Glad you liked the hotel. Honestly, most NYC hotel rooms - unless you upgrade to a larger room really don;t have room for 2 large suitcases - the property is just too expensive for regular rooms to have that much room.

As for the pedestrian area - yes, locals hate it because it's so tacky. If they put in a real park - like Bryant Park - or even one of the nice plazas near a large building - but as it's constituted now - with those awful plastic chairs - it just looks like a mistake. And, it really blocks traffic - which will be all the more noticeable in the after Thanksgiving rush.

I've been waiting for this report--great beginning!

Sorry for all the trouble back at home after your return. Looking forward to more!

Add me to the I wanna hear more about your trip.

Nice start Aus, keep it up. Hope DH is mending nicely.

Sounds like you're having a tough time after your trip, I hope your DH is better soon and I'm sorry to hear about your dog!

Jet lag is hard for me too. Does it affect you on your return home as well? Looking forward to more of your report!

Enjoying your report so far. Where did you rent the bikes? And can you tell us how much it cost? Thanks!

t

Just to answer a couple of questions. I agree the seating area in T/Square could be so much nicer, but I was happy just to be able to have a seat and people watch. DH is getting better, it can take up to a month to heal properly. He actually tore his eardrum enough to cause bleeding. Very painful and its effecting his hearing and balance. So be careful if you fly with pre existing congestion.

Jetlag on our return this time was fine. Leaving LA at midnight, arriving home at 7am seemed to work. Albeit we 'lost' a whole day in between.

We think (sorry didn't write it down) the bikes were about $10ph each we paid $15 (we think) for 2 hours. We just used one of the guys standing on the corner holding a sign. He walked us back about a block to a parking garage where the bikes were stored. Really nice to deal with, we were to have them back around 5pm but they showed us where to drop them 24 hours if we were late with no penalty. They also offered helmets and 'insurance' which we declined. Great fun.

Back soon.

After another terrible nights sleep we made our way back to Grand Central and 'worked out' the subway. After a couple of false starts we made our way to The Met. (we found printing directions from the MTA site really helpful, gave you all the subway info plus the walking directions once you leave the train).

We got to The Met about 10.30, really ready of something to eat. Cafes there don't open 'till 11am, so DH had a hotdog from a vendor to see him through. Just as a side note, don't go there hungry, the food was ordinary at best.

No lines, breezed through. Went to the American Wing, Egyptian wing, points in between and up onto the roof. All in all enjoyed it a lot. Walked along Central Park heading back downtown, with no real direction in mind. Unfortunatly my feet were killing me, so we jumped on a D/decker tour bus, with the idea to hook up with the bus going to Brooklyn as we didn't go there last time. Unfortunately we missed the last connection of the day. As we were pretty tired, we decided to stay on and relax while looking around. Bad Idea, the only real rain we saw on the trip. Got pretty wet, got off at Battery Park and got the subway back to T/Square and then the connecting shuttle to G/central. Coffee and sandwhich and fell asleep for a couple of hours.

Woke and headed out to look for somewhere for dinner. DH chose this lovely little Bistro, Don Veitia- 860 2nd ave. What a lovely place, the service was impeccable. Very friendly older gentleman served us, as we dined at a window table with views of my new favorite building in NYC, The Chrysler. We had Clams in the half shell (note to self, I don't like clams) crab cakes which were beautiful and DH had lamb shanks, had a lovely bottle of wine and then the waiter bought us complimentary Tiramasu (devine) and coffee. (total $94.75 with tip)

Walked back with silly grins on our faces after a lovely night, and slept like babies.

Caught the subway (we got quite good at this thanks to everyones encouragment) to Chelsea markets for our tour we'd organised. We'd left the hotel without our morning coffee ( a must for us) and by the time we got there I'd nearly talked myself out of doing the tour. What great fun, Kurt our guide was awsome. There were only about 10 of us and the website said you may not need to eat lunch after....bit of an understatement..so much food to taste. I'll try to remember some of it.......

