Stars and Stripes

After a decade away it's nice to finally be back Stateside. So far it seems pretty similar to how I remember it... just bigger. Even though I remember everything being supersized, I had forgotten the shear enormity of everything here. The cars, the houses, the portions, the people, the roads and the country itself, for the most part, are all massive!

I've been having a great time here so far. Huge thank you to everyone (and there's a lot of you!) that have put me up, taken me out or otherwise helped me enjoy my time along the way. So read on to see what I've been up to for the last month or so...



Wanna bagel with yaw cuppa cawfee, dawlface?

Ahhhh... the distant relative of the English language that's spoken in NYC. Gotta love it. Of course you're just as likely to hear Chinese, Spanish or any number of other languages in this melting pot. And that's half the reason this city is so cool. A day's walking around Manhattan sees you cross through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Jewish quarter and everything from the arty SoHo and TriBeCa, to the powerhouse Financial District, to the laid back atmosphere of Central Park. And don't forget The Bronx. This place has it all.





Of course, there's plenty to see outside Manhattan too, especially if you take to the water. Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Staten Island (it's free to get the ferry to this one!) are all close by, off the southern tip of Manhattan. So an Aussie that I picked up somewhere along the way and I decided to do some exploring one day. Unfortunately the day we chose was absolutely freezing. I don't mean it was chilly and my toes got a bit cold. I mean almost -30C, including the wind chill! Kind of hard to describe but picture this. I bought a bagel with cream cheese (mmmmmm) and a coffee from a street vendor on the way down to the ferry terminal. By the time I had almost finished the bagel, the cream cheese on it was beginning to freeze, it had gone crispy! By this stage my fingers were protesting too, by refusing to bend...


Of course, there's always a silver lining, and in this weather there weren't too many tourists stupid enough to head out sightseeing. So we didn't have much of a line to get up the Statue of Liberty, didn't have to deal with many visitors at the Museum of Immigration on Ellis Island and didn't have to wait long to get on the ferries. And despite the temperature, we did get a nice blue sky the whole day. Can't complain really.

New York at night is something else entirely. The hustle and bustle of the business districts die down and places like Times Square turn on their lights and come alive. Broadway actors are jumping around outside, trying to get people to fill the theaters, hawkers are trying to get rid of their tickets outside Madison Square Gardens and the multitude of eateries are all vying for your business. But the madness is great!

Capitol Hill

After NY/NJ, I booked in at a really nice hostel (carpeted, big bunks, huge kitchen, but still cheap!) for a few nights in Washington DC. With the primary elections in full swing over here, it's quite an interesting time to be here. And of course DC is the epicentre for all the action, so there was plenty going on. Walking around The Mall (the central strip of DC) is impressive and a little bit strange. There are so many iconic buildings and renowned memorials, it's like walking through a Discovery Channel documentary.

When I was planning my stay in DC, I thought a day or two to check out the Smithsonian Institution would be adequate, despite the fact that it's made up of a series of museums covering just about everything imaginable. So on the first day of museum wandering, I planned to go and see the Air and Space Museum in the morning, then check out the Natural History Museum during the afternoon. By closing time, I'd made it about half way around Air and Space. Apparently I underestimated the time I'd need... by about a week. The museums were brilliant and best of all, they were free!

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End of the touristy stuff...

Well, that pretty much sums up the usual destinations so far. The one touristy thing I'd hoped to do in Cleveland was visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Somehow I ran out of time and didn't even manage to accomplish that! Too many people to see and other things to do. However, I did make it to the Cleveland Auto Show, which was a great day out.

Before getting to Cleveland, everyone I met asked the same question when I told them that's where I was heading... "Why?!". Well obviously the main aim was to catch up with old friends and once again explore the land of my childhood. But I also wanted to see some proper snow again. And snow I got!!