synchronised travelling

States of the Union visited, traversed or travelled in: Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts (that's 20 of the 50), plus DC.

And in Canada so far: British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, with 3 more (I think) still to come.

It's not so bad once you get used to it.

I misjudged earlier. Truth is, we’re in a crappy part of Toronto, but it’s unfair to impugn the entire city based on one small local area. Once we flag down a taxi (not difficult) and escape into the CBD, it’s actually quite nice.

Yesterday we had a late breakkie (which was really lunch, because we went out the night before) at the St Lawrence Market. Following breakkie we thought it’d be a good idea to get the ferry across to Toronto Island, which is just off the coast, but given it was a sunny Sunday, everyone else in the city had exactly the same idea and we didn’t have the stamina for a gruelling queue. So after taking a few photographs of the lakefront (really quite pretty), we walked back into town, past the railway station, and up towards the main shopping precinct. We caught some Games footage at the shopping centre: Canadians seem to be really quite chuffed with their bronze medal in synchronised diving (textbook stuff), then bought a couple of books (a history of Canada for me, and some ‘refresh your French’ books for Cathy – I’ll be relying on her when we get to the French-speaking parts because my French is almost non-existent, apart from some handy phrases handed to me by some helpful others).

We then headed out to the Distillery part of town, which apparently used to be a large brewery/distillery serving the town (not sure how long ago this was), and the buildings and streets have been preserved but the interiors are now mostly swanky galleries etc; but this is also where the Mill St microbrewery lives, so we dropped in for a couple of drinks. They were serving a seasonal raspberry beer which was nice, but not quite as good (or refreshing) as the Wig & Pen version. Then back to the room for an early night; it feels like things are slowly returning to a more moderate pace following my two-week burst of energy in the north east US. Off to Halifax today, where the pace will probably slow even more considerably.

Niagara Falls and Toronto (so far)

The day before yesterday, we got the train to Niagara Falls. There are two stations, one on either side of the gorge; we got off on the Canadian side. After checking in at the B&B we were staying at, we walked down to the Falls, descended an elevator, and walked out right underneath the giant horseshoe-shaped fall itself. No wonder they gave us a plastic raincoat on the way down, there’s a LOT of water going down this thing, and as soon as the wind changes, it’s all over you. The water falls with so much violence that a mist is raised way up into the sky from the foot of the falls – when the wind is still, it looks like clouds rising from the surface of the earth, and when you’re standing away from the falls, the mist lands like rain. It feels so much like rain that we hadn’t noticed it had actually started to rain while we were there, and we got a bit wet. But apart from the thunderstorm in NYC a week and a half ago and a wet day in Jasper about a month ago (have we really been travelling this long?), I think it might be the first serious rain (i.e. more than a sprinkle) we’ve encounted. 

Yesterday was spent exploring much of the area. We went on the ‘Maid of the Mist’ cruise which isn’t really a cruise, but is actually a boat that goes right out into the middle of the falls, so that you’re right in the middle of the aforementioned mist. Watching these boats the day before, I’d thought it would be a turbulent experience, but it was rather quite serene: the violence of the fall cancelled out on either side of the boat, if that makes sense. Again, it felt like it was pouring down with rain, but it was just the mist from the fall. I tried to take photographs but they look horribly grey - a function of the amount of moisture involved, as well as the lens misting up. We also walked along the rapids a bit further downstream from the fall, and visited a butterfly conservatory that was so peaceful I could have stayed there all day. Actually, that’s a great word for yesterday – peaceful. And on the train trip up from Manhattan the day before yesterday, I looked at the sky as if I hadn’t seen it properly for about a week and a half (which actually felt to be the case). But not only the sky, but the land – seeing greenery, and experiencing space, felt quite different from the concrete claustrophobia of the previous week and a half.

So last night we got the train up to Toronto. Train from Niagara went along the lakefront, where there are a number of seriously heavy manufacturing concerns no doubt pumping crap straight into the lake. Things were different in the 1950s, weren’t they? Got to the station, piled into a cab, and ended up at the B&B we’re staying at. For the first time on this trip, we’re a bit away from the CBD and in a not very good part of the town. The B&B itself is quite pretty and we’re very comfortable (Cathy reclines in the bath as I type), and the street we’re on is quite pretty, but the main roads surrounding this area aren’t so good. We’re in the insane part of town – no, seriously; people talk to themselves, and (even more disconcertingly) laugh along with themselves, but this morning we walked into the CBD (only a 15 minute walk or so) and I admit to being a bit surprised. I thought Toronto was the most populous city in Canada but if today’s impression of the city is anything to go by, it has really let itself go.

