Our recent trip to America was fraught with snow related panic... and packed with amazing food, lovely reunions and lots of dream fulfilling (not the least of which when I had the chance to put the flag up on an American mailbox...a long time coming). For those unaware of our panicked start to our long-planned trip, we were initially scheduled to fly out of Heathrow on Sunday 19th Dec, right in the middle of the so-called 'blizzard' that this year shut down Heathrow (NB: World's Largest International Airport) for three days. The whole situation was as frustrating as it was completely ludicrous. After a brief snow shower on the Sat afternoon, Heathrow proved themselves completely unprepared for what they claimed were 'freak weather conditions' and something 'completely unexpected' (despite three years of similar weather and detailed forecasts predicting the snow the week preceding.) Honestly, if I was worried about it mid week, why wasn't Heathrow??? After a week fraught with anxiety, much reworking of my perfectly planned itinerary, a fair few tears (me, not Ross) and plenty of chocolate to make it all better (Ross, not me), we flew out of Heathrow on Christmas morning. Hilariously, Ross and I decided to exchange gifts in transit, resulting in us having to lug a large and cumbersome wooden puzzle (Ross' gift) around America. Our original plans had been considerably altered, so after flying into JFK (NB: saddest airport in the world), we flew out to North Carolina and our treasured friends, Samantha and Brent, a few hours later. Arriving in NC was so comforting, like coming home. As we landed on the tarmac, the friendly pilot said with a Southern 'infused' accent 'Who asked Santa for snow?' and again the wintery weather added flavour to our trip - the first Christmas snow in 50 something years? Brent picked us up from the airport in his hot new 'family man' car and we headed home where Sam was in the kitchen, preparing dinner and completing our American family stereotype. We ate a delicious Christmas dinner, watched a Christmas movie, unwrapped presents and settled in. Being with those two was just such an enormous relief, comfort, and thrill - it has been so long. Sam and Brent, like all the Americans we met along the way, were determined to make us love their state most of all, and they did so by feeding us ample delicious (but possibly heart attack inducing) meals (the rumours about USA portions are ALL TRUE), taking us to see the sights, playing Wii (the less mature of us creating less than affirming Mii characters at the time) and just catching up. Highlights that come to mind are Carolina BBQ food (which we've already sought out in London), visiting the famous Duke University, my day trip to the Mall and Walmart (!), the all important fatherly lessons on building a snowman, eating the infamous Bojangles biscuits and dirty rice we so often discussed in Juso-times, and the endless hours of bickering and banter, laughter and good chats. We love you guys. We spent three nights in your home and were treated like honoured guests - so thank you, Sam and Brent. We so look forward to returning the favour...SOON. We left NC early on the 28th to head to New York, only just escaping the madness of snow-related flight cancellations again. Our arrival in New York was a bit dicey, after we hopped on a bus whose driver wasn't quite sure how far into NY he could get us, because of the unprecedented impact of snow. We came to understand his concerns, when as we left the airport we passed through suburb after suburb with streets completely submerged in snow and impassable. As we headed into Central New York, we were both perplexed by the sight of just how much snow lay in the streets and quite impressed by how quickly the streets were being cleared. It was here that I began my Facebook Photo Album titled 'Heathrow, you could have done this' featuring various pictorial evidence of the people of NY getting their shit together. Despite this, the Mayor was given a bad rap on the news for his slow response, and we definitely felt the effects of the snow that first day, alongwith thousands of others who struggled alongwith us to just manoeuvre ourselves along the city streets. The snow was piled up so high over the grates and drains that the streets were blocked, many paths completely impassable and massive puddles of dirty black snowy water featured on every street corner. Our bus driver was right, and was unable to drop us at our destination, so our introduction to New York was actually Ross and I, wading through knee and thigh deep snow, desperately trying to find a place to store our cases. (post 9/11, you can't store baggage in stations) We eventually found a luggage storage place after walking a very short distance in a ridiculously long amount of time. I felt like a Nintendo character, desperately