At first our changeover at LAX from New York to home was going to be 30 minutes… Wasn’t going to happen so Brownie and I had our flights changed to give us a couple of days in Los Angeles.

Brownie had organised tour guides in Jeff & Lisa, friends of one of his work mates and it was fantastic to not have to worry about hire cars, getting around etc. and a great chance for us to chill out, break up the flight time a little and take in some sights.

As this was my 3rd trip to LA my to-do list was quite small : Record & guitar shop and, of course, In & Out Burger. After landing we headed to the Farmers Market for lunch before heading to Hollywood to give Brownie a run down then up to the Griffith Observatory after hitting both the record & guitar shop. We inadvertently passed 2 filming locations from Back to the Future being the tunnel out of BTTF2 and Delorean starting line from the finale of BTTF. The view from the observatory was awesome! As it was Cinco De Mayo we thought it fitting to have Mexican for dinner from a street van which was fantastic.

Staying in Pasadena I realised very quickly that a number of homes used in Back to the Future were just around the corner from Jeff & Lisa’s house and not far from our hotel. So, Saturday morning saw us make a quick tour to see Doc, Lorraine, George & Biff’s houses! Having decided that our suitcases could handle a little more stuff we then made our way to the outlet stores to get our shopping on before some In & Out Burger, a tour of the Huntington Gardens and awesome crab cakes at Houston’s for dinner.

Today we checked out Malibu & Venice beaches but the highlight was certainly a Segway tour around Beverly Hills which took in the sites and around 15kms of riding in 2.5 hours. Being my first ride on a Segway the sensation is very weird and clumsy for about the first 15 minutes but I was surprised at just how quickly the 4 of us picked it and were very much in control and having a great time. A great couple of days in LA and a pleasure to meet both Jeff & Lisa

Sitting I the airport waiting to board a flight back to Melb… 5 weeks in the USA and I can’t wait to get home

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Well I’m sitting at JFK airport, New York about to board a flight to Los Angeles so I suppose I better back up a few days…

Through organising the Rotary GSE trip, Brownie and I decided that we’d tack a week on to the end of our trip and spend 5 nights in NYC then a couple of nights in LA on our way back home. At the time we coined the trip “Operation Out of Control” but in actual fact it’s been less about drinking but a way to see a few sights and have a break from our packed GSE schedule before heading back home.

We arrived on Monday morning from our flight from Orlando and were surprised and happy to see Space Shuttle Enterprise sitting on the back of a 747 at JFK. Very cool considering we were disappointed to not see it leave Kennedy Space Centre a couple of weeks prior.

Brownie and I checked in to our hotel, a pokey little place just off Times Square with barely enough room for our luggage but it was clean… And hopefully safe! After hitting Times Square and a comedy show we called it a night ready for a big few days.

First up on Tuesday’s agenda was the 9/11 memorial which opened last year and is 2 water monuments surrounded by the names of those lost in the tragedy. Sam and I visited the site 5 years ago and the progress from a hole in the group to the, as of this week tallest building in NYC, is amazing. It’s difficult to view the memorial without getting choked up. We spent some time cruising around East Village finding an awesome Irish bar and vinyl shop before we headed to do see a Letterman taping which was cool. One of our new Rotary mates got us VIP tickets so we pretty much walked straight in Interesting to see they do the show in one take with no laugh track but they encourage the audience to laugh & clap at everything. Ad breaks are the correct length and the band just keeps playing. After the taping we took in the view from the Empire State Building at night but it appeared half the city had the same idea as it was shoulder to shoulder! Hopefully Brownie got some good pics.

We’d taken to the Subway quite quickly the previous days but we were given a kick in the guts when we realised some time the next morning that Brownie had been pick-pocketed… Cash, license and cards all gone but things were cancelled quickly and no further damage done. Once we’d managed to sort a couple of things we did the Highline Walk then visited the former aircraft carrier Intrepid to see their collection of aircraft but the highlight: Concorde. Not only was the additional guided tour very informative but we had the chance to sit in the seats and tour the cockpit, gaining a better understanding that it was not the crash that killed the aircraft but a number of costs and the fact it produces a constant sonic boom during flight… Really only practical across the Atlantic.

