Cheers. Where nobody knows my name.

Boston is a city of Universities. Some of the world’s biggest and best universities are situated here. Think Harvard, M.I.T, Boston University, University of Massachusetts, and the list goes on. Obviously, the grandest of those is Harvard and that is where I headed today. But before then, I was in desperate need of doing my laundry and I refuse to pay the prices the hotel would charge to get it sent out and cleaned so I walked over to Salem St in the North End to locate the Laundromat I had seen the day before. I found it easily enough and went in armed with quarters to wash almost everything I had brought with me. Unfortunately the washing and drying took a lot of time and before I knew it, I had spent about an hour and a half doing my laundry. The walk back to my hotel with my load took about 15 minutes, and once there I quickly changed and headed to the subway to get over to Cambridge to check out Harvard. The metro system in Boston is the best I have experienced since I have been in the US. It is SO easy to use. There is just four lines, each in a different colour that cover the whole area and only cost $2 a trip. At various points the lines intersect if you need to get somewhere different. For someone who can find these things confusing, I loved it. So I got onto my train and had a chuckle at the fact that they don’t have guards, the driver just sticks his head out the window, checks for people, then leaves. Also the fact that you can get onto the train using stairs to the driver just like a bus is weird. Anywhoo. After 10 minutes I had landed in Harvard Square. The population of Cambridge consists of 30% students, so that can indicate how huge Harvard is. It’s summer holidays for students at the moment so it’s a bit more quiet, but many tourists go to visit. I had a look in the Harvard Co-Op where you can source all your books, and I can tell you after looking through the selection, there is some hard core titles in there for the brain drains. No chick lit. There was also quite a few books containing successful Harvard essays for the future student. I walked away with a book, I had to buy a book at the Harvard book store, and then asked around for directions to the John Harvard’s Brew House for some lunch. By the looks of the place, I think it would be popular with students. They even brew their own Harvard beer. I grabbed a burger and went searching for the Harvard Natural History Museum. On the way to the museum I went to the Harvard store where you can literally buy absolutely anything imaginable with the Harvard logo on it. I guess when you pay $50K a year on tuition, you wear the name proudly!

I got to the Harvard History Museum in the Harvard ground and had a look around. It was interesting and the highlight for me was the Glass Flowers exhibit. It was just unbelievable. They had quite extensive collection of bugs and insects and taxidermy animals, including some Aussie locals, the koala and kangaroo. It wasn’t a huge museum, but if you like your Natural History museums, check it out. Afterwards I went to look at Harvard Yard. Harvard Yard is just the central area of the university grounds. The buildings are beautiful and the grounds are so well kept. It made Mac Uni look pretty shabby. There were many tourists around taking pics, which would be kinda weird for a student I reckon. My fun at Harvard was up and I ended back to my hotel to start to think about dinner. I’m told Pizza Regina is the place to go for good pizza in Boston so I went and bought a couple of slices, and it turns out it was pretty good. Worth doing if you’re in Boston. Then it was onto Cheers again for a beer or two. I spent the night chatting to a guy from Amsterdam who is over here working for Westin hotels. I got some interesting insight into the hotel business and headed to my hotel.

What I learnt in Boston today:

• Bostonians are huge Red Sox fans. It’s everywhere and on every TV
• Harvard is very swanky and I’m not surprised people pay what they do!
• Boston’s Metro system is freakin’ great.

A couple of Harvard students running the Unofficial Harvard Tour. Free to join.

Outside of John Harvard's Brew House.

The Harvard Co-Op. All things Harvard.

An example of the Glass Flowers. Yes, they aren't real but made from hand blown glass and then hand painted. They were used by botanists as the real thing died very quickly.

Harvard University Library. Nice huh.

Hanging out with Norm at Cheer's.

More than a feeling

Today I explored Boston, and its history. I had bought a Citypass for Boston which is a booklet for entry into about half a dozen attractions that is cheaper to buy than getting the individual tickets, by a lot. My first stop was New England Aquarium. I’m not a huge Aquarium fan, as I tend to think we have the best in Sydney, and I’m yet to see better. But, I had the ticket and it’s only steps from my hotel. I had a lot to pack in today, so I wasn’t planning on spending much time there. It was totally packed out with families and tourists. Thank you school holidays, so I really didn’t spend long there. I watched an Imax 3-D movie on sharks which was kinda cool and then headed into the aquarium. They did have an open space where there was a heap of penguins hanging out on fake rocks. I did feel sorry for them putting up with the noise of the crowds all day, I didn’t like knowing that. Apart from the penguins the aquarium had a HUGE central fish tank filled with tropical fish and small sharks that people would walk around on an ascending path. So I did that and then checked out the fish tanks along the outside walls and had had enough with the crowds and left.

