Snow!

I've just finished a two week stint of work at the same vet clinic in Romford that I worked at for 4 weeks when I first arrived in England. I got to drive the same BMW around, but (thankfully) I didn't have to stay at the house with the landlords from hell next door! A few things have changed since I worked here last:

Firstly, the vet that I worked with before has quit. I think there was a clash of personalities between her and the new vet who is working here now.

Secondly, the new vet who was living where I stayed when I was here previously has moved. Apparently the landlords from hell were just too much. The father used to let himself into the house when the vet wasn't home and have a sticky beak around the place- he even confiscated some fireworks, saying that they were a fire hazard.

Thirdly, the Boss has started "chemo" for his "wife cancer" ie. they are now separated. Apart from that, everything was still pretty much the same. The nurses were all the same, lovely, helpful people that I had worked with before. And this time I got to stay right next door, so I could have a sleep in every day of the first week! In the second week, I was working at the other branch practice, which meant a 20 minute drive in the morning to get there. I was sharing the flat with another Aussie locum, Amelia, from Sydney. She was also lovely and easy to get along with. We worked together at the same clinic in the second week which meant we could take in turns driving.

Last Sunday, I was very excited to wake up to snow! They had been predicting it all week and I was looking forward to it, but half expecting it not to happen. Well, we actually had the highest snow fall of the year!

The Big Apple

I arrived at JFK airport at around 3:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I picked up my bags, caught the Airtrain to Jamaica station, then switched to the Long Island Rail Road, it was about 5pm by the time I got into Manhattan. I hit a crowd of people as soon as I got off the train- they were waiting on the platform to board the train I had just disembarked. I hit another crowd of people as I got into the main part of the train station- it seemed to me that I was swimming against the current, as they were all headed in the opposite direction. I made it up to the street and hit another crowd of people, this time they were going in all different directions, on their way home from work, I guess.

My hotel in Manhattan, The Americana, was only a short walk from Penn Station, and because of the numbered avenues and streets, I was able to find it without a problem. I spent a little bit of time in my hotel room; freshening up, having something to eat (which was actually the breakfast that Fay had sent me to the airport with- a blueberry muffin), trying to decide what I should do all by myself for one night in Manhattan, and trying to psyche myself up to go outside. I think I have a mild case of agrophobia. It takes me a little while to psyche myself up sometimes when I'm alone in a new city and getting ready to explore it. I'm fine once I get going and am excited about what I'm going to see, but sometimes it just takes a few moments to build up the excitement.

It was about 6:30 when I ventured out onto the streets of Manhattan again. I headed up 6th Avenue, looking for the Rockefeller Centre. I was just consulting my pocket guide when a man in a uniform asked me if I needed any help. I told him that I was looking for the Rockefeller Centre, and he started laughing and pointed across the street saying "It's right there!" So then I crossed the road and went to The Rockefeller Centre. There were loads of people around, some of them iceskating at the rink there, some of them eating at the cafes and some were taking photos, like me. After the Rockefeller Centre, I started walking towards 2nd Avenue, as there was a spanish restaurant that I thought I might go to for dinner that was mentioned in my guidebook. Unfortunately, when I got there I couldn't find it! Perhaps it had closed down since my book had been published. I walked back the way I had come from, and headed to Times Square instead.

Times Square is so full of lights that it seems to glow in the dark. It was also full of people, and Broadway shows, and restaurants. I found a restaurant here to have dinner at called Ruby Tuesday's. I had a delicious piece of salmon with a peanut and soy glaze, and vegetables. It was delicious! I had a home made strawberry lemonade to go with it.

After dinner, I walked to the Empire State Building which was only a few blocks away from my hotel. I decided to go up to the top as the line wasn't too long and I thought it would be good to see the view of New York at night. It was very cold, and a little bit drizzly at the top, but the view was worth the discomfort.

I walked back to my hotel at about 11pm and spent the rest of the night planning what I was going to do the next day- I only had one day in New York and I didn't want to waste a minute of it. Of course, you can't do everything in New York in one day, but I managed to squeeze what seemed like a lot into 24 hours.

