New York Week #1

The first week in our new city is coming to an end, and it feels like I've been here for a while already. Highlights to note:

• Ability to read and direct other people around the New York Metro
• Having had alcohol every day of the week (except for Monday, the day we arrived)
• Being a tourist and taking one of those open-top buses around the city. The island is actually quite large, and it's a great way to see the different areas
• Hitting two well known restaurants in the first week (Tao, Nobu). I liked Nobu very much, the decor, ambience etc. That black cod signature dish is definitely worth visiting for.
• Attending a roof top (23rd floor) party and playing wingman. Free alcohol as well!
  
• Times Square is best at night, when it's all lit up. They love the LCD screens on building walls these days.
• Using my Aussie accent to make new friends :)
• Missing my old friends :(
  

So whilst I thought we had a bit more time to find a place, it seems that rentals go in a flash, so this next week's task is to book in for an apartment in the city. I'm so blase about prices now! Sydney looks so cheap compared to this place.

London Friends

It has been a blast coming to London and seeing old friends and checking out the place. Whilst sight-seeing has been good (Tate Modern, London Eye, British Museum, Portobello Markets etc) the real reason has been too catch up with people. Having gone to a party on Saturday, it was amazing how many Sydney-siders have made this journey over to London to do their thing. It made the concept of living here a lot easier to imagine for me.

There were a few special people that made this trip worthwhile, and I was glad to have spent some decent time with them in terms of outings, dinners, lunches and poker to see how their lives are now. I have to admit that I'm not that good with emails (2 months between replies is a fairly standard time period) so seeing them face-to-face was a real joy. It's also great to know that even without that regular contact, there are friends who will always have something to share, something to laugh about, something to remember.

Thanks to everyone I saw for making the effort to come out and taking time to see us. You've made me feel like I'm back home :) Please come and visit me in New York!

Post From Europe

Yes, I missed out on a Honkers post, but I'll post up my diary entry for Sunday 12 Aug.

"Barcelona definitely lives up to the party capital moniker. We were out till 1:30am last night and it felt like Sydney on New Year's Eve! There were so many people out and about...of course there were the usual drunken louts, but nothing threatening.

We found some new age tapas restaurant last night (Bubo's) that didn't quite hit the spot, but they did have some of the best looking desserts I have seen, and the taste wasn't too bad. We did find a more decent tapas afterwards and ordered a jug of sangria. The combination of thirstiness and easy-to-drinkness of sangria meant we downed it very quickly, and boy was I shattered afterwards! Straight to bed :)

Today was all about the sights in Barcelona, but with the holiday season, we had to queue to get into places. Checked out the majority of the Gaudi exhibits, and am very impressed with his mix of functionality, asthetics and design. He was definitely ahead of his time.
Would recommend to people the Casa Batllo, even if it was a bit expensive. The audio guide was very good, and the place is very cool. Still very livable to this day.

Noticed that there weren't many cars of the roads, perhaps because the Metro is so efficient? Maybe they have one of those congestion charge things like in London.

We also went to the Museu Picasso. Am becoming more of a fan, as he was skilled in all types of art. Liked his initial cubism work, but the latter stuff was a bit too abstract / strange for me. What stood out was that he was mind-blowingly good even at the early age of 15! Maybe in those days people died younger, and hence they needed to be all over it in their teens as opposed to now when teens still have no idea what they want!"