But on the upside, we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario and discovered Ian Baxter& (the ampersand is not a typo). Look him up <http://www.ago.net/theandman>. I’d never heard of him before but the exhibition was probably the best I’d ever seen of an artist I’d previously not heard of, and I wish I’d hung onto a few old cathode-ray televisions because something of his on display gave me a brilliant idea. I’ll be looking into his stuff more when we get back. Following this, we saw an exhibition of photography by Berenice Abbott <http://www.ago.net/berenice-abbott-photographs> who photographed New York City in the 1930s, amongst a bunch of other things. Very impressive. We then walked to the Kensington markets where we ate lunch, then ended up playing chess and enjoying the sun at a rooftop bar in the middle of the CBD. Might go out tonight, might not; will play it by ear.

Hope everyone at home is well and happy. Thinking of you all.

Washington - the food

OK time to catch up on some food blogging before I forget where we went! Really haven't been in the mood lately as my stomach has been giving me serious grief. So what happened in Washington?

Well a lot of the food available in Washington rather falls in to these categories..."personal cheese pizza" mmm...

But this time I actually managed to find good food in Washington outside Wholefoods :) It helped that we were staying 1 block fromm Dupont Circle. Our first meal was at a little Asian bistro near the circle called Raku. Jay had some mamoth soupy curry, and I had a yummy vegetarian sushi platter - way too much food, but fabulously fresh and yummy.

 

We also found a great Spanish Tapas restaruant near Georgetown University called Bodega, as we decided that we just had to try their vegetarian paella (Jay's "signature dish"). I have to say the paella wasn't as good as Jay's....rice too crunchy for my tastes...but it was still fanastatic, and I think gave Jay some ideas for recipe variations. The restaurant decor was also fabulous (yes I wanted to steal the wall paper) and the staff very friendly (in a town I generally find to be pretty rude).

I am not going to write about the cafe in the art gallery as the you could die waiting to get the cheque (not bill) in that place...except to say that this rather unappetising cream dessert was to die for.

But on to some important food discoveries in Washington - first and most importantly, Hello Cupcake. This place had the best GF cupcakes I have ever had in my whole entire life. In fact, best GF cake product I have had in my life (they have vegan ones too). I was so impressed I even bought a t shirt. Yes I am sad, but I will probably never be back unless I have to go to Washington for work again.

Next up - Rasika Indian restaurant - I had read rave reviews of this place on line so I had booked a table from Australia as Jay loves Indian food, and we were not disappointed, though I must admit it wasn't quite as good as I expected. When the entrees came (sorry make that appetizers...), I was literally in food heaven and I thought this was the best Indian food I had ever eaten (beating even Zafraan in Sydney), but the rest of the meal was unfortunately not as good, still fabulous, just not mind-blowing (and my dessert was kind of gross, much prefer Mango Kulfi from Digress in Canberra!). Still the staff loved my Indian dress, and the wine and company were wonderful :)

We also found a cool little Asian tapas restaurant called Ping Pong at Dupont circle...a lot of glutinous stuff I couldn't eat, but great Asian food cocktails, and Jay looked very happy eating his dumplings and drinking a martini while we escaped from the heat. And best and simplest brocolli dish ever was consumed here. I think Jay has a new cricket watching snack when we get home.

But last but not least I must make note of the breakfasts at our B&B in Washington. Wow. The lovely lady who works at the Inn (and upgraded us to the best room from the worst room!) and has done for 12 years, prepares the below remarkable breakfast table every morning (the photo probably doesn't really do it justice), and also makes fresh pancakes and omlettes. Both jay and I was in heaven - Jay with the pancakes, me because on the other side of the world I found someone who makes eggs like my mum :) They also put out drinks and desserts on this table every night for guests, if you could ever possibly find room in your stomach to fit the in. The whole house was gorgeous and certainly made my return visit to Washington (which I really wasn't looking forward to) much better.

YES! WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS!

