Washington, D.C.

Today I departed Philadelphia and caught a bus to the political playground of the United States. Alicia drove me to the bus station for 7am where I waited for my greyhound bus for over and hour and I half. It was running late because the driver got lost on the way to Philly station. 
By 9am we were on the road, passing through the rough outer suburbs of Baltimore and arriving a Union Station by midday. I made me way straight to I street where my host Missy was waiting to let me in on her lunch break. We talked briefly as I emptied my bag to make a day pack before she returned to work. Turns out Tiffany Trump lives in the building too. 

She sent me off in the right direction for the Mall, a spot I had been very excited to get amongst for a long time. I walked down the east end of the mall to gaze upon the great capital building, walking around the water feature to admire the statue of Ulysses S. Grant out front. 

I walked back down the mall to the Washington Monument, which is absolutely ginormous. At the time it was completed it was the tallest building in the world, and DCs building code requires all new buildings to not exceed its height. 

I went down to see Abraham Lincoln, via the Second World War memorial. He was looking very good in his big chair, and the Gustav Holst in my ears provided a good backdrop to read his massive words on the wall. I walked around the outside of the structure where there were some great views of the Washington obelisk and the Jefferson monument. At the base of the steps I watched a ceremony where by a Naval Lieutenant Commander was promoted to Commander.   

Next I went over to see Thomas Jefferson, who was looking very grand in his Bronze cast, followed by FDR and Martin Luther King. 

I looped back around to the Washington Monument and walked down to the archives, behind which is the Navy memorial where I was meeting Missy once she finished work. There are three professions in the town – Lawyers, lobbyists and service staff. Missy is a lawyer who deals with the appeals made by veterans applying for benefits. 
We walked down to the White House which we admired from both sides as well as the Eisenhower building. It is smaller that I thought it would be, a pretty modest house as far as leaders offical residence go. 

We walked back into the city, which is noticed is amazingly clean. We ran into a couple of friends of Missys who offered us to join them for a drink. We did so and had some beers with them before heading to Missys where she made some delicious dinner and we drank wine until I was falling asleep mid sentence. Classic Friday night Angus. 

Last days in Philadelphia

My last two days in a Philadelphia were relatively relaxed. On Wednesday I spent most of the day hanging out at the house. GionPaolo was working from home and it was so ridiculously hot outside that I was happy to spend it inside relaxing, drinking coffee and making plans. 
In the afternoon he and I went for lunch. As GP is a local to Philly it seemed a good opportunity to go a partake in the best cheesesteak in town. Boy oh boy did it not disappoint. We cycled down to Johns Roast Pork, what is a modest shack in south east Philly, complete with a gruff, stressed fry cook. Usually the line for the sandwiches runs around the block but we were lucky this time. 
GP very kindly insisted on paying for the food, so I got us some delicious Jalapeño poppers, which we really didn’t need because the sandwich itself was so heavy. He said that he and his friends treat the cheese steak as a delicacy because it is so so fatty. So delicious. 

We went back and around 5 I bid him farewell and went to meet Michelle who I had contacted looking for a host but as she couldn’t host me we decided to at least meet. We walked around the city for a few hours, during which I was shown some secret places and good vantage points by which to see the city. 

I walked back to south Philly to find me next host, Alicia. It was late by the time I got there and as she was a school teacher we talked for about half an hour before she went off to bed. 
The next day I had a slow start, and in the late morning I took Alicia’s bike and cycled into the city for a general cruise. I returned in the afternoon and had some food and did some work. There was a bit of drama in the neighbourhood as around 4.30 one of the apartments around the corner caught fire. There were multiple engines and police cars as well as a fair share of rubberneckers. 
I stood in the street for a while listening to the neighbours shout at each other from their door steps. “Who’s house is it?” “I think its Johns house” “is that Abby’s boy” “yeah, it started in the kitchen” etc etc. Classic Italians. 

Alicia came home around 6.30 and we had dinner together and gassed all evening before heading to bed. Tomorrow I head to Washington DC 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Today I had a massive day of cycling around Philly. I started with coffee and breakfast with Tim. Once he departed I jumped on Gion Paolo’s bike that he very kindly lent me for the day. 

I cycled east to the Delaware river with splits the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The river has a cycle path that runs up to the main city, passing some nice public gardens and a hammock park, which I imagine would be bustling on weekends!

I crossed over to Market Street in the old part of the city and went to visit some sites. I made a stop at Elfreth’s Alley, which claims to be the oldest residential street in the United States, dating back to the 1700’s. 

