Philadelphia

Saturday afternoon, I arrived in to Philadelphia, and made my way to Swarthmore (30 minutes by train south of the city) where I was staying for three nights. Thumbs up to everyone who's recommended AirBnb to me - it's such a great tool for finding great (and affordable) places to stay - especially in more obscure places where hotels tend to be a bit overpriced.

Anyway, after settling in to my great little loft apartment - complete with dormer windows... how I love dormer windows... I slept. And slept.

Spent Sunday in Philadelphia city, which was very nice... etc etc... I think at this point in the trip I'm just a bit beyond seeking typical tourist hot spots, and much prefer just the relaxed sort of activities. Went to see the Liberty Bell and City Hall... all nice... but yeah. After a few hours walking I found a great little theatre - the Roxy - which is one of few remnants of the old-fashioned, independently run theatres (indication - no, they didn't accept credit cards). Downside is they only ever show two movies at a time, so having seen The Dark Knight Rises, it was The Campaign. Funny enough, but "meh".

Monday, I chose to just stick around the Swarthmore area. They had a really neat cafe that made delicious (and cheap) food - Hobbs. Then I walked over the Swarthmore College campus, where I was stoked to find a library well stocked with any and all magazines and newspapers you could imagine. I had about 2 hours here, reading. Bliss.

Tuesday, it was on to Chicago (by air, thankfully). I don't want to indicate that Philadelphia is by no means a cool city, but it just feels a bit like every city that isn't New York gets the unfavourable comparison. I've said it before, and I stand by it, that you could have a week, a month, a year in New York and not run out of things to do. So it certainly has felt like my favourite place on this trip. :)

(Note that I'm on iPad mostly for this last part of the trip, so have issues putting photos with this blog - but will update once I get home!)

Ridin' Solo

With Prue safely on her way to Lock Haven, I had another day in Boston to do with what I wished. After breakfast... And a follow up coffee and cake... I caught the subway to Boston Common for another walk around the park. The weather was great, so it was just a nice atmosphere to be outside soaking up rays (filtered through my SPF30 of course, mum). After this, and some lunch, I just felt like sitting in air-con - so I headed to the cinema that was nearby. I (finally) saw Ted - hilarious. I won't worry about using this blog as a means of film review, but what I did find really neat was that it was filmed (or maybe just set) in Boston, so heaps of the locations were ones I'd been to over the past 48 hours. And as you know... I love to do the "Oh I've been there" thing when watching movies. Haha. You all do well to put up with my annoying traits.

After the film, I headed out to Harvard again to have a bit of a better look at some of the shops in Cambridge. Spent a couple more hours there, and then went back into Boston, where I walked around some more of the South End city area (which Prue and I hadn't seen), found some dinner, and then went home for a lazy night and packing.

Friday, it was on to New York for a 1-night stopover before heading on to Philadelphia (some of these plans evolved at the last minute (which in Dave terms means 1 week prior) - so if any of you are asking "Why is he heading back to New York when he was just there??", you can just shut up.)

After getting in on the train at 10:15, I had to race up to my hotel (Pod Hotel - http://www.thepodhotel.com/ - very cool), dump my bags, and get back to 49th street by 11:59 to enter the daily lottery for front row seats to The Book of Mormon (I'd read about this the night before - high demand shows like this, Wicked, Lion King etc reserve about 20 seats that they sell off in a lottery for $30! - basically nothing considering the seats right behind sell for $500-$600!!). Anyway, after some sweaty "Dave-running" across Manhattan, I arrived there and got my entry in the barrel. 10 minutes later, 300-odd people were waiting to hear if their name would be drawn... The third one out of the barrel - "from Australia... David Barry!!!" I was stoked. Bloody stoked. I went to grab some lunch, and then returned for the show at 2:00pm. I was right behind the conductor, about 1-2m from the actors on stage - wow. I'm glad I saw it from a regular seat (further back), because you take in the whole stage and show, but this front row seat was just a huge complement to the whole experience, and solidified Book of Mormon as my absolute favorite show.

Content, I headed back to the Pod to get changed, and then headed out for some dinner and another viewing of Newsies. What? We've established I'm repetitive and obsessive - surely that doesn't come as a surprise... :)

Saturday morning, I went for a little stroll around midtown east (near hotel) which wasn't an area I had really explored up until now. Neat. Then it was back to Pennsylvania Station to get on the 10:15 to Philadelphia...

