Philadelphia

Last weekend was Thanksgiving (as you may have worked out from the last blog we wrote). So Thanksgiving means Brommles got Thursday and Friday off work. So Wednesday we set off for Philadelphia. We spent all of Thursday sightseeing and saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the steps Rocky ran up in the movie (there is even a statue dedicated to Rocky there!!).

Philadelphia seemed like a pretty cool city but everything was closed because of the holidays so we couldn't get the normal 'feel' of the city. The best part was on Thursday night we drove an hour to Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is the Vegas of the East Coast. It's right on the beach and has about 12 casinos. We found a pub and had the traditional Roast Turkey dinner with all the trimmings (including yummy pumpkin pie!!).

I saw our beautiful flag and felt unbelievably patriotic.

This is in one of the casinos in Atlantic City. We're looking out at the ocean. It was pouring rain, but it was awesome to see the beach.

Daniel Bromley.... future Rocky star. Hey I just saw on the net - Rocky 6 comes out December 22nd here.

The Liberty Bell. It has a crack in it.

Another cool picture by Australia's hottest new photographer - Daniel Bromley. I think at the end I'll put a poll on so everyone can vote for his best photo. Check out the sunset through the side mirror of the car.

New York x3

Friday morning we set off to NYC for the third time (and last we think) to meet little Lizzie, who has come all this way to see us (what a sweetheart!!). We did lots of Manhattan things we hadn't done before like Grand Central Station, Wall Street, going inside the Statue of Liberty (only the base) and Ellis Island and walking the Brooklyn Bridge. We also saw the Broadway version of the Wedding Singer, had lunch at Little Italy, and soaked up the beautiful weather (about 15C and sunny all weekend - finally!!) along the streets of Soho. Plus, Saturday night was spent at Madison Square Garden watching a Knicks vs Bulls game (Brooke Shields was there!!). Photos? Yes, plenty....

Liz and Kimbo.... Future Statues of Liberty.

Good photo Broms. It will be in the poll at the end of the 6 months. Lady Liberty herself watching over Manhattan.

Knicks vs Bulls at Madison Square Garden.

This one's pretty self explanatory I think!!

We went to a gourmet grocery store on the Upper West Side and got some cheese and crackers to eat as a pre-Broadway snack. A homeless dude saw our gourmet meal and asked Bromley for some money, but instead of money Bromley gave him a biscuit with cheese on it. I think the homeless dude was a bit dissapointed, but he accepted it anyways.

A Rolls Royce!!

We saw Bob Carr on 5th Avenue!! He was really nice actually.

Time for some turkey!!

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING**

Congratulations Rajani and Saro

This weekend, Kimbo and Bromley stayed home at wonderous Erie, PA. On the Friday night we had dinner with friends at a mediterranean place. We all had a bit of wine and Luis (the Venezualan Tony Montana) gave us his best rendition of 'Down Under' by Men At Work. Hahaha classic. Its his favourite song!!

On Saturday night, we were invited to go to an Indian Wedding dinner. The couple were married in India about 3 weeks ago but they had a separate celebration with their friends in America. All the ladies had to dress in traditional Indian dress. Kimbo was invited to wear some of Sireesha's (our chefs) traditional dress, but she declined cause she is a wuss.

Rajani cooked so much delicious Indian food and we thank her so much. We wish Rajani and Saro a long and beautiful life together. About thirty people helped celebrate the night and Rajani and Saro's one bedroom apartment was jam-packed. We even got yelled at by the next door neighbour for making too much noise. Haha

This is Bromley's newest squash partner Sandeep. He must be pretty good because he beats Broms every time!! Jealous Mosh??

Welcome Benno and Kristy

We did find out that Benno and his girlfriend Kristy will be the next couple who replaces us in Erie (CONGRATULATIONS!!). So on Sunday we took it on ourselves to go out and take some photos of some of the more beautiful places in Erie. And here they are: We hope you like what you saw guys.

A house in the area we're living in.

The local mechanics where we get our car serviced.

JUST KIDDING!!!!! We actually drove around the ghetto areas with the doors locked to get the above two quality shots. Some real ones are below.

Is it the ocean? No.... it's a massive lake!! And it's bloody freezing.

View of Erie skyline from Presque Isle.

Many of the houses are decked out in quality decorations for the holiday season.

Benno and Kristy, I'll take some more photos over the coming weeks and post them so you can get a better idea. No more ghetto pics we promise.

PS Sunday night we went to dinner at Luis' (Venezualan Tony Montana dude) and Katherines. This photo is of their terrier, Katrina (named after Hurricane Katrina) in its snow jacket. To describe this, I will quote Kimbo, "Ohoooohhhhh she is ssssssssooooooooooooo cute." The funny thing was that she hated the coat and when they put it on her - she just stands still in the middle of the room. She was so scared of it that she pooed under the kitchen table. hahaha

Kimbo's views on world issues

I would just like to take the opportunity to put in my two cents about what's been going on in the world:

- First of all, GOOD JOB BRITNEY on finally divorcing that ratbag federline. He was totally a Justin Timberlake wannabe, and NOONE can fake JT's coolness. Did everyone see the latest photos of Britters since she's single?! Looking great!! And what white boy has cornrows anyways?!

