Last Saturday

First, let me start off by saying Phil has had a lot of stress at work these last few weeks. The end of the quarter close and all that, and he has been working some long hours. Even had to go in to work Saturday morning. How does he deal with all the stress, you ask? Perhaps he should take up a hobby, you ponder. I give you the culmination of his stress-relieving activities...building a viking ship out of beer cans.

Just kidding...this was an exhibit at the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour that we walked over to on Saturday afternoon. Apparently there is a boat-built-out-of beer-cans competition every year in I think, Melbourne to see which boat will actually float and win the race. Here's the museum.

We saw lots of cool exhibits...Trash or Treasure: Souvenirs of Travel, Commerce, Passengers, Navigators, The United States of America Gallery, the History of Swimming and Surfing, the Australian Navy (sorry the picture of the helicopter is a bit dark),

the fastest boat ever,

and the best thing...it was free admission! Nice. All the boats outside, military ships and submarines, as well a replica of the sailing ship, The Endeavour, that Captain James Cook was on when he "discovered" Australia were not, so maybe another day we'll go back and take a look.

Rats...I thought I'd figured out how to get these on the blog with them coming in sideways. Well, if you tip your head to the side you can see a replica of The Endeavour behind the lighthouse.

Tokyo Disney Sea Continued

As we continue to walk around the "wheel" we move to the next area called the Lost River Delta. The 2 major attractions are Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull (which is very similar to the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom) and Raging Spirits (a roller coaster). Rode the first one, did not get to the second one. Phil says we now have to go back to say that we rode all the rides. I don't think so. There is also a place to get on the boat that will take you around the waterway. That we did...needed a break and I had to get out of the wall to wall people. Here's a view from the boat...or maybe it was the bridge we walked on to get to the boat...

From this area you walk (and if you look in the middle of this picture and can make out the building, you may already have an idea) to the Arabian Coast. This has Sinbad's Storybook Voyage (again, a little hard to follow the story told in Japanese) The Magic Lamp Theatre (which was closed) and a big 2 story carousel. Here's a picture...and note the line on the left...not for a ride but you guessed it, for popcorn.

This area is actually called Mermaid Lagoon and has a lot of kiddie rides, like Toontown. Now we've made the circle around the wheel and are now going into the middle which is called Mysterious Island. Underneath a big volcano is the first major ride: Journey to the Center of the Earth. Pretty good.

The other major ride on the island is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Phil claims it's better than the one that used to be at DisneyWorld.

We watched the water parade during the day...

the volcano erupt at night...(exceptional camera work, Phil)

and watched the evening show, "Mythica" later that night. Totally squished and bumped by all the people crowding around the waterway. Seriously...there is nothing wrong with a little personal space, says the American.

Hope you've enjoyed our trip to Tokyo Disney. Now Phil can say he has been to every Disney that there is. A true feat to marvel. Tomorrow...our adventures last weekend.

Tokyo Disney Sea

On Saturday of our long weekend in Tokyo we took the monorail over to Disney Sea for the day. Surely, because it was a weekend, most people would choose to go to Disney Land, we foolishly thought. Remember that picture of Phil at Hong Kong Disney when you saw maybe two people in the whole picture? Behold the people waiting in line behind us (who were pretty far down the line to begin with) just waiting to get in...

Yeah...and the 10 or so lines on the other side of the entrance gate were just as crowded. I believe we heard that at some point during the day, they also closed Disney Land to any more people coming in because of their crowds. Good times.

I'm going to attempt to describe this park since it's so different to any of the parks back in the States. When you first walk in past the entrance gates, you come to this globe that has water streaming all around it that welcomes you...

Tokyo Disney Sea is layed out like a wheel. There's a big island in the middle of a waterway with bridges (like wheel spokes) that connect you to the different areas around the waterway. After walking under a bridge from the globe area, the whole park kind of opens up. One finds themselves in Mediterranean Harbor. Very pretty. Mostly shops, Italian restaurants, even Venice. We ate my birthday lunch at the Italian restaurant to the right of the picture where the row of pink and red flowers were. No gondola ride, though. Couldn't convince Phil of the fun that would be.

Here's a picture of the whole Mediterranean Harbor from a view across the waterway.

