Not a lot to show for a year in New York. Some random memories:

Riding on the subway and trying to study the people without directly looking at them. The subway is only dangerous in certain sections and at certain hours. Otherwise it's convenient. Have to remember locals vs express. A monthly metrocard allows unlimited travel on subway and buses.

Taking the bus across central park. Taking the bus all the way from the Upper East side to South Street Seaport. Loads to see on the way.

Weekend street fairs. Check in the NY Times for locations. Whole blocks of the street would be blocked off and lots of stalls to rummage around. Selling houseware, linens, spices, books, T-shirts. All sorts of food stalls. $1 per minute massages.

The Oyster Bar at Grand Central. Big gulp smoothie at Penn station. Hot dogs and juice at Papaya King.

Look up and be in awe of the amazing architecture. The brownstones, the modern apartment blocks, the landmarks.

The first time I saw professional dog walkers, this teeny girl had like 12 dogs with her.

Observation deck, World Trade Center. Gone.

New Year's Eve. Times Square. The ball. How can anyone for get the ball? Oh hey it wasn't just New Year's Eve, it was the turn of the millenium.

Driving out of town. To New Jersey. Connecticut. Long Island.

27 September: Travelling

The upstairs neighbours were redecorating and they started drilling round about 11am. I got sick of it and left for the airport at noon. I’ve checked in already so it was just a matter of getting my boarding pass and checking my luggage. Hung out at the lounge for hours, heehee. Ate so much! There was additional security of course, one section of the airport was set up specially for US flights. First there was a body check, then everyone lined up to have their bags checked by hand. Not too much hassle because they had something like 30 officers checking, so it moved quick. I was glad I have club membership so I could board at the business class gate.

Flight wasn’t full, the middle seat was empty so I could stretch my legs a little. Sat behind 2 babies and they were crying at the beginning of the flight though they quietened down later. Dinner was pasta with spinach and cheese. Didn’t feel like the meat or fish dishes. Slept sporadically, may be an hour at a time. I changed my watch as soon as I got on the plane, but all told probably only had 3-4 hrs of sleep.

Security at the domestic flight part of the journey was fine too. Most people know what to pack and what not to pack at this point, the queues were manageable. Instead of checking my bags, they swabbed and checked my crocs! Heehee. I had my caffeine injection and got settled for a little wait.

SFO airport was okay, lots of places to eat and shop. I had a split pea soup and a diet coke for late lunch. Came to over $8 though, not cheap. Internet day pass was $9.99, which was acceptable to me. Of course I prefer free wifi, but can’t be picky — it’s either pay or sit around with nothing to do. The terminal was fairly quiet early on and I was able to easily find wall sockets. The battery could probably last, but I wasn’t taking the chance. Available spots keep being used as the afternoon wore on as the place got busier.

Flight to LAS was delayed. Sigh. Originally it was supposed to leave at 7.30pm, then it changed to 9pm. As the evening wore on, it became clear that 9pm was optimistic. Apparently the plane coming in had a mechanical problem and was stuck in LAS. At almost nine they announced gleefully that it’d left LAS and will be readied for flying back out as soon as possible. The departure time shifted to 10.30pm at this point. It was all very disappointing and boring. I got a little hungry so I bought a roast beef and cheese sandwich, but not much of an appetite.

It was disconcerning watching other people board their planes; and still ours hadn’t arrived. A group of men started complaining loudly and though they had their point, I wished they could keep their voices down. Some officials came, huddled around the desk and made numerous calls on their cellphone. Everyone was watching them expectantly but they never made any announcement to reassure the passengers, which I thought wasn’t so nice. They came back later with police (!) and talked to the loud men. Shortly after, another group of police arrived on mountain bikes, and the long and short of it was that the loud men were led away. Wow, they were loud and slightly drunk but they were never threatening or anything. Kinda heavy handed in my opinion.

Finally, the plane arrived, we waited till the incoming passengers got off and not long after, we finally boarded. There was a cheer when the boarding announcement went up, it had been a long wait. Took off at just before 11pm, I was very tired, had a drink and then fell asleep. Flight was only 1.5 hrs, so it seemed like I’d just closed my eyes when the seatbelt sign came up. I could see the lights when we came in and it was exciting. The airport was virtually deserted, though I saw what Car meant when she said that there were slot machines as soon as I came out of the gate. There were! Anyway, despite there being hardly any other people at the airport, it was still a wait for the bags. At least mine wasn’t the last, and I got on the taxi really quick. $25 to the Aladdin, which was under renovation so it was a little trek through boarded corridors to the make-shfit reception area. I was so tired, I didn’t even hear Car call me, until she almost shouted in my ear that I’m deaf! Heehee.

The room was pretty good, Car’s Mom and Gram were already in ‘ready for bed’ mode (didn’t blame them it was past 1am). I unpacked a little, and then the two of us went downstairs to scout around the casino a little. It was BIG! Was a little too incoherent to take everything in, but saw the roulettes, poker, blackjack tables. Plus of course the rows and rows of slot machines. I never realised they had special “themes” — we put $1 in a Star Wars machine, it had the sound effects and we won a little, though promptly lost it all. Back to the room and I took a much needed shower. It’s been a long trek but it took me a while to actually fall asleep.

28 September: south side of the Strip

Early start (well, for being on vacation). First stop was to go across the Strip to the Bellagio. It was one of my original hotel choices but it was too expensive. And wow! Impressive! First thing that caught our eye was the glass flower roof at the lobby, with all sorts of colours.

Just a little way off reception was an awesome garden with fantastic light through skylights, and a banyan tree that had been rescued from (?)Florida(?). The Halloween theme could already be seen, with pumpkins and scarecrows heavily featured.

From the Bellagio we walked to the Monte Carlo. On the map, these two hotels are next to each other, but in reality it was a good 10-15 minute walk. Took us longer because: a) we had Gram’s wheelchair and b) we stopped off at a Walgreens to get Gram’s medicine and to do a little catch-up shopping. So when we got to the Monte Carlo we’d worked up a good appetite for brunch. Nice brunch it was too — mainly breakfast items of bacon, sausages, eggs, french toast and cereal. I was also introduced to the very interesting American breakfast item known as “biscuits and gravy”. It was not biscuits or gravy as I knew it. Basically it’s a large scone that was smothered by a white sauce that had bits of sausage in it. Tasted quite nice (as white sauce and scones would) but pretty stodgy. I also tried a blintz which was warm pancake stuffed with cottage cheese. That I did not like because the idea of warm cottage cheese was unstomachable for me. They didn’t have proper tea so I had iced tea.

Walked around the casino a little, took some pictures of the slot machines. This would become a theme for the trip — pics of strange slot machines. From the Monte Carlo we made our way to the New York New York. Dude, it was just like NY, with a Brooklyn Bridge at one side and the Statue of Liberty on the other. Inside was a rabbit warren of small alleys and NY-like cafés and shops. There was even a smell of apples (cos, well, big apple …). The rollercoaster outside wasn’t operating at first, but later on it was. I put $1 in a Star Wars Dark Side slot machine and played for a long time — was lucky enough to get bonuses and the like. It was a good $1 spent.

Next on our visit list was the MGM Grand. Now I started getting the feel of these hotel casinos. Each had a theme, lots of interesting things to see, a show or another, and then there was the casino. Many people walking around, made the place seem like a resort. The theme at the MGM Grand was lions, they had an enclosure where we could see 2 lions sleeping. Another area where they had cubs. For $200 one could enter the cub enclosure and have an “experience” with the cubs. Well, no.

From the MGM we visited the shops along the way. Bought a bunch of rainbow keychains, like my Chicago one. These were good souvenirs for the people at work. Also took in the M&M shop and passed by the Coke shop. Was pretty tired when we returned to the hotel. Originally the plan was to rest a while then go out exploring but we all ended up napping! Which wasn’t such a bad thing, we were all tired from the travelling.

Dinner was a the Bellagio buffet. $27 per person. It was GOOD! We got there early (before 6pm) so the queue was short. Alaskan king crabs, sushi, mussels, roast lamb, prime rib, turkey, ham, all sorts of hot dishes, pizza, polenta, paella … couldn’t try everything. Dessert was ice cream, profiteroles, crème brûlée and many others I couldn’t remember. Everything was done nicely and presented with the intention to tempt.

One of the other reason for going to the Bellagio was to watch the fountain display. They had a short display (one song) every 15 minutes and we stayed for 3 displays. It was a fabulous free show, I was impressed all over again.

