs of a Gay-sian" (don't you just love the picture theme I've got going on the blog?), I thought it was time to get back into the blogging game.