Los Angeles, California
Day 6:
We left our hotel on Geary Street for San Francisco airport at the crack of dawn. To the shock of us both, turns out you have to pay for baggage on domestic flights in the US. Lame! Also be prepared to take your shoes off when you go to board your flight. WTF. Headache.
Once on the plane everything was ok – the flight was a lot nicer than our initial one. Hardly any turbulence. There was a little turd of a child who took a liking to Ela’s leg, and proceeded to scratch the crap out of it the entire flight. He thought he was funny. Ela had developed a twitch by the end of the flight, and had assumed the foetal position in a feeble attempt to get away from him.
And so we landed in L.A and had to wait about an hour on the run way – we were stuck in a traffic jam of planes. Fail. The bus ride to Hermosa beach was long – but worth it. Our hostel is right on the Pier – pretty much the hub of the city; bars, restaurants, shops – everything. Beach volleyball courts, surfboard hire – good fun. So on our first day here we just walked around and familiarised ourselves with the local area. A far cry from period stained sheets and receptionists with angry haircuts. The people here were so friendly and welcoming – the facilities and accommodation was really great, we’d recommend this hostel if you wanted to stay in L.A, somewhere a little quieter than the central city area. Local transport was really easy to use, and inexpensive ($1.25 bus ride – Bus 232).
Day 7:
DISNEYLAND!!!!! Definitely worth the 6am wakeup – it fulfilled all expectations and did not disappoint. The Indiana Jones ride was amazing, followed by the pirates of the Caribbean ride – spectacular. Totti got her thrills and some whip lash on the turbo charged train. The haunted house, sleeping beauty’s castle, peter pan’s flight, finding nemo (yes, we went in a submarine)- while waiting in line for that ride, a 30 minute line we might add, the wait was made worth it when out of the corner of Ela’s eye, she caught an 80 year old granny stealing a swift scratch of her vag. Needless to say we were in stitches. She was a sly dog. A highlight for us was the Buzz Lightyear ride and the captain E.O short film featuring Michael Jackson.
Day 8:
Hollywood tour – led by our hilarious bus driver Eddy, a 65 year old African American man who had us in stitches the entire time. We saw the set of Baywatch (Marina Del Rey), Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Blvd, Downtown L.A (Churros are A-Mazing), China Town and Little Mexico, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It was an absolutely massive day but for anyone looking to experience these places properly, you really would need 3 days in each place – there is so much to see and do. When we got back we met our Dutch roomie – who taught us how to say “you have a nuce bum” “f**k” and many other delightful, important and necessary terminologies :p
Las Vegas
Day 9:
FML. Another early start . Our backs were pretty much broken – the hike to the bus stop with our packs and bags was intense. We literally felt the burn, had to take strategic rest stops along the way. Fail. Caught our flight to Vegas – we met two delightful characters, sisters in fact, were like chalk and cheese. One decked out in pyjama pants with a floral design (vomit), a bum bag, old retro sneakers and those big old square sunnies. So she was like a bumble bee on crack. The funniest thing about them was that they were drunk as skunks bickering like no one else was on the plane. Totti and I were in hysterics the entire time. Highlight of the flight, Ethel “I’m uncomfortable” her sister turns around “well sit the f**k down then” You had to be there, but we lost it and in the end made friends with these two ladies.
We caught the shuttle to Caesars palace – for anyone wondering, no, the real Caesar does not work or live here. It was so overwhelming – speechless! When we got to our rooms – what a room!! Tv in you bathroom mirror anyone? The beds are HUGE – most comfortable beds in history. We also have robes. That is all. Money very well spent.
Day 10:
Finally a sleep in!!! The Price is Right, live stage show – complete with the token afro American woman sitting next to Ela who yelled out comments such as “HE ON CRACK!!” or “ HE GOTTA PUT DOWN THE PIPE” when contestants made apparently bad choices :p Went to the pool, wondered up and down the strip, found $1 cocktails, went on the rollercoaster in the New York New York hotel, went to M&M world, got lost in the Mirage Mile mall, got ripped off by a promo guy – guest list my ass. Ate dinner, got drunk, rocked Cleopatra’s barge, got hammered, danced some more, $2 Tequila shots, $1 margaritas, vomit. That is all.
