Sin City

Some of my friends told me that I wouldn't enjoy Vegas because I don't gamble or drink. I mean isn't
" Nevada Mormon" an oxymoron?

Now that I have been there I understand their apprehension, but I still loved it. It was a totally different experience and something that everyone needs to do. The energy in the city reminded me of Hong Kong, and after a week of visiting I still got a rush driving down the strip on our final night.

The streets were a great place for people watching- families with small children, guys out on stag nights, kids on spring break. And you can't forget those who hold the lowest position in the employment ladder: the people who hand out the cards for escorts and strippers. ( Is there any job in the world that requires less skill???)

Part of what made Vegas so wonderful was visiting Tuks' family that live there. The Snow family took us to an exotic zoo where I actually held hands with and fed baby kangaroo's and Tuks cuddled a monkey. We spent an afternoon swimming in the creek at Warm Springs and ate summer BBQ food. We never would have been able to experience these things if we were just typical tourist visiting Vegas, so I am grateful to the Snow's for their hospitality.

While Vegas was not my favorite city on our travels I still loved the experience and am glad we went.
Have you been to Vegas? I would love to hear your thoughts!

I :/ NY

Have you ever loved something, but also totally not loved it at the same time? 
 That's how I feel about New York. I would like to "heart" it, but i'm not quite ready for that kind of commitment yet.


Let's start with the Empire state building. I don't understand what the big deal is- Alica Keys named a song after it, it has special mention in the Lonely planet, but it's just a tall building. It's not the tallest in the world, or United States so why do people line up for hours to see it. Awkward. 


The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom, and the American dream. For us she was a symbol of sweating tourists elbowing you out of the way for a spot in line to catch the Ferry. What's worse is you can't even go up the statue, so your $20 will get you a nice view of her feet. Conclusion- we did not take the ferry but instead admired her from afar. 


If you want to get anywhere in New York for very little then the subway is the best way to go! We paid $29 for a 7 day unlimited pass which I think is a pretty reasonable amount of money to pay to get all over the city. The downsides are 1. There are rats 2. It smells like urine 3. Crazy people will use the subway as a captive audience to collect " money for the homeless" 4. These said homeless people will moon you as you get off the train and then proceed to light firecrackers in their anal region. 

Street food is a New York must have. Nuts 4 nuts was my personal favorite, roasted almonds with a sweet and crunchy coating.. hmmmm. Pretzels are a filling and inexpensive snack, if you don't mind being hit in the face with a case of ultimate dry mouth. Tuks decided to get a Gyro from the Halal cart. All I am going to say about that is that's a lot of trust to put in a stranger with a metal box full of meat. 


There are trillions of cabs in New York trying to run you over as your cross the street, or honking their horns while you try to sleep. But, do you think we could find ONE cab at midnight while we were in a dodgy area. Of course not. When we managed to track one down, he didn't listen and drove straight past our street. Excellent.


The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway was the best experience of the whole trip. The set blew us away, the music was incredibly touching and nearly every song brought us to tears. That could be because we are both pathetic or the performers were very talented. I liked to think it was the latter.




Central Park was a real treat- we rented bikes and cycled around for an hour. The downside was we didn't see one dead body like they always seem to do on SVU and Law and order. One morning we even managed to wake up early and go for a run through it.

 Walking. New Yorkers do lots of walking, which is wonderful. I like that physical activity and fresh air is a part of the cities daily routine, but do they have to walk so fast! Where are they all going? Why don't they just leave a few minutes earlier? With all the walking we did, our feet killed every night. 

MoMA was amazing. Tuks and I are still glowing knowing we stood next to pieces by Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol and Picasso. They even had a DJ pump out funky tunes as we worked our way though the galleries. 

The Magnolia bakery. Nom nom nom... sorry can't talk my mouth is full of cupcakes and snickers pie.

" The city that never sleeps". Really? Not ever? Hmm like not even when you're really, really tired? I guess the benefit of this is that there was always something to do. The downside was it was always happening right outside our bedroom window! 

Ok so did we hate New York? No. Did we love it? Occasionally. I think we fall somewhere in the middle which is why we :/ NY or feel neutral about it. There were a lot of wonderful things in New York that we know you can't find anywhere else. And there were a lot of things that we could have skipped and just watched on Youtube or on a post card- like the Statue of Liberty. So in conclusion the Big Apple was pretty o.k.    

I heart travelling

This week I flew to Nelson to visit my Nanny and Grandpa. I forgot how much I really love flying, and being in airports. Here are some of my reasons why:

1. When I travel, I am the most organized version of myself. All of my needs are packed away in little compartments of my suitcase, and my passport and travel documents are easily accessible. This makes me feel competent. 

2. Some of my earliest travel experiences took place in airports and on airplanes before I was 2 years old.That early fascination with flying has made air travel something that is generally stress-free, interesting and fun for me.

3.  The information boards with the flight numbers of arrivals and departures. It get so excited thinking about how those numbers represent a different path with a different ending, like a real choose-your-own adventure.

4 . The very satisfying feeling of being in an airport with nothing to do but wait, browse through books, people-watch and eat.

 5. The feeling you get when the plane accelerates and goes super fast in preparation for take off. 

6. The view from the plane that gives  a totally different perspective of the earth that we live on.

7. Airplane food. Cringe if you will, but seriously I do. The little packets of food all served hot. Who can't like that!

8. Arriving at my destination knowing I can escape reality for a few days. 




So there you have it. Just some of the reasons I love to fly. Next stop- U.S.A