Our Last Stint

A late night/early morning and many laughs with Jamie ended our holiday in America on a high. Today we hopped on a plane, prepared for twenty-four hours of flying. We got through the first flight of nine hours with no sleep and company of some good movies, like this one. The second flight, we managed to get 7 uncomfortable hours of sleep and the view of a gorgeous sunrise. It didn't take long to get through customs and security in Sydney but due minor delays we missed our flight to Adelaide, which then followed by us being informed that Jamie {apparently} didn't have a ticket home. A couple hours later, and after some communication with staff and our travel agent we sorted the problem out and were on our way to our home city {after picking up some of these of course!}. Joining some Australian olympic athletes and an ex-Getaway cameraman we made it home to see family greeting us at the gate. Excitement filled my body to see these friendly faces and to start sharing stories. I stayed up as late as I could to try and conquer jet-lag.

Some things I've learnt and realised while being away in America & Canada

• I love ice-cream {sometimes way too much!}.
• God's timing is perfect and He will get us through anything and everything.
• Everything involving a public toilet is automatic - the flush, the water, the soap, the dryer.
• Tipping is a must,  not an option.
• 1 cent coins are a pain and have no use {no wander we got rid of them!}. They are easy to collect but hard to give away.
• Public transport is easy and inexpensive.
• Wake-up calls were lifesavers.
• I love adrenaline rushes
• I love my family and friends an incredible amount. For their support, prayers, thoughts and guidance prior, during and after this trip.
• Chill out time is sometimes just as important as a jam-packed day.
• Money has a skill of disappearing faster than expected.

Play Ball

Mr J and I caught this and the subway to here for some baseball today. Mr J said he has never used his voice at a sporting match as much as he did today. For those who know Mr J, that's amazing. He loved it and so did I. The atmosphere was exciting and fun. The game was worth the money. Go Giants! We cheered and watched for over three hours but it felt like so much less. Excellent! We caught the same transport home but in reverse as earlier.

Tonight we have enjoyed the heated pool, organised our last shuttle to an airport in the states and packed our gear ready to leave. As we lay in our hotel, Mr J and I are amazed how fast the past 6 weeks have gone. Tomorrow we start our many hours of flying. We are sad our holiday is coming to an end but very excited to share the stories and photos with family and friends.

Mr J and I didn't have time to see the Golden Gate Bridge other than this day but we did find out some cool facts...

• The total length of the wire used in main cables is enough to wrap around the earth 3 times (129,000 kms)!
• They used 297,475 cubic metres of concrete to build the bridge
• The bridge weighs 811,500,000 kg
• It took 1,605 days to build the bridge
• See the photo of me with a cable for more facts!

I'll talk to you when I'm in another timezone, bye for now.

Travelling Around

Mr J and i got a semi-sleep in this morning before eating a yummy chicken, tomato, cheese, lettuce crepe for brunch. We got to try some of these popular candies as we walked to find the line for the cable car. Mr J and I caught a ride on our very first cable car to Union Square where the shopping was at. The conductors make sure there is no room to move on these cars and they are also quite slow but definitely worth the experience. I managed to find some outlet stores within Union Square and spent a couple hours browsing through shops. Mr J secretly enjoyed this too. We caught another cable car to a very popular street in San Fran. Lombard Street. Amazing! Who ever knew that you could drive down a street so windy and steep? & who was the one who designed this? After taking photos, walking down and up and witnessing many tourists filming themselves as they drove down the street we caught another cable car back to Fisherman's Wharf to dress in warmer clothes and grab some dinner. I then fell asleep to this.

Sights and Alcatraz Island

Mr J and I rugged up and put on our hats to join a group of people for an Urban Safari around the city of San Francisco. We drove through the hilly city, stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts for some photos, drove past the wonderfully architectural City Hall, drove past houses that are worth no less than $950,000, enjoyed the view of the city from Twin Peaks and stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge. We weren't able to see the bridge through the fog for most of the day but had a good time looking through the souvenir shop - we will be venturing back there some other day. Our group stopped for dissatisfying food at lunch but were thankful the safari organised our Alcatraz tickets and dropped us at the gate. Mr J and I boarded our boat to cruise over to Alcatraz Island at 1:45pm. After a 10 minute trip we arrived on the Island ready to explore.