After hitting up the aquarium I decided to start checking out the sights on The Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is Boston’s biggest tourist attraction and is basically a path through Boston which leads to 16 historical sites. Many of the sites relate to Boston’s history as the birthplace of American Independence. There is a path to follow in a certain order but I kind of rebelled and did it in a way that suits me given where I was already and fitting into other things. So I started the walk and headed to North End or what should be called Little Italy. It’s filled with small streets lined with Italian eateries, with many of the people in the streets Italian too. I got a touch lost, but did mange to notice a Laundromat whilst lost, which I kept in the back of my mind as i'll need it. I finally got to one of the sites. My first site was Paul Revere’s House. Paul Revere is most famously known for warning John Hancock and Samuel Adams in the nighttime on horseback that the British Army were going to arrest them. The house has been left largely as is since 1775 except for necessary renovation. It’s a little brown wooden house and really gave insight into how people lived during those years. It was very busy the day I was there, as all the other sites would turn out to be too.

Next stop was just down the road to the Old North Church. The Old North Church is a beautiful church, often seen as part of the Boston skyline. It is Boston’s oldest standing church building and is still used today. Here, Paul Revere lit a lantern to warn the country of British troops. The church has the pews separated into boxes for families to be seated in with each having a plaque on it stating who sits there. At the front of the congregation, many of the pews were for Captains' families.

After checking out the church, I made my way to Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. The Freedom Trail is easy to follow as a red line just needs to be walked to these places. Copp’s Hill burying ground is the highest land on the North End and British Soldiers camped there amongst the gravestones during the revolution. Those buried there are mainly local folk, some wealthy and some not. You can barely make out the inscriptions on some of the graves because they are so old.

I then made my way over the Charles River and to the Charlestown Navy Yards where the USS Constitution is docked. The USS Constitution is the most celebrated ship in American history. It was launched in 1797 and has never lost in battle. It is still an active ship in the US Navy, obvious from when I showed up and saw all this cute guys in sailor uniforms. ;) It’s currently going through renovations but you can board it after going through all the heavy security to get in. A sailor showed us around and I have to say, I am glad I was never a sailor in those days. The food, the sleeping arrangement, it would not have been fun. By this point in the day I had walked quite a distance and it was getting pretty hot, so I was keen to call it a day after I checked out Bunker Hill Monument.

About 10 minutes from the Navy Yards was Bunker Hill Monument. Bunker Hill was where the first great battle of the revolution took place. The red coats won the battle, which may have been due to the fact that the Americans ran out of gun powder. You can go into the monument and walk the 294. I did this thinking it wasn’t going to be a big deal. It didn’t look all that far. Boy, was I wrong. I was so buggered by half way. Sweating like crazy and my legs had had it after a day of walking. Still I powered on and finally got to the top and checked out the view of Boston. It was a great view, so the shaking legs afterward was worth it!

After my little marathon of steps I called it a day and headed back to my hotel. After a shower I headed out for dinner. I had planned to check out this famous pizza place but it was closed by the time I got there. It was a Sunday after all. I ended up at Dick’s Last Resort Restaurant. It’s a chain of restaurant famous for their waiters to behave really rudely to customers. Its all an act and pretty lame but kids like it. I grabbed some fish and chips and spent the night talking to a group of construction workers who were in Boston for work from Michigan. After a few beers I headed to bed.

What I learnt today in Boston

• Bostonians are a super friendly bunch. I love talking to the locals, hands down best accent ever!
• I’ve been surprisingly interested in the history of the place, I thought it would be boring, but it’s pretty cool.
• The slang 'grog' came about from life on ships like the USS Constitution and Americans never use it as slang for alcohol like we do in Ausland.

New England Aquarium alongside Central Pier.

My little friend at the aquarium.

One of the markers that exists in front of all the points of interest along The Freedom Trail.

Paul Revere's House, you can check out four rooms inside.

Old North Church. I couldn't get a photo without all the dam people in the way!!

Copp's Hill Burying Ground - North End

Bostin? Austin?

Today I make my way to Boston. This will be my last plane trip until I get to Washington D.C, so I am rather excited about that. O’Hare Airport is quite far away from downtown Chicago and would be a $27 airport shuttle. Not a bad price, but I could get to the airport for $2 on the subway. I chose the latter option as the train I need to get can be taken very close from my hotel Well, what a mistake that was! Little did I realize that the two subway stations that get me to the airport don’t have elevators. So here I am with 40kgs of luggage and trying to get it down two flights of stairs to the platform. I relied on anyone I could locate and did my best damsel in distress look. People did help, but I felt bad to ask. I couldn’t believe that the line that takes people to the airport doesn’t accommodate people with luggage. An elderly couple also on the train, were having difficulty getting down the stairs with their luggage too. One guy did help me and in doing so stole my ticket for the train. Niice. Chicago is a fantastic city and very clean, but once you go underground, it’s a very different story. The subway is the worst I have seen so far. Holes on the platform covered by plywood, smells like urine…you know, all the nice things about train stations. After a 45 minutes train ride and switching trains twice, I got to the airport. Another huge line to get checked in. These US Airports at major cities get very busy. I finally got through and was super relieved I could check in two pieces of luggage because I had bought my ticket prior to the changes in restrictions. It was morning, so I went to hunt down some breakfast and the best I could get was some Maccas. It was so gross, they have whats called a McGriddle. I thought it was their version of an egg and bacon McMuffin. Which it is, but it’s got pancakes as buns. Seriously, so not cool but i hadn’t realized when I bought it! I went to the newsagent and got some mags for the trip and hung around til my flight was boarding.

