Monthly Archives: June 2013
Philadelphia and New York – Days 42 to 48
After recovering for a few days from Road Trip a friend and I took a long hot drive to Philadelphia because my favourite sandwich is a Philly Cheese Steak and why not have it in Philly? So he very kindly drove us the three hours – I had in my head it took an hour and a half. We stopped along the way where I was introduced to Cinnabon which has massive cakes that look like deep filled chicken pie. I couldn’t do it, I had to choose the cheese steak there was too much riding on it.
Two rivals opposite each other Pats and Genos. We went to the one with the bigger queue which was Pats. The pressure was on to make sure the order was correct. It seems there is an etiquette as to how to order and how to get it right. The sandwich did not disappoint and was demolished probably a bit too quickly. The kind of quick where you sit wondering just how loud your stomach can get digesting. Within half hour we were back on the road. Five hours of driving for a sandwich, crazy I know. But there wasn’t anything else to see in Philly on that baking hot day bar a wall with some street art so we left.
My favourite restaurant in Manhattan is Stanton Social on the lower East side. It’s a place that does Tapas style food and Beauty and Essex is the sister restaurant around the corner. They are a little bit up themselves in there unlike Stanton and so are the clientele. I don’t like it really if the person asking you if you would like a drink is looking at you like a bored soon to be ex.
I don’t know if it’s a one-off or standard but in the ladies bathroom separated in a changing area they give away free champagne. I delighted in taking this offering (tipping of course) and watching the look of amusement on my friends faces as they waited to get served and I swanned upstairs with a glass of bubbly. Why we didn’t just traipse up and down all night I do not know. The waitress wouldn’t have noticed.
Later in the week, I walked the Highline which apparently on, online dating is the equivalent of going to Borough Market in London, as in everyone does it. It’s alright; kind of cool to see the city from a height, but not that mind-blowing however to walk on some concrete at a height. If I had gone on a date there I would have been pissed right off.
But New York had to have a quick goodbye for a couple of weeks after that as I made the next journey to Vegas, Miami and Tampa Bay once more.
Day 40 -41 – Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Home
Best ribs in town.
Leaving Savannah was a sad moment. I had been caught up in the magic of it all. But road trip means just that, and we all have to make our way back to somewhere of significance at some point. As we checked out the hotel my roadster friend asked the lady at reception with the grey hair and glasses who looked like the grandma out of the Tom and Jerry cartoon.
‘I want ribs. I want a shack. I don’t want tourist. You know what I’m saying?’
‘Mmmmm Hmmm?’ Was her Southern accented answer. ‘You sure?’
‘Sure.’
And so we were given directions to Randy’s Bar B que. I had no idea what to expect even though he did and was even more surprised when we pulled up at a shack on the road that had two choices. Ribs or Chicken.
‘What’s good?’
‘Well we outta the chicken so it will have to be the ribs. And we outta the sides too.’ Said the screech behind the window.
So we went for medium ribs; medium for a giant maybe. And as we put them on the bonnet of the car in 90 degree heat and feasted, I thought – my lord these are the best ribs I have ever had in my life. Completely worth any food poisoning that may happen.
We drove on to Charlston, but I’ve got to admit the town did not raise my pulse. It looks beautiful but it feels soulless. We wondered around for a couple of hours and felt like we had been there for days. We trundled through a big market selling the usual crafts as over the top prices. I can’t stand markets. Seen a few, seen them all. We had a drink and walked back to the car. On the way, we came across a fountain with some children playing and stopped to read the rules. I’ve posted them below. I think it’s a sign of litigation going a bit too far in the States. It’s not like it was a deep swimming pool. But it pretty much summed up the town of beige cargo pant wearing men.
And so on to Myrtle beach to the Sheraton. I looked on Orbitz and got a price of 70 bucks. I rung the Sheraton and they wanted 140. Make sense of that if you can? I’m glad we only paid the seventy as when we turned up, not only did they charge extra for us to park the car in their car park but the place looked like it hadn’t been touched in a long time. I actually said as I went in, ‘ Hello 1982’ Talk about a plaster over things to cover up the falling apart. The staff smiled thinly but each looked like they had lost the will to live.
But we were tired and had a twelve hour journey back the next day. So went to the beach to play with the night sky app on the iphone. It tells you what the stars are in the sky. Well it could be making it up but it seems impressive. The beach is nice but it looks like a beach that could be anywhere in the world with rows of condominiums. The time was cut short by some morons with a laser light in one of the condos thinking it was hilarious to point it at us on the beach for at least half hour. And from the laughter I don’t think they were younger than eighteen, which I think we can all agree is a shame for them.
