Confused... im in Manhattan but im crazy about Memphis!

Wednesday 30^th March

So I am on a total buzz… have just been to see Memphis which was… sensational phenomenal incredible what other words describe it! Its so dumb I just want to take you all there!!! Was actually so so so so so good…

SO actually had the best day! One of the other girls in my hostel suggested the greyline tour which is a bus that has hop on hop off stops… so I bought a 72 hour pass and decided to take the downtown tour today.

Drove through the garment district where heaps of project runway is shot then headed past Madison square garden, then the empire state building and the flat iron bldg and then through to Greenwich Village where I hopped off. So basically this was the place in the 60s where all the musos and artists got their inspiration… in particular Bob Dylan and because its seen as quite a sacred place because of this there are laws passed that has no honking or loud stuff in the district so it was really quiet. 

So with much anticipation and book and pen in hand I kinda invisaged walking into some café and just you know being all inspired like and writing poetry or something (not that I have ever written poetry before?) 

I then wandered Greenwich village for about ½ an hour and was so lost and couldn’t find anything and it was just lame and so I was like ahhhh nah! Hopped back on the bus and then got off at SoHo… yes Soho… which is short for south of Houston Ave. and they have Noho which to be Honest I thought was like a total piss take but its not its North of Houston street. So I got off there…

Soho was cool… but still real expensive. Went to Bloomindales… seriously this is like Smith and Cougheys times one million! Soooo crazy! I saw this amazing hand bag that was quite small and I was like hmmm maybe I could afford that so looked and it was like $800 and a Marc Jacobs (so had like a gossip girl moment like when they get the latest hand bag and are like omg it’s the latest handbag) so then I got back on the bus and there was this crackups gangsta asian guy who was doing the tour… he was all like don’t no go to Chinatown with your camera round your neck cos they’lllall spot you tourists and they’ll rip your ass off… you gotta bargain the s*%t out of their asses ma nigga… was hilarious but also not very helpful… was more about giving you advice then history and kinda liked the sound of his own voice. 

 

So… I got off at ground zero which to be honest I wasn’t too keen to see but I went and it was really moving. I think seeing the effect that it has had on a nation and a city and a community more than anything? I then went to the memorial cathedral (only cos it was called st pauls) and turned and attended their lunchtime prayers for peace service and had the most special time. Also cool to read the info about how instrumental the church was during 9/11 a real community effort.

I then decided to have a Gyro for lunch… these are basically like kebabs you can get it in a souvlaki type wrap or on rice etc… they have little men on the side of the road everywhere and they are about $3 it was real yum but super dirty food really I felt pretty sick afterwards! So decided to walk it off and walked across ½ of the Brooklyn bridge – seriously I don’t know why the harbour bridge is a landmark for Auckland… weve got nothing on the 5 bridges of Manhattan… they are amazing! Such works of art! So that was super fun.

Then walked down to the financial district. Where I found wall street (its quite hidden) took a photo but wasn’t too excited. Saw the NYSE which was also cool. Couldn’t actually find the bull and the bear? kinda embarrassing I did have a good wander round too. But yea no luck. Then walked down to battery park where you catch the statue of liberty ferry from. Not much to see there… hopped back on the bus and took the tour all the way back to times square where we had a good hour drive around the lower east side and then past china town and little italy etc etc.

I then got back and randomly decided to catch the uptown tourbus at like 4pm just for fun. … but it got super cold! Like freezing! Was cool going through the upper west side (lots of celebs live here… like all the famous people!!!) and seeing the apartment buildings along central park such as… the Dakota, the san remo, the building where john lennon got shot, and the one where jerry sienfield lives… Then we headed up to see new jersey and the george Washington bridge. 

Then came back through the upper east side… man I am going to have a total new view of gossip girl and everything about manhattens elite now! So basically its amazing! So intense! Drove past the met and Guggenheim which were pretty amazing buildings!

I have to stop taking endless pictures of amazing buildings because they all look the same but they are all so beautiful… and amazing! Gothique style is super popular and awesome!

luckily when i got back the ½ price ticket booth line was really small because I jumped in line and got me tix for Memphis which was WOW!

