Happy Birthday Millsy!!! This is your day and and we'll make it great! Up early and off to the surprise breakfast at a real American diner. Jules found this awesome diner where the wait staff take turns singing show tunes. It's a great idea. How many aspiring actors/singers are in New York? Why not let the thespian waiters and waitresses display their talents while they work? And the talent amongst these guys is amazing. We pay through the nose for breakfast and Jules drinks the worst ($8) coffee of her life! It reminded her of Griffith Uni student lounge instant coffee and the nostalgia couldn't make up for the disappointment. We lined up outside for 40 minutes but the entertainment and the talent of the performers made it worth the wait. If these guys can't get ... read more

Today was the best day so far! A "real" New York day. It starts with a bagel, of course. Bagel Express is a couple of streets up from 37th and is a local bagel shop / deli. There's a uniformed NYPD officer waiting for his bagel and his coffee. A 60-something lady enters with her dog on a lead and orders her regular. There's maybe 10 cream cheese flavours to choose from and as many bagel options. Milla has sesame with plain, Deaks and I order everything bagels with plain and Jules has cinnamon with blueberry cream cheese. They list the toppings as Spreads/Schmears and the inch of cream cheese between the doughy circles suggests the default CC is a spread not a schmear. Toasted perfectly and wrapped in foil my first NYC bagel is everything ... read more

How can it only be 9 am and how can it only be Sunday? Our check-in is 4 pm and while the early check-in was offered, an extra $100 for an inferior room did not appeal. We also have to stay awake to avoid jetlag and being anywhere need a pillow would be irresistible. Even on a Sunday, the city is in your face. It's skyscrapers beyond high-rises. The steam rises out of the drains and manhole covers and the smell of the city gets right into your nostrils. A quick bite at a patisserie and we make our way to Grand Central station. From The Untouchables to Gossip Girl, we all have film references to the impressive main concourse of Grand Central Station. We keep moving and stroll past the New York Public Library and ... read more

Our last morning allows a sleep-in before we check out right on 10. There's an arbitrage crying out to me in the reception vending machine. The disrupted tooth paste and tooth brushes had spilled out of their rack and were resting on the Mama instant noodles. $4 and I reckon I’m gaining bulk value. Boom! The Mama noodles fall into the access draw followed by two toothpastes and one toothbrush. Creamy Shrimp isn’t my first choice noodle flavour, but it’s definitely top 10. Jules had spotted a café and patisserie up Elizabeth St and we have late breakfast at Imago. A Japanese inspired café with delicious breakfast and drinks stylishly presented. Yum! We buy some vinyl at Tommy Guns and Deaks chats skate shops with the dude at Jimmy’s skate shop. He even learns a unique ... read more

The window was tight today. Hobart to Bruny Island and back, before the Kona hire expires at 2pm. And we nailed it!! Up at 7am. Bagels-to-go and on the road by 7.30. We’d been warned of the Bruny Island car ferry queues and lonely planet lists travel time as 1hr 45min from Hobart to South Bruny, Google concurred. A pandemic induced hire car shortage had lead to a price spike and we had the Kona until 2pm and wanted to use it. We’d rightly bumped Bruny Island forward a day to allow our Hartz Mountain trek but still wanted to get down there. It’s only a 35 minute drive to Kettering but the ferry could be 20 minutes or it could be an hour! If the Kona isn't returned to Hobart depot by 2pm it's an ... read more