USA - The Final Way.

After hitting the road again, we high-tailed it back to Seattle to jet on over to the windy city - Chicago. I think we both had high expectations as Chicago is world renown for its architecture, which i guess is Edwina's thing... and also pizza, which happens to be one of my things!

Chicago really didn't disappoint as we had more than enough time to settle in and explore the city as we were staying right in the middle in an area known as "the loop" (train line style). One of the highlights, not just in Chicago... or on the trip... BUT IN MY LIFE, had to be the architectural Segway tour. Yes people... a segway! Do yourself a favour and go out.. find one, hire one, steal one, I don't care how you get it just ride it! It was super fun and an amazing way to check out a city without using your legs like a weak human. I have no idea how these things aren't everywhere (although I have seen many police forces in the states and even Europe using them...)

Anyways, we also managed to squeeze in some famous Chicago deep dish style pizza at Uno Pizza (thanks for the hot tip Claire!) which is apparently where the style began. These things are huge and delicious. We also spent some time check out Millenium park which contains heaps of amazing art and sculptures, including the famous "bean" and "faces of chicago" (two huge walls in a water park that project faces of over 150 people of Chicago. Random but awesome). We also checked out the view from the top of the Sears tower and the John Hancock building, and spent some time on the pier.

From Chicago we made the cross country leap all the way to the nation's capital, Washington DC. We only had two full days to explore so iwe pounded the pavement. The town is jam packed with museums so it was hard to pick our battles. For once, I won and we got to go to the Spy Museum and live out my dreams of being Agent Spence... James Spence. Next stop after a friend's recommendation was the Newseum. Hands down - Best museum ever! The little journalist inside of me went wild with all the amazing exhibitions including; National Geo's Photo's of the Year, 9/11, Katerina, Media around the world, Sports and countless others. This place was so big and amazing we had to come back the next day to see more! Once all the museums shut-up-shop, we hit the "Mall" and checked out all the monuments, Capital, Library of Congress and White House. Those American's sure know how to build a grand structure.

At night we got to squeeze in some live music and check out one of Edwina's faves - Friendly Fires. Flashbacks to Splendour 09 in-sued, the weekend we met. sigh.  *cue corny music*. Luck would have it Edwina's friend Jolly was also in DC at the time so we got to catch up for an old fashioned Ethiopian dinner and drinks. As always, lovely to catch up with a friendly face in a foreign land.

Our next destination was one I had been dreaming about since I was old enough to stay up and watch Carrie and the Girls... NEW YORK CITY. Okay... maybe that wasn't the reason, but I was tots defs pumped for the NYC. We started our trip in the much underrated, although now super hip, Brooklyn. We were very lucky to meet an awesome couple from Brooklyn on our Inca Trail trip who were silly enough to offer us a place to stay if we were ever in town. Unlucky for them, I have an amazing memory and little shame, so pounced on that offer like a spider monkey. Vanessa and Johnny were AMAZING hosts and managed to squeeze so much into our short stay with them. After our time in Vancouver, it was lovely again to have a nice home to relax in. We checked out the super hip Williamsburg (where we couldn't move without knocking over a dozen hipsters on fixie bikes),  corny Coney Island, beautiful Prospect Park and amazing Brownstone buildings. Hands down there were two highlights. #1 our first celeb spotting - Anne Hathaway and more importantly #2 Johnny and I finishing our first eating challenge! It was suprisingly easy, well for Johnny at least, and we both earned our photo on the wall of fame (check out Facebook for photo montage of events.. its awesome). It was sad to leave the lovely "Remington nest" and I hope our paths cross again soon.

It was time to plunge deep into the heart of NYC, Manhattan. We set up shop if the fabulously hip and combustibly gay hub of the Meatpacking district. Named after all the former abattoirs, not the current residents. Our hotel was appropriately "nautical themed" which was code for tiny but nice. Anywho's, it was a fantastic location for us to start exploring the most famous city in the world. We started local and checked out the Meatpacking and surrounding areas. Whilst wondering around a night we had our celeb spot #2.... non other than ANNE HATHAWAY. Yes... again. By this stage I'm pretty sure she's taken a liking to me and has begun stalking me. Can't blame her really.

