Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Elaine (and Gwen)

I go to United States to make blog report. Please, come and read my blog. 
If it not success, I will be execute. 

I know it's been yonks since I've posted everybody (with the exception of my latest Panic! and EP posts); I am very sorry. But Gwen and I had such an unreal time over across the waters it was hard to find a minute to email people, let alone sit down and get a blog post together. But here it is finally; a run-down of all the amazing parts of our trip, a trip where I spent five weeks with an ache in my stomach from laughing (which I really needed). I figure this will make an interesting read for all my friends who I still haven't managed to catch up with.

Gwen and I decided to go to America around November of last year. We both felt we needed to do a bit of travelling and spend some quality girl time together. So in May, we booked our international and internal flights, sorted car rental, hotels and hostels and started to get VERY excited about it. There were a couple of hiccups before we left, including me having to get my tonsils removed and then getting a really bad infection, and Gwen coming down with a bad case of bronchitis the day before flying. It almost seemed as if we weren't meant to go. But thankfully we sucked it up and golly gosh was it worth it!

Our luck seemed to be with us from the get-go. Between scoring an upgrade in seats on the plane to New York, an upgrade to front-section seats at Lilith Fair (more about that later) and a deluxe suite in the Grand Tower of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas (please don't hate us) we did very, very well indeed. I am never lucky! Must be Gwen... So...five weeks, seven States and one very awesome trip of the U.S of A. Here's the rundown of some of my favourite places:

New York, New York

New York was some place I have always wanted to visit. Not so much for the shopping (rooting through sales racks gives me nosebleeds) but for the sites and the music. We spent five days in the Big Apple, taking in Liberty Island, Ellis Island, the Empire State Building, Ground Zero (merely a building site) and all the usual touristy spots. But without a doubt, highlights for me were the Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge and Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village (right), which was built by Jimi Hendrix in 1970 and has seen artists such as the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, John Lennon and The Clash, to name but a few, pass through its doors. You can visit the studio's site here. Unfortunately, two of the places I would have been most excited about seeing have now closed down- Sin É, which helped launch the careers of several noted musicians in the early 1990s, including my favourite singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, and CBGBs, a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like the Ramones, Misfits, Talking Heads and Patti Smith. The CBGBs building at 315 Bowery is currently occupied by men's fashion designer John Varvatos, who preserved much of the original graffiti covering the bathroom walls (see below), along with some playbills from the club's 10th anniversary shows in 1983.

New York was very, very hot (in the high 30s most days), busy and smelly, but something tells me I'd be very much at home in the city's Greenwich Village. And, hey, Electric Lady Studios are currently hiring so you never know!

A musical reminder...






Streets of Philadelphia

We spent two days in Philadelphia and I was surprised at how much I loved the place. We stayed in a great hostel called Apple Hostels of Philadelphia in the Historical District (which was great seeing as Downtown was slightly scary!) where we met some lovely people who accompanied us on two very fun nights out. Highlights of Philly: Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rocky Statue and steps (oh yes we did!), City Hall by night, Eastern State Penitentiary, the waterfront, McGillian's Ale House and Chestnut and Walnut St. for their great pubs, music and general laidback attitude.

Some music...

Lilith Fair

We were lucky enough to get to Camden, New Jersey in time for Lilith Fair, which made me a very happy girl. For those of you not familiar, Lilith Fair is a travelling music festival, consisting solely of female singer-songwriters and female-led bands, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan in 1997. I first mentioned it on my blog here. It was revived this year seeking to once again raise funds for female charities across North America. Line-ups vary depending on the particular State the festival visits; New Jersey were treated to a line-up of McLachlan herself, Courtyard Hounds (two-thirds of the Dixie Chicks), Missy Higgins, Sara Bareilles and one of my new favourites, Zee Avi, to name but a few.

I've been waiting to see Sarah McLachlan for years now, her being one of my favourite female singer-songwriters, and she was certainly worth the wait. She belted out all of her greats from her extensive back catalogue, including "Angel", "Building a Mystery", "I Will Remember You", "Adia", "Sweet Surrender" and "Possession", as well as tracks from her new album Laws of Illusion (read my review here). The other ladies were all icing on the cake, with Higgins, Bareilles and Courtyard Hounds in particular playing great sets. We were approached by the festival's staff late in the afternoon and offered better seats, right up in the front section of the amphitheatre (sweet!), and with the sun beating down on us and the Corona flowing, Lilith Fair without a doubt made for one of the best days of our trip.

Walking in Memphis

Unfortunately, we didn't have as much time in Memphis as we originally thought. But just being there was enough. From Beale Street, to Graceland, to Sun Studio (where Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis all put down demos), Memphis is completely steeped in music and a fantastic place to visit. Great pubs, great atmosphere and, above all, great sounds. I'll definately be heading back there for a longer stay.

Also worth mentioning is Wolf River Harbour, a channel of the Mississippi River, where Jeff Buckley drowned in 1997 while taking a swim to the sounds of Led Zeppelin. An interesting stop for any Buckley fan travelling through Memphis. It's only fitting to include one of his songs here:

What Happens in Vegas...

