September So Far - Canada, NYC, Cuba & Mexico

So you may have noticed that we've been a little slack on the blog front for the past three weeks. The truth is that we have been running around like headless chooks trying to see and do as much as we can.

We began September in Banff, a small ski village in Canada's Rocky Mountains. We were there to celebrate the wedding of some very close friends and rediscover this incredible country we have both been fortunate enough to live in years ago. Both the wedding and the surrounding areas were stunning and we enjoyed catching up with some friends we hadn't seen since before we left Sydney.

We were then off to New York City for 10 days. We stayed at an incredible boutique hotel just near time square and were upgraded to a large room on the top floor with views of the Empire State Building because we were on our honeymoon.....yes we used that old chestnut!

We managed to fit an incredible amount of sight seeing, eating and exploring into such a short amount of time. We enjoyed a 6 hour historical tour of downtown and midtown New York and a Hip Hop tour of Harlem hosted by an old time Hip Hop star JDL from the Cold Crush Bos. JDL taught us the 4 pillars of hip hop music and more importantly, how to steal electricity from a traffic light pole for your DJ decks if you ever wanted to throw a big hip hop party in a school yard.

We made it up to the top of the Rockefeller Tower and were blown away by the view and the magnitude of this incredible concrete jungle. Other highlights included seeing the latest Broadway sensation Memphis, the Bodies Exhibition with displays of numerous preserved cadavers, a trip to the Jewish suburbs of Brooklyn for some Matzaball soup, a romantic stroll through Central Park, two nights at a local comedy club and catching up with some of Rich's school friends.

We also spent time exploring the trendy suburbs of Soho, East and West Village and the Meat Packing District. Highlights here included the high line - an old above ground train track that has been turned into a park and the people watching in Washington Square Park.

While we didn't spot any celebrities walking the streets of NY, we did stumble across a film shoot for Law and Order which was exciting for a couple of Ozzies.

 The museum of Modern Art was "interesting". We loved the paintings by Picaso, Chigal, Dali and Monet but there were also numerous pieces such as " the hanging knob" and the breakfast table that were a little disappointing after the calibre of art we enjoyed at the Louvre and the Uffizi...what can we say...we've become art officianados since Europe.

We were also fortunate enough to watch the men's semi finals of the US Open tennis. As it so happened, the top 4 seeded players had made it through (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray)....what a treat! We were there from 11am - 9pm and loved every minute of it.

We even got a great shot of Natal picking at his behind, his signature move before every serve. Flushing Meadows lived up to its reputation, providing a loud, excitable and vibrant crowd for all 9 sets of tennis...it's a far cry from the civilized crowds of Wimbledon, but so much more fun!

Our stay also coincided with the 10th anniversary of September 11. While only those who's family were directly effected were allowed to visit the 9/11 memorial, we did see some ceremonies around the city and many signs and billboards up around the place. 

It was then farewell to the Big Apple and on to Havana Cuba. This city is something very special and definitely unique. Apart from the 60 year old cars that occupy the roads and the magnificent (but completely run down) colonial style buildings that line the streets, it is absolutely fascinating learning about the workings of the last communist country on earth. The average wage here is $20/month.

People are struggling just to feed themselves and their families and they have all come up with inventive ways to earn a little extra on the side.

We enjoyed a tour of the city on a horse drawn carriage and a tour of the local cigar factory where each cigar is made by hand using the same techniques they have been using for centuries.

Apart from this, we enjoyed all the live salsa music in outdoor cafes, bars and restaurants and relaxed by our rooftop pool. We were also privileged to see a performance by what remains of the original Buenavista Social Club...a Cuban salsa club from the 50's. 

As it is not possible to fly from the USA to Cuba, we stopped off in Isla Mujeres on the way back.

This is an idillic little island off the coast of Cancun and is the perfect place to relax under an umbrella on the soft white sand and swim in the warm turquoise water...a must for anyone who hasn't been there. Rich took the opportunity to do some diving and I made the most of the cheap massages at the hotel!

We're now off to Las Vegas where Richard will be left in the poker halls until he has won back all the cash we've spent on our trip. We also plan to take a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon and have tickets to see Penn and Teller's famous magic show.

 

This will probably be our last blog post. 

This adventure has been everything we'd hoped it would be and more.  After 40,000 miles, 29 flights and packing and unpacking our suitcases more than 45 times... WE'RE STILL NOT READY TO GO HOME! 

 We hope you've enjoyed following our adventure and we can't wait to catch up with you all when we get home next weekend.

You stay classy Sydney

Rich and Simone xxxxx

England - Fat Duck, football, friends and family

Upon arrival into the UK, and for the first time since we left Sydney in winter, we had to put on pants and pull out our jumpers and jackets for what they call "summer".......enough said.

"the fat duck" Restaurant
This 4 hr experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we both feel so privileged to have enjoyed. For any food buffs or lovers of wine, this 14 course degustation is for you. Each dish has a story that takes you on a journey of some sort. Its is too difficult to cover all the dishes although we have uploaded shots of many of them so you can see the expertise and detail but unfortunately, not taste.

A few Highlight dishes included an aperitif of pressurized alcoholic drink mixer (gin & tonic for example) dropped in liquid nitrogen and served as a solid ball with a sprinkle of green tea powder and a fragrant spray in the air. The ball just evaporates in your mouth and cleans the palette thoroughly.