How could we come to New York without seeing a Yankee’s game, so we hightailed it up to Yankee Stadium with our $6 bleacher tickets in hand. We almost didn’t get in due to their security considering Brownies Galaxy Tab a “security risk”, ok for airlines but an issue at a sports stadium!? Anyway we made it in. Great atmosphere when something happened but a very LONG time between them and most of the crowd just talked amongst themselves. Hey, it’s no AFL and cricket is much more exciting.

Thursday was Statue of Liberty, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, visited the Ghostbusters firehouse and Flatiron building. Turned out my brother-in-law was in NYC at the same time so we caught up caught up for a couple of beers & dinner.

Our last day was spent checking out the FDNY museum and central park before we picked up tickets to see Death of a Salesman starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield. Strange seeing an Academy Award winner on stage and the the play failed to disappoint, a great way to end our NYC experience. On to LA!

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About 6 months ago I was made aware of the Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) program which aims to build vocational and cultural understandings of different countries for non-Rotarians. In the case of our district it meant a team of 5 heading over to Orlando, Florida and who couldn’t pass up an opportunity to do that!

So as it stands i’m in Orlando now with our team for the next month experiencing what the area has to offer, meet new friends, give an understanding of Australia (and learn about the USA) and spend time in our vocational areas. And i’m sure we’ll have a heap of fun along the way!

Whilst I may be updating this from a personal point of view be sure to check out our team blog at : www.9790gse2012.com

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The drive through the Pyrenees was one memorable drive.

The weather was absolutely perfect, as we headed through tiny little villages with the snow topped Pyrenees proving one formidable backdrop. Quaint little cottages, dairy farms, gorgeous lakes with very little traffic! Thankfully we were heading up early on a Friday afternoon.

We stayed in Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra. (Note Andorra is it’s own country between Spain and France, we never knew!)

I can’t explain to you how amazing this place is. We were there in March, which is at the end of peak season, but you could have fooled us. By night this tax haven, kind of reminded me of Vegas minus the casinos. People absolutely everywhere, every type of shopping you could think of and bright lights, (Simone’s favourite) By day the smaller villages that surround Andorra la Vella, have ski lifts that take you to where the snow is. People walking down streets (without) snow in them, in ski gear is kind of surreal.

As we slowly, sadly made our way over the Pyrenees we arrived in France headed for Toulouse.

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention the tolls. The Spanish east coast, and pretty much all of France are full of major highways that are tolled! The highways are in immaculate condition, of course, but you are forced to stop quite often to hand over your hard earned Aussie dollar. We were spending around 20 Euro a day ($27) just to get places. There are free highways known as the National, which we tried. The problem is, is that they’re not the most direct, and take you through every SINGLE village along the way. Which is great if we didn’t have to be in London in 3 days! So we paid for it. One other thing if you’ve never driven in Europe, they are all CRAZY. The speed limit is 130, which is obeyed only by farmer Jo on his tractor and old Mother Hubbard. Most were doing at least 150, which makes getting in the left lane (fast lane) kind of treacherous for the rest of us.

Toulouse was great. A contemporary city, predictably in a unbelievably old school setting. It had a very young vibe, with a number of universities, narrow cobble stoned streets, and one amazing city centre. Man the Europeans know how to bring people together in an open setting. We walked along the river, La Garonne, over the St Pierre bridge and by a few canals. (The canals are stunning). For lunch we ate baguettes, and this drink Simone really likes called Diet Coke. We also came to love crepes loaded with nutella, especially Simone. (1 with every meal is OK yeah)

But our next stop, Bordeaux was even better. This is an absolute must see for anyone who visits France, no matter where you land. The drive along the La Garonne river, yep the same one as Toulouse, along the right bank, sun shining, children playing in the greenspaces which line the entire river, and  eighteenth century buildings like Place de la Bourse is unforgettable. This building is a must, especially when lit up at night.

There is a street called Rue Saint Catherine, which again, has so, so many shops. (NB Despite visiting all these shops we never bought anything because fuel and tolls kind of cost a bit ) The Grand Theatre de Bordeaux was amazing also, built in the 17th Century. Oh and there’s trams everywhere which make it very easy to get around.

We then headed North West to a little fishing village called La Rochelle. The Old Harbour was beautiful, lined with cafes and seafood restaurants. You can also take a tour out to Fort Boyard (we didn’t), a fort built when Napoleon was around, to protect the coast.

