GlobalTrash 2017 - London, Estonia, Slovenia and United States

[OZDUCK]

Nice to see more photos from your trip. My wive fell in love with those glasses as well.

 

[EestiTiger]

My arrival into JFK was painless. No doubt the champagne was helping. Security was the easiest I have ever experienced in the states. Hardly asked me anything and were super friendly and wanted me to enjoy my time in the states. 'Don't worry mate - I plan to!'

I had some SPG points to burn so chose to stay in Brooklyn at the Aloft Hotel. It was close to everything, especially with the subway around the corner. It was a 'solid' hotel. Nothing too special but everything I needed. I wasn't planning to spend too much time here in any case This was my first time in NYC and wow - what a place. I feel like I hardly saw a thing.

A lot of the pictures below need no introduction. I spent a lot of time walking around just soaking it all in.

 

[EestiTiger]

Had some super yummy food in NYC. Highlight, as touristy as it is, was Katz's Deli I arrived close to opening time at 8am to avoid the tourist hordes. Worked a treat, no lines, had time to chat to the server and had my choice of tables. Yes, it is touristy. Yes, it is not cheap. The pastrami sandwich I had was worth every mouthful - soooo good! It was with much amusement that I wandered into a new food mall, next to my hotel a few days later and found they had a Katz's Deli franchise. Of course I had another one there too.



For someone who loves a thick deep dish pizza, NYC is a strange place to be trying to find, a Chicago style pizza. I had heard good things of a place in Brooklyn that even had a burger called 'le big Matt'. The thing that drew me in though was the promise of 'Detroit' style pizza! It takes some of its cues from Chicago, with a thick pan base. The pizzas are always rectangle in shape on account of the 'pizza trays' actually being trays used in the Detroit auto industry.

Restaurant was called - Emmy Squared



Being a total plane nerd, the USS Intrepid was always going to be a port of call. It was a very hot day which I think kept the crowds down.

 

[EestiTiger]

One thing I was a bit surprised about was the number of police I saw everywhere I went in NY. I had a police van parked permanently out the front of my hotel in Brooklyn. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

Not too sure what this motorcade was doing but they were a noisy bunch...



I found a Toby's Estate coffee shop in Brooklyn and once I realised they had other outlets, they were my go to coffees in NY.



A few more photos that need no real commentary from me. I did some serious miles by foot that day!


Another place I wanted to head to for dinner one night was a BBQ place located in Brooklyn called Pig Beach. Awesome BBQ - I just had the small ribs Oh - and maybe a few brews to wash them down with... This was my last night in NY and it wouldn't be right to not have a late night.



I saw the dog kennel below out the front of another bar whilst walking around Brooklyn. It is air-conditioned and has a internal camera, but not sure that makes it somewhere I'd want to leave a poor pooch!

 

[EestiTiger]

Next morning found be winging it to Baton Rouge Louisiana. I visited here two years ago to go to a college football game and had an awesome time. It is a very overlooked city with New Orleans a bit over an hour away. I was meeting one of my best mates here who is working for the USN on exchange. Our plan was a roadtrip around Louisiana and Florida over the course of a week.

Despite Hurricane Harvey raging over in Houston the weather in 'Red Stick' was absolutely stunning.

Baton Rouge is Louisiana's state capital and has both old and new state capitol buildings. Below is the old state capitol building.






This is the new capitol building. I had a bit of time to kill so I wandered inside and got chatting to a couple of lovely old ladies. They were amazing. Wanted to show me everything. I was the only tourist who wandered in at that time and being from Australia, they were extremely hospitable. I was lucky to see both sitting chambers hear all about this history involving a bombing and an assassination. I love my history and it was great to hear it from people so passionate and proud of their local history. 'The tallest state capitol in the USA' - I heard this a few times!


We stayed in the Watermark Hotel which was a newly opened hotel in an old bank. It is part of the Marriott 'Autograph Collection'. Centrally located, great service and a grand old building. I will be staying here from now on when I am visiting. Below is the only picture I have which is of the restaurant.

 

[OZDUCK]

Lovely photos again - Baton Rouge looks nicer than I thought it would. I had a picture in my mind of a slightly seedy & rundown city.