Dear Fashionistas of New York: You think you’re all cool and pretty, and that may be true. Certainly moreso than me (but that’s not hard). But if you think you’re simultaneously unique and individual, you are mistaken. Since you’re all wearing the exact same Buddy Holly style spectacles, and since you’re all wearing the exact same Erik Estrada a la ‘Chips’ sunnies, your uniqueness and individuality is a bit of an illusion. Not that you’d give a shit what I think or say regardless. Note to Australia: these things are on the way, if they aren't already there.

I say this by way of pointing out a conversation Cathy and I had before we diverted to Boston for a couple of days. She said I was too busy ‘seeing the sights’ of New York City to interact with the locals, and she was right. I wouldn’t necessarily say I went out of my way to begin interacting with the locals on this return trip, but it seems to have happened to some extent regardless, without me meaning to – and I say ‘to some extent’ because it’s often not clear in New York City who’s a tourist and who’s not – but in any event, if I *have* been interacting with the locals, I’ve been left a bit underwhelmed. But only because it’s been impossible to ignore just how similar people behave here, which is incredible given the linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity. You might say that, from my perspective, some of the shine and gloss has been knocked off. I suppose this was bound to happen – my previous experience with the city was a single, brilliant day in 2005, and I’ve been telling people ever since that ‘it’s an amazing town’ on the back of a single day. I realise now how silly this was, because even after only a week, my impressions changed markedly. I’m sure if I lived there for a month, or even lived there permanently, they’d change again. Cities are like that; this is no great revelation.

I’m typing this on the train from Penn Station in Manhattan to Niagara Falls (no wifi on the train). The train takes 8 and a half hours and is entirely within New York State until the Canadian border. It’s a deceptively big state, and appears to be mostly uninhabited, apart from the tiny little island at the southern tip and its surrounding areas, where probably 90%+ of the State’s population live. We go back into Canada at the end of this journey, so if you’re reading this, it means we’re back in the Commonwealth (with QE2 on all the banknotes) and out of the Republic. It’s been a while since I last wrote, so here are the edited highlights from the past few days.

We returned to New York City from Boston via Amtrak four days ago, and checked in at the hotel, which is in the ‘cool’ part of the city – so cool it has a tin of Campbell’s Soup autographed by Andy Warhol in a sealed Perspex cube just outside the lift. You may think this redefines what ‘art’ is (that an everyday object bought from the supermarket that is subsequently signed by an artist can make it ‘art’, given the right contextual setting), or you may think it’s all a complete wank. I report, you decide; but I think the former, for what it’s worth. I think we can all agree, though, that whether the tin of soup has any intrinsic artistic merit or not, it should never be opened: given Warhol died in 1987, the contents of the tin are at least 25 years old.

In distinct contrast, we had an incredibly good, fresh, local, vegan lunch at this Italian eatery called Eataly, then wandered around for a while but it was hot, and we ended up at a bar which I am reasonably sure appeared in ‘Anything Else’ (and I *swore* I wouldn’t mention Woody Allen films this time, not even the crappier ones). Wandering around further, we traipsed past the buildings of NYU (no campus as such to be seen; is a bit like UTS) and ended up at Washington Square, where Cathy dipped her feet in the fountain.  A gorgeous little park, of which there seem to be a number in the lower parts of Manhattan. Looking back through my photographs, the Empire State Building looms in the distance. More of this anon, but first, we stopped off for a drink (did I mention it was hot?) where I had a glass of stout from Sri Lanka. Yeah, you read that correctly. Hard to imagine a country with a climate like Sri Lanka’s making a stout, but there you go.

So we got drunk and climbed the Empire State Building. It was *much* bigger than a nickel. Thankfully Cathy bought ‘premium’ tickets to the observation deck which effectively meant we had priority into the lifts and up onto the viewing platform on the 86^th floor, which we reckon saved us about 2 hours of queuing (this city LOVES a good queue). I have difficulties with heights and I’m really proud of myself for having made it to the top (you could upgrade to go up an extra 20 or so floors, but for someone like me, what would be the point?), and there’s no doubt about it, from 86 floors up, the city looks incredible. We were up there at dusk, walking around on the open-air observation deck, and while I was gazing at the Chrysler building, its lights came on. Then the lights of all the other buildings around it came on. I’ll never forget that, nor will I ever forget Cathy for organising it all. I took a number of photographs but I couldn’t bring myself to walk right to the edge of the observation deck so they all feature the protective iron bars. Cathy got some good photographs of the city, though.