I made my way to the Independance Hall and went and had a gander at the Liberty Bell – which was kind of interesting but more importantly free. I went down into the main town to find a cheesesteak, a classic local sandwich which consists of exactly what it says on the can. It was pretty good, like a not so sloppy sloppy Joe. 

I headed west and got on the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, which runs along the Schuylkill River. I followed it for 16km to Wissahickon Valley Park, a lovely reserve of thick forest and water ways. I saw a deer! I cycled around there for a while before starting the 90minute cycle back. I was literally dripping in sweat it was so warm. 

I went back to the house and had a rinse off and a relax. I drank a beer on the steps before having a little stroll around Passyunk. Gion Poalo and Anna came back around 8.30 and made killer tacos and watched docos which I struggled to stay awake through. 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This morning I was heading off to Philadelphia, which is nestled between NYC and Washington DC. Andrea made pancakes for breakfast which was a lovely way to start the day. She then took me up to the roof of her building which was on the 40 somethingth floor – a fantastic view for sure. 
I packed up my traps and walked up to 34th street to catch my bus. By midday I was in downtown Philly and my host Gion Paolo had sent me a list of some things to do during the day. 
The feel of Philly is much difference to NYC already, not just because of its size but because it has retained its built heritage – so it really has the feeling of being one of the founding cities. 
I walked down the Ben Franklin plaza to the museum of art which was shut alas but carried on past it to the famous boat sheds. It was stupid hot so I really needed to take shelter for a while, so I found a Starbucks and used the time to phone home. 

I carried on south, heading through Rittenhouse square and down to the delightful neighbourhood of Passyunk where my host GP lives. He is a 29 year old marketing dude who was super welcoming and we nearly immediately started drinking scotch and talking and laughing about politics. His housemate Tim and girlfriend Anne come around and he prepared some lovely aubergine lasagne which we ate while watching the West Wing, which they were working their way through for the first time. Good people! Good Philly! 

Wrapping NYC

Saturday was a bit of a right off, with all four of us sleeping until midday and then lounging around the Hayley’s house until the evening. I made another nut roast from the rest of the batter from yesterday which got me through the day. 
Around 5.30 Andrew and Kelley started their journey back to New Jersey. I hung out with Hayley for a little bit more before heading off to go to my next host down in lower Manhattan. I grabbed some food at a Taco Bell (which I think I am addicted too, it’s cheap and super tasty!) and got on the subway. 

Andrea is my host for my last two nights of this week in NYC. Her apartment was located a few blocks from Wall Street, right in the thick of the central business district. She is a software engineer from California who moved to NY 9 months ago to work for Yahoo, and has been subletting the whole time so has been in different places every few weeks. We talked for a bit but I really needed to sleep so used jet lag as a good excuse and went off to bed. Not before sticking my head out the window and seeing the One World Trade Centre was only a few blocks away. 

The next day Andrea had a whole days worth of activities for us, it unfortunately she left to get started super early and I never caught up to her. But I spent the day exploring Downtown and Brooklyn again, walking more of the high wire and finding the Comedy Cellar before walking across the Brooklyn bridge and hanging over there for a bit. 

I went back to Andreas, who had scored tickets to Wicked so left me to have a lie down. I had a quick google to see what was going on that was free on Sunday nights and found that there was a free improv show at a theatre called Upright Citizens Brigade, which I believe was founded by a Tina Fey. You had to go and line up at 6.30 to have a chance at getting ticket at 8.15 for the 9.30 show, and it was 6pm when I read about this. So I grabbed my things and ran out the door to get in line. 
In line I met a nice psychology researcher from Queensland who was over for a 2 and a half week holiday. We managed to pass the time very easily and in no time we had our tickets and were sitting in the small theatre, only a little bigger than the fortune basement. 
The show was pretty good, although the improvisers started to lose focus near the end. The format involved a guest comedian sharing a story with the improvisers which would be the basis for the improvised scenes. Sadly the guest has pulled out at the last minutes due to something child related. This meant that the floor was opened to the audience, who sadly thought their stories where much more interesting than they actually were. 
The show finished by 11 and I went back to Andreas, who was already in bed. Tomorrow I leave New York for the great state of Pennsylvania. 

Another day, another New York Ci-tay

Today was a big old day! Hayley and I spend the day running around the city exploring, being cultured and experiencing the night life. 
We left her apartment after some breakfast and got on the train down to South ferry. I had read that the ferry to Staten Island is free and gives you a fantastic view of Manhattan and lady liberty. It did not disappoint! The ride was great! I had to laugh and all the rich jerks who likely pay top dollar for a private boat tour that shows them pretty much the same thing. 

