I loved San Fran before we even got here. Any city that requires you drive through a cloud to get to it was always going to inspire a degree of enthusiasm that other cities couldn't.
Yesterday we did a quick look around, some shopping and walked up a massive hill. Unfortunately my stay here has been consumed by my need to get my articles docs signed before I end up in South America trying to explain things in Non-Spanish.
This morning I found myself at the Australian consulate where the woman who told me she could witness my documents, actually couldn't and that the Australian Consul was on vacation. She helpfully suggested I take a commuter flight to LA to get it done there. OR when I got to South America to go to Bueanos Aires and the consulate there. Which is actually on the OPPOSITE side of the continent to Quito which is where I head at 6:10am on Friday morning.
So - then I went to a Public Notary that was chosen purely on the basis that it was the closest to my hotel. Which is how I found myself sitting in a hardware store with Haj, the Notary who kept calling me 'Miss Lady', talking about good karma and saying that I had lovely Irish eyes. Even though I had explained that I was, in fact, Australian. He was very sweet - but it is a bit surreal that this lovely, strange old man whose career is largely in cutting keys actually held the key to my future admittance.
I love the vibe of San Fran. It's casual, relaxed, cool. The city is beautiful.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Agreeing With Death Cab
LA.
I don't know. I think it's funny that there are so many talented, wealthy, artistic people here but nothing about this city seems to say class or culture. There are no trees. They park their cars on the beach. The shopping isn't fun. Smog abounds. The driving is awful.
I had an okay time in LA. Maybe I was prejudiced from the outset. And I've been having a lot of flight/tour/legal practice board issues that somewhat culminated in LA. But they continued to San Fran and I love it here.
George Clooney has a nice hedge. But the stars' houses are meh.
So, to sum it up: I don't know why you'd want to live here.
I don't know. I think it's funny that there are so many talented, wealthy, artistic people here but nothing about this city seems to say class or culture. There are no trees. They park their cars on the beach. The shopping isn't fun. Smog abounds. The driving is awful.
I had an okay time in LA. Maybe I was prejudiced from the outset. And I've been having a lot of flight/tour/legal practice board issues that somewhat culminated in LA. But they continued to San Fran and I love it here.
George Clooney has a nice hedge. But the stars' houses are meh.
So, to sum it up: I don't know why you'd want to live here.
Viva Las Vegas
Before we get to Vegas I would liketo detour to our National Parks Day where, in the space of a day, we saw the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest (forest being a misnomer. This was the desert. There were no trees and petrified refers to old bits of wood lying about) and the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was quite large. Very large. But because it's so big and it was way too hot to consider going down into it. Ultimately it really felt inaccessible and surreal. And because I havea mild fear of heights I spent most of my time trying to go to the edge without actually going to the edge. All photos have me looking vaguely petrified. Sarah did quite well considering she doesn't like nature.
Then we got to Williams where we stayed on the old Route 66 in a motel that invoked its name. It was old school. Less old school was the fake cowboy show that ran every night. Discovered that we'd been on the wrong time for almost 2 days because hte last time zone was a 2 hour change, not one. That was a bit weird.
Headed to Vegas the next day. Stayed at the Riviera which is where they shot the film 'Casino'. It was very old school. Went and saw 'Ka' which is a Cirque show. I don't think it needs to be said, but it was amazing. That was at the MGM Grand. We also went into a focus group for a TV show. In the feedback section I had no choice but to let them know I was very dsappointed with the blatant sexism, the perpetuation of the unattractive man/gorgeous woman syndrome and the fact that it was significantly worse than the BBC version of the same show, which I never really liked anyway. But I still got a half price Haagen Daas ice cream.
Had dinner at the Ballagio one night. Discovered that pokies aren't that much fun after a while. If you only play the penny ones, you never win much money and if you platy the dollar ones your money goes away too quickly. Minimum bet for most tables were $5 and I am a backpacker, so we mainly just wandered around looking nice until we got bored and went back to our lovely, but reasonably priced, hotel room.
Saw the Coke store. And another MMs world. Discovered the best hotels are the tackiest. Won a toy playing childrens games, which I preferred a lot more than the actual adult gambling. Sarah went on the New York New York roller coaster while I wn tokens on Deal or No Deal.
And that was Vegas. No partying. Very subdued. But it's definitely a cool place to hang out for a few days.
Then we got to Williams where we stayed on the old Route 66 in a motel that invoked its name. It was old school. Less old school was the fake cowboy show that ran every night. Discovered that we'd been on the wrong time for almost 2 days because hte last time zone was a 2 hour change, not one. That was a bit weird.