Three days ago, we caught the subway to the southernmost point of Manhattan to get the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and the immigration museum on Ellis Island. Neither of us got off the boat at the Statue – we were more interested in the immigration museum, which is where some of Cathy’s distant (or not-so-distant) relatives migrated to the US. While thinking about the concepts of ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty’, and trying to understand why they are so revered here, the thought struck me that self-government perhaps came to the Australian colonies much more easily than it did to the American colonies, and maybe as a result, we Australians tend not to think too much about ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’ because these values had already been ‘won’ on our behalf by the American colonies, and a ‘revolution’ wasn’t required for Australia to achieve self-determination. Perhaps this is why these concepts don’t have such a pride of place in the Australian political lexicon (which is probably why we’ve invented ‘egalitarianism’ (yeah, right) and the god-awful ‘mateship’).

After we got off the boat, we walked up to Wall Street, where Cathy left me to pursue her own individual interests and I’ve forgotten what they were – she can tell you. However, being a Monday, the museum I wanted to go to was closed, because all the museums have nice sleeps-in on Monday mornings that last all the way until Tuesday mornings. So I walked all the way back to our hotel on 27^th street, which from the southern tip of the island, I reckon must be about half the length of Manhattan. I had very sore feet upon arrival, but I managed to see lots of very similar sunglasses along the way. See earlier lament. We stayed in the room for a while and cooled down until it was time for dinner, whereupon we went to an ‘authentic’ (i.e. pre-Revolutionary) Russian restaurant. Food was nice (wallpaper was very White, and not at all Red), but I redouble my efforts now not to eat any fish at all. Also, Russian pickled tomatoes are unbelievably strong (hard to taste the tomato over all the pickle).

Two days ago, I went to a museum just up the road (can’t remember what it was called) but there was a small exhibition on Philip Glass’ ‘Einstein on the Beach’, which featured the original story board sketches for the opera, the original score (backlit and illuminated, and you could tell it was original because you could see the corrections and where pieces had been pasted on etc) and a 20 minute video loop of performances in Europe in the 1970s. I really wish I had the opportunity to see this live – these current concerts surely have to be the last ones ever – but if they capture one of the performances and produce a DVD, I’ll be just as happy. I was the only person in the room and I loved it. This may be the closest I’ll get to seeing it performed live. Waiting on that DVD. Fingers crossed.

Came back to the hotel room, and Cathy and I caught the subway to Lower Manhattan to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d been happy enough to have seen all 5 boroughs from the circumnavigation of Manhattan last week, but we’ve now been to at least one other on foot. Got to the other side and had lunch, but this was more of an excuse to get out of the blistering heat. Food being delicious was a pure bonus. Ferry back across the East River to Wall St was efficient and quick, and I’ll leave it to Cathy to elaborate further. Here, we separated again: Cathy wen to the museum I mentioned earlier (though categorically *NOT* to see the Philip Glass exhibition) while I visited the Museum of American Finance, which was extremely interesting (though, I thought, a bit glib at times). After, I wandered around Lower Manhattan, going back to Battery Park and visiting the Bowling Green, which I think was the first public park on the island. At this point, the heat was getting too much, and upon receipt of a text message from Cathy saying she was heading back to the room, I gave her a call and we met up in Midtown for a drink, but I mistakenly got on an express train and ended up going uptown a bit too far, getting out at Grand Central Station – the building interior is truly breathtaking. After a drink, we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant which was vegetarian and kosher – there were no wines from anywhere other than Israel. I admit I don’t understand what is required for something to be considered kosher, but I would have thought that since there are no animal products in wine, that any wine would make the grade, but I guess I’m wrong. I just hope it isn’t a way to give Israel’s wine a bit of a leg-up at the expense of all other wines, because Israeli wine is not very nice, and is truly breathtaking in a more accurate sense of the word.

And yesterday morning, for our last day in the city, we wandered around the middle of the island. Went to this giant three-storey shop in/near Times Square devoted entirely to M&Ms. I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. Finally found the Atlas statue, which was treated by both of us with complete disdain for about half a minute. Having each drunk our fill of rational self-interest, we sent our separate ways (how appropriate). I ended up wandering around the Bowery on the Lower East Side, which is a particularly unclean part of town. Had lunch at a cool little French bistro, and I was the only customer in the building from the time I walked in until the time I left. Food was magnificent, but the windows were open and the wind was blowing in, which meant a lovely waft of garbage accompanied the meal. Found where CBGBs used to be – it’s now a kitchen accessories store, covered in the now-obligatory scaffolding. This is sad.