We got off at Stanton Island and had a walk around for an hour or so before getting back on the ferry. There was nothing immediately interesting in St George (where the ferry lands) but we did find a few funky thrift stores. And the Stanton 9/11 memorial, which on approach kind of looks like two buildings falling down. 

Once back on the mainland we headed uptown to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which on Friday evenings is free (usually $25). We walked around it fairly quickly, seeing all the classics of Cezanne, Matisse, Rothko, Pollock, Picasso, Warhol, Van Gogh and Frank Lloyd Wright. We smashed through it fairly quickly as it was heaving and we clearly weren’t really modern at people. Although the FLW exhibition was amazing and I would like to get back to see more of that. 

We got back on the train back up to Hayley’s apartment where I had promised to teach her how to make nut roast. We drank some wine and relaxed with her roommates, waiting for a couple of friends of hers to arrive from New Jersey. 

Andrew and Kelley arrived and we adventured back into the city, now at about 11pm. Downtown was packed with Friday night party goers and belligerent New Yorkers telling each other how stupid they are (anyone who is over the age of 4 and used the phrase “you’re so stupid” as a retort is not to be taken seriously as the person in charge of identifying stupid people). 
We found our way to a small karaoke bar in downtown where we spent a while waiting for songs that would never come up, but enjoying the warm vibe. We got back into the street and ambled in indecision as to where to go before getting on the subway and heading back to Hayley’s, dozing as the sun rose.  

Looks like no new PM for NZ, can’t say I’m too surprised. Oh well 

Brooklyn, NYC

I’ve been very much enjoying waking up at naturally at 6am. It’s made it much easier to be a good, none sluggish guest to Shirley. We had another great chat over breakfast – she showed me the branding for her new business venture and I gave her some advice on how to realise her vision more clearly. 

I bid Shirley fair well and stepped out into early morning Washington Heights and got on the subway, after admiring the George Washington Bridge. The really fantastic thing about the Subway is that it’s is a flat rate no matter how far you go. Regardless of whether you go from Central Park to downtown Manhattan or the very top of the Bronx to the last stations in Brooklyn, it’s the same price – $2.75. God bless America!
I was headed to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, another spot which Shirley had recommended. Once off the train I wandered a bit, finding myself in a super Jewish neighbourhood. It was like going back in time! Dozens of young boys walking the streets with ringlets and skullcaps, woman and girls in very modest formal dress and men in the full gear, including the big furry hat thing. Totally bizarre. 

I found my way to a pretty hipster part of the area and sat and had a coffee for a while to rest my legs, yarning to a dude there about the fact that it’s costs more to produce a penny than it’s actually worth and me asking him how much a dime is. I truely didn’t know. 

I left Williamsburg and walked into downtown Brooklyn ending at Brooklyn Heights, overlooking the southern tip of Manhattan. It was hard work lugging my bag around in the sun, I was super sweaty. Pretty happy though that my small bag is all I have to look after. 


I got back on the subway and headed back to Washington Heights where I was meeting a new surfer called Hayley. She had been struck unwell in the last 24 hours so she greeted and welcomed me before crashing, saving her energy for our joint adventures tomorrow. She has just moved to NYC from New Jersey after spending the summer in Alaska. I made myself at home and washed all the sweat off me and slipped into more comfortable clothing. Sweet sweet shorts (togs). 

United States of America // Nue Yawk

Something I’ve learnt about myself is that I’m pretty good at adjusting to time differences. All be it small ones. I bounced out of bed at 7am and had a coffee and breakie with sassy Shirley. Unable to see it last night, the window of her Washington heights apartment looks right onto the Hudson River. Very nice!
I was out of her hair by 9am, with a day pack and a spring in my step. I whipped my jumper off almost immediately – it is really hot here. I had really expected UK temperatures and thoroughly regret trading in my trusty shorts for a pair of beige utility chinos. 
I walked south down on broadway, heading for Central Park via Harlem. I had fully intended to catch the underground but I was enjoying watching and listening to all the New Yorkers going about their morning. 
One thing that Shirley had mentioned at breakfast and that I found absolutely fascinating was that as you walk from neighbourhood to neighbourhood you notice that the ethnicities change. From where I’m staying in Washington Heights it’s predominantly white, but quickly becomes Dominican and then African American as you get towards Harlem. It was super charming to see elderly Dominican men and women giggling and greeting each other with a fist bump. 
I got into Central Park and followed the roads toward the larger lake, where I could see the buildings of the east village crawling along the side of the canopy which ushers you towards lower Manhattan. 

