Archive for April, 2009

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All the President’s men

11/04/2009

I didn’t leave the hostel today until 4 in the afternoon but the amount of walking I did and the stuff I managed to squeeze in is scary.

Here’s a list of what I remember seeing: Washington monument (the big tall thin thing, quite impressive), World War II memorial, reflecting pool, Lincoln memorial, Korean War memorial (an erie but well done group of statue soldiers on patrol), Arlington Cemetery (though by the time I got there it was shut, will go back tomorrow if I have time), Watergate Hotel (I love all that conspiracy stuff), Vietnam War memorial, J Edgar Hoover building (the Feds!) and the Capitol building. I’m sure there is more that escapes me too.

I even had time for a wander over to the house for a quick chin wag with Baz Obama, I reckon he has a big future that fella.

Before heading back to the hostel to write this and get some shut-eye I had a little mooch downtown. Got a belter hot Italian sandwich; cheese, salami, mayo, mustard and hot peppers. It was beaut and I may well be treating myself to another one tomorrow, yes sir.

Tomorrow is going to be museum/gallery day, there are a ridiculous amount of them around The Smithsonian area and a lot are free. There is also no way I’m leaving DC without visiting the International Spy museum, right up my cul-de-sac that is.

Night John-boy.

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Typical City

10/04/2009

As I write this with but my left eye open, it is half past 4 in the morning (I awake with my wits at a cursorary state) and I just scrambled down my bunk to noisely find my spare pair of ear-plugs and my stashed bottle of water. The late 40+ year old (and a nice guy I discovered over yesterday’s breakfast/lunch) fella below me has a hell of a pair of lungs on him; lodged firmly in his nostrils. This dude must have spent half his life keeping Baltmore awake.

9 nights in and I’m yet to spend one without some mofo snoring proper style, normally at least 2 in perfect stereo. Ear-plugs you will soon find are essential items as a traveller staying in not so reputable joints. Regardless of this, folks always wake you up early in the morning packing/unpacking various bobbins. At the end of this trip I predict I will end with a right pair of lids, a heavy brow and ulitimately, a wise mind. Quite the trade off.

This is actually quite a nice hostel. It has a warm, homlely Benjamin Button/Forrest Gump feel to it. Life is like a box of chocolates, you always get coffee.

Okay, this is turning in to a follow on from the whingeafon, apologies once more.

I spent most of the day in a bar called Kitty O ‘ Shea’s (I’ll leave it to you to guess the persuasions) and not so long had I been there than I met an ex-pat local named Tim (from Swinton, Salford) and we got leathered together, which was fun. We watched City taking a 3-1 beating from Hamburg which was not so much fun.

I’m (Tim too) convinced the bar tried it on as when we settled our 2nd account they reckoned we’d had 7 pints each which would equate to 1 per half-hour which just didn’t happen. We had at least 6 each on the 1st account so they reckoned we had at least 13 in total but I was far to coherent and we hadn’t been there long enough for that to be the case. Kavanagh QC and friends (not to mention yourself gentle readers) would probably find my following statement to be counter productive, but as a seasoned drinker, up to a point, it is very easy to judge (within a pint or 2) how much you have drank (drunk?!) so me, myself and Tim are convinced that a great injustice has taken place.

Tim had a wife to find and he found her via jumping off the metro a station early and being sick off the platform edge, so that was quite funny. We will meet again for the Fulham game on Sunday I’m sure.

After that I had the thirst for more and the local offy’s were shut so I finally caned my vodka (courtesy of one of my Helsinkian friends) filled hip-flask. I then spotted some interesting fellas in the back-yard and got speaking to them, one of them was the hostel owner (and a Mickey Rourke lookey likey), he fished out 6 Becks for 8 bucks for me which was appreciated. The path he took to find them was a long and distant one. I shared ‘em about with the locals.

That is basically us square readers. Tomorrow, after the motherducker of all lie-ins, I will actually go see the many amazing sights and sites what DC has to offer, the black-house included.

Can I just say that my nature is in general, quite an impatient one; I get angry pretty quickly. I want to do my best impression of the Boston strangler on the geezer below but I can’t, this is a good thing. I think I will learn from my Huckleberry Finn’s.

