robbo and leeazaa’s travel adventures

Our holiday is coming to a close now as we await to fly back home to Perth. Thanks to everyone who has read and commented on this blog. It has been hard at times to keep motivated to keep writing on it, but there was always the well-timed comment from someone to inspire us to keep going.

We have had an amazing time traveling around the USA and Japan and this blog will help us remember everything we have done over the last 4 months.

So now here is a bit of a summary of the places we have enjoyed most etc.

USA

1. City you enjoyed most
   • Rob: Kerrville, Texas
   • Leeane: Chicago
2. “Experience” you enjoyed most
   • Rob: Niagara Falls
   • Leeane: Grand Canyon
3. Favourite food
   • Rob: All of Wiley’s food and Uncle Bob’s gumbo
   • Leeane: Any American pepperoni pizza and Quizno’s subs
4. Least favourite food
   • Rob: None
   • Leeane: Raw mince
5. Things you will miss the most
   • Rob: Uncle Bob, Chicago mob and cheap beers.
   • Leeane: Duffy and Walmart
6. Things you wont miss at all
   • Rob: The beers at Heartland brewery, tipping, bums and beggars.
   • Leeane: Tipping, fatty carts and “shrimp on the barbie” comments.

Japan

1. City you enjoyed most
   • Rob: Osaka
   • Leeane: Osaka
2. “Experience” you enjoyed most
   • Rob: The last night with Tudes and co.
   • Leeane: Ditto
3. Favourite food
   • Rob: Yakatori
   • Leeane: All udon noodles dishes and McDonalds McGriddle breakfast
4. Least favourite food
   • Rob: Chicken knuckles
   • Leeane: Whale bacon
5. Things you will miss the most
   • Rob: Politeness and general craziness.
   • Leeane: Bowing to people and vending machines everywhere
6. Things you wont miss at all
   • Rob: Sewer smell on some streets and getting stared at for being white.
   • Leeane: Shopkeepers shouting “summeeeemassssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnn” to everyone walking past their shop.

Thanks again and hopefully we can do a similar thing for our next trip… whenever that might be!

Rob and Leeane

OK blog post mania at the moment.. this is the 3rd in an hour!

So as we spend our last days in the USA I thought it would be good to post the list of the things we have found “strange” in the USA. We have been compiling this list since we arrived way back in July. Some of these strange things are good things.. some are annoying things…. but all are different to the “norm” life as we know it back in Australia.

Oh and it doesn’t include the obvious things like driving on the wrong side of the road etc.

• When ordering a burger, the wait-staff ask how you want your meat patty cooked (medium/well-done etc). I am pretty sure I have never been asked that back in Australia – not for a hamburger – we just assume “cooked”.
• Many shops don’t accept notes higher than $20. In fact if you get a large amount of money out at an ATM, it is dispensed in a big wad of $20’s only.
• If you give a cashier a $100 note (although not sure where you would have got it from in the first place), they hold it up to the light for a second. As if they could tell it’s counterfeit with a quick glance!
• If you see something which is $15 – it ends up being some silly amount like $16.13 once you go to the cashier because of sales tax (made up of a state tax + city tax + county tax).
• Pennies are useless. Get rid of them!!
  
• Half milk/half cream (called half-half) is common place for people’s coffee and tea. It is gooood!
• Showers are not simple to turn on. There’s only one tap and a shower head and faucet underneath (for a bath). You have to turn on the tap and then figure out some obscure contraption to redirect the water flow from the faucet to the shower head. An obscure switch or piston-like knob normally.
• A lot of cars have only brake lights on the back. The left or right brake light will flash when being used as an indicator.
• Suicide lanes – a lane in the middle of the road where cars coming in either direction can turn. Scary.
• The TV adverts here are… confronting. Erection problems, prostate issues, genital herpes.. you name it.. there’s someone talking about it.. in detail. And there’s always an incredible list of disclaimers tacked on to the end of the ad e.g. for an asthma drug – “if you have asthma which is current under control with other medication you should not take  XXX as there is an increased risk of asthma-related deaths when using  XXX “. Riiiiggghhhhttttt.
• Drive thru ATM. Actually very handy.
• Drive thru post boxes. Also very handy.
• Stores that sell guns AND alcohol are common. Scary.
• In restaurants, entrees are main-courses. So you order an appetizer (optional), an entree and a dessert (optional).
• In many bars, a pint is actually the smallest size of glass (although the bigger glass is the same size as an actual pint you would get in Australia). Weird!
• Stores and supermarkets provide what Rob and I have been calling “Fatty-Carts” for people who are morbidly obese. And, boy, there’s quite a few of them here in the states. Anyways, these carts are motorised scooters which you normally see the elderly using. The stores provide them to their obese customers to help them get around the store as they buy up big on more unhealthy goodness. Smart move by the stores.