Met up with Cathy back at the room, and we walked to a part of town where the authorities have renovated a still-existing part of the old elevated railway infrastructure into a public park and walkway. A brilliant idea, and the cleanness and beauty of what had been done with an obsolescent piece of infrastructure contrasted with the poorly-maintained and frankly quite ugly Bowery region I’d been in only hours before. An island of contrasts. Chelsea Markets was at the end of the elevated walkway, but this wasn’t what I’d expected: I thought it’d be a farmers’ market similar to the one we saw in Seattle but it was more about high-end cafes.

For dinner, we returned to Eataly as it was so awesome the first time around. The guy behind the counter remembered us; remarkable, considering (a) we’re tourists and (b) he must see 800 faces a day. Food was just as good as before, and I’m glad we did this. As the sun set and the moon rose, we dawdled around the Flatiron Building until the security guys who’d cordoned off half the area because they were filming a television show gave us the shits and we left. These pretzels are making me thirsty.

I think we did everything I wanted to do in Manhattan, and then more. This city certainly leaves an impression, probably moreso than anywhere else I’ve been, but that might be because I had ‘expectations’ about this city that I haven’t really had about any other place I’ve been. However, whereas before we left I thought I’d probably come back saying it’s the greatest city on earth, I’ve realised it actually isn’t. Rather than being the perfect city, it’s just a city – although a big one – nothing more or less.

I’d say New York City puts functionality before beauty. Few things exemplify this more than the subway, which is lacking in aesthetics, but perhaps nobody much gives a shit, because it does the job required. But something else that clearly symbolises functionality over beauty is the daily garbage collection – the city has a noticeable smell, especially when the heat gets up, because garbage from hotels and restaurants is bagged up in bulk and dumped on the street. Also, there’s the sheer amount of people that seem to be employed to do very little at all – I don’t know if this is an explicit public policy or not, but with the city in constant state of construction and reconstruction, there seem to be plenty of jobs on offer if you have a hardhat and a reflective vest, but many of these jobs seem to involve standing on street corners eight hours a day talking about baseball. But it’s not just construction. Yesterday I went into a bank to use an ATM, and as I was going in, some guy in a suit greeted me. I thought he must have been referring to someone else (why would he possibly be talking to me?), so I didn’t respond. But as I was leaving, he and two other staff members independently (and heartily) exhorted me to have a nice day. I thanked them and left, wondering if they didn’t have anything productive to do. And unemployment’s still over 8%.

But here’s the paradox, and it’s one of many – people here can be so rude sometimes, but also nice when it’s totally unexpected and seemingly unrequired, which is difficult to get calibrated to. Also, people say it’s a rough town, and a hard town. I don’t dispute that; I know I couldn’t live here. I’d be quite happy to learn more about baseball, but I don’t have a hardhat or a reflective vest. But people also say it’s a fast town, and here I take issue. It’s not. It’s a two-speed town. Lightning fast, then imponderably slow. If you lived here, you’d work out the currents, I’m sure; but maybe the locals utilise this as a way of identifying the tourists who don’t follow the abrupt changes in time signature. You can get abused for crossing the street the wrong way or at the wrong time (cabbies routinely illustrate the concept of the ‘New York minute’), or for getting in someone’s way at the 7-Eleven (I speak from personal experience, but luckily I couldn’t work out what he was saying). But on the other hand, as mentioned earlier, New Yorkers seem to love a good queue.

I remember saying to Cathy when we were in Paris 5 years ago that the city is beautiful when you fix your eyes on the distance and don’t look in the gutter. Similar applies to Manhattan.

"giant finned cars nose forward like fish; a savage servility slides by on grease."

Boston has turned out to be the quiet lull we probably both needed. If there is any nightlife here – and of course, there would be – we haven’t seen any of it at all.

So we got the train here the other day, had a late lunch, then didn’t really do much else to be honest – an early night was a good night. The following day was a big day.

We hired a car in order to visit Annabel St (not because of me) and a cemetery in an outlying suburb called Braintree (where do they get these names from?) to visit the grave of Cathy’s great grandparents and the house they used to live in. Fought incessantly with the GPS system in the car (was reminded of the opening line to Robert Lowell’s ‘Sailing Home From Rapallo’ when we found the GPS would only speak Italian) but finally got it to co-operate once we’d managed to freeform our way out of the CBD. Don’t ask us how, it’s best left forgotten. It was the first experience for both of us using GPS and it felt a bit like playing chess with the computer from 2001.

