NEW YORK, NEW YORK

(retrospectively added....)

Well we have finally made it, after an intense, jam packed fortnight prior which included moving house, packing and going through registration with the Architects Board of South Australia, an arduous task that consisted of squeezing months of study into a few weeks, a 4 year log book compiled in the space of 4 days, a written test and then a verbal exam taken two days before flying out.  Good news though, I think that I have passed.  I am still waiting on word from Australia but am confident that I have made it through, particularly as about half way through my exam, my examiners (hardened and tough industry professionals) stopped asking me questions about how I would handle future tricky architectural situations that may put me or my future clients in peril, and began asking me about the global hotspots I intended to hit on my travels.

Given that it had been such a hectic build up to our trip (I had finished my verbal examination on the Friday afternoon) and with our travel agent Scott conveniently booking us on a 6:00am Sunday morning flight decided it appropriate to have a very small gathering for a midday Saturday lunch at a small bar to say some heartfelt goodbyes and see you soons.  This would leave us plenty of time to get home and start packing our bags and preparing for our early flight the next day.  And with a little luck it may even allow us to bed early enough to make sure we were rested up.  All good in theory.  

I was already running late and missed the kick-off as I had been at work early that morning tidying up loose ends, and drove to the pub.  I noticed that Carrie was already going at a cracking pace.  It was not long before I had joined her, and we were both going well with our friends.  A sensible time to leave ticked by in a blur of beers, Bazaar and bollock photos, and before we knew it we were being kicked out of the pub at their 2am closing time.  Panic ensued as we got home and realised that by the time we had ripped the tags off of our brand new backpacks that we were due to be leaving to get to the airport.  It is here that I can pass on my first piece of travelling advice (learning it the hard way).  Do not pack when drunk!  My first week in New York has been slightly compromised as I realise that all I have in my pack is a number of shorts, a football Guernsey and my cricket shirt.  A quick trip to the Gap will be in order!  Carrie also didn’t fair so well, and in a moment of stupidity has packed her hair straightener!

So with our parents chastising us for one final time on the drive to the airport and a grumpy Dad taking possession of my car keys with the news that I had left the BMW safely parked in an Unley Road carpark Carrie and I were off and on our way, some waves to the drunken friends who had gone directly from the pub to the airport to see us off (and continue drinking in the airport bar) and we were on our way!  A small 24 hour flight to Los Angeles and then a few hours of stopover before making the 5 hour flight across the USA to our first destination New York.

We touched down somehow in the late afternoon of the same day we left, tired, hungover and feeling sorry for ourselves.  The grilling from the customs official in Los Angeles did not improve anyones mood.

But all of that was forgotten as we bravely headed out of the airport to mount the dangerous New York subway.

Carrie and I have done some international travelling prior to this, but it is fair to say that nothing can really prepare you for New York.  It is everything that people say it is and more.  It at once feels both familiar and incredibly foreign, and exotic, but every step you take there is something that triggers a memory of a Seinfeld episode, or something from a movie or another piece of pop culture.

So with weary eyes, but finding energy that we didn’t know we had we were out and walking the streets on our first night, taking in a bit of the surrounds of the trendy meat packing district, and getting out first slice of pie (a massive bit of pizza for the uninitiated).

Our first night provided some clues as to why New York is the city that never sleeps.  It is because the cab drivers never stop honking their bloody horns!  Carrie and I both struggled to get much shut eye, but I think our location in front of a busy NYPD station didn’t help things either, sirens continued to go off throughout the night.  But sleep wasn’t high on the agenda anyway, as day one of our big trip awaited, and it was to be the first day of Carrie being dragged to architectural icons of the world.  First stop, one of my favourite ever buildings from one of America’s greatest architects, the Guggenheim Museum.  And in a cruel twist of fate it turned out that the whole building was under scaffold for repairs when we visited.  It will probably not be the first time that I will regret not doing a bit more homework before we left Australia!  However we were allowed to go inside, and I got to experience this amazing building, and the works on exhibit were pretty spectacular also.

From here we were on foot, and not far from Central Park so we were able to have a good look around the massive green park marooned on all sides by giant buildings.

That night we headed off to our first ever Broadway show, a lavish and beautiful telling of the classic Beauty and the Beast.  It is fair to say that it was quite spectacular, however a lack of sleep the night before, a comfy chair, some jetlag and the absence of police sirens and I was soon dozing off.

Next day it was off on another action packed day of sight seeing, with us taking in some more architectural sights with a tour to the "Flat Iron" building, one of the worlds first tru sky scrapers, squeezed into an irregular sized block.  Then it was off to get a true sense of the scale of New York by ascending the Empire State building.  And whilst the talking tour guide was pretty lame the view was anything but, with the concrete sky scraper jungle that is Manhattan spreading for miles in all directions.  It is also a very romantic spot that has provided the backdrop to many a movie, and had more than its fair share of marriage proposals take place on the viewing deck, however sadly for Carrie no engagement was forthcoming from me, and rather than acting like Tom Hanks from Sleepless In Seatle I was more like King Kong picking her up and dragging her off to visit other amazing architectural sights including the Seagram Building, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station and Foster’s Hearst Tower.  Carrie did go on to extract some revenge by then dragging me through a 4 story building off of time square that was dedicated exclusively to m&m’s.