"Sounds of the sea" was served with headphones coming out of a sea shell and you ate your meal while listening to the ocean. With the crunch of sand, aerated white foam, 3 diff types of fish, 3 diff types of seaweed and some sea jellybeans, this dish was truly creative and delicious.

All desserts were incredible but I was particularly impressed with "Picnic in the Park" which had a delicious little shortbread cheesecake with macerated strawberries and cinnamon, crushed pistachios covered in a paper think picnic blanket of white chocolate which actually had the red and white checker pattern normally seen on a traditional picnic blanket.......amazing.

We were also served a solid gold watch that when dipped into a bowl of hot water, disolved and turned into a mock turtle soup!

Others included confit of salmon coated in licorice jelly, fois gras to die for and a lamb main with some tounge cubes and vegetables that was so succulent you could cut it like butter.


No doubt you are all hungry just reading this so we shall move on to other topics.

From London we headed north to Manchester for a football feast, hang out with Simone's cousins and meet up with some old friends. We booked into the Mint Hotel under a Gay Pride Package special which was rather humerous but excellent value for a swish hotel.

We would like to give a shout out to Richard's cousin and godfather Ron who fabricated some work trip to get all the way up to Manchester and join us for both games of football.

Liverpool 3 - Bolton 1 - some amazing goals and fantastic atmosphere at the "kop".

And for the main event we witnessed Manchester Utd's destruction of Arsenal 8-2 with some of the best goals you will ever see and a Wayne Rooney hat trick. We were all blessed to see 14 goals in 2 games of English football which is unheard of.

Simone officially owns a cute little UTD jersey and knows many of the chants we learned at the Bishops Blaze pub after the game.
The rest of our time up north was spent with family and friends and it was great just to have a break and spend time talking, eating and drinking nice wines.

The UK was a week of Glorious food, Gay pride parades, footy, family and friends and despite the crappy weather we loved every minute of it!

Next stop is Canada for a wedding in the small town of Banff in the Rocky Mtns and then back to NY for some big city action and US Open men's semi finals.

Apologies for the lengthy blog.
You stay classy Sydney

Rich & Simone

France - a WOW around every corner

Upon arrival into Nice on the famous Cote de Azur we drove along one of the longest and most picturesque promenades we have ever seen
Next morning we collected our rental car and were pleasantly surprised to receive an upgrade to a powerful convertible with electric roof and all the trimmings b/c they did not have the car we booked.....loving France already.

Simone was loving the upgrade and attempted to blend in with Sth of France high society trying to emulate the quintessential movie star look with scarf around head driving the coast in a convertible. Having reviewed the photo we decided the look she actually achieved was more like one of Colonel Gaddafi's wives!

The car was paying off immediately as we dropped the top, listened to French radio (difficult) and cruised the mtns to some of the most beautiful old fortified villages such as Eze looking over some of the wealthiest areas and peninsulas' of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat (photo) and Gourden literally high up in the clouds. These little villages carry a fascinating story and so much history. With very few inhabitants anymore, most are filled with shops, hotels and restaurants but are beautiful.

Next day we hit the town of Monaco/Monte Carlo synonymous with outrageously wealthy fat guys with supermodel girlfriends or wives, million dollar cars and yachts that rival cruise liners, posh hotels, a famous casino that is 007's backyard and an annual grand prix.

It's one of those places you have to see once although Simone thinks she will be returning to stay at "The Hermitage" hotel one day.

A three hr drive from Nice, Nimmes was a very important city to the Ancient Romans during their glory days and boasts the most well preserved Roman amphitheater and Roman temple in the world.

We visited some French countryside on the way stopping at Chateaux Simone (wonder why) to purchase a bottle of vino followed by a picnic of soft cheese and fruit to eat under a tree.

The Pont Du Gard is a famous section of a 2000year old, 50km long aqueduct built by the Romans which is rather special to look at and even better to swim under. The water was so fresh and clean. Rich was able to engage in some more rock diving/jumping.

On the way back to nice We took a detour and visited two little quaint French villages in the Luberon valley. We made it to Apt for their fresh food markets with fromaggeries and delicious pastries, fruit and the like.

Paris - this city really has a wow around every corner. So many amazing buildings, monuments and historical stories. We hit a river boat upon arrival to explore the Seine River and get better acquainted with the centre of Paris which was fantastic.

The next 2 days after that were frantic as we had a 2 day museum and monument pass and plenty to see.

At the end of each day, Simone was thankful she booked a nice hotel in Paris with excellent water pressure and fluffy bed.

In addition to Paris, we ventured out to see the royal palace in Versaille where all the King Louis' played with their court and finally the rebels stormed and conquered in the 1779 French revolution.

You have to see this palace and gardens to believe it's size and grandeur that cannot be appropriately articulated. I think the most appropriate comment we heard while visiting came from a young boy who said, the Palace should be featured on MTV Cribs because it surpasses any modern celebrity's mansion. The level of lavishness and outrageous opulence is out of this world.

When Aristocracy is wasting money on palaces like this and starting wars it is no wonder the people revolted.

For our last tour day in Paris I did the romantic thing and took Simone up the Effiel tower to see someone else propose to his girlfriend. It has a fantastic view over Paris and looks nice when it is lit up after dark.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in France and spent many evenings planning our next trip back there.