As Mr J and I didn't have a lot of knowledge about Alcatraz we sat through a documentary about it before we did anything else. 18 minutes later we trekked up to the cell house where we received our audio tours and moved through the entire cell house hearing stories and facts about this high security prison. We went though the cells, the library, the dining hall, the head quarters and the visitation area. Our experience was definitely worth it and if anyone has some time to spare in San Francisco you should definitely cruise over to Alcatraz! Some cool facts we learnt were:

• The last inmates left Alcatraz on March 21, 1963 and the prison officially closed it's doors a few months later.
• The prison closed because of deteriorating buildings and high operating costs. It is now a National Park Service and will remain so.
• Alcatraz Island was not only resident to the criminals but also to families, children, individuals and staff of the prison who had apartments and houses there. We were shocked to hear that these residents hardly ever locked their doors either!!
• The cell house was never filled to its capactiy. The maximum prisoners were 302 but there were 336 cells available.
• In 29 years, 36 prisoners tried to escape. All but 5 were recaptured or accounted for. 3 that were unaccounted for participated in the same breakout which is now in a movie, called 'Escape from Alcatraz.'

"You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege."
Number 5, Alcatraz Prison Rules and Regulations, 1934

Time for dinner. Mr J and I had a wonderful experience a Bubba Gump's. This restaurant is dedicated to the movie "Forrest Gump" therefore all the walls are covered in quotes, our waiter gave us a quiz on the movie, the names of the dishes resemble the movie in some way and all the decor is recognised from the movie. It was fun and we gained a glass to take home! Tonight we also tried a Strawberry and Nutella Crepe between the two of us. Talk about melting in your mouth, this is exactly what it did!

For those of you at home. We traveled through Woodside today! As proper tourists, we took a photo of the sign just for you which we will show you in less than a week!

San Fransisco

Bargain! This morning Mr J and I saved at least $40 by catching the local train to the airport rather than a taxi. It was easy, an experience and only $3.75 each! Our flight to San Francisco was our fastest yet as Mr J and I slept the entire way and woke up for 15 minutes of the descent - good way to do it. From the airport we caught a shuttle to our hotel, which we have done previously and witnessed the beautiful San Fran weather. After settling in, testing our sleep number and watching some Olympics Mr J grabbed a burger from the very retro Johnny Rockets {It reminded me of the cafe in Greece}. We explored the outdoor entertaining and swimming pool within our hotel before we strolled down Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. Our hotel sits on Fisherman's Wharf which is extremely convenient. Mr J and I window shopped past many chocolate and candy stores, sports stores, souvenir stores, a lefty {left-handed} store, cheap sun glasses stores and investigated what bakeries, restaurants and cafes were close by. So far, San Francisco gives off a relaxing, calm and beautiful atmosphere with so much to see. We had a view of the Alcatraz {which we are touring tomorrow!!} and the Golden Gate Bridge from a distance. Near Pier 39, many sea lions gather to sun bake - it was amazing to watch.

After all this walking, talking and exploring Mr J and I had built up an appetite. We decided to try the famous Clam Chowder served in a sourdough roll for dinner. It was big therefore plenty to share one between two. Yummy. We continued walking for a while before going back to our hotel.

Chill time. We are looking forward to some time to relax and take our time in a place where the weather is beautiful during the day and allows us to have a comfortable sleep overnight. The last stint.

Last day on Contiki, Last day in Canada

Last day of contiki therefore last day in Canada. After a hot breakfast Jamie and I explored parts of Vancouver. Chinatown and their Chinese garden received a visit from us, it was beautiful and we also got to meet the biggest goldfish we have ever seen {at least a foot long!}. We walked the streets, visited some interior design stores and grabbed something to eat from 7 eleven, including two free slurpees! Slurpees are the biggest cause of brain freeze ever. We relaxed in front of some live music for an hour before we headed to the local Sears for some shopping therapy {keeping in mind that we need to save money for our last adventure in the States, we resisted many ridiculously low prices}. On our way back to our hotel we visited the local candy store and then rested prior to meeting our fellow Contiki-ers for a dinner cruise at 5:30pm.

The dinner cruise was wonderful. 49 of us made a little extra effort to smell nice and look fancy. We sailed around the entire Vancouver Island which took over two hours. During this time we relaxed, socialised and consumed a very tasty buffet dinner followed by chocolate cake for dessert. We finished the cruise in the dark, dancing under a disco ball. The group traveled on our Contiki coach for the last time back to our hotel. After we got dropped off we walked to a night club for a couple drinks, a dance and to say goodbye. Saying goodbye was hard - we had spent the last 10 days with such a lovely group of people, people that live all over the world. Where possible we have all connected on facebook and now have contacts in Germany, England, New Zealand, Dubai and other areas in Australia in case we need a bed in the future. What an experience we have had - Jamie and I would recommend travelling this way to anyone {between the age 18-35}. Go here if you are interested.