trying to overcome roadblocks and deal with challenges to reach our destination. Our first destination in New York, sans bags, it so happens was a New York Pizza place, where Ross indulged in his first (of many_ New York slices. A massive slice of pizza, dripping with cheese for just $1. Early that morning, we had made contact with another fabulous couple we have known from our time with ECC in Japan, KJ and Rschel. KJ and Rach live near Philadelphia, not too far from New York, and we fondly remember them for many things, but most of all for their extreme 'can do' attitude to everything. In our time in Japan, it really didn't matter what we planned, these two were up for it. (see my Japan blog and our trip to the Kobe Ice Sculpture Exhibition for further evidence...and some very disappointing and 'melty' ice sculpture pictures!)Meeting us in New York on extremely short notice was no exception. Despite a real blizzard (sly jab at Heathrow) in their town, they forged ahead with plans to meet us, and in a very romantic, telemovie manner, we met in New York. It was hard to miss us, Ross was standing on top of a 15 foot pile of snow in the centre of Times Square. With another long awaited reunion under our belt, we made our way to...a souvenir shop so I could purchase...thick wool socks. My boots were leaking, my toes were freezing, and I needed backups. After organising myself with standby footwear, we started on the turquoise section of my colour coded New York Itinerary (you think I'm joking, but anyone who saw the runsheet for my wedding day won't question it), taking in Saks Fifth Avenue, the Rockefeller Centre, it's ice rink and it's great big tree, Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall, Central Park and FAO Schwartz's Giant Piano (as featured in Tom Hanks' BIG) to begin our first day sightseeing in the big and beautiful New York City. We came upon the amazing Mand Ms World and Hershey's World, walked along Broadway, took photos with giant pretzels and marvelled at the designer stores along fifth. It's so easy to love this city, even when the streets are chronically impassable! KJ and Rachel then took responsibility for another of our big dreams, to head to a 'real live diner' and not just any diner, a Jersey Diner. They drove us to the border of NY and NJ to a diner that was, to my mind, perfection: cheery but slightly surly waitress?-check, pie?-check, chilli fries?-check, milkshakes?-check, ridiculous portion sizes?-check, breakfast for dinner?-check (I had waffles and bacon delivered with butter and syrup reminiscent of Elvis), luminous fluorescent roadsign on a stick?-check. Perfection. I will never forget KJ's words as I looked over the endless options (I challenge you to find ANYTHING that isn't available on a diner menu), "and you can order anything at all, even if it's not on the menu, they'll make it for you". The challenge was offered, but I preferred to stick with a cop movie-esque meal of breakfast goods. After entertaining us for the day, the lovely Krachel drove us to our home for the next few days; Sam's dad's place in New Jersey. Sam and Brent's hospitality didn't end in North Carolina, it followed us to New York, where her family (who we'd never met) allowed us to stay in their home for the rest of our trip, which is how we found ourselves in Glen Rock, a town with not just the perfect American name, but the perfect American neightbourhood to boot. Our walk to and from the station when heading into New York each day took us past eleven American flags, a local school, a church, a life size nativity display outside the town hall and library, a Dunkin Donuts and the dign pointing to Maple Avenue. Sycamore Terrace was two blocks over, with the rest of the Babysitters' Club members and half the clan from Sweet Valley High and the cast of Family Ties. It was the perfect USA experience. :) We spend day 2 back in New York, but unfortunately for Ross, it included a lengthy wait in line (or 'on line' as the New Yorkers say) for theatre tickets to see 'In the Heights', which we saw later that night. I meanwhile, spent the morning checking out Bloomingdales, Macy's and Saks, finding the perfect 'souvenir' bag (I've been saving my tutoring cash!) I bought a great Marc Jacobs purse and bag and Bloomingdales rewarded me (no problem Bloomingdales!) with a free gift pack which includes, according to Ross 'the finest eye mitts ever'. That night, we saw 'In the Heights', a fabulous, bright and entertaining Broadway show. We were lucky enough to see, in the lead, the young man who wrote the production and felt truly lucky. It's such a great show - I encourage you to check it out if it heads your way. It follows the lives of members of the same diverse neighbourhood on the outskirts of NY, in Brooklyn Heights and explores their lives through several generations and styles