The next day we got up early and made the trek over to New Jersey to avoid the lines and hit up the big lady herself, the Statue of Liberty. The ferry ride over stopped at Ellis Island, the famous immigration centre, where we stopped and checked out the museum. Jumping back on board the ferry we landed on Liberty island and got our tourist on. Luckily we had planned ahead and pre-booked tickets to the viewing platform so we got amazing views over the Hudson river to Manhattan. We then high-tailed it away from the swarming crowds and ferried back to Battery Park. Lucky again for us, Edwina had another friend (wow she is popular!), Sian, who was now living in Manhattan near Tribeca. We crashed that couch like nobodies business! That night Sian took us to famous Shake Shack - her pick for the best burgers in town. True to form, they were delicious. The next day we explored Sian's local area including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Financial District where we eventually found the famous Bull.  Edwina managed to grab him by the horns and we both gave his balls a good polish. From here we also checked out Ground Zero, which is still undergoing construction for the 9/11 memorial. We also discovered the shopping mecca that is Century 21. Discounts galore on all your favourite brands... or so they tell me.

The next day we set off early again and explored only part of the huge Central Park, the Guggenheim, the United Nations and the shopping on Fifth Avenue. Hello Tiffiany's ladies! By night we took in the Broadway show experience and saw The Lion King, which was pretty cool. We then hit the bright lights of Times Square and climbed on over to the Empire State Building at midnight. Yes, there was still a half hour line at this time, crazy.

After an amazing and hectic week in the Big Apple we bused ourselves north to Boston. After the hustle and bustle of NYC, it was nice to slow the pace down and explore a little slower. On our first night we joined the old hostel pub crawl and of course managed to make friends with the Aussies and adopted the lovely Sarah into our posse. It is always nice to meet new people to party with and luckily she was a big sports fan as it was finals in the NBA and NHL - Go Mavs! To top off a sports filled weekend, we FINALLY managed to attend a baseball game, and watched the Boston Redsoxs. Fenway Park (their home field) is one of the most famous in all of baseball and the city of Boston is completely obsessed with the team. It was an amazing atmosphere as we both donned our team hats and downed hotdogs and popcorn. Our final day in Boston we spent exploring Harvard and finished with dinner with Sarah and a hockey match (on Tv sadly).

From Boston we again crossed the great white boarder and entered Montreal where we tested our French (or lack there of), checked out the street parties in town for the Formula One, explored the old town and saw another of Edwina's fave bands live - Yeasayer.

We then headed west to Toronto for a super quick stop before returning to NYC for our flight to Europe. So it is that I write this blog as I stare out the window to the beautiful French Riveria. But those stories dearest reader will have to wait until next time. Au Revoir!

Bright Lights, High Rollin', Fancy Free, Coffee lovin' and the Great White North

Please place your hand on the scanner... now your other hand... now look into the camera. Flash. Welcome to America, land of the free and home of the friendly welcome! I guess it was a blessing we had such a long delay in Mexico so we arrived at LAX late at night and had a relatively quick journey through the infamous US customers.

For those who haven't felt the buzz of LA and Hollywood, it quickly wares off. Don't let the crack addicts and wannabe celebs fool you, from day one the city was pretty busy promoting itself as "the place to be". Even though this turned out to be a bit of old Hollywood smoke and mirrors, we did check out some cool things (hello Playboy mansion... gate). The city is one giant highway/ parking lot, so us poor vehicle-less bums had to rough it on the bad public transport. Well enough of my whinging... there were highlights including; the people/freak watching at Venice and Santa Monica beaches, the Getty Centre and of course DISNEYLAND!! We lived every child (and a lot of adults) dreams and had a fun filled day visiting Mini and Mickey, riding Space Mountain and going wild on Dumbo and in the Tea Cups. Fun fun fun!!