Without looking it up I believe the assassination they are talking about was that of Huey P Long (Kingfisher?- no had a look - Kingfish), a populist Governor of slightly less than pristine reputation. His rise and demise was portrayed, thinly disguised, in the film "All the Kings Men" staring Broderick Crawford in about 1948.

 

[EestiTiger]

Without looking it up I believe the assassination they are talking about was that of Huey P Long (Kingfisher?- no had a look - Kingfish), a populist Governor of slightly less than pristine reputation. His rise and demise was portrayed, thinly disguised, in the film "All the Kings Men" staring Broderick Crawford in about 1948.

Yes you are correct Huey Long was the assassinated governor. I didn't know that about the book though. Added to the reading list

 

[EestiTiger]

Friday afternoon saw us looking for somewhere to kickstart the night. We ended up at this excellent little craft brewery called Tin Roof Brewing. A really nice atmosphere enjoying some drinks with the locals and staff. They offer free brewery tours and the brews were great.



The local chamber of commerce puts on free Friday night concerts in the park next to the old State Capitol. Every one was having a great time drinking, eating and dancing. It was a really lovely way to ease into gameday the following day.



We were here in Baton Rouge though, to go to the LSU game at 'Death Valley'. The LSU Tiger Stadium has a larger capacity than the MCG. It is a crazy place.

We had been invited to join a tailgate before kickoff so headed there with an esky to enjoy some Southern hospitality. LSU tailgates are famous and renown for being one of the best, if not the best. To say we were the most popular people on campus that day is probably an understatement. We were the centre of attention on account of our Aussie accents and were constantly getting dragged this way and that to meet people, try different people's foods and to have photos taken. It was really bizarre but we lapped it up. Wonderful people who made the day so special. Oh - and the tigers won

 

[EestiTiger]

Being so close to the 'big easy' we headed there for a few days after the LSU game. We were staying in the JW Marriott New Orleans. The foyer and public areas were all very nice. The rooms though were very tired and dated. Comfortable enough, but not I was expecting for a one of their 'luxury' brand hotels. Last time I was in NOLA I stayed in an Aloft Hotel around the corner. I think it was better.

Due to the festivities at the football the previous day in Baton Rouge, we were planning a low-key night for our first night. My mate Tony and I were both not feeling too sprightly and were struggling to face a beer. The first one went down decidely slow. We were in a bar listening to some live music, of course, and noticed we were the only ones not drinking what looked like red cordial. These were in fact a local institution called 'Hurricanes' which we had no idea about. We thought we'd try one each before calling it a night. One ended up two, before three and then the rest of the night got a little hazy... Those things packed a punch - 4 shots of white rum in each one. You live and learn!

The weather in New Orleans was stunning. We had hurricanes to the West, we had hurricanes to the East, but the weather gods continued to look after us.



The food... I am surprised I don't have many pictures - I guess I was enjoying myself too much I do remember a few of our destinations though...

• I ended up at The Company Burger for lunch one day with a very sore head and rumbling stomach. It deserved every accolade it gets online.
• For our caffeine fix we were heading to Spitfire Coffee who could even work out Flat Whites.
• I know it is very touristy, but yes we ended up at Central Grocery and Deli for a Muffuletta. Simple food, but I love those things.
• Gumbo is a bit of an institution so after some quick googling we headed to Cajun Mike's Pub and Grub to tick that off the list. It wasn't bad but not something I'd rush out to try again.
• We headed out for seafood on our final night at a beautiful restaurant in the InterContinental called Trenasse. Again, we were a bit under the weather but we had some great seafood. The oysters were massive.

The next morning we hit the road to Pensacola with half of Florida who were sheltering in New Orleans on account of the Hurricanes. The traffic was horrendous. It took us all day to get to our next port of call - Navarre Beach. We were staying at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott which was brand spanking new. It had just opened and it was absolutely sensational. Right on the beach, beautiful rooms, great staff and even the hotel breakfast was good.

Navarre Beach was beautiful. Some of the whitest sand I have ever seen.

 

[EestiTiger]

Whilst in Pensacola we visited the National Naval Aviation Museum. As lucky would have it, we walked straight into a Blue Angels practice session. It was as cool as it sounds. An amazing experience.

I had trouble uploading video directly so have dumped some clips on youtube as below.

 

[amaroo]

Enjoying your report and photos.

 

[EestiTiger]

Enjoying your report and photos.

