well...

sorry for not updating a lot. life has changed v much lately! i had a lovely time wandering about the beach in wellington before leaving for the south. v much enjoyed staying with barbara, john and david. fab home cooking and wandering about the arty shops in nelson. abel tasman was cool. great weather. we did a bit of a walk which distressed rachael greatly but she did it and everything. at one point it involved stripping down to our pants to cross the tide. it's all par for the course for nz.

but the main thing is that we seem to have found a home in a little place called barrytown. we arrived over a week ago and loved it so much we've stayed. they've offered us bits of work in exchange for free bed and board and it's all great. rachael is loving it behind the bar and i even pulled my first pint last night!! so if anyone wants to write, we're at the all nations hotel, barrytown, nz, and will prb be here until into the new year. we're changing our flights and everything.

life is great!

wellington

have spent quite a lot of time in wellington so have had a right good look about. whilst rachael was dying in bed, i wandered off on my own and found the parliament and a tiny little wooden church called old st paul's. got a bit of the colonial feel. we had a lovely afternoon drinking coffee by the harbour in the wind and sunshine with rachael plotting to kidnap a load of children as they went by. we spent sunday getting the cable car (it's just like llandudno) up to the botanical gardens whereupon we found a brass band playing in the pavillion and a german bloke we met on the bus. this keeps happening, where we're meeting people we met on the bus a week or so ago. it makes the place feel a bit more like home when there aren't so many strangers about. the band brought it all back for rachael, who used to play cornet with the mines band, and she regailed me with tales of the e minor horn (or something). it was a really lovely afternoon.

but the undoubted highlight of wellington so far has been 'the only welsh bar in the southern hemisphere' round the corner from the hostel. we went there on our first night. well, we had to, given that it's the only welsh bar in the southern hemisphere. it was weird at first. it looks like it's a local pub for local people. but mike, the landlord from swansea, soon makes you feel at home by insulting the english and it's all fab from there. rachael got the guy on the guitar, jack from port talbot, to sing to her all evening. there was an open log fire and they had mulled wine and we all soon felt right at home, singing along drunkenly to that beautiful south song with all those lasses names. it was so much fun that we went back again on sunday night and brought most of the hostel with us. again, it's all weird when you first enter and you think it's going to be rubbish but then jack turned up again and sung for us again, even though it was his night off. much hilarity all round. god love the welsh. the end of the night was a bit hazy. the last i remember was jack talking to me about welsh political constituencies and telling me never to go to port talbot cos it's shit. what fun.

the fun continued when we got back to the hostel at around 2am. joel from howarth began reciting poetry and attempted to pick both me and rachael up at the same time. not really sure why. anyhows, he quite quite failed, leaving anders the swedish bloke to take up the mantel and, of course, he managed it and everything. sweden 1 england 0. they must feed them ready brek in sweden.

yesterday was, therefore, a bit of a non-day as everyone felt a bit ropey. we managed to get up for rachael's dental appointment. she was v brave and didn't scream once. we then wandered to the te papa national museum and had fun with all the interactive exhibits that are meant for kids. we couldn't manage anything more taxing than that. we actually spent more time in the cafe downing caffeine than in the actual exhibits, i think. but it was all good and we got a ready meal on the way home so we didn't have to cook. early night.

and so today is our last day in wellington before we meet my cousin's in-laws tomorrow in nelson on the south island and stay with them for a couple of days. i'm getting my hair cut in a trendy welly salon so that i don't embarrass my family by my scruffy state. we're soooo looking forward to getting out of a hostel for a while. homecooked meals and separate rooms and everything.

near death on mount doom

so we didn't win the lottery. we sat down to watch 'sleepy hollow' on channel 2 and the lottery came on midway. rach got three numbers but needed the bonus ball to win her 20 dollars. balls.

we're on the 'moe' pass, dad, which means the next stop was taupo. we stopped on the way to see hukka falls which is an amazing passage of water. it's a bit like the strid at bolton abbey but about 300 million times bigger. there's basically a shitload of water trying to get through a gorge only 3 metres wide. the force of it all was amazing and the water was a beautiful turquoise. you'll get the photos soon, parents.

taupo was a bit of a chillout for us. there's lots to do if you've lots of money to spend but we haven't so we mainly drank coffee, wandered about a bit, hugged maori doormen and phoned our mams whilst a bit pissed at 1 in the morning. fun. we did go see marie-the-essex-girl attempt to do a skydive but the weather meant that it got called off. we just pretended she did it instead.

after taupo came the tongariro crossing. bluddy hell! whoever said that it was a 'challenging but doable hike' needs shooting. there i was in my fleece and trainers and ended up bloomin' mountaineering up bluddy mount doom and everything. 'twas not what i was promised. we were scaling up steep rock faces, traversing snowy plateaus, climbing snowy mountain faces. it was cool when we got to the top, though, cos the rock was all warm, what with being on the top of an active volcano and all that. you sat down and it warmed your weary ass. i had a mars bar and a strong sense of satisfaction. however, the worst was to come. you think once you've reached the top of a bluddy great thing the worst is over, but no. walking over the summit, we came to basically a sheer drop of gravelly slipperyness which we had to get down. those in walking boots were struggling. 'twas a right nightmare. luckily i had my saviour in the form of dutch margo (who i'd just met on the walk but quickly became my bestest bestest friend during the duration of the hike) who helped me down. i clung on to her hand and we slowly made our way down, avoiding falling down sheer drops into a chasm of death below. it was beautiful, though. we saw the emerald lakes that were such a bright turquoise. and the views out across new zealand were amazing. we could see lake taupo all those miles away. and once we'd got down the descent of death and across a couple of snowy slippery paths, it became more certain that we would survive. the worst bit, really, was getting to the hut off the mountain and still having a two hour walk downhill through woods to the car park where the bus was picking us up. how my legs killed and my shoes rubbed. you just had to keep chatting about shite with your fellow sufferers to take your mind off the pain. the woods would have been really pretty but all i could think about was getting to the end and sitting down. we finally made the 10 miles in 7 hours 15 minutes (it was said it would take 7-8 hours so i think we did alright, even if we were the last group on the bus to make it back). but i felt really chuffed with my little self afterwards. i suppose it's like childbirth in that you quickly forget how difficult and traumatic it was. we went for a celebratory steak at a local pub in the evening and the hostel was new and gorgeous with fab showers and a warm open fire which made it all cosy. bliss. i've been unable to walk properly since the walk, though. i feel like my knees are really weak and that my legs might snap backwards when i'm walking. i feel like, basically, i'm walking with someone else's legs. not since i learned to walk have i concentrated on simply just walking normally. it's been weird. but it's getting better now. i never slept so well as i did on that night of the hike.

so we're now in wellington, the capital. it's a beautiful city. right on the harbour with lots of hills and great lookout points. i really could live here as it's not too big, smaller than leeds, i think. it's a bit like san fran with it's steep roads and cable cars. and it's soooo windy. haven't seen much yet as rach is suffering a bit at the mo. we spent yesterday getting to know the new zealand dental system very well as she's having a few problems with her teeth. and then, to top it off, she has now caught marie-from-essex's cold so is now holed up in bed, poor love. i made comfort pie and mushy peas for tea last night (how expensive are mushy peas in nz?!) and i've been force feeding her lemsip today. is a bit shit for her. hopefully she'll feel better soon. it's no fun being ill and in a hostel. will go and make a cup of tea for her now, don't worry mrs p.

rotorua

have had a really nice couple of days. chilled out the other night watching 'american pie 2' on the telly with random british and german people (so many germans in nz!). we spent yesterday wandering about town. we to the park which has lots of random steam pools dotted about. rotorua is on really thin volcanic rock so that the hot steam bursts through and makes the whole place stink of rotten eggs. you really do get used to it, though, apart from the odd realisation of what you're smelling. the park was cool. there was a larger lake that had huge swaythes of steam coming from it. it looked light it was part of a film set, so unreal. felt like we were wandering through narnia or something. also saw the bubbling mud which, frankly, just looked evil. like it was alive. it was hypnotising, though.

made it through to the lake where there are loads and loads of black swans. never seen black swans before. they have red beaks. it looks all wrong. they also have reeeeaaally white sea gulls here. we had a sneaky milkshake at a lakeside cafe and pondered setting up a caff in the lake district when we get home. we would call it 'rachael's cakes' or something. possibly. we then went on a bit of a trek round the lake and finally came out somewhere in town. felt good for the fresh (?) air.

we got back and found a load of rugby players had arrived from auckland for the night and were setting up home in the bar. say no more about the kind of night THAT was...

today we went for a further trek out to whakarewarewa (say that when you're pissed) thermal village. it was a lot further than we thought to walk it, nearly an hour. but it was a fascinating place. the whole village looks like it's built on steam and, i suppose, it is really. they do everything with the thermal energy: cook, bathe, wash, etc. we saw them boiling some sweetcorn in one pool. we also saw the big geysers that shoot out of the rock. really unusual place.

the best bit was after, though, when we stopped at the chip shop for food. it's fab that nz has chip shops. we got chatting with the lady, saying how we'd walked for miles, when, while we were sitting writing our postcards, she offered us a lift back into town. bless her socks. she was going to the lotto shop cos she was feeling lucky so we went with her and bought some tickets. we've no idea how much we would win if we did win but it'll be great if we win something. i'd go out immediately and get my hair cut and some new clothes that weren't all faded. fingers crossed.

birthday

well, the sky tower didn't quite go to plan. i reached rach who was totally traumatised cos she thought some money had gone missing from her bank account. she had to wait until 9pm in order to phone the bank at 9am uk time so, in the meantime, we discussed her options and even had a plan to send her on to sydney in order to start working. god. however, after several phone calls all over the uk, it emerged that the missing money was a cheque she'd written months ago that had only been cashed now. bluddy hell. luckily, the cheque was to her own savings account so all was well and she could carry on in nz. phew. it was a right palaver.