After about five days in LA we jumped the first bus full of crazies and headed into the desert to a little place known as LAS VEGAS!! In summary, Vegas is the adults equivalent of Disneyland with gambling, booze and entertainment on every seedy corner. We took this rare opportunity to live like rock stars and stayed in a nice hotel, had an amazing limo ride and then helicopter trip out to the grand canyon and front row seats to Cirque du Soleil (no magic mushrooms unfortunately) Edwina ensured we squeezed in some outlet shopping and I ensured we squeezed in some rockin' out with a giant guitar-shaped cups filled with frozen cocktails. (Thank you Boca you dirty Brazilian for the heads up!) Both of us being very amateur gamblers kept it really low key but managed to come up a little on top. After our time in vegas I think we both started planning our own separate return visits. Start saving boys!!

Riding high on the fun of Vegas we jumped on board a plane and hit the free lovin' San Fransico. Everyone who has been to San Fran are mostly in agreement that it is one hell of a town! It has turned out to be a highlight of our USA trip. We were blessed with amazing fog free weather so hit the great outdoors and rode across the golden gate and strolled the parks, explored Chinatown and downtown and did a night time tour of Alcatraz. Our hostel was perfectly located so we could walk from the piers to Chinatown to downtown without much fuss. The city radiates a welcoming, very liberal and liveable vibe. A+

Next stop would be the very sunny (not) capital of coffee (Starbucks at least) Seattle. We had mostly okay weather though and checked out the pike place markets (fish throwing included) and the amazing interactive music museum which had a fascinating Nirvana and punk exhibition. I managed to bribe Edwina into also visiting the Boeing factory just outside of town which has the largest (in volume) building in the WOLRD!! Yep... it was pretty big. Super interesting tour if you are into anything mechanical/ aviation related. Even if that isn't your thing, we found just watching how this amazing massive building worked was pretty damn cool. Seattle proved to be a hub of awesome tours which included the "underground tour" which meant we ventured under the streets of Seattle and could see the remains of the "old town" from before the city was raised to address massive flooding issues. Pretty odd concept but cool.

It was time to chalk up another country on the scoreboard as we crossed over from Seattle to Vancouver and the Great White North that is Canada. Often voted one of the most liveable cities in the world, it was hard to argue during our stay. We were lucky enough to spend the time with Edwina's friend from college Sarah "Fitz" and her boyfriend John "John". (sorry no nickname for you yet!) It was soooo amazing to be staying in a proper house with proper people we (well Edwina) knew. They were the definitive hostesses with the most-ess-es and showed us the best bits of Vancouver life. I think Fitz may secretly work for the Vancouver Tourism as she did not lead us a stray the whole time. We ate and drank ourselves silly, strolled the city and local parks/ nature areas and even managed to watch the Cunnucks win a ice hockey game. (from the pub - tickets way too expensive!) They were kind enough to even include us in their weekly pub trivia team and I tried hard to live up to the massive hype Fitz had given me. Sadly we didn't go that well... no thanks to Edwina... but it capped off an amazing visit.

It was sad to leave the comfort of a good air mattress and even better company, but "thems the breaks" of the globe trotting superstars.

Mexican Madness

After our fast paced adventures in South America, Edwina and I were both looking forward to setting a slower pace to regain our energies. 

We arrived in Mexico city and soon settled into our hostel in the historical district. Mexico city is freakishly large so we barely scratched the surface in our few days there. We did manage to sneak in some awesome Mexican wrestling (yes i did buy a mask and it will stay with me for the trip! ( and possibly even forever)), a visit to the mayan pyramids and a look around downtown. 

I even managed to find some time for some much needed male grooming and received my first old school barber style shave and haircut. After working on my beard for almost 7 weeks, the transformation was pretty scary. Post shave I think Edwina felt like she was borderline pedophile as I haven't been that smooth since I was 10!! 

We soon got itchy and packed up shop and jetted off to the beautiful Caribbean coast. Our first stop was the beautiful and quiet Tulum where we spent four nights relaxing in our beach shack and working on my brown bear'ness (tan). It was amazing to chill out right on the water and recharge the batteries. Of course no beach retreat would be complete without numerous 2 for 1 cocktails… and yes… we both like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain (well sun really). Our little bargain accommodation even had a bar complete with wooden swings. I'm sure Australian workplace health and safety would have a field day with drunks and swings... fools.

From Tulum we headed north to the holiday mecca Playa del Carmen. Originally only expecting to stay four nights, we had such a good time we ended up staying twice that. The main street is located parallel to the beach and we spent our days lazing on lounges slamming buckets of beer (6 for $9!!). Well okay I stuck to the beer while Edwina worked on her love of cocktails. I'd say the love for them has far surpassed her love for me now. Sad face.