The first thing I did after checking out of my hotel the next morning, was to buy a Metro Fun Pass, which allowed me to use the bus and subway an unlimited amount of times in one day. I then caught line number 1 to South Ferry. I had intended to catch a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, but when I got to the ferry port, I found that I could see her from there. Ok, so she was a fair distance away, but I think the end of the line for the ferry was just about equidistance away, and I decided that I didn't want to spend my one day in New York in a queue and was satisfied with taking a few pictures from the shore.

Battery Park is just next to the ferry terminal, so I had a little walk around there. There is a monument there called The Sphere, symbolising peace, it had originally been outside the World Trade Centre before September 11 2001. It had been damaged in the 9/11 attacks, but was left largely intact, and was relocated to it's current location in March 2002.

I then headed to The Bowling Green and checked out The Charging Bull Statue. The Bull Statue is in the financial district, and is supposed to reflect the strength of the US economy.

Not far up the street is Ground Zero. There is a lot of work going on at the moment there, and they have the plans on display for the new World Trade Centre. They are going to build 5 towers, each of varying height, which descend in a spiral. They are also building some gardens and memorials. Across the road from the site, is firehouse 10, which has a bronze plaque remembering the firefighters from that station who died in 9/11. Around the corner from this is another bronze memorial dedicated to all those who died in 9/11. It was a very sobering experience to visit Ground Zero.

Feeling a bit numb after visiting Ground Zero, and needing a pick-up, I decided to catch the subway to Greenwich and get a famous cupcake from Magnolia Bakery. When I got there, I decided to get two! I bought a chocolate one, and a red velvet one (I'm not sure what flavour red velvet was supposed to be exactly, but it tasted good, and had a very soft and velvety texture!). I ate my Red Velvet cupcake at a square just across the road from the bakery, then walked towards Washington Square to have a look and eat my chocolate cupcake. I had seen a couple of movies in Seattle; I am Legend and August Rush, both of which featured Washington Square quite prominently. Unfortunately, there was a fence around much of Washington Square as there seemed to be a bit of building or landscaping going on there, but I was able to find a seat at least to eat my cupcake!

I then headed back to the metro station and caught another train to 86th Street, which took me to about the halfway point of Central Park. I spent a few hours walking through Central Park. I went up the tower of Belvedere Castle, meandered through The Ramble, crossed the

bridge over The Lake, visited

Strawberry Fields (the memorial to John Lennon), and caught a glimpse of the outdoor exhibits of The Zoo. This took me to the

exit on Fifth Avenue, which just happens to be the shopping capital of Manhattan!

I wandered slowly down Fifth Avenue, mainly checking out the outside of the shops, but I did go into Abercrombie and Fitch. Walking into this store, you could be forgiven for thinking you had walked into a nightclub. It's crowded, the lighting is dim, the smell of aftershave is overwhelming, the music is so loud that you can barely hear the shop assistants ask if they can help you, and it seems only beautiful people are allowed to work there (not forgetting the two bouncer-like young men standing at the door greeting-or ignoring- you as you walk in). I bought a t-shirt from here, and as I wandered back out of the store, I almost ran into the male model standing in the doorway! I'm not sure why he was there, and exactly what piece of clothing he was advertising... it may have been jeans, it may have been shorts, it may have been underwear - to be honest, I have no idea what he was actually wearing, I was too dazzled by his perfect, naked, smooth, mocha-coloured torso to pay any attention to the clothes he may have had on (I did notice his face though, and that was pretty perfect too)! It was the most spectacular sight I had seen in New York, and unfortunately, it was only after I got halfway down the street that I thought that perhaps I should have taken a photo so as to share the experience with female readers of this blog (and any male readers who are that way inclined). I contemplated turning around and heading back to the store to get a photo, but didn't want to appear like a weird stalker chic and so kept walking (I'm really sorry Helen, I know that you at least would have appreciated it!).

Here's a picture of a horse statue instead.

