I saw six of these little guys on my run between Glenelg and West Beach today, six!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
September
September kinda sucked.
A couple positives are that it's over and the weather was much nicer than last year and gave glimpses of the coming summer.
When we got back from our trip we had a little over a month to find a new place to live (because of lease was ending and the owners wanted to move their Mother in, hence no lease renewal). We anticipated this being easy but our expectations were high and it seemed like every real estate property management agent we contacted could care less about showing us these places. It was extremely frustrating and annoying.
BUT at the last minute we ended up getting our dream apartment in Glenelg (i.e. the best suburb in all of South Australia)! It's modern, right on the beach, and within walking distance of everything you could ever want (grocery store, shops, banks, bars, restaurants, tram to the city, etc).
Since we were so last minute getting a new address it took the internet guys 3 weeks to get our internet up and running here in the new place, of course, haha, and it feels like just today things are finally getting settled.
Now all we need is some wall art to spice the place up!
A couple positives are that it's over and the weather was much nicer than last year and gave glimpses of the coming summer.
When we got back from our trip we had a little over a month to find a new place to live (because of lease was ending and the owners wanted to move their Mother in, hence no lease renewal). We anticipated this being easy but our expectations were high and it seemed like every real estate property management agent we contacted could care less about showing us these places. It was extremely frustrating and annoying.
BUT at the last minute we ended up getting our dream apartment in Glenelg (i.e. the best suburb in all of South Australia)! It's modern, right on the beach, and within walking distance of everything you could ever want (grocery store, shops, banks, bars, restaurants, tram to the city, etc).
Since we were so last minute getting a new address it took the internet guys 3 weeks to get our internet up and running here in the new place, of course, haha, and it feels like just today things are finally getting settled.
Now all we need is some wall art to spice the place up!
The new pad
LA
Our drive from Vegas to LA seemed to take all day. We stopped for lunch at a cool 50s diner called Peggy's Diner or something like that. It was indulgently delicious!
Back on the road traffic slowed down going through the San Bernardino Mountains due to fires. At first I thought it was notrious LA traffic and smog until visibility continued to worsen and we saw firefighters trying to put out the flames and water helicopters with giant hoses hanging out of them. After that it was smooth sailing all the way to Elaine's place in West LA. We made it in one piece in our fancy rental car! ha!
The next day Elaine took us to a great breakfast place and then down to Venice Beach for the day. It was a gorgeous day and we socked up the sun and freaks of Venice! Later we walked down to Santa Monica for some drinks and food.
The next day Ashley Razo dropped by with yummy bagels and we caught up for a bit before she had to head to orientation at Pepperdine (she's in her second year of the MBA program there). Then Andy and I ventured into Downtown LA to return the car and see the Hollywood sights! Hollywood was a bit of a let down, I didn't see a single celebrity :( But we had Chipotle for lunch and Andy was very impressed (it was his first time!).
We ended up at Venice Beach again and met up with Elaine (who coaches little swimmer kiddos) then it was off to another mini-Texas reunion with Elaine, Nikki, and Deals! It was an awesome last night in North America!
Back on the road traffic slowed down going through the San Bernardino Mountains due to fires. At first I thought it was notrious LA traffic and smog until visibility continued to worsen and we saw firefighters trying to put out the flames and water helicopters with giant hoses hanging out of them. After that it was smooth sailing all the way to Elaine's place in West LA. We made it in one piece in our fancy rental car! ha!
The next day Elaine took us to a great breakfast place and then down to Venice Beach for the day. It was a gorgeous day and we socked up the sun and freaks of Venice! Later we walked down to Santa Monica for some drinks and food.
Between Venice and Santa Monica
Hollywood Chipotle
We ended up at Venice Beach again and met up with Elaine (who coaches little swimmer kiddos) then it was off to another mini-Texas reunion with Elaine, Nikki, and Deals! It was an awesome last night in North America!
Reunion #2
The next day was our last day on the continent. We had giant pancakes for breakfast that we barely touched and ended up giving to some homeless people in Santa Monica. Then we beached and shopped and enjoyed the lovely California sun. Back at Elaine's we walked Molly before Elaine took us to LAX and we said goodbye to North Amerca.
Walking Molly
The trip back was uneventful and seemed much quicker than the way there had been.
Back to reality.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Viva Las Vegas!
Our flight from Newark ended up being delayed by over 2 hours due to severe thunderstorms so we didn't arrive in Sin City until after midnight. We were still tired from our big New York night out so we grabbed a few snacks from the gas station next to our hotel (we stayed at the Westin Causarina, just off the strip) and then it was time for bed.
