Nashville Pictures

OK - So I had to try & it made me eat my words.

Please read the previous post first, these are the pics relating to it =]

and yes, we went to White Castle - I forgot to mention that earlier

It's late - I'll resize properly tomorrow

Sleep time

night xox

Nashville Part 1

Hello readers
I write tonight from Nashville Tennessee. It’s a chilly -6C & the ground is covered in snow. Now although I had seen snow in Flagstaff, it wasn’t until yesterday that I actually got to be in snow as it came down So exciting, and pretty…until it starts melting that is.
Moving on, Nashville, Music city. Well they aren’t kidding are they? Music City, Music Row, Music Valley, Broadway, 2nd Ave and Printers Alley… we have done quite a bit.

Broadway & Second is the part of the city lined with bars & clubs. Some fairly famous people have played at many of them, and many movies used their sets. Actually there was one being filmed at the Stage this week. "Love Don't Let Me Down” starring Gwenyth Paltrow, Leighton Meester & Tim McGraw. Nuts! We all know I’m a not so closet Gossip Girl Fan, so this made me super happy, not that we got to go inside while they were there, but still, quite cool.

We visited both of Ernest Tubb’s record stores, one hosts the midnight Jamboree, and the other his tour bus from the 70’s, which we got to explore. They are very very proud of Ernest here!
We headed out to music row, not much to actually do there, but recording studio’s a-plenty…We also went to Music Valley to check out the Grand ole Opry, Which is a live music venue that hosts the Radio show of the same name. The radio show started in the 20’s, and is broadcast live, as a concert/gig. It has a lot of history & I don’t quite feel like I’m doing it justice, so have a look here.

So yesterday we were snowed in – well not technically, but we weren’t walking anywhere that was for sure, so we had a day in, which meant today we wanted to go out, as it was Saturday we wanted to experience Nashville’s nightlife for all it’s worth. We headed into the city about 4, and got a bite to eat, another pulled pork sandwich with smokey BBQ sauce – Can not get enough!! Then we checked out a few places…now I don’t think I have really explained what these iconic streets are actually like. Sure we have busy pub/bar streets… but on Beale Street, Broadway etc, it is neon lights & every door is a pub. Usually stretching a few blocks. The only things really breaking this up are a few random souvenir stores. So now that you have a little bit of a picture ( still have bad internet & actual pictures not a possibility) I’ll continue. The first place we go to is country. Real country. There are people dancin’, drinkin’ and hollarin’. We had our first experience with “holler & swaller”. It is pretty much as it says. Someone calls for a holler & swaller, everyone raises their glasses up high, you all yell as loud as you can ( that’s the haller) then you drink ( hence – swaller) Now whilst drinking In Nashville, this happens fairly frequently, so be prepared…I think the band enjoy it juuuust as much as we do. Or perhaps they are just hoping for more tips. It’s pretty much a staple to carry a bunch of $1 bills when you go out anywhere in the USA, The bands do not get paid perse’ you tip them, and they will bring that tip jar round a few times a set, so having a few $$$ bills handy is great

We saw 2 proposals tonight!! The first was at this bar, there was a bit of a story attached, and so forth but that was nice. Got up on stage & did his thing, she said yes, everyone was very happy for them. After that we moved on though, We went into “the stage” & had a beer, throughout the night we also went to the Legends corner & Layla’s.
Amidst all of this though we got to do something that Ben has wanted to fit somewhere into the trip, we went to a NHL Game!. As we were bar hopping we came across a guy selling tickets to the Hockey, and figured we’d see how much they were. The first guy with tickets was far too expensive, but he did get our hopes up, so we went & found another, and got our tickets at our price – a healthy $10 a piece So we spent a few hours watching the Nashville Predators v the Atlanta Thrashers. It was great, and hilarious. I took video of the chants they sing because they are so funny. This is where the second proposal was too – big screen proposal. So we saw people slammed into the ice/ wall, get given their time outs (I’m sure there’s a proper word, but we’ve all watched mighty ducks right?) and score the occasional goal, it was fun! And Nashville won, so everyone was up for the evening.