Thirty minutes later and another American Airlines plane to be boarded. It was a dinky plane for my journey; I guess not many people go to Boston on a Saturday mid morning. My flight was fine except for the kid behind me who kept hitting my seat. I wanted to go Arnie Schwarzenegger on his arse, and break a pencil in one hand in front of him, but I’m dreaming. We got through some very heavy fog on the runway, I was actually worried the pilot wouldn’t know where to land, but obviously he did. The weather was warm but overcast and it had rained earlier In the day. I got through a rather run down airport and to the baggage carousal to pick up my luggage (it took ages!) and then hunted down either a taxi or airport shuttle. I chose an airport shuttle and got one straight away.

After a 15 minute drive from the airport I was in the Financial District of downtown Boston and at my hotel, Harborside Inn. The hotel is at the bottom at State Street right near the piers and harbor. The hotel is fantastic, very modern, doesn’t have rooms with more than one bed, so no children (thank goodness), and a fantastic location. After settling into the hotel it was late afternoon so I thought I’d go for a wonder and see what’s around and get some food somewhere. I started walking the cobbled streets and begun to see how quaint Boston is, you could walk the whole city as it doesn’t appear to be very big. As it’s the weekend, the area wasn’t busy either. I stumbled onto Faneuil Hall market place. It is one of the big attractions of Boston and part of the Freedom Trail. There is three markets, North, South, and Quincy that make up the area. It is mainly filled with small shopping stands, some bigger stores and heaps of dining restaurants. I checked out Gap in a desperate attempt to find a pair of dark denim jeans and I scored! I couldn’t believe that I managed to find a pair of jeans that fit me perfectly in dark denim for $70. So I snapped them up, and left very pleased with myself. Not long after leaving Gap I stumbled upon one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Boston – Cheers! Well not THE Cheers, but the replica bar called Cheers that’s been operating for some time in Boston and owned by the same owner as the actual Cheers on Beacon St near by. I headed in and sat at the bar and ordered myself ‘Frasier’s sandwich’. The bar isn’t all that similar if I’m honest, it just has heaps of Cheers memorabilia on the walls including actual things from the show. I hadn’t realized till I left that I had sat on Norm’s chair at the bar. Next to Cheers is a huge store selling all things Cheers related. It’s amazing how popular the show still is.

After my sandwich, I headed back to the hotel, readied myself for the next day and hit the sack excited to check out Boston.

What I learnt about Chicago & Boston today:

• Honorary street signs are all over Chicago and I think it’s really cool. Like Chicago street, in honor of the band Chicago
• Boston is quite a small city and you can see the history as you pass all the buildings.
• Cheers really isn’t much of a replica, but still worth the visit if you are a fan!

Michigan Lake weaving into downtown Chicago.

My hotel in the Financial District.

Quincy Market Hall. It's one of the three market halls.

In between the markets at Faneuil Hall marketplace.

A statue of Samuel Adams outside of Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall was used as the town meeting hall where Bostonians dared to speak against British ruling. Samuel Adams was a governor of Massachusetts & took a leading role in the Boston Tea Party.

Momma always said life is like a box of chocolate

A free day today to roam Chicago so I decided to check out Navy Pier and the Art Institute of Chicago. After sleeping in, I got my gear together for Navy Pier. In Chicago, the city offers a free trolley service in which trolleys service four routes that go from attraction to attraction and in and around the city. I got a timetable from the concierge and decided to take the trolley to Navy Pier. I could have really walked it but felt quite lazy today. I also can’t say no to something free. The trolleys pick up every 20 minutes at places, so I had a bit of a wait, but it arrived and I was headed to Navy Pier. Navy Pier is a long pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan which has entertainment, shopping, dining, amusements etc. It’s very much like Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, so basically it suits families and kids. But I thought I’d have a look. It was another hot day, so the air conditioning when I got into the pier was great.

I hadn’t had any breakfast so I thought it find somewhere to park and have brunch. I ended up at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Some smarty pants has bought the rights to Bubba Gump from the makers of Forrest Gump and have created a chain of restaurants across the US that specialize in, surprisingly, shrimp and all things seafood. So I ordered my fish and chips that came wrapped in Green Bow Alabama Newspaper. Kitch. The fish and chips wasn’t all that. I’m more of a crumbed fish fan, not fried, and EVERYTHING is fried in the US. After lunch I headed to the trolley stop to get the trolley to the Art Institute and also to see Millennium Park. Millennium Park is adjacent to the Art Institute and is just a much smaller Lincoln Park. Chicago holds an annual Food Festival at Millennium Park that actually started whilst I’m there. I did check it out but I’m told is worth it if you have the time. Given the heat, and the school holidays, the fountains in Millennium Park were chockers with kids. After a quick look around the park I headed into the Art Institute.

