BAT out there

Deja Vue - Back in Philly

clarrieno1 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:34:00 GMT

So that was the most hilarious day of Greyhound transport yet. First of all Boston wouldn't give me a through ticket to Philly, they would only give me a ticket to NY so I have to queue again when I get there. Somthing to do with each greyhound station being able to make up it's own rules!

Then we had such a funny driver from Boston to NY. He was an oriental guy, probably chinese and he just kept on and on about our safety being the prime concern and time not important so don't complain if we are late, and would probably be our own fault anyway cos one of us would do something stupid etc etc etc. Then when we got to NY his driving in the city was so bad we were all in fear of our lives anyway - ha ha ha

Next up was the lady driver from NY to Philly who was so fierce you would be scared to say anything to her. She kept on about how it was her bus and to respect her bus and not do this o that, no mobile phones ringing, no loud conversations. When someone's phone did ring she gave them a warning that next time she would throw them off - scary!!!!

Anyway made it to Philly in one piece and all in all it was quite entertaining. Off the bus walked to the hostel and stopped to buy Ben and jerry's phish food ice cream on the way. Sorted through all of my stuff, threw away a fair bit but spread it across the two bags quite nicely. Really good that I can take 2 bags on all of my flights with no extra costs. rewarded myself with the ice cream and American Gangster on DVD. Chatted to Katreena who works in the hostel and is well into sci-fi and then a good nihts sleep before I leave for Bermuda tomorrow....Wooo Hooo, so excited to see Emma, Johnnie and Megan again............

Bands in Boston

clarrieno1 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:07:00 GMT

Hoorah - it has stopped raining and in fact the weather is pretty bloody brilliant! So I am heading of to do some of the historic walking tour in the town centre. So having mastered the metro and purchased a freedom trail map off I set. Saw lots of churches and quite a few graves. Boston is quite compact in the centre so everything was nice and close together. And I had 2 top resuls. Firstly borders have an offer of $5 off any book so I bought King Leopold's ghost, then sat in a coffe shop with Latte and lemon cake to admire my purchase and next up H&M had $10off all denim so I go the grey jeans I wanted - Hoorah! what an excellent day.

Continued on the Freedom trail and when I got to the North End area it was something like St Joseph's day and ther wer parades and marching bands so that was really cool fun. One of the bands even had Harley outriders to clear the streets for them - excellent.

By now I was so hot I just had to head back to the hostel - what a change from yesterday, my fault for wearing a jumper out. Got myself some lunch from Wholefoods then chilled.

Later on Emily came back so we went and got Pizza together and had a right laugh. So tomorrow is my last day in the USA, can't say i will be sad to leave.

Bloody Boston

clarrieno1 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:02:00 GMT

So woke up this morning and it was raining and looked like it has no intention of stopping. I have no umberella and no waterproof top Oh and the rain is horizontal not vertical so decided not to go on the Harvard tour as I could well drown!

Glad I opted out of the Harvard tour as it didn't stop raining, in fact it just got heavier and heavier and then it also got a bit more windy - Oh what fun. So I stayed in the hostel all day except for a quick dash to the corner store for some snacks. Manged to read a whole book. Really wish I had brought my knitting with me as I think I could have finished it today :o(

Please god let it not be raining tomorrow or I wil have two wasted days in Boston!

Oh and it was Teddy Kennedy's funeral today so I spent quite a bit of time watchin gthat on the TV - very moving I must say.

Beetling off to Boston

clarrieno1 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:00:00 GMT

So up early to catch the 9am Greyhound. But as it turned uot I got there early enough to catch the 8am and it was one f the new buses so very comfortable. Changed in New York for another crowded bus with some annoyingly noisey children and arrived in boston at 3.20 pm. Another dirty and annoying Metro system (just reminds me why I hate the tube at home) and made it to the hostel. it's an old building and the beds are literally crammed in the room leaving no floor space for luggage or anything else. Nice and cosy for the next 3 nights then! oh and noisey airconditioning. I really can't wait for Bermuda now.

have signed up to do the Harvard tour tomorrow as it should be quite interesting, but declined the invitation to baseball this evening. i have been to 2 baseball games in my life and that was probably 2 too many, it is a seriously boring sport!

Goal for the rest of the day is to get clean, get food and get my book read....should be fairly simple.

Last day in Philadelphia...

clarrieno1 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:31:00 GMT

So off to see some historic sights today and do a few chores.

