Sunday 17th May 2015
13 hour flight from Melbourne to LAX
- Watch Intersellar, Jupiter Rising, Kingsmen
LAX security takes about 1.5 hours
5 hour layover
3.5 hour Westjet flight to Vancouver
Hotel: Best Western Plus Chateau Granville
Dinner @ Stack House
Walk around via Yaletown, up and down Granville
Public holiday tomorrow, so all the clubs are open, busy
Everything smells like marijuana
Various photos of Vancouver from 17th to 23rd May

Monday 18th May 2015
Breakfast @ Speakeasy on Granville
Walk around Vancouver
Cruise ship harbour
Gastown
Andy Livingstone Park
George Wainborn Park
Sunset Beach Park
A-maze-ing Laughter sculptures
North up Denman Street
Lunch @ Spot Cafe cne Denman/Robson
Along the north shore
South down Howe street
Dinner @ Sushi Maro (Japanese, sushi) in Yaletown
Tipping made easy on credit with portable machines doing everything for you
Not including tax in prices irritating

Tuesday 19th May 2015
Breakfast @ The Edge (restaurant at motel)
Walk to info centre down Granville
Tickets @ info centre + bus tickets
Bus down West Pender to Aquarium bus loop
Walk through Stanley Park to Aquarium
Vancouver Aquarium
Lunch @ Vancouver Aquarium
Stanley Park walk
- 9 o'clock gun
- Brockton Point Lighthouse
- totems
- Beaver Lake (inc. Californian Wood ducks, Racoons, squirrels and much more wildlife)
Bus back to town
Walk around looking for food but end up back at motel
Dinner @ The Edge - Excellent burger (GF bun) and Howe Sound Hefeweizen
Pretty pleased with the general excellent range of local brewery beers
Photos: Vancouver Aquarium
Photos: Stanley Park

Wednesday 20th May 2015
Breakfast @ The Edge
Seabus to Granville Island
Lunch @ Granville Island food court - Scrumpet
Wild Whales Vancouver whale watching - 11:45am to 5:30pm
- Hoped to see orca but instead saw 2 humpback whales. Awesome
Dinner @ Granville Island food court - Fish'n'Chips (salmon)
Granville Island brewery taster
Photos: Wild Whales Vancouver
Video: Two humpback whales

Thursday 21st May 2015
Hot day
Breakfast @ The Edge
Neighbours in motel have a kid who keeps playing the violin and singing and they leave their door open and I want them to die
Walk to Waterfront Station - buy daily transport tickets
Ferry to North Vancouver
#236 bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge
Lunch @ Capilano Suspension Bridge village (Salmon burger)
#236 to Grouse Mountain
Gondolla to top
Grizzlies playing in the water
Chairlift to top top
Eye Of The World (observation within wind turbine)
Lovely views of sprawling Vancouver
Catch end of the bird show
Don't watch the lumberjack show
Hear from Grizzly talk that there was no snow this year?
Gondolla down (racist guy from Memphis)
Bus + ferry back to downtown
Walk to Chinatown
Dinner @ New Town Bakery and Restaurant (Chinatown) - Fish ball soup
Walk back to Granville then take #10 bus back
Photos: Grouse Mountain
Photos: Capilano Suspension Bridge

Friday 22nd May 2015
Breakfast @ The Edge
Victoria / Vancouver Island bus tour
- Late to ferry due to:
* Subway not running due to a bird that caught fire and damaged communications
* Very busy day for the tour company (12+ hotels) * Their radios weren't working - ... so we got a $50 refund each to make up for having to rush in Victoria...
Bus ride to ferry
Ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island
Lunch @ Cafe on ferry (sushi)
Vancouver Island bus tour
Butchart Gardens
Victoria (about 1h 20m walk)
No time to go into museum :(
40 min drive to ferry
Ferry back to Vancouver - spot some orca!
Back to motel 9:30pm - kitchen closed
Motel employee suggests going across the road...
Dinner @ Sip Restro Lounge (Steak Frites, Perogies)
Still loving the local brewery beers. Different one each meal
Photos: Vancouver Island / Victoria