We stayed the night in Rennes, which was also amazing by day. I definitely recommend it if you’re around the North West of France. However don’t try and stay in a caravan park on a Sunday during off season, because there is ONLY 1, and it’s closed on Sundays. This was the one and only night we didn’t stay in a caravan park (hardcore backpackers aren’t we), so where would you think we parked? The carpark out the front of the caravan park seemed like as safe a place as any.

We then headed further north to a place called Le Mont Saint Michel. If you’ve never heard of it please google it. For me it was the highlight of the trip. It’s a huge fortress built on an island about 1km off the mainland, with some monastic buildings dating back to the 8th Century. A tour through the Benedictine Abbey was unforgettable. Today there are a number of restaurants, shops and hotels on the island. We were there in the off-season, so we could access it by car. During Summer, when the tide is up and stays up, thousands every day traverse through the sea in knee-deep water to reach it.

The 10 day trip really was the trip of a lifetime. Having the opportunity to drive everywhere allowed us to see so much of both countries, and some unforgettable places which may not be ordinarily so accessible.

Thanks to Simone for making the trip so great.

Jetty, I promise we’ll take you next time.

See you all in writing.

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Ok so if you received an email saying you could hire a van to trek across Spain and France for the grand total of 1 pound, you’d all be like, why not right?

Despite that overrated word known as “employment”, or our lack thereof, we decided to take up “wicked” (a somewhat reputable company depending on who you speak to) on their offer.

The catch?

We only had 10 days to get from Malaga, Spain to London. Look at the maps, it’s quite a long way and includes the English Channel.

So we hurriedly packed the necessities, for Simone that included quite a few other things, and headed to Gatwick Airport for our flight to Malaga.

After touching down in Malaga, we had organised a hire car to drive North West to Seville. A little bit more driving on the opposite/wrong side of the road would be fun!

With our trusty GPS better known as Alfred, thanks Des, we (eventually) found our way.

The first thing we realised when we got to Seville, and found a place to eat, was that they don’t speak English! Who knew? Whoops!

The menus were in, yep, Spanish and our waiter friends knew very little English.

We’d been given a Lonely Planet guide to essential Spanish, which is an absolute must. We asked what he recommended and threw a little caution to the wind. Needless to say the tapas was amazing!

Spanish food consists of a lot of garlic, a lot of love, potatoes, paella, and a little bit more garlic.

Seville, like many of the places we visited over the next 10 days, is one of those places that will stay with you forever.

The capital of Andalusia, southern Spain, is full of beautiful architecture, soaring gothic buildings and orange trees everywhere.

The centre of town, known as Santa Cruz is where you’ll find the shopping, Plaza de Espana, Catedral de Santa Maria, Alcazar, and some amazing bridges.

We hit the Plaza de Toros, the Seville bullring, for a tour which was awesome. While the matadors weren’t doing their thing, we were given the history of bullfighting in Spain. We had no idea just how gruesome the sport is! A team, along with the Matador, test bulls for their intelligence and verocity. They’re working to eventually kill the bull, but most do so in a specific way, including severing the spinal cord in particular places, and placing barbed objects in its shoulder. Our guide was at pains to point out it’s not a competition. She was saying good matadors, ie ones that compete well and impress the crowd, are in demand in the country and earn as much as $100,000 a pop! The bullring we visited holds some 40,000 people and it is very difficult to get a seat.

The Universidad de Sevilla is in the middle of town, surrounded by beautiful Spanish architecture, as well as trams. The area is obviously very young and trendy, but in a setting of rich history. Amazing! We also hit the Catedral de Santa Maria, the biggest gothic cathedral in the world, which was incredible. Also a must. The views from the tower are amazing.

By now we were speaking fluent Spanish, well not quite, but Simone picked it up really well. Everywhere we went people thought Simone was Spanish, and would start speaking to her accordingly. She would immediately become lost after Hola (hello), and would promptly say “no espano” which became the most spoken words in our van for some days.

We drove back to Malaga to pick up our van. We visited Alcazaba, a former palace in the 11th century and the Castillo de Gibralfaro, a ruined castle. The view from the castle was a must and the former palace was apparently inspired by the Alhambra in Granada (which was way cooler.)

We drove north east on day one of our road trip to Granada, and hit the Alhambra, a palace and fortress. The buildings and gardens are immaculate, and for us one of the must see places in Andalusia. The world heritage site was simply breathtaking, along with views of the city of Granada and snow-topped Sierra Nevada.