Went to Independence hall and had a very interesting tour of the building, our guide was Larry and he bombarded us with loads of history about the declaration of inedpendence and the creation of the constitution and the various amendments thereafter. Have to confess a lot of it went in one ear and out the other cos there were just so many facts and figures but the building is quite impressive and the square behind it very pictursque.

Next was the Liberty Bell centre with all the history of the bell and then the actual bell itself which was about what I would expect it to be. Then i wandered around a few other historic sights but wasn't in the mood to pay for any of the attractions, including $2 to go into a cemetary, if i was religious I would question whether god would approve, but as luck woudl have it the grave of benjamin Frnklin was right beside the railings so i took a sneaky picture through the gap!

Then i went on my mission to purchase jeans, have a pair from Urban Outfitters now but not 100% sure they really suit me. Difficult shopping for something like this when you want advise and there is no one around. Also went back to the lovely K Mart and bout a new bag, my day pack is slowly falling apart, seams ripping, zip not always working, so I now have a much bigger bag with wheels and everything. the good thing is with US Airways and American Airlines I can take this as carry on luggage and for the flight home with Virgin I can check 2 bags so I have loads of room for all my rubbish.

This evening there was a pub crawl but after my expenditure of money today I decided to give it a miss and pack for Boston instead. However I hadn't realised there were free drinks at the hostel before everyone else left so i was able to be sociable and have afew drinks anyway. Chatted to another pair of British girls who have been working at Summer Camp and were very entertaining with their tales of everything that had happened to them.

Finally sorted out my stuff, am only taking one bag to Boston as I will be back in Phillie on Monday.

Sight seeing in Philadelphia

clarrieno1 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:25:00 GMT

So I didn't exactly leave the hostel early this morning as I was waiting to say goodbye to Sam, Alley, Erin and Rachel who all left today.

But once I did leave I really got going on my two missions of the day shopping and sightseeeing. I have decided i want some grey stonewashed skinny jeans so after about half a dozen shops I think i may have found a pair in Urban Outfitters that fit the bill but I'm going to think about it until tomorrow. Anyway the shopping required me to walk most of the length of Walnut Street (a lot of the streets here are named after trees!) Then i cut up to Fairmount park and went to see the steps of the Art Museum which are famous from the Rocky movie. Didn't go into the museum as I am about arted out now but did get my photo with the Rocky statue.

Next stop was the Eastern State penitentiary which had a very good audio tour and was a very interesting place. A bit like going to Alcatraz but at least I can now say I have been to the two most significant old prisons in the states West and East coast. Oh Al Capone was held as ESP and they have a reconstruction of his cell, there were also a number of tales of escapes. I particularly liked the one where one of the escapees came back the next morning and knocked on the door because he was hungry - ha ha ha!

After ESP i walked all the way back towards the hostel making various tourist and shopping stops. City Hall - huge and impressive, Macy's - rubbish! Final stop was the supermarket and then the hostel. had been on my feet for 6 hours by this point and was exhausted. So had some food, which was foolish as there is free pasta tonight but I just couldn't wait another 2 hours to eat. Had a shower and then pretty much called it a day with my book.

Oh! Chris, one of the Welsh lads, who I met in Austin, Dallas and New Orleans has arrived here today - nice to see a familiar face :o)

P.S. Quite excited about the fact I only have 6 more days until Bermuda.

City of brotherly love....

clarrieno1 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:17:00 GMT

So woke up today somewhat lacking in motivation. Oh forgot to say the girls dorm here has 28 beds and I think they were nearly all full. most definitely the biggest dormitory (it the true sense of the word) that I have ever been in. Also means that the bathroom which we all share is a bit of a tip in the morning but the staff work hard to keep it clean.

So wandered down to South Street this morning which is the funky part of town with interesting restaurants, vintage clothing stores and tattoo/piercing places.

After that I went to the Big K Mart cos my day bag is doing it's best to fall apart now and I think i may need a bigger bacg to hold the over flow from my rucksack which is bursting at the seams.

Bumped into Rachel from the hostel and we went to look at the Reading Terminal Market which is supposedly where some Amish come to sell their goods, but to be honest I rdidn't see any, Rachel said she saw a couple. We sat down and had Philly Cheese Steaks for lunch which were pretty good and very filling. I had had reports that they were rubbish but I think those people probably bought them from street vendors.

Then i swung by the visitor centre to try and get information and motivation regarding things i shoudl go and see. Finally went back down to South Street and got another piercing done, this one in my ear, which I have been thinking of getting done for a while.

