23/1/07||25/1/07 - Los Angeles-Sydney - Day 27

Our final day in LA, and what better way to spend it than ambling round one of those huge shopping malls with Ms Sherman. I didn't buy anything - just as well, too. When I packed my bags this morning, I could hardly close the zip! We went back to the hotel, where we had lunch in the café adjacent. Craig wondered past, saying that he was going to the local Starbucks, as he noticed there were a lot of attractive single men there! We ended up going there to pass time also, then it was onto the bus that would take us to the airport.




Santa Monica Boulevard at sunset on our final day


The group ready to load their luggage on the coach


Neil wishing us well for the journey back to Oz


The choked freeway on the way to the airport


It was fun and games at the check-in counter. My boarding pass said that I had to "Seek assistance at the gate for allocation of seating". Not a good sign! At the gate we found out that the flight had been overbooked by about 50 seats! If I hated United until now, I wanted them dead (but only after they assigned me a seat!). Because of the disaster with the seating, Kate Massey-Greene volunteered to take up their offer of spending an extra night in LA in a lovely hotel, plus a free upgrade to Business Class for the return leg of the journey. Lucky her! The flight was pretty uneventful, save for a crazy Asian lady in front of me who couldn't speak any English, but kept turning round to jabber at me in Engrish.


A quick spin through Duty Free, and then we were on home soil!

22/1/07 - Day 26

Yesterday, Robert Bailey-Hughes had kindly organised for Huw, himself and I to go on a daytrip to Universal Studios, 30 mins north of the city. It wasn't something I'd normally do, but I thought it'd be good to try something new. Anyone who knows me will quite happily tell you that I never go to the movies, so I thought the place would be rather irrelevant to me.

I was proved wrong! First up, we went on a tour of the actual backlots, which was exciting. We saw...


Exploding car models used in the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious


The Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock's hit Psycho


A mechanism used to create floods


The exploding wharf from Amityville - Jaws movies

We then went on a few rides (the Jurassic Park dropdown ride was scary, but fun - involving falling 25 meters off a cliff in a dinghy thing!), we also saw a demonstration of how fire-type special effects are made. We then stopped for lunch, then on to a trained animal show. We had...


the recycling dog...


A bra-wearing monkey...


And a bird trained to fly in a wind tunnel

The view from Universal is rather picturesque



In the evening, we had our Tour Farewell dinner. Helen Sherman sang some showtunes, accompanied by myself, Robert Bailey Hughes and Mark Stubley on the piano, much to everyone's delight! Home tomorrow

21/1/07 - Day 25

Inside the church

A friend of Neil and Owen's, Reece (who is also head server at St Thomas') kindly organised a minivan to ferry us to the church in the morning, in groups of about 10 or so, so we didn't have to make our own way there. The Mass was a resounding success, and we were treated to a huge slap-up do afterwards, in the parish hall. It was really nice of them to put on such a spread; we felt like royalty! :)

Before rehearsal, waiting for the others to arrive...






Sammy, get your gun!



We hung around, waiting for our rehearsal with the St Thomas' choir, who were joining with us for Evensong. Afterwards, we were taken out by a few of the congregation for drinks at this giant megaplex-type bar, funnily enough called The Abbey http://www.abbeyfoodandbar.com/ ! A very drunken night ensued with about 5 of us ending up in a cabana! We made some great friends that night! Craig, especially...

20/1/07 - Day 24

An early start back to my hotel, to pack and to take some more photos. Here are a few:


California Street, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background


One of the cablecars in California Street


An interesting contrast of architectural styles walking down Taylor Street

Time to load the bus, and yet another cranky busdriver who thinks we have too much luggage! He had dreadful trouble lining the doors of the undercarriage up so that they didn't hit the street signs, and his backwards-forwards culminated in the bus letting loose and belching a big cloud of acrid smoke from somewhere underneath. Now we had a cranky bus and an even crankier bus driver!

However, the bus still went, and we made it to the airport well in time to catch our flight to Los Angeles.

Some scenes from along the way:

Freeway


Housing estate beside freeway (yes, that is smog in the background)


Our flight to Los Angeles

We disembarked (yet again - I hate planes now), and were collected by a coach. We drove around and around and around, our driver seemingly lost in all the palmed avenues. We got to our hotel eventually...thank goodness. Checkin was dead simple, and we had an hour to get ourselves ready before catching taxis to St Thomas' for our rehearsal for the following day's services. Dinner was had afterwards, at a sort-of steakhouse. I caught a taxi back to the hotel with Neil, Owen and David. Time for bed, as I was absolutely stuffed after the days events.

19/1/07 - Day 23

A day of exploring the shops in downtown San Fran, and some thoughts on the area in general.

There seemed to be a lot of homeless people around town, many with psychiatric problems. I mentioned this in passing to a few people, and apparently its because its one of the lowest taxing states in the country, and there's not enough money to allocate to services for both these (sometimes interconnected) problems.