So that’s about all the notable things we can think of. I have a feeling there will be many more strange things in Japan coming up.. starting with their toilets!

Leeane

Tags: odd stuff, usa

The challenge of eating a supersized McDonalds meal has been completed. And let’s cut to the chase… I failed.

There could be many excuses – the heat, the fact that we at at 5pm (hardly dinner time!!) or the fact I had stuffed myself with Reeses Butter Cups already etc. But in the end there are no excuses – it was a heck of a lot of food and drink.

Mmmm doesnt that just look delicious!

We were lucky enough to find a McDonalds that actually does the supersizing still. Supersizing seems to be a bit of a dirty word since the movie came out. Of course, everything is bigger in Texas so we were in the right state to find a supersized-enabled Macca’s.

I started off with the fries – did most of them.. then did the burger… started to hit the wall right about there. After downing half the Coke I tried to go back to the fries to finish them off, but I just couldn’t face any more. I could have taken the drink and fries with me to finish later (after all I had 45 minutes to complete the challenge) but at that stage I didn’t want to be within a 10-foot pole of any food so had to admit failing the challenge.

Stuffing my cheeks - this was before I hit the wall

Big fries and coke. Note Uncle Bobs face in the background.

Of course, 20 minutes later I was feeling better and wished I had kept the food so I could finish it.

The leftover fries that stood between me an victory. Damn them!

Oh well. Next time!!  Not.
Leeane

Tags: mcdonalds, texas

We have been spending the last few days at Uncle Bob’s place having a good relaxation session and feasting on all things bad for us. We have also been working on our tans (or lack thereof) and Rob has been counting the blisters on his hands after chopping up trees with an axe for Uncle Bob.

After spending the day listening to Average White Band on my iPod to gear up for the gig we are going to next Tuesday, I thought I would check my email. And lo-and-behold… an email from Ticketmaster saying the one and only gig in San Francisco has been CANCELLED!

Needless to say, we are absolutely devasted. The only way we could see them is to make a mad rush up to Seattle – but I don’t think thats gonna happen.

We went to an IHOP which stands for International House of Pancakes. So those that know me, know that… well… pretty much heaven. The food was certainly bigger and better than the diner meals we have had, and still very cheap. I wish I had taken a photo!! But maybe we will go back there before our time is up.

Next on our list is to go to McDonalds before we leave Texas. Because I have to get that pesky “Macca’s Challenge” out of the way – else I will never hear the end of it!!

Leeane

Tags: texas

I have to clear up a couple stigmas attached to New York City before I get into the meat and potatoes of what we’ve been up to lately.

Firstly, the city drivers (in particular the taxi drivers) aren’t THAT crazy. In my opinion Chicago has the worst drivers and driving conditions hands down. Secondly, New Yorkians aren’t the bunch of jerks that everyone makes them out to be, it is the tourists that are the jerks.

You’ve probably already seen the Midget Jackson video by now which I think should be essential viewing for any potential busker in Perth however the New Yorkian buskers’ have figured out something more devious. If you have a captive audience, then your audience will be captivated! What the crap am I talking about? Well, the buskers here use the trains to force an audience to listen to them and it’s not just restricted to a guitarist or saxophonist. Religious weirdos use the transit time to talk about the extra 32 psalms they have written for the Bible, or hand out pamphlets on how to survive second death…. it’s all really fascinating really.

Not to mention that the subways themselves are in any way dull or uninteresting. Today on our now very familar subway trip into Manhattan the doors opened at a station only to show paramedics and a cop trying to resucitate someone. Strangely though, it seemed that only Leeane and I were concerned with this, even some of the passengers that got on at the same station just grabbed a seat and opened up their latest Robert Ludlow novel.