Anyway we are home now, heavily over budget for this evening. It’s Ramen noodles tomorrow for lunch and dinner! =], but very happy. I do apologize for not being able to post pics of our time, it just cant handle uploading as it keeps dropping out.
As soon as we get some good internet I will get the Memphis & Nashville pics up. We still have a few days left here before we move along, WWE on Monday & I’m sure we will fit in a few more country/rock/bluegrass gigs in inbetween

Much love for getting through all that

xoxo

Memphis

Hiya,
Sorry for the delay in writing, it’s been a week or so, so we have some catching up to do!
We spent the week in Memphis. In terms of where we were staying, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone without a car. We stayed at the Super 8 Downtown. We were indeed close to downtown, and the river, and the freeway. But because of these very things, we were boxed in by bridges without paths, the Mississippi river & freeways. The only way to walk into town was to walk 20 minutes in the wrong direction first. If you do have a car while you’re in Memphis the location would be great. It would only be a 5 minute drive to Beale Street & Walmart (Also great as there’s a microwave & fridge in the room).
Now moving on…whilst in Memphis we split our time pretty much equally between being hauled up in the hotel due to bad weather, and out in Beale Street enjoying the Blues.
Coincidentally we picked the weekend to be in town for the 26th Annual International Blues festival, which is a celebration of blues across the world. Beale Street gets flooded with hopeful young & old musicians. I actually think there may be tournaments in certain cities to get the privilege of playing there, as a few acts were introduced as representing certain groups/cities/states etc. We even saw a group from Argentina.
Beale Street itself is closed off & available for on street drinking & wristbands are for sale, $15 unlimited access to all venues. We shelled out for this and bought a few beers each (which put us waaay over budget) but was definitely worth it. We saw a vast array of talent and musical styles, “Blues, Roots & Soul” according to Benny. It was amazing & a great feel. It’s not like going to any other gig I have been too. The age groups of people reached both ends of the scale, and everyone was just there to appreciate the music. Every pub/bar filled with people, clapping, cheering & dancing for whoever was on stage. It was refreshing, and a great, fun environment!
Benny earlier on in the week got to jam on stage with an act we were watching in a bar, so that was pretty cool. He played a couple of tunes, Red House & Crossroads, was great of course =]
Memphis was interesting, apart from Beale street, and we assume Graceland, the rest of the city was fairly rundown. We did have a great time though & would like to go back & do the festival again one day as it was awesome, and go to the finale etc..
We didn’t get to Graceland. We decided early on that we couldn’t really afford it & would prefer to blow budget on the festival instead and actually experience some Memphis blues, over seeing where the King Lived. So It’s still on the to-do one day list. Can’t do everything!
Ooh & we got to go into the ball park stadium which was awesome!
So here are some pics from our time there.

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Actually I take it back, the Internet we have here in Nashville is not brilliant & uploading isn't looking possible. Perhaps another time!

Oh & I hope everyone had a kick ass Australia Day. We have been watching a it of the Open every now & again & the Melbourne tourism adds they have on is making us a little homesick!
Hope everyone is well!

New Decisions

We have receintly made a few changes to our schedule!

It now includes a Day cruise to The Bahama's

Driving from Nashville to Orlando with stops in trucker towns, Atlanta & Daytona Beach.

The freedom to do this is so great, just a quick check in, Ben will fill you in on whats been happening soon.

Check out the revised Itinerary here

Much Love xx

New Orleans Part 2

I write to you this morning sleepy as can be from Memphis Tennessee. Yesterday we caught a train to Memphis, 9 hours worth during the day - to get to bed quite late, but instead of catching some zzz's. We of course, had to rise early to get our free breakfast ( we shall take anything we can get, for it is the backpacker code)


But as we haven't seen anything here yet - It is time to go over the rest of New Orleans.


To start with, the night after I blogged last was easily one of my favourite's since we have been here. We went out with Angie & Ali, these 2 American girls we met at the hostel and had an amazing time. We did go to Bourbon Street, but as we saw it can be kinda overpopulated & rather touristy after dark especially with a ball game on as it is just that, full of tourists. So the first place we hit was Frenchman street.


