New Zealand - Christ Chruch and Franz Joesph

Hello - we are now in New Zealand a part of the world where we both have never been before. The flight over was ok as it was in the middle of the night so we slept for most of it. The guy sat next to Amy tho couldn't wake her and was in a rush to get to the toilet.
The country is very much like home really but more spectacular!!

Day 1

We arrived in Auckland but then had to get a flight to Christchurch however two planes we were booked on got cancelled!! - so it took us a while to get here. We stayed in an old jail which was interesting with each room being a cell - so it was pretty small and COLD. That's one thing we didn't expect...... we were in flip flops and shorts and t shirts asking for a heater - it was literally -5 at night!!. Its a nice place though. As we arrived late we just got some food for the stay and hit the sack as the jet lag was kicking in.

Day 2
After a mint sleep for 12 hours we headed off into the city centre with girl we met at breakfast. Not really much there but a lovely city. It had a massive park running through it and a river.
We had to invest in a coat each as it was cold!!! That night we just had a few drinks in the hostel with a few people.

Day 3

We headed off again into town and arranged our travel for NZ. We decided to get a Magic bus ticket which takes you around both islands - its a hop on hop off kind of bus - we thought about a camper van but again the weathers a bit chilly for this plus this is a good way to meet people and see the most of the country.

Day 4

We headed to a market which was being held in the city centre. After we got on a punt along the Avon river. We looked at tickets for the rugby but the seats weren't the best and there was also a light show on at the harbour so we decided to go to that however as always we missed it as it was the night before!!!! there was only one light left on ha lol. Anyway we got some fish and chips and went home to watch the match.






Day 5

We got a tranzalpine train across the south island to Greymouth. We have never seen views like it - amazing without sounding to hippyish. You could walk outside onto a viewing deck which was nice. We only stayed in Greymouth as a stop over on our way to Franz Joesph - good job really as there wasn't much there but the hostel was one of the best.

Day 6

Can't believe that we have spent a week here already!!!. We arrived at Franz Joesph - the first time we got the Magic bus. To our surprise it stopped at places of interest so you could walk around.. We were both looking forward to Franz Joesph as we were going to climb the glacier there!! We got there in the afternoon so we walked around a little rain forest and got ready for the next day!

Day7

We climbed the Glacier. The worlds Steepest apparently. This was truly one of the best things we have done on the trip. We spent about 8 hours exploring it going through caves etc and having snowball fights with other groups. We were lucky as we got on a day it snowed so there was fresh snow everywhere. Guess what.. Amy tripped, tried to disguise it as a jog, fell and her back and slide head first down the glacier.... lol. Its one of those experiences you just can't explain....... Its a must for everyone. We got chatting to a few people in our group and had a few beers that night.

That's about it so far. Next stop is Queenstown where we plan to go skiing. Its just snowed again so the slopes are open.. Can't wait!!










Take Care
All our Love Team RA

xxxx

Arriba!!! -San Deigo

Hello again. Hope everyone is well.

Day 1
After a fantastic stay in Vegas we drove down and back into California to see San Diego. We got there quite late on and it was a bit of a come down form the hotel we stayed in in Vegas!! we just had an early night.

Day 2

We headed for the zoo. It was ace - the first time we've seen giant pandas, they were so cute and big!!! Afterwards we headed downtown and just walked around and saw the city - A very nice one with lots of history, you can really see the Mexican influence everywhere - so Amy fitted in well with her brown little Mexican bod lol.

Day 3

We went to Balboa park, one of the largest in the states. It was gorgeous, loads of fountains and flowers and even a little Spanish part where artists sell their work. We went on a miniature train ride and walked around the butterfly garden. After this we took a tram back to the car and headed to Seaport Village, you could see Mexico from here its only 15 miles away but we were warned not to cross to the border as there is quite a lot of trouble at the moment. Seaport Village was lovely, lots of quaint little shops and a harbour, the sea was so clear we could see crabs and an octopus near the rocks! There was a park where palm readers were giving readings so I got mine (Amy's) done.....easiest $10 that tarot reader ever earned, it was pretty rubbish although she did tell me I have a "come hither thing going on" whatever that means!

Day 4

Our last day here so before heading out of town we decided to go to the old part of San Diego where the first Mexican settlers set up camp, it was a great little place with old style saloon's and little streets and shops, even the park had people with period clothing on and wagons, we had a nice little Mexican meal and got asked by 3 Mexican blokes if the could play a song for us on their bangoes, they didn't half go for it!!

