Apple Store NYC

NYC Apple Store cube...
i think back and wonder why we didnt take any pics of this structure. cant quite put my finger on it, maybe we just thought we had taken it all, nope ... i think that was one of the days we left all our cameras and bags behind and just walked NYC freely.

never the less these are some pics of the huge glass cube that covers the entrance to the NYC Apple Store on 5th ave in NYC .. FFFabulous FFFith avenue .. cheers Andrew. (tour guide on the NYC skyline bus)

this glass cube is illuminated at night and stands out like dogs balls. awesome to see and the store inside stays open 24 hours a days ... no joke. props to the flickr bunch for the eye candy

Home Sweet Home

Hey everyone.

arrived back safe and sound after a month long vacation into the never never. the big wide world. i think i can safely say im so glad to be back and off a schedule of hoping on planes. if i dont see another airport in 2 months i'll be a happy man :)

like someone wise once mentioned to me, after being away you miss home and need to be back, then 3 weeks @ home you wish you were back anywhere else but at work. thats life. i guess now its a case of planning for another trip, another adventure, and doing things slightly different based on all we learnt. all up i cant fault anything we accomplished, and good or bad, we learnt from everyday out there, just opening my eyes to just how good we really have it back in Oz.

thanks to all of you along the way who helped make this journey so enjoyable and exciting, you know who you all are. and please keep your eyes on the blog as this is not the end... but the begining.

last words go out to those who are reading and not posting their comments < yes i know all about you millions. :) this isnt an exclusive blog for family and friends only. this is for anyone, anywhere, anytime. post your thoughts, your feedback, who ever you maybe. think of it as a global bullentin board, an electronic meet and greet. until the next post, heres some pics from South Africa, more soon.

Shaun.







PS.. Cheech, bro, we will returnith!

Why Dialup Sucks ...

Ello,
just got back in from the Game Reserve, Mfolozi, and thought id post some news minus photos due to connection.

anyway ... whats to say, we left early morning with Aunty Les saying we would catch breakfast "on the way to the gate" well she got talking and one thing lead to another and well you know the rest ... we missed the turnoff for breakfast. i was about to eat the seatbelt but we found a substitute. all was well.

leaving Durban's cloud and overcast conditions the Park greeted us for two days of sunshine and pure african weather. all was fantastic and felt so real. we checked in and began our day 01 tour / drive. well to cut a long story short we saw it all, apart from the big cats. heaps of everything and so close to the car. lots of giraffe, elephant, rhino and the like. brings back a lot of memories.

next up was a night drive for Mark and I, to which we were told by Darryl and others "waste of time. all you will see will be a hare or two" well .... we threw that out the window. our day luck had turned into night. WE SAW LION!! yup a huge male popped up close to the truck and we saw him wonder off into the distance. we also caught sight of black rhino and a small herd of elephant aswell. top night all round.

seeyou soon

Extra Pics

Hey everyone ..
arrived safe and sound in Durban, just thought id try and upload a few extra pics before we leave tomorrow for the Game Park. current weather here is all overcast and raining, heres hoping it will fine up for our trek. so looking forward to getting back for the Footy Finals!! hilight for WA teams.

Dad, the MNet info you wanted, blog a reply with what ever questions you need answered by Darryl here.

Rich, get ready for tuesday next week.

Post before the rush to the final plane ..

NYC harbour

Quick post of pics.
NYC harbour cruise, skyline of downtown Manhattan.
had a fantastic day out on the water and learnt alot about the Statue of Liberty and its french origins.
more pics to follow ...

The Big Apple

New York.
what can i say. hectic, fast, crowded but lovable. this place feels like the heart of america. populated to the max, it never sleeps. the virgin music megastore doesnt close on times square till 2am. that tells you something!

well American Airlines is officially the worst airline ive travelled on. seats are shocking and uncomfortable. service is terrible and i was glad to make it off. heres hoping BA steps up :) no food served as American Airlines demands you buy food onboard. you even have to buy their headphones .... what a joke

arrival at the airport was great as we are seasoned pros at the whole "Homeland Security Check". we grabbed our bags, no delays or missing stuff yet. headed straight to a taxi and set off for hotel 31. what a great budget place! the best we have stayed in so far. central in manhattan, to walk anywhere.

well with no sleep under our belts we were told (arriving 8:30AM) that our room wouldnt be ready till 1PM. what to do? i was exhausted and didnt feel like doing anything but sometimes when time is limited you push on. first up refuel, drink lots and dont look at the clock.