Moving right around the "wheel" you come to American Waterfront. Lots of shops and restaurants. We ate lunch at New York Deli (but the Reuben that Phil ate left a bit much to be desired after the sign in the window claimed "mile-high sandwiches". More like a centimeter-high sandwich.) Many of the streets were done to look like 1930's New York. Here's where Tower of Terror is. (why in the America Waterfront, I'm not really sure.) Huge lines for that ride. Sometimes more than 2 hours. Definitely a fast pass attraction. And you'd be surprised how much you understand (or at least pretend like you understand by nodding your head in a thoughtful manner) directions by hand signals when all of your instructions are in Japanese. Holding up two fingers to let the attendant know how many is in your party must be universal in all languages, however. There's also a huge ship in this section that has two restaurants in it. The Teddy Roosevelt and I can't remember the name of the other one. Take a look (with Tower of Terror in the background).

Walking across the bridge and around the bend you come across Cape Cod. Never having been there, not sure it looks authentic (Gregg, Ashley?) but it was very quaint. Old-fashioned general store, white clapboard town hall, tall sailing ships, etc.

After walking through Cape Cod, one now finds themselves in Port Discovery. Two major rides- Aquatopia and StormRider. The first one was a little vehicle in the water that spins you around and takes you on a curvy path through a grotto. It was ok. Nothing you'd wait in line for. Now StormRider had this huge line that snaked around the whole area. It was described as "a ride to the eye of the perfect storm". Sounded good, so after grabbing a fast pass we got in line. Uh...it was pretty much like the Star Wars ride at MGM. Nothing to wait in line for. But a line snaking around this area that did attract our attention was the line for...

popcorn! Yes, popcorn. There were stands all over the place with different flavors (such as cappuccino, strawberry, chocolate, coconut, and caramel) and at each one, the lines were unbelievable. Who knew? Tomorrow, the tour continues.

Tokyo Disneyland Continued

Sorry it's been a few days since the last post. We had a busy weekend (which I'll post about later in the week). But to continue our tour of Tokyo Disneyland. Okay...we're walking, we're walking (my tour guide lingo).

Here is a picture of Snow White. Jess was curious...are the Disney characters in Tokyo Disney Japanese-looking with wigs or do they look more like what you're used to seeing in Florida or California? Well, being the aggresive blogger that I am-leaving no stone unturned, using the powerful camera lens, (ok, she was about 10 feet in front of us) and peering through all that makeup, I think the Disney characters are Japanese. Here's a closeup of Belle and Beast too, from the parade we watched. You be the judge. (And by the way...the Japanese are serious here about watching their parades or being the first to line up to see a show. Most bring their own tarps to lay out and sit on (a good 2 hours before the parade or show is supposed to start and camp out). Sheesh...it's just a parade/show. But I digress...

We left the park and then came back later that night...

managed to catch part of the Electrical Light Parade...

Saw the castle all lit up...

but did not see the fireworks over the castle because they were cancelled due to inclimate weather. Whatever that was, because it was not raining. Tomorrow...on to Disney Sea, the park right next door to Disneyland.

So You Thought You Were in Shanghai

Oops...I've been informed that the pictures from yesterday are not Shanghai, but in fact are still of Hong Kong. Rats. I guess that is the risk one takes when one tries to comment on pictures they did not take and were not there when they were taken. Sorry about that. Below are pictures from Shanghai. My sincerest apologies.

Now, before we move on to Tokyo, I must first comment on how weird it is to spend July 4th in another country. No fireworks, no cook-outs, no parades. Just another cold (still getting used to cold days in July), rainy day in July. So in honor of Independence Day, we have worn our red, white, and blue, Phil has challenged Robin from work (a Brit) to a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War battle at 4:30 pm in the office, and we're having hot dogs, Doritoes, strawberries, and potato salad (which I just remembered that I did not remember putting in the fridge last night after grocery shopping. Just found it on the floor of the jeep. Perhaps we will be skipping the potato salad.) for dinner.

Moving on...I give you Phil and I on our monorail ride to Tokyo Disneyland. Check out the mouse shaped windows and thingys that you hold on to when you have to stand. (cannot remember the word.)

Next we see the entrance to Tokyo Disneyland. Notice the crowds. Also notice the 25 sign. Apparently it was the 25th Anniversary of Tokyo Disney that they were celebrating all year. The big steel and glass structure behind the entrance was over the entire Main Street USA street of shops and restaurants. And behind that...

The castle. And the crowds.

And look...it's Phil eating a churro!

More tomorrow from Tokyo Disneyland.

On to Shanghai and Tokyo

Well...as you can from yesterday's post, I've been hacked. The management takes no responsiblity for any and all comments from PL. (ok...it's just Phil adding his two cents.)

Back to our Asia tour while I comment on Phil's pictures without really knowing where and what they are (at least until we arrive in Tokyo).