We were up in time for the buffet breakfast at our hotel the next morning and over indulged in that then waddled up to the pool deck for some much need Nevada heat and desert sun.
Next we walked up and down the strip taking in the sites and wandering in and out of the hotels and casinos. That pretty much summed up our time in Vegas: laying out, shopping, walking, drinking (and not just alcohol, we were all over trying to stay hydrated and were loving the cheap Gatorade and iced teas available everywhere).
We went to Cabo Wabo Cantina for dinner our first night and then went into Planet Hollywood afterwards and were somehow talked into a 90 minute timeshare presentation for the next morning because we got discount show tickets and free dinner. Oops. Trying to get our money back the next morning was NOT fun. But we did.
Anyways that night we walked along the strip to the MGM Grand and somehow got into the big arena (a concert was just finishing, Josh Gorban I think? and we just sort of wandered into the arena). That made Andy happy.
Our last full day in Vegas consisted of the same things but this time we went to Old Vegas for breakfast. There was a certain something about old Vegas that I liked and had we had more time in Nevada I would've liked to spend more time there. It is more like the Las Vegas I dreamed about- the Fear and Loathing and Elvis Vegas of yesteryear.
With Fear and Loathing in mind we headed to Circus Circus for out last night in Vegas and were somewhat disappointed. There were no clowns or Circus freaks roaming around, and the place was rundown and full of families. Boo-urns. But we did have a delightful meal at the Steak House inside the casino.
On the walk back we were lucky to have timed it right and caught the Mirage Volcano's eruption. It was pretty sweet!
We pretty much wasted our last morning in Vegas looking for somewhere to eat breakfast. We ended up eating in the Bellagio because it was where we had to pick up our rental car.
We got the car and picked up our bags from our hotel and then headed to the famous Las Vegas sign on the way out of town. There was a wait but we got our picture with the sign!
Next stop California!
We were up in time for the buffet breakfast at our hotel the next morning and over indulged in that then waddled up to the pool deck for some much need Nevada heat and desert sun.
Next we walked up and down the strip taking in the sites and wandering in and out of the hotels and casinos. That pretty much summed up our time in Vegas: laying out, shopping, walking, drinking (and not just alcohol, we were all over trying to stay hydrated and were loving the cheap Gatorade and iced teas available everywhere).
We went to Cabo Wabo Cantina for dinner our first night and then went into Planet Hollywood afterwards and were somehow talked into a 90 minute timeshare presentation for the next morning because we got discount show tickets and free dinner. Oops. Trying to get our money back the next morning was NOT fun. But we did.
Anyways that night we walked along the strip to the MGM Grand and somehow got into the big arena (a concert was just finishing, Josh Gorban I think? and we just sort of wandered into the arena). That made Andy happy.
Our last full day in Vegas consisted of the same things but this time we went to Old Vegas for breakfast. There was a certain something about old Vegas that I liked and had we had more time in Nevada I would've liked to spend more time there. It is more like the Las Vegas I dreamed about- the Fear and Loathing and Elvis Vegas of yesteryear.
On the walk back we were lucky to have timed it right and caught the Mirage Volcano's eruption. It was pretty sweet!
We pretty much wasted our last morning in Vegas looking for somewhere to eat breakfast. We ended up eating in the Bellagio because it was where we had to pick up our rental car.
We got the car and picked up our bags from our hotel and then headed to the famous Las Vegas sign on the way out of town. There was a wait but we got our picture with the sign!
Next stop California!
I Heart NY
Next stop: New York City!
My Mom drove us from Kingston or should I say Amherstview to Syracuse, NY where we hoped a plane and after a short 40minute flight landed in the big apple! Andy had been previously but this was my first time and I instantly fell in love.
We were lucky enough to be able to check in to our hotel (Four Points by Sheraton Midtown) early, freshen up, and then head over to The Empire State Building. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day: warm, sunny, and incredibly clear. The view from the top was outstanding!
Afterwards we walked over to Times Square to try to get Broadway tickets for that evening. We really really really wanted to see The Book of Mormon (by the creators of South Park) but it was sold out so much so that the best the scalpers could do was $300 per ticket. That was a little, well okay a lot out of my price range so we settled on Avenue Q. It ended up being very good and very funny. We ended the night in a little bar on Restaurant row and then a totally cliche photo shoot in Times Square, oh and New York Style pizza!
Day 2 consisted of a very excited Andy waking up a slightly hungover Liz at about 7am. We headed out and got a cab to the bottom of Manhattan, then ran through the rain looking for the ticket booth for the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island. We found it, bought our tickets, then bought an umbrella, and then of course it didn't rain another drop and the sun came out!!
