Day 3 in Washington DC

On Thursday morning we visited the White House. It was kind of a let-down. I was expecting it to be...bigger.

The White House

Anyway, when Christie's sister Lisa was in Germany on exchange, she met Nick who lives in Baltimore, so we organised to catch a train there and spend a night in Baltimore. Nick and Tina, who also went to Germany on exchange, picked us up at Baltimore's Penn station and gave us the grand tour of one of the most dangerous cities in America. We saw everything, from the mansions to the ghetto houses directly across the road from said mansions. There are quite a few universities in the area and we drove through Nick and Tina's, Loyola.

The view over some of Baltimore from Capitol Hill

We had dinner at Shuckers on the water and then visited Nick's parents and pets. We then dropped Tina back at her dorm and headed to Murphy's which is the bar Nick works at and we had the whole place to ourselves for a while which was cool as I got control over the juke -box and we played beer pong (which I totally sucked at!). Funnily enough, my very first ball made it into a cup but for the rest of the night I did not make one! Murphy's didn't start getting busy until 11:30 (PM on a Thursday?!) and we stayed until close (2am).

The view from Shuckers

Tina and myself at Shuckers

Pete and Nick
(Pete is Nick's cousin and also the bartender at Murphy's)

Nick kicking butt at beer pong

Day 2 in Washington DC

I'm sorry I've fallen behind with this. I'll do my best to catch up before we head to NYC.

So our second day in DC was Wednesday and we headed straight to Arlington Cemetery while we could still use our hop-on hop-off bus passes. We then drove past The Pentagon but you are not allowed to take photos of it. You can see on the side of the building where the brick colour changes for where they had to rebuild one side after September 11th. We did spend some time at the Pentagon City Fashion Centre though (not to sound insensitive or anything but that is where the bus stopped).

Arlington Cemetery

We then caught the bus to the Washington Monument and then walked to the World War Two Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

Washington Monument

World War Two Memorial

The view back to the Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

We also paid a visit to the International Spy Museum which was fun.

We had dinner at an awesome pasta place called Vapino which is a European chain that has started opening in the US (there is one in Aust but it is in Brisbane). Basically you get a card when you enter and then whenever you order something, you swipe the card and then at the end you pay the balance. You can go up and order your food and watch them make it. It was so tasty :D That probably doesn't sound that interesting but with the food choices here, it was a highlight!

At Vapino

First Day in Washington DC

Tuesday was our first full day in DC. It was also my baby sister's 21st birthday!!! Big shout-out to Em even if this post is a little late.

Anyway, since that is old news, Christie and I did what now seems to be routine for us and caught one of the hop-on hop-off buses. Our ticket is valid for two days so we will split up the sights.

The U.S. Capitol building

The American Indian Museum

The Smithsonian Visitors Centre. AKA the 'Castle'

The famous and stunning Washington Willard Hotel

We also went through Georgetown but it looked mostly like all the normal shops we see elsewhere so we stayed on the bus.We headed back to the hostel and hung out with people, then headed to The Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and cocktails. We were later joined by Kenny from the hostel (also from Perth).

Christie's cocktail which came with Pop Rocks!

Bye Bye Chicago, Hello Washington DC

Monday. Not much to say for today, nor do I have a photo for you. Today we left Chicago. Lets all cry.

We arrived in Washington D.C. and then at our hostel and we were just a little skeptical about the place. It's in a bit of an empty area but if we walk a few blocks we get into Chinatown. We hung out in an Irish bar(in Chinatown) for a little while and got some food. Not knowing our way around yet we just went back to the hostel and hung out with everyone there for the night.

We shall see what Tuesday brings.

Much love xoxox

Day 3 in Chicago

Yesterday was our last day in Chicago *tears*. In the morning we did some last minute souvenir shopping as I still didn't have a snow globe for the collection. In the end I couldn't find any that I liked so I bought a paperweight instead. It is a really cool paperweight and it will just have to do. I also bought hoodie that says Chicago which I am very happy about since Chicago has been my favourite city so far.

We then caught a train to Libertyville which is an hour north of Chicago and is where Tracy (who we met in Seattle) lives. Tracy is still away but we met her daughter Brittney who is our age and her two teenage sons. We then went for a wander around Libertyville (so cute and we felt like we were almost in Stars Hollow!) and then had a late lunch at Morgan's which is the bar that Brittney works at. We hung around there for a while, as Brittney had to start work, until it came time for us to catch the train back to Chicago.

Main St. of Libertyville

Main St. of Libertyville

Morgan's where Brittney works

The high school just had their Homecoming so all the shop windows were decorated with Libertyville High defeating the rival school.

Back in Chicago and walking back to the normal train from the Metra (that goes around the state), it was absolutely freezing! And it's not even winter there yet! We ducked into our favourite Caribou Coffee for hot apple cider. Then back to the hostel to pack for our very early ride to the airport. On to Washington D.C.