We drove along the coast to Alicante, another beautiful city, despite the torrential rain! The marina there is gorgeous and would be an absolute hive of activity during Summer. We were befriended by an English couple at our caravan park, (who gave us coffee) and demanded we head into town and see the markets.

We hit the markets, my Spanish fiancee ordering fruit and cakes and mixing it with the locals!

We then headed for Barcelona. We checked out La Sagrada Familia, which if you’ve never heard of it, please google it. THE most incredible piece of architecture ever. The work of architect Antoni Gaudi, construction of the building began in 1882 and it’s still not finished! Work is expected to be completed on the massive building within the next 30 years, comprising some 18 towers soaring more than 500 feet.

We also visited Camp Nou, the home of Barcelona FC. A must for any sports fan.

We then headed inland towards the Pyrenees as our road trip descended on France. I’ll upload stage 2 our travels soon.

Check out photos at https://www.me.com/gallery/#100071

See you in writing.

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Da, da, da da, da, da da da…

I want to wake up.. in a city…

Let’s hear it for New York!!!!

We’ve all heard the songs, and while we chose not to actually play any ‘New York’ songs while we were in this amazing city, you seriously can’t help but want to sing them all the time.

Someone said to me before our arrival, we would either love or hate New York.

I’m not convinced that’s accurate, insofar as I would say that you either love New York… or really, really love it!

The streets consume you, the noises invite you and the lights entice you.

There is something for everyone here. So long as you can handle Melbourne, you can handle the pace of New York. It’s not that different, just a fair few more people.

We entered Manhattan from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel. Immediately after the toll entering the tunnel, 9 lanes turned to just 2. Imagine thousands and thousands of cars, buses, trucks all competing for just 2 lanes (which aren’t actually marked) and with just one hundred metres to do it.

The first time we saw Times Square was at night. The sight of this place, with people literally everywhere, will forever be etched in my mind. I will never forget it. Advertising billboards that seemingly reach to the sky, Times Square feels like its drenched in sunlight all 24 hours of the day. It’s that bright!

We checked into our hotel, 2 blocks from the square, before heading to see Paul Dempsey live (for free) in downtown Manhattan. A great night, a signed copy of his solo album, and our first experience on the subway.

We stayed in New York for 6 days, which is certainly not enough time.

Central Park really is a magical place. You can lose yourself in this gorgeous greenspace, which would span from probably Swanston Street to Spring Street, it’s absolutely huge! The temperature didn’t rise much above 2 degrees for the week we were there, and Central Park was covered in fresh snow the last day we were there. Amazing!

Simone fulfilled a lifelong dream and got to ice-skate at Central Park. She weaved around hundreds of little kids, held Kates hand for most of it, while managing to still fit in a half axel and loop jump (ice skating terms (thanks wikipedia) ).

We hit the Empire State Building during the day, and Top of the Rock at night, both of which were fantastic. Very memorable views.

We caught the ferry around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (we didn’t have enough time to get off!), took a tour around the NBC studios and checked out MOMA (museum of modern art).

The New York Subway is absolutely massive. It’s like Melbourne’s entire train network underground. The thing that struck me most about the subway – compared to Melbourne – was how reliable it was. The stations are best described as pretty disgusting, the trains themselves aren’t overly ‘nice’, and a trip downtown is the best way to see some very interesting people. But so many people use them. They are very, very fast, on time and run all the time, which is more than I can say for Melbourne’s pathetic excuse for public transport. Forget about making everything so aesthetically pleasing, instead just build a fast, reliable service.

Wall Street is a very surreal place, knowing so much of the worlds financial sector is controlled right here. The street itself is almost like any other, except for the security literally on every corner.

Fifth Avenue was cool, especially the strip that runs alongside Central Park. So many people with way too much money to burn, and puppy dogs everywhere!

We also visited the World Trade Centre site and took a tour with two people who’d watched 9/11 unfold in front of their very eyes. One of the men worked in hotel (still standing) which sits right next to ground zero. It was the first time he’d spoken about the events that day (almost 10 years on) to a group, and it was one of the more moving experiences of my life. It was like it was yesterday. He struggled to speak about much of it. He said when he got home that night, he had a shower for what he thinks was a number of hours, in an effort to cleanse himself of what he referred to as “the smell of death.” The new ‘Freedom Tower’ continues to take shape.

Union Square is one cool place to visit, near NYC and the Meatpacking District and Soho were very, very trendy stretches.

