In no particular order (with photos to come) …
• The Thames River – winds its way through the city with walkways all round. Great for a stroll and so many sites to see on it and near it
• The History – so many amazing things happened here. Something for everyone from every century in every field of human endeavour and interest
• The Tube & the National Rail – what a fantastic overlapping transport system developed so long ago, covering so much of the city and now so incredibly efficient (a train every 2-3 mins on every line)
• The London Buses – a large family’s dream in that the kids are free, there is a top deck to sit on and there are literally 400 plus routes covering every square inch of the city. Even better than the trains
• The Oyster System – a transport card that enabled you to easily travel on both buses and trains and automatically reduced the price of your fare to the lowest possible for the day
• The Monuments – you can climb on them and play in them and sit on the floor anywhere you like (unlike the USA where machine gun waving wardens guarded every nook and cranny to stop people loitering)
• The Tesco Food Deal – 2 Pounds buys you a meal deal of a deli sandwich a packet of chips and a decent drink BRILLIANT
• Costa Coffee – after the good coffee drought in the US these guys were heaven sent. Real life Baristas and “every cup is made with love”
• The Architecture – from the ridiculous Gherkin and the copy-cat Raddish to the Norman Churches, countless Palaces and Gothic Cathedrals London has it all (soon to include the tallest building in the European Union)
• Royal Albert Hall – a musical masterpiece and a terrific glimpse into English culture as we spent the afternoon with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir for a St George’s Day sing along.
• The Array of Sports Cars – if you can tell the difference between a Lamborghini, Masarati, Porsche & a Mini (and you care as our boys do) then a walk through the Kensington Royal Borough is very exciting
• The Christians – although London is a godless place strangely full of religion and yet very little biblical faith, the Christians at St Helen’s Bishopsgate and St John’s Chelsea welcomed us with open arms and cared for our needy hearts with excellent teaching, godly counsel, hospitality and warm fellowship for the whole family
• The Garden Museum at Lambeth – a beautiful old Norman church where Governor Bligh and family are buried now turned into a tasteful café and garden museum
• The London Eye – more than a great big Ferris Wheel
• The Windmill Pub – which supplied us with internet and unforgettable Karaoke
• The Park Jumpers – in the park behind our flat there was a lovely park. In this park a group of young men would gather to jump. They did it for hours and we watched amazed from our balcony
• The Royal Wedding TV Show – a nightly feast for those who love all things royal
• The Food – Vegemite and Wheetbix were the same as in Australia and Jam Donuts in England are as good as they get.
Michael
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Purple Pants in Strasbourg
Strasbourg is a picturesque university town in France, right near the border with Germany. So close that the land has changed hands many times in the last few hundred years and so the locals are both French and German solidly mixed. It is famous for all kinds of things like being the capital city of the European Union. On the tourist end there are also the lovely cobbled streets, and many small bridges across split canals of the Rhine river. The streets are old, the houses are old and the city is a mix of quaint, intellectual and international.
Now every city has its unemployed yet perhaps none are as hard working as the two men we met today. Whilst driving around these very narrow streets trying to park our RV so we could stop, eat and look around, a shabbily dressed young man suddenly shouted at us from the street “Parking” and gesticulated wildly off to the left where another man was standing near a whole bunch of parked cars. Was this a Valet service? Were these men seeking to rob us? Was there really a parking spot there amongst 100 other cars arranged haphazardly on a side road?
Having few options we decided to take the adventure before us and try our luck. The second man was about 50 years old and was wearing the most wonderful pair of purple pants. The last time we had seen pants like these was on Gene Wilder playing Willy Wonka. And just like Willy Wonka, these purple pants promised much and boy could they move! Purple Pants and his younger mate were off shouting instructions in French and running down the street to where we might be able to park.
Through a maze of side street vehicles, over a gutter, back onto the main road and then left down another side street. We couldn’t believe our eyes, Purple Pants was 50m in front and the younger guy was 20m in front of our vehicle running along the road occasionally weaving through oncoming traffic to take short cuts. The boys and Karen were in stitches and I was wondering how much these guys got paid for their fantastic service.
Finally they found us the perfect spot and in we went, they however did not leave. Purple Pants and his mate carefully guided me into the spot and then stood at the drivers door waiting for … what … a pat on the head? Not knowing what would come next I locked everyone in the RV and went to thank them. They were well pleased with themselves and were both speaking at once giving me instructions about something. Was it French? Was it German? Was it something else? It certainly wasn’t English and they weren’t asking for money as far as I could tell. I eventually worked out they were telling me it was a free parking spot for the next 2 hours, they had done it and I was grateful.
Two Euros each was a small price to pay for their kindness – only double that of what the spot would have cost if I’d paid for it! However the entertainment was more than worth it but I don’t think they will be declaring this on their tax returns.
Michael
Now every city has its unemployed yet perhaps none are as hard working as the two men we met today. Whilst driving around these very narrow streets trying to park our RV so we could stop, eat and look around, a shabbily dressed young man suddenly shouted at us from the street “Parking” and gesticulated wildly off to the left where another man was standing near a whole bunch of parked cars. Was this a Valet service? Were these men seeking to rob us? Was there really a parking spot there amongst 100 other cars arranged haphazardly on a side road?
Having few options we decided to take the adventure before us and try our luck. The second man was about 50 years old and was wearing the most wonderful pair of purple pants. The last time we had seen pants like these was on Gene Wilder playing Willy Wonka. And just like Willy Wonka, these purple pants promised much and boy could they move! Purple Pants and his younger mate were off shouting instructions in French and running down the street to where we might be able to park.
Through a maze of side street vehicles, over a gutter, back onto the main road and then left down another side street. We couldn’t believe our eyes, Purple Pants was 50m in front and the younger guy was 20m in front of our vehicle running along the road occasionally weaving through oncoming traffic to take short cuts. The boys and Karen were in stitches and I was wondering how much these guys got paid for their fantastic service.
Finally they found us the perfect spot and in we went, they however did not leave. Purple Pants and his mate carefully guided me into the spot and then stood at the drivers door waiting for … what … a pat on the head? Not knowing what would come next I locked everyone in the RV and went to thank them. They were well pleased with themselves and were both speaking at once giving me instructions about something. Was it French? Was it German? Was it something else? It certainly wasn’t English and they weren’t asking for money as far as I could tell. I eventually worked out they were telling me it was a free parking spot for the next 2 hours, they had done it and I was grateful.
Two Euros each was a small price to pay for their kindness – only double that of what the spot would have cost if I’d paid for it! However the entertainment was more than worth it but I don’t think they will be declaring this on their tax returns.
Michael
Hullabaloo at Heathrow
The day began simply enough. All the packing the night before went fairly well, the minivan taxi even came on time. Though the driver was fairly dismayed when he saw the number and size of our baggage – as usual it all worked in the end and off we went to Heathrow.
The difficulties began at baggage check-in. It seems our tickets do not have a consistent baggage policy for all the flights on our journey. The excessive but very good for us 2 bags per person at 23kg each plus carry-on baggage was reduced for this leg to Frankfurt down to one bag each of no more than 20kg plus carry on baggage. What a to-do! It wasn’t our fault and it wasn’t their fault, somewhere a glitch in the Lufthansa ticketing system had occurred (which we hope will be rectified before our next flight!!).