Saturday 23rd May 2015
Breakfast @ The Edge
Buy transport tickets @ 7/11
#14 UBC bus to UBC bus loop
#C20 local bus to Botanic Gardens
Treetop walkway and Botanic Garden walk
#C20 bus to Nitobe Japanese Garden
Lunch @ cafe @ Museum of Anthropology
Museum of Anthropology 2:30 to 5pm
Walk to Ioma building (as seen in Supernatural)
#14 bus back to motel
Dinner @ Japanese Bistro Sakana - great sashimi omakase, maple syrup creme brulee, Victoria BC beers
Photos: UBC

Sunday 24th May 2015
Check-out
Breakfast @ The Edge
TopDeck Canadian Rockies Tour Day 1
Meet downstairs for brief, Facebook connections
31 people (inc. us) - All Aussies except 2 NZ, 1 Irish, 1 UK
Amazing that of 31 people between 18-40, only one smoker
Leave 8:45am
Bridal Veil Falls
Lunch @ Hope (turkey roll)
Kalala Winery
Summerhill Winery
Dinner @ Boston Pizza (Kelowna)
Motel: Kelowna Super 8
Photos: TopDeck Day 1

Monday 25th May 2015
Breakfast @ motel (oats, toast)
Log Barn 1912 - heaps of cheesy photo opportunities
- Almost leave someone behind...
Lunch @ Subway (Revelstoke)
Amazing mountain views
Giant Cedar Walk
Show/avalanche tunnels
Rogers Pass (about 2pm)
- lots of ground squirrels, snow, vies
Golden (about 4:30pm)
Motel: Econolodge Golden
Go for a walk, buy some beer
Dinner @ Wolf's Den
Roof top patio drinks @ Rockwater bar - leave about 10:30pm
Photos: TopDeck Day 2

Tuesday 26th May 2015
Option to do rafting today but we opt out
Breakfast @ motel
Walk over Kicking Horse bridge
Local IGA for supplies
Lunch @ bakery (sandwitches)
Spot some of the TopDeck crew having breakfast at the cafe across road
Back to room 11:30 - bus, eat in bus
Incredible mountain views
Natural Bridge
Emerald Lake
- someone in our group see elk, chipmonk
Lake Louise (still a bit frozen, raining)
Fairmont Hotel
Banff @ 4:30pm
Motel: Voyager Inn Banff
Dinner @ Elk and Oarsman Pub & Grill (Elk lager, Elk burger, Elk poutine)
9pm+ @ Wild Bills for karaoke and mechanical bull
Leave @ 11pm (some in the group stayed until 4am)
Photos: TopDeck Golden to Banff

Wednesday 27th May 2015
Free day in Banff
Sleep in
Breakfast @ motel (cold buffet, cornflakes)
Walk through town to the bridge
#1 bus to gondola
Gondola up Sulphur Mountain
Awesome views and lots of Ground squirells and a Least Chipmonk
Walk right to the top (2451m), higher than Mount Kosciuszko (2228m)
Meet up with a couple of people from the group (they walked up)
We're late down (gondola) and miss the bus (every 40 minutes)
Call taxi with provided town phone, arrives in less than a minute!
$14 ride back to motel
Bus to helicopter (about an hour drive)
- drop into Banff Safeway to grab lunch
Lunch @ Safeway (turkey roll)
Kananaskis Heli Tours
- 20 minutes - raining and lighting so cut short
- unfair to compare but NZ Mount Cook helicopter ride much better
- due to cutting short we get photos and t-shirts for free
Do some washing back in the room
5:30pm - bus to bridge, then walk via bush to Surprise Corner
Views of Fairmont, river, Sulpur Mountain
Walk back along river
Walk back to Bow Falls along other side of river - lovely
Walk back to town
Dinner @ Banff Brewery (Duck salad, Buffalo C Salad)
Walk back via Moose & Squirrel streets to get silly Supernatural photo
See two male elk walking through town on the way back to motel
Photos: TopDeck: Banff free day