- Secondly, I'm still deciding how I feel about Ryan and Reeses' split. Is it proven that he had an affair with the Aussie chick? I think Ryans just jealous of Reeses' latest successes.

- Thirdly, when Borat comes out in Australia, you've gotta see it, hilarious!!

- Also, Kirstie Alley's looking FABULOUS! But the question remains.... did she really have that liposuction! Plus that swimsuit she revealed her new bikini body in on Oprah.... EWWW.

- And lastly, poor Rove. What shocking news hey! She seemed really nice. Not that I knew her.

- Oh, and we heard about how that dude off video hits got out his willy at the Arias. What's going on there?! Who's hosting video hits now? It was better without a host anyways.

- Oh, and, we're up to the 4th episode of the OC season 4 in the USA. I'm not quite sure what I think yet. The season premiere was SHIZ but it is improving. Julie Cooper is, once again, the glue that is holding the show that is the OC together. But Jules is now closely being followed in the funny ranks by Luke's younger brothers and also Taylor, they are hilarious!! And Summer totally needs to get stylish again!

Hmmm.... I really should be doing my OHS course right now.

Merveilleux Montreal

Bonjour all! Comment ca va? Well, last weekend we refined our french skills (perhaps we learnt the basics) and went to Montreal, Canada - another amazing city (tres bien!) well worth the 7 1/2 hour drive. First (just for you Sof) some fun facts about Montreal:

• Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world.
• Montreal has an "Underground City"- a climate-controlled maze of 2000 shops that cover 18 miles. There are 20 miles of pedestrian walkways, accessible from 178 entries. The underground links 10 subway stations, 62 buildings, 8 major hotels, 1,615 apartments, 200 restaurants, 1,700 boutiques, 40 movie theatres and exhibition halls, 2 bus stations, 2 train stations, 2 universities and 1 college. IT'S VERY EASY TO GET LOST IN THERE!!
• French speakers constitute 70% of the population.
• After New York, Montreal has the highest number of restaurants per capita in North America.

Although it rained ALL weekend, without a break, we managed to go and see some sites (c'est la vie!). It really is a beautiful city full of culture and history and french-speaking people - by the way - top points to anyone that can answer this - are Montreal residents considered 'french' or 'canadian'?? Anyways, let's see some pics eh?!

This is the Quartier Latin district, where we stayed. It's the view from the front door of our bed and breakfast. Really nice area full of cafes and the best chocolate cafe in the world (well, we think so).

I just added this photo because Brommles thinks it's a pretty spectacular shot (he took it of course). The olympics were held in Montreal in the 70's and they have now converted the cycling stadium into a Biodome which is pretty cool - 4 North American ecosystems under one roof. This Pirahna was in one of those ecosystems.

This is the St Joseph Oratory. The city is full of amazing old buildings, many of them religious. Look at the size of the Oratory compared to the cars parked below it.

This is the Old Montreal area where we ate dinner. It's full of cobblestone streets lined with restaurants. And, luckily, most menus have english descriptions!

Us at the Olympic Park. That's the Stadium, that big arm thing is a major part of the city skyline. Loving those grey skies!

This was my favourite building - the Notre Dame Basillica. It was soooo nice!!

And there you go.... definitely go there if you're in the area! Au Revoir!

Legend Of The Week Award

This esteemed award also goes to no other but Daniel Bromley. The photo below shows the leader of the "Tappa Kegga Beer" fraternity doing what he does best. Although at his very first college party, whispers in the dorm were rumoured to say, and I quote, "This is quite possibly the greatest display of drinking prowess in the history of The University Of Virginia. Let this man's name be carved into the walls of the Rotunda alongside the almighty Thomas Jefferson."

This next photo shows his loyal pledgers watch in amazement as he polishes off another tasty carb shake.

Donkey of the week

I'm gonna copy Dan and have a donkey of the week post....

And the award goes to....

Daniel Bromley! Who left the car in DRIVE on the side of the interstate whilst we changed drivers.... Good one Brommles!

Charlottesville, Virginia Y'aaaaallllll

Hey guys, This weekend we went down south to visit our buddy Dan who is on exchange at The University Of Virginia studying philosophy. We got to the Thomas Jeffersons homeland on Saturday morning and met up with Dan at his dump .... I mean dorm. Haha.

For lunch, Dan took us to an Ethiopian restaurant with his Ethiopian friends. Man!!! Ethiopian food was awesome. The restaurant is a buffet setup with about 10 different Ethiopian casseroles. First you put injeri (pancake looking bread) on your plate - then cover with assortment of casseroles - then you grab about five more pieces of injeri to eat with. Ethiopians traditionally dont eat with silverware - instead the break off palm size pieces of injeri to pick the casserole up with. It was definitely an experience - we got so messy - and ate too much. It was awesome!!