Day 2 in Chicago

Yesterday, was forecast to be raining so we headed to Millennium Park to try and see it before the rain came down. We got as far as stepping onto the park area before the rain showed itself. This was ok because it was on and off so we were still able to move around and take photos. The best part of Millennium Park is Cloud Gate, more affectionately known as 'The Bean'. This is an awesome sculpture and you can get some very cool photos.

Me at the Bean

After wandering around the park we caught the train to Wrigley Field. Obviously we only visited this because it is famous, not because it means anything to us (plus it was only 2 stops away from our hostel so it's not like we went out of our to find it)! Outside the field, fans can buy a brick and have messages written on them and then they are paved around the stadium. Most either say someones name or 'Go Cubs! This is our year!' but some have slightly more endearing things like what looked like a school class had dedicated one to a teacher.

We dropped by our hostel to put some warmer clothes on because it was only 12 degrees, which neither of us remember being THIS cold, and also quite windy. We did this because or next stop was the Lincoln park Zoo, which is free. here the highlights for us were the beavers and the flamingos! We also saw a lot of the usual animals such as monkeys, rhino's and a tiger but also a black bear! Unfortunately by now the forecasted rain has completely set in and it is bucketing down. We are limited to dashing to and from different animals with our umbrellas but this didn't really work so well so we had to take refuge in the monkey house. My canvas shoes had no hope and my feet are now swimming in water (Seh does this ring any bells from our Europe trip?!).

Anyway we decided to give up as we were frozen, wet, and the wind was chilling, plus half the animals were hidden away due to the weather. The most ridiculous thing is we could have seen polar bears but they were hiding because of the rain (they live in arctic weather! could they not have survived Chicago weather?). Walking back to the hostel, we ducked into Caribou Coffee and grabbed some much needed hot chocolates. By now my jeans are soaked right up to the knees. Back at the hostel, and in dry clothes, the rain disappeared and the sun came out! Just our luck. I am reduced to using my hairdryer to try and dry my shoes and my jeans (again Seh, ring any bells?).

For dinner, we left the hostel, not thinking we would need an umbrella since the rain had stopped, and 10 seconds down the street the rain starts again! sS without our umbrellas we have no choice but to run to the end of the street to try and find shelter (and get closer to dinner). This time my feet are fine having put my boots on since my other shoes are still wet, but Christie now has drenched feet! The upside, we made it back to the pasta place I love.

All that news about the rain was prolly all very boring. Sorry :)

First Day in Chicago

Friday was our first full day in Chicago and it was forecast to be a sunny day so we headed straight to Navy Pier, the 2nd biggest tourist destination in Chicago. Here we walked out to the end of the pier which is 1010 meters long (apparently it is two times the length of Willis (Sears) Tower, the 3rd tallest building in the world) as well as checking out the various tourist traps along the pier. This included a ferris wheel that gave us a good view of the city skyline.

The view back towards the city from 3/4 of the way down Navy Pier

Self explanatory

The view of 1/2 the city skyline from the ferris wheel

After the ferris wheel we decided to do a water architecture tour of the city that had been recommended to us. This was really cool and quite informative and I got some amazing photos but you will have to wait for me to post them on facebook. I have included on here not the best, but the most important, the Willis Tower! We also found out that the two most recent Batman films were filmed in Chicago and so we got to see some of the buildings featured.

I can't remember which building this is but it looks pretty awesome :)

That big black building in the middle is the 3rd tallest building in the world. Willis 'Sears' Tower
(originally named the Sears Tower, Willis Insurance bought the building and changed the name but the people of Chicago refuse to call it the Willis Tower)

Next we headed into the city and wandered along the Magnificent Mile (actually .8 of a mile) which is the main shopping area of Chicago. They have some great discount stores such as Nordstrom Rack (Nordstrom is the David Jones of USA and 'Rack' is where all the out of season clothes go to live). I really needed a new wallet so I got a $70 Kenneth Cole wallet for $23.

By now it is about 4pm and we actually haven't eaten all day so we decide it is time to try the famous deep-dish pizza of Chicago, and, as it happens, one of the famous places to have it, Gino's East, is less than a block from where we were shopping. The place is covered in graffiti, in a loved way, where it looks like patrons have written on every surface over the years, from the chair seats , to the bricks on the wall, to the ATM in the lobby (a bit like the Broad Arrow Tavern Mum but to a far bigger extent!). So we order one of the deep-dish pizzas which have a wait time of 45mins to an hour. When it arrives, it is the size of a quiche (we ordered the smallest available) and the same kind of concept as a quiche. See picture below. We can not understand why this is considered nice. It was basically a bowl of cheese (and various fillings) in a massive crust, not like pizza crust but QUICHE crust)! WTF. Needless to say, we didn't feel to great after eating it. I think I will be sticking to normal pizza crust in the future!