Carly and Melissa we checked out People’s Revolution, and it was one very underwhelming building.

Oh and Melissa in Soho there was there awesome little cupcake shop called “baked by Melissa.” Best cupcakes you will ever eat, so many flavours, and they were a perfect little bite-size.

If you’ve never been to New York, I could not recommend the place any more highly.

10/10

Check out https://www.me.com/gallery/#100064 for more photos.

That concludes the first exciting part of our journey o/s. We’re now living in London (next to Wimbledon), stay tuned for more pasteywhite updates.

See you all in writing!

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After a rare night in Nashville, Tennessee, which again required alcohol, cowboy dancing with literally hundreds of people, talking shop with police, and ending up in some random diner (which again felt like a step back in time), the group headed for Washington DC.

For those that don’t know DC stands for district of Columbia, named after Christopher Columbus, and is not officially a state. Who knew?

Washington DC is one very cool place, but almost seems impossible to live. The National Mall is a parkland around 4km’s long, full of dozens and dozens of national monuments, museums and some very familiar landmarks.

Capitol Hill, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial just to name a few, are all amazing. You will all be familiar with the reflecting pool which effectively joins the Lincoln and WWII memorials. Think forrest gump when he wades through that enormous pool during the protest, that’s Washington. And of course the White House, which sits on one enormous parcel of land.

By the way, the security at places still used has to be seen to be believed. Police are everywhere, even though they all effectively double as information people because they don’t do anything. The White House is my case in point.

The Capitol Building was my favorite. The House of Representatives on the left, the Senate on the right and one massive dome in the middle. Simone and I went on a tour which was awesome. The place has so much history, We also sat in the House the day after Obama handed down his 2012 budget, and listened to the Republicans working on their response. Cool if you like politics.

The Vietnam War Memorial was incredibly moving, so many names. So many people were there who seemed to have lost loved ones. Unfortunately the reflecting pool was being repaired so it was empty, not so reflecty.

The Koreans and I went back to the Capitol Building later that night for some more photos which was cool.

Our last night as a group was spent at The Cheesecake Factory, also ripped off (poorly) by Australia. As well as being famous for cheesecake, it’s also a nice restaurant.

So our 22 day trip is now over. Chris was an awesome guy and a fantastic guide. We learnt so much about America, saw so much of the south of the country and ate enough junk food for a lifetime. But it was so worth it.

If any of you ever think of doing it I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

Check out https://www.me.com/gallery/#100060 for more photos.

For now its on to New York, that’s right, be very jealous.

I’ll keep you all informed don’t worry.

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New Orleans Louisiana was, yep, unforgettable.

Six years on from Hurricane Katrina and the devastating floods that followed, the city had such a strange feeling about it. Not so much eerie, but it was hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of sadness about a community that still clearly is struggling.

Entire housing estates remain in rubbles, peoples homes bulldozed. Shopping plazas boarded up, complete ghost-towns. However we saw that on the outskirts, the city itself is like any other.

To get to New Orleans all routes are by bridge only, given as you all know the city is below sea level, built in a swamp.  We’re talking dozens of miles of highways built on bridges over the Bayou Marsh.

Our hostel was 5 minutes walking distance from the French Quarter and the infamous Bourbon Street.

Las Vegas is the city of sin, Bourbon Street is the street of sin. Dozens and dozens of jazz clubs are separated 1-1 by strip clubs. Women standing at the door, (I’m sure during the summer they may venture a little further outside) inviting you in, drinking on the street and women working in clubs dancing in the windows.

That however is by night. By day we thought it was a really cool place. Obviously very French, the architecture was beautiful, so many cool shops and great food.

We ate dinner at a place called The French Market, a seafood restaurant. The city of cajun didn’t disappoint with a french style (it had a french name) spicy crawfish stew. The highlight however was a dump truck driving by and blowing both back tyres off the axle… straight into the front door of the restaurant. THE loudest thing you’ve ever heard, because the windows smashed, and for about 5 seconds I was convinced we were being shot at.  I managed to make it half way under the table.

We took a swamp tour in East Pearl River which was a little disappointing given it’s all about alligators, and like those other cold blooded mammals, weren’t really interested in coming out to play because it was… yet again… FREEZING.

Captain Joe however, AKA river rat (he like a fair few others along there actually lives in a floating home on the river) was a blast.

We then headed for Memphis Tennessee to watch an NBA game, Milwaukee Bucks v Memphis Grizzlies which was a whole heap of fun. So, so entertaining!!

