La la land, to Vegas, to NYC

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I'm sitting here laughing to myself as i write this as some angry American has just sent me a message on my blog calling me a 'Hater' as i apparently angered/offended her with my description of the American tourist groups in Peru that drove us crazy.....if only she knew we were now in the States and loving both the place and the people!!

So this will be my last blog entry and i intend to keep it short and sweet as it is now costing us $1 for 10 minutes internet use, versus the $1 for an hour we were paying in Bolivia!!
We're now in NYC but we started our little American adventure in Los Angeles. We were staying right off Melrose Avenue, and about 10 minutes walk from the Sunset Strip so we were well placed to explore all the things we had made note to see. Our first night we went to the infamous Chateau Marmont for drinks. This being a hotel where the Hollywood stars are supposed to go and drink....we didnt meet any, in fact quite the opposite...we met 'Maggie' from Essex, who claimed she had 'made it' as she now worked for the rich and famous. When we asked who she worked for, she claimed to work for Michael Jacksons lawyer (well he probably wont be rich for much longer Maggie, will he?) and then she actually revealed she worked for his wife, so we dont actually think Maggie from Essex had made it quite yet, but at least she's trying....So 2 hours, a load of Grey Goose and bar bill that made my headache way worse the next day, we were off to Hollywood for some touristy action! Nat made me go to Madam Tussauds, which i really wasnt keen on, but when Britney was stood there looking all waxy and fit as soon as we walked in i was glad we went. Nat wanted to see if her bum was as big as Beyonce's (it isnt) and she got all sad when she saw Jen Anniston stood on her own opposite Brad and Angelina. I tried telling her it was just wax but she was sad all the same. Bless.
After a stroll along the walk of fame, dodging the dirty tramps dressed up as movie characters trying to earn money by taking their photo, we went and bought out half of Gap and gorged on Sushi, the one thing we had been missing so desperately for the last two months.
The rest of our days in LA we spent walking around Santa Moncia, we went for dinner with one of my old mates from Camp America and then we hired a car and went nosing around the amazing homes of the rich and famous of Beverly Hills. These houses are just incredible. I mean, everyone sees on the TV how the rich and famous live, you just dont realsie that in LA its practically everyone who lives like that, Beverly Hills is a huge area and every single house was just epic in size! We managed to find the Playboy Mansion too so i have a good snap of Nat outside the gates. I was trying to encourage her to go in for an audition with Heff, just to boost the travelling cash fund but she wasnt having any of it....Whilst we were there we did see some blondie bimbos driving in which was quite funny.
So this is my main observation about America.......drugs. On every corner there is a 24 hour pharmacy the size of a Supermarket selling every type of medicine you can imagine, and about 20 different types of the same thing. Secondly, every other advert on the TV is for some sort of drug, whether it be for the heart, eyes, stomach, anything!!! And the best thing is these ad's are about a minute and half long as they soend about 30 seconds going throguh the T's and C's..."use of this medicine may cause yellowing of the skin, blindness, blisters and other skin conditions". GREAT! GET ME SOME OF THAT PLEASE! It is quite bizarre the way medication/drugs are so in your face. Its like no pain should be put up with, pop a pill and all is good! On our first day when i was in one of these mammoth 24 hour pharmacies buying some paracetemol this other customer no older than my dad was next to me. He said 'what you need paracetemol for?' I was like, 'oh, just a bit of a headache, waht would you recommend?' He laughed to himself and replied 'I would say Vicodin if you could buy it here, i just ran out'. So i'm like 'I'm sorry, what is that, where can i get it?' And he is like 'Oh its a narcotic, you cant buy it over the counter.' .....O...K then!!!! So you are telling me i need a damn narcotic just for a headache!!! It was only later when we went for dinner with Brooke and i told her this that i found out Vicodin is what alot of the young Hollywood lot get addicted too and is also known as Hillbilly Heroin!!! Nice!

After 4 sunny days in LA, lots of shopping we drive in our hire car to the bright lights of Vegas. Its a magnificent drive, took us about 5 hours with a quick stop at Taco Bell and then we arrived into Vegas just after sunset so we could see it in all its lit up glory. We had a super cheap room for 2 nights at the Luxor so we arrived, showered, and went straight out for a gamble! Put it this way, we didnt really pay for any drinks all night, we only played the slot machines...and we still lost about $100!!! But it was great fun, we were actually quite addicted to the machines but by 4am in the morning we felt it was time to stop being gambling addicts and get to bed. Vegas was a 48 hour whirlwind, ALOT of fun, some great people watching and well worth passing through.

And so here we are now in NYC. All i can say is that this city is absolutely brilliant, everything about it. As much as i love Sydney and it will always be my home from home, being in New York has made me realise what i really miss about a big full on city...the buzz, the nightlife, the amazing shopping, loads going on all the time, beautiful old buildings, amazing museums. It is just how we imagined it, really festive, cold enough to get wrapped up but not too cold that it hurts. Its just brilliant! And it has really made us look forward to getting back to London. My credit card is almost worn out but we just cant seem to stop shopping as there are good shops on every corner!! I am at my bag weight limit now though...But Nat has upgraded and bought a bigger suitcase!! I kid you not, she has dumped the backpack and gone for wheels!! This woman is serious, she has waited for 2 months to get here and shop!! Last night we went to a hip hop club in Brooklyn with Flick, one of Nats old work mates from London which was awesome! Today we have jsut been for a long walk around central park with a coffee which was super nice. Tongiht we are going for burgers at a traditional diner and then tomorrow we are hitting Broadway for a show. Then Tuesday we board a jet plane and land back in London ready for stag do's, weddings, job interviews and Christmas!

UK gang, see you soon!

xxx

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