We saw her and she was beautiful

(Please appreciate this photo, Troy almost froze to death to capture it)

The Statue of Liberty is something we are all so familiar with, so while I knew we had to see her while we were here, I kinda had a feeling that I had seen it all before.

But she was all kinds of spectacular. 

We didn't do a tour, we jumped on the free Staten Island ferry which does a drive by and I was happy with that. I don't think you need to see her up close, she looks incredible standing there quietly guarding the city. I am so smitten, I now have a strong urge to buy one of those crappy plastic statues from the tourist shop.  

She was our first stop in downtown Manhattan or the financial district. It is such a beautiful part of town, very clean and full of history. We visited Wall Street, Trinity Church and the World Trade Centre site. I wasn't sure what to expect there, it now looks just like a really big construction site but when you stand there and imagine how huge those two buildings were the magnitude of what happened that day it really hits home. The tribute museum was so well done. It didn't focus on the terrorists or the hate, it was about the people and their stories. Instead of showing those awful images of which we are all so familiar, they showed the hundreds of missing person posters, artifacts found on the site, brought together quotes from those who lived it plus a wall of photos of those who were lost. It was a sad, peaceful reminder but at the same time it was hopeful. It brought to light the good things that happened in such an awful situation. Well worth the visit.

Our trip downtown was just a little cold at about -8 plus the wind chill factor (which they reckon feels about -20). All I can say is ouch. I seriously thought I had frozen my feet beyond repair at one point. You can imagine how cold it was on the Hudson...

Last night was spent with Luke and Gill who took us to drinks and dinner in the very cool West Village. It is a super swanky part of town and I very much liked the very little that I saw. We are so lucky to have Gill and Luke here, they get us out of the tourist traps and show us what it is like to live here. Plus they are just super people :)

Another fabulous day in the Big Apple.

Peace out for now.

Baggage, Best Friends and Bargains

We are in NYC people, what a place.

However our trip didn't get off to a such a good start because Cathay Pacific failed to transfer our luggage on our connecting flight. So we arrived in rainy, almost zero degree temperatures with  only the clothes we had on our backs. The punks told us it would arrive the night of the flight, but it didn't arrive until yesterday morning (Monday). Lucky for us, Gilly (my gorgeous friend who lives here) saved the day. She met with us on on the first night handing over warm jackets, taking us to Macy's to get some essentials and then back to her house to have a shower, steal some extra clothes and eat a home cooked meal.

So picture this, we had slept about 6 hours in two days, had killer jet lag and no luggage. Trust me it wasn't pretty.

But despite this little set back, we have had a blast so far. We are staying right near Times Square which is an incredible/crazy place. We have done a lot of shopping along 5th and 6th Ave so all your big names and we managed to find a few bargains. But I am not really interested in the chains, I am saving myself for Soho and Tribeca. In fact, I told Troy that I am never going into Macy's again, that place is a freaking nightmare. He loves it because he picked up a sweet leather jacket for $100.

Where we are staying is great because we are walking distance to a lot of the touristy spots you have to see like Rockerfeller, Museum of Modern Art and Grand Central. However, it means wherever we go we have to fight millions of other tourists and it is getting a bit old (plus all the jerks who hang around to rip them off). But we have done it and now we are going to explore the other neighbourhoods.

I won't take you through a piece by piece account of everything we have seen, I will say however that Grand Central Station has been my favourite so far, that place is just incredible.


A few pics... ( I haven't posted any of us when we were minus luggage, lets just say we were not at our best)

Crazy Times Square

Oh look, there's Macys! (just don't make me go in there)

Troy in the light room thingy watsit at Top of the Rock

My awesome paella at Little Brazil.

Troy at the Rockerfeller centre.

Me getting my Kate Moss on in gum boots.

 





Love to all

x

Suitcase envy much?

Exhibit A.

Troy will be travelling with this awesome Burton suitcase. It was an early Christmas present from the parentals. He is convinced the snow bunnies in Whistler are going to go mad for this..

Exhibit B.

My belongings will be in this old purple suitcase. It was cool when I bought it five years ago.... really.

I was tempted to buy myself a girl version of Troy's at Main Peak the other day. They are almost $300 so I thought maybe that could get in on the action and get it as my Christmas present from the parents. As I ummed and arrrrred over it, Troy made the following point:

'Would you prefer a new suitcase when you have one that is perfectly fine (even if it is damn ugly) or $300 to spend on clothes in NYC?'

Turns out I married the right guy. We left immediately and American dollars for Christmas it is!

Special things

The other day my Mum gave me (via my Gran) this leather passport holder. It was originally my Grandad's.

I hadn't thought about it, but now I am married I have the same initials as him. That makes me smile. Now every time I am at an airport I will think about him and trust me, he is worth thinking about. He is very missed.

I have very cool grandparents, rather than spending their child free years playing bowls, my Gran and Grandad travelled like maniacs in their retirement (Gran is still going to this day! She is so cool). They saw so much together, like us, they even flew to NYC on Christmas night one year. Mum has a feeling though that this holder never went anywhere....

Funny thing is I actually wanted to get one of these for Christmas because when I am at airports I get all OCD about my passport and tickets. This kills getting a new one.

Another vintage item on the packing list is a pair of gorgeous leather gloves that my Mum bought when she was 20 or so. They are so hot. She gave them to me when I was living in Sydney but I never had the chance to really rock them.

Photos don't do them justice...

And so, the packing begins!

PS. My Gran is SO cool, she is probably reading this blog. Hi Gran! Love ya! oxox

We got hitched, now let's go on a sick honeymoon baby!

So yes, my husband (it still feels very weird saying that) and I are just about to take off on our delayed honeymoon. As the old cliché goes, this is the trip of a lifetime for me because quite frankly, I haven't been anywhere overseas except for Bali (which doesn't count because half of the Perth population is there at any one time). At not quite four weeks, it isn't a long trip, but for me it is a bloody big deal.

This blog is killing two birds with one stone. I am planning to use it as my 'travel journal' of sorts because I thought it might be a nice reminder for me down the track and it means that all of those who care can find out how we are doing.

There is a strong likelihood however that I will be having such a freaking fantastic time that I will forget about it entirely, but at least the intention is there right?

So what is the plan? Here is our itinerary (many of you won't be surprised to hear that the details of this trip have all been entered into an extremely sexy looking excel spreadsheet by Troy, but we'll stick to the simple version here):

New York City, USA (OH MY FREAKING GOD!) - Dec 26 to Jan 2

Montreal, Canada - Jan 2 to Jan 4

Vancouver, Canada - Jan 5 to Jan 7

Whistler Mountain - Canada Jan 7 to Jan 14

Vancouver again - Jan 14 to Jan 15

Las Vegas - Jan 15 to Jan 18

Los Angeles - Jan 18 to Jan 21

Home!

So be sure to check in over the next couple of weeks and get mega jealous :) If any of you have been to these spots we'd love some recommendations!

NB: Just in case you were wondering, no I didn't have a cup of tea on my wedding day. That is Red Bull and vodka. ALL CLASS.