Chicago’s Art Institute is one of the best museums in America if not the world so I was keen to see what was inside. I haven’t been to a art museum outside of Sydney’s so I’m keen to see some of the greats in person. The Art Institute building is beautiful and if draws quite a crowd. I started in the Thorne Miniature Rooms thinking, what exactly am I to expect? What I did get was an exhibition of literally miniature rooms. James Ward Thorne, a Chicago lady painstakingly constructed miniature rooms from houses from the late 13^th century and 18^th century America in a one foot to one inch scale. It was amazing, everything, furnishings and all, created so life like. After the Miniature Rooms I just got myself completely lost in the museum, just as I wanted. I passed more examples of Frank Lloyd Wrights work with furniture, and furniture and home wares from early American life, as well as art from AD. I looked at the works and can’t comprehend that they could possibly be hundreds of years old, it just seems surreal. I hit the jackpot once I got to the American Modern wing and the Impressionists wing. The American Modern wing had some great works but my ultimate favourite was American Gothic by Grant Wood. It was so cool seeing it in person and it was one of my favs of the day. Also there was Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, a well known painting. The Impressionist wing was brilliant too, all the greats were there – Matisse, Renoir, Picasso, Chagall, Monet, and Pissaro. My favourite Impressionist work was A Sunday on La Grande by Georges Seurat. Up close you can see the dot work on the artwork which was incredible. After a few hours of soaking up the artwork it was getting to late afternoon, so I thought I’d head out to get a early dinner as I had a sow to attend at night.

I decided to check out Portillo’s Hotdogs. Another must see for Chicago tourist joint. I just tried out the hotdog and I will say best hotdog of my trip so far (not that hotdogs differ all that greatly to one another). It was a cool venue to eat at though. I headed back to the hotel to get changed and head out again.

I had pre-booked a ticket to Supernatural Chicago which is held weekly at Excalibur Nightclub in Chicago. I had heard about the show through word of mouth, and it is basically one guy who tells of ghost stories of Chicago and through magic, gets you to believe them, It was an intimate setting of about 25 people in the basement of the nightclub. The performer (or as he’s known, a necromancer…whatever the hell that is) explained to the audience that Excalibur nightclub is haunted. Chicago is considered a very haunted city as it rests on a burial ground ever since the Great Fire in the 1800’s. The show was presented by Neil Tobin. It was a fun experience and worth checking out if you can. He told about four ghost stories and did several tricks with ‘haunted’ coins etc. After the show, I took advantage of my two free drinks that you get when you go to the show. Once I enjoyed more samplings of Honker’s Ale I headed back to the hotel.

It wasn’t that late but I didn’t feel like going to a bar and I had walked passed a cinema. So I ended up taking in the 10.30pm session of Sex and the City. I had seen it already but wanted to see it again. ;)

What I learnt in Chicago today:

• Seeing the art in person really does make it all the more special than when you see it in books.
• I will never believe in ghost stories, no matter how good Neil was at his tricks!
• Don’t go see movies late at night, you just want to fall asleep.

Navy Pier

Inside Bubba Gump Shrimp Co where i bought some fish and chips.

The Art Institute of Chicago.

One example of the Thorne Miniature Rooms from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Excalibur Nightclub where i went and saw Supernatural Chicago.

Just sampling Chicago's finest, Honker's Ale, at the local Jazz club with my Scottish mate.

My big fat Greek wedding in Chicago

My first full day to roam Chicago, and I was excited! This morning I had booked a Grand Tour of Chicago to get in all the sights. At 9am I met up with the tour group, and to my amusement, it was to by run by someone who looked very much like Ray Charles, but without the whole being blind thing. Which was good considering he was the driver. We started off checking out ‘downtown’ Chicago, what we know as the CBD. The tour guide was so laid back he was almost asleep, but he was funny none the less. We checked out Navy Pier, the library, John Hancock Tower, Sears Tower, and many other structures that make up the Chicago skyline. It rained very briefly during the tour, but the heat stayed and the sun quickly came out again. We went along the Magnificent Mile, which I now know it’s called the Magnificent Mile, there was freakin’ good shops. We went passed the Art institute of Chicago, which I would check out later and the Field Museum. We stopped at a viewing point of the city scape outside of the Planetary for a few minutes before we got back onto the bus. We then headed north to check out what was on offer. We went passed Oprah’s apartment which overlooks Lake Michigan (very niice) and then passed a hotel famous for being the digs of Bugsy, who was Al Capone’s opponent during Chicago’s mob history. Chicago has a big history of gangsters and the mob but I’m told it’s kept on the down low and not publicly celebrated because it’s basically criminal behaviour. However, having said that, many tourist shops sells Capone goods and a couple of tours go to sites such as the St Valentines Massacre that Capone was involved in. I’m also told by the tour guide that Chicago almost completely burnt down in The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, so there aren’t many old buildings in the city.

We get to Lincoln Park, Chicago's main park, and have a 15 minute break to go check out the conservatory and Lincoln Park Zoo, or just to wonder. I quickly bolted to the zoo and tried to get in as much as I could in 15 minutes. So not much! Lincoln Park Zoo is free all the time, which I thought was pretty cool. As was the conservatory. After the break, we headed back to the tour meeting point to pick up some more people for the South Chicago tour. In the South Chicago tour we took in the tree lined streets of beautiful sandstone houses with stoops, and areas that are much more expensive than most. We saw Wrigley Stadium which I was excited to see. The Cubbies were playing the day we were there so we couldn’t stop. The area around Wrigley stadium is known to locals as Wrigleyville. Think we’ll have a Telstraville anytime soon? Not likely. The bus went through the University of Chicago, where the grounds were beautiful. It’s one of America’s more prestigious universities, which I hadn’t realized. Just along form the university was Robi House, which is one of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s finer works. It’s a beautiful house, and a fine example of his prairie style. Wright’s work features prominently in Chicago…I’m guessing he lived there??