Day 11:
We slept in till 10:30 – a rest well earned. Totti “ela, you dead man?” Ela “yam un”. Totti informed me that she caught her reflection in the mirror above her bed and crapped herself because she thought there was someone else in the room. Fail. And so we finally made it to these premium shopping outlets. There were over 150 stores to look through, with a huge variety of stores, anything from Jay Jays type places to Armani and D&G. We really wanted to buy new sneakers but failed, and so now we are being sloths on our amazingly comfortable beds, going to head to the Cheesecake factory for dinner and then to Cirque de Soleil. The circus was amazing – there was a giant pool for a stage, which turned into a floor, which turned into a pool, which turned into a floor....you get it. But the acrobatics were spectacular – the cast was made up of former Olympian synchronised swimmers and divers and gymnasts – definitely worth the money.
Day 12:
A pretty lazy day – got our stuff packed and checked out of Caesars, ready to make our way to Monterrey, Mexico to meet Kate’s brother Michael and his finance Paulina. Ole.
So until next time, hombres and senoritas,
Say hi to your dad for us,
Love Kate & Ela
xx
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Segway, Sausalito - San Francisco.
San Francisco
We arrived at Canberra airport at 8am, parents intact....but not for long. Needless to say there were tears, hugs and smiles coupled with nervous wees and poos and barfs.
Flight to Sydney was swell – a quick bus transfer to Sydney international. We sat there wtih broken backs – apparently 20kg backpacks aren’t that easy to get on, and seriously alter your centre of gravity. Fail. That is all. And so we sampled some of Australia’s finest Italian cuisine “mustard chicken pasta” to ease the pain. Who said carbs were the enemy?
We got through customs, as we were browsing through duty free, a kinda asian lady approached us and asked us if we’d like to play Wii. Because Ela is partially deaf (and perhaps RETARDED) – she responded gracefully “I don’t want no fucken Tandoori!!!” When the lady proceeded to look increasingly affronted, it finally clicked. By that time however, the damage was done. By this time Totti was in hysterics because she actually heard what the lady had said. Ela, fail.
After a long and painful 13 hour flight which consisted of crying babies, a turbine, a bum crack in Ela’s face, a broken entertainment system and turbulence which was enough to give Totti vertigo, So we just sat there making tampon jokes and dry retching cat noises to entertain ourselves. We finally touched down in San Francisco – yes, the home to Boudin and Clam Chowder.
Day 1
We successfully managed to get ourselves a shuttle direct to our hostel – thanks to Laurie’s. We arrived optimistic despite the rainy weather, only to have our spirits dampened by the pungent smell of stale pee and a complete effen mole at the front desk of the hostel. Maybe if she had a better haircut she wouldn’t have been so sad. We proceeded to try and check in – current time was 12:40, check in not permitted till 2. So the unhelpful bad haired staff agreed to let us store our baggage in a dingy lock and key cupboard. So with the slim ray of hope that the day would get better, we ventured forth into the San Francisco hills.
Following the recommendation of our customs officer at the San Fran airport, we located a Boudin’s bakery – the home of sourdough bread made from live yeast culture. Apparently there is some big clump of yeast (ha, yeast) that all the bread is made from – it’s meant to be over a hundred years old. Tasty. The most fascinating thing about the whole place was that the bread was carried from the bakery into the store in baskets hanging on an electric pulley system attached to the roof.
Despite being complete zombies after 2 days of no sleep, before calling it a day at around 5 pm. We got back to the hostel and finally checked in. Sigh. Our first shower out of home it was friggan insane, the water pressure was so hard that totti was like "dude! it's ripping my nipples off!" and then there was this mutant steroid munching mozzie in the bathroom. But no, it didn’t stop there – after a signle baked potato each for dinner, Totti found period stains on my sheets, when they were supposedly meant to be laundered, fail!! so we slept in the same bed hahahha we did find that particularly hilarious. We thought she may have contracted Chlamydia from the unsanitary conditions hahaha.
Sooo that pretty much sealed the deal – we were stepping up market and moving into a motel. Which turned out to be cheaper anyway. Take that, pee smelling hostel.
Day 2:
Perhaps the thing we’ve been looking forward to for about three months. SEGWAY! Yes, that’s right, we did. We caught the ferry to Sausalito (across the harbor from San Fran). We were greeted by “Segway Jeff” in the carpark behind the little Italian bar “A Taste Of Rome”.
After our Segway tour we caught the ferry back to San Fran, and geared up for our much anticipated Alcatraz Tour. We took the guided audio tour through the prison, a surreal experience to have walked through a place once home to the most notorious criminals in history.
Was a fun filled day – super tired by the end. So for dinner we ordered some Chinese takeaway, had a sanitary, mozzie free shower and passed out in a bed, period stain free sheets.
