Watch goes forward another 5 hours as we wait for the national express. Myself and Amy look at the sky and put an extra layer of clothing on. I kill the time with a visit to Heathrow's Marks & Spencer. I purchase an egg sandwich and out of the corner of my eye I notice a sausage roll. I cannot resist... We are most certainly back in England.
16/08/2010 - DAY 14 - NEW YORK CITY CABBIES...THEY AIN'T TOO SMART
I savour my last Starbucks Americano in the departure lounge of Seattle/Tacoma Airport at 7am. We later touch down at JFK New York. They say that jetlag gets you worse traveling west to east, so I swiftly put my watch forward 3 hours. We have the tedious operation of getting from JFK in Queens to Newark Airport in New Jersey for our flight back to Blighty. We realise that these airports are 40 miles apart, perhaps a slight oversight made when booking the trip! We break up the journey with a final farewell to Manhattan. We find an amazing Thai resturant somwehere between 6th and 7th Ave. We then hale down a joker of a cab driver, who tries to charge us 100 dollars. He decides to park in a bus lane 2 blocks from Penn Station to try and get his GPS working, thus holding up angry coach drivers. We establish that he doesn't know where to go and flee, finding the next cab, whose driver also doesn't know where he is going. Luckily Amy haggles him down to 60... we eventually find our Airport accomodation and look forward to another 4.30am rise.
15/08/2010 - DAY 13 - THE MISSION HOME BEGINS
Today is even hotter than yesterday. Its not ideal leaving a place thats experiencing a heatwave. We have some time to kill, which Amy gladly fills with shopping, whilst I watch all the SK8TR BOIS popping ollies, or whatever it is that they do. We endure a tedious coach journey back to Seattle and lament over the sun that we will be soon without. Tomorrow is an early rise for flight home, part 1 of 2.
14/08/2010 - DAY 12 - HEATWAVE!
Today it is 34 degrees. We get told that this is above the norm and count ourselves lucky. We take the seabus over to North Vancouver and take a bus to Lynn Canyon Park where we enjoy a much welcomed retreat from the urban chaos. We cross a suspension bridge and watch people diving into a pool from ridiculous heights. We notice lots of stupid looking dogs. After another picnic we later that evening head to Denman Street for our final meal followed by a late night visit to a cake shop (you don't really see many people out for drinks in Vancouver...this is a Saturday night and people seem to be treating themselves to Frappuccinos and extravagant cake instead)...if you can't beat them join them... to be honest, its a much welcomed contrast to the familiar.
13/08/2010 - DAY 11 - I'VE GOT A BRAND NEW BICYCLE
Appears we have hit Vancouver during a good spell of weather... today is a perfect day for hiring bikes. We rent 7 speed cruisers for the day and I look like a 10 year old on a chopper. We cycle around Stanley Park and experience some brillaint views as the cycle route skirts the sea wall. We have a picnic on the beach. Later that evening we decide that a trip to Vancouver cannot be done properly without experiencing the seafood. We order a seafood platter and bite off more than we can chew....quite literally. We try and burn off the food with a night time stroll to English Bay Beach.
12/08/10 - DAY 10 - GRANVILLE ISLAND AND COUNTRY SONGS
Granville Island is a small area just below Downtown Vancouver that specialises in trapping tourists, mainly due to their amazing Public Market. We walk around with our tongues at our feet as we notice stall after stall of cheeses, olives, meats, fish and fruit etc etc. We buy some battered halibut and chips (sorry, fries), and are unable to resist buying a tonne of picnic material for the next few days. We visit a printmaking studio and sit by the harbour. Later that evening we check out The Railway Club music venue and fortunately stumble across a trio of very talanted singer-songwriters from the U.S. on tour. We let them know of our admiration and kindly get invited to come along with them to a festival they are playing on the next stop of the tour...very tempting, but we aren't too rich on time, and there is a lot more of Vancouver to discover!
11/08/2010 - DAY 9 - CROSSING THE BORDER
Today we take the 4 hour coach journey to Vancouver, via the US/Canadian border control crossing. I try to direct us by foot to our accommodation but grossly misjudge the distance. Some crazy bus driver spots the suitcases and stops in the middle of a busy road and proceeds by dictating to us for the next 20 minutes, what we should do during our stay. We get a free bus journey, although she drops us off further away from our intended destination than we originally were...nice gesture all the same. We stroll down to the beach for some relaxation and then go out for Mexican food in Gastown and treat ourselves to a huge jug of Sangria.
10/08/2010 - DAY 8 - SUN COMES OUT IN THE PACIFIC NORTH WEST
Today the sun shines in Seattle. We take a walk to the sculpture park and relax by the pier. Next stop is a trip to the district of Fremont, about 4 miles from downtown Seattle. We have a leisurly stroll between shops followed by a visit to the Gasworks Park, where the sun starts to shine brighter...Amy realises she has forgot her sun cream....whooops. We find a Moroccan rerstaurant and finish up with a few drinks at the 'Rendevous Bar' opposite our Hostel.
