Slideshow

Some pics taken on my iphone. More will be loaded over time.

Home

So, we're home. It has been amazing, hours of walking, talking, laughing, walking, eating, looking, more walking and so much fun.

Vegas - what can I say, it's fast, bright, tacky, fabulous, crazy, so good that we're night owls, I think we got to do and see just about everything,we're not big on "slots" so that saved us time and money.

New York New York, never stops, just as busy at 1am as 1pm, I absolutely loved it and to be there with my girl who is so passionate about it and so funny and can do so many wonderful accents that have me in fits of laughter, it was great, a time I will always treasure.

I love to chat to strangers so have met some funny, interesting and kooky people, it all adds to the adventure !!!!

Now time to settle down and start saving for the next trip. Wouldn't be dead for quids!!

Love Vicki x

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After nearly 2 days on a plane, we are home! I'm so glad to see my boys. Gus has grown so much (height and maturity) in 3 weeks while I was away.

Jet lag is awful. I went to bed when we got home a couple of days ago and have slept for about 20 hours.... sleep is my friend.

Thank you to my beautiful Mum for suggesting this wonderful trip and buying my the airline ticket for my 40th birthday. Not only were the sights fantastic, but time spent with you Mumma was amazing. You are a true true friend and I am so lucky to have you and to have had this time with you.

Happy to be home. Planning our next trip. My men and I hope to visit the US in 2012/2013, we are starting to plan now.... I have finally caught that bug.

Adele xx

Paris

There are loads of things to love about Paris.... you know, the great architecture, the food, the romance of the city.

Sadly, on our first afternoon in Paris, I was robbed on the Metro (train/subway). I had been so vigilant with my hands on my bag at all times, at all times until I boarded the train, Mum was behind me and she was shoved and as I steadied myself while getting on train I took my hands off my bag for a few seconds.... that's all it took.

I don't care about the money, or the credit card (cancelled immediately), it's the love letter from my husband and a letter from my beautiful baby boy that I treasured and kept with me in that wallet, they are the things that mean nothing to those little shit-heads who stole my wallet but mean the world to me.

For insurance purposes we needed a police report..... oh the joy of sitting in the dingy police station being asked to recount the story a few times over by police officers who speak no English at all and treat everyone like criminals whether they are criminals or not. With the assistance of a young girl also waiting to report a robbery, (she was pushed down a flight of stairs in the metro for her mobile phone and dislocated her knee), we were able to find someone to file a report so we could be on our way. Not a great way to spend our second (and last) day in Paris. Missed out on so many things, galleries, museums... never mind.

We are leaving Paris tomorrow morning as scheduled. I'm devastated and want to forget this leg of our trip.

On a happier note, we did visit the Palace of Versailles yesterday, it was glorious, the gardens, the apartments, everything was wonderful (the crowds couldn't dampen the beauty of that place).





Last night (after the pickpocket affair), we went to dinner at the Eiffel Tower, then a river cruise along the Seine and finished the night with a show at Moulin Rouge. With full tummies (food and wine), we staggered in at 2am.



We are both looking forward to getting home. We're not going to Hong Kong as planned, we are over travelling and pretty tired now.

The bags are packed

We have squished and squashed all of our belongings into cases (not those in the photo), god lord, how stressful!

We booked these 'round-the-world' with Qantas, they let us have 2 cases, however their partner airline in the US is American Airlines and they will only let us have 1 case each...... see the problem? Hmmmm, it will be interesting at JFK airport when we both show up with 2 cases, won't it!

How cute is this!!

Women on the verge....

We're not so much on the verge of a nervous breakdown, more on the verge of a physical breakdown!  New York is unrelenting..... If you ain't into walking, this ain't the city for you! There is so much to see and so much ground to cover.  The transport is a blessing, it works better than ours ever will.

We are leaving NYC tomorrow sadly, but we are really looking forward to our upcoming adventure in Paris.... ah, Paris.

xx

Grand Central Station

That Liberty Chick

So today we had a slow start and made our way downtown stopping here and there. Manhattan is just so big and there us so much to see!

Finally we got to the Staten Island Ferry. Mum chose not to take the ferry as she gets car sick, bus sick, boat sick, plane sick, she was very happy to wait for me to take the ferry over and straight back.

The magnificent Statue of Liberty looked stunning bathed in the day's last hours of daylight.

We are EXHAUSTED and wanted an early night.... It's 11pm, not early night!

xx

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Loved what we saw at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (more of an art gallery than a museum).

Tomorrow we're planning a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to see that Liberty sheila waving her torch.  Then some bike riding in Central Park.

A big hello to my beautiful boy, Angus. Gussy, I love you millions, billions, trillions and can't wait for a giant cuddle when I get home. I have lots of good things to show you!!  Big kisses from Mummy  XXXXX

Lunch at the Guggenheim

Here's my beautiful Mumma at 'The Wright' restaurant (named after architect Frank Lloyd Wright) at the Guggenheim Museum on 5th Avenue.

We had the most amazing lunch served by a gorgeous Aussie from Torquay! If you visit the museum, be sure to visit this eatery, it is awesome!

Today, we did the Citysights NY Downtown bus tour, the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, now on our way to doing a night bus tour, then home again, home again jiggity jog.

It's pretty cold here, around 10 degrees right now, so we are rugged up.

There are so many reasons why New York rocks!!!

FAO Schwarz Toy Store - 5th Avenue

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Skating at Rockefeller Centre

People (not us though) skating at Rockefeller Centre in West 42nd Street.

We did the NBC Studio Tour, then up to the 'Top of the Rock' Observation Deck 70 floors up, what an amazing view! The Rockefeller is just beyond the north end of Central Park, so the view from one end to another is very cool!!

Today I did something so so bad....we had a lazy day and I spent most of the day in my nightie, sitting up in bed, sewing and watching cable. It was BLISS!!! Around 6pm I showered and dressed and Mum and I went for a walk down Broadway for a couple of hours, most shops were still open, it was lovely.

Good night. Back to bed.

xx

Mum & Whoopi

Michelle & Barack say hi!

Madame Tussaud's is located in the amazing Times Square area and we were able to use our 'New York Pass' to get in. It was awesome!

Ma, he's not real....This woman cannot keep her hands to herself....



ahhh she's Scary.... (get it?.... Scary Spice....)

New York nights

It's so nice laying here listening to the sounds of the city. Whilst the Upper West Side is relatively quiet, you can hear some traffic, the occasional police siren and cars honking.

It was 21 degrees here today, a lovely autumn day and it's still about 15 degrees now at 11.30pm. There is a beautiful breeze blowing in while we're laying here watching telly. So many channels, it's a bit mind boggling really..... I get a bit confused when I flick up past channel 100.... who needs more than 100 channels?

Anyway, we've got a massive day planned tomorrow, so have to sleep now.
xx

Buying beer in a chemist....

I don't know why, but every time I see beer lined up with water and sprite at the chemist, I laugh.... mucho bizarro!

Brooklyn Bridge