Boston, Pt. 2: Cambridge

Wednesday was my last day with Prue before she departed for her semester at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, and it was all about heading across the river to Cambridge, for a lazy day exploring the beautiful campus of Harvard (Hah-vahd) University. We spent the morning getting a feel for the campus, and having a relax in the Cambridge Public Library. Then it was on to Harvard Square, where we grabbed some lunch - as well as the obligatory Harvard sweater (bring on Australian winter 2013 so I can actually wear it...).

After this, we spent around 2-3 hours just relaxing in the main courtyard, where new students were being shown around (NB: hundreds of years of educational history, and the point they raise to the new students...? "And this is the residential hall where Hollywood star Matt Damon lived..."). The atmosphere was so relaxed, and the weather incredible, that we felt no need to rush off anywhere. What a great way to immerse ourselves in the campus. I looked up what it might cost to do an MBA or MPP here... and, um - mum and dad - can I borrow $80k? Kidding. :)

Late in the afternoon, Prue and I caught the train back into Boston, and strolled the cute narrow streets of the North End before settling on a little Italian place for an early dinner. The serving sizes were ridiculous, but the food nonetheless delicious. On our way home, we stopped at a really neat park nearby and laid on the grass nursing our "food babies". Somewhat relieved, we then headed back to our hostel in the South End so Prue could pack and get herself organised. What a great 10 days we've had together! 

Boston, Pt. 1

After an outstanding week in New York, Prue and I boarded the Amtrak at Pennsylvania Station on Monday morning, destined for Boston. With ample leg room and free on board wifi, the 4 hours north flew by in a breeze. Mid afternoon we were at our hostel in Back Bay. Exhausted (funnily enough from sitting down on a train all day), we had a quiet night in, and got some good sleep!

Tuesday, we set off for a bunch of epic Boston sights. We started with a hop on hop off trolley, to get our bearings for the city (which despite its massive history is really quite compact and easy to get around - win). After this, we took a ferry ride around the harbour, taking in some great views of the city skyline and surrounding foreshores of the city. After a quick stop in Charlestown, we made our way back to the city area, found some great lunch at Quincy Market, and then walked back to the Boston Public Garden. After a quick [near] nap lying on the grass, it was time for a ride on the famous Swan Boats (there's a big pond in the middle of this park, and it's full of ducks and swans - magical). Family Guy fans will appreciate that my excitement paralleled that of Peter's when he foregoes beating Lois in a "no rules funny car race to Fenway Park" in lieu of having an afternoon with the ducks. In his words, and mine - "I'll always be a man who once had a wonderful afternoon!!!"

Anyway, 5-year-old targeted boating activities complete, it was time to commence the more mature Freedom Trail, which is a walking tour of 16 significant sites in Boston that all contribute to the city's defining role in the American Revolution. The buildings are all very beautiful, and the history behind them always makes me feel so awed to be in and around them. King's Chapel and its adjoining burial ground were particularly interesting - "residents" include the first lady to step off the Mayflower.

Due to exhaustion from a day of walking, combined with the hot sun, Prue and I didn't get to all of the sites, but we did see the vast majority. Towards the end of our exploring we came across the Holocaust Memorial towards the North End of the city. A very simplistic but powerful memorial, which actually moved me to tears on several occasions. One quote inscribed on one of the glass towers read:
'To remember their suffering is to recognize the danger and evil that are possible whenever one group persecutes another.'
Something I think we can all agree is a relevant assertion in any period.

The rest of the day brought with it:

• Delicious canolis from Mike's Pastry in the North End.
• Watching a major New England news story unfold as we ate dinner (police had shot a man dead about a block from our restaurant... but all that Prue and I happened to witness was the NBC Reporter dusting his cheeks with some makeup in the news van. Priorities, of course.)
• Sleep! 

Fantastic day in a great city. 

Note: Due to our proximity to Rhode Island, and the overwhelming New England accents... I've had Family Guy on my mind the whole time I've been here. Along these lines... I've been humming 'The Spirit of Massachusetts' a bit too much... but it keeps making me giggle. Prue must think I'm crazy (well, moreso than already). That's all!

Manhattan Sunday

Prue and I had left Sunday open to whatever activities took our fancy at the time. We had a little sleep in, and then headed to the upper west side, and then had a delightful (that's right, "delightful") stroll through central park, where we emerged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We were both starving, so decided on just a quick tour of the museum before finding breakfast- we HAD to see the Egyptian Hall and get some great photos of us getting all cultured and shit. 