29 September: north side of the Strip

Breakfast was at the Venetian. It wasn’t touted as a buffet, since they wanted to be posh. sniggers Sometimes Americans trying to be posh end up being pretentious. $13.95 wasn’t bad though. The “buffet-that-tried-to-pass-off-as-non-buffet” was basically bacon, sausages, hash browns, and a made-to-order omelette. I had ham and mushroom and mistakenly had cheese added too. Made it too heavy. But tasted very nice. Had some really great fruit too, was going to make birchermuseli but was too full, so I just stuck with skimmed milk with the cereal.

The Venetian was another impressive hotel. Yes, there was a replica of St Mark’s Square, the Bridge of Sighs and even canals. Gondolas and singing boatmen too. Made me laugh because the real ones in Venice don’t sing as much. Lots of shops and the family ended up spending time at a Lladró store. The lighting inside the pretend Venice was surprisingly dim, even with the pretend blue skies overhead.

From the Venetian we walked in the blazing sun to the Wynn. It’s the newest hotel on the strip and probably has the most stars. It truly deserved them, I really liked it. There was no specific theme, unless “unbridled luxury” is a theme. There was an understated, carefully designed feel to it, with the use of warm colours and natural light. Definitely not one for brash families with loud children, it has… class. From the garden to the water features to the general décor nothing was out of place. Man, a tiny part of me wished we could have booked that suite, but remembering the price difference (almost twice the Aladdin) was enough to make me feel like we made the right decision to go for the Aladdin.

From the Wynn, we crossed the road to a completely different world — the Frontier. From the 1950s style signage in front, to the old, old, old one-arm bandits at the entrance, it was an embodiment of times past. We played the slots there, like we did at each casino we visited. Surprisingly, the Texas Tea machines were very fun to play and we even won a few odd dollars.

Time for a change, as we headed to the Fashion Show Mall for a spot of shopping. While Car’s Mom and Gram explored Baby Gap, we went off to look for a bookstore. Amazingly it was only a Borders Express (ie tiny) and didn’t have the book we were looking for. It was a good break from the casino hopping though I didn’t buy anything.

We took a free train back to Caesar’s Palace which saved on a lot of walking. Retired back to the room to rest. Watched the Food Network! How I’ve missed it. Dinner was an easy choice — Spice Market at the Aladdin. It was the #1 (not sure which survey) buffet in town. But may be it was the renovation that moved the restaurant, or something else, but we didn’t feel like it was a #1. Top 5 may be, but we were unanimous in saying the Bellagio was better. It wasn’t bad, by no means, just not #1. There were prawns, crab legs, Greek food, Chinese food, Indian (I think), fried food, a very nice lamb kebab and the usual roasts. I was suffering from overindulgence and decided on as many veg dishes as possible. Still, an enjoyable meal.

We stayed at the hotel. Went shopping and visited the casino, had a really good time with the penny slots again.

30 September: weddings and beavers

The other vegas specialty is weddings. There was a chapel at the Aladdin, just outside the lifts, and seems like each hotel had one too. But north of the Stratosphere were the small chapels. Weddings are big business and the side of the road was lined full of them, with names like Viva Las Vegas, Candlelight and of course Graceland Wedding Chapel. The Wedding Wonderland offered drive-thru services so the happy couple don’t even need to get out of their car. We visited the Little Chapel of the Flowers, which was a traditional chapel with garden. Despite all the whiteness and flowers and lace, it wasn’t stuck in the middle ages. Friends and relatives who were unable to attend in person could watch the proceedings over the internet, live. Then later they could purchase a copy of the ceremony. It’s all very slickly planned, packaged and commercial.

From the chapel we took a taxi to the Hilton. It was off the Strip, but just as busy. One of its main attractions was the Star Trek Experience exhibition. One thing I found out though, is how not a trekkie I am — I didn’t have much clue about the characters and vessels on display there. To enter the exhibition was $38, and we decided we had far better things to do for that, since all I’d be doing is asking “what’s that?” throughout our visit. Did see this awesome (read: dorky) bowling shirt, but it was $60. Man, they were out to milk every dollar. Did spend a very nice half hour or so exploring the shop and outside displays. Must say the models of the Enterprise was very impressive.

Stayed at the Hilton for a while, then took the monorail all the day to the end — MGM Grand. Nice trip for $5. The monorail ran parallel to the Strip but we could see all the hotels from the windows. Went back to the souvenir shop to get some more keychains and a couple of fridge magnets. Dinner was at the Zanzibar Café back at the Aladdin. I had guacamole hot dog (what the menu called the Ozzy Osbourne) and Car had an Extreme burrito. Both were very good, though I got teased for combining guacamole with hot dog.

The rest of the evening was spent at the penny slots, specifically the Lumberjack Beavers machine that was our favourite. It gave great value too, with just a small outlay we played for more than an hour. When we met up with her mom and gram, they had dinner at the Zanzibar too, while we just had dessert.

1 October: goodbye to Vegas

We checked out early and left our bags at the hotel. Breakfast was at Paris, right next doors. Original plan was to go to the buffet but it was way too crowded, so we settled for the café. Still good value, and I gotta laugh at how unFrench-like the breakfast items were. Not a continental breakfast in sight. We had French toast (and we all know that’s not French) with bacon / ham and shared a portion of pancakes (American style, ie what I know as hotcakes) between us. I was stuffed!

The Paris wanted very badly to be French, but was actually full of tourists. Some of their signs were in franglaise, like Le Car Rental. Pretty funny actually. After breakfast and the obligatory play at the penny slots we were off to Caesars Palace. Again, very crowded, but plenty of space for everyone to walk around. Waited for about 15 minutes at the fountain for the show, only to be disappointed that it consisted of a couple of mechanical statues with moving parts. Not impressed. The size of the hotel was impressive, though by this time I couldn’t tell one hotel-casino from another, they were all blurred. Before going back to the Aladdin we hung out a little at the Bellagio shop. Then it was time to leave.

Taxi to the airport was quick, and a little sad. Time to say good-bye to Las Vegas. I really enjoyed this first visit, it was nothing and everything like I imagined. Because I was here with my friend’s family, we did mainly family styled activities. Didn’t see any shows or gambled big (I wouldn’t have anyway) or had the time for an excursion or spa. Plenty to do for future visits, which is what I like about going to a new place — can never do everything first time.

And here’s the flickr set

2 October: The Tuesday Special San Francisco tour - Part 1

So, the second part of my trip. San Francisco, a totally different city to Las Vegas in outlook, attitude and … everything. It was pretty late when I arrived so we went to a neighbourhood café for a quick bite. I was buffeted out from Vegas and only wanted something green and had no meat. Perfect place for something like that. It was one of those casual student type places that I remembered from Zurich (the one behind the Niederdorf) and Sydney (the one sherlock took me to) — worn wooden tables, mismatched chairs, relaxed atmosphere. So very different and refreshing.

I had my first proper cup of tea on this trip. In vegas I’d been taking iced tea, or really awful lipton (have to order hot tea otherwise they gave you iced tea — and tea came in a pot of hot water and a lousy tea bag, geez). For extreme caffeine needs I had to rely on Starbucks. But now in SF, I had the means and time to make a nice cuppa. I brought my own tea bags of course — not PG but individually wrapped Twinings English Breakfast since they weren’t as suspicious looking. Ahhhhh.

First order of business was trooping off to a local coffee shop that offered free wi-fi. I had another tea and a bagel. Looking around I almost jumped in glee when it turned out that every.single.user inside that coffee shop was using a mac! Not surprising, since it was SF, whose population were supposed to be more tech savvy. And by definition, tech savvy means … heehee, need I say more?

After the refreshing breakfast, I got the chance of a lifetime, to ride on a vintage motorbike. It was fabulous and exhilarating. I hadn’t ridden on a bike for almost 20 years, and I was glad I remembered how to be a good passenger (don’t move).

Rode to the park and visited the windmill and garden. The sun came out especially for me so I could take some gorgeous pics.

Nearby was Ocean Beach, which was quiet and pretty. Heading north uphill, we stopped for a moment at the ruins of the Sutro baths. I’d never heard of these ruins, but it told an interesting story and looking at the old pictures I was amazed at how extensive the baths were. Built over 100 years ago and burnt down in 1966, the basic layout and some structure still remained.