so we never got up the sky tower, although we did stay on in auckland until monday cos we thought we may have to sort stuff out and cancelled the saturday bus. we went to see 'the devil wears prada' on saturday afternoon with all of the auckland yoof. at one point, it went all weird and it looked like everyone around us was dressed in fancy dress. one girl was even wearing a pair of fairy wings. what?!

we then went for a few drinks to celebrate the fact that rach was still solvent. we met two blokes called tommy (one irish, one norwegian) on the rooftop of the hostel. we all had a few beers with lina the stunning german girl before heading out to an irish pub in the harbour. it was a top night. there was a dodgy cover band playing and everyone was dancing about. it's always more fun going to an irish bar with an irishman. we didn't get home until 5am.

so sunday was even more relaxed. irish tommy showed us where the supermarket was and we all got food for sunday dinner. rach decided she would cook me a birthday meal so, while she was doing that, lina, i and the tommys all got in the hostel hot tub. that was living. being in a hot tub on the 7th floor roof, drinking a very nice red wine. nice. the meal was lovely too. stew and yorkshire pudding. rach also got me a cake which she'd tried in vain to hide from me in the supermarket ("you just go over there while i buy my things..."). it was fab. i got birthday songs sung to me in both german and norwegian and irish tommy sang happy birthday in his irish accent (does that count as part of the five, zoe?).

we were all pretty radged from the night before so we decided to head out in search of coffee after tea. we got as far as a 'private karaoke' place on queen street. i'd seen this before and had wondered what it meant when, before we knew it, we were heading up the dodgy staircase into the place. they sign you up and put you in some kind of padded room where you all get to sing at your friends for half an hour. it was truly strange. you can hear all the other people as you're walking through the plain corridors but then they close the door on you and you're just subjected to yourself. we had a bit of spice girls and madonna but the best moment, i think, was at the end when we all joined together to do a beautiful rendition of 'words' by boyzone. i think irish tommy chose that one. it was a beautiful moment.

had to get up really early on my birthday in order to get the 'stray' tour bus. someone told them it was my birthday so everyone, really embarrassingly, sang to me on the bus. this, plus, i had my ipod plugged into the stereo again. why does noone else seem to have an ipod?! we got to a place called hot water beach - the only place in nz where there are natural thermal type things under the beach and so, an hour either side of the high tide, you can dig your own spa pool in the beach and the water is warm. you should have seen us all. there were loads of people on the beach, all dressed in their swimming costumes and fleece tops cos it was cold and drizzling slightly. we were all madly digging in random places, trying to find the hot water, like we were looking for oil. there was a mad rush because the tide was coming in. it was hilarious. people were stood about looking at each other, wondering if we were somehow doing it wrong cos we couldn't find any warm. but then someone else on the beach found some hot water so everyone on the entire beach downed their spades and invaded their pool. loads of people were crammed in. and it was bluddy hot too. bizarre. then some of the lads found hot water but it ended up being under the tide. they were madly digging whilst the tide kept coming in and washing all their efforts away. daft buggers. lots of fun, though.

and then we had a barbie back at the hostel/camp ground thing in hahei. i had the typical beer-in-one-hand-tongs-in-the-other look. it was great. we all got really drunk and chatted. i got sung another birthday song, this time in dutch, and then everyone wrote a birthday message in my card from rach. there was danish, german, swedish, chinese, dutch, so i think this took me to the five different language challenge set by zoe. hurrah. stray bought me a birthday cake that had candles on and everything and everyone sang to me again. felt v popular. we all played cards and drank and chatted late into the night. great birthday. forgot to phone my mum. oops.

the next day we had to be up early again in order to get out to raglan, a surfing place. there was lots of banter on the bus as everyone's personalities emerged. when we got to raglan, we all went for a walk on the beach and ended up being in some enid blyton type story as torrential rain hit us and we had to scramble off the beach and find shelter in some campground we found. amber the kiwi found a room through the toilets that had zipped up canvas walls so she let everyone in and we all dripped and assessed the weather situation together. we stayed shy of a group hug, however, to keep our spirits up. in the end, we made a run for it and turned up at the bus all looking like drowned rats. sweet.

we had fish and chips that night and bought more booze. later in the evening it seemed like a good idea to go down the 'flying fox'. this was basically a seat thing that whizzed down a line down a big hill. we did it in the dark which made it more scary. i'm getting used to scaring myself shitless on a regular basis here. it then all went a bit strange when amber suggested we went down naked. in the end, essex marie and scunthorpe andy went down in their pants and only amber went down in the buff. brave girl. we also saw the glowworms in the bushes out there but this seemed secondary to the shenanigans that were going on.

we saw loads of glowworms the next day going down the waitomo caves. rach and i got the tour that didn't involve getting in the underground rivers but instead floated nicely on top in a dinghy type thing. the worms were amazing. you have a light on your hard hat which you turn off and gradually you see thousands and thousands of worms on the cave ceiling. stunning. they cast an eery light in the water and we just floated slowly down the river. there were 12 people in the boat and nobody said anything. it was really tranquil. like nothing i've ever seen before. and then we all got out of the boat and held hands in the dark in a big chain as we all made our way back out of the cave. a cool experience.

and so now we're in rotorua, where it smells of eggs due to the natural thermal waters. we had a sad farewell last night in the bar as most people moved on on the bus this morning but we decided to stay a few days here in order to get some sleep. we've lots of email addresses so we'll keep up to date with what everyone's up to. haven't decided yet what we're doing here. we've just been to pak'n'save today to stock up on food. some days you just really need to do normal things like go to the supermarket. we're having tea with the remaining people on the bus tonight, which will be nice. feeling really happy and part of a crowd. sweet.

auckland. again.

the journey back from the bay of islands was an interesting one. the bus to auckland wasn't until 4.30pm so we spent all day sat on a picnic bench on piahia village green, me reading the new zealand herald and reg reading some trashy mags, each of us exclaiming at particularly interesting articles, just like old people. we've been acting like old people quite a lot recently. all this sea air has made us really tired so we've been going to bed at 10pm each night to read. we're going to have to snap out of that.

but, anyway, the bus.

jared the bus driver arrived in a hurry cos he was running half an hour late. he slung all our backpacks in the back. reg doesn't have a backpack now cos it snapped in fiji so instead she has a massive pink suitcase on wheels. she's given up on the trudging-about-with-a-heavy-bag-on-your-back lark. anyway, jared exclaims when he sees her suitcase 'bloody hell, princess, you packed yer mum?!'. i love new zealanders! anyway, we sat right at the front cos reg felt a bit travel sick last time. we were going to settle in to listening to my ipod shuffle between us except jared, it transpires, likes a bit of company while he's driving and never shut up. we ended up plugging my ipod into the van stereo and subjected everyone on the bus to my music. it was horrific. i felt like my soul had been opened up to everyone there. i sat there with my finger at the ready to run some songs on. you see, when i'd put the songs on, i'd been in a strange mood and ended up putting on a few 'less trendy' songs on there, just for variety. the kind of songs, like tiffany and arsenium, that would remind me of home but that, perhaps, you wouldn't want to share with a busload of strangers. i had a regular panic every couple of minutes as each song ended. however, it all turned out okay as jared proved himself to be another musical loser like me by professing to also like 'can't fight the moonlight' by leann rhimes. thank god.

so today reg and i have both gone off and done our own thing, in order to not go mental in each other's company 24/7. i went to auckland museum which was fab. there was a 'maori cultural performance' with lots of singing and fighting and, of course, the haka. there was also a thing on volcanoes (auckland is on a whole load of volcanoes) which included a replica room which showed you what would happen in a real volcano explosion. the room shook and the lights went out and everything. it was brill and also scared a few small children. double whammy. there was also stuff on warfare in nz - with the british but also stuff on the world wars and that. provided another perspective.

so am off now to meet rach and have a drink up the sky tower. it's cloudy so we'll see bugger all but what the hell, we're on us 'olidays.

drowning with dolphins

yesterday went quite well. we had a lovely half hour walk in the sunshine up to waitangi. we took a diy picnic involving pre-buttered bread and cheese slices. yum. and then we saw lots of important new zealand things. we saw a big maori waka canoe which had to have 80 to row it. it was yowj. we also saw the house where the treaty was signed in 1840 and also a traditional maori meeting hut. very informative. felt like i've already learned a lot about nz, especially compared with the u.s. where you don't really learn anything.

but today! we got a boat out and it looked like we weren't going to see any dolphins. there was a couple on the boat who were out for the third time to try and see them. we found some seals on a random rock in the middle of the ocean and i thought we would have to settle for that. but then we went further out in the ocean and came across a school of common dolphins. there were about 40 of them, all swimming along together, leaping in and out of the water. it was amazing. and we got so close. they let us lie down on the hull of the boat and kind of hang off the boat so we could see them right below us in the water. we couldn't go swimming with those because there was a little baby one. it was really small compared to the others - about the length of my arm. they said it was really rare to see the common dolphin and even rarer to see a baby one. they thought it had just been born today. felt really lucky to have seen it. they were really graceful.

we then got a radio call from one of the other boats that they had seen some bottlenose dolphins so we bezzed over the sea to see them. there weren't any kiddies with them so we all had to quickly get on our wetsuits and snorkel gear. oh my god. it didn't really help that i'd never worn flippers before and had only had that 10 minute snorkelling lesson in fiji. i slid off the boat into the freezing water and immediately set about trying not to die. reggie, sensibly, decided to just stay on the boat and film the dolphins but i felt like i should give it a go. everyone else seemed really relaxed and headed towards the dolphins making high-pitched noises like you're supposed to. i, on the other hand, flailed about a bit and saw bugger all. it wasn't very graceful at all. reg got some video footage of me looking like a drowned rat as i got out of the water. i'd imagined it all to be so perfect, being all flipper-like and one with nature. the reality was v v different. but never mind. this is about as extreme as i'm going to get in nz, i think. know my limits, know my limits...