After an hour or so here, we got our "Gossip Girl" on and took to the streets of the upper east side to find love, revenge, friendship, enemies... Whatever the morning could serve up. Turns out our morning wasn't near as eventful as an episode of that show, but nonetheless we found a neat little cafe with bottomless coffee and syrup aplenty for my French toast. 

After breakfast we kept walking down Park Avenue admiring all of the beautiful apartment buildings, and I dazed off imagining myself as a successful broadway writer living in a 2 bedroom walk up. One day, maybe. My list of favorite prospective careers is long, and getting longer every year.

A subway ride later (the $29 unlimited weekly pass was definitely a worthwhile investment!), we were back in midtown. I stopped off by the Eugene Oneill theatre to pick up my ticket for that afternoon's matinee of The Book of Mormon, and then in times square Prue picked up a last minute ticket to an afternoon show for herself - Chicago. 

3:00pm came and I was sitting in my seat at the theatre ready to be amazed by the genius that is Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of South Park), via their massive broadway show, The Book of Mormon. I went in knowing the soundtrack inside out, so while there were no surprises musically (the performers were all outstanding though!), seeing the show in its entirety was an experience I'll never forget. I don't think I've ever seen a musical, or any other piece of media for that matter, that manages to blend historical and social commentary, humor, vulgarity and humanity so seamlessly and sweetly as this show did.

If the afternoon couldn't get any better after seeing this phenomenal show, outside the theatre I got the chance to meet pretty much the entire cast, and get all their signatures on my program and playbill, as well as getting photos with a bunch of them. Definitely the icing on the cake and an amazing way to end my week in new York. 

After reuniting with Prue at the hotel, and blasting her ear drums about all of my Book of Mormon excitement and stories, we jumped on the subway again and headed to Chelsea for another dinner. We found a neat little organic restaurant and clinked champagne glasses while sharing pizza. :)

What an incredible week in this city. So glad i get to be back here next Friday night, AS WELL AS in September for a few nights before i leave for home. Off to Boston tomorrow for four nights. Can't wait for this. :)

Nic Rouleau - all kinds of awesome.

Dave answers the big questions in his new talk show "Washington Yak"

The pursed lips... catastrophe. 

Pretty much every second bus in Manhattan right now! :)

Saturday in NYC!

After a nice sleep in, I headed onto the streets by around 11am. (Prue had been more active than me and was already off doing her own exploring.) I caught the subway up to 81st street, and spent a few hours at the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibits here were great - definitely worth the $25 admission fee, and then some!

After the museum, I headed straight into central park for a couple of hours of strolling. I stopped at the Bethseda Fountain to admire one of my favourite statues in the city. The rest of the park was lovely. Such an escape from the city, and despite the masses of Saturday tourists it was still very peaceful in a lot of parts. 

I came out from the park at Fifth Avenue, and walked along here for a few blocks before cutting west at Rockefeller centre and going back to the hotel via Times Square.

For dinner, Prue and I caught the subway down to Chelsea/Greenwich Village area ready to find some great food. We cast our opinion based on a number of key factors: 

• Number of people already dining at the restaurant (indicating how popular it was... Always a good sign)
• Menu (while I'm fairly open to trying anything new and exciting food wise, the glazed bone marrow is a little bit too pretentious for my tastebuds at this point in time...)
• Price. Of course. I like to get good "bang for my buck" ... Oh wait that sounds like we were looking for strippers. Ew. 

Anyway, we finally resolved on a busy Mexican restaurant, where we could sit outside and sip delicious margaritas while watching the world go by. It also happened to be just across the street from the famous Stonewall Inn - a point of personal historic interest for me as the 1969 riots here pretty much began the modern gay rights movement. 

Near where we had dinner, we also saw the 'Tiles for America' memorial - one of the original 9/11 Memorial sites.

After dinner, we kept walking in the direction which we later realized was towards lower manhattan. "Whoops", said I, on discovering this, but it wasn't a big hassle as it was simple to get back on the right subway from anywhere really. If I have to get lost anywhere in the world, I'm pretty glad for it to be New York and not Cabramatta. 

Another successful day done, it was time for some late night reality TV on E!, then lights out.