of music including hip hop - very unique and entertaining. Review over. ;)Our third day in Ny was spent doing loads of super touristy things including a morning visit to Ground Zero to see the ongoing work there to build where so many lives were lost in 9/11. We then explored the waterfront and Battery Park before heading on the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island, past the amazing Statue of Liberty - she is pretty fabulous! We spent the rest of the day trekking around (yellow section of itinerary) Wall Street, Greenwich Village (for bagels), Chelsea (for the amazing skyline park, built on a disused rail line overlooking the water and the city), and the West and East Village (for people watching and fab deli food) before finishing up in Union Square and heading home for sleep, and preparation for New Years Eve with Krachel in Philly. Early on New Years Eve day we took a train down to Trenton, New Jersey where KJ and Rachel met us, fed us EXCELLENT bagels, showed us slightly frightening images of Rachel adorning their Christmas tree, then took us into Philadelphia for a day of really interesting, unexpected sightseeing. Philly is such an interesting city. It seems super liveable (except for those pesky crime rates ;)) and easily navigatable on foot and has such interesting sights. A highlight for us was definitely checking out the newest exhibit, the foundations of George Washington's home in Philadelphia and the accompanying exhibits featuring information about slavery in his time. It was a great introduction to the 'main event' for which most people head to Philly, and no, I'm not referring to the guided tour run by our Rainman-esque tour guide, but to the Libery Bell. What? Never heard of it? Either had we! But you can bet that if you start the day having never heard of it, by dinner you'll be just itching for a touch (you can't have one though, just have to settle for the replica they provide, just for touching). This is largely thanks to the informative video they offer as you wait for your turn with the famous bell, the aptly titled 'What is the Liberty Bell?' Jesting aside, I loved that bell! The Libery Bell, for those not in the know, is a major symbol of freedom, independence and hope for American people, and indeed for others worldwide. There's actually a replica in Tokyo. The bell, once in a fixed place in Philly when it was America's capital city, got a crack in it the first time it rang, which, when fixed, ironically got 'crackier', so the bell was taken down and became more a symbol than an actual living (?), working bell. It was a symbol of liberty from its creation in the 1750s, continued to provide hope throughout the major world wars and Cold War and still remains a symbol of hope into the future. See.....that video really got me. :) Other parts of Philly that we loved included a fabulous old soda shoppe (note the authentic ye olde spelling), the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the home of the woman who secretly sewed the first American Flag, the famous LOVE sign, and our first sampling of a Philly Cheese Steak. Our Philly New Year was also where we first learnt about the USA's bizarre laws concerning the sale of different alcohols in different stores (wine in one store, beer in another, etc) and where we experienced KJ's coffee making skills..... enough said. Thank you KRACHEL - for another New Year's Eve spent together, though this one curiously without an elderly Japanese gentleman leading us into his home with the promise of photographs and pistachios. You are two of our favourite human beings. Your hospitality was so appreciated. Our return to New York on New Year's Day gave us (me) the chance to go on our (my) long awaited and precisely planned (purple section of itinerary) 'GOSSIP GIRL SELF GUIDED TOUR'! My ever patient husband smiled encouragingly and snapped away as we walked the length of New Yrok city taking photos in front of Chuck Bass' hotel, Blair's apartment, the girls' and boys' schools and those famous Met steps (complete with headband). A very special day, on which Ross earned his Chocolate milkshake and blueberry pie at the diner we came upon in the very cool 'Hells Kitchen' area of the city. That night, our last in New York was a lovely one. We had spent the day doing what we love best, exploring and wandering and just soaking up a city, and it was wonderful. The next day, our last, was a quiet one. We took an NY cab ride, ate at a diner, wandered the last few streets on our to-do list and bought an 'I heart NY' mug. Such a special trip. I began this blog entry by saying that our USA trip was fraught, initially, with panic, but the best thing we re-learnt on this trip is that nothing ever goes perfectly to plan...but our friends will make an already good (possbily colour coded) plan a billion times better.
