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Archive for the ‘US Trip May 2007’ Category

When we went to the US in 2007 there were two venues I wanted to visit – the Grand Old Opry in Nashville and the Troubadour in Hollywood.

The Grand Ol Opry was a disappointment (all has-beens playing to a sycophantic audience) but we found plenty of other music venues in Nashville to fill the gap. 

When we got to LA I took a cab to the Troubadour and we travelled miles (as you do in LA) and when we got there the only programme was heavy metal and indie bands – I was after the acoustic sounds of the 60’s and 70’s – people like Carol King, Carly Simon, James Taylor, The Eagles, Jackson Browne.

I have just watched on TV Carole King and James Taylor reunited at the Troubadour in concert in 2007 playing their era-defining hits, nearly 40 years after they first performed at the Troubadour in November 1970, a year before their Tapestry and Sweet Baby James’ albums stormed the American charts. King and Taylor were backed by the Section, the same band that propelled those albums into homes around the world.

James Taylor had released his first album on the Beatles’ Apple label, Carole King was struggling to forge a new solo career after being one half of Goffin-King, one of the great Brill Building song-writing partnerships of the early 60s. Their musical friendship blossomed with Taylor’s support for King and his cover of her song You’ve Got a Friend. The Troubadour became the centre of a new singer-songwriter culture that also featured the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and many more.

Why were they not on when I was there for God’s sake but having seen this BBC TV Programme I am glad that the dream is still alive.  Before that was a brilliant profile of Neil Young in all his glories.

Just found this pic taken at the top of the Rockerfeller Centre in NYC!

Peter Braunstein, the former writer for Women’s Wear Daily who was convicted on charges that on Halloween 2005, while dressed as a firefighter, he tied up, sexually molested and terrorized a former colleague, was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison today.

I have just posted some pics taken on the last evening and day in NYC.  Forgot to take the camera with me many times in the last week – battle fatigue I guess.

We had a good final day in NYC as we went to see the latest Frank Gehry building on the lower west side in Chelsea – it is like Bilboa and Disney Hall and not.  It is an office HQ but it is very distinctive – thanks Alison for telling me about it.

We had a drink at the Beer Company at Pier 19 and then we headed north to The Metropolitan Museum of Art as they have a very interesting collection of 20^th century European and American art which I found inspiring and glad to see Howard Hodgkin, David Hockney and Bridget Riley represented along with a mass of Warhol and Lichtenstein.  Just my cup of tea.

We then went for a walk in Central Park which is delightful on a sunny day and we ended up at Strawberry Fields by the Dakota Building on the west side where John Lennon was murdered.

Traffic was bad so we made an early start out to JFK – NYC cab drivers are maybe the best in the world and they come from all over the world.  Sometimes their English is not so good but they can all drive and they take no prisoners.  They do not want to be held up in traffic as they want to be on to the next fare so they try every dodge in the book to get you to your destination quickly.  They reach speeds of 60mph all the time.  Funny, never seen an accident though.

Uneventful flight back and MaxJet is the future for me – they are a wonderful airline and I would fly again with them.  I read this week that Virgin are bringing in a business class only airline.  Our driver was waiting for at Stansted and we were back for lunchtime.

Went for a pizza as I was starving and the service was diabolical – but it was cheap as the service was only 10%!

I am in the lounge at Boston South Amtrak station leaving at 11.15 arriving NYC 2.30.

Raining cats and dogs.

Lots of IT probs as hotel wifi was down for about 6 hours – techie said it was because someon downloaded a big file and the system carshed.  I suspect it was me but system is very flakey if this caused a system failure.  It was a pp file that I will distribute soon which I received from Wade yesterday.

Ceri – did you have some probs with Typepad and exchange?  Email me if you did as my email account is a bit difficult to activate and will try again in NYC on a new and perhaps better system.

We are staying in mid town again and will probably spend time in Greenwich village this evening.

Still on CC at this hotel  built in an old church and we are up in the eaves.  An old pew is the headboard.  However, it is a bit dark and gloomy – no bedroon numbers – we are in Wednesday – twee or what?  I went for a drink at the BBC last night.  A whole range of British keg beers on offer so I had a pint of Leffe – never seen it offered in pints before.   They say they try to recreate the British pub – no way Jose.

Yesterday we came down the southern or bottom cape coast hoping to stay in Hyannis or anywhere that had a nice hotel overlooking the water and near the beach.  Unfortunately, we only saw dreary motels (shades of Psycho) and B&B’s.  That is why we ended up here near Barnstaple where we first stayed on the cape.  However, a nice little town although this is not a beachside hotel.  Much of what we saw yesterday would not have been out of place in Blackpool and Lytham  – which contrasted so much with what we saw in Ptown and Barnstaple.  Ptown was without doubt the highlight of the cape for us.

I went to a Package Shop which is the correct name for a Liquor Store.  The liquor laws here are just a stop up from prohibition.  No drinking under 21.  Many places cannot sell spirits.  No alchohol in public eg beaches.  Booze must be in a brown paper bag.  ID always required to purchase.  But perhaps with the bad press booze gets these days we will see these restrictions elsewhere in future.

We found a waterside cottage as soon as we hit Ptown with a balcony with sea view in an old clapboard house.  Room is a bit small but so cheap compared with what we have paid on this holiday.  The day we arrived it was overcast but today it is in the high 70′s.  Food is good and cheap – plenty of lobster. 

All the whale watching boats are high speed so we won’t be doing that.  Ptown has been an artists community for over 100 years and there are plenty of galleries.  It is also a gay town and the mix of people are very cosmopolitan.  Interesting bars where people talk. 