After the stop at the house in Annabel St, Cathy was a bit thirsty so we walked to the local KFC so she could get a soft drink and take a pee, while I sat there trying not to throw up at the disgusting stench of the said product being sold. From here, we ventured to Braintree to visit the cemetery. Some of the on- and off-ramps for freeways here are confusing, especially when trying to decipher the GPS instructions. When I gave Cathy directions to ‘go this way’, I was aware that ‘this way’ is a somewhat inaccurate term when there were at least 6 ways to go, but it would have been just as useful as saying ‘go right, but not *this* right, *that* right instead’. Recalculating. Recalculating. Recalculating. Satellite reception lost.

Then, to the cemetery, and we found the gravesite we were looking for quite quickly and the people in the office were really helpful. I found myself getting a bit sad when Cathy told me of their story, which made me think how little control we poor individuals have over our lives sometimes. We left flowers, and I pondered how long it may have been since others did the same. I won’t go into details of the event, but it reminded me of how awesome Cathy is because of the nice, thoughtful, considerate things she does for people who are no longer with us. I mentioned to her that while I don’t much care what happens to me once I’m no longer here, I think it would be sad for Cathy not to have anyone thinking about her once she’s gone, given how much she thinks about others who have gone. If that makes sense. Hmm. A moment contemplating the inevitable. Maybe I’ve said too much there; if existentialism persists, refrain from drinking such strong martinis.

We negotiated our way back into the CBD, dropped off the car, kissed the GPS goodbye, and danced a dance of relief. A real achievement, I think, to drive through a medium-sized US city on the other side of the road, but it was definitely a two-person job.

Following this, we walked through the Boston Common, which was a very nice park. Lots of ducks, and I don’t just mean the tourist-oriented land-and-water vehicles. Had some lunch sitting on the grass from a vegan food truck – I had the soy BLT served in a pita pocket, which was little short of extraordinary, while Cathy had a spicy broccoli salad, some chips, and a grilled pickle. Food here (I mean the US, not just Boston) can be so fresh it boggles the mind that so many Americans eat so much McDonalds: or, for that matter, KFC. But then again, there’s the fried dough. Yes. Fried dough. I don’t want to know.

Buildings here (I mean Boston, not the US) are probably the best I’ve seen in the US – yep, although the Chicago and NYC buildings are impressive in their own right, in Boston, the buildings seem to complement each other somehow. I don’t know exactly what I mean here, but there is a light-and-shade thing going on where shadows are cast at angles that make the architecture look even more stunning than it is. I don’t know the term or terms required here, but there’s definitely something about this city that makes it look more attractive that some of the others we’ve seen. It might be the history – to be honest, parts of downtown Boston seem eerily similar to parts of the Sydney CBD (but with less people) – or it could be the break in the heatwave – I don’t know.

We walked around the Back Bay area, where Commonwealth and Marlborough Streets are to be found, and I considered the poetry of Robert Lowell. These may be two of the most beautiful streets I’ve ever strolled down. This is where the other 0.01% of Bostonians live. Walking along the beautiful river while Cathy tried to coax squirrels to her with the distinct promise of no food whatsoever, we ended up back near the Common, and we had a drink at the ‘Cheers’ pub. Call me a daggy tourist, but I remember my father watching this show regularly, so we dropped in for a beer on his behalf. Needless to say, it was so crowded there’s no way they’d ever know my name, nor Norm’s, nor anyone else’s.

We then caught the train to Harvard, and I took a photograph of Cathy standing in the quadrangle with students of equal or lesser ability than hers. I know I could never have studied overseas, but she could have, and I know this is selfish but I’m kind of glad she didn’t because otherwise we wouldn’t have met. Still, it’s strange to ponder the opportunity cost (spoken like a true economist) – which reminds me, I wish I’d visited the University of Chicago so I could raise two fingers to the economics faculty, but that’s another story. We strolled around the town and walked through a news outlet called ‘Out Of Town News’, where the concept of ‘out of town’ is limited to Washington and New York. Yes, even at Harvard. Kind of disappointing. There was some guy at a nearby pub up the road offering to play chess against all comers, and when I discovered Cathy wasn’t game (and I would have been stupid to even try), we had a drink or two at a nearby Tex/Mex place, sitting outside in the beautiful sunshine.