Thursday 28th May 2015
Breakfast @ motel (cornflakes)
Leave @ 9am
Icefields Parkway!
Bow Lake- half frozen, reflections, mountains, snow
Peyto Lake - insanely blue
Athabasca Glacier - bus onto the glacier
Lunch @ Cafe at Athabasca Glacier visitors centre (burger)
Spot a young male grizzly on the side of the road
Spot mountain sheep on side of road
Sunwapta Falls
Athabasca Falls
Jasper @ 5pm
Motel: Maligne Lodge
Room really nice, big King bed
Dinner @ Dead Dog - awesome char burger and cheep beer
Photos: TopDeck: Icefields Parkway - Banff To Jasper

Friday 29th May 2015
Free day in Jasper
Breakfast @ motel - $12 each, bacon/eggs etc.
Walk to visitors centre
Taxi ($20) to Jasper Gondola/Skytram (with someone from group)
Foggy but told top is above the clouds
Top of gondola is above clouds, amazing views of mountains sticking out of the clouds
Attempt to walk to top but get dizzy, make it most of the way
Fog rolls on on walk down
Coffee @ cafe at top
Walk around town shopping
Lunch @ Cafe Mondo? - BLT wrap
The Den Wildlife museum (after struggling to find it, hidden in basement of Whistler Inn)
4pm lunch on lawn out front of visitors centre with group for a birthday
Dinner @ take away pizza from Famoso
Buy some beer on way back to room (Wild Hops IPA, tastes better warm)
6pm+ bus trip to Jasper Hot Springs
- Lovely sitting in the warm as the fog closed in around us
See elk on side of road on way back to town
Sleepy
Photos: Jasper Gondola
Photos: Jasper Wildlife Museum (The Den)

Saturday 30th May 2015
Breakfast @ motel again ($12 each)
Warm day today 20C-25C? - all days have been warm except on the Icefields
Out @ 9am
Mount Robson Provincial Park for Mt Robson views, coffee
Terry Fox Memorial
Lunch @ Hop'n'Hog - amazing pulled pork wrap and Swamp Donkey beer
Spahat Falls
Kamloops about 4pm
Motel: Super 8 Kamloops East
5pm bused to dinner
Dinner @ Frick and Frack Tap House
- huge list of beers (99+?)
- finally have an Anchor Steam, also a scotch ale... drunk
Buy some Steamworks Killer Cucumber Ale before heading back to motel
Sit by pool drinking until kicked out at 10:45pm
Still light!
Photos: TopDeck - Jasper to Kamloops

Sunday 31st May 2015
Breakfast @ motel
Out @ 8
Views views views
Toilet stop at ? takes 40 minutes as we all line up
Walk down to look at river
12:40pm - stop on road to Whistler, has been an accident, car vs. 2 bikes, road closed, no phone reception
Have to drive back to last town 2hrs back
Late Lunch @ Lilloet (Chinese beef'n'broccoli'n'rice)
Dinner @ Hope (turkey roll?)
Get to Whistler (via Vancouver!) by 10:30pm
Motel: Aava Whistler
Room really really nice
Photos: TopDeck: Kamloops to Whistler

Monday 1st June 2015
Get Peak2Peak tickets from reception (tour leader organised in morning)
Breakfast @ Black's Restaraunt (bacon/eggs, gf toast)
- got to hear the servers complaints about the people outside
Gondola to top of Whistler with a couple of snow-boarders - last week of ski season - long way
Snow everywhere at top, walking trails are shut
Olympic rings seem popular
I want to take chairlift to top but too hard
Peak 2 Peak to Blackcomb
Not much on Blackcomb side (building stuff now)
Views
Take a glass bottom gondola back on Peak 2 Peak
Lunch @ cafe @ Whistler - views!
Inukshuk
Back down, walk to visitors centre
Buy tickets to bear viewing - Whistler Discovery Tour
Back to room for washing
Dinner @ Beacon Pub and Eatery - awesome steak, jug
Meet car at motel for bear viewing
- Aussie guide (of course, 50% of the people working in Canada seem to be Aussie)
- Alexander Waterfall (and toilet, jug!)
- Stop at a nice creek, just miss seeing a wolverine
- Black bear, for a minute or so, then wanders off
- Deer
- back at motel about 9:30pm
Walk to town and find group in Garfinkel's
- pool, cover band, chestnut beer!
Leave about 11pm
Photos: TopDeck: Whistler Free Day 1