I popped into a few shops here and there down the street, before heading back to my hotel in the early evening to pick up my bag and head to JFK airport via the Long Island Rail Road and Airtrain. I flew with Lufthansa, a German airline, and as such I had to fly to Frankfurt, then backtrack to London. I arrived in at Heathrow on Saturday the 29th March, and found that the weather was not much different from when I had left in December!

Thanks to all those who sent emails, I really appreciate them!!

Love,

Lis x.

Seattle

Karen and I arrived in Seattle at about 11:30am on Good Friday (which was also Mum and Fay's Birthdays). After a short wait, and a few phone calls, Fay picked us up outside the arrivals in her car. She had changed shape a little since the last time we saw her...She is now 6 months pregnant with her and her husband, Justin's, first child. She is having a girl, and the only name she and Justin can agree on is Sydney (Karen is offended that they're not going to call her Melbourne).

After jumping in Fay's car, the three of us (with the help of the SatNav on Fay's phone), headed to Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. After parking the car, we first had lunch at Ivar's Fish and Chips Bar (according to Fay, the best fish and chips in Seattle) on the pier. Sydney was hungry, so Fay made us order a serve of fish and chips, clams and chips, scallops and chips and seafood chowder to share. It seemed like a lot of food, but the three of us must have been hungry as well, as we managed to polish it off. After lunch, we walked back along the pier towards the Pike Place Market.
The first time I had heard of the Pike Place Market, was the weekend before I left Australia, when Bronnie told me that if I had a chance that I HAD to go, as she'd seen a film of the people who work in the fish stall there, and that it looked like a great thing to see. The workers certainly seem to enjoy themselves! Whenever anyone orders fish from the front of the stall, the guy working at the front throws the selected fish to the back which is caught by another worker, who wraps the fish up and then hands it to the customer. We watched these guys for quite a while, but (despite it being Good Friday) they only made about 3 sales in the 15 minutes we were there. They didn't let that bore them though, and they made their own fun by throwing some fish back down to the guy at the front of the stall to display, and also throwing a stuffed, toy fish which hit a guy with a camera, and was very funny! See video below.

We left shortly after that, as we were a little concerned that we might be their next target, and we took a walk around the rest of the market. The rest of the market sells home made and home grown wares such as flowers, jams, sauces, paintings, hats, soaps etc.
Outside the market, on the other side of Pike Place, is the very first Starbucks ever! It's amazing that such a small store could give birth to so many others.After visiting the market, we jumped back in Fay's car, and (with the aid of SatNav again- although if we'd only just looked up, we'd have been able to figure out our way, I'm sure) we headed to the Space Needle. Before we went up to the top of the space needle, Fay made Karen sit in the Daffodils for a photo, which was reminiscent of a trip the three of us took to Launceston's Cataract Gorge once and Fay also made Karen sit in the Daffodils for a photo. At the top of the Space Needle, which is 500 and something feet in the air, we had great views over Seattle, and were able to get an idea of the orientation of the city. We saw where we had been that morning, and also where we were planning to visit in the following few days. Despite the traffic and freeways, Seattle to me is an attractive city, water being a dominant feature, but also lots of park areas and cherry tree- lined streets, and with snow covered mountains as a back drop. With so much water around, it is also very green! Although in this photo, it looks kind of grey... We didn't spend too much time loitering about the top of the space needle, as we had to get home to Fay's house (aided again by SatNav- we would have been lost without that thing!) to get ready to go out for Fay's Birthday Dinner that night. Fay and Justin live in a beautiful 2 bedroom house in a town about 20 minutes out of Seattle called Sammamish. They had just finished painting their guest room, when they discovered that Fay was pregnant, so now they're going to repaint it for the baby! Justin arrived home shortly after we did, and shortly after that, we all piled into Fay's car again and headed back to Seattle to meet Fay and Justin's friends, Randy and Becky (who Karen and I had met in Hawaii at Fay and Justin's wedding), at an Italian restaurant.
We had a great meal, after which we headed out to Randy and Becky's neighbourhood, Kirkland, to have a few drinks at a bar. Unfortunately, I had left my passport at Fay and Justin's house, and only had my Australian drivers licence with me for ID. The bouncers wouldn't accept my non-USA form of ID and I was denied entry! So we all left, and went back to Fay and Justin's house for a few drinks instead, after which Randy and Becky went home, and the rest of us went to bed.