   
I got out onto the western side of Central Park and continued south towards Hells Kitchen and the Garment District. I eventually climbed on to the High Wire, and old disused raised railway track which has been converted into a public walkway, garden and art installation – similar to that which is in Paris. 

          
I followed this to its end and jumped back down to street level. I kept going until I got to the World Trade Centre Memorial – which is two very nice square waterfalls where the two towers once where. Nice spot, but not the emotional rollercoaster I had heard it was. Might have had something to do with all the fat tourist. 

          
I admired One World Trade Centre and its neighbours before walking down to Battery Park and squint a glimpse at Lady Liberty. She could be seen quite clearly from the shore line, and given that the Huskie crew may well like to go out to Elise island when they join me in a few weeks I figured I’d save my $18 this time. 

    
Shirley had recommended that I go see East Broadway China Town as it was distinctly more Chinese and less touristic than some other parts. I made my way there, stumbling across Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange on the way, as well as the hall where George Washington had been crowned as the first American Idol back in the 16th century. 

            
I was curving back around now and found myself in Union Square, followed shortly by Madison Square – where the famous Flatiron Building stands, which I only noticed because people I was walking towards all had their cameras pointing at me. 

                
I continued north, passing under the Empire State Building and passed NBC and CBS studios, heading back up to Central Park and catching the train back to Shirley’s house. 

   
   
We had a glass wine and a cuppa tea, and I helped her solve and conundrum she was having with some travel plans. Being the king of changing my mind, I was well placed to tell her to follow her gut. She was grateful and still sassy. Then I was tired so I slept. After diligently writing this post, that is. 

Accidental 36km walk. Still got it. 

  

Transit – USA

Today I got well and truely thrown back on the horse. After waiting for Stef to get home for one finally daddy dinner ending at 2.30am, I was up and out of the house by 5am on the bus to the airport. 

By 8.30 I was on the ground in Belfast, dazed and confused with a 6 hour layover. With £10 in pocket and the prospect of not eating until the evening I walked to nearby Antrim to go to the supermarket. I bought a lot of crap and ate it all quickly back at the airport. Fortunate I am to have such a hard working immune system as it was after half a pack of crumbed chicken bits that I realised they were only partly cooked. I readied myself for its quick return but fortunately it never happened. 

I got on my Norwegian air, no frills flight to New York Stewart at 2.40pm and immediately set my clocks to NY time and went to sleep. The flight was surreal, as 3/4 of the seats were empty. 

We landed early and, despite the reputation of the TSA I absolutely flew through customs and was on the bus into the city in no time. After and hour and a half on the bus I was standing under the overwhelming flashing lights of Time Square and 30 Rockerfeller Plaza. 

I wandered around Manhattan in the sticky heat for a while before navigating the subway to Washington Heights at the top of the island where I was staying with Shirley, a sweet yet mad nutritionist and textiler, who reminded me a bit of Amy X. 

It was after 10 when I arrived, but Shirley wasted no time in throwing together a feed and wine and we sat down and discussed our travels in the east, the latest nutritional trends and laughed at the fact that I tipped her doorman. As midnight loomed I was approaching 24 hours of awakeness , fortunately Shirley is a sensible lady with things to do. So we turned in. 

I’m sorry I am very neglectful. Let’s carry on.

Welcome back readers. Apologies for the radio silence. I’ve spent the last three weeks in the United Kingdom – which just feels like being at home, so it didn’t feel necessary to cover this time as meticulously as usual. However I will try to fill you in on what has been going on so that I can get on with the details of the next leg. 
I arrived at Glasgow Prestwick from Rome late at night and proceeded to customs. After a bit of questioning and a raised eyebrow or two I was granted entry and made my way out of the airport in victory! This victory was celebrated in style, by getting the bus into Glasgow central and waiting in a McDonalds through the night to catch my train to Liverpool at 5am. 

I managed a few hours sleep on the train before the morning commuters crammed on in. Walking around the streets of Liverpool after 4 months was surreal – it was truely as if I had never left. I went up to Huskie where I had a sleep and was welcomed by the fam. We had dinner that night together and discussed the oncoming weekend – which would likely be the last time that all the Huskies of this generation would be together. I sent a message to J McKay advising her to be part of this celebration on her own return to London in a few days. 