Either way it meant a complete re-pack and reduce right there on the floor of the check-in terminal amongst hundreds of passengers. With our trolleys and persons and baggage we took up ¼ the size of a tennis court all spread out on the floor. Sadly we were forced to bin lots of things. What we could not part with but did not need till home was repacked into 3 bags for direct shipping and the rest reorganised and re-weighed.
I took the gear down to shipping (a separate level on the far side of the terminal) whilst Karen and the boys re-checked-in the remains. For my part it was going well til I lost all three bags off the trolley in front of a bus (note to self: calm down and stop running) and then had to fill out 6 pages of forms in triplicate, empty and re-pack one of the bags three times looking for batteries and other items that the x-ray refused.
Margin is a good thing. However even with the extra hour margin we had allowed it was not sufficient for the task. The plane was delayed while they paged the Williamson family, the staff were stroppy and we were now running to make it on board. At times like this God intervenes in amazing ways. You can bet we were all praying hard and miracles began to happen. They allowed us some extra weight in our remaining bags and did not count the pram and child seat and then for the first time so far there was no queue at the passport check, the personal security x-ray check or at boarding, even the gate where the plane was revving its engines waiting for us was physically the closest gate to the entry – not bad out of 40+ gates. Every other flight we’ve undertaken has seen queues at each of those points for anything up to 20mins a go.
The result? We’re now 50kgs lighter, $500 lighter (expecting to be refunded by Lufthansa later on) and are amazed at God’s provision in so many ways.
Michael
The difficulties began at baggage check-in. It seems our tickets do not have a consistent baggage policy for all the flights on our journey. The excessive but very good for us 2 bags per person at 23kg each plus carry-on baggage was reduced for this leg to Frankfurt down to one bag each of no more than 20kg plus carry on baggage. What a to-do! It wasn’t our fault and it wasn’t their fault, somewhere a glitch in the Lufthansa ticketing system had occurred (which we hope will be rectified before our next flight!!).
Either way it meant a complete re-pack and reduce right there on the floor of the check-in terminal amongst hundreds of passengers. With our trolleys and persons and baggage we took up ¼ the size of a tennis court all spread out on the floor. Sadly we were forced to bin lots of things. What we could not part with but did not need till home was repacked into 3 bags for direct shipping and the rest reorganised and re-weighed.
I took the gear down to shipping (a separate level on the far side of the terminal) whilst Karen and the boys re-checked-in the remains. For my part it was going well til I lost all three bags off the trolley in front of a bus (note to self: calm down and stop running) and then had to fill out 6 pages of forms in triplicate, empty and re-pack one of the bags three times looking for batteries and other items that the x-ray refused.
Margin is a good thing. However even with the extra hour margin we had allowed it was not sufficient for the task. The plane was delayed while they paged the Williamson family, the staff were stroppy and we were now running to make it on board. At times like this God intervenes in amazing ways. You can bet we were all praying hard and miracles began to happen. They allowed us some extra weight in our remaining bags and did not count the pram and child seat and then for the first time so far there was no queue at the passport check, the personal security x-ray check or at boarding, even the gate where the plane was revving its engines waiting for us was physically the closest gate to the entry – not bad out of 40+ gates. Every other flight we’ve undertaken has seen queues at each of those points for anything up to 20mins a go.
The result? We’re now 50kgs lighter, $500 lighter (expecting to be refunded by Lufthansa later on) and are amazed at God’s provision in so many ways.
Michael
Monday, April 25, 2011
An English Pub
Now that Karen has “outed” me I’m free to tell the tale.
The Pub in question is called the The Windmill and it lies just 150m from our front door. The first night I went there it was just me the bar maid and 3 other customers. A far cry from the packed sports bar I visited in Jersey City where we bought pizza. Besides the Aussie who bought just ½ a pint of beer and used the internet for 2 hours the most remarkable event of the night was the Police showing up in force at the door then deciding they had the wrong place and driving on. Not so the second night … for on Fridays it’s … Karaoke Night!!
At first I didn’t know it was on. There were more people there, the music was louder and Paul from Port Macquarie behind the bar greeted me as just another customer. I sat down in a good spot to watch the whole place whilst trying to down load some anti-virus software and post some blogs. Then all of a sudden the volume increased a notch or four and it sounded like Rick Astley was singing live, albeit a little off key here and there. But no, we hadn’t been Rick Rolled, it was a middle aged short, round, balding fellow who was the Karaoke M.C; just warming up the crowd for the big night ahead. This explained the increase in numbers of people who were singing loudly along to the music whilst downing large amounts of beer as fast as they could.
What followed is hard to describe, was harder to listen too and it was all I could do not to fall onto the floor in repeated fits of mirth. Noting of course that I also cannot sing, I don’t know what being in tune feels like and the most common remark my singing receives is “don’t give up your day job.” I’m hoping these guys also had other work.
Susan Boyle did not show up. Compared to her the resident singers were half as good looking, entirely off-key and not one of them were sober. Enthusiasm was the winner on the night! I Did It My Way – was a real hit as was the guy who did an excellent rendition of Elvis. My award goes to the guy who talked his way through a Dire Straights’ hit. This guy is onto something! Not only does Mark Knofler talk the entire song rather than sing it, the lyrics are also about a South London club where amateurs come to perform. I think I’ve found it. I think I’ve just lived it.
My ears might be ringing and I’ll be giggling for sometime yet, but let ‘em rip I say … roll on the Sultans of Swing!
Michael
The Pub in question is called the The Windmill and it lies just 150m from our front door. The first night I went there it was just me the bar maid and 3 other customers. A far cry from the packed sports bar I visited in Jersey City where we bought pizza. Besides the Aussie who bought just ½ a pint of beer and used the internet for 2 hours the most remarkable event of the night was the Police showing up in force at the door then deciding they had the wrong place and driving on. Not so the second night … for on Fridays it’s … Karaoke Night!!
At first I didn’t know it was on. There were more people there, the music was louder and Paul from Port Macquarie behind the bar greeted me as just another customer. I sat down in a good spot to watch the whole place whilst trying to down load some anti-virus software and post some blogs. Then all of a sudden the volume increased a notch or four and it sounded like Rick Astley was singing live, albeit a little off key here and there. But no, we hadn’t been Rick Rolled, it was a middle aged short, round, balding fellow who was the Karaoke M.C; just warming up the crowd for the big night ahead. This explained the increase in numbers of people who were singing loudly along to the music whilst downing large amounts of beer as fast as they could.
What followed is hard to describe, was harder to listen too and it was all I could do not to fall onto the floor in repeated fits of mirth. Noting of course that I also cannot sing, I don’t know what being in tune feels like and the most common remark my singing receives is “don’t give up your day job.” I’m hoping these guys also had other work.
Susan Boyle did not show up. Compared to her the resident singers were half as good looking, entirely off-key and not one of them were sober. Enthusiasm was the winner on the night! I Did It My Way – was a real hit as was the guy who did an excellent rendition of Elvis. My award goes to the guy who talked his way through a Dire Straights’ hit. This guy is onto something! Not only does Mark Knofler talk the entire song rather than sing it, the lyrics are also about a South London club where amateurs come to perform. I think I’ve found it. I think I’ve just lived it.
My ears might be ringing and I’ll be giggling for sometime yet, but let ‘em rip I say … roll on the Sultans of Swing!