An NYC Friday

After a little sleep in, Prudence and I headed for the East Village for a mid morning brekkie at Green Square Tavern (http://www.greensquaretavern.com) and some exploring of the surrounding areas. We walked from the Flatiron Building (where we also happened to find a weird, oversized solid steel David Beckham statue....) and then onto Irving Place, where we found two very important things:

- Prue's future husband

- Pure Food and Wine - where we stopped for a lovely lunchtime juice in their outdoor courtyard. 

Prue's future husband, on the right.

A few blocks further on from this, we were at Union Square, and had a look around the surrounding shops (we both splurged on impulse buy Ray Bans!). Once again, by mid afternoon, Prue and I decided we'd proceed best in different directions. Prue continued toward lower Manhattan to check out more shops, while I caught the subway uptown. 

I got off near Bryant Park, where I found a lovely spot in the shade and sat there for around an hour, listening to tunes and enjoying the atmosphere of lunchtime jugglers, school groups on lunch time excursions, and solo people just like me (though to be fair, not near as hip and trendy as me), chilling out for a bit. Next, I walked around the corner to the New York public library, and grabbed a couple of hot dogs for lunch. Then I explored the massive library wings before relaxing (again) in the reading room to contemplate life. 

Among the days activities, i learned that Shannon Doherty is promoting online degrees here in the US. Did you know she's working on her liberal arts degree right now? You go girl. There really is life after 90210.

By 5:00pm it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the second Broadway show of the trip, Once. Based on the film, I had pretty high expectations. It didn't disappoint. It was different to any other show I've seen. All the actors play all the music themselves, while singing (no orchestra) and they incorporated really cool dancing and movement into all of the scenes. The two leads were so engaging - Steve Kazee particularly was outstanding. It doesn't pay to compare Once to Newsies, because they are on completely different levels. Both fantastic, but incomparable.

After the show, Prue and I headed for a late dinner at bar on West 46th street, near our hotel. Despite the loud music (grandpa Dave was not too impressed), the food and service was really good. Our waiter was on his first day and was only too eager to make sure we were looked after. After the 5th "how is everything going guys?? Are you enjoying it all??" I said to Prue "Oh he's too cute. Don't you just want to put him in your pocket??!" Prue didn't exactly share my enthusiasm, but she left a lovely note with the tip to thank him for the great service. 

After finishing my Brooklyn Beer it was time for bed! :)

Exploring the streets of the East Village.

Eh, where's my cawfee, ya jerk.

The title has no significance to today's activities - I just enjoy taking to Prue in my terrible New Yorker accent...

Out the door before 8am (but somehow I can never manage this on a work day, as all my colleagues will attest to...), we headed straight to lower manhattan for breakfast at the World Financial Centre before paying tribute at the fairly-new 9/11 Memorial Pools. Amidst the noises and sights of construction of a number of new surrounding WTC towers (including the nearly-finished Freedom Tower / One WTC), this memorial is nothing but a beautiful way to pay respect to the lives lost in 2001. I felt very emotional walking around that entire area of Manhattan. The redevelopment of the site is testament to the determination and sense of independence that America was founded on. A beautiful way to spend a morning paying respects. 

I walked with Prue along Battery Park toward the New York Jewish History Museum, where we spent another couple of hours. While a great museum, after visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC in 2006, it still holds the benchmark for one of my favourite museum experiences.

We lined up and got tickets to go to Ellis Island, but a 1-hour line for the ferry itself deterred us (might come back another day) and so we walked up toward Wall Street for some lunch and derivatives trading. After breaking even, it was on to SoHo for a brief "shopping preview" - which actually means Dave was tired and said "Prue let's go home, we can come back another day." I'm always one to emphasise the silver lining.

Dinner turned out to be a rewarding exploration of the several streets west of Times Square, right near our hotel, where we found an abundance of great eateries. We settled on what I like to call "contemporary European" - which basically means I wasn't paying enough attention, and that the food was reminiscent of various cultures but not specific to one. Whatever. The three glasses of Sauv Blanc made me happy.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us up to date with my New York adventures thus far! Hoping you're all enjoying my words and are forgiving my typos and grammatical errors... although I strive to proof read and pick them up before too many people notice.

"A perfectionist...?", you say? Maybe.

New York - Day 2

Where are we?

