Greetings from New York City

Greetings from New York City
(can you detect my NY accent?), It's hard to believe we are here in New York - it is awesome!!!! After our big shopping spree in Vegas, we spent our last night going to see Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton. I couldn't resist and sent Gary's brother, Paul, a text saying "Can u guess where I'm calling from? The Las Vegas Hilton." (You would need to be an LRB fan to get that reference!) Anyway, Barry Manilow was fantastic! He played all his hits and it was a real Vegas-style show...very enjoyable. By the time we had stopped at Tiffany's (last of the Julia Roberts money was spent there) on the way back to our room it was after midnight when we got to bed and we had to get up at 4am to catch the plane to NY. We just loved our time in Vegas - I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun and how much there is to do...seeing as I don't gamble. So onto the Big Apple we went - we had another good flight...how can you not when you travel first class? It took us 2 and a half hours to get from the airport to the hotel having a very interesting shuttle ride that went all over Manhattan. The hotel here is the exact opposite of the one in Vegas - it is older & more elegant...but smaller. The toilet overflowed last night which was a bit of excitement but we have a kitchenette and went to the market across the road to buy supplies. It is an amazing place - it has 3 times the variety of Coles in 1/3 the space. They have 8 large barrels of different types of olives!!! Our room overlooks Broadway and we left the windows open last night to soak up the atmosphere - sirens, honking cars and all - it was great and we slept really well. This morning we went to church which was fantastic - an Anglican church called All Angels about 5 blocks away. They were very welcoming and got us to stand up and introduce ourselves. The liturgy was identical to ours at home but they had an 8 piece band which was amazing and quite a few young people. All in all a great experience. We then took the subway (oh we are adventurous!) to Times Square where we picked up our tickets to see Grease tonight and also booked an 8 1/2 hour bus tour of Manhattan for tomorrow. Gary has just come to tell me the toilet has flooded again and so we are moving rooms! Maybe if I stay here long enough, he will have moved all our stuff by the time I get back! We were on the 5th floor and will now be on the 11th floor so I guess we'll get to see a different view! We will probably then go for a walk to Central Park to look at Strawberry Fields, a dedication to John Lennon, near the Dakota where he was shot in 1980. I still remember being in a car with Gary when we heard the news John had been shot and how devastated he was. It's then off to see Grease (back on the subway!) and a night in a new bed! Thanks for all the news from home. James' team got in the grand final, my soccer girls lost their semi so it's now time to prepare for next season. My spies tell me that the kids have turned into cleaning machines in our absence - we should go away more often! Better go and help with the move. Love to all,P&G

Greetings from the Las Vegas Outlet Shops

Greetings from the Las Vegas Outlet Shops
Yep, it's hard to believe but here I am in a factory outlet shopping centre...the temperature is about 108 degrees (that's a bit over 40 Alex) and I have gone BERSERK! (Well, for me, the non-shopper, anyway). I have spent most of my Julia Roberts money (by the way as some of you have asked that was a huge amount of money my mum gave me for my birthday, supposedly to spend on Rodeo Drive a la Pretty Woman). It has been great fun and the bargains are amazing. Carly, you and the girls should definitely come to Vegas for a holiday, but don't bring ANYTHING (I mean anything...just the clothes on your back!). On the first day, you should come here and buy, buy, buy! Billabong t-shirts are $10 just as an example and there are over 150 shops here. Anyway, I have left Gary loaded down with bags, drinking his coffee in the outdoor mall where water sprays out at you to keep you cool while I do my internet thing. We have to wait for my sapphire ring to be re-sized anyway... We had a great experience at the buffet this morning. You line up at the omelette station for you eggs to be cooked as you like them (I have learned to ask for eggs over easy...)...anyway, the chef was just like the soup Nazi on Seinfeld - it was a hoot - we called him the egg Nazi as he yelled next and the line shuffled to the left to wait for their eggs. It was very entertaining - and watching him manage 6-8 omelettes at once was a treat in itself! Well, it's our last day here in Vegas and tomorrow morning it's off to NY. It is the labour day weekend here so I have primed Gary up for the crowds - he is coping very well and after a few false starts where I gave him "the look" he now lines up very patiently. Good luck to all involved in sporting finals - especially my soccer girls - go get 'em! Love to all,P&G

