Time to leave Clint's manor...

Our lovely hotel

The Wharf at dawn

Claire on Monterey Beach

Today we leave California and set off north for Seattle and then on into Canada. We only intended to be here for a few days, but with the weather, the crazy wildlife, the seafood and the fact that the hotel bumped us up to an expensive room and seemed to like having us we ended staying over a week!

Our days have been nice and chilled, lots of good food and wanders along the coast. We went to the enormous aquarium, which was awesome! As some of you know, Claire and I spent our first date at the London aquarium stroking fish (I’m a smooth operator – ladies beware!) so it seemed appropriate to stroke some rays and stare at some hammerheads (insert joke here) on our pre-wedding travels.

Yesterday we caught the bus to Carmel by the Sea, which is a wealthy arty village seemingly owned by Clint Eastwood. He is (or was?) the Mayor of Carmel, which conjures up images of evening committee meetings ruled by squinting eyes and whispered orders. When we found the one cinema in Carmel it made us chuckle to see that they were having a Clint Eastwood season this summer. Really? What a coincidence! ‘Shall we go with Robert DeNiro this year?’ (Clint clears his throat, squints again and sips his decaf) ‘Or… you, Mr. Eastwood? How silly of me! Same as last year?’

The whole of Carmel is very strange in that it looks as though Disneyland has been asked to include a section called ‘Ye Olde Engerland’. Some of the (fake) thatch rooftops had fake moss, and everything is painted to make it look shabby. A tumbledown house without the troubles of it actually tumbling down, I suppose. One street had over fifteen art galleries, all selling oil paintings of the California coast in large gold frames. That’s not an exaggeration, there must be hundreds. We had a wander down on the beach, did some work in a café and then caught the bus back to Monterey. We jumped off at the large shopping mall on the edge of town to watch Shutter Island. Maybe we were in the right frame of mind, but we loved it! The critics said there was no suspense but I almost had to change my underwear.

An aspect of American life that we’ll both miss is how open and friendly strangers can be. True, this is often taken advantage of (we have been asked for charity money so many times), but in this sort of town, the incredibly wealthy sort where the homeless are whisked off to a large pen the moment their mortgage falls through, it’s been really nice. As we left the cinema last night a woman sidled up to me and started discussing the film as though we were old friends. Out in the lobby we were joined by an old man who also offered his interpretations. I decided it was all getting suspiciously friendly for my liking. ‘I’m not giving you money, old man,’ I stated firmly before pushing him out of my way and dragging Claire to the door. ‘Vultures’.

Not sure what to expect in Seattle. I’m quite keen to find Kurt Cobain’s house but that could well be a rubbish waste of time. Perhaps we’ll recreate scenes from ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. Claire’s playing Tom Hanks, she insists.

Take care and love to all. Hugs and otter-style tummy slapping all round! Tom XXX

Playful seals

After seeing our little racoon friend down at the harbour we have become quite the naturalists (naturists? Which ever one involves taking all your clothes off and looking at animals…)

Last night we were having a meal down at the harbour when we saw lots of splashing in the dark waters below our window. There was a big seal diving around, tossing fish into the air and honking a lot. A local chap told us that this particular seal is known as being both a loner and a joker, and he comes in to play on his own when the other seals shun him. I sensed a kindred spirit, and, like Attenborough on the trail of something rare and naturey we rushed down after finishing our steaks and desserts, and the wine, and watched him play in the waters. Amazing.

We’re leaving Monterey Bay tomorrow to catch a train north, and then on into Canada, ay? It’s been nice to have a settle here and get some sweet seafood in our bellies and eighteen cups of coffee in our veins each day, although as a consequence I’ve now stopped sleeping and have developed a twitch.

Huge hugs to all

Tom xxx

Racoons in Monterey Bay

We arrived two days ago (17th) here in Monterey Bay. We had planned to go straight from LA to San Francisco, but realised that we were city-hopping a bit and fancied a sprinkle of nature on our city salad. Plus we realised on our last night in Tokyo that we had to book somewhere otherwise the US immigration might remove my other testicle. Good old Google, we simply entered 'nice places on the west coast' and found this little beauty.

