Never fear, we are still alive and well!!

Its been a while since a blog update, Cant remember where you left us last, think we were about to check into Hotel 17??! Well we did, and despite it not seeming like that nice an area, it actually was! It was in the Gramercy area of the lower wast side- for anyone who knows NY, it is on 17th St (hence the name- Hotel 17!) and is a really lovely area. Everything is walkable- we walked to SoHo and Tribeca, which are both really lovely areas, and we walked into main manhattan- Times Square, 34th st etc. So it was a really good place to stay. We had our greeter, who was really friendly! She met us at the hotel, and showed us all round the lower east side, which was really good. She also showed us how to us the subway, which came in handy - she left us in Soho, and we wandered around there and checked out a few boutique shops where Lisa admired the dresses and clothes from afar, and would have loved to have bought loads, had we had any money spare! We stopped at a little Japanese restuarant/cafe place, and I had Yaki Soba - was lovely.
That evening we went to Madison square garden, and watched Ice Hockey! It was awesome!! (awesome?! I seem to be becoming American, I am already saying Soda for drinks, and sidewalk and elveator instead of pavement and lift!!) The hockey was perfect- 3 fights in the first 10 mins- the crowd loved it!! Us 3 thought it was a bit of a stunt to get the crowd going, but was still cool! Then the match itself was amazing! Rangers were on a 4 game losing streak, so it was kinda a weird atmosphere, not like I expected, it was quite quiet, and the crowd were booing there own team! The fights livened it up tho- but there was no singing or chanting, like we were used to at football matches. It finished 4-4 in normal time- so loads of goals, then anyone who watches Hockey will know they dont like having draws- so it then went to Overtime- getting our moneys worth here! That stayed at 4-4 so we had a shootout! That was great fun! and Rangers won, so a great result! Was a really good night- oh and Lisa and Rob bought foam fingers and waved them around during the game! lol! And Rob bought a Rangers shirt to wear- I was dead jealous, but they are 50quid each, so couldnt afford it. :-(
The next day we did the tourist thing, went to Statue of Liberty- which was nice, although I think we picked the coldest, windiest day ever! It was freezing! I wont go into any detail on that, as I am sure we all know what the Statue of Liberty is! Then we went to Ellis Island, which was interesting- its the old immigration centre, where anyone who entered the USA had to go through- it was kinda weird seeing that, as they had videos and audio clips of people who went though it. They also kept a log of every person who went through, so you can look up your family name and see if they did. We then went to Ground Zero, which I expected to be sad and moving- it wasnt- it was just a building site, I was really dissapointed. (It is it wrong to be dissapointed that the site of one of the worst tragidies in American history is not more touristy?! oh well) Then we popped in a big shop called Century 21, that a lot of people and websites etc had recommended as being good and cheap, but it was rubbish! it was just like a big Primark!! so we didnt stay there long!
Next day we had to move to our next accomataion, The Candy Hostel- on the upper west side. It was on 94th street, so we got the subway up. Wont go into too much detail- but it was the worst place I have ever stayed!! never go there! in fact, if you go to NY, stay on the lower east side somewhere, or midtown- dont go any higher than about 70th-80th street! It was not in a very nice area, and it was way too far to walk anywhere- so anytime we went out we had to get the subway. As the subway is easy, and cheap, it wasnt too bad- but one of my favourite things about NY, is that its a great place to walk around, most things are walkable, so having to get the subway was rubbish. The hostel itself wasnt good either- Staff were rude, and the room was crap. The heating and blinds were broke, and the shared bathroom never seemed to get cleaned. Our bin wasnt emptied for 4 days we were there either, so that wasnt nice. Lucky, we booked it as it was really cheap, and we knew we wouldnt be there much, so it wasnt the end of the world.
So on our first day there, we decided to walk into Manhattan, so we walked through Central park. It was a lovely sunny day, and was a great walk, but it was 30 odd blocks, so a looong walk. We walked round mid town again, did 5th avenue, and went in a few shops. It was nice to have the sun, and it feels like we have had all extremes of weather in NY, from snow to wind to sunshine! We walked back to the hostel on the main roads, which nearly killed me- and like I said earlier, once you get past about 75th st, it starts to go downhill and rough, so wasnt the nicest walk!!
But onwards and upwards- the next day we did a day trip to Washington!! that was amazing!! not the best start, as we were getting the bus at 6.45, so were up at 5ish! I do not do getting up early, so that was not fun!! On the up side, I then slept through most of the 4hr bus ride, so that was good!! Washington was really interesting- we wandered around, took a few pics, saw some of the main sights- Washington Monument, and the White House- (although I was taking pics of the wrong place, cos I thought it was the White House!! hahaha!! One of the most recognisable American buildings, and I was at the wrong one!)
We then had a segway tour of Washington booked- it was the most fun ever! So that was a really cool way to see Washington! The tour itself was really good, the guides took us to all the sights, and were really informative about them all. The only one we couldnt get too was the Lincoln memorial as Segways arent allowed on the grass. Was really good fun zooming about Washington on a segway! After the tour we took a walk to the Lincoln mem. which was amazingly impressive and humbling. As much as I dislike the brash Americans, you can see where the patriotism comes from. We were discussing it on the bus ride back, and they have huge monuments and statues to everything, whereas us Brits seem embarrased by our history, and dont embrace it enough. We were saying that we all knew the begining of the declaraton of independance- "four score and seven years ago...." and all that, yet we must have had famous speeches by people like Churchill etc, but none of us could think of any. To give Americans their due, they certainly like to remember their history and arent shy about it! All the sights in Washington are huge- the Whitehouse is massive too! We also saw the FBI headquarters, I dunno why, but for some reason I thought the location would be a secret- not a huge building with a big sign saying FBI outside it........... but shows how much I know- unless its all a ruse....

