The Very Smoky Smokies

We arrived in North Carolina on Wednesday around 2 hours late, as our flight out of Washington was delayed due to "a mechanical issue" (personally, I think the pilot just left the keys at home!!) and then taxiway traffic. We picked up our rental car and headed west for the Great Smoky Mountains, only to get caught in torrential rain and traffic due to accidents (we saw at least 4 accidents on the way involving cars losing control in the rather treacherous conditions!). Nonetheless, we eventually arrived safe & sound and headed straight to bed in preparation for a big day of exploring.

Thursday saw a bright and early start as we headed off through The Smokies, despite the weather being very overcast and rain imminent. Our first stop was Mingo Falls, just outside of the National Park itself and at 8am in the morning, we had the falls all to ourselves! For only a 15 minute walk to the base of the falls (and given the rain the area received the night before), it was certainly a great way to start the day.

As we proceeded up the mountain, it very quickly became apparent that the weather was not going to be our best friend and nowhere was this more obvious than at Clingmans Dome - a lookout from the highest point of The Smokies - where it was a complete "whiteout". Despite the weather, we pushed on over the top through Newfound Gap and into Tennessee to Laurel Falls. This mildy strenuous 35 minute hike ended at some more picturesque falls, although these were much more popular than our first stop - a photographer's nightmare!

We then headed to Gatlinburg for some well-earned lunch - where we were all too eager to leave. If first impressions are anything to go by, then the internet is not too far off when it is described as "the poor man's Vegas". The main street was lined with cheap motels, tacky gift shops and numerous arcade places. However it served its purpose to fill our bellies in preparation for our next walk to Grotto Falls, which was a relatively steep, 45 minute ascent, but was well and truly worth it. Because we arrived later in the day, these falls were relatively quiet and the cool thing about these particular falls was that you could walk behind them. On the way back to our hotel (back through The Smokies) in Cherokee, Karlee had her first driving experience on the right side of the road. Given the weather (rain and fog), she did an excellent job, with not too many "hairy" moments.

Today we intended to head off early again for our drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway - a picturesque 469 mile drive through the mountains connecting the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina with Shenandoah National Park in Virginia - however a rather severe case of "man flu" meant that we took a little longer than planned to get going. We eventually made our way, however the not-so-wonderful North Carolina summer weather, meant that we faced a "whiteout" the whole drive to Asheville. So we made the decision to participate in bit of retail therapy before heading to our hotel in Marion.

Tomorrow we are heading to the North Carolina Zoo - weather permitting - before heading off to Orlando on Sunday morning for some theme park fun.

Washington, D.C.

With only 2 full days allocated to Washington, it certainly made the trip very packed full of sight-seeing.

On the evening of our arrival on Sunday, we took a Segway tour of the city. I think it's fair to say this was one of the most fun activities we have done so far, and certainly an enjoyable way to see the main sights of Washington! Despite the massive downpour we experienced for approximately 30 minutes of the tour (thank god for ponchos and waterproof bags is all I can say!!), the Segways allowed us to see a lot of the city without having to walk huge distances. On the tour, we went past the White House, the Capitol Building, through the National Mall and also visited the Lincoln & Vietnam War Memorials.

On Monday, we took a tour of the Capitol Building and explored downtown Washington. The CBD itself, despite a day-time population of over 1 million people, is very "open", with wide sidewalks and tree-lined streets, making for a very pleasant place to just wonder around aimlessly! On Tuesday, we took advantage of the perfect weather and returned to the White House and Lincoln Memorial for some photos. We then walked over to Georgetown for lunch and a browse around some of the shops, before taking advantage of Washington's BikeShare system (think CityCycle but better) and riding back over to the National Mall, around the Tidal Basin to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Today, we leave Washington (and it's beautiful weather) behind us and fly to North Carolina where we will be heading out to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Washington is definitely a beautiful and very liveable city with lots of lovely terrace homes - somewhere we could easily live!!

The final days in New York

We are now in Washington, D.C. after spending 7 magnificent days in New York.

So from where we last left off - Friday saw us hire a bike and go for a ride through and around Central Park. Let me start by saying this "green oasis" in the middle of a city of 8.5 million people is truly massive in size and ever so peaceful. Apart from the occasional glimpse of tall buildings or a plane flying over, it proved very easy to forget that we were actually in New York, a place known for busy, busy & busy! Set over 340 ha, there are a myriad of weaving paths (the majority of which are for pedestrians only) encompassed by a 10km ring road, shared between cars, bikes and pedestrians. From the many bridges and arches to the tree-lined paths to the Conservatory Garden, it is simply a beautiful place to get lost in :) Our bike hire was for three hours (on what turned out to be the hottest day of our stay - 32 degrees!!) and in that time we saw many different parts of the park. After the bike ride, we walked all the way down to 34th Street (from 59th St, which is just over 3kms) to have lunch and do some shopping at Herald Square.

Friday night we saw The Lion King @ Broadway. The production was simply amazing and definitely worth the $$$ we paid for the tickets. It was very interesting to see how all the animals were played by humans, but it was done very well and the stage sets were amazing!! Might have to make a trip to Sydney when it comes to Australia next year..... :)

Saturday was our final day in New York and we decided to take advantage of the fine weather and head back to Central Park to walk through some of the other parts that we didn't get the opportunity to explore by bike. We had a picnic breakfast near Gapstow Bridge (with the company of some ducks and turtles) and then walked up the eastern side of the park to the northern end. Overall, even though the walking was much more exhausting, it was decidedly nicer and easier to navigate all the different parts of the park by foot and allowed for a lot more flexibility.