We took the Amtrak train here, which was such a nice surprise. The seats are enormous and comfy, and they have viewing carriages for the coastline scenery. We had a lovely meal in the dining car and a good sleep as we were very jet-lagged from our Japan flight. When we arrived at Salinas there was a bus waiting for us. Older ladies seem very keen on my English accent (and tell me so), to the point where our friendly female bus driver took us right to our hotel door. Claire was giggling in the back as we pulled over for a good ten minutes so that Nolene could give me maps, leaflets, and her private number 'should we need a guide.' The other passengers were very kind.

Using our secret hotel booking site, which has so far given us three amazing hotels for less dollar than a bed in a shared hostel, we checked into a lovely old place on one of Monterey's main streets. When it was built in 1903 out hotel was one the most modern hotels on the west coast (simply because of having gas and electricity - happy days). It's still got original features everywhere, and from the front door you could throw a tennis ball at about six quaint coffee shops, an arty cinema, a few good eateries, and if you had a sailor's arm you could probably hit the sea, which is about 200 metres along the road.

The first night we ate garlic calamari on the pier and saw a racoon enjoying a fish supper. He had a cheeky little face, and it was only as I crept within metres of him that I remembered someone telling me that they can take your face off if angered. Crept quickly away from my little masked friend, letting him know that's he's the boss of the pier. Lesson learned.

We also saw a seal as we walked along the beach to Cannery Row. Got all excited -camera out, lots of pictures taken - only to round the bend and find twenty more lounging on the rocks. They lie on their backs for hours, sunning their smooth bellies and occasionally snorting loudly. 'Uncle Ray?', I shouted. An easy mistake.

Cannery Row was renamed after a book of the same name written by John Steinbeck, who lived here in poverty before finding fame through his writing. It used to be an enormous producer of fish, squid and badger-hides, but now it's more of a tourist destination. I've written a book about Stoke-on-Trent called 'Pottery Strip', and have written to the Council to see if I can initiate a similar name change. I believe Pottery Strip Football Club are still doing well in the premiere League.

Claire and I are having a lovely time here. We've already booked in for three extra nights, which means that we'll have a week-long holiday before heading north to Seattle and then Canada. The age of the Apple Mac is a truly great one, as we can sit in coffee shops, jump on Wifi and work away to our heart's content. We hope you're all happy and healthy, we miss you lots and can't wait to chill with you all again.

Tom

x

NOTE!: This video is dull. It's the view from the Amtrak, showing just how close you ride next to the Pacific. Save this for a rainy day, or a sleepless night.

Today we hired bikes and cycled around Kyoto to see as many temples as we could find. Cycling was amazing, mainly because you have to cycle on the pavement, and you apparently have to go as fast as you possibly can, with pedestrians leaping out of your way when you ring your bell (although ringing your bell is seen as a bit rude, so there are lots of near crashes.)

We started at one enormous, beautiful, incense-filled building and cycled around 10 miles until we'd seen many more. The golden pavilion was stunning in the winter sunlight, although much more touristy than the others. You have to walk a certain route, and it's hard to mill around and take it in.

As the sun was going down we pulled up outside a very arty looking cafe at the top end of Kyoto. We wandered in, took our shoes off and sat on the floor in the back room on cushions. It was only then that I realised how shocked our host looked. He was a quiet Japanese man with earrings and bleached hair. He stared at us in silence for a while (as I scanned the room to make sure this was actually a cafe and not just his lounge) until I suggested some drinks. He disappeared for about an hour, before coming through with our order, still looking very confused indeed. He then sat with his back to us and stared out of the cafe window, chain smoking. We sipped our coffees and read a few books, both now convinced that this was his house and that we should leave. It was a crazy place: artwork made from crushed tin cans covering the walls; antique toy and books in every corner; photos of his friends and family; a laptop; a kitchen; a sign saying 'this is not the cafe, please go next door...'

On our final evening we sat in a local bar, sipping plum wine and feeling very chilled indeed. Claire did some writing and I had a crack at some manga (when in rome!), we both decided that we'd like to come back here for a longer time to work and chill some more.