Thanks Amaroo - it is taking me a while to get it all done.

 

[EestiTiger]

A few more random photos from the roadtrip through Alabama. We stopped briefly in Mobile to take a couple of quick pics of the USS Alabama battleship.





A-12 parked in the carpark. Don't see that every day.

 

[EestiTiger]

We actually back tracked to New Orleans and then flew via Houston to Orlando. Grabbed another rental here and headed to Daytona Beach for a few days. Again the weather gods were kind but there was a bit more hurricane damage here. A lot of restaurants were closed, traffic lights still out and trees down.

Our hotel - Hilton Daytona Beach was rather poor. Very tired decor, old and really in need of a good renovation. Daytona Beach was a lot like that. A lot of older hotels and buildings and not looking like anyone wants to spend any money on new hotels there.

We ventured down to the Kennedy Space Centre one afternoon. It was the first day it was back open after the hurricane so crowds were down and we couldn't access the bus tours out to the launch pads. I have been before, a few months after the Columbia disaster, so it wasn't that critical to get out there. Not sure my mate Tony agreed though.



Key Lime pie - yum


We had one night up at Gainesville to see another college football game. On the way we saw this very funky old school McDonalds in Palatka.


Not sure what to make of this red I found in the bottle shop...

 

[EestiTiger]

I am determined to close out my trip report within the next week!

So Gainesville... Being one of LSU's arch-rivals we thought we might be discreet and not wear the purple and gold from last week's game. Another awesome college town with everyone in great spirits. We were staying in a dodgy motel on the road out of town. It was the only place we could get a bed and for one night, it would be fine.

We quickly made some friends, who were with the Tennessee team. We had a fantastic time with fans from both sides. Again, once they here you are an Aussie, you are pretty popular. Unlike LSU's convincing win the previous week, this game went down to the wire. It made the news back here in Australia. The place just went crazy! Unbelievable finish and pretty devastating for our Tennessee friends You can watch the last play here: Florida beats Tennessee WITH A 63-YARD HAIL MARY



The next morning we had to hightail it back to Orlando before our flight back home to my mate's place in Mechanicsville PA. I had one night here with my mate's family before I caught a bus bound for Washington DC.

 

[drron]

An amazing catch.Pity the Eagles couldn't hold the ball as well as that yesterday.

 

[craven morehead]

I am determined to close out my trip report within the next week!
You can watch the last play here: Florida beats Tennessee WITH A 63-YARD HAIL MARY
The next morning we had to hightail it back to Orlando before our flight back home to my mate's place in Mechanicsville PA. I had one night here with my mate's family before I caught a bus bound for Washington DC.

Hail Mary finish alright !! Great TR

 

[EestiTiger]

I have never been to DC before and with a million things to see, yet only a short two night stay, it would be a challenge. At some stage on my trip, it occurred to me I had the chance to see every existing space shuttle on the same trip! The Washington part of the trip would see me having to get all the way out to the Udvar-Hazy Center if I wanted to see the Discovery orbiter.

It was a bit of a hike using public transport having to take the metro to the end of the line and then connecting to a bus that goes via Washington Dulles Airport. It took me the best part of 2 hours to get out there. Pictures below will show that it was sooooo worth it if you like your aviation history. Totally worth all the effort. I am timing things very well as I had the place pretty much to myself. I spent a few hours out here and could have easily spent the whole day if I didn't have to get back into DC to see a few of the sights in there.

 

[EestiTiger]

I was staying at the Liaison Capital Hill Hotel which was quite nice. I usually choose my hotels due to their location to public transport and this was very close to Union Station and within walking distance of the national mall and its attractions. I did some serious walking over the course of my time in DC. There was just so much to see. The only museum I had time to visit was the National Air and Space Museum. It was really good, but I would have to say I am glad I made the trek the previous day to their sister site.

 

[EestiTiger]

I had a bit of a trek to now get from DC back to JFK. I booked my JFK-LAX flight a long time before I knew I was going to be in DC - the perils of booking so far out to get the good seats. I was flying AA domestic F on an A321. Flying this particular flight allowed me entry to the AA First Dining Room. The lounge was quite busy so it was a bit surreal to then be the only one in the Dining Room. My flight was delayed an hour so I entertained myself doing a wine tasting after I had eaten. The whole time I was there I only had one other passenger come in.