After our food we headed to Dana Point in the O.C (Orange County) to stay with some of Rich's uncle's friends - Sumone and Lynn. It was a gorgeous town and an even nicer house with amazing views overlooking the beach. We had a lovely meal and a few drinks on the patio, then headed inside for a few games of pool and a match on the Wii.

Day 5

Packed our bags again and went further into Orange County to Newport Beach - now this was where all the surfers were! A gorgeous beach, really white sands. We were playing some footy and all of a sudden I got a pain in my big toe - a bloody wasp had stung me so rich had to play on his own....again. After a few hours at the beach and a bit of wave hopping we went to our next motel which was right near Disneyland

Day 6

As you can probably guess we went to Disneyland for our last day in America - what a way to finish off, however we did manage to get ourselves into the wrong park at first!! In fact when I rang home to wish Jan a Happy Birthday we were in some random theme park not Disneyland like I kept saying! We had to be escorted out and let into the right one....whoops. An amazing day all round, loads of rides, met some characters, then a parade and a firework show at night which was another highlight of trip to the states.

Day 7

The day of our flight, we didn't fly until 9pm so we had the day to look around the area once more. We went up to Malibu to have a look at the beaches which were once again gorgeous, had a walk along the shore and then thought we best head off to the airport to hand in our car, it was really sad to let it, go we'd grown quite attached!

All in all what a fantastic few months we've had, we can't believe how much we've seen and done, America has definitely not seen the last of Team RA!!

We'll be in touch after our first few days in ChristChurch, New Zealand, here comes a very long flight!

Al our love
Team RA
xxx

What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...

... so we're not telling you anything!!!!

After a 5hr drive through the desert we arrived in the brilliant Las Vegas!! As soon as we arrived we couldn't stop smiling at the place.. It was just fantastic and so hot!! It was in the 100s all the time. We stayed in the Stratosphere hotel which was cheaper than all the hostels we stayed in!lol. It was ace, It had 2 pools the tallest tower in the country and even its own shopping plaza!! it was huge.

Day1

After we arrived we dropped the car off and walked down the strip - signing up to casinos to get cheap food deals ( Soz if we know how to travel now!!) 10 mins in the heat you could feel yourself burning!! pure desert heat!! After a walk we took a ride on the mono rail that goes down the strip. That night we tried out our membership cards on a cheap buffet which was class - mash etc, then we had a bit of an Amy and learnt how to play craps (One with the dice) I got told to stop celebrating like a gay......ha ha lol.

Day2

This was a pool day. We just lazed around and played ball in the pool. It was funny because a random man who looked vaguely like Elvis was loving walking around and chatting to people..(suppose you had to be there reading that back lol) The pool was mint with palm trees and waterfalls. That night we walked down the strip and went to see the famous fountains at the Belagio (Where Oceans 13 was filmed) - we won $20 in there. After we went to MGM Grand where Ricky Hatton fought and other big fights are held - this was ace. Massive!!!! After we just walked around and took it all in..

Day3

We fulfilled another ambition as we took a helicopter over the Hoover Damn and the Grand Canyon. We can't describe how it was as it won't do it justice but we can tell you that we sat in the front on the chopper next to the pilot!! It was just class!!!! We felt like Same Difference arriving at a concert ha ha lol. After the flight we got picked up by an old fashioned horse drawn wagon (just like you see in cowboy films) and were taken to a Cowboy Ranch where we stayed over night. We were given a pine cabin which was ace - we really felt like we were proper cowboys - even started to strut like one!!! We saw probably the worst gun fight ever as there was only one shot fired lol!! (I don't know what we were expecting) but we still clapped and left a tip then got dressed up in gun coats, hats and neckerchiefs. - loved it!!!

That evening we went on a sunset horse ride around the mountains and into some of the Mojave desert where we had a glass of Champagne and watched the sunset while a cowboy sang and played his guitar.. another was another was trying to make our horses stay still (think they were getting bored) We then rode back to the ranch and had supper inside the Diamond bar then sat round a camp fire roasting marshmallows, looking at the stars and listening to Casey Adams play music and tell stories.. It was just a breathtaking experience and definately a highlight so far!!!