* Elenis, the biggest cookie I've ever seen!
* Ronnybrook Dairy, chocolate milk
* The Lobster Place, huge cup of Lobster Bisque YUM!!!!
* Sarabeth's, Scones with jam & cream
* T Salon, herbal tea
* A'Arte, Gelato so YUM
* Buon Italia, anti pasta served at a communal table, just great.
* Chelsea Market Baskets, cheese & quince paste, yum
* Macelleria, a table was set for us & we had a beautiful plate of pasta.

Phew, like I said, don't eat before hand and you certainly wont need to eat after. We also were shown through a couple of restaurants, Del Posto & Morimoto. Awsome. Then as we still had some time left Kurt took us to a B&B run by a friend of his for a quick tour. http://roomstolet.net/ a lot of fun. He then took us for a walk on the Highline.

Just another magical day, you may have noticed us? We were the silly looking pair with permanent grins on our faces.

Used our bus tickets from yesterday and just sat and watched the world go by. Got off at T/sqaure and started looking for dinner options.

(sorry this is long winded, can't stop once I get started.)

Very nice - the more detail the better, IMHO.

Love that you give us the reviews of your food options, keep it up, thanks!!

Nice review, we were in NYC for 3 nights at The Plaza and had a wonderul time! ***kim***

Apologies for taking so long.

The bus driver had mentioned that there were a lot of dining options on 9th Av, so we walked there and ended up on 46th st at Swing 46 Jazz & Supper Club. Sat outside and had their Prix fix menu. Me - Caeser Salad, Hanger Steak with mash ( a Hot Choc Brownie. Him - Mozarella/Tomatoe salad, Roast Chicken (beautiful and succelent)veg & mash. It was also happy hour so we enjoyed Corona & Scotch. Very nice meal total $95+tip. Walked back to T/Square (not my favorite place, but a good land mark) jumped on another bus to use up our ticket and did the night loop to Brooklyn. Really enjoyed it and great views back to the city. Off again at T/square and walked to Magnolia Bakery. No lines as we had seen earlier in the day.

Grabbed a great coffee and cup cake, hailed a cab (you'd think we were locals) and got out near the UN, wandered around for a bit, then back to hotel for a well deserved rest.

Unfortunately we slept in the next day, not getting started 'till about midday. Subwayed downtown for brunch at Les Halles. I really like this part of the city. Didn't really enjoy our meal, our own fault. Bodies were telling us to have breakfast, but lunch menu was on. Me - grilled chicken sandwich Him - lamb chop with mash. Couple of juices total $55 with tip.

Walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, only walked half way across and back, a lot of people doing the same thing. Walked back to the Law Courts, took some photos (big Law & Order fans) back to St Patricks (very moving displays)over to Ground Zero. Its our second trip back since 9/11 but I get very moved by it all. I can't begin to imagine what an horific experience it was for all.

Spent an hour or so in Century 21, just too many people. Not enjoyable at all. Subway to Penn Station to collect our tickets for the train to Boston. (needn't have bothered as it took 2 minutes, but didn't know that at the time). Spent some time in Macy's, cabbed back to hotel. Feet are very very sore.

Dinner at Cibo, which was nice and handy to hotel. Just lovely, sat in a corner window seat and had a great waiter. Me - Leek soup, Duck Confit and a yummy yummy chocolate soufle Him - Anitpasta, steak and mash. And a great bottle of wine Pavilion Chardy (Napa) Just a lovely lovely night. Total $149+tip. Wandered back to our room very happy and content.

Off to Boston, but not finished with NYC yet!!!!!

Thanks for coming back and keeeping us informed, waiting for the next segment.

Glad to hear Cibo is still decent. My friends and I used to go there regularly and we really enjoyed Cibo then (at least 5-10 years ago).

aussiedreamer,

It's so great to read about your trip. I can't wait for the New England portion!

please aussiedreamer, keep typing away your report. I am longing to her the New England portion as I too would love to visit next year.
waiting in anticipation

What did you think about Highline Park? Living outside of NYC, I ventured in one day this past summer for a look at Highline and I just loved it.

aussiedreamer requested and received SO much assistance on this forum, it's truly disappointing that she has been so lacking in reporting back...

djkbooks-Don't really understand your comment. Her trip report so far has been great. And if you read the beginning of this thread she mentioned her husband has had health problems and they had to put their beloved dog to sleep. These trip reports do take time.

aussiedreamer-Keep your report coming. I will be happy to wait to hear the next installment. We made the same trip as you in August only in reverse direction, New England first, NYC last.

aussiedreamer:

Please do carry on with your report when you are able and thank you for sharing so many details of your trip to NYC following the medical problems of your DH with his ear drums and the loss of Max your loved Lab/Retriever.

