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Hello everyone,
This is our final blog in our amazing journey - cant believe it's over!
To continue on from our last blog ... We went to the Getty museum which was beautiful, the photography was my favourite section. But in classic L.A. style we ended the day with a crazy bus journey back to our hostel - according to another passenger this is the worst bus route as homeless people from the centre go to Santa Monica where they all congregate and can sleep on the streets without being moved on. So a man in a wheelchair somewhat intoxicated came on shouting and swearing at us all and scared an elderly lady into getting off the bus, he then gave us an hour long rendition of Michael Jacksons no.1s.
Our last full day in L.A. we went back to universal studios but as it was far busier than before we had to master our queuing technique and used the single riders queue so that we waited 5 minutes rather than 30 :) The next morning we checked out of our room and then snuck back in again as we had 12 hours to kill before our flight; we went to the tv room which was empty but once Chris put the Chelsea vs Munich match on slowly but surely guys ran in like kids on Christmas day. The room was packed with everyone supporting Chelsea except for one lowly Munich supporter. It was a fantastic way to watch the game, tension was in the air and once it came to penalties everyone was sitting on the edge of their seat. High fives all around as Drogba scored except for Mr Munich.
To save some money we got another bus to the airport it was only $1 in comparison to $15 had we got a shuttle - we now understand why it's so cheap because all passengers are psychologically scared from other passengers and this case was no exception. A lady who was on a date complained to a friend on the phone that he was making her get the bus and continued to criticise the bus for being slow and dirty etc whereas Chris and I don't mind that it's just the crazy people! We had a long wait at the airport but treated ourselves to Burger King :)
We arrived in New York absolutely exhausted! We'd had about 3 hours sleep in the past 24 hours thus leading to numerous petty arguments one of which was quite serious - as we got off the plane and began to exit the airport Chris asked if I had my iPhone, I checked my bag but found nothing! We searched all our pockets and the bag again but no hope- I ran back onto the plane but no phone was to be found! Chris began whispering unpleasant remarks and I began to perspire - as I stuck my hand in again I could feel it but not see it, it had slid into a secret compartment! I laughed immediately and Chris scowled.
Nothing says welcome to New York like an argument haha
We dropped our bags off at the hostel and wondered around the amazing city. We had lunch in Times Square then walked down to Macy's, public library and the Empire State building. We loved it straight away from the people (albeit a slice short of a sandwich) to the smells to the lights to the traffic. We then had a 7 hour nap and then treated ourselves to 2 pizzas at a chic restaurant in the Bowery, with 2 tap waters of courses :) I then slept for 14 hours. Our hostel is nice but strange; there aren't that many lights so all day you virtually walking in the dark plus there is no kitchen so we have to eat out all the time. But our rooms came with free towels and dressing gowns which is still a novelty.
Our first full day we went to the United Nations building or should I say we saw the reception, it was $16 each to take a tour around the conference rooms etc so we just walked around the grounds. The real salt in the wound for Chris was that you weren't allowed to take any food or drink into the building so we had to throw away our drinks and lunch but once you reached security they take your bag anyway, so simply put we threw away all our lunch so we could see a reception to a building haha as it was pouring down with rain we went to the cinema to see Dark Shadows quite a funny film. We then went back to Times Square to see it at night and it was even more impressive.
Second day we took the staten Island Ferry and saw the almighty Statue of Liberty; despite being so close the camera couldn't pick it up so I zoomed in and so we have a huge photo of Chris' face and a minuscule statue of liberty in the background. We had a wonder around Staten Island but 30 minutes was more than enough - we met a fellow red head who within 2 seconds of meeting us began telling us how every time he cuts his hair he gets put in prison one of those times was because he tried to kill his step father hmmm we shook his hand told him to stay out of trouble then ran back onto the ferry :) After that we went straight to a bar and had our first pint in over a week! that afternoon we were scheduled to see the 9/11 Memorial and it was breath taking. Where the towers stood are two square holes dug into the ground which have a waterfall flowing into it with all the names of deceased on the rim of the square. It was a very tranquil place surrounded by trees and a couple of people crying. I felt so privileged to see it and stand where it had all begun, sadly the museum isn't open until next year so we will just have to visit again. For hours after we walked and saw protests against Coca Cola as well as the Iron Bull in the financial district and just soaked up the atmosphere.
Our third day we walked around Central Park, it was glorious day even though it was supposed to be raining. We had such a fun time looking at the squirrels, tortoises, horse and cart rides, people having picnics, kids playing baseball as well as a wedding! Chris and I stood at the back and watched this lovely ceremony next to the lake - at the end they turned round and let us take a photo :) I asked Chris if we could go on the horse and cart ride but he tried to persuade me that it is far more fun to take photos of other people on them haha That night we went to Yankee stadium and saw Yankees vs. Kansas City, fantastic atmosphere and lots of home runs.
Today we are going to a few museums and tomorrow for our last night we going to the top of the Empire State Building to see the sun set in New York - perfect ending to our journey :)
Thank you all so much for taking the time and energy to read our blogs, it has been a joy sharing our travels with you. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as we have writing them, it has actually been quite therapeutic for me particularly in the campervan surrounded by boys! The inevitable question: would we go again? ... In a heart beat.
Thank you all once again, it's been a pleasure. Oh and stay tuned ;)
Love to all, Love Jess & Chris xxxxx
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