Next stop, Mission. We had sushi (yummy!!!!!! and much anticipated) and wandered around the area. Furniture stores, antiques, bookstores and even *sniggers* Good Vibrations. Very relaxing and actually creatively inspiring. We stopped at a coffee shop, again full of laptop geeks, and I had a real nice cup of soy latte. I could totally imagine hanging out there all the time.

After the Mission we headed to Haight, and I continued taking a lot of pics, mainly for the 26things challenge, which I wanted to make up of pics exclusively from this trip. It was an excuse to overindulge in photography, but then again there is so much to photograph and the light is so fantastic.

Dinner was at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place where we ordered fresh salsa, fish and chicken taco. Very satisfying. Another adventure to a more central area that was Italian but felt French. We wanted to go to City Lights bookstore but horror of horrors it was closed! But it didn’t ruin an absolutely fantastic day for me. If I hadn’t known it before, I’m now convinced that I will enjoy living in SF very, very much.

3 October: The Tuesday Special San Francisco tour - Part 2

Another relaxing coffee shop first thing. This one was lifted straight out of Paris (or actually a french-looking place in London). Blah to Starbucks!

Short stroll to the Castro, where I kept looking for the rainbow keychains and I was sure I’d find them, but alas no. Nevermind, another excuse to return. Took the Market Street trams all the way down (or was it up) to the ferry terminal at the Embarcadero. An absolute bargain for $1.50, we managed to ride on a Peter Witts design tram that had been repainted into the original 1928 Milan livery of yellow and white with black trim. The interior retained a lot of the original Italian features, including the signage and light fittings and … general feel.

Oh my! The ferry building was heaven. The marketplace stores there had all the sorts of food that I could only dream about — organic fruits, fresh seafood, breads, cheese, a store that sold only olive oil, another that had all sorts of mushrooms. A real foodie’s delight. Needless to say we had lunch there, bought bread, cheese, interesting looking tomatoes and some crabmeat and sat outside on a bench overlooking the Bay Bridge. The sun was out, the air was clear, good food, good company … I said I could see myself living there, didn’t I?

Visited Ocean Beach for one last time to see the sunset, then went back to the apartment to pack and shower. Dinner was at a fusion restaurant called Eos, which deserves a special mention. Food items on the menu were small, intended for sharing. And what food! Lovely salad, tuna stack, lemongrass edamame risotto, scallops. But what made it especially special was the wine flights, where they served up a whole selection of wines in small tasting glasses. So in totaly may be 1 1/2 glass of “normal” size but we could try 3 or 4 different wines. What a great idea.

Though the dessert at Eos were great, we decamped to another dessert place called citizen cake. The cakes were scrumptious, and the chef is self-taught. Wow.

The final item on the program was a drive uphill to Twin Peaks to view the city at night. A great end to a great trip.

San Francisco flickr set

9 March: Chicago to Toronto

Early start, and I mean early like getting up at 4am. I made tea, put in a thermos, and we loaded the car. On our way by 5.30am. It was still dark. Saw the sunrise while on the road.

Stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel where I had peach pancakes and sausages with cranberry juice. Very nice. 2 hours later and we stopped for another break to fill up the truck and stretch our legs.

We kept looking out for signs to Canada and were disappointed when they were so obscure. There were directions to other places, and Canada was included on the list. Didn’t have problems crossing, the immigration officer asked the standard questions and we were soon on our way.

Lunch was quick at Wendy’s. First time we spent CAD, hee hee. There was a time change to Eastern time and we were at the apartment by 5pm. Met up with the others, made introductions and explored the apartment. It was a 3 bedroom place with large living room, dining room and kitchen. Everything was there, clean and functional. The apartment block itself looked like council housing but it was fine inside. Dinner at a place called Sushi 2 Go down the road. Then we retired to our apartment and the 5 of us played on our own computers. ha!

10 March: Toronto

We called a taxi to take us downtown this morning instead of driving. First, it seems that parking is expensive in town and second because we may want to go drinking and it sucks to have to designate a designated driver. The first reason was bogus, cos we could have parked in a carpark for a flat fee of CAD5. The second reason turned out the be the right one because we did some drinking alright!

We started at Kensington Market, which when I was reading up about Toronto I thought was indoors, like Sydney’s Paddington Market. But no, it was just a bunch of shops on two cross streets. Interesting shops but we had no need for fruits, breads and cheeses. Here’s an interesting pic of a couple of mooses on someone’s balcony.

Lunch was dim sum at Chinatown, right next to Kensington Market. Not bad, we had several beers while I fretted over what to order. Then another taxi to Church Street and visited an Irish pub where we had a “big boy” of beer — it’s larger than a jug, more like an ice bucket.

Didn’t stay out for dinner. Instead, got take-out Italian and drinks from the supermarket. For some reason I’m incredibly tired. Ahem. May be it was the beer.

Toronto is interesting but not as interesting as I expected. A little dilapidated in places and many shops are not open. Those that are, are nothing like Camden or the Village, no bohemian feel at all. I guess Toronto isn’t a very touristy city … more of a starting point for other places. It’s actually what people picture New York to be like, no wonder so many films and tv programs are made there.

11 March: Niagara-on-the-lake and Niagara Falls

The clocks turned forward overnight so we lost an hour, no matter because I went to bed early. Breakfast of healthy cereal that we bought at the supermarket yesterday.

We left at 10.30am-ish, and after a short detour (um, I got us lost blush) we reached Niagara-on-the-lake. It’s a quaint town a little way north of the falls, a little off the beaten track for normal falls tourists. Except there are quite a few tourists there. Ha! The reason we went there was because we wanted to have lunch at the Angel Inn which serves “authentic” British food. I had steak and kidney pie and the others had fish and chips or shepherd’s pie (should be cottage pie cos it was minced beef) and we all had different varieties of beer.

Walking around the town afterwards was nice. Small town, historical shops, good sunny day. Walked down to the lake, still with floating ice. Picture perfect.

The drive to Niagara Falls was short. It was very different from both the town and the image I had of “Niagara Falls”. The falls themselves were very impressive and it was worth spending lots of time at. Part of the river and the falls themselves were frozen over and the sight was awe-inspiring. The chunks of ice looked so small, but actually remembering photos of the boats going out it was deceptive. We started out at the American Falls, it’s the US opposite us. The smaller falls in the second pic is the Bridal Veil Falls.

Look carefully at the birds and then see how large the ice sheet was. Oh, and then the wind started blowing the mist from the Horseshoe Falls inland and several rainbows formed. Walked all the way to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. There was an interesting ice formation that made it look even greater.

After taking in the magnificent falls, time to turn to the town itself. But what disappointed me were the nearby streets full of tacky amusement shops — Guinness Book of Records, Haunted House show, Ferris wheel, Ripley’s etc etc. Cheapens the experience, but I guess not surprising.

Had dinner at a steak place, most of us had the prime rib with 2 veg. CAD14.99, not bad. We had more fun at the apartment with beer and conversation. Was a memorable day, yep.

12 March: back in Toronto

First order of the day was to go to the mall to get new shoes for me — my boots fell apart and it was driving the others mad. Not many choice but I got Nike hiking boots for around CAD62. They were giving out freebies at Sears which turned out to be a lens cloth, of course it was a selling point for other goods, in this case it’s a “Mr Sticky” floor mop. We took the lens cloth but passed on the mop.

With new shoes I was off! Heehee. We drove the long way into town via the cross streets (as opposed to the Expressway) to the CN Tower. CAD21 entrance to the observation tower and the glass floor. The observation deck was fairly usual — great views of the city, shops and stuff. The glass floor was one floor down and part of the floor was…glass. It gets pretty scary to stand on two pieces of double-glazed glass and look down to the ground level 300m down. It was an interesting experience though.

We were quite tired and went back to the apartment early. Dinner was Chinese from a nearby takeaway, sigh.

Oh, the apartment. We found it on the internet — a short stay 3 bedroom. Good for 5 people. Has a living room, dining room and even a small breakfast table in the kitchen. Better than staying in a hotel, even though there is no daily service. it’s a little outside of town, a car is needed. The furnishings aren’t the tip of style but they’re functional and not broken.

13 March: the Drive

Big driving day today, from Toronto to Chicago. We woke up early, finished off the food and was off at 6am. It was still dark outside. Stopped at a Country Marketplace (?) for breakfast — it was a buffet and I had sausages, scrambled eggs, salad, pancakes and some dessert which seemed like cobbler. I was pretty tired, and not trusting their tea, I had the coffee with lots of cream. They laughed at me, cos I made a face after my first sip — it got better after that. Views along the road was pretty.

