New York, New York!

The Big Apple. I'm still not sure why they call it that, but man is New York overwhelming. What a place! The sidewalks buzz continuously 24/7. We arrived at LaGuardia airport and took a car service to our hotel in downtown Manhattan, right next to the Empire State Building. The air was humid and thick and we were pretty tired after a long red-eye flight. We dropped our bags off and got straight on a tour bus to give us some idea of this overwhelming island. The skyline was covered in skyscrapers and a mix between beautiful old Parisian influenced architecture and 20th century fire escapes. There were people everywhere, all the time. We toured downtown and found ourselves in Times Square in the midst of a tropical thunderstorm. It rained and rained non-stop. Luckily we had been given incredibly dorky rain ponchos by the tour bus. We explored the city for the remainder and the afternoon and then went to bed early in an attempt to conserve some energy for our very long to-do list.

Our first full day in New York found us lining up in Times Square to purchase discounted tickets to various Broadway shows. We then went to Macy's, the Worlds Largest Store, and shopped to our hearts content. Before we knew it we were taking our VIP seats at the Imperial Theatre watching Billy Elliot, the musical on Broadway. I cried the entire time and was absolutely blown away. I wished so much that I could have shared that moment with everyone in my life but can only beg you to go and see it. I have never seen anything like it before in my life. My first Broadway show was obviously quite the hit in my books.

Later that night mum and I headed out to the Upper East Side and drank cocktails at one of NY's loveliest and classiest venues, the Bemelins Bar at the Carlyle Hotel. We had our own private jazz band and came out a few too many pennies poorer and a fair bit more intoxicated. One of the best highlights of our whole trip!

The next morning we jumped on a tour bus and hit uptown (Upper West, Upper East and Harlem). We jumped off at Central Park on the Upper East and played with toy sailboats in the lake and visited the Met (The Metropolitan Art Museum). After lunch we headed to the Lion King on Broadway and were yet again blown away by the magnificance of the show. Coincidentally, both were produced by Elton John. Unfortunately, though, we were both incredibly hung-over and tired that we couldn't enjoy it to its fullest extent. Was nonetheless breath-taking. Later that night we climbed the Empire State Building and sunset and enjoyed the illuminated views of Manhattan Island. What a place!

We enjoyed our last day in New York by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, standing in line for an hour all to enjoy 'New Yorks Best Pizza', Grimaldis. It was indeed the best pizza I've ever eaten, and well worth the wait. We also did some last minute shopping and picked up all the goodies we had been eyeing off over the last 2 days. We finished up our last afternoon in New York by taking the subway and catching the Staten Island ferry past the Statue of Liberty. We took a car service back to the airport later that evening and headed back to Californ-I-A for the remainder of our road trip over there. Oh New York, New York. You definitely swept me off my feet & stole my heart.

California Road Trip!

My mother arrived on a Sunday afternoon, after almost 2 days of traveling, at LAX airport. It was amazing to see her again after a year away from my family and home. We picked up a hire car from the airport and embarked on a Californian road trip. We had a hilarious time adjusting to driving in LA traffic (20 line highways and non-stop traffic 24/7) and not to mention driving on the right side of the road. Our first stop was Santa Barbara. We stayed in quaint little hotel, a stone's throw from the beach. We walked along the beach at sunset to the main street where we strolled the boutique shops and restaurants and retired early. Both mum was jet-lagged and I was emotionally and physically exhausted after a long season of work. Sleep came quite naturally on our first night.

We departed early, after an adventure at Wholefoods supermarket in the morning. Wholefoods is an enormous chain across the US that promotes entirely sustainable and/or organic products. It is one of the most mind-blowing shops you'll ever see, and of course mum was mind-blown too when she saw it and so a quick dash to the supermarket ended up in a 1.5 hour coffee, breakfast, exploration adventure. Who would have thought a supermarket would have been a tourist destination. Once we dragged ourselves away from the delicious raw chocolates, green smoothies and vegan burritos, our next stop was up the Pacific Coast Highway. Highway 1.