Michael
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Fact and Fiction in Oxford
Oxford may be a famous University town with one of the most amazing libraries in all the world, but that’s not what we went to see. Our walking tour with the wonderful Percival family was a mix of fact and fiction – history and famous literature.
The fiction was the amazing sights that are said to have inspired C.S. Lewis to write the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the many sites of Oxford that were used in the filming of the Harry Potter films. Great Halls along with numerous courtyards and greens that were the setting for much of the Hogwarts action kept the kids enthralled as we walked these ancient streets.
As for the adults, we were gripped by the historical sites that saw much of the English Reformation established in the blood of Protestant martyrs. The notch in the wall of the University Church where Thomas Cranmer made his confession, the cross marked on the road where Tyndale, Latimer and later on Cranmer were burnt at the stake. Simeon struggled here as did many other great ones. Sadly this is also the place where the disastrous Oxford Tractarian movement began and today Oxford is a place where biblical Christian witness is very hard to find. Religion is everywhere but few, very few know Jesus.
Praise God that one of the oldest Churches in the city, St Ebbes which dates back to Norman times is also one of the strongest Reformed Evangelical Churches in all of England. Fact not fiction and may it always be so!
Michael
The fiction was the amazing sights that are said to have inspired C.S. Lewis to write the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the many sites of Oxford that were used in the filming of the Harry Potter films. Great Halls along with numerous courtyards and greens that were the setting for much of the Hogwarts action kept the kids enthralled as we walked these ancient streets.
As for the adults, we were gripped by the historical sites that saw much of the English Reformation established in the blood of Protestant martyrs. The notch in the wall of the University Church where Thomas Cranmer made his confession, the cross marked on the road where Tyndale, Latimer and later on Cranmer were burnt at the stake. Simeon struggled here as did many other great ones. Sadly this is also the place where the disastrous Oxford Tractarian movement began and today Oxford is a place where biblical Christian witness is very hard to find. Religion is everywhere but few, very few know Jesus.
Praise God that one of the oldest Churches in the city, St Ebbes which dates back to Norman times is also one of the strongest Reformed Evangelical Churches in all of England. Fact not fiction and may it always be so!
Michael
Flora & Oops ...
… was that a Pheasant?
Driving in England is very different to the USA. There’s the opposite side of the road thing whilst the blinker is still on the left, there’s the unmarked speed limits where the other local traffic varies up to 30 mile an hour from each other (who do you copy the guy doing 60 or the grandma doing 90?), there’s the signage that is much less-than-clear at every junction and then there are the very narrow roads crawling with Pheasants. The Peasants kept to the side walks.
Actually I never did hit one. I managed to mount the gutter with quite a thump one time but that was all. Pheasants, however, are birds with a very small brain and a death wish. That I didn’t clean one up was not due to their desire to live another day. We now know why the hunters used to use beaters to make these stupid birds fly away. It wasn’t to get them to come out into the open it was to give them a sporting chance! They are everywhere in the Cotswolds and they are road kill around every bend in the road … which by the way, makes it very easy to collect their feathers for a nice hat.
Driving in the Cotswolds also explains why the British excel at motor racing. All roads are 1.5 cars wide, all run in both directions, are very windy and all of them are bounded by grass embankments and rock walls. This means that every corner is a blind corner and still this slows nobody down except the Lorries. How we didn’t manage to lose a side mirror or a body panel is only due to God’s kindness.
That said, when I wasn’t gripping the wheel white knuckled it was very pleasant to be driving in the lovely green countryside. Every hill and dale opens a new vista of gentle verdant green beauty. Quaint villages, bubbling streams, sweet meadows and green wonderful green as far as the eye can see. If you can survive the roads it is a lovely place to be.
Michael
Driving in England is very different to the USA. There’s the opposite side of the road thing whilst the blinker is still on the left, there’s the unmarked speed limits where the other local traffic varies up to 30 mile an hour from each other (who do you copy the guy doing 60 or the grandma doing 90?), there’s the signage that is much less-than-clear at every junction and then there are the very narrow roads crawling with Pheasants. The Peasants kept to the side walks.
Actually I never did hit one. I managed to mount the gutter with quite a thump one time but that was all. Pheasants, however, are birds with a very small brain and a death wish. That I didn’t clean one up was not due to their desire to live another day. We now know why the hunters used to use beaters to make these stupid birds fly away. It wasn’t to get them to come out into the open it was to give them a sporting chance! They are everywhere in the Cotswolds and they are road kill around every bend in the road … which by the way, makes it very easy to collect their feathers for a nice hat.
Driving in the Cotswolds also explains why the British excel at motor racing. All roads are 1.5 cars wide, all run in both directions, are very windy and all of them are bounded by grass embankments and rock walls. This means that every corner is a blind corner and still this slows nobody down except the Lorries. How we didn’t manage to lose a side mirror or a body panel is only due to God’s kindness.
That said, when I wasn’t gripping the wheel white knuckled it was very pleasant to be driving in the lovely green countryside. Every hill and dale opens a new vista of gentle verdant green beauty. Quaint villages, bubbling streams, sweet meadows and green wonderful green as far as the eye can see. If you can survive the roads it is a lovely place to be.
Michael
Why I Love Karen
Just one of the reasons … and not really a main one; yet there is something terrifically endearing about a woman who can cook for a man who likes to eat.
When we entered this ancient Cotswold’s cottage I was bracing myself for disappointment from the whole family. Sure it was at a place called Great Rissington but all that meant was it was bigger than the other Rissington. Everywhere I looked was another strange room and I bumped my head on beams and ceilings and doorways at every turn. However after 8 weeks in an RV this was luxury. The kids loved the backyard and all the space to move and Karen loved the window seats, the garden, the quaintness of it all and she loved, she loved most of all … the oven?!
I thought this was supposed to be a holiday and there was Karen wanting to cancel all kinds of things so she could stay home and cook. Never one to fight against a good meal I encouraged her love for the Aga and off we went to the shops for supplies. Before you could say “3 course meal” Karen had strapped on the floral apron, unsheathed her whisk and the food began to arrive. We could barely eat fast enough and were any of us complaining? No way!
Slow cooked Beef Korma, Chicken Pie, Risotto, Roast Chicken, Roast Pork, Berry & Clotted Cream Pudding, Apple Turnover, Hot Cross Buns & Aga toast melts with all kinds of pastry treats to eat throughout each day. In the spirit of English country cookery we also went off to Stow-on-the-Wold Growers Market to sample the local wares. Here we purchased pork pies from a lady who I’m sure knew the pigs by name, donuts filled with lemon curd made that morning, potted wood pigeon and potted pheasant along with various garden greens and jams.
Was it good? Very!
Are we fatter? Without doubt!
Do I love my wife’s cooking? What do you think?!
Michael
When we entered this ancient Cotswold’s cottage I was bracing myself for disappointment from the whole family. Sure it was at a place called Great Rissington but all that meant was it was bigger than the other Rissington. Everywhere I looked was another strange room and I bumped my head on beams and ceilings and doorways at every turn. However after 8 weeks in an RV this was luxury. The kids loved the backyard and all the space to move and Karen loved the window seats, the garden, the quaintness of it all and she loved, she loved most of all … the oven?!