It was in Playa I received Edwina's awesome Christmas present and went scuba diving. I enjoyed the first day so much I signed on and two days later received my open water certification. It was an amazing few days and I loved every minute of the dives. I now have my heart set on getting my advanced certificate so I can go even deeper and see even more!

It was with sad hearts we eventually left Playa for the big smoke of Cancun. We had heard very mixed reports on the place so we were slightly dubious. By a stroke of good fortune we had booked ourselves into the best hostel in Mexico! The place was amazing with breakfast and dinner included, cooked for us daily (all for the low price of $20 a night), coming with an amazing crew of people and staff. I rarely share hostel stories, but this place was very special. 

Our first night in town the hostel crew got together and hit the famous Coco Bongos.This mega club/ show was complete with open bar and packed with thousands of party goers. It was a wild night as we were treated to circus performances, movie, musical and dance acts and a lot of dance floor domination. Of course I was the first to show the hot ladies dancing on the bar what-is-what and busted out some of the old favourites. No night at Coco's would be complete without a midget in a The Mask outfit free pouring tequila from the bar. Only in Cancun baby!!!!

During our days we visited the famous ruins Chicken-pizza (sic), went swimming in a beautiful fresh water cenote and hit up the beach club.

I enjoyed my first boys night out in over 9 weeks and for our last night we both celebrated at a killer pool party. Very loose with the hostel crew getting wet 'n' wild. The mexicans really know how to do an open bar with bottles of every spirit placed on your own tables and a 'mix your own' rule applying. Lucky party James likes how bartender James mixes his drinks. No party would be complete without a drunken injury (hope you are healing up Sweden #2 - Matilda!). Even though we didn't get to live it up in the expensive resorts, the great hostel and awesome crew (Yes… even dirty Brazil) really turned Cancun into a surprising highlight. Check our Edwina's Facebook for even more awesome Mexican photos!

It was with very sore heads that these two brown bears farewelled their new chicos and migrated north to the bright lights and bimbos of Los Angeles and the US of A. Until next time readers, stay sexy.

Ain't no mountain high enough, Ain't no valley low enough, Ain't no river wide enough, To keep me from loving PERU!

After spending every waking moment together over the last few weeks, it was a welcome addition to have another join our ranks, even if she is a "filthy kiwi". 

Edwina's uni buddy Rachel joined us in Cusco (eventually after we lost her to the wonders of technology). Together we settled into our awesome new hostel and enjoyed the sites of old Cusco town. Highlights included the main square area, eating guinea pig and flexing our haggling muscles in the worlds biggest discount camping supply purchase-a-thon. After all this we were geared up, ponchos and head torches included, for the reason we were there…. the Inca trail.

Mountain High...

After the first of many way too early mornings, we were bused off to the starting marker of the famous inca trail. After a quick team photo (the first of many), we set off for "the easy day" of trekking. Although not too challenging, there were definitely a few hills that left the big fella (that would be me!) breathing in a few big ones. The scenery on day one as we worked our way through the sacred valley would only wet the whistle for what lay ahead.

The first big surprise we received, and one that would be repeated throughout the trip, was the amazing food spread laid out for lunch. Our two chefs (yes.. trained one WHOLE year a culinary school in Cusco) consistently whipped up a three course feasts. The amazing thing is that everything we ate, everything we sat on and in, had to be carried up the trail by the dedicated team of porters. These guys are machines. When on day two I saw them steaming up and actually RUNNING down the mountains carrying 20kg's, you quickly appreciate their skills.

So we eventually made camp in the afternoon and settled in for a early night ahead of the "challenging day".

Okay… now this next bit of the story may be hard for some of you to believe. I know you often look at me and two words usually come to mind, "Super Athlete". Unfortunately on day two I must of been slightly out of form or maybe had a niggling injury… because it was definitely a challenging day! After waking early, we spend the first 5 hours of the day climbing up a mountain…. no flats… straight up for 5 hours. After employing a system of step step step… die… revive…rest… rest… rest… step step step, I eventually made it to the top. Luckily we could set our own pace so we created our own little climbing teams and all got there in the end. The feeling of making it to the top was amazing, and looking back down the valley and mountains we had conquered gave us all a great sense of accomplishment. 