Crossing the border took a little time, there was a long queue at the bridge connecting the US and Canada. Compared with going into Canada when we only had one car in front of us on the booths, this was a long 20-25min wait. The immigration officer asked the standard questions and we were on our way soon. It got hot! The sun was out, no clouds and we had to put the air-con on.

More driving later and we had a late lunch at Cracker Barrel — the same one as Friday when we drove up. I had their sampler combo of meatloaf, chicken & dumplings and ham. Their main dishes come with a choice of 3 vegs so I had corn, turnip greens (which is like any sort of greens) and fried apple. And on top of it, there were American biscuits (like scones but much fluffier) and a corn muffin. All very yummy and fattening. Of course the diet coke was refillable. I was starving and finished off a lot of it. Afterwards bought some old fashioned candy at the store.

Traffic around Chicago got suddenly crazy, apparently several highways become one strip. There was also construction. I was glad we got to the house at about 4pm. There was a time change, so it was 5pm Toronto time. Total driving time was 8-9 hours. Oh, here’s the ubiquitous pic of the rental car.

As expected the welcome was warm! We had pizza and I went to bed quite late because I did laundry. Now I can add another country to my visited countries map.

Toronto set at flickr

This is a combination of my 2006 and 2007 trips to Chicago.

Touristy stuff downtown

Chicago is a smaller city than NY, the central district (everything inside the Loop) is walkable. Even outside the Loop, like up on Michigan and Navy Pier, it’s walkable.

I travelled a lot on public transport in Chicago — Metra and CTA. But like a good tourist I also took the hop-on, hop-off trolleybus, which is okay value at $25 for a day.

The bus does a loop, from the Tribune building up Michigan Avenue, the central district, theatre district, museum campus and back up the lakeshore towards Navy Pier.

One of the most important landmarks is Sears Tower. There was a short video show about the history and its statistics, which was surprisingly informative. It was a hazy day so once we got up to the observation deck we could only see a part of the view. I can see how the skyline could look on a good day. I like Chicago’s architecture, it’s really beautiful, more than New York. I took this photo at a crossroad, looking straight up. I like it, it’s got an interesting perspective.

Everywhere is walkable. The skyline was impressive. I like the buildings in Chicago more than the ones in New York. There is a uniformity, yet artistry to them. New York skyscrapers all scream out or attention; the ones in Chicago are just there, laid back allowing people to enjoy. Even the sculptures are cool.

From Sears Tower we walked to Millenium Park. It’s really pretty. The big attraction are the unusual sculptures. The reflective bean was interesting, but I also had fun at the Crown Fountain where people could walk on the shallow pool between the two screens. Another fun thing about Millenium Park is the security guards moved around on segways. How sophisticated.

In the same area as Millenium Park are the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Art Institute. I browsed around at the CSO shop. Heh, didn’t realise Daniel Barenboim is a big shot there. I’m old enough, and like classical music enough, to remember Jacqueline du Pré’s death. Now I realise why the street outside the CSO is named after Sir Georg Solti. So when Barenboim leaves they’ll name another city landmark after him I expect.

Across the road from the CSO shop is the Art Institute. For $12 I got easily one of the most extensive collections of impressionists I’ve seen … though it doesn’t say much I’m not a regular museum-goer. I happily wandered around, it’s a cool museum.

Touristy stuff on the lake

The architectural cruise along the river and the lake was very impressive. The commentary was just right, information yet not intrusive. Lots of information about the buildings along the river, the skyline and the lake.

I visited Navy Pier both times. Can’t say I’m overly impressed — it’s nice enough to spend a couple of hours, with good restaurants, a killer view of the shore and lake, and some amusements. Not sorry I visited.

Federal Reserve

Visited the Federal Reserve of Chicago. There was a presentation on what they did (control the money supply etc) and we had time to walk around the exhibits. There was a big cube filled with $1m worth of $1 notes. A smaller dome of the same amount but in $20(?) and a briefcase of $100 notes. We were also given bundles of shredded money, a small roll turned out to be worth thousands of dollars.

Food

Since I stayed with Car on my visits, it’s always delicious home-cooked meals. But even going out to eat was great. Had lunch at a deli called Potbelly. Now I don’t know if it was our English or that of the servers but it was really difficult to order. We basically wanted salads. So we walked up to the counter and ordered 3 salads. Shuffled forward to the middle section of the counter and they asked us for our order again. It was confusing. We think they asked us what we wanted on our food, ie what toppings / dressings, but it wasn’t clear. We ended up with 2 salads (correct) but mine got switched to a sandwich. Sigh. It was a good sandwich anyway. We also had milkshakes and they were very good.

Another highlight was lunch at Bubba Gump at Navy Pier. Shrimps and margaritas, what else do we need?

Our usual hanging out place is Miller’s Pub, an Irish pub that serves good food and lots of types of beer. I was lucky enough to be in Chicago for St Patrick’s Day and the atmosphere was definitely very Irish. Another memorable meal was the steak and king crab we had at Lone Star — a Texas steakhouse in the suburbs.

Shops

I walked outside the famous Marshall Fields but no time to go inside. Apparently people in Chicago are outraged that Macy’s bought it and renamed. They feel that they’ve lost a big name. I sympathetise, it’s like bhs buying Selfridge’s and renaming it I suppose.

The main shopping strip is Michigan Ave, otherwise known as the Magnificent Mile. There were designer shops and department stores but honestly, once you’ve seen dozens of Tiffany’s or Burberrys you’ve seen them all. I had to go there of course, because of the Apple Store. Oh, and the bookstores! Sigh.

Wicked

One of the highlights of any Chicago visit is to see Wicked. I was also privileged enough to get a short backstage tour. Oh wow, it was a wonderful show! Simply fantastic. Better than Phantom. Better than Les Miserables. I want to see it in NY, in London.

How does Chicago compare with other US cities? Definitely very pleasant to live and move about it. Residents complain about the CTA, but it’s no worse than any other large metropolitan train system. House prices are relatively cheap. Weather can get extreme yes. At the end of the day, I’ll probably choose San Francisco because of the weather, the ocean and the cultural diverseness; but Chicago is not far behind. Heh, I speak like I’m an expert, but I’ve only really visited a few cities, so it’s not a fair comparison.

I spent a whole month travelling in the States and Chile. Here’s Day 1 to 6, which took me to New York, Chicago and Fort Worth.

Getting to Chicago

So I set out at 7.30am from home. Check-in and going to the airport was straightforward. The 15-hr flight wasn’t bad either. I had a great seat — 30H. It’s the aisle bulkhead seat. The window seat next to me (the arrangement is 2-4-2) was marked Crew Only. So basically throughout the flight I had both seats to myself. And lots of room to stretch and stand up.

My connection to Chicago was through JFK. Luggage came out slowly, no surprise as US airports aren’t known for their efficiency. But immigration and customs were okay. Had to haul both bags myself via the Skytrain to terminal 3. There were a lot of people and I was glad that my bags had been checked through so I could just give them to the bag drop people.

When I got inside I found out that my flight was cancelled! I got to the Delta desk and they gave me a standby for the next flight at 7pm. The worst thing happened, the 7pm got delayed several times, then finally it was cancelled too. So I got a standby for the flight at 7am tomorrow morning. I paid $25 to use the Delta lounge and to have a shower. The only thing the airline gave us were blankets, some water and some biscuits. Apparently it wasn’t the airline, the whole East Coast was affected by bad weather and 15% of all flights were cancelled.

The prospect of sleeping overnight at JFK isn’t nice. I’m lucky that I’m not in a great hurry, am comfortable enough deal with it. I’m treating it like an Amazing Race adventure, so I’m keeping cheerful.

Slept for a bit on and off. Was up at 5-ish, dozing near the gate. The board showed that the plane was already at the gate, so none of the delayed because plane was late coming in. But it still got delayed again and again because they were missing a crew member. Which is completely ridiculous. It’s not a flight deck officer but one of the stewardesses. Did I say ridiculous?

The time got changed from 7am to 7.30, then 7.55, 8.30. 9.30. Eventually it was ready and people who had tickets got on. There were only 3-4 standby tickets and I didn’t get on. Imagine 2 planeful of people yesterday all needing to get to Chicago.

I ran to the other side of the terminal cos I had a standby ticket for the 10.02am. But that came and went without me. I think I wasn’t high enough on the waiting list.