We had a wonderful sleep in, and after having a shower, I was tempted down the stairs by the smell of bacon cooking. I was wrong though, it was actually bacon AND scrambled eggs AND ham AND turkey sausages AND croissants. Fay didn't want us to go hungry, so Justin was cooking up a storm for breakfast. By the time we'd finished and got ourselves together, it was nearly midday, and Fay, Karen and I headed back to Seattle to do some more sightseeing. We decided to do the Seattle Underground Tour, so went to Pioneer Square, from where it departs.

I thought the tour would just be of the city's old sewerage system, or something along those lines, but it was actually a lot more interesting than that. Apparently, when Seattle was first settled, the city used to flood- alot. To make matters worse, when the toilet was invented and they were installed through the town, the drainage system was inadequate, and at the wrong time of the day, depending on the tide, the sewerage sometimes flowed the opposite way to what was intended, and so going to the toilet could be a messy experience. After the town burnt down in the 1890's, it was proposed that before rebuilding started, the town would be raised 12 feet higher than what it had previously been, by building a large retaining wall and building on top of it. Unfortunately, the town's people objected to the proposed 8 year delay in building, and started building right where their houses and shops had previously been. The city decided to continue with their plan, however, to raise the city, so built 12 feet walls in front of the shops beside the pavement, on top of which they built their roads. After years of inconvenience and several fatal accidents, the towns people finally built up their pavements to the level of the roads, burying the first floors of many of the businesses. So basically, the tour was of this first floor of several old businesses, and of the pavements which used to run outside the front of them. The tour was punctuated by several humerous stories of some of the characters which lived in the city during that time.

At 2:30, when the tour had finished, we drove to a suburb called Fremont, which Karen's Lonely Planet had suggested as a pretty laidback place to visit. It was a pretty nice spot. It reminded Karen a little of Carlton, in Melbourne, and it reminded me a little of St Kilda, in Melbourne, I'm not sure why exactly. It was just a trendy little part of town. We had some Cold Stone Icecream (where they mix lollies and chocolates and biscuits and peanut butter and caramel and things in with different flavours of icecream to come up with some great tasting creations) and walked around the streets for a while, window shopping and browsing inside some shops, and checking out the Lenin statue (which is a controversial piece in the town). We then headed back to Fay and Justin's to again get ready to go out for dinner.

This time we went out for Sushi with a friend of Justin's whom he works with, and his wife. We all perused the menu, before ordering a few dishes, which we shared between the 6 of us. Highlights were the tempura shrimp, and the sashimi dishes. Karen was very pleased to be eating sushi again- apparently they don't do great sushi in dead centre of the United States. The following day was Easter Sunday, so we all got dressed up in our Sunday best and went to Church. Yes, we actually did do that, even Karen who is Jewish! For once in their lives, Fay and Justin were on time to church- despite the fact that they were aiming to be 15 minutes late!

Afterwards, we went out for lunch to a Mexican restaurant then, unfortunately, it was time for Karen to head back to Kansas. Fay and I drove her to the airport, then decided to indulge the shopaholic in both of us and head to a centre of factory outlets nearby. Unfortunately, being Easter Sunday, there was only one shop open, so we headed to another Shopping Centre a little bit further away. Again, there was only one store open, so Fay and I decided that that would have to do. Luckily, they were offering 60% off already reduced prices in the store, so we managed to come away with a few bargains. Of course, I am still practising a little bit of self-restraint due to the fact that I have to carry around anything I buy in my backpack.

The next morning, Fay and I headed to Pike Place Market, yet again, to meet up with my friend Nicky, from Launceston, and her boyfriend Wes. Nicky and Wes are currently living and working in Victoria, Canada, and decided to take a road trip to Seattle for the Easter long weekend. Nicky is addicted to Chicos, so I brought a couple of packets over with me from Australia for her. Fay and I had driven about 10 minutes into the city when I realised that I'd forgotten to take them with me, so we had to turn around and go back to Fay's house to get them. So we were a few minutes late meeting Nicky and Wes, but once I'd handed over the goods, I think I was forgiven!