I hope this article is of a resonable and accurate quality. It’s took quite a bit of making. In my current state it’s a challenge to keep it 20/20, but then again, I am quite anal, even when half drunk and God damn sleepy.

I’m enjoying this blogging lark, it keeps me sane in a world that is clearly anything but. Writing is quite good fun, it may be something I pursue later on at sendthebloggerback.com. Time will but tell readers.

I ain’t ever been so tired, now I sleep (on a matress featured as an extra in Saving Private Ryan). Over.

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Head up brother

08/04/2009

Is what another old timer Philly cool cat said to me as I stumbled on down 11th Street this morning.

I’ve not been having such a good day, though things started to look up when one of the worst hangovers (not fun with a 65 litre bag on your back, I reckon I’ve squeezed 80 in too) I’ve ever had in my meager 26 years went.

I went out with those lads from the Lakes which was a mistake as they were tits. That’s a bit harsh, 1 was a tit and the other was just blander than a bottle of evian.

The guy I didn’t like was your stereotypical rugger playing, soggy biscuit fan, moob sporting, banal merchant, student. Idiot wind every time he moved his mouth. A tit in short and everything I detest personified. The student bar we were in was sh*te too, full of frat. and soriety types.

The twonk I was with insisted on entering the American centric pub quiz. I did get this one though: Name 2 movies Scorcese has used The Stones ‘Gimme Shelter’ in.

I did the obligatory run up the Rocky steps (which was knackering as I had a 40 block and 2 hour walk to get there) outside Philly’s Museum of Art before the night took it’s sour turn, so that was coolio. Yo Philly!

My last memory is of playing pool (and winning) with the hostel desk guy. 3 short hours later I awoke from my slumber.

Things then started looking down again. The Greyhound setup is a right joke, I didn’t get a bus until about 4 and I was there from 11. I missed 2 buses, well, not exactly missed them, they were full! The next one wasn’t due until 10 tonight and you have to queue all the while to get on it. Sod’s law I was 1 seat off getting the last one. I let these cowboys know I wasn’t happy. There was talk of them laying an extra bus on which praise Rolf was the one I got at 4. I was sat next to Samuel Jackson’s pop, at least what I’d imagine Samuel L Jackson’s auld fella to be like anyway. There were some crazy mofos on that there bus!

Now I’m finally in DC all I’m going to see tonight is some serious Zs (that’s Z with a zee, I’m in America don’t you know). I’ve got bigger bags than Paris Hilton.

Apologies for the whingeafon, those who know me well will know that I’m of a naturally grumpy disposition. Also, I’m an Englishman and it is my right to complain. Also also, it is my right to queue in a civilised (my iPhone keeps trying to change this to civilized, not this day sucka) fashion and I will excercise this right fully.

Over and out readers, over and out.

PS ‘The Departed’ and ‘Casino’

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Mellys

07/04/2009

Had a right stress this morning when I realised that all my Amtrak train bookings had been cancelled because I didn’t take the first one from NY to Philly.

After lots of messing about and research the upshot is that I’ve had to make alternative arrangements for my next 2 trips and then all is as was. It’s cost me a fair whack more but there’s no point moping over dropped donuts is there eh.

Though there is an extra layer of worry in all this, the alternative transport is the Greyhound buses which have a bit of a reputation. The Philly to DC trip is only 3 hours so that’s not too bad but the DC to New Orleans journey is over 24 hours. A New Yorker told me a story about a passenger walking round one of the buses with a head that he had just cut off a fellow passenger, when you couple this with the fact that New Orleans is usually the USA murder capital every year, there may be some cause for concern.

On the bright side I will have my Swiss army knife on me and like Mr Kipling said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs ….. you’ll be a man my son”.

Erm, don’t worry Mother!

So eventually I got out and had a look at Philly. South Street was pretty cool, a long strip of shops and cafes. As the weather has been a bit bobbins I bought a hat from South Steet Hats. 2 old timer black cool cats were running the show, I’m generally pretty good with accents but I stuggled with one of these dudes. The other guy wanted $30 for the hat but I haggled him down to $20, he said “Where you from? You is a hard bargainer”. Good folks.