After lunch, Dan gave us a guided tour through the University grounds. All the buildings were spectacular. We saw the Rotunda, the Library, The Lawn, a Reading Room and Edgar Allen Poe's dorm room from when he studied there. After walking off a bit of the Ethiopian food we took a walk through Charlottesville downtown. The mall was very reminiscent of Hunter Street Mall ... except there were people in it.

By this time it was getting toward party time - as expected of a college town. It was classic - the guys Dan lives with (an Ethiopian dude, a mexican dude and a black guy) bought a whole heap of burger patties and buns and we had a bbq - VERY AUSSIE!! Even though we cooked for 25 people in a single frying pan - it was awesome. After many beers we headed into town and got a bit more merry and the next thing I knew it was Sunday morning and all I could hear was "Brrrrroooooommmmmmlllllllleeeeeyyyyy - I feel sick" haha poor Kimbo.

Maybe a little tipsy.... (Notice that hot necklace Sof).

Bromley loved the dudes at the party because they kept saying how much he'd fit right in at a frat party, and that he looked like a frat dude (he is STILL going on about it and I think I'll be hearing about it for years and years to come - who knew frat boys had mullets!!).

This is Rugby Road at the University of Virginia.... in other words where all the frats and societies are.... lots of big mansions with greek letters!!

Charlottesville Mall.

This is Dan's Uni - behind us is one of the most famous buildings designed by Thomas Jefferson (America's second president). Thomas Jefferson is the founder of the University of Virginia. The rooms along either side of the lawn are dorms that have no electricity or running water, however because they are historically significant, you have to be very esteemed to get in these dorms. They all have fireplaces and eskies out the front. Crazy people, it snows there!!

Charlottesville (cont.)

After a seedy awakening Sunday morning it was off to Maccas for breakfast for Mcgriddles and Bacon and Egg biscuits (translation - pancakes with bacon, egg and cheese between them and scones with bacon, eggs and cheese between them - interesting). After refuelling with Dan's suggestion of all day pain relievers (he's definitely got some good hangover experience) we set out for Thomas Jefferson's house.

On the way we passed University of Virginia's football stadium - where the Caveliers play. University football is HUGE in the states and the size of the stadium is evidence of this.

We then went to Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's house. This house is on the USA 5c coin. Before even stepping into the house, we played paparazzi for about half an hour doing all different poses and camera angles (so much that people were beginning to wonder if Dan was a famous footballer!!).

We took a tour of the house, took more photos, dropped Dan off and drove for 7 hours back to Erie - where it wasn't snowing anymore!!

And that's our college experience. By the way, everyone at the dorm party sampled vegemite, it wasn't a huge hit, however, tim tams on the other hand.... MASSIVE!!

GO THE CAVALIERS!!!!! (Is that the right spelling Dan?).

This is some pretty artistic photography right here. Monticello and the US 5c coin. The 5c coin is bigger in size than the 10c coin - weird.

Dan and Kimbo doing their best football pose out the front of the Caveliers stadium. Kimbo's obviously a natural at posing in football positions.

Chili Peppers - Halloween Style

Tuesday night, October 31, 2006 (Halloween):

Me and the Kimsta went rocking to the Rock and Roll capital of the world - Cleveland, Ohio to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers live in concert. In the spirit of the holiday, many of the concert-goers dressed up in their best halloween gear with the fair share of supermans, spidermans and nurses (I love nurses!!).

The Chili Peppers played a whole bunch of their new stuff from Stadium Arcadium aswell as some of their best from Mothers Milk, Californication, By the Way and Blood Sugar Sex Majik. We got home from the concert at about 1am. All Kimbo could hear the next day was ringing in her ears. All Bromley could hear the next day was Kimbo saying all she could hear was ringing in her ears. Hahaha.

Just like half the crowd, they dressed up - Flea came as a witch (flying on a high wire and all in their first song), Kiedis as a pro-wrestler, Frusciante as an anorexic pro-footballer (i think) and Chad Smith was Will Ferrel out of Talledega Nights (man, this guy is like Will Ferrels twin - and he acted just like him - Classic)


This guy was maggot before the show even started!! The security would come over and check on him and I think that they were gonna let him stay ....... until he spewed all over the seats and on the ground and got his fella out and put on the guys head in front of him. Hahah got ejected before the Peppers even took the stage!

The Chili Peppers were opened by Mars Volta. Man!!! These guys were off their heads!! Im pretty sure there was no candy in Cedric Bixler's halloween bag. This guy thought he was Shakira on cocaine!! After he got up on a wall of amplifiers and danced his best latino, he started spitting on the front rows of the crowd - then he left the stage and started running through (and on) the crowd. Haha classic - he stole one dudes hat and through another chicks beer into the air and into the middle of the crowd. We were about 15 rows back from the stage (awesome seats) so we were lucky we didnt get a free shower!!

Bromley Out!!

Erie's First Snow

AND WINTER IS STILL ANOTHER MONTH AWAY!!

High: 4C Low: -1C

This is our climate control switch. It's beginning to hold a very special place in both our hearts. Climate control, we love you!