After our second expedition to Central Park, we took the subway down to the Greenwich district (mid-Manhattan) and visited the apartment building used for the outside shots of Friends and the house where Carrie lived from Sex & the City (see photos below).

Saturday evening saw us re-visit Top of the Rock, but this time as the sun was setting and it provided an amazing backdrop and some great photo opportunities. Certainly a very picturesque way to end our visit to The Big Apple!

On Sunday we took the Amtrak train to Washington, D.C.. We travelled in Business Class, which was definitely worth it as the leg room was amazing, especially for the 3.5 hour trip. Being our first time travelling via train when overseas (previously we have either flown or driven between cities), there were a few things that were a little confusing, and not sure the conductor was very happy with the amount of luggage we had, but we made it safely and Washington is a very nice city, that seems slightly more relaxed and nowhere near as busy.

Again, a selection of photos are below - we will update again when we leave Washington :)

Gapstow Bridge - Central Park

Bow Bridge - Central Park

"Friends" Apartment Building

Carrie's house from Sex & The City

Empire State Building just after sunset

New York, New York!

We have now had 4 full days of fun and adventure through New York - here is a quick run down of what we have been up to so far:

On Monday, we saw and visited many of the "must-see" sights in New York. The Empire State Building was first on our list and it did not disappoint. The view from the observation deck, nearly smack bang in the middle of Manhattan, provided unobstructed 360 degree views of the Manhattan skyline and beyond. We also went on the New York SkyRide, which is a simulated ride through New York City (think The Batman Ride at Movie World). It wasn't the best simulation we've ever been on, but allowed us to see some of the sights that we're not able to get to.

After lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (by the way, BEST STEAK EVER!!), we headed to Madame Tussaud's, which is a wax museum, where we met and had our photo taken with alot of famous people :) We then headed over to Grand Central Station - and boy is it "Grand". Forget the fact that this place is massive and caters to over 750,000 commuters each day (ie. it is ALWAYS packed!), the architecture of the ceiling in the main concourse area is truly spectacular. Of course, a trip to Grand Central Station wouldn't be complete with out a stop at the Apple Store.

We then headed over to The Rockefeller Centre to head up to what is called "Top of the Rock" - an observation deck around 80 storeys high. The best part about this observation deck is that you actually get a panoramic view which includes the Empire State Building!! Our plan was to get up the top for sunset, however we were late getting there and only got twilight photos from one side of the building. Needless to say, we will be going back up to get some nice photos from the other side of the observation deck which include the Empire State Building.

On Tuesday morning, we took a cruise from Battery Park (located on the bottom tip of Manhattan) which went out and around New York Harbour. Although overcast, it provided some great views of the Manhattan skyline and also took us out past Ellis Island and Liberty Island, providing some great views of the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately both islands are currently off-limits to the public due to ongoing repairs and restoration due to Hurricane Sandy so we weren't able to get off the boat and explore. After the cruise, the rains began (our only miserable weather of the trip to date) so we headed for cover and took a walk down Wall Street, past the Federal Reserve (apparently the coffers are a little emptier these days!!) and the New York Stock Exchange.

Due to the weather, we then headed for the cover of some shops at Herald Square before visiting the 9/11 Tribute Centre and Memorial. Despite the fact the attacks took place nearly 12 years ago, it was still a very sobering experience. You get two very different emotions between the Tribute Centre and the Memorial. At the Tribute Centre, there were parts of the World Trade Centre (twisted steel etc) on display and audio clips of radio calls between emergency personnel on the day of September 11. There were also photos of the 3,000-odd people that lost their lives and remnants of the wall where family and loved ones placed "missing persons" notices. The feeling here is of remembrance and sadness. The Memorial, however, has more of a sense of reflection and hope, especially as the new World Trade Centres appear around the memorial. The memorial pools themselves a truly a sight in their own right, being the largest man-made waterfalls in the world.

Wednesday morning we headed over to the American Museum of Natural History, where we walked around and looked at all the exhibits. Although we are not really "museum people", there were some interesting exhibits, especially the African animals and the Dinosaurs. After the museum, we went for a very brief stroll through Central Park on our way back to the Subway station to go for our tour of NBCUniversal Studios. On the tour, we got to go into the NBC building and see two studios (Studio 6B - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Studio 1 which hosts the American Today show) and the Broadcast Operations Centre. What was weird was the fact that these studios are all contained in a high rise building in central Manhattan - who would've thought!! We then took a walk to the most photographed location in New York City - the 5th Avenue Apple Store. With it's glass enclosure, it truly does stand out, and like its Grand Central brother, was packed!!

We then caught the Subway over to Times Square and visited the Discovery Centre. Here, we were expecting to see the Harry Potter exhibit, however much to our disappointment, the exhibit had closed in April and the new exhibit, Body Worlds: Pulse, had started. Given our New York Pass already included entry, we decided to go for a walk through anyway. It was certainly interesting seeing all the bodies, which had been "plastinated" as the exhibit walked through all the different parts of the body and how it reacts to different things such as exercise, diet and stress.

Thursday saw us escape the Big City for the day as we hired a car and headed out to one of the largest shopping malls in the USA, Pallisades Centre. On the way, we stopped for breakfast at IHOP - yum! We (Karlee) then spent the day going from store to store, before heading back for late dinner at Applebee's near Times Square.

Today, we are planning on taking a bike through Central Park, followed by a relaxing afternoon. I have uploaded some photos below of our trip so far. Enjoy!