The drive back the next day was brutal but broken up with the delight of an $8 all you can eat buffet which did not suck in the slightest. It had fresh catfish any way you wanted it. I completely pigged out and on we drove back to New York, making it past the delirium and home safe. I salute my partner for doing the entire drive and not moaning once, probably more likely because he didn’t trust my driving. It was a journey where we really wanted to keep on driving but work called and so the chapter closed but it will stay dear in my heart as first and best proper road trip ever.
Savannah Georgia Day 39
cost you nuthin
So Day 39 was spent hung-over at first but what better way to get over it then eat some of Paula Dean’s fried chicken. I had never come across Paula Dean before but she is definitely all over Savannah. You can even choose to do a 3 hour Paula Dean tour. You don’t get to meet her and apart from being charged a fortune to wander around aimlessly and eat in the restaurant for half hour I’m not sure what it consists of. What I do know is I couldn’t stop saying Hey y’all it’s Paula Dean for the rest of the day.
After Fried Paula Chicken we went on the normal trolley tour around Savannah and it’s pretty good actually. Worth the cash to sit for a couple of hours and be told the local folklore. My favourite story was that pineapples would be left on the mantelpiece of any guests rooms and if the host removed the pineapple this was a signal to the guest that they had outstayed their welcome and it was time to pack up and leave. No words exchanged. Strange but apparently effective.
Hey y’all! It’s Paula Dean!
We then decided since everyone was going on about Tybee beach to go there and as soon as we got there and paid for parking we wished we hadn’t. It’s a bit rubbish really or you feel like you are sitting on rubbish. It’s not the nicest beach in the world, nor is it the worst. It’s just a bit of a non beach. So we amused ourselves by playing the game Would You Rather much to the distaste of the families walking by. I don’t blame them, it’s a filthy game.
Apple Crumble Moonshine
We then ate some fresh seafood and went back to Savannah trying to work out how we could live there for a month and not pay double rent. It draws you in and it’s strange because it seems so sleepy but you don’t want to leave. We ended up sitting through the night on a bench staring at the massive boats that were docked and gleaming like new and talking crap. Me drinking wine out of a mug, he drinking whiskey out the jar. I even tried some apple crumble moonshine which is deliciously dangerous. The only disturbance was Governor Tony a local bum making me some stuff out of blades which I really didn’t want. I was more impressed that he looked like he was straight out of the TV show The Wire and would have given him something for that but my road trip friend was having none of feeding the habit and sent him on his way. Savannah though is a magical place and you don’t come across it often. It was one of those places that we knew we didn’t want to leave so we stayed up talking as long as we could and wished time could have stood still for longer than it did.
Savannah, Georgia – Day 37-38
Savannah, the place I have been desperate to go to for at least three years since I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Although different to what I expected, it did not let me down. Day 37 was spent trekking around South Carolina and going to dinner at my road tripster’s sister’s house where one of the highlights of the evening was being called ‘Miss’ . But there was no time to be wasted on the night of day two, especially since I’d had such poor drinking performance on day one. So I settled for Amy Schumer on the comedy network and waited in anticipation for the next day.
But who would have known that such a delight as South of the Border would suddenly appear like an Oasis in the crosslines. A kitsch place that glows neon in the night and sells nothing but the utmost crap that you could buy anywhere in the world in a gift store. It was amazing. Built on the borders of North and South Carolina for no reason other than there is literally nothing else there and people needed a job, Genius. My one regret was that I didn’t stay the night in the motel there. We really screwed up on that one.
South of the Border
As we approached Savannah and River Street, I was a bit nervous. It looked nothing like I had thought and there were a lot of tourists in the way. How dare they have the same idea as us for a Memorial Day Weekend? But the fear and concern melted away when we reached the River Street Inn. One of the loveliest hotels I have ever had the pleasure to stay in. It was unlike a corporate W or Hilton and had its own Southern Charm. The place felt like a huge house with a courtyard in the middle and guest wings to the side. It wasn’t that expensive and I felt like I was in a palatial home. The rooms were spacious with antique furnishings, seating areas and even an honesty bar of snacks and drinks which I had never come across. I honestly ate a Snickers for breakfast.
So my roadster friend was nearly falling out of his skin with excitement that he could drink on the street so this became the main mission for the evening. I hadn’t even realized no one did drink on the streets anywhere, which makes me think that I must usually do it. So off we set. I have no sense of direction and get lost turning around, so always need someone around who does. Even on a grid system I have a problem so my friend led the way round the similar squares of Savannah.
But there’s something about the place; something in the air. I still can’t quite put my finger on it. It almost looks a bit Disney in places but you can tell that chances are behind closed mansion doors there has been debauchery and deliciousness to boot. A hidden way of life behind a white iron fence. Doors closed to you but know that if you are in you will probably sin. I had a feeling Savannah knew how to party.