Valley low....

As a reward we then had a two hour decent down the other side of the mountain, which on jelly legs became a bit of a balancing act. We all safely made it to camp and enjoyed the afternoon off resting our aching legs.

Day three, the "beautiful day", was by far my favourite. I think I must of recovered from my niggling "hammy strain" that was slowing me the day before… *cough*… and we powered up and down the path. Unfortunately Kiwi Rach had hit a bit of altitude sickness, her reward for being such a fit and fast young lady the day before. As I experienced earlier in the trip, a few "colourful discussions" were had along the path… in the bush… behind a rock… off the edge of a cliff…. and so on. She did show great determination… for a kiwi… and tramped on (that one's for you Rach) throughout the day. There were some amazing ruins and scenery on the third day, with the highlight being the decent to camp and the final inca terrace ruins. As they emerged from the clouds it was pretty amazing. The Korean tourists who happened to arrive just after us were also amazed.. by the rainbow that appeared. Each to their own I guess!

After reaching camp, heartbreak soon set in. After being promised a bar with countless beers by our loyal guide Franky, disaster struck. THE BAR WAS CLOSED! The Peruvian government in all their wisdom had closed the bar two days earlier…. yes… two days. The mood in the group sank as thirsty trekkers searched for any remaining mouth wash, vanilla essence or cough syrup, but the search was hopeless. We would remain sober… and devastated.

With aching bodies we rose super early on Day Four to make the final push towards Machu Picchu. After joining the other treks in the lineup at the park entrance, at 5.30am the doors opened and we were away. After only an hour or so we reached the sun gate and viewed our goal for the first time. The excitement in the group was high and countless photos were taken. After eventually ticking all the photo boxes including, general scenery, nice couple photo, threesome photo with Rach, jumping photo with the three of us, a few sleepy joe photos and even a sleepy joey (Edwina) photo, we began the final climb down into Machu Picchu.

After a quick rest we had a really interesting tour of the ruins with Franky, and then some free time to wonder around. We then left the ruins and bused into town for a final team lunch, a quick dip in the hot springs and a few sneaky pisco sours before we boarded our train back to Cusco.

Rachel the crazy kiwi stayed on an extra day to climb another mountain or something equally as craze,y and rejoined us in Cuzco the following night. To celebrate our completion of the trek, Edwina and I treated ourselves to several of Cuzco's cheap massages, $5 for an hour - no happy endings, and generally chilled out. 

River wide...

When Rach rejoined us we spent a day doing some white water rafting in the FREEZING and fast flowing rivers surrounding town. Cool fun.

From Cusco we bused down to Lake Tititcaca and spend the day sailing around visiting villages that are on floating islands made out of reeds. Slightly smelly and kinda boring, but interesting in parts. 

From here we farewelled Rach as she returned to home via Cusco and B.A. We then kept the wheels in motion and headed north to Arequipa.

The second biggest city in Peru was a little gem. Lovely architecture and friendly vibe lead to a few good days of exploring. From here we headed further north to Peru's capital, Lima. Like most capital cities Lima was … big. We stayed in the "cool" section of Miraflores and once again put on our walking shoes to hit the town running (okay… more like walking).

Situated right on the Pacific ocean, the city had some interesting little areas. It is known as the food capital of latin america (apparently), so we ate fairly well. Our hostel was centrally located so we could wonder pretty freely all day and check out the downtown, beachside and Miraflores areas. 

After what had been a VERY action packed 6+ weeks, we finally kissed goodbye our new lover South America, and began our new dirty travelling affair. Next destination - Mex-i-co! 

Living the high life in Bolivia

Sorry for the delay in this country update but Bolivian wifi isn't rocking my socks... anyways here we go. Apologies for the MASSIVENESS of the blog but we have been busy little Bolivian beavers.