I saw Ali’s old residence and then for the benefit of the newer tour guests, we checked out downtown again before the tour finished up. It was a good tour, but again another example of how these tours check out a stack of stuff but do it so quickly you don’t get to enjoy anything for long. For example, I’ve never been to a zoo for 10 minutes and that’s it. Still, a cheap way to see everything before I dig deeper.

The tour company drops several of us off at John Hancock Tower as part of our tour is entry to the observation deck. John Hancock Tower is the biggest tallest building behind Sears Tower and not by much. I chose to see this one as I’m told it’s much quieter compared to Sears Tower. Well people are right; I got to the 97 floor in no time. It was a awesome sight seeing the city from that high up. Lucky it was a clear day so you could see really far. After checking out the 360 view of Chicago, it was time to get some lunch. I read that a trip to Chicago isn’t complete until you try deep dish pizza. I was slightly intrigued, so I made my way to Gina’s East Pizza, a joint famous for their pizza. I take a seat in this ultra cool place; the walls, seats, and tables are written all over by people who have eaten their and it’s pretty cool. My waiter tells me to try their famous pizza and that it takes 45 minutes to cook. By this point I am very intrigued about what to expect. It’s 3pm so I’m starving, but I’m willing to wait 45 minutes for pizza, I cant get enough. It finally arrives and it looks like a pizza pie. They start with the crusty base, then they put on the cheese, then the toppings, then the chunky tomato sauce, It’s basically back the front. So I dug in and I have one word for you: AWESOME. It was tasty as, and that’s a big call for a pizza connoisseur like me. I couldn’t eat it all myself, it’s a lot of pizza so I had to leave behind a slice, but hands down best pizza I ever had! Pricey too, at $22 a small pizza.

I had back to the hotel and quickly got ready as I was heading out to Tony & Tina’s Wedding at 7pm. Tony & Tina’s Wedding is the longest running off Broadway theatre dining experience in the US and I’m told it’s worth checking out. The premise is that you are a ‘guest’ to this fictitious wedding and reception played out by actors. The characters are Greek, so you can imagine it was like My Big Fat Greek Wedding Live. It was so freakin funny. During the reception, the ‘caterer’, known as Vinnie introduced me to everyone at the wedding as Tina’s second cousin twice removed from Australia. I had an awesome time and was sad to see it end. I even got to dance with the best man and talk to the drunk minister.

After the wedding I headed downtown to find a Jazz club, another must see do experience in Chicago. I ended up at Chicago Blues. It was a very funky club with live Jazz. It was here a met a super friendly Scotsman who insisted I call his daughter when I get to Boston to hang out. We talked most the night about all things American and I tried the local ale; Honker’s. The ale was surprising good, better than Bud. The live Jazz was great! Some complete idiot then spilt red wine all down my back , and so much so, I had to go back to the hotel and change. I was so pissed, cause the club was cool. Not sure I’ll call the Scotsman daughter, she lives in main, not Boston, so I may not have time, we’ll see.

What I learnt about Chicago today:

• Locals LOVE their city and they LOVE the Cubs, even though they haven’t one a World Series since like the 40’s.
• Deep dish pizza is a got to try experience
• Taxis are a fair bit cheaper in Chicago than in LA. I got uptown for like $8.

Wrigley Stadium. Best shot i could get from the bus.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House near the University of Chicago.

Moi with city Chicago in the background. Don't get children to take your picture!

North Chicago from the John Hancock Tower

My Chicago style Deep Dish Pizza. Mmmmmm. I got mushroom, sausage and peppers (what we call capsicums).

At Tony's & Tina's Wedding Reception whilst the bride and bridal party do the first dance.

Bright lights, big city

Due to a late night of internet perusing, I only had about 4 hours of sleep. This was ok, as I was about to hop on a plane to Chicago and if I’m tired enough, I can actually manage to get some sleep. I got myself ready for the quick shuttle to my American Airlines flight. I was slightly concerned about my luggage as I think I may be over the weight, surprise surprise. I got to the airport and as it turns out one of my bags was too heavy. I had to grab myself a spot on the floor and try and do some reshuffling. I am relieved I did this because as it turns out sunscreen had begun to leak all over the place in my luggage. I managed to stop it getting worse and even out the weight between my two bags. I went back to the guy checking me in and after it coming up at 51 pounds instead of 50, he says, ‘it’s ok, this time’. Man that cheesed me. Like I was super lucky to get one pound extra of luggage! That’s nothing. Anywhoo, after the quickest check in I’ve had to date I went to find somewhere to grab something to eat. As I’m only slowly reintroducing food to my diet, I ask for some toast. Well, wasn’t that a mistake. I was charged airport prices, $5 for two pieces of toast. Ridiculous! The plane was delayed, not at all surprising given that every plane I have caught has been delayed. Even the morning flights get delayed.