Day4

We met a lovely couple from OZ who were on our flight and we ended going back with them on the way back as well. On the way back we flew over Lake mead and the strip. We flew into the flight area for the film Top Gun - so we were told..

After we arrived back we just had another day by the pool just thinking of what we had just experienced. That night we went to Freemont Street which is in the old part of the strip. Here we saw a mint light show then we went to see the building Elvis got married in (Its changed now but the building is still there), saw a few shows outside the casinos then got the bus home.

Day5

Our last day in Vegas.. Its probably the only place where we didn't want to leave. Anyway we went up the tower in the hotel we were staying in and saw the views of Vegas again then booked a show for the evening, booked our accommodation for San Diego then went by the pool again.

That night we saw a Variety show which was a giggle inside a mall that was an Aladdin theme and even had a sky.

The morning before we left we visited the hotel Elvis performed from 1969, saw flamingos in a hotel and went inside New York New York hotel.. which had little streets inside the hotel.. You've got to see it to believe it.. Its just mint!! Its the best week we have had but we have other places to see before NZ.

Next stop San Diego

All Our Love

Team RA xx

"Do you take sugar" 2 for amy and none for me becks

LA 30/05 - 5/06


Hello all. Can't believe another week as gone by!!! This week we were in LA. Wow what a place!! Like every other city we just fell in love with it straight away! Especially when the Hollywood sign was outside our Motel!! Plus the added bonus of very hot weather!!


Day1

We arrived late in the afternoon so we took a walk down Hollywood Blvd, walked on the walk of fame, saw the Kodak theatre ( where the Oscars are held) and also the Chinese theatre where film premieres are held and also the famous hand prints. This was ace with batman, pirates and Rambo walking around in costume!!


Day2

We got a map of celebrity homes in Beverly Hills so we took the car, put Courtney Cox's house in the tom tom and headed off!! ha ha lol. We drove around Bev hills (as we call it now) saw Becks, Sampras and Jenifer Aniston's houses just to name a few. We also went to where OJ Simpson killed his Mrs and lover (allegedly) and drove past the crime scene of the Marline Munroe death.. very good. Massive houses we can see why everyone goes there to live. Its funny them all being neighbours...


After the drive we went to Rodeo Drive where all the rich and famous shop. We found a free parking garage which ended up being Valet Parking - our Toyota looked a bit out of place with all the RR's and Ferrari's - "Take it easy bud we've only got 3rd party" as I chucked the keys to him over the bonnet.lol


After this we went to the Hollywood sign. Parked up and went for a walk.. Reading later the house we parked outside was Tommy Lee's!!!


Day 3

We walked down Hollywood Blvd to get a tube when we noticed that a film premiere was on. We walked down and it was the film Kung Fu Panda. Guess what... we saw Dustin Hoffman and Jack Black.. loads of paparazzi and news crews.. it was another pinch your self moment. Anyway after this we took the subway to Long Beach - which took ages!!! We felt and looked out of place in our beach gear and everybody around in gangster rap clothes..."don't start stuttering Rich they might think you are rapping and kick us in!!" Long Beach was good though and we even walked on the Grand Prix track, had lunch in the marina and then went back after sun bathing.


Day4


Well this day was supposed to be on day 2 but we slept in!! So we went to Universal Studios... The thing is the thing was on fire the day before and part of the studio set was gone !!!! We couldn't believe it. We still had a mint time seeing where they filmed Jaws, Desperate Housewives, and Bruce Almighty just to name a few. We then went on a few rides- (The Simpson's one is mint!), saw a few shows including a special effects show and a movie animal show with Archie the monkey!! its was a good laugh. We then had tea in Bubba Gump Shrimp.


Day5


We had another beach day this time in Santa Monica. Then decided after to hit the town and have a few beers around Hollywood. It started off well but because we haven't drunk that much we had to call it a night as Amy felt a bit rough. We were in a taxi going down Sunset Blvd when we had to stop in the middle of the road for Amy to be sick - everywhere!! People were driving past beeping and shouting all I could do was ask the taxi driver why he had one sandal in the front seat - because his driving foot gets swollen!!! ha ha lol. All in all it was a good night and spoke to a lot people who kept us giving drinks just because we're English


Day6


Amy stayed in bed all day!!!! I just walked around. It turned out that a Russian cage fighter was staying next to us. I bumped into one of Ozzy Osbourne's mates.. don't know how we started talking.. That night we both drove around Bel Air where Arny lives. This was like Bev Hills and even had a gate to enter the area. Then we called it a night.