We managed to find a little place that was still open for breakfast, and caught up over some waffles and coffee. Nicky and Wes then headed back to Victoria early that afternoon, as Wes had to start work again the next day. It's always great to catch up with people from home when you're travelling overseas!

This carwash sign is apparently a famous landmark in Seattle.

That afternoon, Fay and I went for a drive to Snoqualmie Falls. This is a large waterfall only 30 minutes from Sammamish. It is actually a hydro plant, but the view is pretty spectacular all the same.

This poor squirrel was being harrassed by a couple of small children at the falls.

After the falls, seeing as we were halfway there, Fay and I decided to visit another group of factory outlets. We managed to find ourselves a few more bargains and again, Fay did a bit better than me- she managed to get a pair of shorts for $1 at the maternity shop! This is a photo of the backdrop to the carpark of the outlet centre.

The next day, Fay had to go back to work, so I decided that I was going to go on a whale watching tour. Apparently March is the best time to see Grey Whales, and the website for the tour said that a sighting was guaranteed! Unfortunately, when I rang up the tourguide that morning to check that there was a place available for me he said "You know what, I don't think we'll be going today". He had taken his boat to some islands the night before and he didn't think that he'd be back in time for the start of the tour at 10am. This was very disappointing, as I'd really wanted to go whale watching, and this was the only tour that operated directly out of downtown Seattle. I decided to go into Seattle anyway on the early bus, so Fay dropped me off at the bus stop on her way to work. I went down to the pier, just to double check that there wasn't a tour going that day (there wasn't), then decided to go to the Seattle Aquarium instead. The Aquarium houses lots of different sea creatures including Sea Otters and Seals, as well as the usual starfish, octopus, and colourful tropical fish. There were lots of school kids running around which made the experience a little frustrating. I think there were probably about 5 school groups there, so it certainly wasn't a quiet morning at the aquarium. For lunch, I decided to head back to Ivar's for some fish and chips, then I spent the afternoon looking in some of the shops, before heading back to Sammamish on the bus.

The next day, Wednesday, was another day off for Fay, and we spent much of it searching for a glider recliner which Fay wants for when the baby comes. We were unable to find the one that she's after, but we did manage to find a stroller at least. We also had lunch in Kirkland at a really nice cafe. Kirkland has lots of interesting bronze statues around it's streets. This is one of a cow with a dog on it's back. I'm not really sure why...

That night I had to start packing my bag again to catch an early flight to New York the next day. It was so great to see Fay and Justin again and to spend some time with them before Sydney arrives. Hopefully I'll get to see them again soon and meet Sydney, probably on my way back home to Australia. As for my impression of Seattle? I loved it. It was pretty cold, and I think that we were lucky that it only rained one day that I was there, but it was a really pretty city with lots to do.

Love,

Lis x.

ps. Comments, critisism, news and general gossip from home may entice me to update my blog a little more regularly ;)

The Little Apple

Manhattan, Kansas. Also known as the Little Apple to the townspeople. Also known as Manhappenin´ by some of the Residents and Interns at Kansas State University. Apparently, when there are no students at KSU, the population of the town drops to 20,000. I couldn´t tell you what the population is when the students are in town, as it was Spring Break whilst I was there. The town pretty much revolves around the University and their football team: The Wildcats. The football colours are purple, and this is reflected around the town, with many things painted purple- including playground equipment, and even a couple of houses!