Next day, and up we get again, this time to do a day trip to an outlet shopping centre. We'd all been looking foraward to this, as the outlet centres are the place to get all the bargains, so we had been looking round shops in NY, not buying anything- waiting for the outlet centre! It did not dissapoint! We got a(nother!) bus there, and it was huge! I think it reminds me of Clarks Village, but like 100 times bigger! over 200 shops there, and we spent all day looking round them! got back at about 10 at night!! Anyway, we all did some shopping- those of us on a round the world trip had to resist the urge to buy too much, so I bought a pair of jeans for $10, about 7 quid! 2 Nike T-shirts for $3 each, about 2 quid! and some sunglasses!! all great bargains! Lisa bought a handbag- no surprise there!!! ;- ) lol! Its Nine West, which is apparently a good make?! never heard of it myself...
But Rob, he bought practically everything he could see!! think he ended up with like 9 T-shirts, a couple of jumpers, some trainers and I forget what else! we had to buy another suitcase the next day, so he could get all his stuff home! lucky b*stard!! all at great prices too!!
The next day was Robs last, so was a bit strange. We went into midtown one last time, did a bit of last minute shopping (suitcase!) including presents for family at home etc. Then he jumped into a taxi for the airport and home. Was weird to see him go. Sad, as its now just the 2 of us, and really kicking in that we wont see home in a long time, but exciting that it now feels like our travelling is really begining.
After he left, Lisa and I cheered ourselves up by popping to a liquor store and buying the cheapest wine they had! Then we picked up a takeaway pizza ( I got a beer there too!) and headed back to our hostel for a little feast! It was lovely!!

So on to yesterday- a real fun travelling day- I am getting annoyed with all this travelling already- not a good sign! We had an 18hour train ride to Chicago!! 18 hours!! thats so mad!! luckily, the train was really good, we had loads of legroom, and it was nice and comfy. We had an overnight journey, so slept some of the way- although I am not great at sleeping on transport, so Lisa got more sleep then I did. I spent most of the time just listening to my music. It was quite a good ride though, and though it was longer, was a lot better than the bus ride to Toronto! Its really starting to hit home how big America is though. We arrived at 11 this morning, however we are now on Central time (why does one country have different time zones?! stupid Americans!) so its 1hr behind East Coast time, so it was only 10am. We are now 6hrs behind you guys.

Chicago looks cool. But first news, the hotel!! We booked it via the net, and chose it mainly cos it was cheap- worked our cheaper than staying in the hostel! So we werent expecting much............ imagine our surprise when we arrive in a taxi, at a huge impressive hotel, where a doorman opens our doors, and takes our luggage! Then a bellhop took the bags to the room!! What a sight we must have looked, tired and bedraggled after a 18hour train ride, with dirty backpacks, wandering into this huge fancy hotel.

The room is great, nice and big, with an armchair (one of the things I have found myself missing is chairs and sofas! we are always sat on beds!!) we have a huge bath, and great shower, and massive bed!! On the downside, we have a mini bar, filled with tempting treats and beer, all of which are expensive, I have to make sure I dont end up taking stuff from it......... we currently have 4 days here, but are thinking about extending that, if we can get the same deal, so we will see. The only other downside is that we have to pay for wifi, so are instead now in the free internet room. Its ok, but not as good as just using wifi in our own room! Its really strange not knowing where we are going next, as the last few weeks were all booked in advance, so its a little freaky to think after this 4 nights, we have nothing booked, no accomodaton, no transport, nothing! We need to start thinking about what we are gonna do! Its now 6.30 at night here, and we are off to get some food, then an early night, as we have sleep to catch up on, then off to explore what Chicago has to offer tomo! The hotel we are in is called the Ambassador East, and apparently is really famous, and is mentioned in the musical "Chicago" It has a bar/restaurant attached called "The pump room" which is apparently also famous, with lots of celebs go too? various stories here about Robert Plant going there, and Phil Collins not being allowed in cos of the dress code, so subsequently releasing an album called "no jacket required" as a result of not being allowed in! There is a list of all the other celebs who have been here over the years too. We may pop in for a few drinks one night, but I imagine it is expensive! The freaky thing is, apparently it is based on The Pump rooms in Bath!!! how freaky is that- come all across the world, to find a place based on Bath!
So as you can all probably see, we have had a busy week or so- hence the quietness on the blog front!!

Ciao for now!

Jon & Lisa