The next flights were at 12.30, 4.30 and 7pm. I got standby tickets for all of them, plus the 2 flights tomorrow morning. Seems that all flights are full and the prospect of getting on them aren’t terribly good. The best I could hope for was tomorrow. I did not want to spend another night at JFK. I’d been updating my host family in Chicago sporadically. Then Car suggested I may as well drive to Chicago. It’s a long drive (13 hours) but at this rate I’d be stuck in JFK all weekend and if I drove slowly I’d be getting somewhere.

That’s what I did. Got a one way rental to Chicago and set out at about 1.30pm. It’d been a while since I’d driven a) such long distances; b) in the US; c) left hand drive. The traffic getting out of NY was horrendous, but I was glad I was in a city I’d lived in before. I knew the van Wyck, the LIE, even New Jersey. Plus I had the best car invention ever — the GPS.

The route took me on the I-95 to White Plains, then New Jersey, Pennsylvania. I waited till I was in Pennsylvania to stop for dinner at around 8pm — chicken nuggets at Wendy’s. I wanted to get as far as I could while there was light.

Just before midnight I made Ohio. Slow going on the I-80, but I felt fine. I stopped every 1.5 hours to rest for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes I’d nap. Made it through Ohio in 4 hrs, and onto Indiana. The roads were fairly empty, mostly trucks. I’d describe the drive as tough but manageable. I had a good car (Kia Optima) which handled well and didn’t eat up too much fuel.

Had breakfast at one of the service stations along the way. Croissanwich from Burger King and a latte from starbucks. The toll for the Ohio stretch was $9.25, which was money well spent. The road quality was good. After Ohio came Indiana, and by then it started to get light. The fields at the side of the road were misty and the sunrise made the sky look nice. Didn’t want to stop to take pictures though, wanted to get in as soon as possible.

The first time I saw Chicago on a sign I did a whoop. Then I watched as the distance got smaller and smaller. It was a great relief when the distance got to double digits.

But no, the adventure wasn’t over. Traffic went from smooth to a dead stop. And then all cars were kicked off at exit 31 — apparently there was an accident up ahead. The very nice attendant at the toll payment station told me that I could follow the trucks to get onto the I-94. I called the house and they said yes, then get to the I-294. I was lucky to have the GPS.

I can’t remember when I arrived. May be about 9-ish? Distance travelled = 843 miles. Time = 16, 17 hours? I can’t believe I did that. Drove from NY to Chicago overnight.

Onto Fort Worth

We set out on our roadtrip proper at about 2pm. Hectic, but I’m glad we stuck to our original schedule. We made it through Illinois quickly, then to Oklahoma. I drove a little but got too tired and Car had to take over.

We got hit by thunderstorms so we were still delayed. As midnight struck we were still on the road, making slow but safe progress. We made lots of brief stops and at one point we slept for 1.5 hours at a rest area. It was great to see the “Welcome to Texas” sign. By then it was light and the miles seemed to just fly past. Texas did seem to be bigger in every way although it could be my imagination. Before I forget, here’s our rental car.

We got to Fort Worth mid morning. First stop was at Texas Christian University (TCU) where Car went to college. Wow. Big, beautiful campus. And everything in purple!

We hadn’t booked a hotel before arriving, because Fort Worth isn’t a huge tourist town we thought it’d be easy to get a hotel. After some online help we checked into the Holiday Inn Express near Bryant Irvin. Nice room, nothing fancy but functional and comfortable.

Had a late lunch at Waco, about 1.5 hour from Fort Worth. Car, db and I arranged to meet our friend JSI from Austin and Waco was halfway between the two cities. Nice lunch and it was great to meet friends in person. We chatted long and talked about everything and anything. I had chicken fried steak (no chicken in sight!) topped with gravy (which is more like a white sauce), mashed potato and green beans. I also took a picture of some fried chicken strips.

The drive back to Fort Worth was uneventful. We were early, so we stopped by a Target for a little while. The plan for dinner was another family affair. db’s brother invited us to his house where he grilled steaks and courgettes. For starters he fried sliced plantains topped with provolone cheese. Dessert was pie that db made. All very yummy.

Unfortunately I was very tired from all the travelling I’d done since Thursday. I was fading, falling asleep while sitting. A walk around the area helped, but soon I was asleep again.

We went back to the hotel soon after dinner. After a quick shower I climbed into bed — the first time sleeping in a bed since Wednesday night! Fell asleep straightaway.

Fort Worth

After over 9 hours’ sleep I felt almost human, although my first words were, “I can sleep for another 8 hours.” Hee hee. Breakfast was included and served in the lobby — simple stuff like bagels, omelette, yogurt, juice and the like. Sometimes you don’t need anything fancy.

We spent the morning exploring TCU extensively. It really was a very pretty campus, with impressive buildings and pleasant atmosphere. Top of the list for visiting was the bookstore. It was actually just a portakabin, since the old one had burned down while being renovated. Bought a couple of shirts, in purple no less — the university’s colours. Everything was in purple, from logos to street signs to courtesy bikes.

There was a lot of construction on the site, they were building new dorms and offices — showed how well the school was doing. Car was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guide. db had invited her 7 year old niece to join us and together we all had a great time.

Lunch was at Mama’s Pizza which according to Car was the reason for the entire trip. I must admit the cheese sticks were particularly scrumptious. When I first heard of cheese sticks I thought they were thin crispy ones we normally have at Italian restaurants. Oh but no. Mama’s cheese sticks were a small pizza base, flavoured with garlic and topped with melted cheese. Yes, delicious.

Our original plan was to visit the Amon Carter museum but gasp it was closed. So plan B was a visit to the Stockyards. There was a lot to see! Cowboys, shops, museums and we managed to catch a cattle drive. Okay, it was kinda boring — the steers looked like they had just woken up and were lumbering along the road slowly.

There were more to see but a thunderstorm was approaching so we decided to head back to our hotel. For dinner we met db’s brother’s family at Babe’s for southern fried chicken. Yes, that was a huge mountain of chicken. It came with mashed potato, corn, green beans, biscuits (like scone) and gravy.

We took a short walk along the small town high street and enjoyed the sunset. I was less tired, but still a little. Heading towards DC tomorrow. Oh look, pretty sunset.

We had a leisurely start; breakfast at the Old South Pancake place — very old fashioned, with wooden panelled walls, formica tables and elderly waitresses. I had a stack of 12 “dollar” pancakes and ham. Good stuff, if very much choleseterol laden.

After breakfast we went back to TCU for a last look, and more picture taking. Then it was off on the road. The drive to Washington DC, according to mapquest, was 20 hours; it would most likely take over 24 hours, with stops.

On the way, we stopped at Longview where Car met with an old college friend. Late lunch was at a Bodacious Grill where they served authentic Texas grill. I had chopped beef in a sandwich. Chopped meant they chopped the meat off a huge chunk of grilled brisket and stuck the pile of meat between some bread. It was very delicious — another part of our “eat our way across Texas” tour.

The only other highlight of the day was this picture of an oil derrick. These were quite commonly seen at the side of the road, drilling for oil. I thought it was a hoot.

Days 7 to 11 were at Washington DC

Independence Day at Washington DC

The rest of the long drive was uneventful. When it was my turn to drive I felt myself getting more comfortable with the car and the unfamiliar driving. No problems with directions and I put the cruise control to good use. We napped for a while at a nice rest area, and was energetic enough to continue.

Texas gave way to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and finally Virginia before hitting DC. We had our fair share of thunderstorms but nothing like Saturday. Arrived in good shape despite the long hours on the road.

Our hotel for the next 4 nights would be the Helix, which was pretty centrally located. It was also advertised as a boutique hotel, and it was decorated lavishly. It was part of the Kimpton group and one of their biggest selling points was free wifi in all areas of the hotel — it took me a long time to connect and the connection was slow, but it was free. Yes I was grumpy when it didn’t connect but I got over it. Hee.

When we arrived, we drove through town and saw a lot of people milling about. Plus there was a heavy police presence and I thought they were having a security lockdown. The hotel told us that earlier the Mall was cleared … not because of security but because of thunder and tornado threat (!!!). When we got to our room we checked on the TV and again with the front desk and they confirmed that the July 4th events would go ahead as planned.

So we walked towards the Mall, together with a few hundred people. It was a good mile at least but very pleasant and lots to see. There was a bag check into the grass area around the Washington Monument but it was done with efficiency. We found a spot with a good view of the monument and shortly after the fireworks started. We were too far away to hear the music but the fireworks were spectacular.