I arrived in Manhattan on Saturday the 15th of March at around 3pm. Karen came to the airport in Kansas City to pick me up. I hadn´t realised until Karen told me, but the Kansas City Airport is actually in Missouri (and KC is in fact the capital of Missouri), and Manhattan is about a 2 and a half hour drive away. Poor Karen had just come off a week of Emergency (she´s a Small Animal Intern at KSU) which meant that after a week of surviving on little sleep, she worked from 5pm on Friday night, straight through until 8am Saturday, meaning that she would have only got a maximum of 4 hours sleep before heading to the airport to pick me up at around midday. Sleep deprivation and driving alone are not really a good combination... Luckily, another intern Ben, and his girlfriend, Hannah, had heard of Karen´s predicament and so picked her up from work on Saturday morning and drove Karen to the airport, allowing her to sleep on the backseat on the way down. So, I was greeted by three friendly faces at the airport that afternoon! Hannah and Ben are Kiwis, but we won´t hold that against them...

On the way to Manhattan, we stopped off at the capital city of Kansas, Topeka, for dinner. When we drove down the main street, we could have been forgiven for thinking that it was a ghost town, there was nobody about. We had a bit of trouble locating the Indian Restaurant that we were wanting to eat at, so we called into the local Police Station to ask for directions. We sent Karen in to do the honours, and after looking it up in the Yellow Pages, the Sheriff pointed us in the right direction.

You may ask why we would eat dinner so early, as it was only 4:30pm when we arrived in Topeka, but according to Karen, it can be difficult to find good food in Manhattan. Besides, we weren´t the first in the restaurant. Apparently people eat early in Kansas. We had a lovely meal, and after not being able to finish it all, we packed up our leftovers in individual containers and headed back on the road. Everywhere you go in America offers take-out containers if you can´t finish your meal (which is often).

We arrived at Karen and Brad´s apartment in Manhattan a little after 7pm, and it wasn´t long after that that Brad arrived home from attending a wedding. Apparently weddings finish early in Kansas as well (I feel that this would be a good point to mention to those who don´t know Karen and Brad, that they are two friends that I went to Uni with. It is also important for me to mention that Karen and Brad are not going out, otherwise there may be some confusion later in this blog).

The five of us, and Kit, an anaesthetic resident at KSU, went tenpin bowling. Karen decided that it would be an Aussie vs Kiwi tournament (Kit, an American, was made an honorary Kiwi). Of course, the Aussies won both games, and Karen won both games overall by miles, despite the sleep deprivation (she´s not at all competitive though, so I´m sure she wouldn´t have minded if we´d lost!). Karen also was quite amused by my ¨patonque¨ style of bowling, although I didn´t come last in any of the games, and even got a strike and a couple of spares, so I was quite happy with my unusual technique. It was the first bowling place that I´d been to that served beer and allowed smoking! We partook in the first, but not in the later.

The next day, after eating breakfast out with Brad, Karen, Hannah and Ben, Karen took me on a sight-seeing drive around Manhattan. The first stop was KSU, where Karen took me on a short tour of where she worked. Quite swishy-do really, they even have a digital X-ray machine which you can change the settings on after you´ve taken the radiograph (vets, and radiographers will appreciate how much nicer this would make the job of taking an x-ray).

Next stop was a drive around Tuttle Creek, which appeared to be more of a very large Dam to me, and also around the Flint Hills. Karen kept assuring me: ¨It´s really very pretty in the summer, when everything´s green¨. Unfortunately, I came at the end of winter when everything was grey. I can appreciate, though, that it must be a lot more attractive when it´s green.

That night, Karen, Brad a few of their friends, and I went to The Brookville Hotel for a traditional ¨Kansas Style¨ dinner. The menu consisted of a starter of Sweet and Sour Coleslaw, Cottage Cheese, spiced apple, and pickled cucumber. The main was one-half skillet Fried Chicken (each!), mashed potatoes and cream gravy, cream-style corn, and baking powder biscuits (which are basically scones). This was all followed by icecream for dessert. So yes, it was pretty much KFC! But what made the whole experience was the surrounding decor. We dined in the ¨Spirit of Kansas¨ room, which had deer antlers as the chandeliers, and cows painted all over the walls. There was also a room called ¨Brandy´s Opera House¨, and a Bank room and Vault room.