09/08/2010 - DAY 7 - COFFEE and FISH
Despite the fatigue, we get back into sightseeing mode, making sure to seize the 2 days we have in Seattle. We visit Pike Place Market to see a lot of fish, the first ever Starbucks and some interesting buskers. Amy takes some pictures of the impressive Central Library building. We get on the monorail to the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project building. We go to a Japanese restaurant, followed by a visit to the Showbox to watch Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Amy identifies a native Fleet Fox in the crowd but is too exhausted to harrass him.
08/08/2010 - DAY 6 - SEATTLE BOUND
Today we must end our brief love affair with New York. I make sure I squeeze in a kind of pilgrimage to Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village and we catch our final NYC sun rays in Washington Square Park. Next stop JFK airport, where we find our flight is delayed. We board the plane and find out that there is a slight problem with the engine. We have to get off and board a different plane. So an extended delay, but under the circumstances, we'll deal with that! Probably a good idea to not die. we arrive in Seattle at 1am, very tired.
07/08/2010 - DAY 5 - TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH NYC
Today is Saturday and we are feeling the burn (in more ways than one). We go the 'Hell's Kitchen' Flea Market, followed by a trip to the East Village for Vintage clothes shop visit #999. We reward ourselves with some happy hour beverages in the sunshine and people-watch. We dine on 2nd Avenue via a trip to Brooklyn to find - you guessed it - another clothing warehouse. We pick up some peanut butter cake, feel slightly sick and take a leisurly stroll to Union Square to get the subway home.
DAY 4 - 06/08/2010 - LAZY DAY THAT WENT WRONG (In a right kind of way)
Today was intended to be a day of relaxation. We start the day with our first super-size meal in the form of a 'lumberjack breakfast' at the Good Stuff Diner on 14th Street. We then wander around Union Square market and find a gigantic aubergine. We have a brief flirtation with Times Square (had to be done!)... we relax in Central Park and bask in the sun. I try to look for Kevin McCallister and the Pigeon Lady without success... then we get on the 6 up the Guggenheim Museum and we enjoy a great exhibition. In the evening we dine in the East Village. It is Friday and there is a great atmosphere. We follow the sound of the Smiths and the Cure into a packed bar on Avenue A. We then hail a cab to take us to Ludlow Street where we watch some live music... Apparently my American Doppleganger is on drums... his brother (who makes this observation) strikes up conversation and buys us drinks. Very kind of you Tudor, wherever you are.
05/08/2010 - DAY 3 - RIDING ON THE SUBWAY
Amy's feet look like they have just climbed Everest...today we use the subway to get around Manhattan. First stop is the World Trade Centre site. It is essentially still a construction site, but a great experience none the less. We continue to Battery Park so we can get a view of the Statue of Liberty... next stop is the Lower East Side ... we find a strip of streets where the hipsters hang. We get lunch on Ludlow Street, I find an ace band t-shirt shop and Amy finds Vintage clothes shop number 2 (and counting). Next stop is Prospect Park in Brooklyn. There is a free music festival on called 'Celebrate Brooklyn!' We get to watch Joan as Policewomen, Metric and Holly Miranda for free.
04/08/2010 - DAY 2 - HOT HOT HOT!
We walk around Manhattan beyond our physical capabilities (Amy gets blisters). I feel a bit silly wearing cords. I get impressed by the Flatiron building...I start taking photos, getting in the way of people in true tourist fashion. We walk past the Empire State Building, I start looking vertically and continue to annoy pedestrians (We are too chicken to go up it). Amy orders the best Pecan Tart EVER. We go to 23rd street to see the hotel that Leonard Cohen and Ryan Adams have wrote songs about...(oh, and where Sid Vicious murdered Nancy Spungen). Amy goes into the best vintage clothes shop ever and melts (even MY attention span in a clothes shop exceeds 5 minutes)... then we look at the price tags and then we leave.
03/08/2010 - DAY 1 - NEW YORK CITY
We arrive on Tuesday evening in very humid conditions. Air-con unit in the Chelsea Inn is very much appreciated! We get mexican food somewhere down 6th Ave, glug a jar of ice cold water and retire.
So I havn't written for a long time, but this seems apt and- hey! Everyones leaving travel blogs nowadays.. so we thought we would jump on the travel blogging band wagon.
So here she blows,
Tomorrow myself and Luke fly to New York, from there we go to Seattle and on to Vancouver.
As much as neither of us can afford it, we thought b****cks to that! As adventures go this is going to be a pretty big one, the planning has been in place since Feb. Luke has even made a spread sheet* so I know how much I can spend on Shoes, dresses and anything else that looks vaguely vintage.
We will attempt to update with some exciting venture every few days, there will be plenty of self takes for all of you that like seeing our ugly mugs, and for those of you who dont-we will be sure to take pictures of other peoples ugly mugs.
Anyway, keep watching...
Smell you later
Amy & Luke
* this statement is somewhat fabricated (Luke)