Then I went over to the Italian Market for some scran which was an interesting area, I went a little to far up the street though and ended up getting a meatball hoagie from a distinctly un-italian place. Philly claims to have invented the hoagie but I think they are big fibbers as it’s basically just a bread roll. It’s like a stationary shop in Budapest stocking rulers, calling them mellys, then saying they were invented down that end of the Danube.

After that I went to Philly’s number 1 tourist attraction, the Liberty Bell, synonymous with freedom, liberty and the right to shoot $hit. It’s a nice bell but at the end of the day it’s a bell, I mean how long can you stare at a bell for?

There’s a couple of lads from the lake district that have invited me out for a beer. I might join ‘em later but I want to go and have a look at the ‘Rocky steps’ in front of the Museum of Art first. Not to mention the fact that there is a Philly steak burger with my name on it, not literally of course, that would be ridiculous.

I’m not even going to try and keep it short any more.

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Adriannnn!

07/04/2009

A bit of a quiet day today folks. As I write this at 21:10 EDT I have just awoken from a power nap. That’s right, it’s all go go power rangers.

I arrived in Philly at lunch time after a rather pleasant 2 hours on a Megabus (and not an annoying Owens Park student in sight/ear shot either) which at the bargain price of $4.50, cost me less than seems to be the going rate for a jar of peanut butter in this colossus country.

The east coast weather has been erratic to say the least since I’ve been here but has on the whole been out Manc-ing Manchester. Rain. Lots of it too.

So after a bit of a wander round I’ve just relaxed in the hostel and watched the odd episode of Battlestar Gallactica and such like on my phone.

I did watch an ace young busker for a while playing bluegrass on some sort of small guitar (not a banjo, maybe a mandolin). He couldn’t sing too swell but the guitar work was good and great harmonica playing, he also played the tamborine with his ankle. It’s made me look forward to reaching the south all the more.

The only other thing of any sort of note to report is that I had my first Hershey’s bar today. Not bad but I wouldn’t say they were worth dropping your knickers for a G.I. for.

Today’s pic is from below the Empire State building last night. The view from the top was amazing, though I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my vertigo did kick in a tad. If the big guy had meant us to be that high up he’d have given us rocket packs.

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I’m an alien

05/04/2009

A night out was had in the East Village (I think it’s also known as Alphabet Village) and it was a good one, the club we went in was NYC dinge at it’s finest. Ended up in Queens with some of the locals, so that leaves just The Bronx and then I will have been to all 5 boroughs in New York. When I’m back here in June I think I will go take a look at Yankee Stadium(s) to complete the set.

Much kudos to Ed for his superb Partridge impressions, first class. I’ll see you and Keith for a beer back in Manc in a few months mate.

This morning I had a look around Williamsburg which is a very very cool and bohemian area. I bought a kitch ‘nuke whales’ fridge magnet from a little flea market and a Cuban revolution general t-shirt from a street vendor. It’s a bit large for my tastes but it’s a nice design, was only $10 and the seller was that sound that I felt obliged to buy it. Bed shirt.

I had planned on going to Central Park and Harlem today but basically I’m tired and can’t be arsed. Another one for June.

I’m not completely writing the day/night off though mind, a trip up the Empire State building is on the agenda this evening.

Book update: I finally finished Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ which was a tough read. I left it on the metro for a fellow passenger to have, book karma you see. Now I’m reading Miguel Cervantes’s ‘Don Quixote’ on the iPhone and ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho the old fashioned way, apparently it’s Vincent Kompany’s favourite book.

This blog got 150(ish) hits the other day which suprised me as I only know 23 people. Strange but true readers, strange but true.

I saw these ‘KISS MY FACE’ bottles in the local store, I doubt Alan Partridge was in the thoughts of the maker when naming the product but it made me laugh none the less.

So much for keeping it short and sweet eh.

PS What’s red and invisible? ………. no tomatoes.

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Bada bing, bada boom, Betty Boo

04/04/2009

Day 4 and I changed my gruds this morning. A real landmark moment in the trip, almost seminal.

I’ve now got the hang of the metro system and have also cracked all this 39th and 7th – 2 blocks down – make a right business. It’s actually all pretty straight forward when you consider it laterally, clever Yanks.