The next morning, Karen went into Uni to show her face and make sure that she didn´t actually have to be there that day (she´d chosen to do a week of dermatology that week, despite hating skin, because she knew that it would give her more time to spend with me). When she came home, we first had to run a few errands then we headed to Wamego (a nearby town) to visit the Oz Museum. This Museum features lots of memorabilia about not only the film version of The Wizard of Oz, but also the books by L. Frank Baum, which started it all. It sounds pretty daggy, I know, but I actually found it all quite interesting and entertaining- maybe I´d already been in Kansas too long?

We were going to try and have Tacos at a little restaurant just down the street called Toto´s Tacos, unfortunately, it was closed on Mondays, so we went home and cooked dinner for Brad and his girlfriend, Emily instead. Well, I made the salad, Karen actually cooked - salmon grilled with a beautiful seasoning on it- who knew Karen was such a good chef? After dinner, the four of us went to the movies and saw Horton Hears a Who. Brad, Emily and I all really enjoyed it. Karen thinks that she enjoyed it, but as she spent half of it with her eyes closed (and at one point she even started snoring), she may have to see it again before she´s 100% sure.

Oh, and from now on, please just call me Mrs Dr McDreamy!

On Tuesday, as Brad and Karen both had to go to work, Emily and I went sightseeing. Emily is from Laurence, which is about an hour and a half drive away from Manhattan, and had never really been to Manhattan before meeting Brad, so much of what we were seeing was new to her as well. First, we went to the Insect Zoo, where we had the opportunity to pat a tarantula if we wanted. We didn´t want. It was quite interesting, and a little bit creepy, and it made me want to throw out any flour or rice that may have been sitting in the pantry for a while.

After some lunch, we headed to The Beach Museum, which is an Art Gallery, named after one of the professors of KSU. Afterwards we headed to a historical museum, which displayed artefacts such as old washing machines and ice-boxes. There was also an old farmhouse on the premises, but unfortunately it was closed due to lack of staff, so we couldn´t have a look inside. In the afternoon, I baked a caramel slice which I had promised Brad that I would do when I came to visit.

That night we went to a steakhouse in Manhattan for dinner. They had large sheets of paper on the table as tablecloths, and crayons, so while we waited for our meals to arrive, we drew on the table. Of course, I had the steak- Kansas is the home of steak (and it was good steak).

On Wednesday, Emily and I went to The Sunset Zoo, in Manhattan. It is a pretty small zoo, but it was still quite entertaining and interesting. I also saw a couple of animals that I´d never seen in life before- such as an anteater- and it is home to the oldest Grizzly Bear in captivity, who is 60+ years old.

Emily had to work that night back in Laurence, so left that afternoon. When they got home from work, Brad, Karen and I went for a drive to a reserve area. Unfortunately, the water level of the river was too high and we couldn´t drive across to the area where there is the most walking paths and wildlife. On the way home, we drove to the Manhattan Water Tower where there is a lookout. I´m sure the view is great in the summertime, or after it has been snowing, but unfortunately it was a little grey when we were there. Brad cooked us dinner that night- Beef Bourguignon made in the crock pot. It was great.

The next day, I relaxed at Brad and Karen´s apartment while they were at work. We were going to go to The Prairie when they got home, but Karen was a little late, so we went to Wamego for Toto´s Tacos. We all had a wet Burrito, which was very tasty.

That night, Karen and I packed our bags ready to leave the next morning, and the three of us played a few games of Yahtzee.

The next morning, on Good Friday, Karen and I got up early to catch our plane from Kansas City to Seattle. So my opinion of Manhattan, Kansas? Well, I don´t think it would actually be fair to judge the town on my 6 day trip. I was there at the end of winter, when there were no leaves on the trees, but wasn´t cold enough to snow and when all the students had gone home for spring break, so there wasn´t a lot of life in the town. As Karen keeps telling me: I need to go there in the summer time (but I think that she´s just trying out for a job as Manhattan´s PR Rep - sheś going to be there for another 3 years and so wants as many visitors as she can get). Anyway, I still had a good time because I was catching up with a couple of great friends, which is only reason I went there anyway.

Love,
Lis x.