russell

got the ferry to russell yesterday as we had a lazy morning and didn't get out til midday. it was a place that our mams would like. in fact, we felt like our mams, wearing fleeces and walking about in scotland-like territory. had a hearty lunch at the waterfront cafe. new zealand people are great. they swear like troopers. the waitress enjoyed herself telling us about the boat race coming up at the weekend where the place is full of rich, drunk men from all over the country.

russell is tiny. like a small scottish village or lake district town. we got a cookie from the local bakery and sat on a park bench to eat it and slowly freeze to death. we went to the local museum, which was under two quid to get in to. it was really sweet. they gave you a bit of history about when the place was an uncouth drinking hole for whalers and there's some local photographs and a replica of captain cook's ship. we then wandered round the corner to the oldest church in new zealand. it was a nice chilled afternoon. we had a pint in the duke of marlborough hotel (the oldest hotel in the area) and got into a slightly strange conversation about whether we would marry a dwarf called jason tui.

nearly got stranded in russell as the chap that brought us over on his boat had knocked off before we were ready to come back. but, kiwis being kiwis, the other boat company brought us back anyway, even though our ticket wasn't valid for their boat. you wouldn't get that in america.

had an entertaining night. round about midnight a couple of blokes turned up in our 'girls only' room and one of them started snoring the most entertaining snore i've ever heard. it was really theatrical, starting slowly before building to a loud flourishing crescendo. the best one i've heard in a dorm yet. rach and i started giggling like schoolgirls. luckily, it eventually stopped so we good actually get some sleep. turns out that the bloke's called craig and from hull.

just booked our trip with the dolphins for tomorrow so think we shall take a walk up to waitangi to see about this 'ere treaty business.

start of nz adventure

the trip round auckland was a really good way of seeing lots of things all in one day. we got on the big orange bus and nathan took us round all the sights. we saw someone sky jump off the sky tower (for fun) and walked under the harbour bridge to see someone bungee jump. not really liking the look of it. apparently the place to do it is queenstown so i've still got time to decide. looks like suicide to me. i also bought a woolly hat from the little victoria market as it's so chilly here. will have to invest in a coat aswell. nathan also took us up to bastion point, which is an important area for the maoris, and round mission bay. saw lots of things that would have normally taken us several days. v good, nathan. promptly booked the stray pass for new zealand. they give you a set route, which is useful as i still can't decide where to go to cover everything. they also chucked in a few freebies aswell.

the next day was more relaxed. the dev needed her new jeans altering and i needed the post office so we had an afternoon bodging about town. i developed a strong need to find out all the latest celebrity gossip after seeing some magazine headlines. i didn't think i was a 'heat' reading kind of person but two weeks in the wilderness has taught me that it is essential to know about such things as whether brad and angelina are splitting up and whether he still loves jen. especially as i've now seen there marital home and everything. spent quite a lot of time that afternoon reading these trashy mags so i now feel fully informed on all the speculation.

after my brain had melted reading these mags, i decided i needed to get out. we took the ferry across the harbour to devonport which is a really pretty harbour town. had a few bevvies and some bangers and mash, whilst wearing the trendy new new zealand fleece i'd bought. it's made from 'extreme fleece' which makes me think of sky diving sheep. i then took myself off on a bit of an evening walk. walked round all the old bungalows and big houses in the dusklight. ended up walking along cheltenham beach which was beautiful in the failing light. took a circuitous route to end up at the pub where i'd left the other barrys. it as really relaxing to wander about. everyone was really friendly that i met along the way. this place is soooo different to the u.s. it feels so much more like home.

the next day it was time to head north to the bay of islands. the bus came at the ungodly hour of 7.45am, which was mildly distressing. they seem to be a really good bus company, though, as we seemed to stop every hour to look at some kauri trees or some tropical fish somewhere. it broke the journey up nicely and you felt you were learning more about the country. this ain't no greyhound, thank god. we ended the day in paihia (pie-a-here) which seems to be just a big backpacking village. there's loads to do, though, so we may end up spending a few days here. we got our bags in our room, had some tea and then wandered off to the beach area. this place looks just like a lake district town. we felt we were sat by windermere or something as we sat by the sea and watched the boats bobbing along and some blokes doing press-ups on the beach. it all happens here. we then indulged in a minty hot chocolate before heading off to bed. lovely.

we waved goodbye to the dev early the next morning as she began her super-quick cross-country journey to queenstown to meet people she met in fiji. reggie and i instead headed further north, getting on a big tank-like bus going to cape reinga at the top of nz. it was a tank because we went on ninety mile beach and bezzed along up the beach for miles. it was so wild, though there were a few other people in cars zooming up the coast too. the beach is actually 67 miles long, not 90. it's called that because it used to be the only 'highway' up to the top and the cattle drivers thought they covered 30 miles a day and it took them three days to get up there. interesting fact for the day, there. we also went 4x4 and bezzed about over the sand dunes looking for wild horses. the horses were all at home, though, so we didn't see any. the bus then took us up to the big sand hills near the end of the beach. this was where we got these mini surfboards out and went sandboarding. it was fab! we climbed a big sandy hill, laid bellydown on these boards and just let go. it was a bit scary at the top when you saw how steep it was but once you set off it was great. really smooth and lots of fun. reg was less keen but she did do it, good on her, screaming all the way down. i loved it and kept going back for more. the hardest bit was climbing the bluddy steep hill in the sand. left the hill having got ruddy red cheeks and sand everywhere.

the remaining part of the day out was heading up to cape reinga. it was a v beautiful place, where the pacific ocean meets the tasman sea. you get these weird waves in the middle of the sea where the two waves collide. and the surf crashing against the rocks has a massive swell and it all seems to be in slow motion. amazing place.

today is going to be a bit more slowly paced, i think, having got up early and done a lot of travelling the last two days. we may get the ferry to russell or head up to the place where the treaty between the maoris and the british was signed. or there's also the option of swimming with dolphins. decisions...

flight to nz

got a few hours kip before having to get up at 1am for the 4am flight. what kind of a stupid time is that?! have been wandering about in a daze all day. it was so strange to be back on clock time, rather than life being dictated by mealtimes, the tide and the passing of the 'big boat' by the island twice a day. saw a fantastic sunrise, though, up above the clouds. the sky was all orangey pink on one side of the plane and pitch black on the other. not that i noticed too much as i tried to get some kip. how blase you can get when you really really need to sleep. it was a good accompaniment to the fantastic sunset we saw whilst still on the island. we were playing shithead when ulu shouted out that 'the sunset had come out'. we all ran to the beach and it was absolutely amazing. it seemed that a whole section of the sky was on fire. the orange reflected onto the platinum of the ocean. it was utterly stunning and hopefully my photos have come out. we didn't think we we're going to see a famous tropical sunset but, fittingly, it all happened on our last night at bayside.

new zealand seems to be just like blighty. they drive on the same side of the road and we landed to a light drizzling of rain, so everything seemed all in order. it's much chillier than fiji - around 14 degrees - but it makes a refreshing change. we'll have to go out and buy a few more jumpers, though, and pairs of socks.

the best thing about this country that i've learned so far is that they have heard of the sausage roll! it was so exciting. we've all been suffering gregg's withdrawal so imagine our delight when the cafe just by the hostel had a sign outside advertising sausage rolls! sausage rolls! so we positively ran inside the shop and so the very first thing i did when i got to nz was have a sausage roll and a cup of tea. bluddy lovely it was.

and the hostel is the best we've stayed in yet. we're in the 'sanctuary' section of base hostel, which is a special girls-only girly thing. you get a fluffy towel and aveda shampoo and conditioner on arrival. we have our own floor, with hairdryers, massive full length mirrors and egyptian cotton bed linen. we even have a proper quilt. it feels just like my own bed! and the pillows are so soft!! it's not at all like a hostel. the bed actually makes you want to get inside it. you have no idea how great that is.

so it's definitely an early night tonight, given all the sleep deprivation. but we're up and off on a free city tour in the morning with a bloke called nathan so it's all go. still figuring out what to get up to in this country. i got a definite feeling i'm going to love this place, though. hurray!

tropical island therapy

the day before we embarked upon the yasawa islands, we got a taxi into nadi town centre. this place makes you feel rich as a king, the taxi being only $4 (about one pound thirty) between four of us, although it was a beat up car from 1970-odd with a falling off gearbox and exhaust. the place seems to be a lot like i imagine india would be like. small children, dogs and even cows populated the side of the road. it's great driving on the left hand side - feels more like home - although we've gotten used to looking left first when crossing the road, now, so we're just thoroughly confused and risking life and limb every time we step out.

nadi town centre looks a bit like armley town street in that it's a longish road of low-rise shops. everything is really dusty and there are petrol fumes all over. there doesn't seem to be as many homeless people as in america (!). we walked down the road to where the indian market is. they were small huts on a small grass/mud opening and the people were desperate for us to buy things. there is a strange divide between the 'native' fijians and the indians here. they both make up about half of the population each but it seems that the indian people are not seen as 'proper' fijians here. it's really prominent as people in the street told us not to go to the indian market because 'it's not fijian'. strange that there should be these racist problems in a place like this. i didn't expect it.

there is one big department store called 'proud's'. it is really incongruous to the rest of the street. we wandered in and found proper chocolate and rach and i also treated ourselves to some impulse spray. it was only about a quid but we felt we were proper indulging ourselves. we've not had any perfume now for months. it's funny how you really miss it.