Anyways, we did the whole Statue of Liberty thing but then skipped Ellis Island because this was all still pre-coffee and I was suffering a major caffeine withdrawals headache. Sad face.
Back on the island of Manhattan we made our way towards Ground Zero and found a little cafe/diner for breakfast and coffee.
The rest of our day was jam-packed with Ground Zero (or what we could see of it since they're building the new freedom towers), Wall Street, a few dumb cab drivers, The Brooklyn Bridge, and then a few hours of shopping in Soho.
Later we headed back to our hotel for a break and to get ready to meet up with Katie.
We met Katie (who now lives in New Jersey, 40mins from NYC by train) at Penn Station and then took a cab to Little Italy. We had a few drinks at one place and then headed to a small and non-assuming joint to eat. It was probably the best Italian food I've ever had (possibly better than Italy??). I decided on the Eggplant Parmigiana even though I'm not the biggest eggplant fan and was very pleased with my choice!
After dinner it was time for some bar hopping... except we ended up walking the wrong way on Canal Street and ended up at a little but packed bar that had only local beers on tap. Then we headed to The Gold Lounge, which really did it for me in terms of New York (ie Sex and the City stylez, duh). It was tiny but drinks were strong (and f*cking expensive!) and the tunes were sweet. We drank and boogied in there for a while, then ended up at an Irish bar somewhere else, where we saw an afroman lookalike and Andy had a Guinness. By this time it was getting quite late and we had to get Katie back for the first train of the day (at 5:15am!). We couldn't find an open bar, let alone any bar, near Penn Station so we bought a few tallboys from a shop in the station and drank until the train arrived!
Day 3 hurt a bit. We slept in and scrambled to check out on time. We were able to store our bags and set up a car to the airport for later that afternoon. Then we walked to Penn Station again and met up with Meghan and her b/f Rob. We hadn't been to Central Park yet so we headed that way and had lunch along the way and then met up with Katie and her friend and wandered around Central Park for a few hours. It was another warm and sunny day and the park was beautiful and made me fall deeper in love with the city.
We said Goodbye and then headed back to our hotel. Our car was waiting and ended up being a Lincoln town car, fancy schmancy! It took us to Newark airport for our flight to Las Vegas. I nearly had a panic attack when we arrived because the check-in was ridiculously long and not moving! But there was no line at curbside check-in and the measly tip we gave was worth not waiting in that horrible Continental line.
Next stop: Vegas, baby!
My Mom drove us from Kingston or should I say Amherstview to Syracuse, NY where we hoped a plane and after a short 40minute flight landed in the big apple! Andy had been previously but this was my first time and I instantly fell in love.
We were lucky enough to be able to check in to our hotel (Four Points by Sheraton Midtown) early, freshen up, and then head over to The Empire State Building. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day: warm, sunny, and incredibly clear. The view from the top was outstanding!
Day 2 consisted of a very excited Andy waking up a slightly hungover Liz at about 7am. We headed out and got a cab to the bottom of Manhattan, then ran through the rain looking for the ticket booth for the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island. We found it, bought our tickets, then bought an umbrella, and then of course it didn't rain another drop and the sun came out!!
Back on the island of Manhattan we made our way towards Ground Zero and found a little cafe/diner for breakfast and coffee.
The rest of our day was jam-packed with Ground Zero (or what we could see of it since they're building the new freedom towers), Wall Street, a few dumb cab drivers, The Brooklyn Bridge, and then a few hours of shopping in Soho.
Later we headed back to our hotel for a break and to get ready to meet up with Katie.
We met Katie (who now lives in New Jersey, 40mins from NYC by train) at Penn Station and then took a cab to Little Italy. We had a few drinks at one place and then headed to a small and non-assuming joint to eat. It was probably the best Italian food I've ever had (possibly better than Italy??). I decided on the Eggplant Parmigiana even though I'm not the biggest eggplant fan and was very pleased with my choice!
After dinner it was time for some bar hopping... except we ended up walking the wrong way on Canal Street and ended up at a little but packed bar that had only local beers on tap. Then we headed to The Gold Lounge, which really did it for me in terms of New York (ie Sex and the City stylez, duh). It was tiny but drinks were strong (and f*cking expensive!) and the tunes were sweet. We drank and boogied in there for a while, then ended up at an Irish bar somewhere else, where we saw an afroman lookalike and Andy had a Guinness. By this time it was getting quite late and we had to get Katie back for the first train of the day (at 5:15am!). We couldn't find an open bar, let alone any bar, near Penn Station so we bought a few tallboys from a shop in the station and drank until the train arrived!
Next stop: Vegas, baby!
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