This morning we said a sad goodbye to our little guesthouse in Shinagawa (Taka asked if we now had fond memories in our hearts) and walked down to the main Shinagawa station to catch the BULLET TRAIN to Kyoto! Please excuse the use of capital letters but for some reason whenever I talk about the BULLET TRAIN I just have to go deep voice or capitals! It was as awesome as I’d hoped. There’s no dawdling with luggage and you can forget those long Casablanca goodbyes; the train doors open at 10:55 and if you’re not on by 10:59 then you’re a tardy fool and you’ve missed your chance to ride at high speeds across the Japanese countryside.

Arrived in Kyoto having forgotten to print out (or even make a note of) the directions to our hostel. Tourist information were lovely and in the afternoon winter sun we stumbled like drunk turtles down to K’s Hostel, where we’d booked a double room.

K’s Hostel was the best surprise ever. It’s clean, it’s big, it’s modern, it has a flat screen in the room (!) and downstairs it has a very funky zen café where beers are cheap and coffees are even cheaper! We were too early for check-in so we left our bags in the room and headed out to explore. Had lunch at a cool Japanese ‘beef bowl’ café, where, surprisingly enough, we had a big bowl of beef with rice, miso soup and free drinks. Very cheap and crazy tasty!

Found the largest wooden structure IN THE WORLD this afternoon as we walked off our bowls of beef. I’m not exaggerating, it’s officially the biggest wooden building the world, as it was very cool. I’m worried that I’m getting a little used to the temples on every corner. It’s now got to the point where I’m more excited about a Starbucks or a dog wearing a jumper. Must try to remember how few thousand year-old temples there are back in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

After a bit of searching we also found my highlight of the day (apart from all the temples, of course): the national Manga museum! A converted school filled with the biggest manga comic library in existence, original comic artwork from around the world and screens showing all sorts of random cartoons. My favourite was in a room where you have to take your shoes off and everyone was either reading or asleep in couches. Claire and I fell asleep watching a cartoon about a drunk man in a Japanese forrest who invited a bear, a fox and squirrel into his house before shooting them all for their pelts. I won’t spoil it in case you ever watch it but let’s just say that drunk man got some very serious payback. Lesson learned.

Right now we’re chilling in the room. Claire’s having a little sleep and then we’re going to head out for noodles. Kyoto has got a lovely feel to it and we’ve both said how relaxed we feel today. Love to all,

Tom

Just leaving Tokyo ON THE DOT of 11 o'clock. Like clockwork. Well, I'm guessing they use clockwork in some part of this magnificent piece of engineering and that's why it leaves exactly on time.

Arriving in Kyoto

Arriving in Tokyo

We had been led to believe that arriving in Tokyo was like being dropped into an enormous people-blender where bodies and cars would whizz past in a blur, but in fact it was quite a chilled affair. We caught the longer train from the airport in order to see a few sights and save a few bob. It was a lovely way to start, as the empty train slowly filled with locals from both Narita and the suburbs of Tokyo. By the time we arrived at Tokyo train station (I thought that name was a joke at first, and when I realised there really was an actual Tokyo station I imagined it to be an enormous commuter nightmare, but no…) the train was about half-full. We carried on through to Shinagawa, which was the nearest station to our guesthouse, where we disembarked and loaded up our backpacks. We were feeling wide-eyed and still very jet-lagged, a bit like two puppies waking up in bright sunlight, so we took our time and eventually made our way to the guesthouse; a thin building on a quiet lantern-lit street surrounded by small shops, local restaurants and temples dotted here and there.

The man who owns the guest-house is called Taka, and he gave us a very relaxed and friendly welcome. The guesthouse is a real Ryokan, so you take your shoes off before entering (borrowing leather slippers from a box for the time spent indoors) and you sleep on futon mats laid on traditional Japanese straw floors. This all sounds very cool, except that carrying large bags whilst wearing leather slippers made me stumble and slide about like a newborn deer.

From Shinagawa we were able to jump on the JR overland train to all major areas of the city. We bought a cheap day pass every day and visited as many wards as possible, making sure we spent time wandering through each one as this is apparently the best way to get a feel for Toyko.