Day 3:
Soooooooooooooo... failed at being tourists today. While Ela was passed out, Totti decided to ignore the alarm and we slept till 11. Muahahaha. So we got up, dressed and went to eat brekky at Noahs Bakery, Pantene hair and all.
We decided to spend the day shopping, and did so on Market Street and on Union Square. It was so overwhelming we didn’t know where to begin – Macy’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, Westfield (craps all over ours) Nike Town – where we met “Rrrrolando” a kind young chap who offered to give us his number and show us around.
We then went for a dance right in the centre of union square where there was a latino band playing – good fun. And then possibly the highlight of the day – dinner at the cheesecake factory! Strawberry Creamsicle – vodka, crushed strawberries, ice cream and Disaronno. Yumo! With fried zucchini strips with ranch dressing to dip them into, and a MASSIVE Luau Salad. So – completely stuffed, we made our way back home with our take away apple and walnut cheese cake and some bubble bath to soak our calves in.
Day 4:
We did a hop on/hop off bus tour that took us around the main san fran attractions and most probably the highlight of the trip – across the golden gate bridge. Who would of thought we could get a kick out of going over a bridge? It was truly spectacular. Abit breezy, but spectacular.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Sausalito – hiking around the upper suburbs. Starting price on a home is 2.5 million and rent is $2000 a week. Nice. After eating a hamburger in the park we decided to call it a day and get the bus back to San Fran – to see the “crooked” street. It literally is a street in San Francisco that zig zags from the top of a hill all the way to the bottom. That was pretty cool – aside from the calve burn and jelly legs we got from climbing Hyde street. But it was well worth it.
The evening led us to “Max’s” for dinner – where we met “Jorge”, pronounced hor-he, but to which totti liked to call him “hot hair”. Fail. We are working on he Spanish in time for our Mexican adventure. And so after a couple of nice drinks and a meal big enough to feed 4 people, we decided to take ourselves to the union sports bar where we met Aaron and Edwin – two drug dealers who looked like puff daddy – no really, totti actually asked “are you actually puff daddy” and “so are you going to call your peeps?” wtf. Much to ela’s pleasure, they did in fact reply “yeah, that’s exactly what we are doing”. But despite the good times, they were a tad to bleck for us, so we decided to phantom and head home. We were expecting a quiet walk back to the Monarch – only to be serenaded by an absolutely lovely homeless hobo Tanya – a middle aged black woman who could sing “and I am telling you i’m not going”. She kept trying to keep up with us, running ahead up the hill and pausing, busting out the spirit fingers and stating “this is where i’m at – and i am telling you” LOL. That really did top off a great night.
So now we move on to Hermosa beach, L.A. Sunshine, beach volleyball and ridiculously hot people everywhere.
P.S we did try Clam Chower – it tastes like powdery ass. That is all.
Check out some pics here: http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w313/ElaC10/San%20Francisco/
Say hi to your dad for us,
Kate & Ela xx
We arrived at Canberra airport at 8am, parents intact....but not for long. Needless to say there were tears, hugs and smiles coupled with nervous wees and poos and barfs.
Flight to Sydney was swell – a quick bus transfer to Sydney international. We sat there wtih broken backs – apparently 20kg backpacks aren’t that easy to get on, and seriously alter your centre of gravity. Fail. That is all. And so we sampled some of Australia’s finest Italian cuisine “mustard chicken pasta” to ease the pain. Who said carbs were the enemy?
We got through customs, as we were browsing through duty free, a kinda asian lady approached us and asked us if we’d like to play Wii. Because Ela is partially deaf (and perhaps RETARDED) – she responded gracefully “I don’t want no fucken Tandoori!!!” When the lady proceeded to look increasingly affronted, it finally clicked. By that time however, the damage was done. By this time Totti was in hysterics because she actually heard what the lady had said. Ela, fail.
After a long and painful 13 hour flight which consisted of crying babies, a turbine, a bum crack in Ela’s face, a broken entertainment system and turbulence which was enough to give Totti vertigo, So we just sat there making tampon jokes and dry retching cat noises to entertain ourselves. We finally touched down in San Francisco – yes, the home to Boudin and Clam Chowder.
Day 1
We successfully managed to get ourselves a shuttle direct to our hostel – thanks to Laurie’s. We arrived optimistic despite the rainy weather, only to have our spirits dampened by the pungent smell of stale pee and a complete effen mole at the front desk of the hostel. Maybe if she had a better haircut she wouldn’t have been so sad. We proceeded to try and check in – current time was 12:40, check in not permitted till 2. So the unhelpful bad haired staff agreed to let us store our baggage in a dingy lock and key cupboard. So with the slim ray of hope that the day would get better, we ventured forth into the San Francisco hills.