Greetings from the Las Vegas Strip

Greetings from the Las Vegas Strip
I am sitting in an internet cafe/souvenir shop on "The Strip" and I tell you I feel like stripping! It is 115 degrees today...no, I am not kidding! Gaz & I have done a big walk thru 4 different casinos this morning - Mandalay Bay (where we also went to Shark Reef an aquarium), Luxor (which is literally in the shape of a pyramid), Excalibur (where they have jousting dinner shows) & New York New York (which has the Statue of Liberty out the front). After you have been here you really don't need to see the world - it's all here! We have also been to Paris & the Eiffel Tower, the streets of Venice including canals and gondolas at the Venetian, Italy at the Bellagio, Rome at Caesar's palace...and too many more to mention. We have got into a bit of a rhythm now and usually hit the breakfast buffet at 10am and EAT UP BIG...and then just snack on fruit and sundries for the rest of the day. We never seem to get really hungry which is a good thing so hopefully we won't put on too much weight. You do heaps of walking over here, mostly in air conditioned casinos, but occasionally you do have to go out in the heat. It really heats up from about 1pm thru to 6pm - they seem to be the hottest hours. Yesterday we had a rest day (just like the cricket!) and I lay by the pool and read a book (yep, a whole book). It was surprisingly pleasant in the shade so I had no problem spending 4 hours there. Gary did other stuff - bought show tickets, went back to the phone place who had given us an instruction book in Chinese (we have enough trouble understanding the English version!!!), won more money on the pokies (well, that's what he's telling me anyway). We went and saw Cher last night at Caesars - an amazing show - very enjoyable. Dinner was a strawberry gelato waffle cone - also very enjoyable. We have booked in to see Barry Manilow tomorrow night for our last night - thought we'd go out with a blast! I would thoroughly recommend Vegas for a holiday - I wasn't incredibly keen to come here, but it does have everything! We even saw a beach with a wave pool at Mandalay Bay this morning. We are also heading to the outlet shops tomorrow and then on Saturday it's an early flight to New York - leaving the hotel at 5am - OMG! Thanks for all the news from home & work. I would like to say I wish I was there...but... Love to everyone and keep the emails coming! New York - here we come! loveP&G

Greetings from the Grand Canyon

Greetings from the Grand Canyon
Well, we were there yesterday and what a day!!! It was awesome!!! We travelled in a pink jeep, took a helicopter ride, boat ride on the Colorado river and saw the canyon from the top & the bottom & all points in between. Unreal! We had a great tour guide and some Irish girls as companions and just had the best day! Gary loved the helicopter & so did I - it was phenomenal & not scary at all. Vegas is still 100degrees+ every day though it actually rained in the desert on the way back from the canyon and was only about 90 degrees - bliss! We went to see "O" - a Cirque du soleil show on Sunday night - it was spectacular and we are going to a Legends tribute tonight & Cher tomorrow night. Busy busy busy!!! We have also managed to eat our way through numerous buffet meals (oh my God - u have no idea!), have a few swims & read by the pool and Gary has disappeared into the bowels of the casino a number of times when I am doing something mundane like a bathtub full of washing. He assures me he is ahead and we just used his winnings from last night to purchase a mobile phone which we will take it in turns to use with our sim cards (our aussie ones did not work). (No, James, dad said to say u cannot have the new phone when we get back!) Apparently James & Carly have cleaned their rooms for the first time in years - we may need to move out permanently... Thanks to everyone who has emailed - I love getting news from home or at least an indication that these emails don't just disappear into cyber space! We are both astonishingly well and having a great time. Vegas is fantastic! Luv to allP & G