Gino's East

Deep-dish Pizza
(never again!)

Leaving Seattle, Arriving in Chicago

Unfortunately there is not a lot I can say for this day as Thursday was a day of travelling from Seattle to Chicago. When we finally arrived in Chicago we were planning on taking two trains and then walking to our hostel but it was getting dark and we were tired and a shuttle van was parked outside the airport exit about to leave so we hopped on that. We are so glad we did because it took ages to get to our accommodation and we would have gotten so frustrated trying to find it.

The hostel is in a beautiful residential part of Chicago with plenty of bars and restaurants one street away. That said, the hostel isn't that great. The lobby is nice but the communal shower room is worse than being back at Hollywood High and the toilets seem to have a mind of their own when deciding if they want to flush or not. I could go on but since I won't be recommending the place, none of you need to know the details. Oh and the wi-fi sucks. I think the best thing about the place is the location. We had dinner at a fantastic pasta place just around the corner and I really hope we have the chance to go back.

Day 4 in Seattle

On Wednesday, Christie, myself and Tracy (from our room) decide to try and do some whale watching and head out to San Juan Island. As this is a two hour drive from Seattle and then a ferry ride, it was convenient that Tracy had a rental car. We had unbelievable fog on the drive two hours north of Seattle, quite close to the Canadian border, to a town called Anacortes. We arrived just in time to make our 9:30am ferry as we had been told the drive would only take us an hour (we literally had to run and yell at them to wait for us).

The drive to Anacortes

The ferry ride was absolutely gorgeous and that in itself would have been worth the trip. Now all we needed was a whale to jump out of the water. Unfortunately there were no whale sighting and so we docked at San Juan Island and wandered around the shops of this quaint seaside town.

On the ferry to San Juan Island

The view from San Juan Island

At the ferry port at San Juan Island

Re-boarding the ferry, we had our hopes held high for a whale but alas, our hopes were dashed and we had to settle on the stunning ride back to Anacortes.

Along the way hoping to see whales...

Me

That pretty snow topped mountain is Mt. Rainier I am told

Once back at the Anacortes ferry terminal, we had to go through US customs! We didn't even know we had left US waters (there was no warning) and were so very lucky that we had packed our passports at the last minute in case we had needed ID. If this wasn't enough, the customs lady completely grilled us over and over again. I just wanted to scream at her and say "We just went to look at some f***ing whales!". She eventually let us go but it was so ridiculous! She was obviously having a major power trip. Grrrrr.

After the drive back to Seattle, Tracy dropped us back at the hostel to repack our bags for the flight tomorrow while she went to look for a store. We then met back up with her for dinner (she had a coupon and invited us to share it with her) at a Latin fusion restaurant before she dropped us at Key Arena to see Arcade Fire! They were awesome. The end.

Arcade Fire

Day 3 in Seattle

Tuesday we went to the Experience Music Project which is a museum/interactive music based centre. There is a lot of memorabilia and also interviews you can watch with musicians, producers and writers. There was also a very cool sculpture made out of guitars that went through the middle of the building. The centre was opened by one of the co-founders of Microsoft to house his massive collection of Jimmy Hendrix memorabilia. If you are a die-hard Hendrix fan, this is THE place to visit. Attached to the building is the Science Fiction Museum which if you like your Star Trek, Star Wars and other sci-fi stuff, you would probably quite like it. This was free when you purchase tickets to the EMP and vice- versa so we had a look. We didn't like it. Surprise surprise.

Little fun fact: Forbes voted the EMP/SFM building the 3rd ugliest building in the world.

The guitar sculpture at EMP

Outside EMP

Outside SFM

Next we went up the Space Needle which we both feel was a waste of money. After this we caught the monorail, which has only one stop, to the shopping area and had a look at the stores. I finally caved and bought two books at Barnes and Noble. One is a present, and also happens to weigh a ton, the other is for me :)

Space Needle

View from the Space Needle

Pioneer Square is a small area between Pike Place Market and the sport stadiums in Seattle. I imagine during the summer it is quite a nice bustling place but during the winter, while the buildings and gardens are still nice, most of the people hanging around seemed to be homeless. We didn't really feel all that comfortable so I quickly snapped a picture of a statue that I liked and we headed back to the other side where there was more traffic. Here there is a hilarious store called Utilikilts which is the only store that sells 'useful' kilts. The utilikilts are cargo kilts with pockets, kind of like a kilt with a handyman belt sewn on. Hilarious.

Statue honoring Seattle's fallen fire fighters

Utilikilts!

For dinner we headed across the road from our hostel to a little bar called Rendezvous which we really wish we had found on our first night so we could go back to it because it had a really cool atmosphere with really great food.

Apologies for the delay in posts! The internet at the last two hostels has been unpredictable.