we decided earlier that the dev would do the fijian experience party boat tour of the islands with leah. rach and i just wanted to visit a couple of islands and not travel about so much. the three months in america has left us feeling quite tired of lugging our backpacks about seemingly every other day so we thought we would just go to two resorts and spend 5 nights on each. we went to the travel centre in our resort and booked the first place. we decided to spoil ourselves in fiji for ten nights by booking private rooms rather than dorms. we got a 'treehouse bure' (pronounced 'burray') booked on mantaray island resort and got rather ridiculously giddy about it. it was going to be on the beachfront and it was going to be our private little heaven. bliss.

we had to get up at 6am the next day to catch the 7.30am bus to the big boat (the 'awesome adventures' boat, dad). it was a beautiful sunny morning and we were looking forward to it all so much. the bus that transferred us to the boat was a knackered old thing that didn't have any windows, just canvas curtain type things that roll down when it rains. it felt great to have the breeze in my hair, especially at that time of morning. we drove past fields of long grass with small children playing in them. there were lots of children on their way to school - the boys wearing sarongs as part of their uniform. there were so many people out walking! everyone waved and shouted 'bula!' (hello) to this ridiculous bright yellow tourist bus packed with rich backpackers.

the boat crossing was traumatic. it was a giant yellow catamaran that simply bounced along the water for three hours, rather than cutting a smooth line. i got seasick for the first time ever. plus, we spoke to the travel centre on the boat and there was no room at oarsman's bay, the second place we wanted to stay. but the views were amazing. tiny little islands cutting into the ocean with white white sandy beaches. scenery exactly like that in the film 'castaway'.

a small boat came out to meet the big boat once you got to your destination. you had to jump across and then when you reached the shore you just had to jump out into the shallow water's edge, just like kevin costner does in 'prince of thieves', though the water was a little clearer than in dover. our island had a bright turquoise lagoon filled with coral, exactly like all those travel agent pictures. it was amazing. our 'treehouse bure' turned out to be a small beach hut rather than a hut in a tree but never mind. we still had the most amazing view from our double doors. we had a couple of hammocks right outside and some shade from a couple of trees. and then there was a small beach and then the blue blue ocean. we had to keep pinching ourselves, it was so pretty. i spent most of the time in a hammock reading the books i'd bought at l.a.airport, with the occasional foray into the sea. the water was so clear and there were these black and silver tropical fish that, suicidally, swam right to the edge of the water as the waves lapped onto the beach.

mealtimes were indicated by the beating of a drum up at the main bure up the hill. we had traditional fijian fare one night but it was all rather too sweet for me. even the bread and potatoes tasted like they had sugar on them - coconuty, really. mealtimes were a bit traumatic for us as it brought us into contact with the other people on the island. i was feeling particularly antisocial anyway but most people there pissed even rachael off. they were mainly just other backpackers but they all had their billabong and o'neills uniforms on and looked so goddamn cool. how do these people manage to maintain such perfect hair?! anyway, they were all there getting giddy and giggly and rach and i just sat there and fumed, feeling like right scruffy gets. but surely the fact that we look so shite makes us more hardcore..? surely... the bastards. they held a kind of kava ceremony that night (the traditional fijian drink that contains just a teensy weensy bit of opium). we held back until the billabong lot had finished their giddiness and buggered off before we sat down on the mat. you clap once, say 'bula', down the small bowlful and then hand it back, clapping three times. it does make your tongue go slightly numb. rach had trouble drinking hers because it does taste like, basically, dirty dishwater. like a runny plaster of paris mixed with water. nice.

the mornings were great at mantaray. that first time you opened the doors and got a rush of sea air as you were waking up. brilliant. really ultra refreshing. the first morning we joined a bloke called lulu (meaning 'owl') on his small boat as he was doing a trip out to his village. it was the comedy water crossing of the year. it was quite a windy day and, at one point, we had to go out into almost the proper ocean to get round some rocks and the boat was really tipping wildly and going up and down and side to side. rach didn't like it at all so the guy just kept shouting 'no worries!' at her, which helped a lot. we all got completely drenched. but we rounded the rocks and saw soso village in the cove, with all its campfires rising up into the large hill in the background. lulu took us to the local school where the boys all came running out, demanding we take photos of them. it felt like we were in some kind of film for comic relief. the boys did the new zealand haka (sp?) dance for us, which was great. we then saw the church and the ladies of the village had set up a little market for us with all their jewellery so we bought some things, including the obligatory backpacker shell anklet. when in rome...

we saw mantarays on the boat journey back. they were these huge black shadows just under the surface. wing spans metres long. apparently, we were really lucky to see them.

we then spent most of the time on mantaray walking on the two beaches, reading in hammocks and paddling in the sea. it was even sunny one morning. there were lots of hermit crabs scurrying over one of the beaches. they put you in a very thoughtful contemplative mood.

we chatted to a few couples at mealtimes, mainly to avoid the billabong lot. we also met two lasses from lancashire/yorkshire who also hated the billabong set so we could sit and bitch together. it was great. made us feel a bit more normal, at least. one of the girls had a snorkel set so she attempted to teach rach and i how to do it. it was such a bizarre feeling, breathing underwater. you hear your own breaths and have to force yourself to remain calm. we kind of got the hang of it and i'm sure the practice will come in handy for the great barrier reef.

we got ourselves booked into a resort called bayside for the second half of the trip and it was the best thing we could have ever done. it was a tiny resort with only two bures and right by the sea. it ended up being just rach and i there with nancy, who did the cooking, and ulu, who was kind of the 'entertainment' person, i suppose. they were related in some way and to the owner bloke, manassa, though it seems that everyone in fiji is somehow related, with people having 'cousins' all over the place, even when they're not 'proper' cousins. it was such a fantastic place. we, more or less, became part of the family. there was no hot running water or electricity at the resort, everything smelt really damp, and there were giant creepy crawlies all over the place - but we had such a fab time. evenings were spent just chatting by kerosene lamplight and ulu taught us her favourite cardgame, 'shithead'. it was so funny to hear her say it. ulu was great. she took us to the local village one day and introduced us to the local people. everyone came to their doors as you walked past to say 'bula'. they were so welcoming. we saw the church and the local health centre and spoke to the nurse about her job. we also bought more jewellery and a sarong that i lived in for the next week. it was great. we didn't wear shoes for days and didn't really wash properly, though don't tell anyone. it was a freezing cold shower so all you could really do is run in and run out. but we just didn't care. ulu taught us how to make bracelets made from banana plant leaves. it was like being in therapy, we did that much handicraft. ulu also took us to her home village which ended up being a massive island trek over hills and rivers that almost killed rach. but it was so worth it. we met ulu's mum and her brothers and sisters. ulu's mum, mary, sent a small child up a coconut tree in order to knock some down for us to drink from and eat. it was so humbling. they lived in a shack with obviously not very much but they were so ready to share everything with you. it was amazing. we saw a 'fijian laundry' which looked like that soap powder ad - lots of women sitting on rocks under a waterfall, rubbing soap on the clothes and then beating them with a stick.

nancy got one of the blokes (how fit are fijian men?!) in the village to come round on the last night and they made kava for us. it seems only the men prepare it. it was altogether a more authentic affair, unlike mantaray where there was the red hot chili peppers playing in the background as we drank. we just played shithead and kept stopping to 'stir the poison'. i actually got used to the taste and could drink more of it. rach and i shared our malibu and gin duty free so it felt like an equal exchange. we all got a bit giddy that night.

sunday was our last day and we went to church with ulu - a 30 minute walk through woods and along the beach. it was a methodist church and, even though is was in fijian, it was strikingly similar to church services at home. one lady got up and spoke in english to welcome us there. i nearly cried, it was so touching. and the choir singing was just amazing. they proper go for it! people remembered us from our village visit a few days ago and they were all shouting hello at us as we walked back. we called in at baby maria's house. we'd met her auntie the earlier time and maria had laughed at us, which made a change as we usually made the baby's cry, them not knowing what white skin was. her auntie had immediately handed maria over to us to hold. that just wouldn't happen at home. so, anyway, we called in at maria's house to meet her mum and dad. we felt so welcomed into that community. it has just been such a fantastic experience. rather than the usual resort experience, we felt so involved with the people and saw true fijian life. it was just so amazing how lovely the people were to us. we all cried when we had to leave!

and it was a right culture shock when we got back to nadi. this place is by no means skyscraper city but just seeing the concrete buildings and the electric street lights made me feel how strange it all was. we were glad to be able to get a proper shower but we'll miss life at bayside.

we spent yesterday bezzing about nadi as we met this lady from manchester in our dorm and this bloke from new zealand who was working our here and had a van. he took us to the local steakhouse and we drank many a beer. excitingly, they have 'top gear' in new zealand so we all discussed the recent trauma with richard hammond. even an aussie bloke heard what we were talking about and came over too. such is the universal language of 'top gear'. but doug the kiwi has got us really giddy about new zealand now so i'm now raring to fly out and start the whole backpacking thing off again. auckland, here we come....

flight to paradise

so it turns out that fiji is not quite as primitive as we thought, at least not on the mainland anyway. they have internet here and hot showers, although yesterday's was cold so i'm not sure whether it is just pot luck.

so

we left america on saturday. rach and i spent most of saturday looking for a homeless person to give all our leftover change to. but, typically, could we find anyone? could we bugger. i mean, it's not as if we've been bothered every single day for the last three months or anything. but as soon as you actually want someone to come and ask you for money, they all seem to be having the day off. we eventually found some suspiciously un-homeless looking twenty somethings who were probably collecting for their pot money - but what the hell.