Following the recommendation of our customs officer at the San Fran airport, we located a Boudin’s bakery – the home of sourdough bread made from live yeast culture. Apparently there is some big clump of yeast (ha, yeast) that all the bread is made from – it’s meant to be over a hundred years old. Tasty. The most fascinating thing about the whole place was that the bread was carried from the bakery into the store in baskets hanging on an electric pulley system attached to the roof.
Despite being complete zombies after 2 days of no sleep, before calling it a day at around 5 pm. We got back to the hostel and finally checked in. Sigh. Our first shower out of home it was friggan insane, the water pressure was so hard that totti was like "dude! it's ripping my nipples off!" and then there was this mutant steroid munching mozzie in the bathroom. But no, it didn’t stop there – after a signle baked potato each for dinner, Totti found period stains on my sheets, when they were supposedly meant to be laundered, fail!! so we slept in the same bed hahahha we did find that particularly hilarious. We thought she may have contracted Chlamydia from the unsanitary conditions hahaha.
Sooo that pretty much sealed the deal – we were stepping up market and moving into a motel. Which turned out to be cheaper anyway. Take that, pee smelling hostel.
Day 2:
Perhaps the thing we’ve been looking forward to for about three months. SEGWAY! Yes, that’s right, we did. We caught the ferry to Sausalito (across the harbor from San Fran). We were greeted by “Segway Jeff” in the carpark behind the little Italian bar “A Taste Of Rome”.
After our Segway tour we caught the ferry back to San Fran, and geared up for our much anticipated Alcatraz Tour. We took the guided audio tour through the prison, a surreal experience to have walked through a place once home to the most notorious criminals in history.
Was a fun filled day – super tired by the end. So for dinner we ordered some Chinese takeaway, had a sanitary, mozzie free shower and passed out in a bed, period stain free sheets.
Day 3:
Soooooooooooooo... failed at being tourists today. While Ela was passed out, Totti decided to ignore the alarm and we slept till 11. Muahahaha. So we got up, dressed and went to eat brekky at Noahs Bakery, Pantene hair and all.
We decided to spend the day shopping, and did so on Market Street and on Union Square. It was so overwhelming we didn’t know where to begin – Macy’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, Westfield (craps all over ours) Nike Town – where we met “Rrrrolando” a kind young chap who offered to give us his number and show us around.
We then went for a dance right in the centre of union square where there was a latino band playing – good fun. And then possibly the highlight of the day – dinner at the cheesecake factory! Strawberry Creamsicle – vodka, crushed strawberries, ice cream and Disaronno. Yumo! With fried zucchini strips with ranch dressing to dip them into, and a MASSIVE Luau Salad. So – completely stuffed, we made our way back home with our take away apple and walnut cheese cake and some bubble bath to soak our calves in.
Day 4:
We did a hop on/hop off bus tour that took us around the main san fran attractions and most probably the highlight of the trip – across the golden gate bridge. Who would of thought we could get a kick out of going over a bridge? It was truly spectacular. Abit breezy, but spectacular.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Sausalito – hiking around the upper suburbs. Starting price on a home is 2.5 million and rent is $2000 a week. Nice. After eating a hamburger in the park we decided to call it a day and get the bus back to San Fran – to see the “crooked” street. It literally is a street in San Francisco that zig zags from the top of a hill all the way to the bottom. That was pretty cool – aside from the calve burn and jelly legs we got from climbing Hyde street. But it was well worth it.
The evening led us to “Max’s” for dinner – where we met “Jorge”, pronounced hor-he, but to which totti liked to call him “hot hair”. Fail. We are working on he Spanish in time for our Mexican adventure. And so after a couple of nice drinks and a meal big enough to feed 4 people, we decided to take ourselves to the union sports bar where we met Aaron and Edwin – two drug dealers who looked like puff daddy – no really, totti actually asked “are you actually puff daddy” and “so are you going to call your peeps?” wtf. Much to ela’s pleasure, they did in fact reply “yeah, that’s exactly what we are doing”. But despite the good times, they were a tad to bleck for us, so we decided to phantom and head home. We were expecting a quiet walk back to the Monarch – only to be serenaded by an absolutely lovely homeless hobo Tanya – a middle aged black woman who could sing “and I am telling you i’m not going”. She kept trying to keep up with us, running ahead up the hill and pausing, busting out the spirit fingers and stating “this is where i’m at – and i am telling you” LOL. That really did top off a great night.