Tomorrow we say hello to San Francisco and cable cars!!

Sightings

Similar to yesterday, we did more driving today. Mr J and I sat at the front of the bus, the best spot on the coach due to the extra leg room and 180 degrees view. We were also the first to see a black bear cub on the side of the road. Cute! I've named him Baxter. We stopped for breakfast and lunch before entering Vancouver, our last destination for Contiki. Our bus driver took us around the streets while our tour guide pointed out the important and interesting attractions and landmarks. One of the sights was where the 2010 Olympic opening and closing ceremony was held. We stopped at the Indian Totem Poles for photos too. We are staying at a similar hotel to last night, it is very nice and within walking distance to almost everything {worth seeing}. Mr J and I enjoyed touching base with some family tonight over skype, we are extremely blessed to have them in our lives. Mr J is currently enjoying the fresh water of our hotel pool. It is very close to bed time for me - it's surprising how tiring driving can be! Nighty-night.

Moving Along

Drive, drive, drive. That's what we did today! We left beautiful Banff at 9:00am on our way to our stop-over destination, before we get to Vancouver to end our tour. Today we had a couple pee breaks and stretches as we drove until 4:30pm. We saw Johnston Canyon, Spiral Tunnels and The Last Spike, ate the yummiest caramel and pecan crunch homemade icecream and played coach olympics on the bus. Our hotel for tonight is clean and cosy. We had a Chinese dinner with the group before an early, quiet night. Time to rest those sore muscles from yesterdays ride.

I hope you all have a great week in Australia!

Riding Banff

We got to sleep in until 9:00am this morning. We had a ‘home-made’ hot breakfast with A&S, plus another couple who visited. That gave us enough energy to ride another Gondola, here in Banff. More amazing views. The rest of the day was ours – we experienced the shopping and ice-cream of Banff. A $2 bus ride took us back to our chalet and we prepared ourselves for a riding experience. Tonight we went on a 45 minute horse ride into the forest for a steak fry, horse shoe throw and lasoo before we road our horses back to the stud. I rode ‘Shorty’, Mr J had ‘Rayleigh’. We walked most of it but occasionally had to trot and gallop, which made your heart race a little faster than normal. We had a well needed, quiet night tonight - ready to move onwards tomorrow. 7 days of Contiki down, its moving along fast, we love it. Contiki is a great way to see areas of the world without the stress of organising it yourself. Transport, accommodation and many meals are already sorted! Thankyou contiki.

Day of Scenery

Today was big. Boarded the bus at 7:15am to venture to some fast flowing waterfalls. We visited a trading post for breakfast where we bought a pina colada muffin, made fresh and served warm. Yummy. Our drive consisted of amazing views, mountains and wildlife. Mr J and I saw our first grizzly bear munching on some greens. We arrived at The Columbia Icefields where we caught a monster bus {their tires are five feet tall!} onto a glacier. Mr J tasted some of the glacier water as I played in the ice {to me, it was so close to snow}. It was cold but wonderful and fresh. Today we ate lunch with some ground squirrels before a nap on the bus. We had a birds eye view of Lake Peyto. I have never seen anything like this - the water was a very unique, aqua colour and so still. If you look carefully you are able to pick the shape of a wolf out of the outline. Lake Louise came next, an amazingly beautiful lake with a mountain backdrop. Mr J and I explored the shops and hotel in this area. We found out that to stay in this hotel for a night, it can range from $400 to $5,000 per night. Wow! We can only wish. Our final stop was Banff. Here we are staying two nights in a chalet. We are very happy to be sharing this space with A&S. After settling in, we had a group photo before going out for a buffet dinner. The night ended with Karaoke at the bar. Many, many laughs and fun. Confidence kicked in and I managed to sing ‘Man, I feel like a women – Shania Twain’ with the other contiki girls, ‘Wannabe – Spice Girls’ and ‘Sweet Dreams – Marilyn Manson’. Awesome night. Looking forward to a mini sleep in tomorrow too.