I got a bagel beforehand and got so confused cos first you have to choose the bagel type… then you have to choose the flavour of cream cheese there are like 20 flavours… I just went for plain… and then basically he put about 2cm thick of cream cheese like im not kidding there woul probably have been half a pottle… SOOOOOOO gross! I ate 1 half of it with just a bit of creamcheese and threw the rest out… talk about heartattack! 

And Memphis it was just amazing! It won the 2010 Tony and ohhhhh! Seriously just loved it! So vibrant and full on dancing and singing and oh man just amazing! 

Peace to you all or should I say y’all

Keeping the Peace and all that jazz...

Had a dreadful nights sleep – my so thought non-existant jet lag wasn’t so non-existant and at 4am I was wide awake! Plus it was super noisy… I felt like the rubbish man was waiting outside our room all night!

Decided (randomly) to head to the united nations building I don’t really know how I thought that my feet just led me I guess and I went with it. So walked along 45^th and then up 5^th avenue checked out st Patricks cathedral had a croissant and an iced tea… everyone drinks iced tea here it’s a dream!

Then found united nations and saw Donald trumps building on my way. United nations was pretty with the flags all out the front… randomly again (I think I was still asleep) decided to do the tour. Which to be honest was a bit lacking wasn’t amazingly life changing but what was exciting was there were no meetings on today (this rarely is the case) and so we were allowed to go into both the assembly hall as well as the council room. So that was kinda cool… I was quite excited/proud to be a kiwi when I saw the little New Zealand sign! Who is our UN rep anyways?

I don’t know how I felt about the HQ being in USA cos it seems like it’s the USA that always vito’s things and goes against things. Interesting 5 countries (I think) have vito power and if one of them votes no then everything is vetoed… this happens about 1ce a year but it did just in feb when everyone else wanted to look at Palestine and Israel renegotiating or something and then the states were like NO… kinda weird but yea I always find it hard to think of America as a peacekeeping country.

Also found out that there at least needs to be some peace for the UN to fight so in the situation of Libya they cant go in because its beyond peaceful… I thought that was interesting? Also a country government has to ok them going in so they cant go in unless they have confirmed it. Kinda makes it hard in some situations.

Also interesting Kosovo has been acknowledged as an independent county by England and usa but cant apply to be part of it because the other 2 super powers namely Russia and china wont allow it… yea it was actually quite fascinating… kind of weird though talking about it like a game of risk when its really the state of the world?

Then headed to 42^nd street and walked up there… was something happening there were cops on every corner. And a couple of blockades too… and just took in all the sites… went to grand central station… there wasn’t too much there? Just a train station… but now I know how to picture it when every broadway musical dream gets washed up at grand central!

Went across the road for some Pizza… EYW pretty much had a couple of bites felt my cholesterol levels jump by 100% and quietly threw the rest in the bin… just not appetising! And all that CHEESE! Eyw eyw!

Popped into the New York Public Library which wasn’t really what I thought it was… just an ancient building with pretty ceilings and lots of old ancient books. Went to the “reading room” and sat for about an hour reading on the road! Was bliss!

Saw a massive escourt/entourage/blockade don’t know what there called with about 20 cops, and then another 10 fancy black cars… was real excited… quite an affair… found out later that the president was in town… OBAMA! Flip what a treat… then overheard another person whos sister works for the LAPD… say that it was a decoy for the real presidents vehchile. Doesn’t make much sense really… funny how in NZ hed prob just drive his own? Were so low key! Haha

Went to War Horse… wow! The first half was quite boring. It wasn’t a musical (as mum told me it was) but there was a lady who sung irishy folk songs through it (weird I know) but it worked. And basically was the story of this horse in WWI the horses are these puppet things are were very spectacular and SOOOO lifelike. Check out the trailer here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-bni4QqSv4 they just looked so real and every movement was so horselike! And… ill admit it I cried at the end… infact I actually balled! Hahaa they were doing curtain call and the tears were just streaming haha! Sign of a good story huh! It will SO be a movie I say! Someday! Just beautiful!