I thought this was supposed to be a holiday and there was Karen wanting to cancel all kinds of things so she could stay home and cook. Never one to fight against a good meal I encouraged her love for the Aga and off we went to the shops for supplies. Before you could say “3 course meal” Karen had strapped on the floral apron, unsheathed her whisk and the food began to arrive. We could barely eat fast enough and were any of us complaining? No way!
Slow cooked Beef Korma, Chicken Pie, Risotto, Roast Chicken, Roast Pork, Berry & Clotted Cream Pudding, Apple Turnover, Hot Cross Buns & Aga toast melts with all kinds of pastry treats to eat throughout each day. In the spirit of English country cookery we also went off to Stow-on-the-Wold Growers Market to sample the local wares. Here we purchased pork pies from a lady who I’m sure knew the pigs by name, donuts filled with lemon curd made that morning, potted wood pigeon and potted pheasant along with various garden greens and jams.
Was it good? Very!
Are we fatter? Without doubt!
Do I love my wife’s cooking? What do you think?!
Michael
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
Well, that's a valid question for you to ask... sorry about our lack of blogging... we're now in London (sadly,however, not visiting the Queen! Although we did go to Windsor Castle but she wasn't home!)
We're staying in a flat in Lambeth (nearly next door to Lambeth Palace, for all our Anglican readers) and the best thing about this flat is its location - if we walk to the end of the street (20m or so) we can see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament... wow. It's quite a view.
One of the worst things about this flat (and there are a few!!) is the internet connection... I'm typing this up from the slow, ancient iMac which has the only internet connection available - we're not able to use our laptops as there's no wifi.(Which also means no photos for the blog.) When Michael needs to use his computer he wanders down to the pub on the corner and uses their free wifi while enjoying a pint. [I think he's going again tonight so there may be some blogging action soon from him!)
London.. one of my favourite cities. I love London. It's been a great joy to share it with Michael and our boys. We have loved the big touristy attractions like the Tower of London and the London Eye as well as the special, out of the way discoveries like the Dean's Yard at the back of Westminster Abbey and the cafe at the Gardens Museum across the road.
We have had many adventures here, and will attempt to blog about them soon. We haven't forgotten you!
Karen
We're staying in a flat in Lambeth (nearly next door to Lambeth Palace, for all our Anglican readers) and the best thing about this flat is its location - if we walk to the end of the street (20m or so) we can see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament... wow. It's quite a view.
One of the worst things about this flat (and there are a few!!) is the internet connection... I'm typing this up from the slow, ancient iMac which has the only internet connection available - we're not able to use our laptops as there's no wifi.(Which also means no photos for the blog.) When Michael needs to use his computer he wanders down to the pub on the corner and uses their free wifi while enjoying a pint. [I think he's going again tonight so there may be some blogging action soon from him!)
London.. one of my favourite cities. I love London. It's been a great joy to share it with Michael and our boys. We have loved the big touristy attractions like the Tower of London and the London Eye as well as the special, out of the way discoveries like the Dean's Yard at the back of Westminster Abbey and the cafe at the Gardens Museum across the road.
We have had many adventures here, and will attempt to blog about them soon. We haven't forgotten you!
Karen
Thursday, April 14, 2011
American Hospitality
It actually happened. It took until the 7th week to occur and only happened once on the whole trip but we finally endured an example of poor American hospitality.
It was an absolute stand out for repeated rudeness, callousness and went on for an entire week at every interaction. Sadly on reflection it was the kind of lip and attitude I’d expect to receive weekly in Australia, but not so here in the USA. Which is what made it so startling for the comparative examples we have enjoyed at every turn, on every occasion, everywhere else we have travelled throughout this country, people have been courteous, gracious, kind, apologetic, and helpful to a fault. Sure there have been hundreds of examples of normal interactions in shops and toll booths and crowds and so on. Yet whenever we have had reason to ask for particular help or have been guests (paying or free loading) the hospitality we have received has been amazingly good.
For the record then, and so that we never forget them, it is time to mention some people and the kind of wonderful things they have done to care for us:
~ The Parrish Family – Chuck who drove to the airport, waited forever and then escorted us safely on our first drive in a strange country. Wonderful Connie also who together with Chuck gave us their bedrooms, food and the run of their house
~ The Toyashiba Family – Joey, Minda, Briar-Rose, Brienne & Baylee who tooks us to Knotts Berry Farm & Hollywood, even taking the girls out of school so we could spend two wonderful days together
~ The Parish-Wishart Family – Kelly & Jeff, Wyatt & Stuey the dog who made our visit to Universal (including Harry Potter World) brilliant with Fast Passes. Add to that an airport pick-up, Cape Canaveral, & days of driveway lodging
~ The maid at Disney Fort Wilderness – how exciting it was each day to see what she had done to welcome us home (once the TV was left on and the teddies were all lined up watching it with remote in-paw)
~ The Disney World street cleaner – who used his broom and a bucket of water to “paint” characters for us on the pavement when Aidan was having a hard time, it worked and drew a crowd too
~ Walt Disney World – who named a street after us just to make us feel welcome
The rental car lady in Orlando – who put us into the brand new Chrysler Town & Country – very swish!
~ The old people in Florida swimming pools – who did not complain when that wild Aussie family jumped into the pool
~ Bonnie – our guide in Savannah Georgia who went the extra mile to care for us and made a beautiful new city really interesting
~ Johnny Peebles – who adopted us in South Carolina and made our Civil War experience unforgettable
~ RV park in Asheville North Carolina – the lady who gave us copious maps, a discount and even offered me a job
~ K Robins – unbelievable hospitality in Virginia – her car, her time, her driveway, her washing machine & her house in Richmond. What would we have done without K?! Certainly not as much as we did. Thanks should also go to K’s daughter Leila who lined it all up for us.
~ Paul the Ski Tube attendant – who engaged us, advised us and kept the ride open for us when all the other staff wanted to close early because of the rain, fog and lack of customers
~ Doug the train attendant at Richmond Staples Mills – helpful, funny, informative and greeted us on our return journey with pennies he squashed under our train as a souvenir!
~ Washington D.C. – the lady we never met who gave us a password to use her internet connection & the guy at Safeway who used his discount card to reduce the price on our groceries
~ The Fresh Family in Pennsylvania – who gave up ½ their house for a Willo raid lasting a whole week, their time, their dog, their food, their transport, their love
~ Two ladies in D.C. – who teamed up and ensured I made it to Union Station after I got on the wrong train
~ Susan & Bruce – who gave me a room and breakfast every day in D.C. open for food and a chat at all hours of the day and night
~ 9 Marks staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church – who bent over backwards and then some to make my conference there an unforgettable experience
~ Derek the tour guide – who for a “tip” gave us 8 hours of his life so we could experience & understand NYC
~ The Boston train man – not only shared his life experiences in the Episcopal Church of the USA also ensured we went the right direction, found bathrooms and saved us a train fare or two
~ The office staff at Circle Ranch RV M.A. – who took on all our second hand RV equipment and old clothes to “re-purpose” them at the local thrift shop.
Countless ticket sellers, train attendants, strangers on platforms, street corners and shops who never failed to help us with generous and accurate advice.
Writing on the eve of our departure I can happily say that the USA has been a truly wonderful place to visit particularly because of all these people God graciously placed in our path. Even that lady in New Jersey, for without her showing us what it could have been like, we would never have been so thankful for all those who were so kind.
God bless America!