Wildlife, water and rest

We were straight into it today. We traveled on our bus once again, stopping to see our first Elk on the side of the road. Maligne Lake welcomed us with sourvenir shops, a café, wonderful views, fresh air and walking tracks. These were the things that Mr J and I enjoyed while others enjoyed an optional cruise on the lake. The lake was beautiful and calm. Maligne Canyon came next which was where we had a glimpse of our first black bear {we only managed to get a photo of the back end of it}.This afternoon was relaxing, we were able to do anything at our own pace. Mr J and I explored the cute little shops, grabbed ice-cream from coldstone creamery and watched the hailstones fall from the sky. We also had some time to sit and talk with some family on skype before we heading out for a pizza tea. We talked to some new people. We left the pizza bar for a catch up with A&S before we had an early-ish night for a big day tomorrow.

Blood Pumping Good

Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month!

Jamie and I started the month off in Dennys Diner with pancakes, bacon and eggs fuelling ourselves for another 5 hour drive towards Jasper. Today we entered the Rockies region. Amazing mountains. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Mt Robson. Mt Robson is quite shy as he rarely shows his head through the clouds. After some food a group of us swapped buses ready for our next adrenaline pumping activity. White water rafting. Exhilarating, rough, extremely wet but so much fun. We got chucked around in our 8 passenger raft along Fraser River for 12 kilometres. We were skilful enough to not fall out, instead we had a choice to swim in the freezing melted-snow water with a wetsuit to protect us. Jamie and I jumped in as we knew this was an opportunity we wouldn’t forget. It was cold. The German gentleman we met over dinner leant me his jacket for the ride home, how lovely!

We reached our hotel in Jasper. It reminded me of the hotel in some of those British comedies with moose heads hanging on the wall, old wallpaper and floral covered arm chairs. Good vibes. We settled in, had time for a warm shower and then headed out to a brewery for dinner which was followed by drink at the bar within our hotel. Tonight we experienced something only Conitki participants experience. A shot which was invented and only drank for Contiki people, only at this hotel. A Beaver Licker. It has it’s own Canadian touch, with maple syrup whiskey and butterscotch schnapps. A ritual. The night ended very well, we spent it talking to our fellow contiki-ers including S&A.

Views of Canada

Mr J and I woke up this morning not realising what amazing views were in store. After a free breakfast we were joined by two other males on our tour for a Peak to Peak Gondola experience. We were lifter higher than all the trees and mountains. The views were breathtaking. We reached the top of the Peak and were able to touch snow for the first time {technically second time, we don't remember the first time though}. Many photos were taken.

Next, we met with the bus to drive 5 hours to our next destination. This trip included official introductions, embarrassing stories, views from every angle and some lunch. We arrived at Kamloops, where we discovered our average hotel rooms that smelt very odd. Many of us distanced ourselves from our rooms as long as possible. Mr J and I joined a lovely couple {A&S} for a drink before dinner. We strolled to a local pub where we were all asked for ID, shared stories and got to know each other a little better. A&S are residents of England and have excited us to explore that area of the world in the future. Burgers for dinner with the group was yum. The restaurant had a beer menu of over 130 beers, regardless of that I tried a cocktail called 'Kermits Third Leg' {yes, it was green!}. I sat next to someone who has been to over 40 countries in five years and is doing five contiki tours in five months - what experiences he is living! After all our munchies were gone, we joined four others for a walk through the Main Street. There wasn't much there therefore we were back at our hotel relatively fast. Great day.

Canada in many angles

Today was amazing. New experiences everywhere! I'm in awe of how beautiful Whistler is and I'm so excited to see what the rest of our tour has in store for us. This morning Jamie and I joined majority of our tour group for a canoe along the River of Golden Dreams. This was a beautiful, clear and clean lake with a view of mountains and silence all around. Picture perfect. The lake lead onto a river which we paddled on for approximately two hours. Minor rapids included. Jamie and I had the paddling down pat! We had to concentrate when riding on the rapids as no one wanted to capsize or fall into the water. The water was from the snow from the mountains - freezing! We had worked up an appetite from this activity therefore we enjoyed some Canadian hamburgs and fries for lunch. At 2.45pm we met with 8 others to participate in zip-lining. OH MY GOSH! This was beyond amazing and something that words or photos can not explain. We swung above the tress, over creeks and between valleys. Four zip-lines later we had gone over 90km/h, screamed, laughed and had enough adrenaline pumping to do anything {See the photo above - we swung on those cables}. Jamie and I felt so blessed and happy to have the opportunity to do this. The time came to take off our harness's and helmets and go back to Whistler. We were sad for the fact the time was over but excited that our adventures aren't over. We had some time to chill out before going out for dinner with everyone at an Irish pub. This was nice. I tried a tried Canadian Cocktail - it was disgusting. My food was good though. We sat with a couple from Germany who have worked in Toronto for the past 10 months, we learnt a lot over such a short amount of time. At 10pm, the day was not over, we joined everyone at a local club for an '80's night. We felt young. When some found out I wasn't even born then, they were shocked. A couple hours later we were back in our hotel ready for sleep. Bring on tomorrow!