Back at the hostel I chatted with Sam and Alley, both from the Leeds area, and then it was Wine, cheese and movie night. American tasteless cheese, cheap wine and the film was "I love you Man" which I thought was pretty rubbish and a bit mushy again.

Another Greyhound, another city

clarrieno1 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:26:00 GMT

So catching the greyhound at 11am should be in Philadelphia mid afternoon. Looking forward to it as I think it should be another pretty interesting city.

Arrived in one piece and there was loads of room on the bus so got 2 seats all to myself - Ah.

Hostel not far from the greyhound and all the touristy stuff and it's also very nice, they have movie night every night!

Didn't do anything much this afternoon other than chat with other guests, go to the supermarket and make dinner then watch "What happens in Vegas". Not a bad film but a bit mushy at the end.

I am never eating subway again...

clarrieno1 — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:30:00 GMT

I have been sick and I don't know how many visits to the toilet since about 8pm yesterday. Anyway not what youwant to hear about. Felt rubbish but was determined to get out and see some more.

Today's goal, successfully achieved, Arlington Cemetery. I saw, John, Jacqui and Robert Kennedy graves. Arlington House, memorial to General Robert E Lee, the Unknown soldier's tomb and the changing of the guard there. The challenger and various other space shuttle graves/memorials. The memorial to nurses, the Rough riders and I'm sure a few others I can't even remember now. I also walked most of the perimeter of the cemetery and saw one corner of the Pentagon. All of this whilst feeling below par (no eating today, just lots of water I think) and catching the sun cos the weather actually turned out to be beautiful today.

After that I caught the metro back into downtown and went to chinatown to the cinema. Was thiking about seeing the Time traveller's wife but had just missed the start so opted for District 9 which is probably the most unusual film I have seen for a long while but really good. i liked the way it was shot as though a sort of documentary and was intrigued by the whols idea behind the film. Worth a watch.

Time to get myself ready to move on tomorrow - next stop Philadelphia. I shall be sorry to leave Washington as it is a very interesting city and there is still plenty I could do and see here.

Fond farewells

clarrieno1 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:08:00 GMT

So I said goodbye to Mario, Jon and Claire who are all heading to New York and to Jack who is going to stay with a friend of his brothers for the night before his family join him for a few days.

Once the farewells were out of the way I headed off to Constitution Gardens and West Potomac Park to do the memorials and mnuments. Saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean, Vietnam and World War II memorials, the Roosevelt memorial and the Washington Monument. I think my favourite was the Roosevelt memorial, it was huge and told the story of his various terms in office, there were sculptures, bronzes and waterfalls - brilliant.

Next stop was the Holocaust museum. It was extremely well done very harrowing and distressing. I just couldn't stay the distance and see it all. I am also ashamed to say I was hungry, which seems appalling in a place dedicated to the memory of so people who were worked and starved to death. Well worth the visit but not for the faint hearted.

When i left the black clouds were looming and by the time I made it back into chinatown it was tipping it down. I found the cinema but nothing I wanted to see was showing for at least another 2 hours so I made a dash for subway and grabbed a sandwich then hurried back to the hostel - soaking wet by the time I got there!

So once I dried off I phoned home which was lovely, read most of my book and watched Erin Brokovitch in the TV room. All the while the storm raed outside and the rain fell. I hope it's a bit better tomorrow.

busy, busy busy once again...

clarrieno1 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:56:00 GMT

So long list of things to see and do today. Stated off by walking around the back and the front of the White house, President Obama wasn't in residence so you could get right up to the railings at the back. Then went to the visitor centre which was very interesting and had a long video about the house, some of it's contents and the changes that have been made to it over the years. from there I walked to the Old Post Office building and went up the tower for a panoramic view of the city. it was a bit hazy but you could still see plenty. Then the long walk to the Capitol Building and the reflecting pool ther, you also get a great view back down the National Mall. Which is exactly where I walked next, grabbing a hot dog on the way. Next stop the Hirshorn gallery and sculpture garden for some more modern art, they had some good stuff here including Henry Moore sculptures which I always enjoy and the final stop of the day was the museum of Arfican Art, full of all the kind of stuff I enjoy to look at. The museum floors are underground and when I came out you could see it had been raining quite hard but I had managed to miss it - hoorah.