After eventually getting a flight out of Sao Paulo in Brazil we arrived in Santa Cruz to begin our bargain basic Bolivian.. adventures (damn.. ran out of B's). Hardly the sexiest place on earth we quickly organised a bus south to Sucre. Usually I won't bore you with transport stories, but this bus had to be one of the worst in history. Cramped in with the locals and smells you can't describe without a M15+ warning, we sure had an interesting night.

We arrived in Sucre and explored the city and rested up in a nice cheap hotel. The highlight of our short time here was our visit to the local quary which has hundreds of dinosaur tracks measuring up to 80cm. We could only view it from far away as the wall was falling down, but was still very cool to see and to learn more about how the land was created.

We then continued our travels further south and stopped in Potosi, the World's highest city at 4600 metres above sea level. Ignoring all sensible advice we spent our short time there trekking up to town centre and walking around the sights and eating lunch. The city is famous for its Silver mine which back in the day provided millions to Spain.

Those familiar with altitude sickness would be aware it's not a good idea to exercise or eat a lot when acclimatising. I learnt this the hard way and enjoyed some tactical liquid discussions out of our moving bus on our way out of town. Lesson learnt people!

Anyways, we eventually arrived in the southern Bolivian town of Uyuni to visit the famous salares (salt flats). We sorted ourselves out with a three day tour and set off. It was an amazing few days and the pictures hardly capture the natural beauty of the region. Highlights included...

Playing around in the train graveyard...

Visiting a hotel made completely of salt...

Getting our salt flat and funny photos on...

walked inside a 5000 metre high semi active volcano and saw some amazing mountains...

From Uyuni and the salt flats we headed north to Bolivia's capital La Paz. The city lies within a deep valley with the poorer suburbs towards the top. Once settled into our hostel (Loki - awesome times) we quickly discovered a good friend Tim had broken his ankle mountain biking and was in hospital. It worked out well for me as it gave me a chance to see a familiar face from home and swap S.A stories. The scary thing was Tim hurt himself doing the famous Death Road bike ride which was to be a highlight of our visit to La Paz. 

With some new found nerves (thanks Tim!) we set off to test our two wheel chops. I am glad to report Edwina and I escaped without a scratch (well Edwina did have a couple of stacks but nothing serious). Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so we could barely see the amazing scenery. On the plus side we also couldn't see the sheer cliff drop from the unsealed road with no railings... yep they don't call it the "worlds deadliest road" for nothing. Check out some sweet pics of us ripping it up...

After our adrenaline rush and partying in La Paz it was time to blow the lid on Bolivia and prowl on over to Peru, the Inca trail and meeting up with Edwina's uni buddy Rachel. You'll have to stay tuned to see if we survive! Until next time... peace from Peru.

Dancing in the streets... and the rain.

Unfortunately our trip to Rio has been slightly dampened by the almost continuous bad weather. In a city bursting with beaches, beautiful views and street parties, it was hardly the place to spend much time inside. Of course this wasn't going to stop us from enjoying the craziness of Rio during Carnival. 

During Carnival the city turns into one giant party with countless street parties, the Samba school parades at the Sambadrome and general drunken' adventures. The locals really take this seriously and the city is overflowing with Brazilians dressed up and on the drink. The streets, metro and buses are ringing with Samba music and the cries of locals singing! 

We met up with some friends from Sydney and danced our butts off at a local street party in Copacabana. To see how the experts did it we then watched the finals of the Samba school parades. It was simply amazing! The time, effort, skill, money and passion the people put into their parade is unbelievable. Unfortunately photos hardly do the night justice. 

The rest of our week has been spent looking at the sights including Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) in less than amazing weather. We also visited numerous markets, Santa Teresa, Centro and the beach areas of Copacabana and Ipanema. 

For our final night out we once again returned to party central Lapa and busted some moves with the locals at a Samba club! They were kind enough to teach us some of the sexy dance moves and of course we returned the favour (well me at least... no surprises there!) 

After getting at least slightly comfortable with Spanish, it has been a whole new fun game understanding Brazilian Portuguese. Even the words that are spelt the same are pronounced completely different! Crazy. Luckily I've got such a winning smile and don't mind playing the lucky dip menu game. Mostly I end up with meat with rice and beans, it usually tastes pretty good!

From here we head south to Sao Paulo in the hopes we can somehow get across into Bolivia to continue the South American fun and games.