Frenchman street is as it was described to us, where the locals go, and it was straight out of Brunswick. Had that same kinda feel, edgy, relaxed & fun. Difference being was the kind of music spilling into the streets.


We started at The Blue Nile which had an acoustic set at the time, Then wandered through various other one's on the street ( name's unknown - as expected) We went to a reggae place, a Jazz/ Brass Band place ( and did the hokey pokey...and no I'm not joking!) and then made our way to Bourbon st.


We taught the girls important pieces of Australian culture along the way *insert explicits here* - and they taught us drinking games in return.


It was a great night, same sense of humour, which is always helpful. Ali even took on Luke ( An Aussie guy at the hostel) the next morning in Australianisms and kicked his ass! ( we were proud!)

Turned out we didn't do much on Saturday - had a bit of an unfortunate headache - but we kept up to date with the Game, which the New Orleans Saints won, so everyone was very happy. And as for the tailgating it turns out it is an American wide tradition, so we will see if we are lucky enough to catch it again. Essentially, before the big games, they all park outside and around the arena, set up BBQ's and so forth and drink / hang out / throw the football. I think most times theres even some kind of live entertainment put on.


On Sunday we decided to have a really traditional lunch and could really taste the Cajun influences in their cooking.

We had a Roast Beef Po-Boy ( essentially just a big sandwich- but reeeeeeal tasty) They are names from what I've read after Poor Boys - in the sense that they are cheap & satisfying. And are a New Orleans Staple, if you get here, you have to have one.
Jambalaya ( a rice dish, really Cajun & yummy) There were lots of different meats involved, Benny compared it to a chopped up mixed Grill with rice.
and Alligator sausage.

Overall we had a really good time. Id show more photo's, but most of the photo's we took out kinda turned out like this:

New Orleans Part 1

Hi!

I am in a fantastic mood!
We are in New Orleans, and It's really starting to feel like it!

I'll backtrack a little here - we are staying at the AAE Bourbon House Hostel - It's not really anywhere near Bourbon street - It's actually on the border of the Garden & warehouse district - but it is only a 10minute street car ride away from the French Quarter. Anyway -the people we have met here are probably among my favourite's that we have met on the road - it's nice to be able to hang out with a group of people. There are a few Aussie's here too which make it feel a bit more like home.

Where we are staying we have a full kitchen so we are eating quite well, Steak, Pasta, Veggies etc and are off our Fast food $1 menu diet. Also there's a pool table out the back & I have won a few games, which is rare, I have to admit, but my commentary on the matter makes up for my losses, Overall what I'm getting at is it's a really cool place to be staying. We have this really cute room upstairs with a slanting celing becasue it's kind of like an attic. There is an outdoor courtyard & everyone chills, and It's cheap. Comes highly recommended to anyone coming soon.

We are on day 4 of 6, Over this time we have walked through the french quarter & Bourbon street, Checked out old old mansions in the garden district, seen alot of newly built houses also/repaired houses, area's of the community. It's all been very very pretty but I don't think it was until today when I really felt New Orleans.

We headed back into the French Quarter this morning with our list of to sees, but on the way our attention was caught by a live band, it seemed relatively early so we head to the pub, which turned out to be The Famous Door. The Famous door has been operational since 1934. On the way in the door is signed by a whole heap of celebrities, to note: Dolly Parton, Walt Disney, Bing Crosby, Ringo Starr, Denis Rodman, Slash etc. It was really cool little dirty bar & we walked in sat down & jut listened for a bit.

As we were there the bar started filling up, with big groups of people. The New Orleans Saints are playing at the Superdome tomorrow, and it looks like it's going to be a big game. So New Orleans is getting busy, and as it's Friday, everything is picking up.

There were more street performers that usual ( until it rained) and music spilling into the street from all places. It's just so full of culture. I'm loving it.

Anyway afterwards we went to see Tennessee Williams old house ( I studied Streetcar Named Desire' - and loved it, so was quite excited about this) It has actually been turned into a museum, so we went & had a quick look & learnt some New Orleans history.