Went back to the hostel and chilled for a while before heading out for a farwell meal with Claire, mario, jon and Jack (they all move on tomorrow) went to a really nice Indian restaurant and everyone had good meals but it was a bit pricey for us budget back packers, particularly Mario and I who decided to go back to the hostel leaving the others to have a few more beers. Chatted for a while but had a relatively early night.

So much to do, so little time

clarrieno1 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:39:00 GMT

So basically there are about a gazillion things that you can do in Washington. Prior to arriving I got both Mum and Emma (who were here last month) to give me thier short lists of what they thought I should do. Armed with that I headed out to the Dupont Circle area to go to the Phillips collection and the textile museum. Both of which I can say were excellent. The Phillips collection is mostly modern art displayed on three conencting buildings and I enjoyed almost all of it, I really am a fan of modern art and they had works by some of the artists I particularly like.

At the textile museum there was an exhibition of Amish quilts which were suerbs, quite made me want to go home and learn how to quilt properly so I coudl make one. They also had a long documentary about the Amish way of life and how they come to terms with the cahnges in society etc. very very interesting. On top of that they had a collection of Indonesian Baticks that had been collected by President Obama's Mum. Both the baticks and the stories behind then were well worth the visit and the shop there was just full of lovely stuff, luckily all well out of my price range.

Headed back to the downtown area and started wandering around but by this time I was not feeling so great and realised I had been very foolish and let myself get de-hydrated (school girl error!). So after a bit more aimless wandering looking at the outside of buildings and an aborted attempt to visit the National Museum of American History - just way too many large groups of children for my liking, I took myself and my pounding headache back to the hostel for a rest. Bumped into Australian Claire in reception who advised me that Mario and Jon had arrived and Jack would be in a but later. So after a lot of sipping of water, some pills and a snooze we all convenned downstairs and headed out for the evening. Ended up at an Irish bar where good fortune woud have it they had a live band on who were really pretty good so we were fed, watered and entertained in good style.

Another top day if you forget about the headache :o)

woo woo - riding the train to Washington DC

clarrieno1 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:31:00 GMT

So basically spent the whole day on the train getting from Charleston to Washington DC. 10 Hours journey, but luckily much moe comfortable that the greyhound as the seats a much bigger and you can, of course, get up and move around. I had a nice chap sitting next to me for most of hte journey. He's from Jordan but has been in th eUK most of his life, he owns a pizza and sub restaurant with his borther in Alexandria which is just outside DC. We talked about all sorts of stuff and he invited me to join him and his mates on Saturday for a night out in Georgetown so we will see what happens.

Made it to the Hostel OK after a bit of an argument with an officious member of Amtrak's staff and a battle with the Metro ticket machine! But met two lovely girls in my dorm room, one from the Netherlands and one from the US and within half an hour we were heading out the door to a Japanese reataurant for some food and a couple of beers. Had a lovely evening of good company and nice food.

All in all a pretty good day.

Eating 'gator in Charleston

clarrieno1 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:45:00 GMT

So today I was torn between spending more time wandering around town and then maybe going to a movie OR paying some big bucks and going on a plantation tour.

BUT as luck woudl have it two Kiwi's, Chris and Richard and an American girl Kim arrived last night and as I spoke to them at breakfast this morning I discovered that they were going to Magnolia plantation and bless their little cotton socks they only went and offered to take me with them - Aaah

So off we went and boy do these people know how to make money. basically it costs $15 just to get across the threshold and have a walk around the garden, the house costs more, the slave cabins cost more, the swamp tour costs more and the nature tour costs more. So after some discussion we just decided to have the general admission and the swamp garden self guided walk. The house, which we could look at from the outside, wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be but the garedns were quite pretty, apparently the oldest formal garden in all of America. The swamp garden was part on road, part through the forest and part on raised boardwalks. We only saw a couple of small baby alligators but we saw lots of birds, some turtles, many many large spiders and one or two other bugs. There was also an old cemetery whereit looked like most of the old family slaves had been buried. All in all quite interesting and great to have some company to go with.

We then drove back into the historic downtown area and went for some food. I had Shrimp and scallop based lobster bisque at a very famous restaurant called Hyman's - apparently loads of stars have eaten there and there were many signed photos all over the place to prove it. We also had a taste of gator sausage which was quite spicy and garlicy and a little bit chewy (but apparently gator is very chewy - funny I don't remember that from when I have had it previously)

I then left Chris, Richard and Kim to their own devices (they hadn't had a look around yet) so i could go back and get my washing etc. done in preparation for departure tomorrow and the long train journey up to Washington.