So I got onto the plane and ready to take the longest flight I would during my US adventures, 4.5 hours. The only difference between a shorter flight and this one? Access to a kiddy movie if you purchase the earphones to listen to it. So exciting…not. I took the opportunity to update this blog and read some magazines. The plane got into O’Hare airport in Chicago, one hour behind schedule and because of the change in time zones I had also more lost hours, so it was now 3.30pm. After getting my luggage I did a search around the airport for a shuttle. One thing I will say, Chicago airport is huge! I guess it is the third largest city in America, so it’s going to be big. I walked up and down stairs and along floors to eventually find the shuttles. It’s lucky I did as the airport isn’t all that close to downtown Chicago. A taxi would have cost me about $70 each way. I was looking forward to seeing what Chicago was all about as I hadn’t read much and the biggest thing I knew about Chicago was that Oprah lived there. She isn’t filming till August so I couldn’t go see her. My learning curve of Chicago started early as the shuttle driver started talking to me about the place. My first conversation with a local and it’s clear he’s passionate about his city. We pass the old Playboy Mansion, from the time Heff resided there, and we passed many beautiful houses on tree lined streets. Houses and flats that have a flight of stairs up to the front door, I love that!

After some dreaded traffic I got to my hotel that is one street from the Magnificent Mile, which at this point doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. It soon will I’m sure. The hotel was very swanky, and I’m glad I chose this place as an option. I settle into the hotel, check email, and watch a bit of tele (I’m loving the show ‘Reba’!).

I figured it’s time for some dinner and walk out the door. Having no clue which direction is which, as this seems to take me about a day to adjust, I go for whatever is closest. Another Mexican option called Beach Burrito, for a rather gross food option. I take it back to my room, finish up and get some early sleep for a big day tomorrow discovering the city.

Things in learnt today in Chicago:

• It’s a BIG city! I hadn’t realized how spread out it is and how many high rises there are.
• People seem to be quite friendly here, I couldn’t get the tour organizers off the phone when I confirmed tomorrow’s tour.
• The heat wave has followed me, it’s hot hot hot.

Lake Michigan, that runs into the CBD.

Navy Pier. My hotel is about two blocks from here. A popular spot for the kiddies, it located on Lake Michigan.

Mahammad Ali's house in South Chicago during his boxing years.

Farewell Clean Airs

I woke up this morning preparing myself to say good bye to Yosemite in the afternoon. I had to pack up, again, and get my 40 kg’s of luggage down the two flights of stairs and onto the bus. I still felt croak and decided to go find the clinic in Yosemite Valley in the afternoon before I left. It wasn't a exceptionally hot day which was good news as I was hoping to fit what I can in before the bus came to pick me up and take me back to San Francisco. Several hundred fires are burning across California at the moment, so the sky is quite hazy and you can’t see that far into the distance. This is a bit of a shame as I booked a tour to see all the vantage points!

Once into Yosemite, I checked out one of several gift shops to get a small token of my time in Yosemite, before I went on my tour. I had booked the two hour Valley Floor tour to take me through the valley and check out anything I had missed the day before. I was looking forward to the tour as it meant I could just sit and check the valley out without having to walk it as I really wasn’t feeling well enough for it. A park ranger was our tour guide and I must say – I love their hats! I don’t know why, but they look like a cartoon, it’s too funny. The tour is on trolley with bench seats, much nicer than a bus. Our first stop on the tour is Yosemite Falls. I had already seen this and with the haze, you really couldn’t see much of it today. The Park Ranger tour guide is SUPER excited about nature, quite funny for someone like me who is much more city than country. We slowly pass El Capitan, which is a huge granite rock on the outskirts of the valley. We stopped to see if we could locate any rock climbers on the rock face. It’s hugely popular for rock climbers and takes about two weeks to climb, imagine carrying two weeks supply of stuff…not for me. Some of the folk spot rock climbers but I have

No such luck, I’m struggling with short sightedness I think. We move on to a vantage point for Bridalveil Falls. Another waterfall that is slightly smaller in size to Yosemite Falls but equally stunning. As we start to move on from that after 5 minutes we travel past a coyote who is out and about collecting lunch, which might explain the squirrel in it’s mouth. That was kinda cool to see. No such luck in seeing another bear, I might be pushing it for another sighting. We stopped again at Tunnel View after the tour guide empathized again not to eave food out because of the bears. Okay, okay, I get it!

The tour was nearing a finish, but not before a saw a dear in one of the meadows. It was a very bambi moment, but another cool sighting. We got back into Yosemite Valley Lodge and I went on the search for the clinic. After a couple of buses and some help at the visitors centre, I located the clinic. It’s quite a big clinic, but I guess given the amount of people that go through Yosemite every day, there must be quite a few Dr visits. As it turns out, there were already several people waiting to see the doctor. I was rather nervous doing the doctor thing in another country. Stupid really as it’s basically the same! Long story short, I had a stomach bug and dehydration. I was offered an IV drip but given I had a bus to go on I took the other option; drinking HEAPS of water. I was also given anti-nausea tablets to take straight away. I was rather excited about that.