Looking forward to more.

Sandy

Sorry, but for all the above reasons "&" my computer crashed and looks like I've lost everything. Hopefully thats my run of bad luck . We are now down to one computer, so slotting in time is a bit tricky. Djkbooks, woh! your right I did receive some amazing help from yourself and others and fully intend to pay it forward, give me a break though, I've had some 'stuff' going on. SandyBrit, thanks for the kind words, DH is much better but looks like some permanant hearing loss & we miss Max terribly, Xmas just wont be the same without him joining in and 'helping' with the unwrapping!!!

But moving forward I will try and be more brief so I can get through it.

We caught the train from Penn station the next morning, arriving at the station way to ealy. Just a hint to anyone doing the same thing you don't need to be there early, I'd say 15 minutes would be heaps.

The train ride was nice, a different way to see the country side. On arrival we decided on a cab to our hotel The Sheraton (won on priceline.com) although quite close due to our luggage being too heavy to pull through the streets. Very happy with the hotel, amazing bed, tiny bathroom (didn't bother us) & a coffee machine c/w starbucks coffee which was much appreciated. Took a walk around the area, rained off & on. Had lunch at the Cheese Cake Factory. Him Pasta Me Shrimp Vietnemise rolls, very generous serves and very fresh. Each of our lunch choices were $10ea.

Walked to Copely Square, bought some beautifull fresh fruit from a farmers market. Boston wasn't really a 'destination' for us this trip, just a stopover. So we walked for a while then rested up.

Another restless night (we were really wishing our bodies would 'catch up') then cabbed to the Avis office and picked up 'that' car. One of Dh's few requests were two specific cars. Out of Boston, a Chevy Camaro & out of LA a Mustang (didn't happen in LA....but thats another story). So we picked up the Camaro, or as I called it, 'The Batmobile'. What fun, we plugged our Tom Tom (satillite Nav')in and made our way out of Boston. Seemed way to easy, for which we were both thankful for. DH handles the US driving with ease, I didn't bother. Only once or twice, as the navigator did I have to remind him to 'get on the 'right' side of the road.

We were heading to our first stop, Wells. We went to Salem first, not overly impressed, drove on to Hampton and found a small cafe for lunch, it was pouring rain and the place had a lovely atmosphere.

Arrived at our accommodation The Holiday Guest House & met our hosts, Bill & Michael. What lovely guys, we had a great laugh with them, we were the only guests that night. They wanted to know all about Australia & we got a lovely tour c/w stories of the whole house. I highly recommend this guest house. The bed was sensational & every thing we needed was included, including free wireless access.

We went for a drive along the water front stopped and had a drink in a beach front cafe. The beaches were different to 'ours' but lovely in a very different way. Got a restaurant rec' from Bill & Michael and headed to Angelinas for dinner. Just lovely, Him - Shrimp Fettucini Me - Shrimp Cocktail & Lobster Penne. WE shared a delicious chocolate torte and a great bottle of wine. Perfect. $140 inc. tip.

Had a good sleep in a great bed and a lovely breakfast & another chat to the 'boys' and said our goodbye to Wells. (even got a hug goodbye )

Next stop North Conway.

(I promise I'll be back soon, gotta go xmas shopping)

Very nice report.

aussiedreamer,
Take as much time as you need to add the next episode--still enjoying al the details. (It took me a year aftermy last trip to BEGIN my trip report.)

Drove towards our next stop which was to be North Conway at the White Mountain Hotel. We stopped at the Kittery Outlets (had to go backwards a bit) for an hour or so. What fun, you guys in the States have no idea how much more us poor Aussies pay for 'everything'. Had a good old shop up. What a lovely drive, arriving into the hotel is great, its in a beautiful setting. Nice big room, two smallish double beds, missive bathroom, fantastic pillow and a great shower & the ever important coffee machine. Only problem, our room looked over the 'pool filter and large airconditioning unit' very very noisy.