So I met the fella who plays Vito Spatafore earlier (pic to follow once I find somewhere to upload my proper camera pics to Flickr) while I was on The Sopranos tour. He was flogging merchandise out of his car boot, it was all a bit Boy George and to be honest he seemed a bit of a d!ck. He didn’t seem pleased that I didn’t want to buy anything ($20 for a little signed pic!), he muttered something under his breath in a mafia style while posing for the pic, “Why do you think I’m f*cking here” or similar. So that was quite cool! Lucky for him I didn’t have a pool cue with me (Sopranos knowledge required).

The actual tour was brilliant, even at $40 it was great value. I got to stand outside the diner where Moltisanti nearly got whacked, sit down and have a few onion rings with a Tony looky likey (though I think he looked like Bernard Manning) in the restaurant booth where the final scene was shot and the best bit was having a beer in The Bada Bing while placing a $ between a stripper’s rather ample bosom. I even won a mafia music cd for getting a trivia question right (if you’re reading Mr Ashworth, you’d have been well out of your depth!). In a word, ace.

I was planning on taking it easy tonight as I’m knackered and have a bit of a late hangover, however I got talking to two sound lads (Ed and Keith) on the tour and have arranged to meet them later for a few scoops. The funny thing is they both live in Manchester, one of them in Didsbury just off the parkway and here is a bit you will like Coops, if you’re about (unlikely considering your lack of prowess on all things Internet), Keith even used to be a bar-man in XS/Remedy. Small world and all that.

Apologies for the bumper edition tonight reader(s), normal service to be resumed shortly, maybe.

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Freedom, liberty and the right to shoot $hit

03/04/2009

Hello again gentle reader(s). Done the Statue of Liberty today, nae bad but they don’t let you go to the top anymore, I can only think it due to the Ghostbuster’s escapades.

Does anyone else think it somewhat ironic that probably America’s most famous and well loved landmark was donated to them by the cheese eating surrender monkeys? I do.

Got caught in a bit of a storm while on Liberty Island; thunder, lightning, torrential rain and everything. For a while I thought they might call off the ferrys and I’d be stuck in liberty hell, thankfully not. Got ruddy soaked though and have discovered that I can just about pull off the skinny jean look.

In the evening I took the free ferry to and back from Staten Island, the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty were both much more impressive at night, they should move them to Lapland really.

Other updates to mention are: I scandously paid $6.50 for a crap pint of Stella (and 7 last night for a bottle of Peroni with my tea) in a mock Scottish bar then walked past a cafe serving subs bigger than your standard German U-Boat (which much like The Royal Navy, I resisted) and lastly, I’ve done that much walking the past couple of days that my hamstrings are tighter than ‘Giggsy’s’ the day before a Wales international friendly. Crikey.

Big shout out to Cuz Del all the way from NYC motherducker.

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America f*ck yeah!

02/04/2009

Okay, after months of banal waffling I’m finally here. Hello New York City!

The flight was ace, they just kept plying me with food and drink and there were loads of films and games gratis. Benjamin Button – good, Ritcheous Kill – chuffin’ dreadful.

Had a quick mooch around Time Square last night and to be honest it didn’t do all that much for me, it’s just like a much larger version of Leicester Square in London. Slightly cheap in a way. Though the sheer scale of it all is impressive. The highlight was a busker walking up and down the metro on the way back singing Sam Cooke tunes.

This morning, after I stopped downloading podcasts, blogging and testing the new 1st party Skype app on the iPhone, I remembered I’m in New York and decided to go do something.

I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge which was good and then I trundled over to ground zero where the World Trade Centre used to be, it’s a hub of regeneration and building activity now but there are memorials everywhere as you’d expect.

After that I’ve just been idly wandering around downtown having a beer here and there, including four in a bar in Grenwich Village (as it was two for one happy hour), which seems pretty cool, the architecture has a Dutch feel to it.

Next up was loads more walking (probably a lot more than neccessary due to a bit of a tipsy state and failing navigational skills) to Little Italy for some pasta and meatballs.

The pic below is of street art in the Brooklyn neighbourhood where my hostel is.

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