That night we had picked up our tickets and once again, like the pros that we had become, mounted the subway for a trip out to Queens and a trip to Yankee stadium to watch the Yankees play the Blue Jays.  It was a great atmosphere at the game, and whilst it doesn’t hold a candle to the great game of cricket I can definitely see myself getting into the game of baseball.  Sadly for NY it appears that I should have been out on the park for them as they were held scoreless and were hammered by the Canadians.  It was still a great night for us, knocking back beers, crackerjacks, pop corn, hotdogs, and pretty much anything else the ever present walking vendors were selling.

The action never stops in New York and the next day had us seeking out tickets for the Letterman show.  A favourite show of all late night dwellers (which I certainly am) I had always wanted to mix it up in the audience and see what Dave, Paul and Rupert G would have in store.  It turned out to be quite a complex process of putting names down and then phone calls, mafia type drop offs and secret handshakes, but eventually we received the good news that we had been accepted and would get to see Dave that night.  Carrie and I ended up thanks to Carries good looks sitting front and centre to a great show.  We saw Steven Wright the slow talking funnyman and some other famous news reader that I already forget the name of.  Once again though, it was amazing to see such an iconic New York event at such close proximity.

Any trip to New York would not be complete without a trip to the Statue of Liberty, so with that and camera in hand we headed out next day to see the old girl.  A boat trip full of other tourists and we were there.  It was cracking weather, perfect for the iconic photo of Carrie and I standing in front of the statue, should be pretty easy to get you would think, however as it turns out all of the tourists that we had asked to take photo of us had taken that literally and made sure they had got us in, however had neglected to capture the statue behind us.  If we needed a photo of Carrie and I looking slightly lost and confused in front of a brick wall we could have done that without the 26 hour flight and the jet lag, thanks very much!

From the statue, we visited Ellis Island, famous first point for early immigrants to America.  A tough flight of stairs was used to determine the healthy immigrants from the not so fit, so I was glad that noone saw me coming up them, otherwise in my jetlagged state I could have been out on my arse.

Also, no trip to New York could now be complete without a visit to Ground Zero to have a look at where the twin towers once stood.  It is a sombre experience as you look over the barricade, at the amazingly big whole in the ground.  They have just completed the full demolition of the old buildings and are readying the ground for the new developments.  There are large amounts of photos that commemorate the day, but perhaps the saddest monuments are the hand written cards made by children to the loved ones that they lost in the tower collapse that day.  It is hard to imagine what that day must have been like.  We also got to visit St George’s Church that sat at the base of the towers that became the base station for the rescue effort.  It is a church steeped in history as it was the church where George Washington worshipped, it is now a famous enduring monument to that terrible day.

The twin towers were very close to Wall Street, so we also paid it a visit on our walking tour of Tribeca.  Wall street is actually a very small narrow road, hard to believe that the wealthiest, and apparently the brightest knock about there, and this small street dictates how the rest of the world will fair financially.

With our time in New York sadly running out, we squeezed in a visit to the Met, an amazing museum where I got to get up close to a number of my favourite dinosaurs.  The T-Rex and the Stegasaurus were my personal highlight.  And then it was onto the MOMA art museum, where I was in heaven looking at various collections of modern furniture, sculpture and art.  They had even squeezed an E-Type Jag into the eclectic collection.  We saw our first Van Gough up close, and also got to see a number of Warhols and the Dali painting with the melting clocks.  All very impressive!

So with a sad heavy heart it was time to leave the hustle and bustle of New York, and whilst the museums and buildings are impressive I think the most memorable experiences are just walking around, seeing a see of yellow cabs, or seing smoke pouring out of the vents of the subway, or looking up at a cross road and seeing all 4 directions lined with massive multi story buildings.  We have loved the food, and loved the sights, the people aren’t all that bad either!  We even got the hang of the subway, so it will be a sad thing to have to leave, but in good news, New Orleans and southern hospitality await, so onwards we go!

Turkey: gobble gobble

Hello all

Once again, a long overdue blog, way past the point of the event, but a country worthy of a blog, so here goes!

Well last time we left the blog we had trampled across the great land of Britain, and were jetsetting of to the conutry of Turkey, to discover some culture, and with some luck have a kebab or three.

Our first stop on the trip was the famous city of Istanbul, a majestic Muslim city that i think has just about shot up to number one on the highlight reel so far. It is an amazing feeling to wander around a city so ancient that it has seen many different dynasties, many different conquerers and was back drop to the all-time best Bond film.

The old city is full of amazing sites and it is humbling to walk between the two great mosques sofya, and the blue mosque, 1500 and 1000 years old. Our first stop was the Blue Mosque pictures below, and we were able (minus shoes) to view the inside aswell. After our visit across the road to Sofya the other great mosque, we scored it at; Blue Mosque better exterior, Sofya much better interior, and eventually had Sofya declared the winner on a points decision. Each mosque, Istanbul must have over a thousand, has their own prayer callers who below prayers at all hours of the clock (the first ones kick off at 5am) and they are amplified around the city at great volume. Unless woken up by them they truly lend the city a majestic magical spirit that is hard to find anywhere else in the world.