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
Sleep in
Leave about 10am
Breakfast @ Elements - excellent
- Capsicum and feta frittata + gf toast
- French toast with choc/banana
Olympic park/rings
Walk around Lost Lake
Lunch @ Ingrid's Village Cafe - Tomato and basil soup
Shopping
Everyone chips in $5 to buy tour guide something
Back to room 2pm
Drinks @ Earls 4pm+
Dinner @ Old Spagahetti Factory - gf chicken penne - much beer
- last dinner with TopDeck group
- drink a lot of Rickards Red throughout trip
Drinks @ Garfinkel's
Go to a crappy club about 11:30, leave at midnight
Photos: TopDeck: Whistler Day 2

Wednesday 3rd June 2015
TopDeck bus tour last day
Breakfast @ Wildwood Pacific Bistro
Dave (bus driver) is back!
11am leave
Lunch @ ??
Viewpoints
- Tantalus lookout
- Barrett's View
Granville Island - brewery again
- Rogers' Chocolates - ice cream
Hotel: Best Western Plus Chateau Granville
Walk to Golden Age Collectables on Granville
Dinner @ Steamworks @ 7:30pm (with tour group)
- Peppercorn steak, Halibut, Oatmeal stout
Bar? - back to room at 11:30pm
Photos: TopDeck last day: Whistler to Vancouver

Thursday 4th June 2015
Phone alarm set wrong, luckily wake up
Check-out, taxi to airport about 7:30am
Breakfast @ Monk's Grill @ Airport
Flight to Montreal about 9
All AirCanada flights we have booked don't include luggage so pay for luggage ($25CAD each) on check-in
Watch Chappie and most of Project Almanac (went out of sync at end)
Lunch @ plane
Montreal taxi (fixed $40 rate) is horrible - driving in the break-down lane, tailgating motorcycles
Motel: Best Western Plus Montreal Downtown
- Montreal very busy this weekend due to Grand Prix
Walk - BUSY! Lots of expensive sports cars
Dinner @ Ye Olde Orchard pub - Cajun Salmon (overcooked, bad)
3 Brewers for a beer tasting
Meet Heath at a restaurant a block away, chat - back to room at midnight, still v. busy

Friday 5th June 2015
Sleep in
Coffee @ motel
Skip breakfast
Meet Heath @ 1 @ motel
Lunch @ Dunn's Famous - Rubens
Walk through old town - raining, get very wet
Notre-Dame Basilica
Pointe-à-Callière
- Montreal history movie
- basement dig
- Aztecs
- Snow
Walk, Chinatown
Meet Catherine - walk through underground back to our block
Drinks @ ?
Dinner @ Square Dominion - amazing, spend a fortune on wine
Photos: Montreal Day 1

Saturday 6th June 2015
Another big sleep in
Breakfast @ Chez Cora (downstairs at motel)
Meet Heath @ 1
Walk along Rue Sherbrooke
McGill University
Av du Parc
Ta pies
Walk up Montroyal
- Cross
- silent dance party
- squirrels
Walk down through French part of town
Lunch @ Venezuelan place? Meat plater
Lunch @ St Viateur Bagel (1127 Mont-Royal East)
Parc La Fontaine
Catherine+Heath's place - wine and meat
Place Émilie-Gamelin - See saxsyndrum play, buy CD
Gay Village - Rue Sainte-Catherine E
Dinner @ Comptoir 21 - fish'n'chips
Back to H&Cs for wine and Playstation
12:15am train back to motel
Photos: Montreal Day 2

Sunday 7th June 2015
Breakfast @ Tim Hortons (rue Stanley)
Meet H&C @ cnr Saint-Denis and Sainte-Catherine @ 12
Lunch @ Mache (rue St. Denis) - Mac'n'Cheese
Geek shop?
Beer and Cards Against Humanity with two random Quebecois @ Randolph
Dinner @ La Banquise - Poutine
Early train back
Photos: Montreal Day 3