Next stop in LAS Vegas.. Can't wait


Hope Everyone is well


All Our love


Team RA xxx

beach stop in santa cruz and santa barbara

22/05 - 26/05 Santa Cruz

This week we were both looking forward to as we just wanted to sunbathe on a beach after 6 weeks of sightseeing, however the weather wasn't that great - sunny but windy but we still braved the beach.

On the night we arrived we explored downtown. A nice place with trees and plants everywhere. The atmosphere was strange tho. It had all the "peace" people there and the worst buskers ever but it still made people dance around etc..

Day 1

We got up a little later than planned and just went to the main beach on boardwalk. To our surprise we were greeted by an amusement park right on the beach itself!!! It was like being in Blackpool except without all the gypos from Scotland and Newcastle lol ha ha. It was sunny but not too hot so we just sunbathed a little, bought a volly ball, then went on the rides - We still caught the sun and even got a little burnt.

Day2

A cloudy day but warm so we went to Capitola beach which was a quaint little fishing place - a bit like Robin Hoods Bay. We walked for ages around the place then played volley ball before being kicked off by the owners of the nets - the group of people had only stopped for a breather and we just jumped on and were getting well into it.. we walked away dead embarrassed

Day3

A chilly day so we watched TV in the motel and just chilled downtown.

26/05 - 30/05 - Santa Barbara

We fulfilled one of our dreams and drove down highway 1 - an amazing drive with the pacific on the right all the way down. We stopped and swapped over driving s we could both admire the sea. This place we fell in love with straight away.. its class!!!! Its a beach place with a cool downtown. Its probably the prettiest city yet and even may rank above San Fran and New York.. The streets were lined with flowerbeds, fountains and palm tree's and the beach was gorgeous, even the homeless people had tans!!

Day 1 - Ayy the sun was out and hot. We got to finally do what we'd been waiting for.....lay around on a beach all day, playing the occasional game of volleyball and eating ice cream - just perfect. That night we went to the supermarket to get some tea in, a feast of stag chilli in a can and pita, all for $3!!

Day 2 - Another day at the beach, this time east beach where we spent the day people watching and had our first proper dip in the pacific. We walked up to butterfly beach where apparently a load of celebs live, there were loads of signs saying 'Private Keep Out' but we didn't see any celebs, all we saw was a baby seal dying on the shore, ahhh. That night we decided to treat ourselves to an Italian downtown, a great atmosphere at night, really lively.

Day 3 - Back to east beach for our last day of sun.
Before heading off to LA we had a stroll around the parks and a last look at the surf shops where rich bought himself some boardies......soz surf slang for swimming shorts for the senior people reading this!

Next stop LA, Becks - get the kettle on we'll be there in 10!!

Ps After looking at my chest on these pics I trimmed the old chest hair......

All our love

Team RA

xxxx

Send my regards to San Francisco

Hello again!! Well its been a while since we've updated the blog but again a busy week or so, this time in California.

San Fran: 15th - 20th May
1st day - We arrived in San Francisco after a 6 hour flight from New York and just loved it straight away. The first afternoon we went straight to the coastline, walked along the seafront and went up to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so hot that afternoon so we got a bit of colour. That night we were going to carry on exploring the city but as soon as we got back to the hotel we fell asleep so after a good nights sleep we were up bright and early the next morning.

2nd day- We had a mint breakfast on Pier 39 (the main place for restaurants and bars) and saw the sea lions that live on the dock, then we hired bikes, rode along the seaside and across the GG bridge (soz abbreviation) which was a fantastic experience and a great view of the city. We couldn't believe how high up it was!! We were lucky there was no fog that day covering the bridge as usually you can't see the top of the bridge. That afternoon we took the boat trip to Alcatraz!!! Here we spent about 3 hours listening to a ranger telling us stories about the prisoners/guards and listened to an audio tour as we walked around the cells.

3rd day - A pretty sunny day again so headed to the largest park in North America - Golden Gate Park, only thing is we didn't realise how high up it was and we ended up in the fog which was the same height as the Golden Gate Bridge so it got a bit cold! We walked through a Japanese tea garden, had some jasmine tea and fortune cookies, then we hired a pedal boat and went around the lake, there was waterfalls and even turtles/big fish in the lake. That night we went to Union Square in the heart of the city for something to eat and see what nightlife was like in San Fran.