So as I had said earlier it started to rain, so we are back home now, rather wet. But are drying our clothes and heading back out into it tonight. They, like Vegas have an open drinking policy here, so you can drink in the streets. So we should be able to do it on the cheap.

On top of that with the ball game tomorrow, we will get to take part in a tradition called "tailgating the Superdome" I will write more & explain once we experience & get to see what it's all about.

Au revoir pour le moment
Mel xx

San Antonio - New Orleans Playlist

John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon - Imagine

John Lennon - Live Peace in Toronto

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Trace Adkins - Comin' On Strong

Cream - Disreli Gears

Texas and more Amtrak

Hey..

So it's 4.15pm on the 13th January here.
We are currently in our hostel room in New Orleans relaxing after a morning strolling though the French Quarter. But we have another 6 days here, so that can be blogged about in full another time. =]

Last we updated we had a bit of a silly Amtrak ride that dropped us off in San Antonio...
*Makes wooshy sounds that take you back to the past*
So we arrived in San Antonio, and after waiting 40 minutes for our bags ( it's now 12.05am) we get a cab to the Motel. The cab drivers a hoot & jokes & keeps us entertained the whole time. He actually earned his tip!

Now we stayed a little bit out of the city so were pleased to find a downtown bus right at our doorstep. So the next day we head into town to see the historical Alamo & the Famous Riverwalk.

The Alamo was full on - It's full of stories & bits and pieces from the times. Old knives, buttons etc, and took us through as much of the story as we could really grasp. It's just amazing how much we don't know.

After a reflective morning we went to the riverwalk. Now most of the year it is stunning, cafes and restaurants, bars & quirky shops line the riverbank on both side's whilst it circle's under the city. The river even goes through the mall. Well we picked the one time of year where it was drained. So instead, we had trucks & workmen everywhere. Still highly interesting & it's charm still managed to shine through.

San Antonio was nice, we both thought so, people were friendly and even though we were in Texas, with the "we don't call 911, picture of a gun" T-shirts, it felt slightly European with the riverwalk and such. Other highlights include strolling through the Five & Dime singing Brian Adams, and watching a movie for $4 each on the day we were lugging around our backpacks. A bit of cheap rest.

Afterwards we got back on the Amrak & we had our sleeper this time. Ridiculously small & handy. How they fitted all those gadgets in that tiny space I'm not too sure I've figured out yet.

Well, this feels like its gone on forever, so I might leave it there, but on the train we met 2 lovely couples one celebrating 40, the other 50 years of marriage. Refreshing. ooh & it was free food which made the journey seem much more valuable. And I am sorry to disappoint, but as we slept some of the ride, and got a snes emulator... we didn't have any paint wars this time. Next time perhaps.

Amtrak Paint Battle Part 1

So as Benny has just posted, yesterday we caught the train from El Paso to San Antonio. 12 hours in total on the train, but it was late & travel time to & from the station made it quite the epic journey.

We took lunch and had dinner with a retired couple from Perth...but how to fill the rest of the time?

PAINT WARS

So here is Ben's entry

Isn't it lovely...

And here's mine, Might I add that mine did take a lot longer, but I blame Ben scrutinising his portrait.

Please feel free to leave comments...

I was thinking Next time we'll make it a Mr Squiggle battle. Only a few will understand, but soon you all will =]

Oh & Quick update, we went to Mexico, it was bad. Big guns, scary people, we left real quick... I'm sure the rest of Mexico is nicer but avoid Juarez.

Hope everyone is well & holding up.

El Paso - San Antonio train ride playlist

The Beatles - Abbey Road

Dream Theater - Awake

ISIS - Panopticon

Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind

Porcupine Tree - The Incident

Neil Young - Decade

Radiohead - In Rainbows

The Beatles - Revolver

Muse - Black Holes And Revelations

Route 66 and through to El Paso

Hey,

So as I said the other day, we we're headed out to Route 66, from Kingman to Seligman.

