Today could have been the third passage through NYC but Alias decided it was going to be the abduction! Thats a title that attracts an audience J.
And three is a charm! Today we visited the Empire State Building, it wasnt abducted or anything ;). We went early in the morning (and afterwards were very glad we did There was a huge line on the way back!) And saw NYC like you can otherwise never ever see 86 stories high! 360° view!!!! Super! Did one round with my normal lens, one with the telelens J
After that we went the museum of modern art! Nice museum, right in the heart of the financial district! Very nice neighborhood wirh Saint Patricks Cathedral squeezed right in to the middle.
And then we were off to the US-open!!!! Ok ok , the real tournament hasnt started yet, but the qualifiers are playing AND its free J And we saw . Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse! Anda match of Ruben Bemelmans! He played well, we supported like true Belgians, but he unfortunately lost, although in our minds he won J.
The pictures will have to come later The batteries are flat of the cameras Therefore sadly also no pictures of the tennis, unless you count the few crappy ones with the cellphone!
Today was the second passage through NYC And it started with sunshine!!!! First we visited liberty and Ellis island, no visit inside the statue though L you have to reserve it 2 months before your visit :s!
But it was nice from the ground too, and a very nice view of the New York sky line Then the Brooklyn bridge was up! Walking above water and cars Its something different!
After that we intended to go to the empire state building, but it was a crappy metro connection so we decided to do the chrystler building first After running past it :p It not recognizable from below, we realized were in its basement when exiting the metro station, on the ground floor there is some wonderful architecture but you cannot go any further as they are all offices.
And then it was off to the hotel, after a refreshning shower I took a long walk in Central park around the lake, and played with my camera and the sunlight
So today the first real day in NYC! We started our morning like a lot of New Yorkers and has breakfast at star bucks!
After that we went to the Amercian Natural History Museum But we were too early, but as it lies next to Central Park that wasnt really a problem J Only downside it was pouring rain So also a hunt for an umbrella was opened!
Then we returned at the correcttime to enter the museum! We saw some nice space related exhibits and visited the planetarium, a really nice show, narrated by Whoopie Goldberg, and off course we also saw the dinosaurs!
And a very nice dark skyline of NYC!
After that we went to eat something at a place called the shack, which was good and kinda cool After you order you get this device that vibrates when your order is ready :D, and we shared a table with a family The youngest was hilarious, while waiting for his hot dog, he was licking the ketchup and when his hot dog finally arrived, he dunked it in the ketchup as fast as he could and even faster in his mouth J.
Now that our tummy was full again, we could continue our journey and hunt for an umbrella, as we didnt found one, we asked J luckily New Yorkers are nice people, and she pointed us to a store! We bought the umbrellas and off course it stopped raining Oooh well at least we have New York umbrellas J.
Then finally we set of to the Empire State building But the men in front of the building explained, you couldnt see anything as it was to cloudy, so we have to come back There goes our planning!
So we switched everything around, and decided to go to the Guggenheim museum first! I knew the building was going to be nice But its really amazing, and it has some super art inside of it, and it seems no room is the same of size and form, its really nicely done!
On the way home we stopped at the central station terminal Another exquisite building! What a change next to Brussels Central :p
And as last thing of a busy day, we visited time square Something really bizar Never seen so many flashing light andadds Las Vegas kinda faded into nothing :p.
So that was the first passage of NYC tomorrow the second!
Today it was a rise and shine early day again, we say bye bye to LA city of Sydney and all her counteragent missions and fly to NEW YORK City!!!!
After a small delay we arrived at JFK and after a LONG metro ride and two transfers without escalators or elevators we arrived at our hotel! Unable to do anything more we ate our last cookies and fruit and slept!
And positive notice We have huge hotel room! Negative notice We have Belgian weather Grmble!
Today Salvation at last The film studiooooossssss Warner Bros here we come :D!
You start off with an introduction movie and then you drive around in the sets J We were in Stars Hallow, Metropolis, central Perk, The mentalist and Im forgetting a lot of things J
Also cool was the Car stop J with the car from Goldmember, Gran torino, Bat man, Harry potter, the Matrix and AI.
And there we were photographed on a green screen, while posing as you fighting with a wand, and then we got it printed as if we were in Hogwarts :).
Also we went on to the set of 2 and half men, its weird that it looks real on screen, I had the same feeling with the café of friends, its soooooo small. Its all forced perspective.
AND we got to see them tape a part of the bing bang theory!!! J We were far off but still I think its kinda neat J
And in the end we went to the museum, with a lot of props and clothing And got sorted by the sorting hat For some reason Im in Slytherin Should I be worried now??? Maaike is in Huffelpuff So a loyal friend J.
And the props of inception were there J The dream machine en the token, so cool to see.
And From the Matrix The Hugo weaving puppets are freaky real!
Also we drove by all the big studios Not that you can see anything :p But number 24 is the friends studio, but according to the actor who played Jessie in Full House it should be the Full house studio :D I tend to agree with him J They were first I adored that show J.
And then it the tour ended L had to happen sometime!
But not to worry the stars of Hollywood were waiting for us J And like real tourists do we searched for the once we wanted a picture of :p!!!
After a refreshing nap, we decided we needed an indicator to know if LA will leave up to our demands So were at the sea So thats where we went First! Santa Monica Pier!
What a view for sore eyes! Sea, gigantic waves and then mountains For Dutch girls that is sooooo weird, in Belgium sea is just flat J nothing more nothing less So we decided it will live up to our demands J
We also had to bathe our feet in the pacific off course, its hard to grasp were on the other side of the world in another ocean no less.
And at the beginning of the route 66 or the ending it all depends how you look at it!
Plus theres a restaurant there called Bubba Gump Shrimp J Now I want to see Forrest Gump again off course! (Thanks to Maaike for noticing!)
And then the drive back in the dark Maaike did great!!!! J
But tomorrow is a big day for me :D Film studio day Im making Maaike go to Warner Bros :D!!!!!
So after Needles we drove to the Mohave desert! Well the word says it itself its a desert One long road no sole to be seen, some mountains, hills of sands and thats it! The visitor center we found was just a building with rest rooms and some folders, and a warning to check if there werent an turtles under your car resting in the shade :D. But it was worthwhile as then the wonderful lava rocks appear, something quite different, kind off mountain but then out of the dark lava stone, in the middle of sand, really impressive. Also Maaike was fascinated by the trees, couldnt blame her though were weird things :p.
Then we drove onto LA! Bit scared of the traffic, but Maaike did some fantastic freeway driving and I navigated, or tried to understand what the Garmin wanted :D And we got there! And then you want to check in What does the guy say Come back in an hour please I could make him drop dead :s!!
Hellas nothing to do We got our things together en figured out how to plan the next coming days! And the finally we could check in! And take another nap :D It has been another looooooooooooong drive J!
So after naptime, taking a swim and ciphering out what to do next, we got to a diner, where Maai ate steak and I scrambled something together to get something without meat and we got HUGGGE drinks! Try to find Maaike in the picture ;).
Didnt do much yet today, we drove and drove Now were in Needles, kind of crashing It were some REALLY busy and exiting days, and we just need some rest, so thats what were doing today, trust me its needed! And as were in the desert again, its really too hot to do anything right now!
So the plan is to do some shopping and eat this evening and then stand up EARLY tomorrow to get to the Mohave desert early and hopefully still be able to step out of our car!
So no pics for today, youll just have to enjoy these of the two last days even more!!!