Homeless people

Everyone seems to be either friendly towards you, or agressive, like you owe them something. I mean, come on!

There are a lot of hills. Thank goodness for cable cars!

--

I bought more DVDs and CDs - someone slap me. I must be mad. Back to the hotel to change for dinner. Sean suggested that for our last night together, it would be nice to have dinner down at Fisherman's Wharf. And right he was! Had a delicious steak with mash...and then a chocolate and coconut tart for dessert.

We decided to head to the Castro to check out some bars, whereupon I found my tummy was still not right (vomit). Back to the hotel with Sean. At least he was feeling a bit better! Last day together *sigh*

18/1/07 - Day 22

An early start - there was a city to explore! I met up with Sean after brekky, and wondered round the Castro.


Sean having a rest


Market Street, Castro

Then it was back to the hotel to get my robes and music, as we had our Evensong at Grace Cathedral that evening. It was a lovely service...and an interesting building, housing yet another Skinner Organ - strings to make your mouth water!






Grace Cathedral by night

A gin and tonic back at the hotel, then it was on to the Castro for dinner, a sampling of the vibrant nightlife. I was feeling bored so went to Sean's hotel to see how he was recovering.

17/1/07 - Philadelphia-San Fransisco - Day 21

On the road again....almost. For some reason, our bus to the airport (booked for 11am) turned up at 5.30am, and didn't bother telling their boss that there was no-one to pick up! When there was no sight of the bus at 11.10am, we started to worry - Phillip then called and was told the above. But, Holiday Inn to the rescue! They managed to get 3 minivans to come and take us to the airport! Good on them! Those who were billeted made their way by taxi (I think) to the airport, where we rushed through check-in, passport control, security and to the gate lounge.


Helen and I in a minivan on the way to the airport

Flying US Airways was interesting - the only thing free on board were softdrinks. Everything (incl. food), you had to pay for. Food was quite good though.

We landed in San Fran, were promptly met by our coach, who then drove (what seemed like miles) to the Hotel Beresford. A small lobby, and too many bags...



We decided to check out the local area (Mark, surprisingly, had another Fun Map), we went and had pizza a block away - the wine was cellared too long, and had turned a bit, but that was OK. Some decided to venture to an "interesting" venue, the Nobb Hill Cinema, but I went back to the hotel as I was tired...no, really, I was! Sean had also arrived in SF that day, and was still feeling sick, so I decided to steer clear of his hotel.

16/1/07 - Day 20

I woke up not feeling quite right in the stomach - and hoped to God I hadn't got the tummybug. I played it safe, and stayed in the hotel, which was lucky, as lavatorial conveniences were needed often! Inadvertently, it was nice to have a day to myself, even if I was in crampy-pain land. It also gave me a chance to update my blog, which was running very behind schedule.

In afternoon, I wondered up to St Mark's with Rajah and Helen Sherman.

We had a lovely Evensong, with a pretty full church, which was reassuring. Alistair accompanied us again, which was very nice of him, considering he had a 2+ hour train ride in each direction to get there. A HUGE spread was put on for us afterwards - lasagne, salad, the works. They had catered thinking 50 people would turn up, but apparently the number was closer to 150. Still, everyone was adequately fed and watered, and who should show up at the reception, but yes...my stalker! I tried hiding from him a few times, but it didn't really work. He did however, approach Neil and gave a ready sample of his singing ability, much to Neil's delight! I finally managed to shake him off and send him on his way.

Before leaving, I had a wonder round the interior of the church, which was sumptuously adorned with many objects, including a solid silver altar in a side chapel!





Their Rector, who spent some time in a parish in Perth as Curate gave a lovely speech, and then it was back to Woodie's! No karaoke though...

15/1/07 - NYC-Philadelphia - Day 19

Sean felt a bit better, but certainly didn't look it. He got his stuff together and left the hotel room for the first time since Saturday night. He caught a taxi back to his friend's place in Harlem, and crashed out in a chair. Meanwhile, we all boarded the bus, and freeway'd it through New Jersey - driving for what seemed like hours through what I think was mostly industrial wasteland. Some photos from the trip - sorry if they're a bit dark - it was really foggy outside.






The taxi-way at Newark Airport. I've never seen so many planes queueing for takeoff!

Helen Sherman, and a few others had come down with various chest infections, and more people had come down with the tummy-bug. :(

Once we arrived in Philly, we dropped off those that were being billetted at St. Mark's, the church where we'd be singing Evensong the following (Tuesday) night. They were then free to roam the town, while those who chose to stay in a hotel continued on to the Holiday Inn Historic District. Whilst checking in, it seems the travel agent didn't include a room voucher for myself, so I had to pay for a room for two nights myself. Thanks to Phillip though, he telephoned the travel agent in Sydney, who then faxed across the paperwork, so in the end I didn't have to pay for anything extra. Mark Stubley, Danny and I decided a walk was in order. We'd decided we wanted to hear the Wanamaker Organ - situated in the central court area of a 6-storey shopping centre. I'd read that it gets played every day, and wondered if we were in luck to hear someone putting it through its paces. Upon arrival, we found out that there was a recital scheduled for 5.30pm that day. We wondered through Philly some more, and were instantly charmed by the city's architecture.