One thing I noticed very early on is that Tokyo is absolutely MASSIVE. There’s no two ways about it: it’s very, very big. Each area has a different feel. The palace grounds, manicured parks and European-style cafes near Tokyo station were very relaxing, whereas stepping into the electric district of akihabara (streets filled with multi-level electrical shops and gaming arcades) is like being hit in the face by a cluster-bomb of neon lights and braying techno-bleeps. The fish market is hazardous, crowded and traditional (and smells very much of fish), whereas the skyscraper district is much less pedestrian, and leaves you feeling very small and insignificant as you wander beneath the enormous hotels and Government buildings.

Our favourite time so far was when we bumbled our way into the Grand Hyatt (featured in the film ‘Lost in translation’) and had a cocktail in the New York Bar on the 52^nd floor. I’m sure that our fellow patrons assumed we had been arguing because we just sat in silence, looking out over the breathtaking view. I tried to take a picture by resting the camera on my cocktail glass and very nearly ruined the whole evening by knocking it over, but fate was smiling down on me that night, and I managed to retain my composure and look as cool as a ginger man can look wearing glasses, a patchy month-old beard and clothes washed in a Las Vegas bathtub.

Here are a couple of vids from Tokyo! Claire will kill me for posting the second one. We're both very jet-lagged and tired from lots of yomping around - watch her eyes as I'm talking, she's falling alseep! Genius!

Los Angeles to Tokyo

We left Las Vegas on Thursday, once again riding the ‘minimum wage wagon’ back to LA (it costs £18 to travel 6 hours through the desert and they play Spanish-dubbed versions of art-house films such as ‘Rush Hour 2’ and ‘Rush Hour 3’; the drivers dress like scarface and just frown whenever I ask them questions).

When we arrived in LA Claire decided not to take a taxi but to set off into downtown LA (including Skid Row itself) in a heavy rainstorm. After passing a couple of slightly-louder-than-normal locals on a deserted sidewalk I was frantically looking round for a cab, but in the end we asked around, yomped hither and thither and found a metro station which took us to Union Station. I imagined the bus station to be like Hanley on acid, but it was clean as a whistle and soon we were on the LAX express coach. We stayed at a very cute, very American motel for the night, grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby Denny’s. Denny’s is a restaurant chain apparently required by law to fill all its patrons with as much sugar, corn syrup and pig salt as physically possible. I was recovering from food poisoning and hadn’t eaten anything for the whole of Las Vegas (except for two cups of plain oatmeal, bless you Starbucks), so Claire said I had to pick something and have a good go at it. She picked the healthiest item on the menu: chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. It was lovely, all sprinkled with sugar and cheese and more corn syrup. It was strange to see her face plumping as she ate. I nibbled a few tortillas and we headed off to bed.

On Saturday morning we remembered that we were flying to Japan but hadn’t booked anywhere to stay. We toyed with the idea of landing at 6pm and going straight into Tokyo, but wisely opted to stay in a nice airport hotel near Narita instead.

The flight to Japan was brilliant. We were taken by Singapore airlines, whose hosts and hostesses are the most polite, preened and beautiful people ever. They fed and watered us like geese in advent, and even dished out Hershey bars in between the mid-meal snacks. We landed in Japan at around 5pm, and jumped on the airport shuttle bus to our hotel. I insisted that we stay up a while to sort out our body clocks, but we both went a bit strange, watching Japanese television, drinking green tea and not speaking a word. Claire literally slept from 8pm through to 9am (when I woke her by prodding her, grimacing, face twisted with jealously as I’d woken at 3am and had been working to pass the time.)

- Tom

Claire winning BIG in the Stratosphere hotel casino. Tom looking a little peaky after his dodgy burger episode (but still pulling it out of the bag like the proper trooper he is... He amazes me that lad. Reserves deep as a mountain lake. And handsome too.)

Tom

Claire and Tom outside the Bellagigioigio in Vegas, watching the musical fountains. We made our way along the whole strip betting various amounts from $1 to $3 and winning millions.