we were all quite glad to be leaving america. i mean, we had a fab time and i feel like i've learned a lot but it was nice to be leaving behind all those little irritating things like them not including the tax in any of the prices so everything is more expensive than you think. plus the whole tipping every tom, dick and harry was truly grating on our nerves. but mainly we were glad to see the back of the homeless crazy people. i've never been anywhere quite like it. it really wears you down somedays. you start out quite sympathetic and feeling mildly guilty about it all but you end up just getting so pissed off with people asking you for money and cigarettes all the time and dealing with the complete nutters that walk the streets. it's a complete assault on you, day in day out. america is a very tough country where everyone just seems forced to look out for themselves. plus, the customer service in most organisations is absolutely zero, depsite what you're told. in the last hostel in hollywood, there were quite a few kiwis and aussies and they were all so normal, it was so refreshing. the thing about americans, it seems, is that they're completely unable to laugh at themselves (or, at least, most americans we met). it doesn't make them quite so endearing. we're definitely looking forward to getting to new zealand.

the flight from l.a. wasnot too bad, considering it was 12 hours. it didn't seem to last that long. i watched 'libre nachos' and 'posiedon' before trying to get some kip but it proved impossible to do so. air new zealand are not quite virgin atlantic. they don't have the thick rugs and the chairs don't have those side bits on to rest you head. plus, it's quite difficult sleeping in a chair anyway. i think i got a little bit of a snooze in because i remember dreaming about landing but it didn't last very long. we saw 6 hours of sunday between midnight and 6am until we crossed the dateline and then suddenly it was monday morning and we lost 20 hours of our lives, which must actually make us 20 hours younger than we were before. hurray. when we landed at the airport they had a trio of guitar players there, singing traditional calypso for all the new arrivals. we had definitely left america! in fact, i felt the furthest away from home, what with being in the southern hemisphere and there being a 12 odd time difference. america didn't feel too different to the u.k., what with seeing it all on the telly beforehand. in fiji, everyone greets you by shaking your hand and everyone calls out 'bula' to say welcome. anyway, by the time we got to the resort place, it was 4.30am so rach, myself and leah the scottish (who was from the last hostel and randomly staying in the same place) decided to stay up and watch the sunset. we sat underneath some tropical fruit tree. we thought they were mangoes in the dark but, by day, they were probably lychee or something. we had to watch out, though, cos random fruit kept falling off the tree every now and then. we heard rustling in the trees aswell and convinced ourselves it was a monkey. when it got light, however, it turnout to just be a cat. the idyllic scenario was punctured aswell as it turned out that our hostel was right next to the airport runway. we were really close to see and hear the next arriving plane at 5am. we had to laugh. there we were thinking we were in paradise... but we did see a frog and then it was pretty when it began to get light. it got light quite amazingly quickly. the clouds went from a soft peachy colour to golden to normal. i decided to call it a day and went to bed at 6am for four hours.

spent most of yesterday hanging around the pool. nobody felt like venturing very far. it was great, though. there's a poolside cafe where you can get a cup of tea for a dollar which is, like, 30p. tremendous value. and it's nice to not be considered a weirdo for putting milk in your tea. you can also get cadbury's chocolate here! it was really hot in the sun so i chose to sit under a tree and finish off 'the catcher in the rye'. bluddy good book. but the weather isn't stiflingly hot. it got quite cloudy in the afternoon. it's not really how i expected fiji to be, as i thought it would be wall to wall sunshine. but it's actually suiting me just fine. i can't really be bothered with the heat just now. i'm happy sitting in the shade with my book. it's actually lightly raining today but it's still alright.

my body is on some weird clock at the moment. i went to bed at 9pm last night and woke at 6.30am today. but it actually feels nice. it gets really dark here at 6.30pm so it seems good to get up and about. there's also not so much to do on an evening except have a drink in the bar so it all works out well. perhaps i shall start a new getting-up-in-the-morning-to-see-the-sunrise regime, you never know.

over and out - temporarily

so the tour of the stars homes was an interesting one. though it turned out to be a three hour walking tour with a trip on public transport and a bloke from the hostel showing us around, rather than a luxury coach shuttling us about. wondered why it was only ten bucks. but it was amusing. we walked past brad and jen's old marital home. they used to live next to danny devito. we also saw where frank sinatra lived and marilyn monroe's home. we mainly saw a lot of big security gates and trees, though you could get the odd glimpse of a building. apparently, aaron spelling's home has 123 bedrooms. now that's a lot of laundry. we also saw a bunny leave the playboy mansion which, obviously, was a particular highlight. what was interesting, though, was that there are no pavements in bel air and beverly hills. or at least not where all the homes are. everyone just drives everywhere, one presumes, or is chauffered around. but the roads were in a terrible state. they must not be paying their taxes. on the number 2 bus from hollywood to bel air we went past the viper room and also whiskyagogo, which is where the doors were the house band, pop fans. didn't see any celebs, though.

after the tour a group of us wandered about rodeo drive which is where all the posh shops are and where they filmed that bit in 'pretty woman' where they won't serve julia roberts. we were with amy the kiwi who took us into tiffany's and sprayed us all with the tester perfume. she had more balls than us to go in these shops. we were proper tourists. and really scruffy, too. i noticed that the jumper i was wearing had a hole in it and i'd already spilt my nachos down my trousers at lunch. eat your heart out, julia. it's amazing how these three months have worn my clothes out. i also seem to be losing random items of underwear aswell. it's all going a bit wrong there. we then went to a make-up shop where rach had gone giddy yesterday and she went giddy again today. it was then a trip to starbucks where we chatted with natalie from leeds about the trials and tribulations of travelling. very pleasant.

so, yeah, am spending the last night in america doing my laundry. rock and roll. they had a barbeque at the hostel and i'm now going to chill out with a cup of dodgy tea before rescuing my smalls from the dryer. what fun.

it is bizarre how we're going to lose a day of our lives this weekend. the flight to fiji (landing in nadi, pronounced 'nandi', dad) is at 20.45 tomorrow, is 12 hours long but we somehow land at 3am monday morning. i suppose technically we will still have a sunday but it will be lost somewhere in the ether, i think. how very odd. it's also weird to think that the first leg of our trip is complete. where did all that time go?! i think we're all glad to leave america and all its weirdos. it's been great and a real eye-opening experience but i definitely feel ready to sample a completely different kind of culture. the place where it looks like we'll be staying in fiji is part of the outer islands with no running hot water, phones or internet. it really will be back to basics. which also means i can't update the blog til we're in new zealand. but, fear not, i shall be making notes the old fashioned way and shall do a mammoth blog entry some time shortly after 11th october. though it will probably just read something along the lines of 'went to the beach' for each day. bliss.

vegas, grand canyon and lala-land

the bus ride between san diego and las vegas was just beautiful. we went through places like riverside and san bernardino that looked more mexican than mexico. and then we hit the san bernardino national park and began climbing the mountains. it was gorgeous. huge high blankets of mountain with deep gullies burrowed in and covered in matted shallow green vegetation. it looked like a massive bedsheet covering lots of sleeping giants, with jutting out arms and legs everywhere. and then we got to the top and it transformed into a desert. there were sandstorms and it got quite windy. we were travelling at the perfect time as night began to fall and we saw the desert at dusk. there were still mountains but they were sparse desert mountains and the light threw a perfect warmth across the land and cast the mountains in a blue shadow. then, with each row of mountain receding into the distance, the blue became whiter and whiter until it faded into nothingness. the silhouettes were literally breathtaking and, again, the landscape drew this emotional response. rach and i couldn't stop smiling at each other. it was misty, dusty, dusky and everything had an air of the unreal.

and then, in a dramatic emerging through the hills, we reached death valley and the land just plateaued for miles and miles and miles. you just couldn't see the horizon, the land just melted into the mist. it looked like the end of the world. and the sky was so huge. overwhelming.

and then, in typical american fashion, the rapture was quickly broken at the california-nevada border by a small casino outpost. flashing lights and neon overtook the serene landscape and we came back to earth with a bump. the orange light cast made it look like the place was burning until we got nearer. vegas itself was a sea of orange street lights. but, as we got into the centre and we adjusted, it quickly became obvious how ridiculous but funny vegas is. there were hotels that were disney-type castles, hotels that covered about 50 billion square miles. everything was over the top and flashing neon. certainly a different kind of awe was inspired.

our motel was 'the biggest super 8 motel in the world', which actually wasn't that big. it was a crazy mixture of flashing bulbs, mock-tudor fronting and crazy paving. very strange. we dropped our bags and headed to 'ellis island' next door which was the motel's casino. after 7.5 hours on the greyhound, we entered the casino looking like rabbits caught in headlights. there were so many fruit machines with so many people sat, yes sat, at them. and the place was full of the bleeping of the machines. we walked through into the bar, unable yet to deal with the business of gambling. and what a place we found! we arrived just as they were setting up the karaoke, which apparently they do every night until 3am. jeez. and it was possibly one of the funniest nights we've had. we sat at a table next to matt-the-competitive - a guy who moved to vegas to become a professional gambler who also fancies himself on the karaoke machine. he was a proper bitch about everyone else, saying how 'they put this guy on first to make everyone else sound good'. mieow. and he was actually quite quite rubbish. but americans seem to take the karaoke soooo seriously. all evening it was like we were at the auditions for 'pop idol' or something. i mean, some were actually very good, but surely that's not the point of karaoke?! they just didn't get it. we were so amused all evening, especially when matt said he was going to sing a song to get everyone more upbeat after a string of ballads - he only sang bluddy 'i like big butts and i cannot lie'! this weedy little white geeky-in-a-bad-way bloke. the big div. oh, how we laughed.

so we ventured out into vegas and snapped the crazy hotels. the mock eiffel tower, the mock statue of liberty (which, incidentally, seemed more impressive than the real one (?!)), the mock brooklyn bridge, the giant 45 foot golden lion at mgm, the huge pyramid with the beam of light shooting out the top. crazy. we did do a bit of gambling in the evening. sorry, mum, but i did put a dollar in the penny machine - though, really, it was only to get the ensuing free drinks from the waitresses so, all in all, i did get my money's worth. the dev was more adventurous and used some money sent by auntie pat to go on the roulette table. it wasn't too bad. she only lost 15 dollars... the best thing was the outdoor bar we went to with the cheesy '70s cover band, resplendant in the obligatory afro wigs and everything. we were up there dancing with all the oldies, showing them how it's done. in vegas there are millions of the middle-aged. and no children. which was nice.