You really have to experience Las Vegas just to understand how insane it actually is. Our five days in Sin City got off to a great start when we were upgraded to a suite at the MGM Grand Hotel. While Vegas was responsible for the most crazy nights we had in the States, it was also responsible for some of our best down-time. The pool complex was gorgeous and for the first time since we left home we got to sit out in the sun (a bit unbearable at 45 degrees but still...) and take it easy. The best thing about Vegas is that we rarely spent a penny going out. Being a girl meant you got in free to all the great clubs, including LAX, CatHouse, Studio54, Tabú, Rok and Wet Republic, and each club had a designated free hour on drinks for people of the lady-variety! Not too shabby eh? Highlights of Vegas included our awesome hotel, Caesar's Palace and the Strip in general, lounging around poolside, bar-dancing in Coyote Ugly, Navy Officers and quoting The Hangover so much we began to look like Fat Jesus'...

"Hello… how 'bout that ride in? I guess that's why they call it Sin City haha... You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by one. So there… there was two of us in the wolf pack. I was alone first in the pack and Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys I thought, “wait a second, could it be?” And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine..."

Vegas is also to blame for us missing our flight to California. At the time we should have been boarding a 757, Gwen and I were cycling around the lobby of the MGM. Woops... In fairness though, 6am is a ridiculous time for a flight...

California Dreaming

What is in California? Pearl Harbour is there. So is Texas.

I don't know where to start with California... So basically we spent just over two weeks in the Sunshine State working our way down the West Coast from San Francisco to San Diego, stopping in each little town and big city as we went. Here are some of the highlights:

San Francisco- For Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, the cable cars, Wicked, Fiddler's Green, Ireland 32, Pixar Studios and our bicycle ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and down into Sausalito, San Fran was brilliant from start to finish. Definately as good the second time around. Shame about the bad weather though...

Santa Cruz/Monterey/17-Mile-Drive/Big Sur- In a very busy couple of days we hit Santa Cruz (which I loved- beautiful small town with a great selection of bars and indie music clubs, a Trevor Hall gig and very interesting people), and Monterey (home of one of the world's greatest aquarium). From there it was onto the 17-Mile-Drive (below) which saw us pass through Carmel-By-The-Sea and golfer's paradise Pebble Beach, and down through Big Sur into Cambria, San Luis Obispo (hometown of Zac Efron- shaaaawing!) and eventually Santa Barbara. Yes, it was as hectic as it sounds but filled with plenty of roadtrippin' fun and some excellent playlists! Sadly, with it being the coldest summer in California in 40 years, we didn't really see any of that lovely sunshine until Santa Barbara.

L.A.- L.A. is a deadly place to visit, especially for music fans. We only spent three days/nights there but managed to take in lots. Most impressive for me were the Walk of Fame, Universal Studios, the Hollywood Tour (for Jimi Hendrix's and Jim Morrison's homes), the Viper Room, the Roxy, Whiskey a Go Go and the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Also got to visit Santa Monica and Venice Beach, which had a cool vibe about it. And I have to mention Bubba Gump Shrimp in Universal City- as a big Forrest Gump fan I was in my element!

The O.C.- Anaheim/ Newport Beach/ Laguna Beach- We left L.A. and headed for Anaheim in Orange County to visit Mickey and all his friends. Disneyland was such fun; we were like two children all hyped up on Skittles and Coke (Ca Cola...). The rides were class, even the ones for babies! We were faced with huge queues though because the schools hadn't started back yet, but nothing a few elbows and sly kicks didn't fix... After Anaheim we made our way to Laguna Hills, which was stunning. From there we visited Balboa Island, Newport Beach and nearby Laguna Beach, which are all amazing and exactly like you see on those MTV shows. We got to stroll up and down the boardwalks, sample a Balboa Bar and even try our hand at surfing! Never did find Seth Cohen though... *sigh*

San Diego/Shelter Island- Our last stop on the trip, sadly, but all good things have to come to an end! While in San Diego we visited Sea World and the famous San Diego Zoo, before moving onto Shelter Island, or the Hawaiian Isle as it's also known. We ended our trip with lots of food and drink (people of Point Break- you are awesome!), pool-side lounging and a gorgeous luau complete with spit-roasted pig! 

After having such an unreal time during the five weeks I really didn't want to come home; on the way to the airport I think a tear even leaked out! Contemplating a roadtrip across the U.S. of A? DO IT! Best trip EVER. A massive shout-out to my bestest, the very lovely Gwen, for making the trip extra special- I heart you! And a mention to our rental car, Alan (below), for transporting us, keeping us safe and managing to avoid that racoon when Gwen took to wheel for those three terrifying miles...

Look, there is a woman in a car! Can we follow her and maybe make a sexy time with her?

And finally, because it was always blasting through Alan on the radio (and because the video is reminiscent of our roadtrip, and she's wearing my Ray-Bans), here's the very lovely Katy Perry:

Thank you for read my blog. I hope you like. Dziekuje.