Headed to Vegas the next day. Stayed at the Riviera which is where they shot the film 'Casino'. It was very old school. Went and saw 'Ka' which is a Cirque show. I don't think it needs to be said, but it was amazing. That was at the MGM Grand. We also went into a focus group for a TV show. In the feedback section I had no choice but to let them know I was very dsappointed with the blatant sexism, the perpetuation of the unattractive man/gorgeous woman syndrome and the fact that it was significantly worse than the BBC version of the same show, which I never really liked anyway. But I still got a half price Haagen Daas ice cream.
Had dinner at the Ballagio one night. Discovered that pokies aren't that much fun after a while. If you only play the penny ones, you never win much money and if you platy the dollar ones your money goes away too quickly. Minimum bet for most tables were $5 and I am a backpacker, so we mainly just wandered around looking nice until we got bored and went back to our lovely, but reasonably priced, hotel room.
Saw the Coke store. And another MMs world. Discovered the best hotels are the tackiest. Won a toy playing childrens games, which I preferred a lot more than the actual adult gambling. Sarah went on the New York New York roller coaster while I wn tokens on Deal or No Deal.
And that was Vegas. No partying. Very subdued. But it's definitely a cool place to hang out for a few days.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
I don't know how far we drove today, but we changed time zones and we're 20 miles from the border of New Mexico/Arizona when we started in Texas.
Drove through El Paso which is nothing to write home about. There appeared to be a massive amount of shanties etc. Not very wealthy looking at all.
Alberquerque was fun, but I still can't spell it. Lots of turquoise. Everything looked very pink.
The strangest part of the driving is that there are such vast, open spaces that you can see the weather you are driving into. You can tell that you're about to drive into the mother of all storms, but you're on the highway so you keep going. And you drive for a while, and it becomes fine, but you can see lightning way off in the distance to the side of you.
The landscape is beautiful, exactly like it was in every western ever made. Except, perhaps, hte Sergio Leone westerns that were shot in Europe.
We're driving along lots of parts of the old Route 66 now, which I am, of course, greeting with some delight. We are staying the night in Gallup which is crazy. These towns are small/big/weird and I am not entirely sure how anyone lives here full time. It would breed a totally different mentality.
Drove through El Paso which is nothing to write home about. There appeared to be a massive amount of shanties etc. Not very wealthy looking at all.
Alberquerque was fun, but I still can't spell it. Lots of turquoise. Everything looked very pink.
The strangest part of the driving is that there are such vast, open spaces that you can see the weather you are driving into. You can tell that you're about to drive into the mother of all storms, but you're on the highway so you keep going. And you drive for a while, and it becomes fine, but you can see lightning way off in the distance to the side of you.
The landscape is beautiful, exactly like it was in every western ever made. Except, perhaps, hte Sergio Leone westerns that were shot in Europe.
We're driving along lots of parts of the old Route 66 now, which I am, of course, greeting with some delight. We are staying the night in Gallup which is crazy. These towns are small/big/weird and I am not entirely sure how anyone lives here full time. It would breed a totally different mentality.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Driving in the USofA
When we were driving in Illinois I was internally composing a letter to the President to complain about the fact that the speed limit was 65mph and it was taking forever to get anywhere. Less than 100kmh is prohibitively slow in my opinion.
Then, when we crossed the border into Missipssippi (was it Missipssippi? Possibly it was Missouri, but we definitely went through Arkansas briefly) the speed limit was 70mph which was more reasonable, and made me realise that I would have to address the letter to the Governor of Illinois who was clearly holding his people back. This was not a national issue.
Now we're in Texas, the speed limit is 80mph. That's almost 130kmh. Oh yeah. But I promise I am driving very responsibly. And I am still bollocks at parking.
Other things:
The Texas government sits for 5 months and then goes on break for 18 months.
In the words of the tour guide lady 'who needs more laws?'
Then, when we crossed the border into Missipssippi (was it Missipssippi? Possibly it was Missouri, but we definitely went through Arkansas briefly) the speed limit was 70mph which was more reasonable, and made me realise that I would have to address the letter to the Governor of Illinois who was clearly holding his people back. This was not a national issue.
Now we're in Texas, the speed limit is 80mph. That's almost 130kmh. Oh yeah. But I promise I am driving very responsibly. And I am still bollocks at parking.
Other things:
The Texas government sits for 5 months and then goes on break for 18 months.
In the words of the tour guide lady 'who needs more laws?'
Van Horn, Texas
We're in a place called Van Horn which has a population of about 2000 and there are 50 places to sleep and only 2 restaurants.
We went for dinner at a place called Chuy's (pronounced Chewys, which I may have known had I attended more Spanish classes) where we met a couple from Corpus Christi who confirmed that, yes we were headed in the right direction. They had 4 Chiuanas and were heading to a Rod Stewart concert. She had a dog called Maggie May. I am almost sick of Mexican food.
Then we drove past a place on the main drag where a man made paintings of other paintings and lived amongst his art. This is him:http://www.vangoghtx.com/
He was featured in a book called 'Faces of Texas' or somesuch and his store was totally crazy. Heaps of books and canvases were stacked all over the place. I wish I could upload the pictures effectively becaues the place was nuts. There are so many parts of Texas that a truly, truly eccentric.