we got all extravagant and booked ourselves onto a tour to the grand canyon. this led to a surreal moment when i caught myself saying 'right, we'll have a look about vegas today, fly to the grand canyon tomorrow, head to hollywood the day after and then fly out to fiji at the weekend'. rock and roll, man.

the canyon trip was ace, even if we did have to get up at 5am. we were transported to boulder city where we got into a tiny 20 seater paper (it seemed) plane. it was fab. you could see into the cockpit and watch everything the pilot and first officer were doing. you could see which buttons controlled what and everything. it was much more exciting than virgin bluddy atlantic, i can tell you that. you felt every single bit of wind, it seemed, and you also got fantastic views over all the country. we flew over the hoover dam and then headed towards the south rim. you could really spot the difference in the north and south rim. the north is much higher up so has vegetation all over it, while the south is barren. we landed and a coach took us to the edge of the canyon. it was spectacular. it was still only 9am so there was still the morning mist in the distance down the range which cast a bluey hue. you could see how the time of day and the change of light changed the mood of the land. the rock was very red but you could see how the sunset would make it even more amazing. the land seemed to change from blue to yellowy red to a light blue as you looked 180 degrees from right to left. i can't imagine how the first people to find this place felt. cos the thing is, i felt some of the awe-inspiring-ness was taken away by the fact that i'd already seen pictures of it. and also it's weird because we're seeing so many beautiful and spectacular things almost on a daily basis that you feel that you're not getting all of the full impact somehow. i mean, i was more blown away by the bus journey to vegas, if i'm honest, because it was all so unexpected. but then the flight home was also fab. in order to land the right way down the runway, the plane had to perform a 180 degree turn whilst going in to land. it was proper 'top gun' stuff, with the horizon getting all messed up. it was better than any rollercoaster.

and so we then had our very last greyhound usa journey to hollywood. i didn't actually realise it was the last journey until we were almost there. i found myself saying more surreal things like 'barry, i can see the hollywood sign', as the dev and i were sat on the bus. it's been a really weird week for that. los angeles itself is very underwhelming. there's a downtown with the skyscrapers which you largely ignore. it's then this big sprawling dirty grubby mess of several towns. we're staying just off hollywood boulevard, which is actually a very normal street. we went out yesterday towards the kodak theatre, which is where the oscars are held, and it is actually very ordinary. it's attached to a shopping centre, which admittedly looks very nice but is a shopping centre nonetheless. the walk of fame is also full of names you don't recognise. the hand and foot cement prints are actually quite cool. i was fitting my hands into some of them. i have about the same size hand as bette davis, though jane russell had massive hands. you also get accosted by people in full costume around there. the dev got into conversation with superman who just wouldn't shut up. rach got attacked by chucky. she proper screamed and everything. and so there we were, minding our own business, chatting to super heroes, when this bloke comes up to us and asks us whether we want to be in the studio audience for the us version of 'deal or no deal'. the next thing we know, we're whisked off on a bus and sat in the back row of a tv set. check that out! it was hilarious. we spent the whole afternoon clapping and whooping like maniacs full of e numbers. lovely myra won 83 grand whereas nobhead peter lost out on a quarter of a million, winning a hundred grand. we were willing him to lose whereas everyone else in the audience was getting giddy and shouting encouragement (though, to be fair, they probably just wanted to hear their own shouts on national telly - and, admittedly, i did shout out 'no deal' right at the last minute so my voice could be heard, but only cos rach told me to). the best bit was at the end where they needed to record random audience reactions so we were told to 'chuckle lightly' or 'laugh loudly into applause' on the count of five. i couldn't stop crying with laughter at rach clapping inanely like a mad seal and laughing theatrically.

and then, before we knew it, they bussed us back to where they had picked us up on the street. it was like being dorothy, whisked away to oz. what a strange place l.a. is, where such strange things happen. today, rach had a pampering day whilst me, the dev and a kiwi lass called amy headed to venice beach. hippyville. there were people on the sidewalk asking for money to go to their 'pot fund'. i say, get your own. we saw muscle beach, though there was a disappointing lack of people working out. there's a small grandstand thing you can sit on and watch. we got a smoothie and instead watched a basketball game between some blokes that probably should have been at work. one guy asked us if we were from manchester, which is the closest anyone has been yet. most people out here think we're australian. it was fun watching 'real' american culture in action. we then lounged on the beach, had a deluxe icecream full of cookies, and then wandered through the canals of venice of venice beach. they were pretty cottagey-type affairs on the waterside. a bit like norfolk, i presume. it seemed very villagey. all artsy and that. very nice.

tomorrow we are succumbing to the obvious and going on a hostel-organised coach trip round all the homes of the stars. should be a laugh, if nothing else. well, it's got to be done...

the beach and mexico

so the train was an absolute delight. granted, it was half an hour late but they actually took your bags off you and put them on the train for you and they actually let you know that it was running late and actually actually apologised. my god. and then there was loads of leg room and we could get seats together and there was a plug to charge your ipod and a buffet car to get some coffee. it was paradise. we were so giddy. we were taking photos and everything. we just kept shouting 'a flushing toilet!! ha!!'. people must have thought we were from some third world country or another planet or something. there was an obligatory psycho but the difference was that it wasn't normal. people got up and moved from him rather than thought it perfectly normal to be talking to yourself at high volume. you have no idea how great it was. and then it was the icing on the cake to be travelling alongside the beach. the journey started at 9.21am, dad, (well, 9.51am with the delay) so it was still all misty so not quite the idyllic west coast jaunt in the sun singing 'surfin' usa' and all that. typical, we thought. but then the sun came out and it was the idyllic jaunt. except we were singing kaiser chiefs and arctic monkeys to each other instead. well, it was still a 6 hour journey and we all go a bit loopy after about the 5 hour mark.

san diego is pretty. we're staying in the centre of town by all the bars so it's not the quietest of places. plus all the hostels on the west coast seem to have well dodgy mattresses. nightmare. but it's handy for the bars - though i'm cutting back on the booze this week, mum, honest. it's also handy to get around. we got the bus to pacific beach yesterday and had a proper day's sunbathing. oh my god, it was so relaxing. the beach was more comfy than my bed so it was nice to have a snooze. and i didn't get burnt either, for the first time ever when sunbathing. the sun did seem to go to our heads, though, cos we had a random conversation about what we would call our children if we had any. we all decided on 'barry' whether boy or girl.

we saw the most beautiful sunset on pacific beach. the sea went that metallic colour and the sky was filled with silvers and baby blues and salmony colours. the light went all misty aswell. people walking by the sea looked like they were in cloud. it was gorgeous. i felt quite drunk with relaxation as we walked along the beachside street.

today has been slightly different. we're only half an hour from mexico in san diego so we got the trolley to tijuana. a bloke from brisbane and a bloke from swindon tried to scare me and rach last night by telling us all these horror stories of corrupt coppers in mexico planting drugs on you so you'd have to pay a million pounds to get out of jail etc etc. but we braved it, although rach spent the first ten minutes we were there clinging onto the dev's arm. it was actually quite fun. not a lot like mexico and a lot like tenerife, though we did see our first tumbleweed - and a bluddy massive thing it was too, right in the middle of the road. all the shopkeepers were out on the pavement trying to get you to go inside and buy things. they whistled, clapped and shouted at you from across the street and everything. but it was all good natured and actually quite funny. they kept calling us charlie's angels and saying that they had nice purses, wallets, cigars for us. they also kept trying to ply us with tequila. i mean, we're just not that type of girls. clearly. we had a nice mexican lunch and wandered about the streets. they have the bizarrest thing - they paint white donkeys with black stripes to make them look like zebras and then ask if you want your picture taken with them for a dollar. what's that all about?! the lads in the hostel called them zonkeys... we did give in to one particularly charming waiter bloke called freddi who offered us three-for-one margharitas plus a free shot each. i mean, how could you refuse that? bluddy strong, though. we got all giggly whilst listening to the milli vanilli they were playing. fab.

it made a refreshing change to be in mexico rather than another american city with the skyscrapers. even though it was clearly not the real mexico. but they had scruffy versions of spanish-esque buildings and the barren hillsides all around. it's clearly a poor country and they are desperate for the dollar. when we turned down one ladies offerings of necklaces she told us to 'not be so mexican', what ever that means. we did venture off the main touristy road and had a quick look at the old church and in the market. there were piles and piles of dried chillies and things we weren't sure what they were. there were lots of flies hanging round which somehow made the whole experience more authentic. not sure why.

not sure what we'll get up to tomorrow. we have one more day here and then it's vegas for the weekend. good lord...

it's not that far

the last couple of days in san fran were spent rather relaxingly. like we haven't been relaxing enough... i escaped on my own for an hour last saturday and went to a cafe around the corner. i had a cup of homemade soup and a coffee and finished 'huckleberry finn'. it was fab. a quiet five minutes all to myself.

we had different people staying in our room every night in san fran. on the saturday night we had a lady called rose who, essentially, was homeless and just staying in hostels. we were freaked out a little to begin with because she immediately told us the story of her life, how she came from trinidad but is unable to find a job and so she is now selling the u.s. version of 'the big issue' to get by. she kept going on about all the horrendous places she has stayed and kept crying on us. she also went on about george bush and tony blair aswell, saying that they were worse than hitler etc etc. she seemed like a lady on the edge which was a little disconcerting. it certainly made the massive homeless problem in san fran a lot closer to us. i mean, when we went to the golden gate park, we walked down jones street which was just absolutely filled with people on the street. and the bus station had lots of people kipping down in all corners. it was much worse than in any other city we've been in. rose got me thinking about responsibility. i mean, she's basically an illegal immigrant so why should the u.s. taxpayer be responsible for keeping it together for her. especially as it was she that decided to come to america in the first place. but now she has no money, not even to get a greyhound ticket to another city (you can see now why there are so many weirdos on that bus who have scraped the few dollars together) so she can't fly back home, even if she wanted to. it's basically education at the root of the problem. we've met other illegals on our travels but they have a skill and are basically employable. it seemed that rose had nothing to offer. it was so sad. you could see that in a few months or years she will probably join the large population of crazy street people.