Back onto the bus for the 5 hour trip home. I slept through most of it, thank you drugs. We made a stop, where I got some KFC for dinner. I was happy that I had finally felt like eating something. Things were looking up. So back onto the bus, waay behind schedule, thanks to the hour late pick up from Yosemite, and we I finally get back into Union Square in San Fran at 10.30pm. I was exhausted and very keen to hit the sack, so I hailed down a taxi quickly to the airport hotel I’d be staying at. After a short trip I got to the hotel and I have two words for you; Bates & Motel. Seriously. It was a dingy, creepy, motel. You might wish to avoid Travelodge San Fran Airport if you can. It had one of those beds where all you can feel is the springs and it was just really creepy. Maybe that was the double locks! Managed to sleep and get ready for another day.

What I learnt in Yosemite today:

• If you go overseas; get travel insurance. I had it but if I didn’t I’d be out of pocket $160 for basically nothing.
• DON’T stay in airport hotels if you can afford, ick.
• Overall, Yosemite is amazing and I recommend getting to it if you can.

On the tour trolley with the tour guide, a Park Ranger.

Cathedral Range.

A shot of El Capitan. Doesn't really do it justice -it's freakin' huge.

A vantage point for Bridalveil Falls. You can only just see it through the haze.

The Bates Motel a.k.a Travelodge San Francisco Airport. Don't do it!

Getting back to nature

Today I had a free day to check out Yosemite my own way. I got the shuttle from my lodgings to Yosemite Valley. I didn’t really have a particular plan of attack, but thought that given there is so many paths and directions I could just walk and not worry about getting lost. It’s very busy in Yosemite because of the US school holidays so there are kids everywhere, which is not really my cup of tea...but what can you do. I walked around the park, listening to the sounds of nature – cars, trucks, and screaming kids. The park rangers often talk of conserving the area, which they are, yet I find it slightly ironic that there are so many lodgings within the park, and roads, and bins, and all things made for people. I was feeling better today but thought it best to take it easy, so I aimed to do the short hikes when they came up. The weather was absolutely perfect, not too hot, not too cold.

A short walk from my drop off point took me to Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls is one of the world’s tallest waterfalls after Angel Falls. The falls are broken up into Upper Yosemite Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls. The walk to Upper Yosemite Falls is quite steep, so I didn’t think today was the day to go for it. I went to Lower Yosemite Falls instead. The waterfalls were stunning. I just wanted to jump in the water. You can go into the water anywhere you want in Yosemite, but you should be mindful of rocks and the rapids in a lot of the areas of the rivers. Rafting the calmer parts of the river is a very popular thing to do form what i have noticed. I walked past many of the bear proof bins along the way, as there are many active bears in the local area, they can hunt out food from quite a distance, so if you are found to litter, you can be up for rather large fines. Park Rangers are out in force everywhere, so you really can’t get away with littering, if you are so inclined.

Yosemite National Park offers a free bus service throughout the park that goes to 21 of the best stops, vantage points, and hikes. What’s even better, it’s free!

I took the bus to the Visitor Centre to have a look see. As part of the Visitor’s Centre there is a museum on the background of the preservation efforts (John Muir) at Yosemite and the Indian background to Yosemite, as Indians were the first inhabitants of Yosemite. There is a strong recognition of the Indians who once lived on the land and who were driven out during the gold rush. The museum also has a replicate Indian Village in the back of it to show how the Indians lived 200 odd years ago. After checking out the museum, I went to the theater and watched ‘Spirit of Yosemite’ that is played all the time there. It was ok, it was just good to sit!

After checking out the Visitor’s Centre I got onto any bus to see where it would take me. I ended up at Sentinal Bridge, which is a bridge where you can view Half Dome, the most recognizable view of Yosemite. I traveled from there through Sentinal Meadow, another of the beautiful meadows of the park, to the Yosemite Chapel. The Yosemite Chapel is the only building still standing after massive flood in 1997 and is close to 100 years old. I didn’t go in, but I’m told they have 350 weddings there a year, it’s very popular!

I hopped onto another bus with the hope of reaching Happy Isles where you can take a short walk to a section of Tenaya Lake called Mirror Lake. Its called Mirror Lake because of the reflections on the water the surroundings give. When I got there it was packed with people, but it was lovely. The water is quickly disappearing because its summer, but luckily for me, it was still running. In high summer, it almost dries up.

By the time I had done all of that I decided to call it a day. Also, the shuttle back to my hotel doesn’t run very often and not late so I didn’t want to end up missing out as I’m not sure how else I would have got there. Taxis would not have saved the day.

I got back to the hotel and started to feel worse. I was doing so well, so it was quite disappointing to still feel crock. It was then that I was completely fed up and decided that I would go to the Yosemite Clinic tomorrow to get myself sorted out.

What I learnt today in Yosemite:

• The hikes are quite easy despite what the signs say. I guess they like to show caution!
• Don’t go during school holidays.
• The bear proof bins were actually Bec-proof for about 10 seconds. Oh the stupidity.

Randomness on the way to Yosemite Falls. There are boulders everywhere that have gradually fallen from the cliff faces around the Valley.

A view of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls at the starting point of the hike to the base.