We stayed at the only hostel in Memphis, given most tourists go to Graceland (Elvis country for all you gen y’s) and are mostly a little older. The guy at the hostel gave us the tour when we first got there, as they all do, but his was kind of ridiculously thorough, awkward, and a little scary. He said he didn’t know what to say because they don’t normally get big groups staying there (7 people). You would think what you would say to one at a hostel would be the same as to 7 or 100. Anyway, Memphis, like Phoenix was a bit of a nothing city.

Be sure to keep checking https://www.me.com/gallery/#100060 for updated photos.

We’ve only 5 days left of the trip so luckily for you all, these blogs will soon decease.

Only a few more to go… please hang in there.

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It was organised a few months back but me and 7 other guys are in Japan snowboarding. I have heard so many good things about the snowfields in Japan that when the opportunity to go along presented itself, I was very excited. I can say so far it’s all good too.

The first part of the trip was getting to Hakuba, which was a good part of a day, we left for Bendigo at about 11pm and then chilled out there for 2 hours and then off to the Melbourne air port and got there at 4am, checked in and we had a 2 hour wait till our flight. We landed in Cairns and had a 4 hour stop over, the bars were closed too, so it was a long wait. When we finally got to Tokyo after being in the air for 7 hours we cleared customs really quickly and jumped on our bus to Hakuba. We were all excited and some cracked their duty free others started drinking their beer they got from a vending machine at the air port, the excitement didn’t last long. The bus ride was long, cramped, boring and long, I think it was a 4 hour trip but it felt like forever, when we got to the mountain we had to walk 5 minutes in the snow to get to our hostel, we got to our room it was just past midnight, we were all over the journey but exited we were finally here.

On the first day we organised our lift tickets and snow gear and we were off hitting the snowfields, it was awesome, the runs are wide and there wasn’t too many people around. It was good to be snowboarding again after so long off, but I couldn’t manage a whole day as the body couldn’t keep going.
The guys who did lessons were excited as they had learnt so much. The second day was the guys started their lessons again and a few of us just ripped up the mountain, it was awesome, we organised to meet up for lunch, that’s when we got the bad news, Jeremy had an accident and was off to hospital, he caught an edge and hit his head, he had a helmet but he lost his memory. We were all shocked, Anthony went to the hospital with him in the taxi and they got the check ups sorted. It turned out to be not too serious and by the time we got back to the hostel in the evening, he had been released from hospital and was getting his memory back.

Day three we were all on deck and ready for more boarding, I slipped pair of sports orthotics in my boots, they were absolutely awesome, it really helped with muscle strain and I felt better by the end of my day. Tonight I think we are drinking somewhere and karaoke has been suggested a few times, we will see how it goes.

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White Sands national park New Mexico was literally that, white sand dunes as far as the eye can see. Much of the dunes were covered in snow because everywhere we go is of course COLD! With a plastic lid type thing to sit on we all hit the dunes for some sliding fun.

Everyone was pretty successful at our new found hobby, although plants with painful spikes proved an interesting obstacle at the bottom of the hill. Sunset was magic!

Austin Texas was nothing like i’d imagined. Sixth street at night was great fun, despite the fact we were there on a Monday and Tuesday night. Bars with live music literally line the entire street. We hung out at Chuggin Monkey’s which is owned by the current guy on ‘The Bachelor.’

We checked out the University of Texas, some 40,000 students. Their football stadium was seriously almost the size of the MCG.

South Congress Avenue had heaps of vintage clothing stores and old school nick nacks. It was also the day I made my debut appearance at a barber to give my out of control beard a tidy up. I’m starting to feel like a real man… Sort of.

It was only a matter of time given every single day is below 10 degrees, that someone would get sick. No it wasn’t me.

For Simone trouble in paradise began after strutting around in White Sands during barely zero degree temperatures, dunes covered in snow, no socks, in shoes that only covered her toes. Not her finest hour.

Simone and Kate were forced to make a trip to the doctor after days of coughing and spluttering where both were given the bad, but the same news. They both had bronchitis. All for the princely sum of $130 EACH.

A quick stop at Walgreens for some super sized drugs and the girls are slowly making their way out of Martina’s sick bay.

Be sure to keep checking https://www.me.com/gallery/#100060 for updated photos.

New Orleans Bourbon Street to come.

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