Then since all my muscles hurt and feet ache… I decided to catch a cab home… so I successfully hailed a NY yellow Cab was so proud of myself and it cos me 5bux to get back to my accom! Sweet man! So I just hung out in times square and just drunk in the people and the atmosphere. 

The Metropolitan Opera - every singers dream come true!

The opera was Sensational! Actually breathtaking… Renee Flemming was the Countess and if you don’t know she is pretty much the QUEEN of singing! I have about 6 of her CDs (and 7 CDs of opera music in total) Last time Cappricio was done it was in the 80s and Kiri played the Countess.  The theatre I mean opera house was just exquisite. There were about 5 fancy resturants that are part of the campus and it seemed like it was all about being seen… 

I was in the cheap seats with my $25 ticket (BARGAIN) and so was way way up in the Gods… 7 levels to be precise. They have this incredible Chandalier which was just WOW! They had one inside and one in the foyer. The one inside is surrounded by mini ones like 15 of them. These initially are lower down and then they moved up to the top once the overture was finished. They were cooler then they sound. Also they have these seats along the sides of the top level which are like lecture desks, I presumed they were for reviewers or something.

Basically the first 15 mins I was a zombie and kept having to wake myself up. Was like noooo I cant sleep and then miss her last song (this is the famous bit of the opera) but things picked up and just WOW! I don’t know what it was about it that was so incredible maybe just because its every opera singers dream to be part of the MET opera? It was opening night as well which is always a bit special!

Renee’s voice was so pure so crystal she just dropped the notes out. And just had such a hold on the performance. Her dresses were pretty cool too. The setting was a 1920s salon so kind of just a lounge and there was no set change and no half time. 

The men… oh man give me a singing man any day! Soooo hot! There was a tenor a baritone and then La Roche who was the old guy who was a bass! There was a good amount of humour in the opera, It wasn’t comic humour though (which opera funny often can be – I don’t know ive only seen about 5 operas) it was really intelligent and clever. Really liked the storyline though, about a poet and a musician and both fall in love with the countess so they have a battle off about which is better words or music…  very smartly written. The film of the performance will be showing in Auckland later in the year if there are any takers to come with me… its nice a short (only 2 ½ hours).  See full synopsis here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capriccio_(opera)

The ending was just huge  she has about a 15 minute scene where she is trying to decide which one to choose… Flamand or Olivier – so heart wrenching!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oUABPNM_AI Just HUGE! She had her own bow! 

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Well im in the city that never sleeps... and quite literally im wide awake! 

Had a bit of a lame time last night - my shuttle never arrived to pick me up at 1am and i thought initially there would be quite a few people around but there werent so i spent about 10 mins waiting in the minus5degrees deserted trainstation with 3 guys that looked like 50cent... one of them was from the holiday inn and ended up offering me a ride I was like oh man I will pay you a million dollars to get me out of the cold and paranoid state I was in (I didn’t actually say that) … when I did pay him (and was like this is totally not legit but its 1am) he was like its only going to ma girl… she spends all ma cash! Kinda cute though.

Drove from the airport through Queens… got excited cos there is actually a Queens Boulevard (entourage fans!)


Theres currently a guy in the hostel common room with me watching arabs got talent haha! A serious good time! Haha

I Walked round and round (just one way actually) about 20 blocks (man im so legit American) its such a genius way of explaining how far!  

Central park was just my favourite! Totally loved! Its winter so all the trees are bare and look amazing… there wernt many people around I guess it was only 4pm? Took a million photos… saw a squirrel which I was super excited about until I saw another 20 and was like oh squirrels are normal here… luckily I didn’t try to point it out to anyone else. (I would so do that)

Got some roasted nuts from a vendor man – was exciting. Then headed back to the Lincoln centre where I visited the NY Public Library for performing Arts (man im such a nerd) it had soooo many amazing music/musical/opera dvds. I felt like a music student (super nerd) and felt pretty cool. Might just go there tomorrow to feel cool again!

Walked past the Julliard School of Music (of High School Musical fame) and then grabbed a hot dog (which was average like a sizzler in a bun – super average) before heading over to the opera (the hot dog was total class prior to the opera!)