When we stopped for lunch today, it was like walking into a movie. A Mexican restaurant with plastic tables and signs that said 'No Checks Accepted If You're Not Local' and a sea of eyes that quickly identified us as tourists.
Anyway, today we found a 'double gulp' which was 2Litres of soft drink for $1.50 and after sharing it with Sarah I spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out which rest stops had bathrooms.
We went for dinner at a place called Chuy's (pronounced Chewys, which I may have known had I attended more Spanish classes) where we met a couple from Corpus Christi who confirmed that, yes we were headed in the right direction. They had 4 Chiuanas and were heading to a Rod Stewart concert. She had a dog called Maggie May. I am almost sick of Mexican food.
Then we drove past a place on the main drag where a man made paintings of other paintings and lived amongst his art. This is him:http://www.vangoghtx.com/
He was featured in a book called 'Faces of Texas' or somesuch and his store was totally crazy. Heaps of books and canvases were stacked all over the place. I wish I could upload the pictures effectively becaues the place was nuts. There are so many parts of Texas that a truly, truly eccentric.
When we stopped for lunch today, it was like walking into a movie. A Mexican restaurant with plastic tables and signs that said 'No Checks Accepted If You're Not Local' and a sea of eyes that quickly identified us as tourists.
Anyway, today we found a 'double gulp' which was 2Litres of soft drink for $1.50 and after sharing it with Sarah I spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out which rest stops had bathrooms.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Everything is Bigger In Texas
We're in Austin and we've just been to see a play called 'I Google Myself'. Actually, it was called 'i google myself'. Anyway, what promised to be a very interesting premise later turned into a three man play where everyone got:
a) beaten up, by each other; and
b) turned out to be gay. And the gay porn star ends up in a wheelchair. And then tries to seduce the stalker man who he avoided for the whole rest of the play.
Sorry if I ruined that for anybody. Community theatre cracks me up. It was worth going, but jeez louise, the ending was ludicrous. Kind've like the script you'd write if you were 10 years old and trying to tie up all the loose ends while giving the audience some romance. Weid as it was.
Then we went to a restaurant where the waitress asked us if:
a) we had facebook in Australia; and
b) if we had onions in Australia.
Sarah laughed, while I tried to bridge the cultural divide by emphasising the similarities between Western Australia and Texas. I think it worked. She told us to go and look at the bats tomorrow night. Which I think we will do.
It's raining here because the hurricane has sent the wether this was. (Hurricane Dolly, which we were trying to avoid but it found us anyway).
I have become obsessed with a show called 'Shear Genius', the premise of which is too embarassing to recount here. But I discovered it while staying in my new favourite roadside hotel chain - the 'Days Inn'. I was most disappointed the other day when we had to resort to a Best Western, I can tell you.
The Capitol Building here is bigger than the one in Washington, but it is pink because it is made from granite instead of sandstone, granite being indigenous to Texas. See, travel broadens your horizons.
Basically we're in Austin to check out the arts scene (hence the community theatre) and the vintage stores. This is a crazy place. It doesn't feel like the rest of Texas and it's possible that a fair chunk of people here even vote for the Democratic Party. You don't get much crazier than that.
a) beaten up, by each other; and
b) turned out to be gay. And the gay porn star ends up in a wheelchair. And then tries to seduce the stalker man who he avoided for the whole rest of the play.
Sorry if I ruined that for anybody. Community theatre cracks me up. It was worth going, but jeez louise, the ending was ludicrous. Kind've like the script you'd write if you were 10 years old and trying to tie up all the loose ends while giving the audience some romance. Weid as it was.
Then we went to a restaurant where the waitress asked us if:
a) we had facebook in Australia; and
b) if we had onions in Australia.
Sarah laughed, while I tried to bridge the cultural divide by emphasising the similarities between Western Australia and Texas. I think it worked. She told us to go and look at the bats tomorrow night. Which I think we will do.
It's raining here because the hurricane has sent the wether this was. (Hurricane Dolly, which we were trying to avoid but it found us anyway).
I have become obsessed with a show called 'Shear Genius', the premise of which is too embarassing to recount here. But I discovered it while staying in my new favourite roadside hotel chain - the 'Days Inn'. I was most disappointed the other day when we had to resort to a Best Western, I can tell you.
The Capitol Building here is bigger than the one in Washington, but it is pink because it is made from granite instead of sandstone, granite being indigenous to Texas. See, travel broadens your horizons.
Basically we're in Austin to check out the arts scene (hence the community theatre) and the vintage stores. This is a crazy place. It doesn't feel like the rest of Texas and it's possible that a fair chunk of people here even vote for the Democratic Party. You don't get much crazier than that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
