There's no place like home... ?

After a seriously unamusing 15 hours squished between two people, with the magical seatback entertainment failing to be magical by ceasing to work, I touched down in Sydney. After approximately 48 queues and a slight pause to rearrange my belongings because Qantas baggage handlers are lame, I transferred to the domestic flight to Canberra, inside the rowboat of the aviation world. It is a surprise that aircraft doesn't need a push start. I left Canberra with 22 kg of baggage, I returned with 62 kg.

Walking across the tarmac at Canberra I was greeted with the familiar eucalyptus-summer smell of Australia and as I went through the doors into the terminal, by a very excited toddler leaping upon my person. Fortunately one that I was equally excited to see. Said toddler has now sleeps with an NYC taxi, yellow school bus and a police car. Small toy versions that is. And gave me a similarly excited welcome when I came back from the shops. Very nice to be welcomed home in such a fashion. Canberra, aka The Ghetto, didn't welcome me back quite so nicely, after I spent a night the house of my friends I came out and found a smashed car window. I was fortunate that they were only searching for change and didn't notice that all of Christmas was inside the car, including the duty-free alcohol and perfume on the backseat. At this point I have developed such an aversion to packing - I tend to rock back and forth and ullulate for awhile whenever I have to deal with my suitcase - that I hadn't so much packed the car as moved into it, and there was such a profusion of possessions filling every available crevice that it disguised where the more valuable things were. That and the probability of them being in some state of withdrawal. Having only owned the car for 24 hours at this point I was grumpy and pouty. Fortunately I was still on LA time and so was out early enough that no-one else came along to see what they could obtain. Possibly the only time I will ever arrive at my office before 8am on a Sunday morning.

I'm now enjoying the munificence of the parenal fridge and laundry service before heading up to Sydney, because that's right, there's an exhibition I have to see that's closing this weekend. So the travel isn't quite over, if not on quite the same scale.

It's cold!

In pursuit of all things shiny

Some thirty-two million people use JFK airport each year, and most of them were there last Friday - the aircraft had to wait for planes to land, then for some to take off, and then for more to land, and then for more to take off... all while we had to sit still, understimulated, and underbeveraged. Finally we took off, the beverage trolley came around, the magical seatback entertainment units were switched on, and happiness ensued. I even had three seats to myself! Happiness! I was met in LA by family friends, who helped me collect the vast mountain of baggage I've accumulated, and took me back to their house and fed me quesadillas. mmmmm, quesadillllla.

Saturday I had an interview to do, which was really helpful, another Australian who lived in London in the '60s. Then to LACMA for the Magritte exhibition - carpet with clouds on it. Driving around LA is crazy, the freeways are endless, and nuts, and the smog is unbelievable - similar to Sydney but five times as large. And with palm trees. Beautiful weather after the east coast though.

Sunday morning we head off to Vegas! Yeah Vegas! I joined in the annual family Christmas shopping trip, so now have my Christmas shopping done, and another swathe to add to my baggage. Driving there was great, across the Nevada desert, with endless rocky hills covered in primordial spiky shrubs. Getting to Vegas is such a contrast to the surrounding landscape - as though they decided to funnel all the available resources for the state into just the one spot. What Paris is to historic elegance, Vegas is to Kitsch. Which I don't mean as an insult, it's excellent, one huge site for replicas of Paris, New York, Egypt, and Pirate ships. Also, lots of lights, shiny glass and water features. The volume of gambling, especially of slot machines, is insane. Excellent buffets. And the only time I've seen sushi and french toast share the one plate. One night we went to Cirque du Soleil's Ka which was great, I'd never seen any of their shows, so that was great, especially to see it in a custom built theatre. And the show has people dressed as a turtle, a crab and a starfish - so cute. And then lots of people doing crazy flippy things at great heights. And fireworks. And little speakers in the seatbacks.

The rest of the time we shopped. And shopped. And then, oh, we shopped. Ah, the American outlet mall, a place of happy, shiny things.

We got back from Vegas last night, today we headed off to Watts in South Central LA to check out the Watts Towers which is one of my favourite things. Then we went to Disney Downtown - the mall outside of Disneyland, which I looked at through the gates and declined to spend the eighty dollars it takes to enter.

I fly home tonight, arriving Friday. I don't get no Thursday.

I'm leaving today...

Will be heading off for JFK in half an hour, then waiting for the usual extravagant period of time before my flight. This morning I ate a waffle the size of my face. Then I went and bought a hat, because it was subzero at noon and my ears felt like they were going to snap off like, ... like frozen snappy things.

Went for a walk, despite the subzero temps, around Chinatown and Little Italy... sigh.

Will be home in a week!