Hello Canada!

We got little sleep after washing our clothes and finalising our plans for today but managed to get up for a complimentary breakfast. We ate way too much delicious food but it sustained us until a late lunch. We caught our plane at 10:10am with no delays or hassles. Yay! Our plane was much littler than normal. The trip flew {literally!}, we were up in the air and down again before we knew it. Once we arrived in Vancouver we waited in a long line to get through customs and get our passports stamped again. We caught a taxi to the Greyhound bus station which was where we withdrew our first amount of Canadian currency {Canadian money is much 'prettier' than american money!} We organised and paid for our bus ride to Whistler which was scheduled to leave at 3:00pm. Our bus ride was two and half hours. Mr J slept. I witnessed the most beautiful landscapes and scenery I have ever seen! Canada is incredible and this was only the start! We arrived in Whistler and found our hotel without too much hassle. 7.30pm came around very quickly which was when we started meeting the other 50 people on our Contiki tour. Surprisingly over half of them are Australians {we are the only Adelaide-ians}, along with other people from America, England, Mexico, Germany and France. There even is another Teagan on the trip {spelt T-e-g-a-n though}!!We went out for dinner with everyone which followed drinks in the hotel bar. It has been very easy to talk to people and fit in as everyone is in the same boat as us - they don't know anyone, they want to have fun, travel and make the most of their time. We are excited for the next 10 days! I can't wait to share with you what we will be involved in. Stay tuned.

Delays

It was strange to be catching a plane today and for it to not be at a ridiculous hour in the morning. I hadn't experienced that since I left Adelaide. We waved goodbye to New York City as we caught a shuttle bus to the airport. Jamie and I arrived 2 hours early to hear that our plane had been delayed by 1 hour, 15 minutes. We were now leaving at 5:15pm. Another announcement informed us it had been delayed again to 6:30pm. We were a little frustrated but at this rate we could still make our connecting flight in Portland so we stayed calm. Things changed fast... we were then delayed to 7:20pm. Majority of flights from New York were delayed or cancelled due to the weather and storms coming through. We understood that they are looking after our safety but also worried about our connecting flight and deadline to get to Vancouver. We got on the plane finally and were ready to take off. We still had hopes that we could make our Portland flight until the pilot announced that they had forgotten to cater the flight, they had to call the caterers to come and fill the plane with the appropriate refreshments. An hour later we found our selves moving on the runway. We were going to miss our flight. At this stage we had got all our frustration out and left it to God. We put this situation in His hands and trusted that everything would work out. Nothing we could do now, at least we were moving.

We arrived in Portland, Oregon airport 5 hours and 13 minutes later where staff had already re-booked our flight for the following day. This meant we would miss the departure of our Contiki tour from Vancouver tomorrow. I rang our tour guide and he was extremely helpful, he instructed us where to go, what transport to take and where to meet the group. We organised a hotel room close to the airport and caught a taxi there. A positive out of all of this was that we could do our washing, shower up and sleep in a very comfortable bed before a packed 11 days. Prayers that tomorrow goes smoothly.

Last Day in NY

Jamie and I started our day heading towards 5th Avenue in search of New York's Public Library. We found it. It looked impressive from the outside but was very hard to navigate around on the inside, it was as though they had made it hard for tourists on purpose. After some photos in front of the library we started our walk to Central Park. Along the way we stopped at a few stores including a Lindt store. Bad idea - Chocolate was bought. This store had so many flavours of lindt that I had never seen before, Jamie and I had to try some. We only could afford to look through the 6 floors of Tiffany & Co. and visited the apple store which is open 24/7!! Jamie and I located Central Park and started our stroll. It is massive. 843 acres is quite hard to navigate through therefore we bought a map. We sore baseball fields, green 'paddocks' to kick the ball or have a picnic, volleyball courts, cafes, restaurants and lakes. We paid US$12.50 to hire a row boat and paddle along one of the lakes in Central Park. We had the boat for an hour which was enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

It was around 4:00pm when Jamie and I decided to catch our first New York taxi. Definitely an experience as it had its own TV for the passengers and very comfortable seating. We got dropped off at one of the biggest department stores in the World, Macy's. Nine floors of every shoppers dream. After fighting temptation to buy something Jamie and I walked 8 blocks back to our hotel room to get ready for The Lion King in broadway. The show was everything we could have hoped for and MORE. We had goosebumps from start to finish and would do it again any second. Money well spent and definitely recommended. Incredible.