It was a hell of an experience... Took us a while to get to where we wanted to get on to it so we swapped from the 1-40 & jumped on to Route 66, but by this stage it was time for a pit stop so we stop at the first thing we see... The Black Cat Bar.

Now we had only really wanted to sneak in & use the restrooms, but when we walked in the bar it had 5-6 people in it, all old, drinkin Arizona types. We duck into the loo's, but on the way out decide to stop for a game of pool, afterall it's only 50c, and otherwise we would have felt rude.

The locals of course ask where we're from...*cough cough puts on Southern Accent*, "where are you folks from" As soon as we said Australia they were on to it.. "we have Aussie's in here" - that special way only Americans can say it.

We ended up having a beer, chatting to some guy about his cousins that moved to QLD, played a game of pool & signed a T-shirt to become Black Cat Family. Anyone hitting Seligman...(you know, just incase) I recommend it, and tell them we sent you. They seem to remember the people that come through. Good lot of people...

So we continue, next pit stop accidentally lands us at an Indian-American version of Centrelink...oops, but it did the trick after an awkward " I don't think I need to be here but can I use the bathroom, thanks"

Next stop because it was a must see is the Hackberry General Store. It screams Route 66, literally. Merchandise, signs everywhere, a sweet car out the front with the number plate. Still as it was inside at all its glory, diner seats, old pictures of Marylin Monroe everywhere, a guest book that of course we signed into. It was fun and tacky, in the good way.

We end our trip @ the historic D's Diner. Juke box, bold colours, milkshakes, hotdogs and old cars. It was priceless...

Since then we've driven through Phoenix, Tucson, and New Mexico and are now resting in El Paso, Texas. We have to give the car back tomorrow but we'll make a morning trip to Mexico, then we are back on our feet.

Just had a massive all you can eat buffet dinner at a kid's joint for $5.99. WIN! it had Route 66 minigolf, so we got to see all those sights we missed... in Glow in the Dark! so I feel like we won.

Massively full, havent eaten anything like that since we got here, and we are now watching the National Championship for College football, which Texas are in, so feeling the spirit...

Thats it I guess, we have an Amtrak ride coming up, and yes... Mexico in the morning

Blog Soon xx

Grand Canyon

It was amazing.

We had originally planed on hiking, but it was cold & snowing & all that was closed. We slipped a few times on the ice on the normal trails as is was, not too well adjusted to walking on ice. Snows fine, but the ice, not so.

The pictures can not do it justice. At all, But here we are.

Driving In America

So we've hit the part of the adventure where we have a car. They gave us an upgrade so we have this big comfy new car a Chevy Malibu. When we saw it I was a bit scared, I figured I'd have enough trouble driving on the "other" side of the road ( Americans don't like it when i call it the wrong side), on the other side of the car, with all the controls backwards, and on those weird spaghetti highways...

Well I wasn't wrong. Driving out of Vegas onto the highway sounded simple, until the highway split 3 times and was jam packed with cars. Of course EVERYONE leaves Vegas on the 2nd January. It was highly entertaining, and I don't think would have been OK without Benny.

I made the joke that together we were 1 competent driver. I could steer, brake & indicate, but he had to read all the road signs & head check. Funny stuff.

It took a while but I got the hang of it, and all is OK now. We got stuck in 2 hours worth of bumper to bumper traffic trying to cross the hoover dam. I drove on ice for the first time, though snow, at 75MPH on all the highways ( 120kms as the speed limit), drove the south rim of the Grand Canyon ( that is a whole other story though) and today we're headed to route 66. We are backtracking but it was dark by the time we got there the other day. The longest running bit of it still as it was is from Kingman to Seligman - so that's what we are going to do today.

The scenery on all the drives has been remarkably diverse, we've gone though desert ( no surprises there) lush mountains, Some covered in tree's, others in snow, rocks, cacti, etc. The Hoover Dam was pretty cool, but perhaps we would have enjoyed in more had the bumper to bumper traffic not killed the anticipation. And I don't think anything will be able to top driving & looking over the edge into the grand canyon.

Hopefully today is as great as the rest has been.

Bye!

Vegas

As promised.... here are some pics... But as you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.. so you only get a few.