Istanbul is full of ancient roman ruins as well, built underneath the city during Roman times was a massive underground cistern for the cities water supply. No gondalas, and no underground submarine spying stations, but amazing all the same.

One of the major reasons we had come to Turkey was to visit the battlefields of Gallipoli, so soon we were off on the bus. And on a tour early the next day.

Gallipoli was an amazing experience, and its difficult to describe the feelings when walking around the sites. The site is much smaller than i could have ever believed. From the high position you can see almost the entire battle fields, and it is impossible to belive in the now quiet spot that over a million people fought and half a million turks and allied troops died on the peninsula. You cant help but get the overwhelming feeling of loss and waste when you visit, but also a feeling that nations were born out of the fighting that took place there for 9 months. The respect and friendship that Turks had for Australians on the battlefields and vica versa is still strongly felt, in the monuments and the friendship of the Turkish people today.

Whilst visiting the lone pine monument to Australians our guide was able to find several pieces of shrapnel and many bullet casings still lying on the grounds, after any rain he still finds them washed up to the surface, it really is a place that denies description, the contradictions between stories of sadness and courage are hard to describe...

From Gallipoli it was off on our first night bus in Turkey to the town of Ephesus for some ancient ruins via a small stop in Troy. Along our journey we have taken our share of night buses, and at first glance Turkeys night buses was ticking all of the boxes to becoming one of the best yet. A recent law passed in Turkey has seen their chain smoking population (everyone smokes about a pack a day minimum) disallowed to smoke on buses. Great news for travellers on buses who are now trying to kick their passive smoking habit. (Of course the driver and bus workers are still allowed to smoke) Whilst celebrating this stroke of luck we realised that after another all too frequent bus stop that the bus was making extra stops for the nicotine addicted crowds on board. Its not great trying to get to sleep on a bus that stops once an hour for breaks, but at every stop the bus gets washed. A troop of men come running to the bus with brooms with hoses attached (they are ideas men) and proceed to wash down the bus... Little sleep was had on buses we took throughout Turkey.

Ephesus a small village once a famous biblical town still retains many ruins from the Roman occupation. A stunning amphitheatre and Library still remain, and the main street is rumoured to have felt the feet of Apostles, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, and where for only 50 cents you can feel the wonderful atmosphere (another vivid reminder of why Australia is great.... keep your change in your pockets!) .... Unfortunately the town now only feels the feet of hordes of cruise ship passengers out for the day. The American crowds were a little hard to bear, but still an amazing day was had.

From Ephesus it was another sleepless overnight bus to Pamukkale, famous for trabertine cliffs of white calcium and bathing pools. Whilst suffering from drought and water restrictions seeing the pools reduced to bear minimum water the pools were still beautiful and a quick dip (up to my ankles) in the rejuinating miracle water was had. To protect the calcium baths you are not allowed to wear shoes on the calcium so you are forced to shred your feet to get to the pools. I fear whatever positive effects the water may have were nullfied by the sharp rocks, and i think the walk home on bloody stumps was proof. Pamukkale also housed its fair share of ruins also, ruins enthusiasts please contact for further details.

From Pamukkale it was to Capadocia, a volcanic region of Turkey with towering spires of soft stone that the original inhabitants were able to carve into to make houses. They lived this way in underground and cave cities for thousands of years, only emerging some twenty years ago, i assume because of poor television reception.

It was in this region that some parts of star wars was filmed, i got pretty excited until i realisd it was only episode 1....
Capadocia is also famous for the suni religion where a religous cult began many centuries ago whereby the subjects express their devotion to god by spinning around in a circle with one hand facing god and one hand facing the earth, spinning until they form a connection between the two while at the same time transcending place and time. Turkish touts have shown their devotion to money by packaging this spectacle with an all night drink-athon food, belly dancing extravaganza.... but i guess when in Turkey.....

It is fair to say that what started out as innocent fun, all went a bit pear shaped when our hotel owner (a wannabe aussie turkish man) took us on further to a pub. It is fair to say that copius amounts of raki (local turkish firewater), beer and the sheesha pipe (apple tobaco only) do not mix. I paid the price with a rat arse day following.

From capadocia it was back to Istanbul for a traditional turksih bath (hammam), where its hard to believe that the hands of a middle aged fat hairy turkish man could ever have felt so good. With some last minute bazaar wanderings, and eating as much baklava and as many kebabs as humanly possible, it was onto the airport and on with our journey. Turkey was absolutely amazing, and the Turkish people are by far the friendliest people we have met on our journeys. Taking delight in having a tea (you are invited to share with them constantly) is truly a special thing, they are curious and polite and a pleasure to be around.

Anyways, thanks for reading, i hope you got here and you were not redirected to a bible workshop page, (not sure why that is happening, in response to some of your questions, no i have not become a religous fanatic). Hope you are all well and i will be home to see most of you very soon. Crows fans, keep the faith, making draft error after error doesnt mean that we will keep doing it does it??

Take care

Brett