In between time I mooched around for a few days, catching up with people and hustling a little cash here and there. On the first Saturday of my return the Huskies attended a grand farewell to extended Huskie family Toby and Asia, who were off to persue new exciting adventures in the big smoke. Our 10 strong party made our way to their West Tower apartment for a fantastic evening of celebration that saw some of us greeting the sun the next morning around a fire in the Huskie backyard. 

The next day was a slow one, but everyone had stayed together in the house to slowly pull ourselves back together, eat greasy food and try to piece the night back together. In the afternoon a brave few of us drove up to Crosby beach for some fresh air, followed by taking some dinner around to Sarah Coffey’s house (carbonara made by me (not ‘real’ carbonara according to Silvia)). 

Jessie was around for a few more days and so too were people around for meals and general giggles, as this would be the last time the Liverpool crew would see her for some time – with her return home only a few weeks away. 

The next week I took a few days out to go to London and catch up with Richard Ley Hamilton and Sam Valentine, who were staying in Richard’s sisters empty apartment for a few days. I felt compelled to join them for a Dunedin bois catch up. It was great to hear about their travels and plans for the future – it felt like I long time since I was going through the same ordeal of settling. 
Three nights flew by as we mostly spent our time eating in the house, listening to classic kiwi tunes and sharing tales. But we did find time for the occasional outing – one to vote in the 2017 NZ election and the other to visit their pal Louise, who was also a Dunedinite. 
I went back on a Saturday afternoon and spend the evening in studio 2 helping out and getting to know the wicked new staff. It was a early finish so one of the new staff, India and I hit the town together which afforded me a chance to see some of the bartenders around town. There were many surprised faces. 
The next week rolled on. I found time to catch up on a few projects that I had been ill equiped to work on whilst on the road, along with casual beers and family dinners. On Friday Stef and I had a rather impromptu party Friday night between Studio 2 and Kazimer Garden, and were joined by Silvia, Gareth and Emma. 
The next day we drove down to the tree house, which hopefully I have written about before. Briefly, the Huskies have a friend called Oli who has owned a patched of woods in the north of Wales for the last 25 years on which he has constructed a beautifully rustic two story cabin. The last time I had been was when Stef and I recorded the album last November, and I hadn’t seen Oli for a while before then. 
The team consisted of myself, Stef, Sara, Silvia, Yoel (who was visiting from France as he was without baby and partner for a few weeks), Sonia, Steve, Rachael and Sarah. The first car left by 10.30am, and after stopping for supply’s in nearby Ruthin, we had arrived in the beautiful secluded bush by midday. 
Once there everyone generally spreads out, there is so much space to relax, books to read and tea to drink. The second group arrived in two cars, the latter of which was Sarah’s van which she had been converting from a retired courier van into a fantastic mobile home. Unfortunately the 1km track up to Oli’s house hadn’t agreed with it and she had got stuck half way up. We all spent the next hour or so trying to find all the bits necessary solve this particular predicament. I say we, most of us just stood around banging the numerous instruments we had found. 
But the solution was a good one, Stefan used his car to jump start Oli’s 4 wheel drive which he then used to tow the van up to hill. The 4 wheel drive then ran out of gas half way through the job, which required a long walk back up to the house to get some more petrol. Regardless, after some calm calculation and a few giggles the van was up at he house. 
And so the afternoon rolled into evening, food was prepared, piano and silly games were played and a fire was lit, around which we howled songs up to the stars. 

The next day I woke very early from the cold and went and had a cuppa with the other early dwellers. I made breakfast for the ten strong team and we went for a ramble around the property, climbing through the thick forest with saws to try and shape something of a path which follows a stream. 

The morning turned into afternoon, I made soup and we all lay about for the remainder of the afternoon in the rare north wales sun. As the sun set we all piled back into our cars and bid farewell to Oli. I drove back with Sarah in her van, who is only a few days away from embarking on the van trip she has been dreaming of all her life. I was relieved to see that she was very good at driving it. 

We got back to the house and Stef, Sara, Sarah and I had an impromptu pizza party. The next day was my last before I departed for a month. Stef was off in the morning so we had a nice daddy stroll around the neighbourhood, reflecting on the last two years that we have all shared together (it was in fact two years to the very day that I had moved into the house). 
Stef went off to work and I did some prep and packing before going for some food with Fenlon and returning home to catch up and say goodbye to Yoel and Sylvia. Rachel and Gareth also joined, followed by Sonia. It felt exactly like the last time I had left, only not quite as heavy. I am hopeful that there will still be able to be one last goodbye – which will be the real one.