So now we move on to Hermosa beach, L.A. Sunshine, beach volleyball and ridiculously hot people everywhere.
P.S we did try Clam Chower – it tastes like powdery ass. That is all.
Check out some pics here: http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w313/ElaC10/San%20Francisco/
Say hi to your dad for us,
Kate & Ela xx
Thursday, May 6, 2010
P.M.S #1: Tale of the Travelling Turds.
Boggers and Floggers alike,
Perhaps for the final time, before we depart, we would like to impart on you, the art of the fart, as we hold it close, and dear to our heart. So without further ado, we bring you our first P.M.S (a Pretty Meaningful Session) and introduce you to a brand stinking new section of our blog; in this edition, a place to discuss all things to do with the bog.
We all, yes, that includes you - hold a certain soft spot for the toilet. It bears witness to, and marks many of life’s 1st’s –these moments are equally memorable achievements, as they are memories we’d rather forget :p It validates you as a competent and civilised human being from our first successful use of the toilet while toilet training, and compromises our dignity with our first morning after a big night – over the years, the toilet has been there for us in more ways than we care to acknowledge. From drunken conversations with randoms, to personal moments with a friend, a refuge for the Meangirls who eat their lunches in the cubicle, the toilet really is an integral part of our lives. We visit it every day without fail, it never complains, it’s always happy to accept our deposits – so really, if people dropped their kids off in your pool every day, and you got sat on by several different backsides, great and small, in our opinion, you’re worth a mention.
Our bowel movements are very important to us, and after close observation, we have noted that they are rather attached to our emotions. We are very open about body function, in fact poos, flatulence and toilet talk are a frequent and amusing topics we often discuss in depth. It then occurred to us that toilet use while travelling could be an adventure in itself, and therefore we couldn’t help but dedicate an entire entry to the subject – hence “Tale of the Travelling Turds”. So watch this space, as it will gradually get filled with random, hilarious encounters in overseas lavatory facilities.
We have a few concerns, and we’d like to share them with you. Everyone likes their own toilet, it’s no secret. What if overseas toilet paper is too scratchy? Frankly we proffer Kleenex. If we have to start wiping with leaves, we will be sure to select the softest option available to us, and make recommendations to you all, should you ever be in a paperless situation.
Stay tuned for the trials and tribulations of the Travelling Turds. Rice bubbles snap crackle and pop, but we splish, splash, plop.
So until next time, Ploppers,
Say hi to your dad for us,
Love Ela & Kate xx
Perhaps for the final time, before we depart, we would like to impart on you, the art of the fart, as we hold it close, and dear to our heart. So without further ado, we bring you our first P.M.S (a Pretty Meaningful Session) and introduce you to a brand stinking new section of our blog; in this edition, a place to discuss all things to do with the bog.
We all, yes, that includes you - hold a certain soft spot for the toilet. It bears witness to, and marks many of life’s 1st’s –these moments are equally memorable achievements, as they are memories we’d rather forget :p It validates you as a competent and civilised human being from our first successful use of the toilet while toilet training, and compromises our dignity with our first morning after a big night – over the years, the toilet has been there for us in more ways than we care to acknowledge. From drunken conversations with randoms, to personal moments with a friend, a refuge for the Meangirls who eat their lunches in the cubicle, the toilet really is an integral part of our lives. We visit it every day without fail, it never complains, it’s always happy to accept our deposits – so really, if people dropped their kids off in your pool every day, and you got sat on by several different backsides, great and small, in our opinion, you’re worth a mention.
Our bowel movements are very important to us, and after close observation, we have noted that they are rather attached to our emotions. We are very open about body function, in fact poos, flatulence and toilet talk are a frequent and amusing topics we often discuss in depth. It then occurred to us that toilet use while travelling could be an adventure in itself, and therefore we couldn’t help but dedicate an entire entry to the subject – hence “Tale of the Travelling Turds”. So watch this space, as it will gradually get filled with random, hilarious encounters in overseas lavatory facilities.
We have a few concerns, and we’d like to share them with you. Everyone likes their own toilet, it’s no secret. What if overseas toilet paper is too scratchy? Frankly we proffer Kleenex. If we have to start wiping with leaves, we will be sure to select the softest option available to us, and make recommendations to you all, should you ever be in a paperless situation.
Stay tuned for the trials and tribulations of the Travelling Turds. Rice bubbles snap crackle and pop, but we splish, splash, plop.
So until next time, Ploppers,
Say hi to your dad for us,
Love Ela & Kate xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
