Dasha in Da House

Has landed. Currently in the 'warm room' with several other dogs that came in this morning. We miss him so much.

I wonder if his bark has an American accent?

Bye Bye Lil' Man

Look out bitches in Australia. The D-Man is en route as I type. Bringing a little bit of NYC canine action at ya like Cleopatra. We had the miserable job of dropping off the hound at JFK yesterday for the long flight back to Oz. It's been a massive journey to get all the things done but we got there eventually. I big thanks to Tracy for over six months worth of effort. We did it ourselves which had the benefit of saving a fortune on costs of what the pet services charge but the paperwork is horrendous to get the little guy in.

The big test was when we got to the USDA vet who had to review all the paperwork. This went well then it was off to QANTAS cargo to drop the guy off. We had frozen a block of water full of treats thinking this would delay him getting to some food but he'd demolished it by the time we dropped him off. We'd kept him up all morning and took him on several walks in an attempt to tire him out. I think it worked as he pretty much crashed as soon as we dropped him inside his create. Obviously he was quite sad to see us leave......Not.

So I just checked flight tracker and he is well and truly en route. He'll be locked in his create for near on 30 hours which is not very nice. It's then a four week stay in quarantine with a release date of Oct 28. That is coincidently the date we land back in Oz so there might be a trip from Sydney airport direct to quarantine installed for us. We've arranged a walker to come in four times a week during his parole periods to play with him so he'll have some contact with people and we'll be able to get updates.

We miss him tremendously. That little rodent.....

The last supper

Last minute clean. Don't you love the sitting pose on Tracy.

Hi last pee on NYC soil.

About to be sealed in his crate.

There were some tears.

Dasha's home for the next 30 odd hours.

Sob sob, waiting in cargo. The staff brought him into the office to look after him while waiting.

En route to his new home in Oz.

Sneak Peak at the Pro Shots

Ok I promise not to bombard you with too many pics but here are a couple of samples from our lovely photographer. 

Announcing the New Mr & Mrs Jones

We had a sensational day getting married in Central Park yesterday. Dasha was well behaved as the best dog and we're really happy. Thanks for all the well wishes.

Classy transportation. Who needs a limo when you've got the subway.

The best dog. Dasha looking very dapper.

Tracy was the star of the day and looked sensational.

Thanks for the flowers Di. They were beautiful and lasted really well throughout the day.

Why I Love NYC, Part 89

So you probably just saw the Ellis Island blog but the day did not end there.

The Rest of the Day
Once we got back to the village we headed down to Thompkins Square park to take Dasha for a walk. There was a block party on East 9th which we checked out and got a snack at. We also came across these random goth style dudes shooting a video in the park which was quite interesting.

And the Night
We wanted to spend Saturday evening wandering aimlessly around the East and West Villages. It was pretty much our last free Saturday night so we wanted to check out a few of the old haunts.

We started off having dinner at this burger place down on E9th called Whitmans. We both really enjoyed these burgers and it's on the return list......if we get time. After dinner we started walking to the West Village and ended up at this vintage shop opening. Lots of old school clothing and very cool.

We stopped in at a friends house who was having a bit of a party. All this walking makes a man thirsty after all.Once the Tequila came out we knew it was time to leave so we headed down to Houston to a pizza place called Arturos. Matt was playing so we thought we'd check it out. From here we wandered through SoHo and the Lower East Side. Both were pumping as it was after midnight by this stage. Another great Saturday in NYC.

Ellis Island

As we count down our departure date so do we check off the last of the tourist things we've wanted to do. Ellis Island has been up on the list for a long time and we finally got over there yesterday. It was a beautiful day for a ride on the river. Once over there we did a slightly more expedited viewing of the place. Some 12 million immigrants went through the doors here and over 100 million Americans today can trace ancestors who commuted through here. Amazing.

Locanda Verde

Back in summer 2010 we hit up this Italian place down in Tribecca called Locanda Verde. We ate there when my parents were over and had a really nice meal. We've been meaning to get back there and finally made it this past Friday. We had some friends up from Philly and Tracy managed to get a table so it was game on. Ever since we went there I'd been wanting to go to a bar across the road called Smith and Mills. It's this little hole in the wall style place and the perfect location for a pre dinner cocktail. Cucumber is definitely popular in cocktails at the moment over here.

After drinks we headed over and the food was as good as always. Must have been the week for Octopus and after the delicious squid we got at Babbo I wanted to try it again. This was equally delicious and went down a treat. This place is a real mid range favorite of ours and worth a visit.

We went for a wander after to the Freedom Tower and it was lit up in the red, white and blue.

Back 40 Crab Boil

This little dinner outing deserved a blog on it's own due to the craziness. There is a place just round the corner called Back 40 which has these Tuesday night crab boils. You basically rock up, sit at a table covered in newspaper and they pour buckets of steamed crabs on the table. If you're into crabs then this is the place to be.

Chuck and me sat next to a couple of Aussie's on holidays over here who we bonded with over crab claws and corn. After spending a couple of hours demolishing the crustacean beasts we then headed out for a night cap to a place called Blind Barber. It's a barber shop on E10th in the East Village which has a back door leading into a speakeasy style bar. It was a Tuesday night and the uni crowd were out in force with doof doof a plenty playing.

We probably stayed out for one to many and that mandated the 3am pizza run at the end of the night.

Eating crabs is messy business

The aftermath

Career change for Chuck

Some random promo photo at Blind Barber