Street Busker Echo
We ended up where most travellers do at the start, in an Irish pub. When the local busker came along and sat down with his steel stringed guitar I was pleasantly surprised until he said his name was Echo and then all hearts sank including his. We did make him repeat it a few times – but the joke failed. After my Margarita of nuclear strength we marched on to find we had spent too long dilly dallying and food was needed. In a drunk state I am highly impressed I ended up with an amazing three course meal but I’m afraid I can’t tell you where as I was in a drunk state until five am. On the street mostly and a whiskey bar. A messy day one in Savannah.
Washington D.C – Day 36
On our way to Washington D.C
Day 36 of the trip but Day 1 of road trip. My trusty friend and I went away for a five day extravaganza on the road with the ultimate goal being to reach Savannah, Gerogia; a place I had become obsessed about since reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It was Memorial Day weekend and getting out of New York past New Jersey took about three hours. It wasn’t the best start but luckily we were very excited and hadn’t annoyed the hell out of each other at that point. First point of call was Dunkin Donuts for coffee, where I learnt this was the best place to get your fast fix. Luckily for me I was with an experienced American road tripper.
By the time we reached the first point of call which was Washington D.C it was night. We were starving so we drove past the White House and all the buildings, said – yeah that’s cool and went to eat some Ethiopian food which I found much more interesting. I’m not one for staring at buildings even if they are important.
After dinner we checked into a local hotel in Arlington which was nice enough but my memory of it is already faint and went to the local dive sports bar. Which isn’t somewhere I would have chosen, but it was the only bar and I like drinking. What I did fail to notice was that my vodka and cranberry’s were being served in pint glasses. So the latter memory of this night is sketchy. I do know I cried for no reason and then wanted to be sick in the night; Classy. At least I didn’t fall off my stool which I have been known to do.
New York – Days 24 to 35
I had a good friend in Town so we decided to do what I should do and don’t and that was go to the Museums. So we made arrangements and toddled over to the to Met Museum to find it closed. The Met is closed on a Monday to the Public should you need this info. So we went to the Natural History Museum to see the Whale Exhibition which was actually pretty good.
We had to go through the dinosaur exhibition to get anywhere and being a City girl I was immediately annoyed that I couldn’t just get direct to where I was going. Past childhood why on earth would you want to see a bunch of dinosaurs? But no I take it back. It’s pretty amazing and worth the walk. The only thing the museum could have done with is a good dusting. Some of the exhibits are behind glass and look like no one has cleaned the filth accumulating inside for as long as the items have existed. Get a duster Natural History.
We made it to the Met a few days later to the see the Punk Couture exhibition which would be great if you didn’t know anything about punk but I thought it was pretty lame in general. It’s a lot of clothes in rows and quite dull. But I’m from London and a musician so I know all about punk so I’m probably just being over picky. It didn’t stop me buying a CBGB t shirt at the end though. I once played there so I figured I had the right.
And in this amount of time there had been a ridiculous amount of food in amazing places. I do like a munch on the crumbs of life. Stanton Social on the Lower East Side, The Tangled Vine wine bar on the Upper West, Del Frisco’s amazing steak house in the Mid West, The Magnolia Bakery and their ridiculous Banana Pudding. And the cocktail bar of the hotel which killed it with their amazing mixology at The Crosby Hotel. I will name and shame the waiter in Sara Beth’s on the upper West Side for purposefully not trying to bring back change for a bill which meant he would have taken a 40% tip. And he was not making an error. When I complained he couldn’t even look me in the eye as he brought the change back. I am no tourist here now sir, so take the shame.
I also got stuck in a rainstorm. As it was warm and rainy I waited inside a toy store not looking suspicious in the slightest as I played on my phone. In the end my time of dawdling had run out and I decided to make a dash. Sure I might get a little wet but how much worse could it get? Well it gets much worse in New York as the sheets of rain hit. This is rain unlike any other I have experienced . I felt like I had been caught in a monsoon yet I was in the centre of New York. So if in doubt in the rain over here, just don’t.
And to top it off I l have been learning that the measurements of alcohol in drinks here is nothing like the paltry measures back home. I’m a practicing lush and I’m having to learn to take it slow on the consumption. Well I’m trying. After on a Monday night downing a few Espresso Martinis at the Crosby Hotel I went onto a friends bar where I ended up being the only proprietor. This ended with me getting over excited by the DJ playing a random selection of 80’s and running up to the booth like a fan and making him put on Don’t you Want me Baby by the Human League at full volume and making him sing it with me. Alone in the bar with my friend and two other co workers watching. The dangers of mixing the drinks is a lesson learned here. Maybe not adhered to but learned all the same. I felt very quiet the next day. Never have I willed a natural fruit juice to heal me more; It didn’t.
worldwideattitude 