Monday 8th June 2015
Train to Station Viau
Biodome and lookout closed on Monday!
Insectarium
Botanic Gardens (raining raining)
Lunch @ cafe at Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens conservatory - excellent
Dinner @ Reubens
- excellent steaks
- "Montreal style" cheesecake is no good, chalky
Photos: Montreal Day 4

Tuesday 9th June 2015
Up early, checkout
Walk to Gare Centrale (about 1km)
Business lounge
VIA Train to Montreal
- excellent, in hindsight should have taken train from Quebec to Toronto, better than flying
- great breakfast, coffee, service
Montreal about 12:30pm
Taxi to motel
Motel: Maison du Fort
Lunch @ Petit Chateau (crepes)
Walk through old town, along the wall, past the fort
Walk to Impérial Bell about 6pm
Struggle to find something want for dinner, settle...
Dinner @ Sushi Shop - Struggle a bit with English/French
Impérial Bell - Apocalyptica!
Art of Dying (support) start right on 8pm - crap
Apocalyptica on about 9:15pm
Polite but loud crowd, everyone there to see band, no talkers
Couple of Rickards Reds
All finished about 10:45pm
Walk back to motel, very quiet streets
Photos: Quebec City Day 1

Wednesday 10th June 2015
Breakfast @ motel (coffee, cakes)
Walk to taxi - taxi to waterfall (about $25)
Montmorency Falls
- gondola to top
- walk over bridge, to top of stairs, back to house
Lunch @ Manoir Montmorency
- gondola down
- walk to base of falls/stairs, up stairs a bit and down
Call taxi
Taxi back to town
Funiculaire du Vieux Québec to lower old town
Walk around old town
Walk back up
Tired - sit in Pub D'Orsay and have a pint
Dinner @ Saint Alexandre Pub
Back at room 6pm - fried
Photos: Quebec City Day 2

Thursday 11th June 2015
Breakfast @ motel
Taxi @ 9:30 to airport
- taxi driver had a clicker to put in his seatbelt to stop the car beeping when he had his seatbelt off, only put seatbelt on on freeway
- spoke very little English
Brunch @ Tim Hortons @ airport
Quebec airport security long - taking their time, checking everyone
Toronto airport is huge
Lunch @ airport cafe
Motel: The Saint James Motel, Toronto
- room is huge, king bed, lounge, love it
- laundry! spend afternoon doing laundry
Go for a short walk north up Yonge and back - look in a couple of toy stores
Dinner @ L3B (Le 3 Brewers) - BBQ pizza, beer taster
- people sitting in the window bothers by beggers a lot
Walk around Eaton centre - HMV, buy some things in HotTopic
Lots of yelling at night, probably from the youth centre next door

Friday 12th June 2015
Breakfast @ motel (buy bananas at 7/11 down road)
Niagara Falls tour - picked up at motel
- Niagara On The Lake
- Winery
- Floral clock
- Hydroelectric
- Smallest Chapel In The World
- Niagara Falls!
- Hornblower boat to the falls
Lunch @ Sushi place at falls
Skylon Tower - foggy but still amazing views
- poured with rain while waiting to go up
Nice walk through park on way back
Bus back about 4pm - takes 2 hours, traffic terrible
Hear screaming outside shortly after we get back to motel...
... check Twitter and apparently someone stabbed on cnr Gerrard and Yonge
... check news and apparently stabbings happen there fairly frequently. Nice.
Dinner @ Ramen Raijin (across road from motel)
Police tape around bank on corner...
Photos: Niagara Falls tour

Saturday 13th June 2015
Breakfast @ ?
Take subway College to Bloor-Yonge
- then change, to Victoria Park
- replacement bus to Kennedy (maintenance)
- then #86 to Toronto zoo
- About 1.5hr total
Toronto Zoo!
Very hot day, sunny
Lunch @ Compass @ Zoo
Zoo huge, lots of walking, viewed many animals hadn't seen before
Australia section was fun, hearing local's attempts at animal identification
Beaver Tail as we leave, about 5:30 (open until 7pm but we were done)
Back at motel by 7pm
Dinner @ Akashiro Japanese @ Eaton Centre
Photos: Toronto Zoo