Walked back to the hotel and ordered pizza for late dinner. My first impression of DC? Large and there was an air of importance everywhere. I mean New York is full of skyscrapers, London has historical buildings all over the place, Hong Kong has the horrendously fast pace and Tokyo the neon lights … but Washington DC has gravitas. That’s the best I can describe it so far.

Exploring Washington DC: Washington Monument, Natural History, National Gallery, Archives, Memorials

We set out reasonably early. No breakfast at the hotel (well, there was but it was extra) so we decided to see if we could find something outside. Long walk downtown but again, pleasant. Lots of important grand looking buildings — I was pretty much walking with my head looking up and camera at the ready all the time.

The first major attraction we hit was Lafayette Park, with a view of the back of the White House. I hadn’t gotten used to the layout of the attractions yet so I actually didn’t recognise the White House. At the centre of Lafayette Park was a statue of Andrew Jackson, which was one of three identical memorials around the country (the other two are at New Orleans and Nashville).

An interesting sight — there were several protesters outside the park, which didn’t completely surprise me (though they were the only ones I saw the whole time). And there was a group of Korean tourists taking pictures with them. I wasn’t sure if the tourist knew the theme of the protest, but it seemed like the protesters have become a tourist attraction. Only in DC.

I was duly impressed with the Executive Building next to the White House; again the sense of great importance pervailed. A short walk from the Exec Building was the World War 2 Memorial, which unfortunately was closed. Got a good view from behind the barriers, and I could imagine how meaningful it would to walk within it.

From the WW2 memorial we walked round almost to the Tidal Basin and then to the other side of the Washington Monument. The Monument is one of the constant focal points of the city, I found that we returned to it time and time again. Here’s a couple of shots from different angles.

At the Monument we got tickets for the Tourmobile — $35 for 2 days hop-off-hop-on including Arlington tour. Turned out to be a real bargain. We were tired from the walking at that point so we stayed on the tram while it took us to the Jefferson and FDR Memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, over to the Arlington Cemetery and back towards the White House and Mall museums. By that time we were hungry so we got off and traipsed over in the direction of the American History Museum hoping for lunch. But horrors!!! The American History Museum was closed for renovations — and it was one of the highlights of our visit.

Hunger prevailed so we went to the Natural History Museum where I had a pastrami sandwich, half a cookie and half a brownie (we were sharing the dessert). I was hungry so I ate too fast and had a big of indigestion. Seeing the dinosaurs and the Hope Diamond helped. There was also a photo exhibition of Nature’s Best that was simply stunning. We went looking for the book of the exhibition but there was only a magazine article. I would have bought the book without question.

By the time we exited the Natural History Museum it was raining. Undaunted, we donned our hats and waded through the puddles to the National Gallery of Art. What I liked about this museum was the fountain areas at either end; walking through the various galleries and then coming across them was like hitting a calm oasis. The Gallery had the only Leonardo da Vinci in the US, Rodin’s Thinker and many more that I have little knowledge of.

After touring through the inside, we quickly visited the sculpture gardens outside. Very interesting modern sculptures in a nice surrounding.

By then it was almost 5pm and many of the museums were closing. Except the National Archives were still open. It was a long queue to get in, with the security check and crowd control. But we got to see the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. These documents were hundreds of years old and in pretty frail condition. Especially the Declaration, which was almost completely faded. No flash photography was allowed, and I could see why.

We finished at around 7-ish, and took a taxi back to the hotel. We asked them for a recommendation for a restaurant and they directed us to the Lauriol, a very happening Mexican place. I had a couple of beers and the Guadalajara Plate which consisted of one cheese enchilada, ground beef taco and chicken tamale. Good food and hip atmosphere.

Annnnnd the day wasn’t over! Took a taxi down to the Lincoln Memorial and I took lots and lots of pictures with my new tripod. The Lincoln was breathtaking. An interesting tidbit was a security guard told me I couldn’t use my tripod in the area immediately in front of the Lincoln statue but I had to go back towards the pillars — where people entered the area and was a bottleneck. Weird. Plus it was 11pm and the place was hardly crowded. Again, weird. I took a lot of pictures there on different exposures. I like this one best.

The Lincoln Memorial overlooked the Reflecting Pool and the sight of the Washington Monument, with Capitol in the background, was spectacular.

A short walk from the Lincoln Memorial was the Korean and the Vietnam Memorials. Very powerful memorials both, especially the Korean with the larger-than-life soldiers treking through the undergrowth and the images etched into the black marble wall.

Oh, I made a map of our route today. The red line was walking and the blue line was on the TourMobile.

Exploring Washington DC: Holocaust Museum, Smithsonian Castle, Arlington Cemetery, Union Station

Our intention was to leave early, by 8am, to go to the Holocaust Museum to get tickets. Tickets are free but there’s a quota. Of course with the full day yesterday we should have known. By the time I woke up it was 8.45am. We got ready quickly and made our way to the museum by 10am. There was a short line for the tickets, which ended at a cheerful lady asking “how many?” and tearing off tickets. She didn’t ask if we wanted a particular time, but since we got 11.15am it was fine.

With an hour to kill we walked (again! lots of walking) to the Smithsonian Castle for a breather. I had diet coke and a lemon pie. There was just enough time to take a look around the inside of the castle and the gift shop before we needed to head back. The Castle is the face of the Smithsonian — it’s officially known as the Smithsonian Information Center and basically acts as a focal point. It’s the oldest Smithsonian building and the only one in red brick.

Photography wasn’t allowed in the Holocaust Museum. We spent a lot of time inside, mainly because there was so much to see but also people were crowding around the exhibits reading everything. The Holocaust Museum has been described as a “must-see” for any DC visit and I totally agree. The museum managed to strike a perfect delicate balance between factual and emotional. It was enough to let the words, experiences of survivors and pictures tell the story.

From the Holocaust Museum we took the TourMobile to Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington was a powerful place, at once a historical site and an active cemetery. Over 300,000 soldiers, government officials, explorers, persons of importance and their families are honoured there. Usually cemeteries are a little creepy, but this one wasn’t. Yes there were lots of visitors but it was also peaceful. It’s hard to describe exactly.

The tour had 3 stops. First was the Kennedy gravesite where the eternal flame marked the graves of JFK and Mrs Kennedy overlooked by the Custis-Lee Mansion. A short distance was a simple wooden cross marking RFK.

We reached the Tomb of the Unknowns in good time to catch the changing of the guards ceremony. The tomb is guarded by the US Infantry constantly and the changing of the guards ceremony takes place every hour / half hour depending on time of year. The ceremony is formal and immaculate. The guards obviously take immense pride in their task, and it felt like it was our privilege to witness the ceremony.

Next to the Tomb was the Amphitheatre as well as memorials to the crews of the Challenger and Columbia. The Challenger disaster was the “where were you?” moment for my generation and I still remember that moment clearly.

The final stop was the Arlington House, or Custis-Lee Mansion so named because it was originally the house of Mary Custis, wife of General Robert E. Lee. The history of the Arlington Cemetery was closely linked to General Lee, who “defected” to the Confederates during the Civil War so the Unionists started burying their dead in the house’s gardens in order to prevent him from returning. The earliest gravemarkers were there at the mansion. The view from the house was of all the important sights of DC, we could even see a part of the Pentagon.

It was a hot day and we were in the sun for the hottest part of the afternoon. We got back to the main gate around 4-ish and took another TourMobile back into the city. Rode it most of the way, past the memorials, the Mall, museums, Capitol and finally to Union Station. No photologue of DC is complete without shots of the Capitol so here it is.

Dinner was at the Food Court of Union Station, after which we took the Metro to Dupont Circle. Nice little area over there with restaurants and bookstores. We bought a few books, some drinks and walked back to our hotel.

Here’s the route map for day 2.

Exploring Washington DC: National Shrine, Air & Space Museum, American Indian Museum, International Spy Museum

We planned the day well, were off by 7.30am. The main destination in the morning was the National Shrine, full name the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. We took a metro to Brookland CUA station and walked through the Catholic University of America to reach the shrine.

The Basilica is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and there were smaller shrines inside for many incarnations of Mary. We were early and pretty much had the place to ourselves. So many photo opps, the main church was beautiful, and the crypt also.

At the back of the basilica was the peaceful and pretty Mary’s garden.

From the Basilica we took the Metro and stopped off at the Spy Museum to buy tickets for later in the day. Admission was $16 and organised by time. We got the 5pm tour so we had plenty of time to explore.