Today was a bit of an anticlimax because Christy’s house was possessed by a poltergeist, so we walked to the building where Cathy’s mum’s aunt ran a ballet school years ago, then walked along a river (I avoided getting attacked by geese), and went to a museum which Cathy greatly enjoyed. Ended up back at Quincy Market and walked through a long corridor of food. Reminded me of what it might have been like to be an item of clothing before the invention of the washing machine – was like walking through a food wringer, and we were very glad to get out to the other side. To recover, we both required a drink – in my case, it was the strongest martini I’ve ever had. Staggered back to the room, and wrote this post. Tonight will be a night in – we’re both a bit tired, and I have some university stuff to do. Tomorrow we return to New York for a few more days.

Washington report for y'all

So I suppose I better check in with a little report so you don't all think I have done nothing but eat and sleep on this trip...though that wouldn't be so bad. Certainly, I have slightly different aims to J on this trip, after a long period of working too hard and desparately needing some space to think about what should come next. And also having a less emotional connection to American TV and films :p


It was interesting going back to Washington - this time with Jay and having been in other parts of the USA (where people had been soooo much more polite and friendly, and seemed generally interested about Australia, even if the only thing they knew about it was that it was "downunder").

It immediately struck me that we were staying in a much nicer area of the city, and that where you lived in Washington would have a real impact on  your outlook (a bit like Canberra I guess). In fact, really the whole place is a bit like Canberra - its planned, rather "fake" in my view, plus it has that whole nationalism thing on top of this...honestly I just gave up counting the flags!

We were staying right near Dupont Circle in a lovely B&B where the staff were just gorgeous and I felt much safer than last time. I was also less afronted this time by the poverty that clearly exists here...though if you spent most of your time in Georgetown you wouldn't know it!

A key highlight for me was the Phillips Collection. I didn't go here last time, and its just gorgeous - sure must be tough having so much money you can spend your inheritance collecting great works of art, but nice of them to open it up to the public! This was one of my favourite galleries so far, as the collection was carefully considered and the paintings arranged in the old family house by theme rather than the standard "history of art" approach. I also got to see a lot of artists' work that I hadn't seen before. And its always makes me happy to see how happy Jay is when before a Rothko painting - and in this case a whole room of his paintings!

It was great to also great to see the FDR memorial again - even if it was in temperatures that felt like we were in the centre of the earth. This place always makes me a little sad though. Such beautiful ideals are expressed here...but spend a day watching US news shows and you wonder what has happened to them [particularly after two days of listening to arguments about whether the muslim bortherhood has infiltrated the US government, courtesy of the Tea Party which brings new meaning to "evidence" to back up your claims]. 
I also managed to stop in at Freer and Sackler museum briefly - but the Mughal art exhibition was open yet...bah humbug :(


A lowlight was certainly the Newseum which made me really angry (despite their amazing collection of political and newspaper history artefacts, and some very moving exhibits around Sep 11). Propaganda is certainly alive and well here, and not just on Fox News. I am not sure what was worse, the exhibition on the Berlin Wall or the Murdoch alter of worship. Was really interesting to read all the glowing praise of the importance of freedom of speech - particularly in the context of Wikileaks (which was not mentioned at all) and a Falong gong demonstration going on outside.

And while my mother will groan at this, goth clubbing in Washington at Spellbound was LOTS of fun (even if it was the night before an early morning train ride....urgh), particularly after a brilliant meal at a vegetarian restaurant (food blog post to follow). Jay and I requested 5 songs and they played them all, and I could dance to my hearts content (with alcohol successfully numbing foot injuries!), plus for the first time in a long time just sit and listen to good music that I didn't know at also. It also made me laugh very hard that the actual venue was called "Recessions". Jay really should DJ here :)

Anyway, over and out from me for the moment, I won't comment on New York until we finish part two of our visit. Tomorrow is family history day in Boston - hiring a car and going to see my great granparents who are burried about 1/2 an hour out of town (if I don't drive on the wrong side of the road). Sounds a bit morbid perhaps, but after the ancestry research I have been doing recently, I really regret that I never had the chance to meet them. Hopefully we can also find the house they used to live in, in Annabel St (yes seriously, weird huh!), and the street where their ballet studio was in Boston.

x
c

Chicago - the food

Next stop was Chicago after Seattle food wise...but we still had 2 days on the train first. Unfortunately on our last meal, J and I discovered that if you are slack and get to your allotted dinner service late (yes it did sometimes feel like we were in the army, at least on the USA trains), then they have usually miscounted and serve you in your room privately instead! This was great, as while I have loved talking to people on the trains here, after 2 days on the train, you get a bit over explaining where Canberra is.