Me at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls.

Some of the Bear-proof bins that are all over the park.

A Yosemite Chapel, close to Yosemite Falls & Sentinal Bridge.

Mirror Lake. I cant believe i managed to get a photo of it without any people in it!

Searching for Yosemite Sam

I’m up early today, after only two hours of sleep during the night. I wake up constantly during the night due to severe stomach cramps. I am border line calling the doctor for fear of having appendicitis, but notice that the stomach pain isn’t localised so I soldiered through, still hoping the feeling would eventually go away.

The trip to Yosemite National Park would take five hours on the bus. I made sure I got the back seat so I could get some snooze time in as it was going to be dead boring. After two hours of driving we made our first rest stop in a dinky little town that didn’t appear to have much more than a supermarket. I bought myself a huge Gatorade. My local pharmacist in San Fran told me to chug Gatorade down to assist with the dehydration I was feeling. It was a relief to hear of such a simple remedy but it slightly worried me as I hate Gatorade and we know what it’s like trying to force down something that you don’t like. I had no appetite and hadn’t since Friday, but I thought it best to try something small to eat to help sustain some energy. After twenty minutes at our stop we were to get on the bus and spend the next the next three hours getting to Yosemite. I am so glad at this point in time that I didn’t take the option of the Yosemite day tour from San Fran. In one day you drive 10 hours in total to go and see Yosemite for 3 hours. So not worth it!

During the bus ride, the tour guide continued to guide us along the way, past such points of interest as China Town where the Chinese stayed during the gold rush. It still stands, largely all original, and was kind of interesting. There is not much more to report re scenery. We mainly passed farms and fruit and vegetable growing area. There was lots of berry and grape growing areas. The scenery started to get hillier as expected, given we were on the way to Yosemite. During the bus ride we watched a DVD on Yosemite and I have to say, I was looking forward to checking out the nature side of the US.

To give you some background on Yosemite, this is it in a nutshell. Yosemite is located in Central California and is 1189 square miles, the size of Rhode Island. It reaches to the Sierra Nevada and is visited by about 3.5 million people per year, which averages 10,000 people per day. Of those, about 80% stay within the park or close to, overnight. It is a World Heritage site and known for its waterfalls, animal life, and huge granite rock faces. Yosemite Valley, where I will be staying near is only about 1% of the park as much of it is wilderness and ‘off the beaten track’ if you are to hike it. It is very popular for hiking and rock climbing.

We made one stop on the way at Tunnel View which was incredible! We got into Yosemite at about 2pm at Yosemite Lodge. I thought that this is where I would be staying but apparently not. I’d be staying at Yosemite VIEW Lodge. Only difference being, I would be 45 minutes out of the park. Very sucky, but I’m given tickets to get in and out of the park the next couple of days. I was in no mood to argue the mistake that had been made with my travel agent given how I felt, so I let it go. I waited for the shuttle to get me to my hotel which finally arrived an hour after I had got to the valley. I could have spent the time searching the valley after checking my luggage into the local lodge, but instead I spent the time chilling given how I felt. My first taste of wilderness was had waiting for my bus. Squirrels! I’m sure they are considered pests in the US but I thought they were cool. They’d hang around hoping for food, and would come right up to your feet.

The ride to my hotel, which took some time, allowed me to see some more of the scenery as it wound around the Merced River. I’m not a scenery person but I dug it, and can see why it’s so popular. Then it happened, I saw a bear!! I was so excited to see a bear. You are warned constantly of bear dangers as many roam the camp sites in the Valley but I just wanted to see one. They are so tough they can get into cars that have their windows up. The bear I saw was was down at the river drinking the water. I would say it was only a cub.

I got to my hotel and checked into my room. It had air conditioning which was a relief. What was not a relief was the fact that I had an upstairs room and it was only accessed by two flights of stairs. This would not be fun as a single person carrying 40kg worth of luggage in three bags. So that took about 20 minutes before I landed onto my bed, put on the tele and tried not to think about how sick I felt. I feel asleep only to wake a couple of hours later thinking it best to get something to eat for dinner. The hotel was in the middle of no where so I didn’t quite know what to expect. They had a pizza take out place at the hotel which was basically my only option. I managed to eat about three mouthfuls of pizza and some water before I went back to bed. My deal was that if I didn’t feel any better by tomorrow I would go see the doctor in Yosemite. We shall see.

What I learnt in Yosemite today:

• Do even try to do Yosemite in a day. It’s massive, and worth spending a few days in at least.
• The wildlife is really evident. It’s not one of those places where you’d be lucky to find something.
• Don’t be dumb like me and go during the summer school holidays in the US. So many dam kids everywhere!

The smallest waterfall in Yosemite Valley - Fern Springs. It's so small you can easily miss it along the side of the road.

One of the meadows along the road. Just beautiful. They regularly undergo burning off in the valley to keep their meadows, so they aren't overtaken by the pine trees, thanks to wandering saplings.

Me in front of Tunnel View lookout on the way to the Valley. If i look like crap thats because i felt it.

Say hello to my little friend.

Yosemite View Lodge, where i am staying, at about 6pm. It's located in El Portal.