We had dinner downstairs, mainly cause it was handy. We would've had to drive anywhere else. But we had a lovely surprise, the food was great, we were surrounded by a very noisy tour group, not too bad though. Him - Roast Turkey Me - Crab cakes & Roast Chicken.

Slept great and headed down for a really lovely breakfast which was included. Heard the very friendly waitress tell another couple about Diannas Bath, so we headed there and had a lovely walk. The temperature was supperb for walking crisp and clear. Then we stopped in at Echo Lake, picture postcard perfect. We then headed to the Kancamagus Highway (which was suggested to me here on this site and without that would never have heard of it and missed a real treat). We stopped in at a ranger station/info centre (& after more questions about Australia) we got a map and some great hints on where to stop.

We decided to drive the full loop, stopping in at every interesting place we saw. Great falls and scenic walks and the colors!!! Just amazing, I've told anyone who will listen that I've now seen colors that my brain can't compute. I can't describe how beautiful it was, just gorgeous. I'm sure its lovely anytime of year, but we were blessed with amazing color. Once we got to the end it started raining and rained most of the way around, and it was getting really really cold.

Dh had read about The Flume, so in we went, it was getting quite late in the afternoon by the time we got there and I believe we may have been in the last group admitted for the day. How fortunate, it cleared up just for us to do the walk, which was quite long but just amazing. Walking beside the 'flume' was fantastic.

Got back to the hotel to find they were having a seafood buffet for dinner. Sold! Gotta tell ya, I was a bit dubious but it was fantastic. The best Shrimp Chowder I've ever eaten, they also had a pasta station which DH really enjoy. So with that and a bottle of wine, it was a perfect end to a really enjoyable memorable day. (although I was starting to get very blocked up and achy....ah oh)

If anyone is interested I've just located the bill from The White Mountain Hotel. $700 including..2 nights, 2 dinners & 2 Breakfasts tips and taxes.

What a fabulous report! Loving all the details! Don't hurry up. Take your time to write your trip report because we are enjoying every minute of reading it. Glad it was such a good trip! Can't wait to read more

aussiedreamer:

Please don't feel the need to hurry, take your time and keep the details coming. I am so enjoying reading your wonderful trip report.

We met some aussie holiday makers over Thanksgiving when we were in San Diego and they were planning a day of shopping. My visiting relatives from the UK say the same thing and arrive with a empty suit case.

Thanks again.

Sandy

Glad you got to see the colors in full glory, what a treat. Thanks for reporting such good information.

Thanks for the lovely feedback. We loved San Diego its very much like Brisbane. We had our last shopping 'fix' there before coming home at an outlet right on the border with Mexico. An empty suitcase is a good idea although we only came with one suitcase each and as we were fly b/class we brought a new one each. Still could've bought more though

Let me give you a classic example. I'm an avid cook and I've always wanted a Kitchenaid mixer. Before we left home I 'retired' from my job after 15 years. They gave me one as a gift, I know (cause I was in accounts and saw the invoice) they paid $799. RRP in the States is $299, we saw them at Macys on special for $179. Thats just crazy, we are really going to look into shopping online from the States, even with postage/shipping its gotta work out better.

And don't even get me started on clothes, a mens button up short sleeve business shirt from Tommy or Ralph Lauren you can get for around $50 give or take, I'm paying upwards of $150.

Have I vented enough?????

Thanks for hanging in there with me, back soon.

That's quite a price difference but the Macy's special was probably for the Classic Kitchen Aid which isn't quite as powerful as the Artisan.
It's fun to read a visitor's report about a New England fall. Glad you had a great time.

Ok, the tree is up, gifts have been bought and the pudding is made. All I need do now is finish this part of my report and Christmas can come!!!!

We checked out of our Hotel and had a brief look through a local outlet mall. But decided we weren't really in the mood, so headed for our next stop Stowe. Found our hotel with no problem, Green Mountain Inn. The staff was very friendly on arrival, our room wasn't quite ready so we had a walk around. It was lovely and sunny but quite cold. We liked Stowe, found a very busy cafe and had our now favourite lunch of shared soup and sandwich.