Michael
It was an absolute stand out for repeated rudeness, callousness and went on for an entire week at every interaction. Sadly on reflection it was the kind of lip and attitude I’d expect to receive weekly in Australia, but not so here in the USA. Which is what made it so startling for the comparative examples we have enjoyed at every turn, on every occasion, everywhere else we have travelled throughout this country, people have been courteous, gracious, kind, apologetic, and helpful to a fault. Sure there have been hundreds of examples of normal interactions in shops and toll booths and crowds and so on. Yet whenever we have had reason to ask for particular help or have been guests (paying or free loading) the hospitality we have received has been amazingly good.
For the record then, and so that we never forget them, it is time to mention some people and the kind of wonderful things they have done to care for us:
~ The Parrish Family – Chuck who drove to the airport, waited forever and then escorted us safely on our first drive in a strange country. Wonderful Connie also who together with Chuck gave us their bedrooms, food and the run of their house
~ The Toyashiba Family – Joey, Minda, Briar-Rose, Brienne & Baylee who tooks us to Knotts Berry Farm & Hollywood, even taking the girls out of school so we could spend two wonderful days together
~ The Parish-Wishart Family – Kelly & Jeff, Wyatt & Stuey the dog who made our visit to Universal (including Harry Potter World) brilliant with Fast Passes. Add to that an airport pick-up, Cape Canaveral, & days of driveway lodging
~ The maid at Disney Fort Wilderness – how exciting it was each day to see what she had done to welcome us home (once the TV was left on and the teddies were all lined up watching it with remote in-paw)
~ The Disney World street cleaner – who used his broom and a bucket of water to “paint” characters for us on the pavement when Aidan was having a hard time, it worked and drew a crowd too
~ Walt Disney World – who named a street after us just to make us feel welcome
The rental car lady in Orlando – who put us into the brand new Chrysler Town & Country – very swish!
~ The old people in Florida swimming pools – who did not complain when that wild Aussie family jumped into the pool
~ Bonnie – our guide in Savannah Georgia who went the extra mile to care for us and made a beautiful new city really interesting
~ Johnny Peebles – who adopted us in South Carolina and made our Civil War experience unforgettable
~ RV park in Asheville North Carolina – the lady who gave us copious maps, a discount and even offered me a job
~ K Robins – unbelievable hospitality in Virginia – her car, her time, her driveway, her washing machine & her house in Richmond. What would we have done without K?! Certainly not as much as we did. Thanks should also go to K’s daughter Leila who lined it all up for us.
~ Paul the Ski Tube attendant – who engaged us, advised us and kept the ride open for us when all the other staff wanted to close early because of the rain, fog and lack of customers
~ Doug the train attendant at Richmond Staples Mills – helpful, funny, informative and greeted us on our return journey with pennies he squashed under our train as a souvenir!
~ Washington D.C. – the lady we never met who gave us a password to use her internet connection & the guy at Safeway who used his discount card to reduce the price on our groceries
~ The Fresh Family in Pennsylvania – who gave up ½ their house for a Willo raid lasting a whole week, their time, their dog, their food, their transport, their love
~ Two ladies in D.C. – who teamed up and ensured I made it to Union Station after I got on the wrong train
~ Susan & Bruce – who gave me a room and breakfast every day in D.C. open for food and a chat at all hours of the day and night
~ 9 Marks staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church – who bent over backwards and then some to make my conference there an unforgettable experience
~ Derek the tour guide – who for a “tip” gave us 8 hours of his life so we could experience & understand NYC
~ The Boston train man – not only shared his life experiences in the Episcopal Church of the USA also ensured we went the right direction, found bathrooms and saved us a train fare or two
~ The office staff at Circle Ranch RV M.A. – who took on all our second hand RV equipment and old clothes to “re-purpose” them at the local thrift shop.
Countless ticket sellers, train attendants, strangers on platforms, street corners and shops who never failed to help us with generous and accurate advice.
Writing on the eve of our departure I can happily say that the USA has been a truly wonderful place to visit particularly because of all these people God graciously placed in our path. Even that lady in New Jersey, for without her showing us what it could have been like, we would never have been so thankful for all those who were so kind.
God bless America!
Michael
The Cotswolds
We're still alive, just not blogging at the moment... we will later on. We've deliberately decided to have an easier week this week to recover from the USA and enjoy this lovely house and gorgeous part of the world.
In brief: we're staying at 'Green Cottage' in the village of Great Rissington, in an 18th century stone cottage which has a huge and very pretty garden (complete with an orchard, pond and tame pheasant!)The kitchen has an Aga stove so we are eating very well and I am finding great satisfaction in cooking properly for my family again!
We have visited Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and Oxford. On Sunday we went to church with friends from college, Kate & Philip Percival and family to St Ebbe's Oxford - a real highlight for us and our boys.
You'll hear from us again soon!
Karen
In brief: we're staying at 'Green Cottage' in the village of Great Rissington, in an 18th century stone cottage which has a huge and very pretty garden (complete with an orchard, pond and tame pheasant!)The kitchen has an Aga stove so we are eating very well and I am finding great satisfaction in cooking properly for my family again!
We have visited Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and Oxford. On Sunday we went to church with friends from college, Kate & Philip Percival and family to St Ebbe's Oxford - a real highlight for us and our boys.
You'll hear from us again soon!
Karen
Friday, April 8, 2011
Farewell USA!
Wow. We left home on the 7th February and today is the 7th April. We've been in this country for 2 months, visited 13 states, seen snow, swum in the Atlantic, done the theme park thing,and so much more. Along the way we've met so many lovely, generous people and reacquainted with old, dear friends.
I am aware that many of you are praying for this time away for us. Thanks for your prayers. God has answered them as we have had so much time together, building memories, enjoying each other's individual differences and experiencing so much as a family.
Of course there have been hard times (despite our ever cheery blog posts!) It has been tricky sometimes in a RV when we are used to more space in a house. The cold has been hard to adjust to. I'm an introvert and there haven't been many chances to have time out. Navigating and driving a 30 foot RV have had their moments! Yet the benefits have far outweighed these 'light and momentary troubles'.
We have spent the day cleaning the RV and packing (we have 4 more bags than when we left Australia! Three of them are filled with sleeping bags, towels, saucepans, sheets,utensils and all our other RV set up stuff which we will need in Europe.)And, over the past few days, we have been eating all the food we have left. So, this morning, when the cupboard was bare except for rice, brekkie cereal and honey, I googled 'family restaurants Bellingham'. And so we ended up at 'Joff's Backyard Grill'.
What a find! The decor was 'outdoor furniture brought inside' and the guy was quite bemused to find an Australian family in his restaurant, asking questions like 'what are buffalo wings? and ranch fries? and black cherry soda?' But we ordered, and it was fantastic! Finger lickin good, in fact (and there was a roll of paper towel on each table, we soon found out why...) I'll let the pictures tell the story. Suffice to say, we had fun, talked about our favourite memories from the past 2 months, laughed, cried, and ate so much BBQ that we rolled out of there. A memorable last night!