Sunday 14th June 2015
Taxi to airport about 7:30am
We ordered one, but not sure the one that picked us up was the one we ordered...
... asked that we pay cash, the last of our Canadian cash
Check-in/security takes about 1hr, long lines, very similar to LAX
Breakfast @ The Hearth in the airport - very nice maple butter
Buy some ice-wine for gifts duty-free
Wait at Gate F32 with about 10 other people...
... discover (by checking screens) 30min from flight that it had moved to F68, other side of airport. Walk.
Try to watch rest of Project Almanac on flight but also out of sync
NYC Laguardia - Taxi to Manhattan
- taxi is awesome, screen with real-time map showing location and price
Puerto Rican Day Parade happening, but doesn't block 5th at our motel
Motel: Hotel Wolcott (31st and 5th)
Hotel really nice. Old decor but large enough room.
Walk West 31st, Broadway, West 32nd
Lunch @ Miss Korea
Tipping more difficult - need to write and total yourself on receipt. Prefer Canadian way.
Empire State Building observatory (buy tickets in motel lobby)
Lots of people selling tickets on the street
Empire building gorgeous inside
... massive walk twisting through building to the lifts
... lift to 80, then 86, get the typical tourist green-screen photo on 80
... but the view (finally) is amazing
... clear day, no wind
... fun to recognise so much in a city we've never visited
... lots of American tourists too
... parents constantly trying to kill their children lifting them up to the railing, and getting yelled at
Buy some souvenirs
Walk back to room, then up 5th Avenue
Have a look at Rockefeller Centre
Dinner @ Hotdog from vendor on 5th Avenue
... to Central Park
FAO Schwarz Toys - no Transformers? WTF?
Walk back down 5th, back to room about 9.20pm
Photos: NYC Day 1

Monday 15th June 2015
Breakfast @ Martinique on Broadway
- tired, accidentally massively over-tip
Subway @ 34th
- fail at getting cards at three machines until we figure it out ($20 card each)
Take B line to 81st
Natural History Museum
- big line out front but moves quickly
- option to pay "whatever you want" but we pay full price
Stay all day - amazing place - huge
Dinosaurs, evolution of various animals, incredible detailed diorama
Lunch @ Food court downstairs at Natural History Museum
See all of the animal stuff, but miss a lot of human exhibits
Leave @ 5 - raining
Subway to 47-50 st, Rockefeller
Still raining, attempt to go up Top Of The Rock but told no view
Lego Shop - buy a little statue of liberty
Dinner @ Bill's Burgers
Subway back to room
Photos: NYC Day 2

Tuesday 16th June 2015
Breakfast @ Europa Cafe near 33rd Street subway
Subway to 77st (Lexington Ave line)
- (hindsight says we should have gone to 86th)
Walk to Metropolitan Museum of Art
There all day and only saw 1/4 to 1/3 of it. Enormous. Loved it
Lunch @ Petrie Court Cafe (in MET)
- Salmon Salad and Brooklyn Lager (both really nice)
Raining heavily when we leave (5:30pm), wait it out under an awning
Coffee @ E.A.T. Cafe on Madison Ave
Walk back to 77st Subway, back to room
Walk to McKittrick Hotel - check-in at 7:30ish
Dinner @ McKittrick Hotel rooftop
- very expensive but really really nice, fantastic venue
Dean Ween Group @ The Heath (in McKittrick Hotel)
- get a booth on side of stage to ourselves, behind the drummer's family
- one of the best nights I've had at a gig, LOVED IT
- venue not packed out, but sold out, lots of room to move
- bought 2 t-shirts
- venue is amazing, has an old train embedded in it?
- have a number of expensive beers ($10 inc. tip each)
Gig over about 11:30? Walk back to motel.
Was initially really worried about this walk back at midnight in NYC but felt totally safe
Photos: NYC Day 3 - The Met

