Postcard from the USA & Carribean
by AST Director, Sean Lynch
I boarded the Qantas plane in Melbourne in eager anticipation of spending 3 weeks travelling through America and the Caribbean, my first trip to both regions since our tour to the Caribbean in 2003. My trip will take me to the American cities of Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and New York and the Caribbean countries of Barbados, Antigua and Puerto Rico. I departed Melbourne at 10.30am on a Saturday morning and after a 14 hour flight arrived into LA at 7.30am on that same Saturday morning – a somewhat surreal experience. I had three nights in LA and although being a weekend, I set about investigating hotels, meeting coach companies and putting together sightseeing options for our add on packages. The hotel we have chosen for the add on packages is the Crowne Plaza Beverley Hills and is a very comfortable hotel with good sized rooms, a relaxing outdoor pool area, lovely bar & restaurant and conveniently located within walking distance of the world famous Rodeo Drive.
From LA I flew to Dallas Texas for a meeting with the Sales Manager and Groups Department of American Airlines who will be handling our flights from Los Angeles. I met with Andrea, Peggy and Carole and I don’t think they had met with many Australians before as my heavy accent was met with a unique mixture of intrigue, excitement and confusion from these southern girls. They were delightful girls who had a good handle on our requirements and will ensure the smooth operation of our flights. At the completion of the meeting I boarded another flight for Miami where as in LA I would spend three hectic days organising our add on packages and also meeting with a number of air charter companies in regards to charter flights to and through the Caribbean. I was staying at Newport Beach Resort on Miami Beach but soon discovered that the only place to stay in Miami is on South Beach. South Beach is a hive of activity and the trendy place to be seen in Miami with celebrity spotting a local pastime on the beach & esplanade housing the many restaurants and bars. An extremely pleasant night was had in South Beach when I met with Richard Ford, our contact with Celebrity Cruises and our cruise ship for the Cricket World Cup, the Galaxy. Richard an ex patriot South African was very excited about our groups arrival and assured the Galaxy staff would ensure a cruise to remember.
After a thoroughly enjoyable time in Miami I travelled to Barbados to meet with the ICC ticket and travel representatives and to inspect the two properties we will be using for our super 8’s land packages. I have travelled to Barbados many times before and never tire of its quaintness and terrifically friendly people. Known as “Little England” because of the large number of Brits who vacation on the island and the distinctive English feel to the island with its rolling green hills and villages that dot the island it will be the centre piece of next years Cricket World Cup. Barbados is the home of cricket in the Caribbean with names such as Sobers, Worrell, Weekes, Haynes, Greenidge, Garner and Hall hailing from this little island and all Barbadians have a knowledge and love of the game. My taxi driver Joseph was extremely passionate about the game and blamed the lack of West Indian success in recent times on the selectors not selecting enough Barbadians in the team. Kensington Oval Bridgetown will be the venue for the Cricket World Cup Final and the entire ground has been redeveloped for the event and is almost unrecognisable from the ground we watched the 3rd Test at in 2003. Nearly every stand has been pulled down & replaced and the surface and centre wicket area has been reshaped and resewn. The ground has gone from having a capacity of 15,000 people to one that will hold 30,000 people for the Final.
The two hotels we will be using for our Super 8 packages are both well located on the South Coast of the island and will be very comfortable properties for our groups. Divi Southwinds, which was one of the hotels we used for our tour in 2003 has undergone a refurbishment since then, and is a lovely spacious hotel located in St Lawrence’s Gap, where many of the islands best restaurants and nightlife is located. Coconut Court Beach Resort is located in Hastings and is a delightful little property with rooms overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea.
From Barbados I travelled to Antigua for a short visit to meet with a number of local airlines and from there travelled to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA and is therefore governed by the same immigration and custom laws as mainland America but has a unique Latin American feel. This is extremely apparent in its architecture, its food and most of all in its music. San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico and is where the Galaxy Cruise commences for the Super 8’s cruise and finishes for the Finals cruise and is an ideal location to unwind and relax and regain your sea legs after your cruise. There are a number of magnificent beachside resorts in San Juan with luxurious swimming pools, nightclubs, casino’s, restaurants, shops and bars and we are currently compiling a 3 night add on package that we will release shortly.
Having thoroughly enjoyed my time in Puerto Rico my next and last stop was the city that never sleeps, New York. Not having been to New York for over 10 years I was pleasantly surprised how the city had changed in that time. On my last visit large parts of the city were no go zones, crime was rampant and personal safety was always an issue. The city had definitely gone through a renaissance period in the intervening years with many parts of the city having been rejuvenated and crime and personal safety no longer an issue. I found it a magical city, only second in my opinion to London, with so much to see and do and the local New Yorkers delightfully friendly and accommodating. I spent a week in the city and did most of the must do’s whilst in New York: stroll through Central Park, shopping on 5th avenue, visit World Trade Centre site, Wall Street and New York Stock Exchange, cruise to Statue of Liberty, baseball game at Yankee Stadium, live studio audience on David Letterman Show, observation deck of Empire State Building, Jazz club, comedy club, night out in Greenwich Village and Soho, tour through Brooklyn, subway ride to Grand Central Station, attend a Broadway show and the Seinfeld tour. The saying that if you get bored in New York you are bored of life is very true and it is a city that needs to be experienced. Crowne Plaza Times Square is the hotel I stayed in and the hotel we are using for our add on packages and is a superbly located and comfortable hotel located in Times Square on Broadway. With large nicely furnished rooms located from the 16th to 46th floor the views over Times Square and Manhattan are superb and the hotel has a large gymnasium, swimming pool and relaxing bar and restaurant to make your stay a very pleasant one indeed.
Although it is always nice to be home I was a little sad when boarding my flight at JFK airport as I had experienced a wonderful trip and can confidently predict that tour members will not be disappointed when they arrive in 2007 for the Cricket World Cup and in their travels after the event. |
The beaches in the Caribbean are breathtakingly beautiful
The magnificent Crowne Plaza Times Square - right in the heart of New York
Enjoying the baseball at the world famous Yankee Stadium
Central Park, New York
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