Mark suggested we try and see if St Clement's was open for a look-see, so off we went. I was doubtful as it was a public holiday that day, and I thought it wouldn't be open, but as luck would have it - it was!

Some pictures...




We returned to Macy's (aka the Wanamaker Store) for their 5.30pm recital. I think the poor organist would have been 90 if a day, and played like it too...a few variations on Lift up your heads (Handel) and then some variations on Twinkle, twinkle...then it was enough.

Stubley had his "fun map" guide handy, and had sussed out a few venues for an evening bevvy or 3. First up was Bump, a rather nice what looked to be a wine/martini bar. They served a wonderful array of tapas type dishes, and was very excited to receive some fried pork dumplings, rather like those at Shanghai China Night in Ashfield!!

After Bump (where I lost my nice scarf I bought in Canterbury :(( ), we adjourned to Woody's, which I was informed was the place to go by Jason Groves' friend Donald. It turns out that it was karaoke night upstairs, so Rajah, Phillip and I made our way up the stairs, the others wanting an early night, as they still weren't feeling quite right after being ill. It seems I acquired a stalker of sorts - a "charming" black man named Chris. Phillip kindly let slip where we were singing the following night - thank you, Phillip! Phillip and Rajah departed after a few numbers, and left me with the bloody stalker! He then suggested we try another bar (which was a few streets from my hotel), where I met his (drug-addled and incoherent) cousin. Great. He started rifling through his jacket, looking for something. I asked what he was looking for, and he said "some drugs I am supposed to drop off to a friend here". Great - I am being taken on a drug-run with a complete fruitloop. I bought him a drink, and bolted out of there, saying I had to be up early. Nicely done, Daniel!

14/1/07 - Day 18

An(other) early start, today's duties included singing Mass and Evensong at St Mary the Virgin, Times Square (Smokey Mary's). We arrived for rehearsal in their dungeon choir room, and soon proceeded up to the organ gallery where we were to sing from. A stunning service - their Organist and Director of Music, Robert McCormick, is second to none - and gained the title at St Mary's when he was 22 years old (I think he is now 28). What an improviser!! During the Offertory, he played a stunning rhumba-toccata, building up to Full Organ, leaving us all agog. We were absolutely dumbstruck with this little (he's about 5'5" tall) dynamo!



He also played a awesome improvised Pastorale-Choral-Toccata-Final on 'Kingsfold' as the Voluntary - again, 10 minutes of the most amazing first-rate musicality! The organ there is amazing too -an Aeolian Skinner dating from the 1930's, and (if I remember correctly) one of G. Donald Harrison's masterworks. I visited the church shop afterwards, and came away with a cool Smokey Mary's t-shirt and mug. Very reasonably priced too! Also took some photos round the church.







Then it was back to check on Sean, as he was still in bed suffering the effects of his contagion. Spent some time with him, hoping that he was at least improving somewhat, and then ventured back to the church for Evensong rehearsal, followed by the service. More stunning playing from Robert!

Post-Evensong drinks followed, and then a group of us went out to a Splash, one of New York's many gay bars. An early night though, and I wanted to check on poor Sean again. I also had to pack up my suitcases, as we were bussing out to Philadelphia the next morning.

13/1/07 - Day 17

We had a Saturday morning rehearsal at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Times Square, affectionately known as Smokey Mary's. It gets its nickname from the rather large amount of incense used at services. One of its main claims is that it was the first church built with a steel frame, with concrete then added around this framework.


The view from the street

Some very funny things in their choir room....


A rather cute number plate...


...and bumper sticker...


...and the choir room.

After we went over all our music, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Sean met me back at the hotel, and we went out in search of a haircut, as we were both beginning to look a bit untidy in the follicular department. $15 each later, we looked a lot better! We'd decided that we would like to see either Wicked (a new musical about the witches from the Wizard of Oz), Les Mis or Chicago. The first two were booked out, but we got very good tickets to Chicago for that night. A quick duck back to the hotel to get changed, charging through the crowds to get past and into a packed restaurant for dinner. It seems that everyone was there to eat before a show. The first place we tried (at about 6.40pm), Carmine's, had a 1.5 hr wait for a table! We shovelled down dinner, then pushed through the masses. We made it with time for a pee, and 1 minute or so until the show began. It was absolutely running. It didn't seem all that dated, even though it has (as of 2007) been running for 10 years straight. Admirable! We walked back to the hotel, but not before seeing Madonna come out of her hotel, in front of an adoring crowd that was blocking Broadway going North! Ooh, and they have really scrummy Haagen-Daz ice-cream here!

Sean was struck down though - the nasty tummybug that had been presenting itself to the rest of the choir had finally made its acquaintence with Sean. He spent most of the night going at both ends, a night which left both of us without much sleep :(