Wednesday 17th June 2015
Skip breakfast - mostly because we didn't find anywhere we liked
Subway (6) to Brooklyn Bridge, then 4 to Bowling Green
Attempt to buy food at a "market" cafe thing but can't figure out WTF to do, buy water
Lunch @ Potbelly Sandwitch Shop - Broad Street
Walk to Staten Island Ferry - take to and from Staten Island
Great views from ferry
Walk up Broadway
Wall Street - Stock Exchange
Brooklyn Bridge - walk about halfway across, then back again
- infinity of tourists and bikes
- HOT
Subway to 51st
About 4pm, buy tickets to Top Of The Rock
Longer lines than Empire, lots of people
Watch all three videos waiting in line (12 minutes?)
Really great views, but both really tired, bit hung-over?
Walk down 6th
Times Square
- infinity-billion tourists, and sellers, not much fun at all
Walk down 6th to 29th trying to find food
Eventually walk to Heartland Brewery under Empire State (on 5th)
- really really good beer hall
- have a taster, NY Strip steak, NY cheesecake
- New York knows how to cheesecake! Amazing!
Photos: NYC Day 4

Thursday 18th June 2015
Breakfast @ The Harold (1271 Broadway)
Subway (NQR) to Central Park Zoo
Walk into Central Park by mistake, have a look around there first then...
Central Park Zoo!
Lunch @ hot-dog vendor
Walk around the park
- Strawberry Fields
- Cherry Hill Fountain
- Belvedere Castle
The Met again! until 5pm
- Egyptian, Asian, Arabian art
Train back to room to get ready for Broadway
Dinner @ HB Burger 43rd Street
- amazing sashimi tuna burger, ginger slaw
- really really quick service
In line for Hedwig @ 7:20pm
Belasco Theater really nice although the lack of entrance lobby is weird
Great seats, second row in balcony
Hedwig is great, Darren Criss is excellent, his voice is perfect
- wasn't as big a fan of Rebecca Naomi Jones as Yitzhak as the rest of the crowd but she was pretty good
- loved the stage, the little NYC references
- darker than I remember...
- I remember enjoying the end of the Australian performance (with IOTA) better
- wish I could have bought a recording of this cast
Walk back
Photos: NYC Day 5
Photos: NYC Day 5 - Part 2

Friday 19th June 2015
Accidentally take two hayfever pills. Getting cold. Knock toothbrushes into bin, have to go buy more. Not a good start.
Breakfast @ Friedman's (West 31st)
- have to wait 15 minutes before a seat, very popular
Subway to MOMA (M, 5th and 53st)
11:30 to 5pm @ MOMA
Lunch @ MOMA Cafe (on top floor, view over garden)
Some great stuff at MOMA, but a lot of modern art is... meh
Photography section interesting
Yoko Ono is odd
Find a pharmacy and buy paracetamol (I guess that Acetaminophen is the US name for it)
Subway to 34th - back to room
Walk through Macy's. All clothes. Like a giant Myers
Dunner @ Ayza Wine and Chocolate bar across road from motel
- bottle of Seven Daughters Pinot Noir
- Egglant Tartine
- White Truffle Pizza
- Chocolates
Photos: NYC Day 6 (and 7)

Saturday 20th June 2015
Leaving today
Check out at 9:30, leave bags with motel
Breakfast @ The Harold
Walk to Sex Museum (5th Avenue) - there until 12:30pm
Flatiron building - raining
Walk east down 31st, west down 32nd
JHU Comic Books
Walk up 5th to Barnes and Noble - no new Neal Stephenson
Back to motel just in time for booked town car
Receptionist shows us around out back in the old club of motel, will be awesome when renovated
Town-car to JFK
- 1.25hr through horrible traffic
- US$75, cash only, the last of our cash
Really full-on security, bad instructions, confusion but finally through
Lunch @ Trafalgar Pub @ Terminal 7 JFK
Look through shops - booze very cheap
Wait @ Gate, use free 30min wifi (most other airports wifi was free)
Flight moved gates @ 5.50
Delayed until 7:30 (was 6:45pm)
Flight stuck waiting for gate at LAX - long delay, about 1.5 hours late?
LAX transfer takes two minutes, our gate is next door- connecting flight waited for us
Only an hour late getting to Melbourne, but 23 hours on the plane in total JFK to Melbourne
Watch: Guardians Of The Galaxy, Kumiko Treasure Hunter, Selma, Taken 3, Big Hero 6 and two eps of Gotham
Get to Melbourne early in morning so have to stay up. Manage to stay up until 8:30pm
Jetlag not too bad...