Karen
Boston, Wednesday 6th April, by Max
Today we caught a train to Boston and went on a walking tour there. We got up at 7.00am and quickly got dressed, had breakfast and drove to the train station. We caught a train that went for a one hour trip to Boston. On the way we looked out the window, chatted and played DS. When we got there we hopped off and briskly walked to the visitor's centre to find out where we should go. We decided not to do a walking tour with a guide but we did our own walking tour with dad as our guide. (ed: he used a guide book) First we went to the Boston Common, a forty four acre reserve. It was once bought from the native Indians by a British settler who lived there as a hermit for 5 years til some other settlers bought a part of it off him but left 44 acres to the hermit. Next we walked to a memorial of a white man on a horse leading heaps of black men into battle. It had happened in the Civil War when the Union side were in need of more troops and so they decided to bring black soldiers into the war. 
Thirdly we walked into a graveyard with lots of famous dead people. On most of the tombs there was an engraving of a skull with wings which was done to remind the living that death is always near. <
After leaving the graveyard we had lunch sitting down in the warmest place we could find. Once we were all fed we walked to a concrete circle in the middle of the footpath. At that very spot in 1770 the 'Boston Massacre' took place. The Boston Massacre was an event where a mob of Patriots (Americans) stopped some British soldiers from going to their duties and by accident several of the soldiers opened fire and killed five men. It got the name the Boston Massacre when a man painted a painting of British soldiers lined up shooting a bunch of unarmed American people minding their own business. Lastly we walked to Paul Revere's house. Paul Revere was an American man who did a very famous horse ride to his fellow citizens to warn them that the British were coming. 
Next we walked back to the train station and caught a train back to our RV. We played lots of UNO at the station and on the train. We got into our RV and drove back to our RV park. Once home, we had dinner, wrote some of our journals and went to bed.
Thirdly we walked into a graveyard with lots of famous dead people. On most of the tombs there was an engraving of a skull with wings which was done to remind the living that death is always near. <
After leaving the graveyard we had lunch sitting down in the warmest place we could find. Once we were all fed we walked to a concrete circle in the middle of the footpath. At that very spot in 1770 the 'Boston Massacre' took place. The Boston Massacre was an event where a mob of Patriots (Americans) stopped some British soldiers from going to their duties and by accident several of the soldiers opened fire and killed five men. It got the name the Boston Massacre when a man painted a painting of British soldiers lined up shooting a bunch of unarmed American people minding their own business. Lastly we walked to Paul Revere's house. Paul Revere was an American man who did a very famous horse ride to his fellow citizens to warn them that the British were coming. 
Next we walked back to the train station and caught a train back to our RV. We played lots of UNO at the station and on the train. We got into our RV and drove back to our RV park. Once home, we had dinner, wrote some of our journals and went to bed.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
In the footsteps of the Kennedys
We have been amazed by the level of interest and awareness every American has about their politicians. Small children can tell you who the first, or seventh, or thirteenth president was. We saw some people campaigning tonight (in sub zero temps) for a local election for the position of ‘selectman’ (a local government position). For a country with non compulsory voting, it’s astounding! Starting at Disney World, we have been educated about the American presidents. Very stirring and patriotic exhibits have outlined facts about them. Conversations about whether Obama is doing a good job and who should be the next president (with opinions ranging from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump) have been common for us in every place we have been in. Our boys have taken all this in, and unanimously decided that JFK is their favourite president! Partly because of the Kennedy Space Center, partly because of his speeches (that guy had a fantastic speechwriter!) and also because of their macabre fascination with his assassination, he’s the one. He’s closely followed by Abraham Lincoln (more great speeches and another assassination! Is there a theme here?)
From the time we have left NY, we have been in the footsteps of the Kennedys. We spent our first night after we left NY in Newport, Rhode Island. The two claims to fame of this town are the site of the America’s Cup and the church where John and Jacqueline Kennedy were married. We checked out both! We then went on to Cape Cod and played on the beach at Hyannis (where the Kennedy compound is and where they holidayed).
And then yesterday, in Boston, we hit the mother lode: we visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. It’s the nation’s official memorial to the 35th President. We navigated our way there, into Boston, and found it – free parking, even for a RV (yay!) and children under 18 free (double yay!) We started with a film which used original footage to outline JFK’s early life (including his WWII heroics and wedding) and concluded with his nomination as Democratic candidate for the presidency. 
We then went into a room which was set up as the convention floor and saw his acceptance speech. And on it went. Rooms depicting the campaign trail, the Kennedy-Nixon debates (the first ones to be televised, and after watching the debates, out of 4 million Americans who had been undecided as to who to vote for, 3 million voted for Kennedy), the election results from a tally room with Walter Cronkite commentating. 
We then sat and saw his inauguration address, and then saw a replica of the White House Corridor during his presidency. Coming off this corridor were rooms about the Peace Corps, his speechwriter, the Briefing Room, the Cuban Missile Crisis, his visits to Berlin (‘Ich bin ein Berleiner’!) and Ireland, the Space Program, the Attorney General (his brother, Robert) and ceremonial and cultural events held at the White House. There was a room set up as the Oval Office with Kennedy’s original furnishings (including this desk plaque), then a few rooms about Jackie Kennedy, her background and achievements as First lady. 
We then saw news footage about November 23rd 1963, and finally an exhibit about the Kennedy legacy. And then we were in an enormous room with glass walls, a huge American flag and a view out over the harbour. (And of course, the gift shop on the way out!) We all had a great time. The museum did a good job of capturing the feeling of youthful enthusiasm, courage and impetus for change that JFK seemed to have. And our boys had their fill of Kennedys! Karen
On a Boston Bound Train ...
You get on a train to Boston, settle the family down for a 1 hour journey as other people take their seats, and then the nearest passenger makes a comment about the number of your kids and that they are all boys. Now this is not unusual really, it happens to us everywhere. Yet this time the man in question was up for a conversation that would last for the rest of the trip.
Him: “Four boys eh? Good on you, I had four boys too. We also had three girls.”
Me: “Wow that must have been a handful”
Him: “Yes and no, they were spread over 20 years, we were married young. Now we have 23 grand kids and 9 great grand kids.”
Me: “Gee how do you remember all their names and birthdays?”
Him: “Oh, you get used to it, though we spend most of the year travelling round the country to family events. Hey where are you from?”
Me: “Australia”
Him: “That’s great, the first Australian I met was when a guy called Marcus Loane came and preached at our Church, he was fantastic!”
After I picked my jaw off the floor and glanced at Karen who was guffawing beside me, I shook his hand and made introductions.
A thorough-going Calvinist, graciously spoken and widely read, he also had recently heard David Short (an Aussie preacher in Canada) preach and loved him. He then told me the tale of what it was like for the average pew-sitter watching the US Episcopal Church coming apart and what had been happening in relation to Rome and numerous other machinations of the Anglican Communion in this part of the world. Absolutely fascinating!
An hour later we were all greatly encouraged and spurred on to follow the Lord – incredible who you meet on a Boston bound train.
Michael
Him: “Four boys eh? Good on you, I had four boys too. We also had three girls.”
Me: “Wow that must have been a handful”
Him: “Yes and no, they were spread over 20 years, we were married young. Now we have 23 grand kids and 9 great grand kids.”
Me: “Gee how do you remember all their names and birthdays?”
Him: “Oh, you get used to it, though we spend most of the year travelling round the country to family events. Hey where are you from?”
Me: “Australia”
Him: “That’s great, the first Australian I met was when a guy called Marcus Loane came and preached at our Church, he was fantastic!”
After I picked my jaw off the floor and glanced at Karen who was guffawing beside me, I shook his hand and made introductions.
