(Still up in the air)
As you are probably already aware if you're reading this, Brett and Tovah (that's us) left the country in a flurry of mass media hype on January 25, 1997. Our travels have thus far taken us to locations as diverse and exotic as:
Ahhhhh... Los Angeles: Quaint and quirky crime capital of the West Coast. Not that we saw any of that during our sub-24-hour stopover... didn't see much at all actually thanks to the torrential downpour that met us :) Even the giant Hollywood sign was obscured from right across the gorge... Had some really nice SoCal/Mexican food there though, thanks to Colin and Tira. (Tira is Tovah's cousin, Colin is her Texan guitar-twanging, whiskey-drinkin', Willie Nelson-loving other half. Well he's not really like that, but he IS from Texas and he HAS released his first album. They're both more into wine than whiskey though.)
We were in Minnesota twice - before and after New York. The first time we arrived there, about the only words we could force through our blue, chapped lips were "f-f-fuck it's COLD". You have to admit, getting off a plane from Sydney (25'C) via Los Angeles (20'C) into the middle of a Minnesotan winter (-35'C) was a bit of a rude awakening. Once you get used to putting on 37 layers of goose down and polyfleece before you run breathlessly from house to heated car, it's OK...
The Minnesotans don't seem to mind, though. They're all real friendly, just like in Northern Exposure. These people actually go out and work 14 hour days in sub-arctic temperatures. Whenever it gets above -10 they run around in t-shirts commenting on how warm it is.
Oh yah, you bet-cha.
Go and rent Fargo for a more detailed examination of the Minnesotan accent.
Tovah's sister Leah and her family are real swell folks, Leah's farm is the cutest little house on the prairie you ever did see. All of her animals are very friendly and talkative - she has 5 cats, 3 dogs, a pig, a rabbit, 3 horses of her own and about 20 horses that belong to other people.
Many photos to come when I find a scanner, including some of the beadwork we did while cooped up inside the house cos we were too chicken to go out into the snow...
This is definitely where it's at. I have no clue what it is, but if you're looking for it, Manhattan's a good place to start. Rent is kinda expensive, but food and other goods are reasonably priced. The subway isn't as bad as people make out but it is pretty disgusting. We spent a couple of weeks in and out of crappy hotels, until New York Model Management let us stay in their flat on East Houston St... in a charming little area known locally as Alphabet City. The view was pretty cool though.
Manhattan is a very fast moving place. It's not a good idea to stand around gawking too much, you're likely to get trampled. There are people absolutely everywhere, it is pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to find a moment's peace outside of a sealed missile bunker. There are also a lot of homeless people in New York. Not to mention unforgettable characters like the woman we saw (but unfortunately never photographed) riding a giant penny-farthing tricycle in a tutu and bright pink blouse with an accordion and a full-size harp on the back.
Nothing ever closes and there are restaurants everywhere... not hard to find good food reasonably cheapish. We officially endorse the following establishments:
Of course, we did a bunch of touristy stuff too. BTW, the Statue of Liberty is actually in New Jersey, not New York.
Our entire experience of this place was thankfully limited to the airport. From all reports, the actual city is even worse. AVOID this airport like the plague if at all possible.
I am not kidding, it really is that bad.
The first thing that really struck me about Munich was how neat and organised everything seemed to be. This typically German trait makes for a very pretty city that is easy to get around in (thanks to the best public transport system I have encountered).
The second unusual thing I encountered was the Hirschgarten, Munich's largest beer garden.
We walked down a picturesque, leafy German street and into a huge park filled with hundreds of Bavarians (lederhosen optional but preferred) drinking enormous buckets (glass is not a sufficiently descriptive noun) of the local (excellent) amber ale, while the strains of accordion music and the smell of roast chickens and sausages filled the air. I think it was mostly due to the jet lag that I had to stop myself laughing out loud - it was just like the cliche, only a lot better.
I relaxed somewhat once I got one of the buckets into me, though.
Cyprus is kinda weird - on the one hand, it's a lot like Australia. You know, very sunny, laid-back, lots of beaches, tourists everywhere... On the other hand, it's pretty different. The Green Line (UN Buffer Zone) springs to mind as an immediate example. In some places, it's up to 1 km wide. In others, it's a chain-link fence. There's lots of army-type guys with machine guns hanging around too, just in case the Turks get restless and decide to invade a bit further.
Oh yeah, and then there's the occasional demonstration, complete with flags, motorbike gangs, petrol bombs and tear gas.
Otherwise, the Island of Aphrodite is a charming, peaceful little place. The food is to die for - I will probably never eat a dodgy greasy kebab shop kebab again after living on the real thing for two months...
We're staying in a flat above a pub, there's another pub across the street and they have jukebox wars all day and into the night. There are cute little puddytats everywhere, and also maniacs on motorscooters. Crossing the street is always interesting. The local beer is as good as (if not better than) Bavarian beer (!) and is much cheaper. It also has "Be Happy and Drink Well" written on it, which is a very friendly attitude to alcoholism, I think :)
Oh yeah... a funny thing happened to us the other day. We were detained by the police under suspicion of espionage :)) All very innocent, really, I assure you.... see what happened was this - we were driving around in the old 'hood taking video footage to show to Ma, and we happened to drive past a house with a high fence (wall?) and a heavily (i.e. sub-machine gun) armed guard on duty in a little box. "What embassy could that be?" we wondered. "Probably Iran or the U.A.E. or Libya or some such..." . ANYWAY, we thought nothing further of it and continued on our mission. Imagine our shock when, 40 minutes later, Andonis (for the record: jolly nice chap who, among other things, lent us his car), accompanied by a member of the local constabulary, intercepted us at the entrance to the municipal car park and explained that we had better come down to the station to answer a few questions. It turned out that the building was actually the Cypriot Ministry of Blowing Things Up (a.k.a. Police, Justice and Defense), and the guard thought we had a rocket launcher or something... I thought it was a bit funny when we looked back (to admire his great, big gun) and he wasn't there..... anyway, he got the licence plate number, Andonis was found, and we were Cyprus' Most Wanted for half an hour.... we eventually straightened the whole mess out without being executed by firing squad, so that was dandy. Apparently a whole bunch of Turkish spies were recently apprehended in Cyprus...... I ask you, do WE look Turkish? go figure......
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