  

The opera was Sensational! Actually breathtaking… read my full review in my next post on the opera ... for all those opera lovers who are my friends (not) 

I then headed back… was unsure if I should catch a cab back or walk… I felt lame cabbing cos it wasn’t far but apparently that’s what new yorkians do? Jump in a cab for a block! So I walked… initially I was like yea this is Broadway! Im sweet as! But then there got less and less people and I was like uhhh so I kinda just tagged on to groups pretended I was with them then there was a police officer so I kinda walked behind him for a few blocks – who better to protect you then NYPD! Then I think he knew I was following him so he turned down some dark alley and I was alone… had to gap it down a couple myself but then tagged onto a black family (whos gunna attack them) and then was fine once I got to times square where its ALL happening! That place is buzzing!

So overall… LOVE IT! Daunting but then its just some secret america “code” and once you’ve got it you’ve got it im guessing!

Tomorrow Im thinking MOMA and United Nations Building… but hey lets see what the day has in store for me! 

30 hours of planes airports and virtually no sleep!

Flew from Melbs to Sydney where we had a 5 min stopover... 

Had a panic attack on the plane when I couldn’t remember if I had booked the food service and thought I might have to starve for the next 13 hours. To make matters worse i had no inflight entertainment so had to work out how i was going to entertain myself for 13 hours... was pretty abysmal… slept for about 30 mins freaked out as there were still another 750 minutes to go… things got better… I had an epic 4 hour Dr who till my laptop died then ended up sleeping for about 3 hours. Spent quite a bit of time looking at the back of the seat infront of me... 

There are actually trees like this...

Welcome to California Baby!

Then arrived at LAX… to a 90 minute passport queue. I remembered how dad once said that it was the british that invented queueing – it definatley wasn’t the Americans I can say that much! It was a complete shambles just a mass arrangement of people standing round looking confused. I then was questioned heavily at passport check… the guy was very rude to me and made me feel just terrible. 

I was then moved into an interview room and was told my story doesn’t add up because I was a young girl and I was stupid to be travelling alone and ive never been to the US before so what was I thinking… he then went through all my documents and bags, pulled everything out... so after about an hour of intense questioning… he was like ok… and let me go. WHEW! 

So then I arrived and the airport here is so daunting and massive and crappy and there are no info desks and everyone is SO unfriendly and I had no idea where I was meant to go. I put my baggage on the transfer trolley but then I had no idea how to get to my gate and the lady just kept telling me to look at the screen and so I stood outside looking over whelmed for about 10 mins… took a photo of the palms and then I saw an LAPD car got a wee bit excited! And then worked out where to go and so just thought id check in early I had about 5 hours.

Zombie me eating a cheeseburger...

Got some american macdonalds… saw a real live soldier of the US army in uniform was also a bit surreal? Got confused because she charged me tax on my burger I was like ummmm but luckily just went with it and then realised how dumb I was afterwards.

Everything is so intense here… and kinda like massive! They have a vending machine for ipads, ipods, cameras phones etc and other technical equipment… no kidding! A VENDING MACHINE!

Day 2 – Saturday 26th March… Melbourne

I just LOVE Melbourne... and every time I go there I think I fall just a little bit more in love with it. The people the cultures the diversity. 

I love how there are always people everywhere and its such an amalgamation of peoples!

Went out for brunch had amazing wild mushrooms…with crazy bits that looked like octopus tentacles. (see picture) I went to ask for a trim flat white but apparently here it’s a flat white with skinny milk… whoops!

Then hit chapel street which is about 5 mins walk. We ventured down the “grunge” end in search of some boots… (it occurred to me while sitting at the tram last night that my one pair of canvas shoes probably wernt going to suffice the NY weather.) purchases made, coffee drunk, more purchases and more coffee (I love Melbourne coffee! So strong!)

Then we hit “The Auti.”  This is a german supermarket chain which has random sale items each week. This weeks sale included a set of bongo drums. Bought some wine and some feed and headed back to Jess’s apartment. Theres something exciting about living in an apartment. Sat and feasted while listening to the distant sound of Motors as the Melbourne Grand Prix was on this weekend. Headed to Korean for dinner with Rupert and then back for more friend time!