Lazy lazy lazy

clarrieno1 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:44:00 GMT

What is it with me right now, I just cannot get motivated to do anything and the weather is improving so I really should go to the beach but......

I'll let you know later if I actually manage to do ANYTHING today. Nope didn't achieve a thing except walking to and from the grocery store - good old piggly wiggly, to get something for dinner.

So another new day and determined to see something I walked into historic down town at 11 am and at 5 pm I finally made it back to the hostel having only sat down for 5 mins in starbucks to look at my map and 5 mins in a pretty little square to just enjoy the peace and quiet. Other than that I saw the Rhett Aiken House, the Washington Square, I went into the Old Slave Mart which is a museum and was very interesting if a little distressing just how many slaves were brough to this country and how badly they were treated and it didn't end there. Once they were no longer allowed to import slaves they just went right on with their domestic slave trade - horrific. Anyway next I walked to the waterfront garden, down East Bay street to the tip of the penisular that Charleston is on and Battery Park where there are lovely views across the harbour.

So I felt like I had achieved something today

Charleston - Yes where the 1920's dance comes from

clarrieno1 — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:35:00 GMT

So another greyhound day today, once again luckily uneventful and chatted to a couple of nice friendly people with suggestions of what I could do in Charleston. Stupidly I had forgotten that the reception at the hostel doesn't open until 5pm unless you call and make apecial arrangements (no I hadn't) so I had over an hour waiting on the front porch for them to open. not the end of the world. Got settled in and used the internet cos it is free - hurrah and then went to Piggly Wiggly (such a strange name for a supermarket chain) to get dinner. Frank, the guy behind the deli counter, thought my accent was wonderful and I was to come back everyday please - sweet.

Well that was yesterday and today I think I must explore a little once I have mapped out the next three weeks of my future. So after several hours on the internet I am finally booked for 5 nights in Washington, 4 nights in Philadelphia and 3 nights in Boston with one final night in Philadelphia before I fly to Bermuda. All booked and therefore set in stone. Have to be honest and say right at the moment I would be quie happy to just be going straight home tomorrow. Feeling rather flat for no really good reason right now but need to pull myself together or I won't get anything out of this trip. Doesn't really help that this hostel isn't really very sociable, they don't have a main room or area where people can congregate so they seem to be just keeping to themselves. Oh well with a bit of luck the weather will improve by monday and I will at least be able to get to the beach for the day.

Anyway in the afternoon, having discovered the historic part of town is within walking distance, I went to the visitor centre and pretty much discovered that all the museums here are expensive too so to cheer myself up I ended up shopping. I know, you don't have to tell me, that makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE at all, but I did it anyway! Bought two books (well a girl's got to read) and then a dress and a top in a shop called Puttamayo - well it was outlet and everything was $10 so it could have been worse. yes I have guilty written all over me.......

Savannah is lovely

clarrieno1 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:29:00 GMT

So woke today to an overcaste morning and a forcaste of more rain but I only have one day here so I have to go out. Apparently they sell umbreallas in the visitor centre so that's where I went forst. Didn't buy an umbrella in the end but did get a self guided audio walking tour on MP3 and that was me set for the rest of the day. basically the perfect way to see the town as I could go to the places on the map, listen to the history etc. but if at any point I wanted to stop or deviate I could - certainly better than sitting in a tour bus for me as I much prefer to walk, and walk I did. Savannah was lovely and the reain stayed off. I had lunch at mellow mushroom and actually got a relatively healthy meal with vegetables!!! Savannah also has some great little shops and art galleries, wish i had more time here but by 5pm I was pretty much exhausted frm all the walking so called it a day and probably just in time cos the weather closed in once again.

It's like thunder, lightning...

clarrieno1 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:22:00 GMT

So yet another greyhound bus ride. Getting used to these and bored of them unfortunately. This one was, luckily, uneventful. Chatted with two American guys who were , seemingly like most people, stunned by my age but still impressed that I was a strong woman travelling on my own - ha ha ha. Sometimes I do wish I wasn't always older than everyone else. One of the guys, Clyde, was quite religious and I don't think was too impressed when i told him I didn't believe in God, but he seemed to be quite sure I would change my mind later in life. He was sweet enough to give me his name and contact details saying "If you need anything or get in trouble just call me".