We arrived at my good friend Lloyd's property, Merlin's Perch, in Big Sur. Lloyd has a wwoofing farm and that is how I first met him if you recall back to a few blog posts ago. Lloyd had wwoofers from France, Iran and the Netherlands there at the time and we created a feast from home grown vegetables and authentic naans and the like. A few glasses of wine and a magic sunset through the fog overlooking the ocean, we were knocked out again!

Morning came, and we continued up Highway 1 to Monterey and enjoyed some of the renowned clam chowder and seafood. Our time in Monterey was relaxed and involved mainly walking on the beach and taking it easy.

Next stop: Where my US trip all started orginally, Berkeley! We basically drove around and I introduced my mum to Berkeley life and we explored Tilden Regional Park and went to my old house and caught up with my old housemates. It was so wonderful to be back in Berkeley and in typical Berkelyan fashion we dined at Cafe Gratitude (a Raw Food restaurant I've ranted and raved about for a long time now). Mum was introduced to the Biodisel petrol stations and homelessness that once fascinated me when I first arrived. We crossed the bridge and stayed in San Francisco for the night at a luxurious hotel nestled in typical San Fran architecture. I introduced mum to the life I used to live in the SF Bay and we met up with old colleagues for drinks at the local pub I occasioned after work. I later ditched the old lady (jokes, mum, I know you are reading this) and continued the night on with my friends and visited some iconic gay bars in the Castro district of San Fran (reference Harvey Milk). I woke up the next morning having not laughed so hard in months; my stomach muscles literally ached. I love those guys!

The next day was tourist time and we visited the DeYoung Art Museum, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, rode the historic trams, etc, before later that night departing out of SFO airport to New York.

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After New York we arrived back in California in sunny San Diego. People always tell me that San Diego reminds them of Perth, and yes, I can definitely see the resemblence. After a choatic two weeks (well, primiarly after a chaotic extended weekend in New York)  mum and I were ex-haus-ted. Tired. Worn-out. So we stayed in a little hotel in La Jolla near Windandsea beach and CHILLAXED. We went to a nail salon and got pampered, we watched movies and I got a hair cut and we drank wine, ate cheese, grapes and nuts and did I mention relax? I also caught up with another old friend whom I haven't seen in four years and inspired me to consider doing an internship in Washington DC. Another thing to think about career wise. Oh, little Laura. Another amazing evening catching up with old friends. 

Our trip continued as we drove up to Long Beach and dropped off our hire car and jumped on a ferry and headed over to... The Island. Yes, Catalina Island. This was another great time for mum and I to bond and she was really happy to see where I live and meet some of my friends and colleagues. We didn't get too adventurous with hikes or anything like that, but we did some rock-climbing and archery and had some great conversations overlooking the ocean. I guess there are no words to describe how happy and refreshed I was (albeit exhausted) after my mum left. It was no nice to reconnect with family and the notion of home. I know she had an amazing time too, and I am looking forward to seeing all my friends and family back home over Christmas. 

A Change in the Direction of the Wind.

So, I guess I better let it be known that a month after my last post things in my life have changed quite significantly. Diogenes and I decided to go our separate ways. After distance and more distance and then some more distance, we were both tired. We also realised that we want very different things for our futures and after many long chats and hearty discussions (yes, this has been happening for a few months now) we trusted our gut that breaking up was the best option. Our decision was completely mutual and I know I can at least speak from my end that I feel like it was completely the right choice. The distance certainly made the process a lot easier and I'm sure we will forever be amazing friends. Right now? I was lucky enough to have my mum visit from Australia for two weeks and we traveled and I came back to the island completely refreshed. My heart is completely open and I feel so much gratitude for my life right now. I have bonded really well with all the new staff we had come in and feel so happy every single day. The new season brought about new work; my job has changed a little for the summer and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am starting to make decisions about where I want to go and what I want to do for my postgrad studies and the future looks so bright right now. The wind has certainly changed direction for me, but I am happier than ever. Isn't it incredible when one door closes that another one can open so quickly?