and the crazy street people are now so normal to us. last sunday we decided to wander down to the arts district to see a film. as we were waiting to cross a road, there was this guy in the middle of the street throwing his jumper at cars and flailing about, shouting to himself. and we didn't bat an eyelid.

the arty district was nice. they had a big complex with a carousel and various interactive art installations. we went to the MoMA shop, though not to the actual galleries. it had that beautiful glittery concrete on the pavement outside. it was a sunny day so, as you walked, it felt like you were walking in heaven. the film we saw was 'the illusionist'. it was cheesy and predictable but enjoyable, rather like the other film we've seen over here, 'superman'.

we bid a fond farewell to san fran on monday. despite all the homelessness issues and the nutter issues and the dodgy areas, it is a good-looking city and one in which i'd live. i loved the crazy hills and the fresh arctic breeze that blows. we got the bus to santa cruz, singing the thrills song all along the way. it really wasn't that far. it was also the last day of our greyhound pass so we had much cause for celebration.

santa cruz is full of weirdos but in a different way. it's a fairly small town so the homelessness issue wasn't as prevalent. no, the streets this time were populated by people who were all off their heads on weed. it was quite strange walking down the street of an evening, watching everyone interact and yet not really realise other people were around them. the visit got off to a good start when, in the taxi from the bus station, 'walk of life' came on by dire straits. how fab. the taxi driver said he would have to charge us extra for dancing... we were also staying in a motel so it was cool to have a clean room with a bathroom of our own. you really can't comprehend the relief we feel at being able to leave our shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom.

i would compare santa cruz to windthorpe, near skegness. it was a small beach and the season just finished on labor day so everyone was going home as we were arriving. (dad, labor day didn't provide us with too much hassle. they let buses through on the bridge, though not cars. the only hitch we met was that it was more difficult than normal to get a taxi...). santa cruz has a small arcade (they call it a boardwalk but it was concrete not wooden so i don't think that's right) on the beach and, apparently, has the oldest beachside funfair on the west coast (1906). it was great jumper-and-shorts weather, which reminded me of holidays at skeggy. they also had hilarious seagulls that made noises like they were laughing all the time. how great is that?! in fact, we got so giddy that, i'm afraid to say, i had one too many shandies on the first night. we ended up in a bar that was selling spirits for a dollar and we went all 17 again and drank too much. i got to know our toilet in the motel very very well. but thank god we were in a motel and not a hostel. imagine having to jump off the top bunk, run down the corridor and then wait for an available loo every time you needed to vom. nightmare. and then i really missed not having my mum and a kettle and a toaster to make sugary tea and buttery toast the next day. it's really rubbish being hungover in a strange place. i spent the whole day in bed. and, sorry dad, it was my dad's birthday and i was unable to call him as i was unable to form sentences for most of the day. what a rubbish daughter i am. but i was thinking about you, dad, inbetween all the dashes to the lav.

i recovered sufficiently the day after that to be able to go on the rides on the funfair. as it's now off season, not every ride was working. but we started on the sedate 1911 oldest-carousel-in-america-or-something before moving on to the dodgems. we then finally built ourselves up for the rollercoaster which was a lot scarier than it looked. it was an olden rickety thing which probably made it more scary. it was funny listening to rach scream all the way round. and dev made her go on it again and again. poor bugger. we then reverted to our 14 year old selves (or the 14 american selves we would have been had we lived out here) and went to the arcade to play on the dancemat and grabber things. the dev won a cuddly toy and everything so we now have a tom out of tom and jerry travelling with us. he is quite a useful pillow substitute when travelling.

we were going to head straight to san diego but, what with vomiting intermissions to the trip, we left it quite late to book anything. so we ended up having a short stop in santa barbara this weekend before heading to san diego tomorrow. and what a stuck up place! oh my god. it's actually a really really beautiful place. there are mountains hugging the place with hillside villas and palm trees and it's all very italianate with the terracotta roof tiles. but the place is full of rich beautiful people who seem only concerned with being rich and beautiful. i mean, people actually seriously rollerblade here. we went to a bar on the first night and ended up coming home early because everyone seemed to look at everyone else as if they were a bad smell. and no-one seemed to actually be proper friends with anyone they were with. they were too busy checking out their hair or something. i didn't realise that the whole beverley hills thing was actually true. but it hasn't all been bad. we have been sharing our room with three irish lads - whahey! they were really funny. they had more money to spend than us and boys probably don't notice bitchy women as much so they seemed to have a fab time. it was funny listening to their stories when we all woke up around midday. they seemed to end up at a lot of parties where, apparently, everyone has a business card that they randomly hand out. everyone really does want to be in the movies here.

so we're off to san diego tomorrow and we're getting the train. hurrah! perhaps there won't be quite so many weirdos on amtrak. and apparently the train goes along the beach all the way down the coast. it ain't called the surfliner for nothin'...

VIP-ing it in napa

it's been a really random couple of days. yesterday we went to golden gate park. we rowed a boat and then did the whole doe a deer thing around the park in a 4-seater bicycle surrey with a fringe on top. it was quite quite mental. we went on proper roads with this thing, remembering to stay on the right hand side. we cycled profusely up hills (one woman shouted 'go girls go!!') and then we went down the hills with our legs in the air going 'wheeee!'. 'twas fab. we waved at everyone we met.

we then decided a drink was in order so we went down the haight road to a bar and met a pirate called captain bob and a chap called jonny. we all drank merrily and also commentated on the local beer which tasted like soggy biscuits. anyway, turns out that jonny has a bmw and he wanted to show us around north california so he called for us this morning and took us wine tasting in napa valley (which is where mr big went towards the end of 'sex and the city') and we've basically spent the whole day getting shitfaced for free cos jonny is a member of lots of vineyards. hurrah! and this includes drinking one hundred dollar bottles of wine for t'laugh. ha! it was most idyllic, sitting in the private members area on a patio in the sunshine, appreciating the various aromas and bouquets. we've been VIP-ing it all over california today! and we met colleen at chimney something vineyard who wanted to come with the 'yorkshire lasses' round the world and we very nearly kidnapped her. and then jonny had a beatles cd so we sang heartily all the way back, again waving at everyone we saw. how cool.

we've now just got back from the mission area after a few more bevvies out. how much have we had to drink today?! i chatted with a guy called thomas about the yellow sticker thing and the monty python security measures in the u.s. the weirdest thing is that it is 2.15am here but it's 10.15am at home. which is a whole other day. i got an email from my mum yesterday and she sent it just as she got up but i hadn't gone to bed yet which proper freaked me out. how far away am i?!

escape from alcatraz

rach and i went out for a midnight milkshake last night. it was great. we sat in a shiny red leather booth by the window with a low light over the table. it felt like we were in an edward hopper picture. and, this being america, we didn't get just one milkshake but they brought a big cup of it out in addition that we could have a go at once we'd finished what was in our glass. and just before bed aswell. crazy. we chatted and watched all the crazy people go by. this has been our number one passtime in america. so many freaks and so little time.

we took the boat to alcatraz yesterday and pretended we were criminals. it was really good. the cell block was similar to the one in 'the green mile', though it had several floors to it aswell. the place was proper windy so we were glad for our jumpers, though i also got sunburned on my face. what's that all about?!

i went for a hike up the steepest road i've ever seen to see the 'crookedest street' which is actually a fraud because it's a normal street that they've planted a load of hydrangeas in to make it all bendy. we then went for a civilized glass of wine (or bottle of stella) in a european-type cafe in north beach, which is where jack kerouac lived. felt like i should have a cigarette holder in my hand and say 'dahling' a lot. but i didn't. it was then a pleasant stroll home, apart from all the bluddy hills and that. but it was a nice refreshing breeze and even the hills were okay, actually. watched the bright lights and people hurrying by. v chilled day.

beside the seaside

so we finally got out today, albeit at around 2pm. we went for a walk up and down and up and down the hills of san fran. it's a bluddy silly place, if you ask me. i mean, who thought it was a good idea building a city on a place that has 45 degree (at least) hills everywhere. it's just plain daft. it reminded me a bit of llandudno, what with the fresh sea air as well as the hills.

we got to fishermans wharf which was bizarrely like scarborough. there were well cheesy tourist shops - and we bought the obligatory san fran jumpers. well, it was bluddy chilly cold. we even had fish and chips - but it was rubbishy breaded fish. they don't know how to do it over here. we clearly still haven't grasped the traveller thing, travelling 50 billion miles to san fran to get some fish and chips. but we wandered about and saw the sealions on pier 39 and just generally enjoyed the sea air. feel the most awake we've been in weeks.

we then took the trolley car back. we didn't get to cling on on the side in a romantic fashion but we may have another go later in the week. it was madness when it was going down the really steep hills. everyone kind of slid onto the next person's lap. hilarity prevailed and everything.

paradise on the west coast

that night in denver was great. we had a cool ivy-covered balcony to our room which you could sit out on with some juice and watch the world below. and it was an interesting world. all kinds of weird characters went by. we could just be really nosy. a lady got pulled by the police right underneath us for driving on the wrong side of the road. we thought she might have been british and confused but she was just actually just american and dumb. there also seemed to be someone on the run nearby cos there were loads of police helicopters flying about aswell. we also watched the dodgy goings on at number 617 across the road which, apparently, was some kind of crack den. we stay in all the best places.