Checked into our room, not overly impressed. Looked nice with a huge canopy bed, but a terribly lumpy mattress and the smallest bathroom. And the shower curtain had seen better days. Rested up then 'rugged' up for a walk to find somewhere to have dinner. After a few knock backs due to lots of people in town, Columbus Day long weekend, we found Fridas Mexican. WOH. They were really busy but said if we wanted to find seats at the bar they would serve us dinner there.

We shared the best guacamole I've ever eaten, served in the pestle and mortar it was made in, and soft shelled tacos & Coronas. When we finished eating and were about to leave, the lovely couple beside us ordered Baileys, I thought that was a splendid idea, so I ordered one too. We got chatting and ended up having a 'few' more Baileys with them (dh passed and had Margaritas instead!!!). They couldn't believe the distance we had travelled to find ourselves in Stowe and had always wanted to come to Australia.

So we walked back to our hotel, by now it was 'freezing' cold but funnily enough it didn't feel too bad to us although I was definitely getting a cold. Slept well and as it was Sunday had brunch in the restaurant downstairs. It was ok. Headed out for a drive. Passed the Mansfield Toll road of which we had never heard of. So joined the queue of about a dozen cars, paid our $24 toll and up we went.

WOH, what fun. We were about half way up the mountain when we saw our first snow. Just beautiful. After a short wait to for our 'turn' to go up (due to limited parking) we made it to the top. The views were unbelievable and it was so cold. We put on every bit of clothing we could find in the car and headed up one of the walking trails. It was pretty hard going, on boards for a lot of the way that were placed across the mud, but they were covered in ice, which made it very slippery. I made it to the first clearing and was blown away by the views. DH wanted to go the whole way, so I slowly made my way back to the car while he did the whole circuit. He took some beautiful photos from up there, but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed the slippery paths.

Came back down the mountain and continued driving until we had done a full circut and ended up back in Stowe in time for dinner. Called into the very casual Pie in the Sky pizza place and had the yummiest pizza. On returning to our hotel, Dh went down stairs to get us a coffee and came back with Rhubarb shortcake and coffee, just perfect. Slept like babies.

Breakfast down stairs and off we went driving. With no particular destination in mind. 'till we saw signs to Canada. We thought it would be 'cool' to have our passports stamped, so off we went. Had a look around the Apple Cider place at Cow Hollow, stopped at some beautiful lakes and watched the ferries for a while then crossed the border.

There wasn't much to see but we enjoyed the fact that we were driving around in Canada. Got quite lost at one point due to a bridge being rebuilt and no obvious detour. Crossed back across the border to the amusement of the security guy who thought it was rather amusing that we just 'popped' over for an hour or so. Had a yummy sandwich and soup in a little cafe in Enosburg Falls and headed back to Stowe.

Made use of the fantastic public laundry behind the post office and had dinner down stairs. We shared crab cakes for starters and both had the turkey dinner, a glass of wine each and shared Rhubarb Cobbler and blackberry shorthcake with coffee. $106 plus tips.

The bill for the Green Mountain inn for just the accommodation was $661 inc taxes.
Dh woke me the next morning saying I had to get up straight away and look out the window. Yep, snow. We were so excited, it was actually snowing and had been for some time as the cars all had a covering of snow. Had to drive back to Boston this day and the first hour or two it snowed, just beautiful, neither of us had ever seen scenery like it.

Took about 3.5 hours to get to Boston. Found our way to our hoel in Cambridge (won on priceline) the Cambridge Marriot. Dropped off our bags and then took the car back. We both really enjoyed having the Camaro, it was a lot of fun. Cabbed back to the hotel, very happy with our room, HUGE and a wonderful bathroom. We had a corner room with windows all the way round.

Had dinner in the Legal Seafood Restaurant wich was just outside the hotel. Really lovely. Me - Lobster, baked potato and coleslaw DH - Fish with Shrimp and the nicest scallops (dh doesn't eat scallops ) And a lovely bottle of New Zealand Chardonay. $140 with tip, oh and we had Boston Cream pie

A great sleep in a great bed. Catch the train back to NYC next and our last night on the East Coast. But more importantly, "A Steady Rain".

Great report, Aussie, So glad you got to see the snow and hope the driving wasn't too slipery.

Enjoy the Holidays and have a very merry Christmas.