4th day - Had a day of just sight seeing the city as we woke up late. We went gay watching in Castro and saw a few sights that shocked even us, we thought we were mature but we couldn't stop pointing them out and laughing ha ha lol!!! Next stop was the most photographed place in San Fran, a row of Victorian houses that they use on loads of postcards and that were saved from the earthquake in 1906. Later on that afternoon we walked through Japantown. That night we met up with Lou and Mark (Saunders sister+hubby), had a nice meal on the pier and a few drinks, it was a really nice night and really good to see them.

5th day - Went on a historic cable car right up all the hills of the city to Lombard Street. The cable cars were great, we were hanging off the edge of them and got chatting to the conductor who told us all about how they run off a cable underground and only have wooden brakes!! Lombard Street is called the crooked street, it has 8 40 degree turns going down a really steep hill, its also where Danielle Steel has a house, it was a gorgeous area, a cross between a nice Whitby and a really posh Viking Road in Stamford.

20/05 - packed our bags ready to leave San Fran and picked up our hire car that we'll have for the whole of California. We really wanted a camper wagon but it turned out too expensive so we settled for Toyota Corolla and set off on route 101, got a free upgrade from the 'egg on wheels' we were meant to have as the lady on the sales desk described it when she was trying to get us to upgrade (must be the English accent again). They wouldn't let us a hire a TomTom so we bought one ourselves, worth its weight in gold i tell thee - it has saved soooo many arguments we actually drive whistling and holding hands now lol!

Before getting to our next stop - San Jose, we stopped off at Muir Woods. It was great, full of redwood tree's with massive trunks, tallest trees we've ever seen. Then it all went a bit wrong. I left the camera in the ladies on our way out, when we realised about 10 minutes later and went back it'd gone - American Gypo's! Luckily we'd burnt all pictures up to Phili on disc and sent it home but we still lost us running up the rocky steps, all of San Fran, and Muir woods.....gutted. So after a very quiet journey to San Jose we decided to have a few days there and then seeing as though its only 45mins away we decided to go back to San Fran, re-visit our favourite places and take some more pictures.

San Jose 20th-22nd
1st day - Arrived a little late after the camera fiasco so just had enough time to get our bearings and buy a new camera. We ate in downtown San Jose and had a weird tea of mashed potatoes and chicken skewers

2nd day - The day of the big game....Headed straight for an Irish bar to have a few beers, a bit of lunch and watch the game. What a afternoon, it was such a mint atmosphere in there. After the game we took in San Jose, to be honest not that much to do here so 2 nights was definitely enough

3rd day - Back to San Fran, a whistlestop tour to retake pictures but really nice to be back, we decided this is definitely our favorite city so far.

At the moment we're in Santa Cruz and its great, we'll update you all when we've spent a bit more time here.

All our love
Team RA
xxxxx

UUUURRHHHH uuuuRHHH ( or what ever Rocky says at the end)

Phili 12/05 - 14/05

This is our last stop on the East Coast of USA. We can't believe that a month has past - we've seen and done so much!! We arrived here in the rain so decided to take a bus tour around the city on the afternoon we arrived - to be honest we found out a lot more stuff about phili than we would of if we had just wandered around. This is all we did for the first day as we only arrived at lunchtime.We had tea at Hard Rock cafe.

2nd Day

A hot day for starters. We set of wandering around the city and saw the sites up close. 1st we saw the Liberty Bell then wandered round eventually running up the Rocky steps and looked over phili. - A great moment ( We'd forgotten that the Rocky film was filmed here!!)

That night we took 1hr bus journey to Atlantic City. For those who don't know this place is a smaller version of Vegas. Here we got our bus fee paid for by a casino much to our surprise - so we decided to use this as our gambling fund. We actually ended up doubling our money!!! ( Team RA luck)

Team RA on top of the Rocky Steps

After the wins in the casino we took a night stroll along the broadwalk/beach before heading home to our worst hostel yet!! But for 13 pounds each a night we can't really grumble.

So:

New York, Boston , Montreal, Toronto , Niagara, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington, Phili, Atlantic City.......DONE.

Next Stop SAN FRAN and the west coast.

PS. Thanks for all your support for the new hair style. I am going for the Grandad Bill / Mick Hartley look. lol