Here we see a lovely night shot of Shanghai. I looked for the day pictures, but alas there are none. Something about a pesky thing called work that kept him busy during the day.

Look...Pizza Hut and 7 Eleven in Shanghai!

And now...on to Tokyo. I flew out from the States on June 26th to meet Phil in Tokyo. And let me just say...after a short flight to Chicago and 4 hour layover, a flight a little over 9 hours to Tokyo is much better than the 15 or 16 hour flight from the west coast to Sydney. Who knew that I'd ever be saying that a 9 hour flight was nothing!

Phil picked me up at the airport, got us train tickets and we were on our way into Tokyo. (the airport is an hour from the city.) And if it wasn't for him meeting me...perhaps I would still be at the ticket maching trying to figure out how much yen to put in the machine and trying to figure out by looking at the map exactly which train I needed. No clue!

We pulled in to Tokyo, left the station and walked next door to the Imperial Palace to take a look around the grounds. So here's my only touch of real culture from the trip...a guard tower near the moat that surrounds the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

After a dinner of pizza for me and a cheeseburger for Phil, (who would've known that the pizza in Japan is much better than the pizza in Australia?) we got to our hotel...the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. Check out the road directions on the street.

The hotel was very nice. I enjoyed English breakfasts at the restaurants in the morning- scrambled eggs, bacon (the American kind, not Australian bacon which is wide and chewy like Canadian bacon), croissants, fruit, and hot tea. But I'd have to say the neatest part of the hotel was their toilet seats. Yeah...their toliet seats.

They're heated!! Forget the bidet or shower button...I mean really, isn't paper truly enough? But a nice heated seat first thing in the morning? Lovely. Tomorrow...on to our first stop, Tokyo Disneyland.

We're Back...

Phil and I arrived back in Australia early Monday morning after an overnight flight from Tokyo. Sorry for the lack of posts in June (is it seriously July already?), but you, my loyal readers know we were back in the States for awhile. Had a fabulous time...miss family, friends, my bed, and just the best dog in the world, Sox. Back to the world of iceless Diet Coke. Sigh. But first...I must catch you up on our travels. Phil left to come back to Australia a few weeks before I did because he had to make a whirlwind Asia tour. He left for Hong Kong, then Shanghai, and then finally Tokyo. I tranferred all of his pictures from his trip on to the computer, but because I wasn't there, I'm really not sure where or what they are. So...this could be fun. My version of Phil's Asia trip.

Here we are in the city of Hong Kong. I think. Is Phil on a boat? Hanging out of his hotel window?Dangling from a dock pier?

PL- This is Phil standing on a rather solid dock pier taking a picture from the center of Hong Kong over to Tsim Sha Tsui- a shopping/dining/cruise terminal area of Hong Kong that's just across the Bay. Of note in the picture is the Star Ferry to TST on the right side. You'll note it's strong lack of apparent structural integrity. Add to that the boats general lack of appropriate power for it's size. The next day I boarded one of those boats to TST to survey the area. It's probably less than 1 mile across to TST which made for a 5 minute trip across, and a 30 minute trip back while fighting a current that the boat could barely overcome...

Hong Kong at night.

PL- This area is known as Lan Kwai Fong and is a popular night spot in Hong Kong. Interestingly there is a strong shortage of Chinese/Hong Kong faces in the crowds at LKF and a lot of british and american looking white people...

Here, Phil is at the entrance of Hong Kong Disney. Notice the mid-stride run. Impressive camera work.

PL- and strangely, they're running AWAY from the entrance.

At the entrance of the park.

Not Cinderella's castle and not Snow White's castle, but Sleeping Beauty's castle. And notice the lack of crowds. Phil made it through the entire park in 3 or 4 hours. As you will see in a few days...not the case when we went to Tokyo Disney.

PL- and 4 hours included a lunch break!! Don't blink or you'll miss the castle.

That classic ride...It's A Small World.

PL- and now that I've been to Disney in every location it exists, it really does seem like a small world after all!!

Apparently, Phil left Hong Kong Disney and took some cable car ride up to the top of some mountain (while getting a great view of the city) in order to gain some wisdom from the man at the top of the mountain. That wise sage...you know him as...

PL- the proper local term is "the peak" and coincidentally this is known as "the peak tram".

Michael Jackson. "Oww...whoooo hooooo" (my Michael Jackson impersonation.) Thank you, thank you very much. Seriously, Phil found a Madame Tussaud's wax museum and went through.

PL- Back when MJ was still "Bad"....

And finally, a great view from the top of the mountain. Tomorrow we move on to the next stop in our Asia tour...Shanghai.