Did you like the play? I can't wait to hear!!! I was so excited to see Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, they could have been reading the phone book.

aussiedreamer:

'and the pudding has been made' - care to share your recipe?

Your latest posting is delightful. Sounds like you enjoyed yourself so much and your wonder and excitement at snow - brilliant.

Sandy

Thanks emalloy. The driving was fine not too slippery at all. Merry Christmas to you and yours too

travelgirl2, you bet. We loved it. More than we thought we would and as you say they could've read the phone book and it would've been enough.

Hi Sandybrit, I see on the news this morning that parts of Europe are being delluged by snow. I understand its probably not nearly as nice as it seems to us drought riden aussies. Its so hot and muggy here at the moment, we have the airconditioning running round the clock. As for the pudding recipe I would love to share, would you like me to email it to you? Its pretty long. send me an email to sadcassidy1@bigpond.com and I'll send it straight back.

I'll be back later today to finish the East Coast part of our trip, thanks for sticking with me.

Again Apologies........... I hope everyone had a lovely christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all.

So........for anyone who bothers to read the last installment here it is.

Had a lovely ride back to NYC on the train, we sat on the scenic side this time, thanks to a very friendly conductor. Got out of Penn Station with ease (it really is a very easy place to navigate). Caught a cab to our next hotel, again booked through priceline. Mellenium Plaza UN. Woh, really lovely. The security was very tight, dogs sniffed us and our bags before we were allowed to enter. I just checked my diary & I quote........ " Lots of guys in black suits, sunglasses and cars with Diplomatic plates. Very "24" & a little bit 'wanky' " end quote. I hope that doesn't offend anyone?

Our room was huge, we were upgraded to a king, which was lovely. Gave us a chance to sort our bags out for the next flight.

Walked down to Time Square, we do love just watching the world go by. Thought about walking to Bloomingdales but it was a bit further than my feet would allow. Bought a lovely bottle of wine and just sat in our room taking in the view, over the river and contemplated what a wonderful couple of weeks we'd had.

Got ourselves ready for our theatre date with Hugh & Daniel . Cabbed back to T/S and found the theatre. What a wonderful wonderful evening. Now, let me be honest,the attraction was the two leading mean. And as has been said, they could sell tickets and just stand there and read the phone book. WELL, we got so much more than that. We both loved it. We couldn't really conceive how two guys could stand on a bare stage with only two chairs and a spotlight and be entertaining. Well they could and they did.

It was humorous in a couple of parts, sad in others and I found the ending to be a bit unnerving. Just wonderful, they really knew how to tell the story. I even got over Hughs accent!!!!

So after such a great time I wanted to finish off with something wonderful. So after reading so many restaurant reviews and only using a few, I was determined to try one more. We mad our way to Etc Etc, and were greated like regulars. Him - Baked Cod with Lobster mash & asparagus. Me - Lobster Rissoto. We shared the loveliest chips, olive bread and a half bottle of wine. The service was wonderful. $80 with tip.

Jumped in a cab and slept like babies. Left for JFK quite early for our midday flight to LAX. Easy checkin, we both were amazed, the airport felt desserted.

So thats it. The East coast adventure was over. Thank you sincerely for all your wonderful advice, thoughts and suggestion. Thanks to you all, every moment was fantastic. Memories I will treasure for ever.

We went on to spend 4 weeks on the West Coast. I'm a bit dubious about starting another report. Maybe do a less involved one? But for anyone interested a few highlights below of our West Coast adventure.

Thanks again..........

* A taping of Two & a Half Men
* Amazing visit to Seal Cove @ Half Moon Bay
* The Slanted Door Restaurant San Francisco
* The Napa Wine Train (its not so daggy )
* Amazing Yosemite
* Wonderful Vegas with a surprise visit from our daughters for our 25th wedding anniversay
* Bette Midler was AMAZING
* Donny & Marie, bit cutesy, by fun
* Terry Fator a must see
* Love Cirque De Sole Amazing
* wonderful time discovering San Diego

Next trip, next week!!! Only half kidding. Off on a driving trip to Western Victoria, Melbourne & Sydney. Then a week in Hong Kong in March.