the bus ride to our stopover at salt lake city was a nightmare. it was like we'd stumbled upon an adhd outing, with a load of irritating california-bound rich kids off their tits and cavorting about. it's not what you need for a 12 hour trip. the bastards.

but salt lake city was surprisingly nice. it's 50% mormon and it does have a weird nothing-bad-can-possibly-happen-here kind of feel. we spent a nice few hours in a coffee shop, chatting about life and the universe and what we'll do when we get home. there were also loads of community events going off in all the parks so we saw cowboy kids with violins and all sorts. it was also refreshingly cooler - we didn't put suncream on or anything, though we did end up getting a little burnt. you have to be part of the club to get alcohol in salt lake city (they have weird laws where only private clubs can sell it) so we had a night off and went back to the motel place and watched inspector morse. thought of you, mum.

and thought of you, dad, on the epic 16 hour trip to san francisco. there was a spectacular sunset over the nevada desert. we were reaching the point where we wanted to kill ourselves, after having been on the bus for seemingly 17 days already and we'd exhausted the fun gotten out of hangman (where rach proved herself to be really really rubbish - we've found her weak spot - ha!). but this usually happens on this trip. you can be feeling really tired or distressed but then something happens to make you realise what a lucky bugger you really are. that sunset was amazing. the mountains changed from normal to orange to red to blue. actually blue. and it was proper desert kind of landscape. exactly how you'd imagine nevada to be.

and then it got even better. we had a short stop in reno and then set out in the dark amongst the northern california parkland. it was sooooo dark that all the stars in the universe came out. it was literally breathtaking. we would pass road lights or other cars' headlights and then plunge into darkness again and then even more stars seemed to emerge. it was ridiculous and proper made my heart swell. wished my dad had been there to see it. there were so many stars that you couldn't really make out any constellations. there were just too many. and they all seemed to be suspended on string and it looked like you could touch them if you just reached out your hand. i didn't think those films were real but it is possible, after all, to get that many stars. fab.

so we arrived into san fran at 2am and the dever got ridiculously giddy, even though we'd been on the bus from hell, with the number of weirdos on it. there was a guy that kept trying to inflate himself and then blew out all the air in his lungs. repeatedly.

and the hostel is really nice here. we shall be staying here for a week, i think. we haven't been out yet as laundry has been calling but maybe in a few hours when it's all done we may actually get to see some of san fran. we're planning to hire bikes and cycle across the golden gate bridge, singing 'doe a deer..' and all that. can't wait.

heading west

so much to update...

so last you heard we were in san antonio. it was a chilled out few days, eating lots of mexican food and wandering about. we had a surreal evening one night when we decided to have a quiet one. the hostel was a really weird place. it was built like a nuclear bunker and really bizarrely smelt of the warm wood of my grandma's house, which made it feel more like home even though it looked really strange. we found yahtzee in the common room, which was full of old furniture like my grandma's aswell. then this korean bloke turned up and we invited him into the yahtzee championships. it was really funny because he didn't speak a whole lot of english so it was quite a challenge explaining the rules of the game to him. it involved a lot of gesticulating and nervous laughter. but in the end we got it and we all won a game each so we were all pleased. it was one of those weird but memorable nights. you don't get that every day down the travs.

the last day in san antonio was really lazy. it was sooo hot so we just decided a day by the pool was in order, plus one of the barries (the dev) had caught a cold (in this heat?!) so we didn't want to overexert ourselves. much of the day was taken up by a debate and resolution to eat more healthily - this was after rach had sat on a sun lounger and broken it. the sun lounger was already a bit dodgy but it got us into thinking about all the shite we've been eating and the lack of fruit (though, to be fair, this wasn't really our fault as americans are clinically unable to provide any other type of cuisine than fast food). so that night we all got a meal with vegetables in, though, true to form, there weren't that many.

and then on to dallas. the bus station held some kind of monty python security check which involved them attempting to look through everyone's bags for tweezers but then announcing that if they hadn;t got through everyone's bags in time then we could all get on the bus anyway. only in texas.

dallas could have been catastrophic. after enduring 5 hours on a bus without air conditioning and then navigating the light railway system, we arrived at the hostel to find that they had overbooked themselves. however, ivan the bulgarian who owned the place offered another house he had along the way. it was further away from the railway station but he said he would pick us up each day and take us to and from the station. well, at 8pm we didn't have many other options so we went for it. and it turned out to be fab. it was like more normal living. we had a washing machine, dishwasher, private sofas and a telly. we could actually wander about bare foot and in our pjyamas comfortably. and, true to his word, ivan the bulgarian came each day and chauffered us about. it was fab - we travelled about by the only way to travel about in texas: on the back of a pick-up truck. how funny! it's the kind of thing you dream of doing as a little kid and there we were, giggling and wearing cowboy hats, getting blown about in the breeze, waving at other drivers. nobody minded, though, even the police so i think it must be a standard thing in texas. it was great.

bless him, ivan the bulgarian was our saviour of the day. not only did he take us to and from the train station but he even took us to the big shop where we could actually buy fruit. so the days of the fruit shortage were ended, at least for a little while. we stocked up well. we also met mama and papa ivan because they were staying in the same house as us. they didn't speak any english but, again, we got along by hand actions and laughter.

we had a day in dallas where we went to the book depository and saw all the jfk stuff. it's quite sick - they have painted two white crosses in the road at the points where the bullets hit him. what a strange mentality. we then got the train in the other direction and had a day in fort worth. we went to the stockyards which is the touristy cowboy territory. the street has old saloons on. it looks like it's straight out of a western. we wanted to see pawn bill's wild west show but it was no longer on so we went to the white elephant saloon instead and drank the local drink, shiner bock. it's bloody strong stuff. before we knew it we got talking to texan joe, a proper cowboy named billy and highway patrolman david, who advised that riding on the back of a truck is technically illegal but no-one cares in texas. the dev got up on stage and sang 'your lyin' eyes' with brad and much merriment was had. we saw them driving the cattle down the street and everything. we even ended up having a go round the block on texan joe's harley davidson. we survived it so it's alright, mothers. it was a really cool day and then ivan was there at the end to pick us up and take us home. hurrah.

the ride from dallas to a stopover in amarillo was really beautiful. i've never seen such flat land. you could see for about 30, 40, 50 odd miles in all directions. and you could imagine the old days when they rode their horses or took the stage coach. it must have been so disheartening, though, because you never seem to get anywhere. you get to the next little incline and then there's just more straight road for miles and miles. and, before the road was built, how would you know in which direction to travel when it all looked the same old flat land with stubbly bushes on?

then, as it got to evening, lots of thunderstorms erupted around us. we could see for miles so we saw lots of lightening. it could have been really romantic, being in complete darkness and watching the sky light occasionally with forks of electricity. the guy sat next to me offered me some gum and i thought for a moment it was going to be like the wrigley's ad where he rips it up and offers me half. unfortunately, though, he looked like vanilla ice so i had to decline. which is a shame.

we've seen some pretty amazing thunderstorms here. the first was watching the storm behind the statue of liberty as we took the staten island ferry. we saw lots of storms in new orleans as they were a daily occurence. it was great sitting on the porch, watching the rain, and one time we were in the pool getting rained on and watching the lightening, which was perhaps a little foolish, what with water and electricity not really working together. but it was warm in the pool and it was great, sorry mums.

we didn't see much of amarillo. we arrived at 10pm, waited in the bus station for an hour for a taxi (one thing we've learned about the states is that you definitely need a car. they just don't do public transport). we got to the hotel, we all fell ill with the dev's cold, and then we left at 10.30 the next morning. but it didn't look like we were missing much. everyone on the bus wondered why we were going to amarillo so we had to sing them the song but they still didn't really get it. the best comedy moment was when the dev was heading down the aisle to the loo on the bus and she stopped me listening to my ipod and said 'excuse me young lady, is this the way to amarillo?' and we both fell about laughing like 12 year olds. it was soooo funny but i guess you had to be there.

the scenery changed on the bus from amarillo to denver, where we are now. the plains lasted a long time - texas is bluddy yowdge - but eventually they started undulating until we got to the foothills of the rockies. we also passed through oklahoma near kansas and i actually saw a farm that looked exactly like dorothy's out of 'wizard of oz'. it was so nice to see the mountains. most of america is so unbelievably flat that this made such a change. our ears kept popping as we got higher and higher.

rach adopted a small boy on the bus. he and his dad were travelling for 3 days continuously from texas to wyoming and his dad had quite obviously got sick of it. so rach came to the rescue and got my newly-purchased 'license plate card game' out, which was a big hit, though little seth kept changing the rules of the game. needless to say, seth won a lot. it was during this bus ride that rach decided she wants a baby (!).

and so to denver. it's a beautiful place in a non-touristy way. it's set in the mountains but it's quite normal, with lots of business places and a big street of shops. we went mad when we got here cos we were all feeling rubbish from our colds so we went shopping, bought shoes and books and then got our hair cut. so now we all have backpacker chic hair, which basically involves just making it as short as possible so you don't have to bother with it. we went bowling that night and felt all-american.

yesterday, we got the bus to boulder, a town right at the foot of the mountains. walking about the streets, you could always see the mountains in the background, which was spectacular. it's a college place and there were lots of college kids returning for the new year with parents in tow. it seemed a very clean and sanitory place, very middle class. and, now we've been in america a while, you do become used to noticing the ratios of white and black people. it just become ingrained as you go from place to place. needless to say, the only black guy i saw was waitering.

but we had a pleasant afternoon. we looked in the shops and had a smoothy and then fondue for tea. we also sat by the creek for a little while and i read some of 'the adventures of huckleberry finn' which i bought the other day. we're all in reading moods so we returned back to the hostel to read some more. and now today we're heading for the park in denver to read some more. i also finally gave in to my sudoku craving and bought a puzzle book so i may do some of that aswell. it's a hard life.