It was still mid-morning, and it was off to the National Air & Space Museum, the most visited of all the Smithsonian museums. It was not hard to see why, from the moment I entered into the huge bright lobby I was overwhelmed by life-sized planes and rockets. We were conscious of the time so I whizzed through the galleries as efficiently as I could. All the historically important crafts were there, from the Kitty Hawk to the Spirit of St Louis to Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega to Apollo 13 to models of the shuttle to a simulation of the bridge of an aircraft carrier.

Remember the American History Museum was closed? They took a small (150 exhibit) selection and placed them in one of the Air & Space’s galleries. There was a little bit of a queue to get in, but it was worth it to see, among others, Dorothy’s shoes and Abraham Lincoln’s hat.

We finished a little later than our intended schedule, at 1.30pm. Next stop was the American Indian Museum next doors. Now here’s a comment about “next doors” — on the map the museums along the Mall look like they’re close together, but given the size of those buildings walking between them could be 10 minutes.

The American Indian Museum is the newest museum, with a beautifully curved exterior design that strangely reminded me of Easter Island. The interior design was based on a curved central atrium and there was hardly a sharp angle or straight line in place.

Well put together exhibits showed history, culture and costumes.

And so it was almost 5pm. We got to the International Spy Museum with enough time to sit at the spy city café to have a drink and snack. Photography wasn’t allowed in the spy museum, which actually was great, because I could play around with the exhibits. It was an interactive museum, with gadgets to play with, ciphers to decipher and even a mock duct for us to crawl through. Educationally it traced the history of spying from early times to the Cold War and current issues with terrorists. There was even a section dedicated to spies in TV and movies. Lots of videos, interesting exhibits and wonderful theme. Before we came to DC, this was my “gotta see” museum and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m hoping I get to visit again and next time I’d like to participate in the Operation Spy game.

It was still light out when we got back to the hotel. Didn’t really feel like dinner so we snacked on nachos and chocolate while packing. Good trip.
Washington DC to Chicago

Up before 6am and on our way already at 6.30am, so that we could get out of the city as early as possible. We made good progress before stopping for breakfast at around 8.30am, at Cracker Barrel. I think I finally cracked (*groan*) what to order at Cracker Barrel. Usually a meal, be it breakfast or dinner, came with choices of 2 or 3 sides plus biscuits or corn bread. It was always too much for me. And then I looked more carefully at their low carb menu and those items were perfect. I had scrambled eggs and a combination of bacon/ham/sausage, with 2 slices of brown toast. I only ate one toast because I ordered a side of fried apples. It was nice.

Driving was good going; traffic was manageable and I finally started enjoying driving in an unfamiliar surrounding. It was wicked hot and we had the aircon on full blast.

Lucky that we gain one hour with the timezone change, got back to Chicago at around 7-ish. We retold part of our adventure while enjoying homemade pasta.

Pictures — Full sets of pictures on flickr: Texas | Washington DC

Total distance travelled = 3,461miles on the car’s trip meter
Total driving time according to Mapquest = 47 hours 44 minutes (actual is probably 10-20% on top)
No. states visited / passed through = 15

This is the yahoo map, including my drive from New York.

Days 12 to 18 were spent in Chicago doing mainly nothing. Day 19 I headed to Chile. This takes me through Day 23.

Arriving at Santiago

Flight was about 30 mins late, arrived at 6.55am. It was very foggy, I thought when the plane approached that we were going through clouds, when all of a sudden we landed. Immigration and customs were straightforward. I emerged to the meeting area with lots of people asking if I wanted taxi when I felt a tug on my backpack. Heh, lots of people do that. It was K — she had kindly come to pick me up.

The drive to her home was at first foggy, then we went through a tunnel and came out to fine weather. Santiago felt like a European city. I was car watching and there were many smaller European cars — Peugeots, Renaults, Golfs and Polos. K’s car is a Clio — that brings back memories of when mm was learning how to drive. :) Not so much mm driving, people are quite aggressive and there’s a lot of weaving in and out.

K&P’s apartment is beautiful. Magnificent view and a kitchen to die for. We had breakfast (I had cereal) and I took a nap cos I was tired. Then lunch of pasta and creamed avocados — lovely lovely. It seems like the first few hours in Chile and all I’m doing is eat and sleep. Hee.

Then we went to the shopping mall and I exchanged some money. The FX rate is approx 500 pesos for US$1. Back to her home and I re-packed, played on the internet for a while.

Dinner was a huge Argentinian slab of steak grilled on the balcony. It was very nice, I think the first time I’ve tried Argentinian steak. The whole apartment got smoked but it didn’t matter.

I’m in Chile. Wow.

Skiing around Santiago

Woke up at 6.30am and left at 7.15am. Our destination today was the El Colorado ski area just outside Santiago.

Oh yes, I went skiing!!!

I was amazed that it was so near the city. About 10-15 mins of town and all of a sudden it was the turn off into the mountains. The road up the mountains is long, winding and full of gasp-inspiring hairpin turns. I’m not going in order, but this is a picture I took when we came down. See how the treacherous the road is.

Before we could get up to our destination we had to put chains on the tires. Oh damn. Neither K nor I had much clue about how to set about doing that, and it took several trials and errors before we vaguely got it right. I don’t think we ever got it completely right. Our hands are still filthy tonight from all the grime. It was an interesting experience though.

But enough about roads and chains. The mountains were beautiful. The runs were beautifully groomed.

When we got there it wasn’t as crowded and we had a couple of runs before people started showing up. I felt like a large elephant when we were trudging around in our boots and skis and stuff — not gotten my ski legs yet. But once I got off the chair-lift and onto the slopes it all came back. I’m so happy I still remember how to ski. I stuck to the easy slopes. We only stayed till early afternoon, cos we were pretty tired. I had such a great time.

Looking back from the slope we could see the city in the distance. Santiago is surrounded by mountains, and is pretty windless. This means air pollution is trapped and the smog is very evident.

We got back to K&P’s home by teatime. K made some absolutely delicious ham, cheese and mushroom toasties. I spent the afternoon reading and relaxing after the day’s exertions. I was in perfect position to capture the sunset from the balcony. So pretty, with the mountain backdrop and the colours.

For dinner we had humitas which are ground corn and seasoning wrapped in corn husks. Very healthy and tastes really good — easy on the palate. Apparently they can be eaten savoury or with sugar. I tried with a sprinkling of sugar but liked the plain savoury version better.

Cajón del Maipo

Easygoing day today. We set off after 11am, for the short drive towards El Cajón del Maipo, or the Maipo Valley. It’s a canyon that follows the río Maipo eventually reaching the Andes and the Argentine border. We didn’t go that far, it was a leisurely drive passing the towns. We got as far as Romeral, when the road turned from paved to gravel. It was too bumpy and we turned back.

It was a cloudy day so most of the pics ended up being mostly grey. It was still pretty, especially the villages along the way and the impressive river. Along the way were small stalls selling honey and nuts.

During the summer this valley is hopping with activities — hiking, kayaking, rafting. There’s even a small ski area. Further along the gravel road (22km) are thermal springs. It’s not far from the city, and again I’m amazed at how easy it is to get out of the city into an interesting area.

We stopped for a late lunch at one of the restaurants along the way. Had warm chicken salad followed by delicious cakes (cheesecake with raspberry sauce for me and plum streusel for K) for desserts. The area has a number of German immigrants, so they brought with them their recipes for küchen. The red drink is raspberry lemonade.

The air pollution was worse than yesterday when we got back to the city. Rested a bit late afternoon before heading out again. Met up with P to watch the semi-finals of the under-20 world cup between Chile and Argentina. We wanted to go to a bar but it was full. So we ended up at a local fast food (?) place where we had 1.5 pitchers of beer and a selection of local snacks. Unfortunately the score at full time as 3:0 in Argentina’s favour. Chile was reduced to 9 players near the end of the game and it was sad to see them lose.

Santiago

Downtown tour today. P was so organised, even printed out a talking point sheets for me, I’m very touched. It was supposed to rain last night but didn’t, so the air pollution level was high. In fact, it was very visible throughout the day. K told me that when the pollution level got high the government placed limitations on certain cars — with number plates ending with a certain digit for instance. The result is that many families get more than one cars so the problem isn’t solved.

First stop was the Santa Lucía Hill, which houses the remains of Fort Hidalgo, a nice garden and statues of important personages in Chilean history.

I like this one, although it’s the ubiquitious boring white sky effect. The contrast between the native Indian warrior and the modern building is typical of Santiago today.