Happy & safe Travels one and all

Deidre (aka Aussiedreamer)

GREAT report - and a nice little teaser about your West Coast adventures. I hope you decide to write a full report.

Deidre, it's been a delight to read your posts in planning the trip and then the trip reports. Thanks for sharing!

Hi AussieDreamer: First, Happy New Year and I hope you have smooth seas and fair winds ahead. Secondly, I just happened upon your trip report while looking for other information and wanted to say 'Thanks!' for all the amazing information you shared with everyone! What a generous thing you did to take the time to complete this report! There are so many great ideas here for the East Coast traveler that it will really benefit others planning a similar trip. Cheers!

Hello Deidre aka Aussiedreamer:

I want to add my appreciation in that you took the time to post the last installment of your truly amazing holiday.

We have stayed at the Millenium Plaza UN hotel and agree the rooms are HUGE. We did run into a very slow check in process. This was over the 4th July so perhaps that is why. One of our sons stayed there at a later time and no delays at check in. Be sure to request a non-smoking room at this hotel.

Your daughters came all the way from Australia to be with you in Vegas as a surprise - amazing.

Curious as to what you and DH do that you can take a year of work to travel beginning May 2010. I hope you will post some of your adventures. You are an amazing couple.

My home is now in the St. Louis area but I do make it back to England each year and yes they are indeed having a lot of snow this winter.

All the best.

Sandy

Thanks one and all. Should've mentioned we 'did' get a smoking room at the Milleneum AHHAHH but we sprayed a lot of deodorant and tried to forget about it.

As for how we are able to take a year off....well. 3 years ago we sold our company to a multinational & DH had to 'serve' an extra 3 years with them. I finished up before our US trip and DH will be 'released' May 1st. yipeeee

So we will take the rest of this year before deciding on any new ventures for the start of 2011. At this stage 3-4 months based in Northern Italy is the preferred option. Lots to think about though. We still have one DD at home, albeit she is 21, she is still 'my baby', so don't want to just say cya in 4 months. We'll see.

Glad you all enjoyed.

Hi Deidre have loved your trip report on your East Coast travels, would really like to read about your West Coast adventures if you have time to write it.

Thanks for catching us up. It must be wonderful to have your options wide open! I'd love to hear about the taping of 'Two and a Half Men'. I just quickly checked online to see about getting tickets to a taping, as my kids (ages 14 and 16) like that show, but the minimum age is 18. Same minimum with 'Big Bang Theory', which they love.

Hi travelgirl2, yep it took some doing. We set the alarm for like 2am our time after counting back from the scheduled taping 30 days (thats when they go on sale). You have to buy them one at a time, so we had two windows open and got them. Half an hour later they were sold out.

It was a lot of fun. It was 'Jakes' real birthday that day. So they had a cake after the taping and we all sang him happy birthday. Even scored a script from the episode we saw...........

Awesome.

thanks for the trip report. i will be going this year and want to visit new york and LA. However, I have now been thinking of going to Las Vegas too. Never thought it would interest me, but a friend at work suggested it. Said it was fabulous.
So can I ask you where you stayed in LA and Las Vegas. I do not think my husband will like LA, so how long do you recommend is long enough to see the sites. We will also be with our 17 year old son.
I am really excited as we are going to New York for my 50th.
I have really enjoyed reading what you have written.

hi there millie, We enjoyed vegas for the 6 nights we were there. Had the dd's not come over we would have used the time to 'drive' to the canyon. But as we had all already been once before we decided on spending time in Vegas. Eating shopping and catching up. We did 'lash' ut and stay at the Bellagio, it was our 25th anniversay. Although we found it incredibly good value.

We really dislike LA, having been there previously when the kids were younger to do all the touristy things, we opted to stay at Santa Monica for two nights. New York will always be my fav' city in the world..

Sorry to top this old thread but I've only just finished my 'photo project' from this holiday and wanted to add it.

http://www.momento.com.au/gallery?category=Featured&cpid=511631&auth=4e2e5ddb914948.26492174

aussiedreamer, your photos are beautiful!
I really like the way you've arranged them in a book.

I just happened on this trip report as I am following your Current trip in europe. I enjoyed your pictures, but wished that I could have found a way to enlarge the pages so that I could look more closely at your photos!