A thorough-going Calvinist, graciously spoken and widely read, he also had recently heard David Short (an Aussie preacher in Canada) preach and loved him. He then told me the tale of what it was like for the average pew-sitter watching the US Episcopal Church coming apart and what had been happening in relation to Rome and numerous other machinations of the Anglican Communion in this part of the world. Absolutely fascinating!
An hour later we were all greatly encouraged and spurred on to follow the Lord – incredible who you meet on a Boston bound train.
Michael
Icons
A very odd thing about being in New York was how recognisable it all felt. As we were driving into New Jersey the first day, Michael and I brainstormed all the tv shows and movies we could think of which were set in New York. There are dozens. And, of course, we see news from NY at home too.
All this pre-conditioning led us to feel strangely familiar when we were there. It’s an iconic city. One of my favourite things in NY was seeing those landmarks. Here are some things we saw:
- 42nd Street and Broadway
- The Empire State Building
- The Chrysler Building (my personal favourite)
- The World Trade Center, site of the Twin Towers
- Central Park
- Tiffany’s on 5th Avenue (lovely to wander around in, although the security guards looked nervous to have the Willo boys thundering around in their genteel premises)
- Macy’s
- Time Square with its electric billboards and the glowing ball
- FAO Schwartz Toy Store and the giant piano
- Grand Central Station
- the subway
- the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- the Museum of Natural History
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Madison Square Gardens (which is a building and not a garden)
- NY Public Library
- The Statue of Liberty
- Ellis Island
- 5th Avenue shops
- yellow taxis
- steam coming out of the manhole covers in the middle of the roads
- Wall St and the Stock Exchange
Karen
Tuesday 29th March by Ethan
First we woke up, had breaky and caught the light rail to a ferry. Then we got on the ferry and went to Ellis Island. Ellis Island is where the immigrants used to go. 12 million immigrants came through there. The immigrants went through tests to see if they could become citizens of America. Only a third of them stayed in New York, the rest went to other places in America. Today 100 million Americans are descended from someone who went there.
Then we hopped back on the ferry and went to Liberty Island. That is where the Statue of Liberty is. On Liberty Island I went up to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty with mum and Aidan. It had a good view but it was cold.
Next we went back down and dad, Luke and Max went up. While they were up there Aidan and I did our Junior Ranger books. They were quiz books and we had to answer about 10 pages of questions!!!!! They were questions like ‘Why is the Statue green?’ and ‘Which country gave the statue to the USA?’ and heaps of others. When we had finished the books (mum did most of Aidan’s) we took them to a national park ranger and she marked them and gave us a Ranger badge for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Then dad and Luke and Max came back and we walked around the whole statue and took funny photos (and some serious ones too). Finally we hopped on the ferry, went home, had dinner and went to bed.
Night at the Museum
Well, actually we only visited in the daytime. But we went to three museums while in NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Natural History and The Museum of Modern Art.
First up was the Museum of Modern Art. They had a child’s audio tour (love those!) so after we had primed our children not to say in loud voices ‘I could do that!’ or ‘That’s not art!’ or ‘That’s weird/rude’, we did the tour. It was great. It covered the highlights and famous pictures. Just as in Washington, the boys were very excited to see works by artists they’d studied at school – Mondrian, Monet, Pollock, Warhol, Lichenstein and especially Van Gogh – ‘Starry Night’ was there.
I loved the largest Jackson Pollock painting there. I have always liked ‘Blue Poles’ in Canberra and at MoMA they had quite a few of his artworks. (I bought a children’s book about him and read it to Aidan that night. A few days later at the Met Museum of Art, Aidan ran into a room with another Pollock on the wall and stopped dead. He announced ‘Mummy, that’s by Action Jackson. He listened to music then put it on the floor then did paint all around it and swished it’. He was so excited to see it! I was excited that he remembered and recognised it!)
A couple of days later we went to the Museum of Natural History. For those readers above 15, there is a movie called ‘Night at the Museum’ which came out a few years ago where Ben Stiller plays a man who has the job as the night watchman at this museum and at night all the exhibits come alive. The movie is set at this museum (with a bit of the Smithsonian from DC thrown in). Our boys love this movie!
They have a handout where you can find all the characters from the movie and so we had a very happy time, touring the four floors and finding familiar things (we also saw a show in the planetarium). I’m glad we had the tour to do as otherwise this museum would have been overwhelming, it’s huge! We managed to find Teddy (Theodore Roosevelt) on his horse, a mammoth, the life sized blue whale, African animals (all stuffed and displayed in authentic dioramas), Dum Dum the Easter Island statue, Egyptian, Aztec and Incan artifacts, Sacagawea, Dexter the monkey and Rexy the T Rex. We also saw many, many other fascinating, creepy and interesting things and were there until the museum closed. We then left, not wanting to find out if they all do come to life at night!
Finally we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If we had thought the Museum of Natural History was overwhelming, it had nothing on this! It was astounding and quite exhausting. They have there 18 different galleries which each have dozens of rooms within them, with art as diverse as Roman, Greek and Egyptian artifacts thousands of years old to armour to marble sculpture to Tiffany stained glass to furniture to instruments and of course paintings from 2000BC to today. We started out in the Egyptian section and it was awe inspiring. Rooms and rooms of more than 20 000 objects in total. As Luke and I were standing in yet another room full of mummies, sarcophagi, statues etc we decided that we might appreciate it more if we had just seem one mummy. It felt like overload. But at the same time, incredible.
After our Egyptian experience we realised that we couldn’t possibly see everything there (and actually we didn’t want to!) So we ruthlessly cut our touring down to a few galleries (and whatever else we happened to see along the way). We ended up viewing the Arms & Armour, some Tiffany glass, some sculpture, Modern & Contemporary Art and 19th & 20th century European paintings & sculpture. The boys loved the armoury (bodes well for the UK!) and the modern art.
I loved the modern art and the European art – although again, like the Egyptian art, seeing your third and fourth room full of paintings by Monet/Renoir/Cezanne/Degas is a bit numbing. But a room full of Degas bronze sculptures was beautiful – horses, bathers and dancers. The boys were excited to see his Little Dancer sculpture – they recognized her from a fridge magnet at Nana and Grandpa’s! And they loved seeing The Thinker by Rodin.
So at the end of three museums, we had seen treasures, walked for miles, been enriched, and exhausted, and yet still managed to be thankful for the chance to be here in NY and seeing these things.
Karen
First up was the Museum of Modern Art. They had a child’s audio tour (love those!) so after we had primed our children not to say in loud voices ‘I could do that!’ or ‘That’s not art!’ or ‘That’s weird/rude’, we did the tour. It was great. It covered the highlights and famous pictures. Just as in Washington, the boys were very excited to see works by artists they’d studied at school – Mondrian, Monet, Pollock, Warhol, Lichenstein and especially Van Gogh – ‘Starry Night’ was there.
I loved the largest Jackson Pollock painting there. I have always liked ‘Blue Poles’ in Canberra and at MoMA they had quite a few of his artworks. (I bought a children’s book about him and read it to Aidan that night. A few days later at the Met Museum of Art, Aidan ran into a room with another Pollock on the wall and stopped dead. He announced ‘Mummy, that’s by Action Jackson. He listened to music then put it on the floor then did paint all around it and swished it’. He was so excited to see it! I was excited that he remembered and recognised it!) 