After a busy last day in New York, we managed to see the end of the Olympic 2012 opening ceremony. We will be cheering our home country on from the states and Canada, go Australia go!

Grand Central {+hiccups)

Sleep-ins feel so good. Jamie and I took our time to get up this morning. We had lunch on our way to Grand Central Terminal. Grand Central Terminal was amazing! Just like on the movies... it is big, classy and open. The artwork and architecture is very impressive. There are approximately 47 restaurants and cafes within the terminal, no shortage of food. We could have admired the space for hours but instead moved on for another look through some shops on 5th Avenue. Jamie and I then moved to Times Square for a squiz in other stores, this is where I bought my watch from Swatch. Without a phone, we need the time from another source. We rested our feet for a little and watched the traffic and people. Not long were we heading back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. As we were about to walk out the door again, we double checked we had everything. Where was my purse? I remember putting it down while we sat but hadn't seen it since. Jamie and I sped to our last destination, asked the stores surrounding and look everywhere but my brown small purse was no where to seen - it was lost. There is proof I have lost money and that I may not see it again but I haven't lost everything.

A very special lady in my life sent me this tonight:

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something  better.  'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'I know it is a set back at the moment, but take time to stop, clear your head and enjoy what is left of your great adventure.  

The book (A Little Bit of God in Every Day) says: Sometimes life sends us changes we've never contemplated, problems we'd just as soon do without, and inconveniences we'd rather not have to deal with. It can feel as if we are wandering in a barren desert. It's during these 'desert' experiences of our lives that God, in all His faithfulness, opens up His heart...'

This is true! Times like this I have to remember God has a plan. He is teaching me something through this, it may just take time for me to see what that is. I still have at least 2 weeks left of this holiday and I can still enjoy it as much as I  was going to, with the things I have.

Jamie shouted me dinner AND dessert. Plus, we bought some Hersheys {American chocolate} to try. It's not all bad. I'm also thankful for my wonderful family at home, although they are hours away I know they support me. Family are everything. 

Sights to Amaze

This morning Jamie and I walked 45 minutes to The American Museum of Natural History - the museum that Night at The Museum was filmed at. We saw animals and other objects that starred in the film including the Easter Island Head "Dum Dum" who we got a photo with. We then experienced our first Subway ride home before eating subway for lunch.

Shopping time!! Money was spent and time flew. I gained some dresses, jeans with a difference, a jacket and top. Jamie gained some bargain shorts, shirts and jumper. Fun. A good 4 hours later we found some dinner and trekked to Rockefeller Plaza where we used our New York Pass to get us to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck. Sixty-seven floors later we felt as though we were on top of the world! We had a view over the entire New York City and eye balled the Empire State Building. Amazing was what it was. Some time later we walked back to our hotel just in time for midnight and sleep.

Moving Around NY

This morning Jamie and I caught our tour bus to the 9/11 memorial. This was an eye opening experience as we read the details and timelines of the event. We saw letters and dedications to the people that were lost and we stood where the twin towers stood. Jamie and I bought a jumper each, where all proceeds went to the 9/11 memorial. We walked though St Pauls Chapel. This was a place that served as a relief mission for recovery workers at Ground Zero. It was a beautiful chapel with amazing and touching displays inside {see photo above}. We caught a bus back to Times Square for lunch and spent a couple hours chilling out in our hotel room before hitting the sites again. We couldn't go too far tonight as it starting raining in New York City but we did manage to go to Madame Tussaunds and have encounters with many famous people. Jamie was especially excited to have a photo with Yao Ming, Charlie Chaplin and Samuel L Jackson plus other sporting stars. I enjoyed the presence of Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Whoopie Goldberg, Spice Girls, Carrie Underwood plus more. After time with the famous we went for some ten pin bowling just down the street. It was fun. These two things were free with the New York Pass we purchased a while ago. The rain doesn't stop anyone in NYC.