Ptown is the most furthest out on Cape Cod with only about a mile of sand beyond Commercial Street (3 miles long) to the end of the peninsular and the lighthouse.  We have decided not to got to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket as it is just too much to do in one short trip.  Ptown is not as manicured as further down Cape Cod and it is much more relaxed – I like it.

We will probably go down to Hyannis tomorrow and mooch around there until we go back to Boston and home.

We had lunch in the Lobster Pot  which is a Ptown tradition.  I also went on wifi for free at the Ptown public library as no internet connection in the cottage.  I took 6 shirts and underwear to the laundry today – $18 for 5lbs and I only had 3lbs – brilliant value or what?

Surprisingly I have not read at all on this holiday not even on a plane – just not been in the mood even though I have a brilliant book to read.  When we were in Boston at Bouchee restaurant (very good) I saw a woman with the Kite Runner and told her she would enjoy it.  She was sure she would as she had just been to talk and book signing by the author just two blocks away – It is like when we were in Cuba and I missed Buena Vista Social Club by less than 24 hours – I would have loved to go to that book signing and I would not go to many!

I wrote this yesterday evening but was unable to post until now.  We are in Sandwich in a hotel built in a church – will post more later.

We left Boston this morning and navigated to Cambridge and Harvard.  All as you would expect and my IQ rose 10 points when I crossed over from Boston to Cambridge on the Longfellow or pepper pot bridge.  Very interesting town of clap board houses, lawns and college buildings.  Glad I went but could of missed.  We then negotiated Boston in the mid morning traffic – I have got the satnav with me but it does not like tunnels!  We stopped at Plymouth where the first pilgrims landed and there is a replica of the Mayflower there which was built in 1957 in England and sailed across to New England. 

There are a few Indian names but the vast majority of towns and villages are named after English places.  We may even get to Shrewsbury MA if the weather turns.  Speaking of which the weather is glorious and we were sitting on Beach at West Barnstaple till late.  We dropped into Hyannis which is a mixture of gobsmackingly huge and beautiful mansions and tacky strip malls.  Nice harbour as is the Barnstaple harbour but Barnstaple is much understated.  In Hyannis there are traffic signs reminding you that an area is "Highly settled" and therefore sped is reduced to 20mph.

We are staying in a B&B called High Point Inn (we are in the red room on the website) which overlooks the sand neck spit on one side of the Barnstaple Harbour.  I rang to see if they had a vacancy and I was told they had a room but they would not be there till later but the door would be open and we should come upstairs and choose the room we wanted which we did.  We then went out and when we got back the host and hostess had gone to bed so we have not met them yet.  Amazing trust and honesty but then I thought we had just left all our bags in a strange house without a care in the world.

I got a $25 parking ticket for parking in a beach car park which unbenownst to me was reserved for residents!   Not sure if I will pay as the parking attendant was surly – can you imagine.  Trouble is the rental company may pay and pass the cost to me. 

There is a lot of private beach property and I took a pic of a sign which stated where the end of the public beach ended – not sure if this applied to the waterline.  Property is expensive around here and it is a bit manicured here but perhaps this will change as we move up the cape.

It is not so expensive here e.g. I had a lobster Caesar’s salad that was too big to finish and it was $23 in a restaurant overlooking the harbour – delightful.

We will travel up the Cape towards Cape Cod and then come down the other side.  We are tempted to Whale Watching and we just me a couple who had been today and they saw more whales than on a trip to Alaska – it is a 5 hour trip and Jean is apprehensive so we will not do if the weather is not excellent and it is turning chillier with showers tomorrow.

Arrived here last night on an uneventful flight from LA which took 5 hours.  Boston is a conplete contrast to the other cities we have visited on this trip.  It is modern and it is old.  It is very green.  Plenty of new and old buildings which contrast each other and with the river Columbus flowing through.  The city is very near the coast and the plane flew in over water.  We are staying in another historic hotel – The Lenox, which is a very nice hotel and I am writing this looking down Boylston Street from the 7th floor overlooking the finishing line of the marathon – the Boston marathon is the oldest city marathon and Pietro has run this marathon so I am thinking of him as I write.

We went on a city tour today and enjoyed that enormously.  We shall go out to Cambridge and Harvard tomorrow as we pick up a rental car in the morning as we leave Boston for Cape Cod and we will be touring New England until Sunday when we return.  We then take a train from Boston to NYC on Monday and fly back to UK on Tuesday evening arriving in UK on Wednesday morning.

I have just bought a map and guide book of the Cape Cod area and do not know what to expect.  People in Boston are very friendly and easy to talk to.  Tonight there is a big Red Socks game (baseball to the unitiated) and the city is jumping and the bars were last night – did not get in until 2am – Jean was fast asleep when I got in.

JFK would have been 90 today and this is his city.  They are all very proud of him and there are many memorials to him and his family.

We are offf out tonight to Wally’s (recommended by Jessica at lunch) – a jazz club founded in the year I was born – a very good year I must say.  Just back from Wally’s – I should say the drum beat is not wholly to my taste but when the sax came in it was awesome to quote a local saying.

Rubia – our server was Brazilian at dinner last night also recommended a French restaurant which we mnay try tonight.  Bouchee was better than being in Paris – however, as ever the portions were out of order.

Steak tartare was awsome, onion soup magic and the coq au vin was historic along with the stragonoff.  Sticky was French, profiterolles went well with the sticky.

I will come back here and I do not often say that about anywhere.