A couple of days later we went to the Museum of Natural History. For those readers above 15, there is a movie called ‘Night at the Museum’ which came out a few years ago where Ben Stiller plays a man who has the job as the night watchman at this museum and at night all the exhibits come alive. The movie is set at this museum (with a bit of the Smithsonian from DC thrown in). Our boys love this movie!
They have a handout where you can find all the characters from the movie and so we had a very happy time, touring the four floors and finding familiar things (we also saw a show in the planetarium). I’m glad we had the tour to do as otherwise this museum would have been overwhelming, it’s huge! We managed to find Teddy (Theodore Roosevelt) on his horse, a mammoth, the life sized blue whale, African animals (all stuffed and displayed in authentic dioramas), Dum Dum the Easter Island statue, Egyptian, Aztec and Incan artifacts, Sacagawea, Dexter the monkey and Rexy the T Rex. We also saw many, many other fascinating, creepy and interesting things and were there until the museum closed. We then left, not wanting to find out if they all do come to life at night!
Finally we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If we had thought the Museum of Natural History was overwhelming, it had nothing on this! It was astounding and quite exhausting. They have there 18 different galleries which each have dozens of rooms within them, with art as diverse as Roman, Greek and Egyptian artifacts thousands of years old to armour to marble sculpture to Tiffany stained glass to furniture to instruments and of course paintings from 2000BC to today. We started out in the Egyptian section and it was awe inspiring. Rooms and rooms of more than 20 000 objects in total. As Luke and I were standing in yet another room full of mummies, sarcophagi, statues etc we decided that we might appreciate it more if we had just seem one mummy. It felt like overload. But at the same time, incredible.
After our Egyptian experience we realised that we couldn’t possibly see everything there (and actually we didn’t want to!) So we ruthlessly cut our touring down to a few galleries (and whatever else we happened to see along the way). We ended up viewing the Arms & Armour, some Tiffany glass, some sculpture, Modern & Contemporary Art and 19th & 20th century European paintings & sculpture. The boys loved the armoury (bodes well for the UK!) and the modern art.
I loved the modern art and the European art – although again, like the Egyptian art, seeing your third and fourth room full of paintings by Monet/Renoir/Cezanne/Degas is a bit numbing. But a room full of Degas bronze sculptures was beautiful – horses, bathers and dancers. The boys were excited to see his Little Dancer sculpture – they recognized her from a fridge magnet at Nana and Grandpa’s! And they loved seeing The Thinker by Rodin.
So at the end of three museums, we had seen treasures, walked for miles, been enriched, and exhausted, and yet still managed to be thankful for the chance to be here in NY and seeing these things.
Karen
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Friday 25th March 2011 by Luke
Today we woke up early and had breakfast and got dressed. We walked down to the harbor, and caught a ferry across the Hudson River into New York, the big Apple. We hopped off onto Wall Street, where the Stock Exchange takes place. There were people everywhere in suits, yellow taxis honking at each other, and huge skyscrapers blocking out the sun, meaning it was -2°C. dad went down into the subway to get us some tickets, because our walking tour was going to go through the subway as well. We walked down Wall St, until we got to a huge statue of George Washington outside a building. This was where our tour was going to begin. I noticed while waiting that all the grates had steam coming out of them, like something in the sewer was burning below.
After about 10 minutes our guide arrived, a man called Derek. He introduced himself and we went into the building behind us, called the Federal Hall. It turns out that George Washington was made the first president in this building, which was why it had the big statue of him out the front. We went back out onto the street, which was still really cold. There Derek pointed out to us that there were wooden squares going all the way down the street. The wooden squares in the road are where the wall was between English land and Dutch land when they were settling America. This is why Wall St is called Wall St, because it used to have a wall down the middle of it.
After about 10 minutes our guide arrived, a man called Derek. He introduced himself and we went into the building behind us, called the Federal Hall. It turns out that George Washington was made the first president in this building, which was why it had the big statue of him out the front. We went back out onto the street, which was still really cold. There Derek pointed out to us that there were wooden squares going all the way down the street. The wooden squares in the road are where the wall was between English land and Dutch land when they were settling America. This is why Wall St is called Wall St, because it used to have a wall down the middle of it.
the Stock Exchange in Wall St
We walked into a really old church next, which was one of the oldest churches in America. In the graveyard outside there were the graves of many important people in the USA’s history. After coming out of the church we came to where the Twin Towers once stood. There was construction going on all around there because a new building is taking place. Derek explained that this new building is going to be the Freedom Tower, the replacement for the Twin Towers. The construction is only half done but it is already the height of all the buildings around it. This tower is going to be absolutely massive. We walked through another church, filled with 9/11 information and memorabilia. It showed how many countries around the world helped with the clean up operation, and there were heaps (including Australia).
the World Trade Center site and the new Freedom Tower
We caught the subway next, through the city’s underground train system. The train and stations were exactly like in Madagascar. We got out, straight in the middle of Little Italy. Little Italy was where all the Italian immigrants lived when they first came to America. The entire place has an Italian feel, with pizza restaurants everywhere and signs written in Italian. We had lunch in a park here. We also went in a very old Italian deli (the cheese was delicious!) and a cake shop with great tasting canoli.
After lunch Derek talked about crime in NYC, and it turns out that NY is now one of the safest cities in the USA. In the 1970’s, however, it was said that you could stand in Times Square for 10 minutes and see all 10 commandments being broken. We then went into Chinatown which was so crowded and noisy we had trouble moving. There Derek bought a spiky Asian fruit which smells horrible to see what it would taste like. There were also fish shops with live fish out on the sidewalk, one even had a bucket of live toads you could buy! After Chinatown we went on the subway again.
Next we were in Greenwich Village where we saw nothing interesting really, except the smallest apartment in the world, apartment 15 ½. The door was only about a metre tall and it wasn’t as wide as our dining room table!
apartment 15 1/2
We then went to Washington Square, where we saw a man who had wheeled there a full sized piano and was busking. Derek told us that the man earns about $200 a day, because he is so good.
We then caught another subway. We then went to the NY library, which is the 3rd largest library in the USA. We then went out on the streets again, and walked to Grand Central Station. It was almost exactly like in Madagascar. We saw the steps where the policemen run down, and the clock that Melman gets his head stuck in. To finish off the tour we went into a room in GCS, where Derek got Ethan to talk into the corner on one side of the room while I talked in the other. Because of the shape of the roof we could hear each other perfectly. Derek then told us one last piece of trivia – that each subway track is the exact width of a Roman chariot, and then we said goodbye. We then caught the subway back to Wall St, caught the ferry and went back to the RV, where we went to bed.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Looking down on New York
at Top of the Rock, with the Empire State Building in the background We bought a New York ‘citypass’ which gave us entry to various tourist attractions at a reduced rate. Two of these were the Top of the Rock (the top of the Rockerfeller Center) and the Empire State Building.
We really enjoyed these experiences – a security check (we’re experts by now!), a very fast lift (which Ethan and Max loved), and then emerging out, so high above the city, to fantastic views of New York and beyond. On both occasions it was very cold but worthwhile. Great to gain perspective and to look out over one of the world’s most famous cities.
Karen
Ethan loved working out crazy photos - here with the Empire State (from the Top of the Rock)
the Chrysler building (our fave NY building)
looking down on Central Park
on the Empire State Building
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