From the dark humid arteries of New York to the dizzying heights of the tallest buildings, the city really shows just how big it is from 66 floors above street level.

view from Rockefeller

another angle from the Rockefeller

Empire state with twin towers light in background

From L-R: Leeane, Rob, Empire state building

Uncle Bob described Times Square at night as a condensed Vegas. It is easy to see why, massive billboards and blinding lights everywhere over 4-5 blocks. Stunning at night.

Leeane in Times Sq.

Me in Times Sq.

Despite the massive cleanup in recent times of Central park, we still weren’t game enough to explore it during the night. During the day however it is a completely different story, heaps of people exercising always with the city skyline in the background.

on top of a rock in central park.

view from a rocky outcrop

We caught the train down to Grand Central Station on our way to Chinatown and Little Italy, it certainly makes Perth train station look like a crime-infested tin shed – which it is.

grand central, complete with patriotism

Next up China town, rows and rows of identical shops selling belt buckles and handbags and people asking you if you want to buy a Rolex. It’s fun for a block or two, but fortunately for us we stumbled upon Little Italy which is very similar but instead of rows and rows of knock off shops, you have rows and rows of pasta restaurants.

little Italy

So that’s what we have been up to lately. If I sound a little annoyed in this post it is because Leeane got felt up by a muscly 40 year old in slug-huggers – I guess I’m just a little jealous!

Rob

Tags: new york

We got to the Las Vegas airport pretty early this morning so we had some time to kill. Luckily for us they have recently introduced free WIFI so we can geek it up pre-flight.

It’s funny that the airport here actually has slot machines, in fact convenience stores and petrol stations also have slot machines. I never thought anyone would actually use one in a convenience store, but we’ve seen the odd gambler hitting the slots at the old 7-11 Casino….pretty sad if you ask me.

Another thing I’ve discovered here is my love for post-mix Dr Pepper in the diabetes causing ‘Super Gulp’, 2 Litre cups. Not everywhere has Dr Pepper here, but I noticed today when I got desperate for some that Pibb Xtra is essentially the same thing.

Now I never need go 20 minutes without a Dr Pepper tasting beverage again…

Rob

Tags: food, las vegas

Today after we arose from our jet-lagged induced comas we got grifted by your not-so-average gentleman of the street. Let me explain.

We were crossing the street, heading up a near 45 degree hill towards union square when a little black dude with a thick, seriously gooey thick american accent introduced himself as ‘Tyrone’ and engaged us in the 1-potatoe-2-potatoe-3potatoe-4 style handshake. After we briefly exchanged names he said, ‘Let me tell you someting Rawb. I can tell you exactly where and what state you got your shoes.’. There was one catch though, I had to ‘…promise not to laff ’cause I gotta take a bath’. I didn’t have a clue what he meant by that but since there was no easy exit out of this until we reached the top of the hill, we egged him on, naturally doubting what he claimed. It was about this point that I started thinking that maybe my pro-australian Wallabies jersey was a dead give away, but surely that would only nail it down to Australia at best and he was claiming he could wittle it down to the state as well!

At this point I was beginning to suspect we were in for our first mugging however he assured us that he wasn’t a criminal and after asking ME not to beat him up once again claimed that he could use his prescient abilities to tell me where I got my shoes and which state I got ’em – if i promised to not laff cos’ i gotta take a bath. Fine then! I started negotiating the terms but before I could finalise a price he told me, ‘you got yo’ shoes on yo’ feet Rawb! And you in California’. We had to laugh (even though we promised Tyrone we wouldn’t) and naturally I accused him of grifting me however since I did break my promise I flipped him a buck. Hopefully you’ll get that bath you wanted Tyrone.

Tags: san francisco

I reckon I could eat a supersized McDonalds meal (the kind with huge portion of chips/fried and a litre of coke).

Rob doesn’t think I could.

So the challenge is for me to eat a supersized Macca’s meal somewhere in America. If I win, I get $50. If I lose, Rob gets $50.

As with all challenges, there has to be some ground rules.
1. I can choose when and where I take up the challenge
2. I have to finish the meal in one sitting (which we have said will be within 45 minutes).
3. There can’t be any food revisiting my mouth after being swallowed… eww.

Wish me luck – hopefully there is no graphic aftermath. I will be sure to post the results on this blog, as long as it isn’t too embarrassing.

Leeane

Tags: challenges, eating, mcdonalds