When we arrived in Chicago, it was pretty much too late to eat anything, so next morning we got up and had a HUGE breakfast (not that small breafasts appear to exist here) at Yolk . I don't think I have ever been to a bigger restaurant so full of people eating breakfast - with most people unable to fit their plates on the table. The servings were ridiculous. For once I was also miserable that I couldn't do my meal justice as it was fabulous and this was my first sign of fresh vegies in a while. Jay had his first Huevos Ranchos which was nice and spicy, and I had an amazing Vegie Skillet - kind of a frittata but without the eggs, and then a fried egg on top instead :).

 

 

We didn't do that well with our food choices in Chicago, but I must say there are some fancy places to drink there...Below was a hotel on the 27th floor of the Wit hotel, which was all a bit naff, until the speed dating started anyway..my cocktail was called "New Money"..mmmm...

We also came across a speciality champagne bar (150 types for Cathy to try...but actually I only had one!), It was really designed for Jay and I, with a microbrewery as well in the basement.

We did, however, have one really good meal in Chicago...well Jay wasn't that impressed but my meal was awesome and it didn't make me sick as it was fully GF which always gets extra points. It was at a Mexican restaurant called Cantino Laredo. I believe its a chain of restaurants which started in Texas somewhere.

My photos are below - the ones that worked anyway. Highlights were the fresh guacamole made at our table (which even Jay liked!) and my avocado and artichoke enchiladas topped with tomatillo sauce - OK so I was probably extra excited because I am becomming a bit artichoke obsessed over here, and its so very rare for me to be able to eat a GF enchilada in Australia unless I make it myself. But my meal was so tasty.

 

These simple tofu rice paper rolls which I bought at some fresh food markets outside the Contemporary Art Museum were also brilliant...why people would eat at crap diners and McDs etc. here I just don't understand. The fresh produce is so amazing.

Jasper - the food

Oops...realised that I completely forgot to do a food report for Jasper, which would be very unfair given that despite being in the middle of nowhere, has been the most GF friendly place I have visited so far.

But first off you may all be interested in what food is like on a Canadian sleeper train...well my first breakfast was below...the first of many an omlette I have eaten in North America (in fact if I see another one I may throw it at the wall), but at this point in the troop it was great to have a hot GF vegie breakfast on the train - even if there were bits of American fluro yellow cheese on top...).

First worthy of mention in Jasper itself in terms of good food experiences was the pizza bar, which is right on the main road and had a gorgeous rooftop where you could sit and gaze at the surrounding mountains. Up until today, Jay had his best vegie burger of the trip here. Disturbingly however when I asked him why after being very coy he eventually admitted that it was because the sauce reminded him of Big Mac sauce!!! Gor-met Jay :)

 

But more importantly, I was able to get the first and only GF pizza I have seen over here...and it was probably the best one I have ever eaten. It was called an Athabasca and had artichokes, olives, red peppers and mushrooms. I also gave in and tried the whole parmesan and chilli flakes thing (which get presented to you with every pizza), and once past the initial oh my god I am putting extra cheese on a pizza horror, it was actually really good. In fact everything with archichokes around here is generally fantastic...

 

But if you do find yourself in Jasper particularly as a GF/vego, do make sure you go to Downstream Bar and Grill...I don't think they have a website but you will find it if you walk down the main street. Its kind of an odd place with a great atmosphere but made a bit weird due to the skateboard theme. For a non-vego restaurant, it probably has the best vego/GF choices of any restaurant I have been too...unfortunately, my photos didn't really work, but here are some terriyaki tofu bites that I had.

 

I can't remember where I bought these but must also include at least one picture of "yam fries" - yeah sweet potato chips..they are everywhere in Canada and are very yummy - well from my perspective anyway, Jay being a boy is scared of them because they are made from an orange vegetable.

 

I must also include a photo of one of my favourite food discoveries. God this stuff is good, and would really go down a treat when doing late night system testing...I hope I can find it in Australia for the gang.