Wednesday started unlike any other on this trip so far: with Dave caving to the temptation of a McDonald's sausage and egg mcmuffin (it took you three weeks, Ronald, but your insistent store placement and free wifi finally got the better of me). After this, it was on to Rockefeller Centre, where we started with the NBC Studio Tour (80% same content as when I did it in 2006 - but my major fan-age of Tina Fey's 30 Rock since then made the experience all the more enjoyable). I even got to be the volunteer who did the weather against the green screen. I like to think I'm a natural. All the US tourists got a kick out of my accent, and I think the female page was even flirting with me... whatever girlfriend, it ain't happening. 

After the tour, we did the one hour Rockefeller Centre history tour, which was very informative. Who knew art could be so influential, eh?

Then came Top of the Rock, with more skyline views of Manhattan... all very well and good. 

Prue and I treated ourselves to macaroons and coffee after all these midtown activities, then we made our way to 103rd street to check out the New York History Museum, before walking across Central Park in the rain (Prue witnessed my terrible umbrella-sharing tendencies) to catch the train back to our hotel at 44th street. 

That evening, it was time for the first of 5 (maybe 6) Broadway shows of my trip: Newsies. Thanks go to Prue for tolerating my repetitive humming and singing of all the songs over the last 48 hours - you're a trooper. Newsies was one of the best shows I have seen during my 25 years - the choreography, music, set design - all brilliant. Great narrative also. My brother Doug and I rate musicals by the number of "goosebumps moments" they yield. There were no less than 10 during Newsies - a new benchmark, faw shaw [for sure]. Note that all those expecting souvenir Playbills will receive one. 

After the show, it was on to Times Square for a late night explore and some fun photos. A homeless guy pushing a trolley yelled at me for getting in his way. Only in New York can you have this happen to you and be pleased to put it down as just another "cultural experience". You're a savvy city, New York.

Ready for Newsies! (No... I didn't wear the hat to the theatre... I was forbidden.
Michael Barry reborn, once again!)

The last stop before home was American Eagle Outfitters. After browsing many a fashion chain during my time here, I concluded to Prue that "this fall, the look is all about mis-matched patterns and bold colours." She replied: "Dave, time to go home."

Goodnight readers. 

My Favourite City: NYC

After crossing much of middle America on a mid afternoon flight from Houston, I arrived to New York right on sunset, and was greeted by a window seat view of the skyline of my favourite city in the world. That's right. The world. Deal with it, Australia. 

So pleased to be reunited with my beautiful friend Prue who flew over on the same day to travel with me for 10 days before commencing a semester of her studies in Pennsylvania. After staying our first night near JFK, on Tuesday morning we trekked (by which I mean a private transfer, of course) to our hotel in the heart of Manhattan, one block from Times Square. After dumping our bags, we headed to the nearest subway station, destined for Chelsea where we'd planned lunch with Luci - an Armidale friend who happened to be visiting NYC for a few days from Toronto. (gotta love facebook for facilitating random international encounters!) Low and behold, Luci tapped me on the shoulder as I was buying my week pass for the subway and we got all excited and "huggy" (new word) before all heading down to Chelsea together.

We braved afternoon rain and walked along the High Line before finding a really neat little restaurant for lunch. August by month, and August by restaurant name, as it were... http://augustny.com/. Highly recommended.

After lunch, we caught the subway back up towards midtown and explored a bit, including the giant Macy's, before saying bye to Luci. (Great to see her!)

That night, Prue and I did the 2 hour sunset loop cruise of Manhattan, and got to see the city from all angles. I didn't get to do this in 2006, and was so glad I did it now - gives you a full perspective of the layout of Manhattan and all that the city encompasses - architecturally at least. In a more cultural sense, I'm always moved and inspired by how much of a melting pot New York is for all cultures, religions, political views, attitudes, and so forth. The context of how the city has evolved over the last 400 years is possibly one of the most fascinating examples of human development I have studied, and it's particularly interesting to see the extent to which NYC pioneered so many social and political conventions that we take for granted in our modern society. For more, I suggest EVERYONE watch the PBS 'America: A Documentary Film' series. I own it on DVD but you can only borrow it one at a time: form an orderly queue. 

Back on dry land, Prue and I utilised our City Pass to go to the top of the Empire State Building - preceded by a Kevin Bacon narrated 4D film experience 'Sky Ride'. Suffice to say my response to this was somewhere in the middle of being overwhelmed and underwhelmed... "Can you ever just be 'whelmed'??"

The views from the 86th floor were, of course, magnificent. After our fill of tourist activities, we grabbed massive slices of pizza and crashed around midnight. 

I love you, New York.