So Arrived in Savannah just as it started to rain quite hard, luckily the motel I am staying in is just across the road from the greyhound station (no hostels in Savannah - maybe I could open one!). Have to be honest and say it was wonderful to have not just one but two queen size beds all to myself along with a large TV, fridge and bathroom with some quite nice toiletries and fluffy towels - all positive luxury. Well it didn't just rain there were gale for wind warnings on the TV then flash flood warnings and there was lots and lots of thunder and lightning. have to say I think I am getting bater at coping with the old thunder but it still freaks me out completely if I am outdoors.

Anyway the up shot of that was I basically couldn't leave the room, such hardship, so had to force myself to wathc TV all evening. shame, shame, shame....

And now the news....

clarrieno1 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:14:00 GMT

So last day in Atlanta and I still plan to make the most of it. Sarah and I went to the CNN Centre this morning for a behind the scenes tour. It was so hot out we were both glad to make it into their lovely airconditioned building which, apparently, used to be an indoor funfair where small children were put in balls (a bit like they do with hamsters etc. now) in a human pinball machine!

Anyway the behind the scenes tour was quite interesting. Got to see how the teleprompt technology and weather boards work also so the actually CNN news studio broadcasting live and it's not as large as you might think. unfortunately no photos allowed so I can't prove this to anybody! Also saw all the desks behind the new desk where the researchers work and heard the staff in the control room with the director making the decisions about which camera and outside broadcasts to got ot. The fun part of the day was the fact that we started up by going on the longest freestanding escalator in the country up 8 flights, which ,of course, meant we had to walk down 8 flights of stairs. Well our guide was super careful to warn us every time we were due to walk down the stairs and remind us to take our time etc. etc. I'm sure they were worried we would sue their asses if anyone so much as slipped - ha ha ha

Now I did have great plans to go on and see the birth place of Martin Luther King but the weather and possibly the Taco bell I had for lunch were not agreeing with me so I headed back to the hostel with Sarah who was due to go to her campus this afternoon. i preceeded to have a very lazy afternoon reading, writing and watching TV. Felt a lot better in the evening to have a couple of beers with a few people at the hostel. i shall be really sorry to be leaving tomorrow.

Big fish, Little fish..... MASSIVE sugar high

clarrieno1 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:00:00 GMT

So Sarah and i finally dragged our backsides out of the hostel and went to the aquarium. Pretty glad we had bought city passes as this allowed us expedited entry, a free behind the scenes tour and a 3D movie. The Aquarium truly is huge. The main ocean tank has more than 5 million gallons (or was it litres) of water in it. They have whale sharks and a manta ray that may double in size Oh the Whale sharks can get up to 40ft long but the tank will apparently hold them all (we learnt that on the behind the scenes thing). The 3D movie was hilarious, all about a little fish called Deepo and trying to teach people to take care of the seas and the oceans, it was a little bit like a cross between little mermaid and finding nemo. I've never seen 3D before and it was pretty cool, quite a few people kept reaching out as if to touch things - ha ha ha So the aquarium was a huge success and well worth a visit, we were there for hours and also petted some small sting rays in the petting pool, they feel a bit like wet chamoix leather sort of soft and a little bit slimy at the same time. Could have also touched anemones but there were a hundred children there at the time! After the aquarium we went to The World of Coca-Cola. possibly the most hilarious thing I have done in a long while. When you arrive you all go into a large area called the loft which is covered in coke memorabilia and, in our case, are greeted by a totally hyper member of coke staff. Now as far as Sarah and I were concerned she was either on coke or had it intravenously running through her blood. I'm not sure how many times she asked if we were all happy and got us to chant along with her and shout out our favourite coca-cola beverage but it was hard not to laugh the whole time. Next we saw an extended version of the happiness factory advert and then interviews with some of the "characters" from it - those of you who have seem the latest coke advertising may appreciate how weird this could be! Next it was the history of coke, the bottling plant and the worldwide expansion. Then we went to the tasting room. Now ladies and gentlemen if you have ever wondered what effect sampling 64 coca-cola products from around the world in less than 30 minutes can do to a body I am here to tell you - my teeth were aching from all the sugar and the totally hyper sensation of the sugar rush was not a pleasant one I can assure you. Also a word of warning if anyone ever offers you a taste of Stoney, sold in Tanzania or Beverley, sold in Italy, please decline. they are two of the most revolting drinks I have ever tasted. So once we had escaped the clutches of the coca-cola company and come down slightly from our sugar high a little we bounced our way back to the hostel and collapsed now suffering from the sugar low. It was all we could do to make a meal and talk normally for the rest of the evening.