Greetings from Las Vegas

Greetings from Las Vegas
I'm standing in the middle of Caesars Palace Casino typing this...amazing. B4 i begin i need to apologise for spelling etc - this is the weirdest keyboard ever!!! I had a MAJOR disaster the other day...wait for it...my ghd hair straightener broke down!!!! u have no idea the magnitude of this disaster!!! There will not be many photos of me on this trip! We had a great time in Disneyland - went on rides (well the ones no one else wanted to go on as Gary is not known for his patient line waiting), saw shows etc it was great. The weather over here is HOT HOT HOT! LA was in the 90's and Vegas was 107 yesterday & 105 today, expecting a balmy 104 tomorrow!!!! We arrived here yesterday & this place is amazing - Gary loves it which is great 'cause this was really why he wanted to come on the trip. We saw The Fab Four, a Beatles tribute show which was awesome & go to another show tonight with Cher later this week. We went shopping!!!! Wow - I’m in big trouble as my suitcase was already overweight in LA. The Bellagio is like a city in itself with great shops including Tiffany’s where i may go to spend my Julia Roberts money later. We are both well - Gary has been fine on all the flights - though Business & First class definitely help I'm sure! Best be off - I need to walk off the huge buffet brunch I consumed this morning...i may never eat again. Love to all & write back with any news. G & P PS I chanced on Matt getting the gold medal in diving and cried...

Greetings from Hollywood

Greetings from Hollywood
Phew - it is still hot and sunny here...but I am not complaining...I'm about to head back to the hotel for a swim - yeah! We have been to Universal Studios today - we were extremely adventurous and walked to Hollywood Bde from our hotel and then caught the new metro train to Universal City - then a shuttle bus and we were there. Apparently that is much faster than dealing with the LA traffic. We had a great time at the Studio - went on tours, saw shows, walked a lot, got wet (inevitable) and managed to avoid scary rides. (Though I did lacerate Gary's arm with my watch when I thought scarabs from The Mummy were jumping on me...but it turned out to be...water). We have now caught the metro back to Hollywood and Gary is having a coffee while I do this. I fell asleep at 8pm last night, slept and woke refreshed at 10.30pm...uh oh....slept from 11pm to 1.30am...woke up raring to go...uh oh...read a book and finally slept from 3am to 7am...yeah - I think I'm finally in sync! Gary seemed to be sleeping quite well all night judging by the snoring... Not much more to say. Thanks for your emails & don't forget to keep us updated - the only Olympic news we have heard is that USA beat Aust in the men’s basketball!! How are the Kookaburras going? Anyway, it's Disneyland tomorrow...big day. Love to all, Gary & Penny

Greetings from LA

Greetings from LA – Wednesday 20 August 2008
Hi everyone - we made it!!! It's hard to believe that it is still Wednesday - yep LA is 17 hours behind Sydney so we are having a 41 hour day...it feels like this day will never end... We had a great flight - I am totally converted to business class - you could dance a tango between your seat and the one in front, the food was fabulous though the flight attendants were surly middle aged American women which is a bit different to the lovely girls you get on Asian airlines. Anyway, we got here fighting fit, if a little bit tired - the flight was 14 hours and Gary and I only managed a couple of hours sleep so we are determined to stay up this arvo & try to beat jet lag! We had an interesting ride on the shuttle bus from LAX to the hotel - I think we went via everywhere but where we needed to go - the driver didn't seem to have much of a clue... Gary behaved pretty well - I only had to jab him a couple of times when he started complaining loudly how hot it was in the shuttle bus. It is pretty warm here though I'm not complaining after leaving freezing OZ. We unpacked at the hotel, grabbed a shower (and swim for Gaz) and then headed off on a tour of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive etc. It was really good and we took heaps of photos of houses of the stars - no doubt I won't remember who they all belong to. We stopped at Rodeo Drive but didn't really have a chance to shop so my "Julia Roberts" money may be spent in Vegas. Tomorrow we are heading off to Universal Studios then on Friday it is a mammoth Disneyland day from 8.15am (leaving hotel) to 10pm close at Disneyland. Then Saturday morning we check out and fly to Vegas. Gaz & I are in The Hollywood Internet Kiosk and will shortly scope out the strip for something to eat and then an early night I think...we are certainly starting to sag! Don't forget to keep us updated on any news. Our mobile phones don't work here in LA for some reason but they might in Las Vegas (Optus warned us it was possible) so I will try to check emails every couple of days. Love to everyone.Jetsetters Inc (G & P)