Another typical phenomenon is the smog. From the top of the fort it’s pretty obvious. And we spotted one of the contributors spewing black smoke.

From the Santa Lucía Hill it was a short walk to the Iglesia San Francisco, the oldest structure and great landmark. There’s been a church in that place since 1554, and construction on the church proper began in 1586. Such is the importance of the church, it’s on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Next to the church is the museum of colonial art dedicated mainly to St Francis.

Walking onwards, we passed the busy financial district, visited the fantastic museum of pre-columbian art, went inside the grounds of the Government Palace, and saw numerous administrative buildings all housed in impressive historical buildings.

The next stop was the Main Square and the cathedral. The churches I’ve seen so far have all been impressive. There’s a sense of history, and that these structures have withstand the passage of time and unease. The decoration is lavish, and full, though never overly opulent.

We stopped for lunch at the mercado central — central market — which is a vast cast iron building with stalls at the side and restaurants in the middle. Mainly fish, poultry and fruit stalls, like a wet market except not as wet. P and I had fried fish and tomato while K had seafood soup. The fried fish was very good, not so many bones and tasted very fresh. We also shared a starter of razor clams.

Then it was shopping time. We visited an artists’ market and I bought lots of small souvenirs for everyone. Nothing too fancy, but with distinctive Chilean character. The walk back to the car was by way of the park (P: “our version of Central Park).

It was a packed day, and I enjoyed the walking tour very much.

Day 24 to 28, concluding my trip to Chile.

Wine train tour

We met up with our bus at 8am which took us downtown. Changed to another bus for a 1.5 hour ride to San Fernando. This was were we boarded the antique steam train for a memorable wine train tour. It was raining all day but it didn’t spoil the atmosphere and fun. The engine was built in 1913 and this tour had been going for a few years, with very little interruption. All I cared was, steam train! (resists temptation to go choo-choo.)

The 1.5 hour ride was in a 1923 carriage, with dark wood and plush velvet seats. We’d been warned that it would be cold cos the train had no heating. Didn’t matter. Almost as soon as we set off we were treated to cheese and fruit. And then they came through with the wine trolleys. This was the Red Program II, so primarily we were served red wine. By the time we reached our destination of Santa Cruz most of us had a good 3 glasses already. I tried a Cabernet, a Cab/Merlot mix and an organic syrah. Nice.

We were welcomed by a folk dance by local children, then it was off to the Museo Colchagua, a private museum containing a lot of artifacts from all through Chile’s history.

Lunch was at the Hotel Santa Cruz Plaza, belonging to the same family and next to the museum. A pretty hacienda like hotel, and the sun peeked out just enough after lunch for some pictures.

The final part of the program was a visit to the Viña Santa Cruz. I’m guessing it’s the only vineyard in the world that has its own cable car, indigenous village display, llamas and giant telescope.

The actual wine tasting at the vineyard was a short affair — just a couple of glasses. The vineyard is only about 10 years old but it has an old name since the owners bought the brand name of an older vineyard. Main production includes syrah, carménère, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. Nothing too extraordinary, nice tasting.

An interesting six degrees type of tidbit is the astronomical centre has a piece of space junk — a part that fell off a satellite. The same satellite now sits at the Air & Space Museum at Washington DC where I was only a couple of weeks ago. Hee.

The Coast — Zapallar, Concón, Viña del Mar, Valparaíso

The rain yesterday meant today was sunny. Perfect day for the coast. Only 2.5 hours’ drive from Santiago and it was the coast already. I hadn’t been to a beach for a while so it was refreshing to watch the waves hit the rocks and smell the fresh breeze. Although the sun was out it was still cool, around 9-12°C.

We stopped at Zapallar, an absolutely pristine cove surrounded by rolling hills. The beach was sand, the waves striking and the sky the deepest blue. The houses on the hill were swanky, the place felt like a fishing village nested in a high end resort. We sat on the beach for a while, and it was very pleasant. Definitely a place for weekend home if one has the money.

We turned back and drove towards Concón for lunch. On the way stopping briefly at roadside fruit stalls. Each sack of apples, avocados, oranges or whatever fruit was 1,000 pesos ($2).

Lunch was at one of the many seafood restaurants in Concón. We had empanadas as starter — I had crab and cheese and the others had scallops, razor clams as filling. Very yummy. I was too hungry and ate most of mine before I remembered about pictures. I did take a picture of my main course, a mountain of seafood. There were machas (razor clams), baby scallops, mussels, shrimps, loco (like abalone), crab and piure, an orange slimy clam-like local delicacy.

The drive down the coast was breathtaking. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at the sky, the sea and the beach.

Mid-afternoon we reached Viña del Mar, which oozed money. Even on a winter’s day the promenade was full of people walking around and being seen. With a posh hotel, casino, palm-lined streets it had a Monte Carlo feel to it. Part of being out and about in the cold was having ice cream, of course. The shop we went to was having a promotion — get 2 scoops and have either one free topping or an extra scoop. I had orange, aloe vera and mixed berries. Yummy.

It was almost sundown but we had one final stop — the hills of Valparaíso. To get up there we rode in a rickety Victorian funicular, the Ascensor Concepción built in 1883. At the top are museums and a nice walk (if only it weren’t getting dark). Valparaíso is distinctively known for its sprawl up its hills.

A quiet drive back to Santiago. It’s been an incredibly full 5 days, and K&P went 200% to take me to all these places.

Santiago

Day 26 was a domestic day. I sorted, uploaded the weekend pictures and wrote the days up. Ventured out on foot to the local Lider Express, a supermarket. It was about 20 minutes’ walk, in the rain and it was cold.

The main purpose of going out to the store was to get cream to make chocolate mousse. I also bought artichokes and wind-dried beef/ham for lunch. I said I’d make dinner so I bought a whole chicken, potatoes and mushroom. Did the usual spatchcocked chicken, rubbing in an olive oil concoction with rosemary, lemon zest, garlic and shallots under the skin. It was a larger chicken than I’m used to, but we still managed to finish 2/3.

Most of the afternoon was cooking. I enjoyed it very much, a small thanks for my hosts.

Day 27 I ventured out on my own. Walked about 20 minutes through the suburbs to the metro station. Fare downtown was 380 pesos, which I paid for using the bip! card K&P lent me. The metro system was straightforward, clean and efficient.

I got off at Baquedano station and walked up the Pío Nono. We were there last week visiting the souvenir markets and I recognised the street. At the top end of the street is the Cerro San Cristóbal, at 880m the tallest point in Santiago. The whole area forms part of the Parque Metropolitano and consists of the zoo, open spaces, gardens, a funicular and a cable car.

A return ticket on both funicular and cable car was 2,300 pesos. The main attraction of the hill is the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción, a 22m statue of the Virgin Mary. There was a small altar inside the pedestal of the statue and a helpful guide gave out small prayer cards.

It rained yesterday so it was sunny and relatively clear. Haze had begun to settle so the view of the city was not as clear as expected. Spectacular though, I could see most of the big city from the foot of the statue.

The other side of the funnicular was the cable car station. Small cable cars brought us down to the Oasis station, which was a park and a car park. However there was a stop along the way, Tupahue, which had a swimming pool (not open obviously), a viewing fort, children’s playground and more nice views of the city. I just find palm trees backed by the Andes an interesting contrast.

I retraced my steps through the cable car, funicular and side street. Had an Italiano — a hot dog with tomatoes and avocado — at a street stall, together with a fried pastry. Bought some more souvenirs and took the metro back to the apartment.

Santiago was great. South America is very far away, regardless of where one lives. I feel so lucky to have friends who opened their home to me and allowed me to experience the country in a non-touristy way. Yes I could have packed my days with lots of sightseeing, or even took an overnight trip. I could have stayed longer and visited Easter Island. But that is for another trip. I like the easy-going pace of the last couple of weeks.

Some pics that didn’t make it to the travelogue, because they didn’t fit into the commentary or there was a more representative pic.

The orange tree inside the grounds of the Government Palace.

A lone cellist in the park. He was literally just playing; if he was busking there’d be a hat or tip jar somewhere right?

Palm trees and the moon at Viña.

A typical suburban house in Las Condes. If it weren’t for the licence plates on the car I’d say I was in the UK.

And finally something special. K always told me about the beautiful view from her balcony. I’d seen pictures and was amazed. But seeing it myself adds to the amazement. This rotates through morning, sunset and night views.