well what did we come to NYC for. Rich ? ...
yup we hit Alex Grey's studio right off the bat. finding it was a breeze and its about a 45 min walk from the hotel. its on the 4th floor of a warehouse building, and if we didnt have the address its easy to miss. i know your gonna say where are the pics, but i didnt want to be a tourist here. its not the place to walk into and act like an idiot taking happy snaps. you wanna see his art? buy his books, check the website. his art must be admired, reflected upon, and soaked in. what a place! to see his work in real life is amazing, so much detail and expressiveness. we spent about 2 hours in here just spiraling, leaving totally recharged.

what a big day. so we hit the hotel, chillout and wait till our night bus tour of NYC. great ride all round and well worth it to get a sneak peak around the city and its huge boroughs. thriving on money, its a crazy place. but unlike LA its friendly, warm, inviting.

check out at Frisco

well today was the general tourist runaround. Bay Cruise and Alkatraz was on the cards. unfortunatly SF didnt turn on its weather for us. we awoke to a cloud / fog filled sky. mild drizzle and cool .... make that COLD conditions. lol you cant control these things but it was a bummer for the last day, and to not see the sites in great light wasnt the best. no good photography at all.

bay cruise was first and took us round fishermans wharf and under the golden gate bridge. then back through and around alkatraz and angel island in the inner bay area. this conditions made this ride not 100%. freezing cold and cloudy. we could only view a minimal portion of the bridge which was disappointing as the photo opportunities would have been perfect. i guess we were glad to see what we did on day one.

next up was breakfast. i swear i can now see why there is an obesity problem in the US. THESE PEOPLE EAT TOO MUCH!!! .. i had eggs and bacon, and ate for two. well thats what it felt like. lol. all great food down here in SF. not fast food. BTW crabs are the "famous" thing to eat round here. they are a Dungenous Crab and seem alittle like a WA mud crab. salt water, bit smaller and stubby. didnt have time to try one. took a photo of a crab stand for ya Dad. ! we will have to return for this.

well dont know if it was the weather dampening the spirits abit but were a bit worn out. we hit Alkatraz next and the tour was great. kinda left with a feeling of spookyness as to the inmates who were so close to freedom. the other thing we both felt was that this place wont last another 15 years! its falling apart. and no restoration efforts seem to be taking place. 75% of the land mass is closed to the public due to safety issues. nevertheless it was worth the trip.

packed and ready for NYC, heres to warmer conditions and more chaos. looking forward to Alex Grey and COSM.

oh we do want to live beside the Seaside ...

ahhh, well after all the rush of our first day we didnt wake the next day until 10AM :)
we needed the day off to do some shopping and learn the basics of the area. the weather was fantastic, clear and crisp, 22 degrees. cooler near the bay.

so what do tourists do when they need a healthy breakfast in SF? they hit the local Crepe house. awesome crepes (thin pancakes) made right in front of our eyes at fishermans wharf. pics to speak. finished off with a fruit yogurt smoothy, damn that was good.

next up we thought we would hit city central and do some shopping. we began to walk up powell street and basically went? nah mate ... CABLE CAR TIME! we didnt know how to board or how to buy tickets so we winged it. you watch other people and learn fast. move fast, and act dumb lol. turns out people pay onboard or get multiriders, and only really board at the end of a line to get a "tickets worth" out of their ride. we traveled twice on a cable there and back. great stuff.

hittin the shops was cool, the city is awesome and has a very colonial feel to it as the housing and architecture is very 1900s. we soon found that inner city shopping for us wasnt really all the fuss. we dont buy crap from Macy's (US Myers) or other fancy dancy stores. we didnt have the time to search out the local stores for the stuff we were after, this place is huge, and we needed more time. nevertheless i got some sneekers and jeans and was happy with the experience. plus saving money for NYC was ace i guess.

well after the dash for cash, we were knackered. we thought seafood again? nah too far to travel, so we ate in, grabbing some chinese on the way back to the hotel. best chinese ive had since we left home. all up SF turned it on and made us feel welcome all round. friendly people and service. cool things to note. pedestrians have total right of way. drivers are more relaxed and courteous to the a crossing person and will slow down for anyone.public transport is awesome, the BART rocks, is clean and super fast. simple and effective.

now if the americans could just skip this whole "tipping, sales tax, driving on the wrong side of the road, crap money that looks the same and newspapers that cant be read in the wind .... id be a citizen.