Who Knew Toronto Was on the Med? Leg Six - Cleveland Rocks

[Wobbles]

Last Leg - Pittsburgh

Sorry about the delay, we have had a busy month (*cough* planning this years holiday *cough*) but before I can start my pre-trippie for that, I want to finish this report.

Having had a fairly long day walking around Pittsburgh yesterday, we got up late(ish) and were planning to spend the morning at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, but it was closed for a private event. I was a little bit disappointed as I had been looking forward to seeing the birds.

... So we went shopping instead, I knew there was a Target and a Michaels just up the road so we headed there and wandered around a couple of stores and had a late breakfast in Target. We didn't do much shopping this trip but did enjoy a change of pace.

The run up to Cleveland was smooth, the weather was nice and it was easy to get to our Holiday Inn Express right in the centre. It's in an converted Bank and was amazing. We got there at about 3pm just as check in was opening, the foyer was ornate and very glamourous.

Included in the price is breakfast, a nightly "mixer" with free soft drinks or alcohol and hot snacks and most of their rooms are suites with kitchens and sitting areas.

Unfortantly we had booked this hotel because it had a laundromat... only to find it was closed for refurb. They directed us to a place down the road, which we were a little nervous about but found the staff very friendly and we got the washing done and dried for $8 and were heading back to the hotel in less than an hour.

We arrived back at the hotel just as the mixer started at 5pm, so grabbed a couple of glasses of wine and cans of beers and some snacks and relaxed. There was a really nice atmostphere in the bar area (free drinks will do that) and we enjoyed chilling out.

Cleveland is one of the best examples of inner-city regeneration I have ever seen. It has been done sympathetically with lots of entertainment, bars and restaurants sitting along side municiple functions and big business. We were not short of places to eat, so started at Harry Buffalo.

Kudos to the staff, we ordered one sharing plate of wings... just to be told that as it was 2-4-1 night, it would be cheaper for us to get two single servings as you got free beers thrown in. She got a big tip for that!

We went for a walk around the centre, soaking up the music and the atmostpheres, it felt very safe and had a regular bus and tram service before heading to the Chocolate Bar for dessert and an alcoholic hot cholcoate. Wow this was amazing, we could have eaten every meal in there with added chocolate.

This was probably our most chilled day and we also managed to get our washing done

[Wobbles]

We woke up the next morning, knowing we were going to have a very very busy day... Breakfast at the Holiday Inn is a typical hotel freebie fare but it filled up up.

We decided to walk the mile to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which gave us a chance to enjoy some of the amazing street art in Cleveland.

As I said in my previous post, the regeneration of Cleveland stands as an example of other cities, not just in the rust belt but in the UK too.

Today's highlight was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, If you love your music its a must, we spent all day there and could easily have done a second day.

There are three main areas, firstly there is a History of Rock and Roll, which took over 3hrs. Not only does it tell the story by year and by location, there is exhibition of outfits from some of the biggest stars of all time and biographies of some of them!

Secondly, there is the changing exhibitions, this year it was looking at the relationship between music and politics. Very timely as it was a couple of weeks before the presidential election. We both learnt a lot from those rooms.

Lastly there is the Hall of Inductees, with a backlit glass wall with all the signatures of Inductees.

The food was basic, we had some very nice sandwiches but you could for a couple of dollars buy a refillible cup, this was great as all out drinks during a long day only cost $4 each.

We had a brillant day and came out smiling... educated and inspired.

There was one more thing left to do in Cleveland and that was a special treat for Mr W, I had a surprise lined up for him. But first we had to sort out supper. One of our favourite places in the USA to eat is Potbelly Sandwiches and there was one next to hotel.

We were served by an Australian who had lived in the UK and missed Nandos and gave us a free cookie, partly because we made him feel at home but mainly because he spoilt Mr W's surprise by asking us if we were going to WWE Smackdown.

Mr W has been a fan of WWE since the 80s and it was too good a deal to miss. I know nothing about wrestling, and when the 12 year old girl next to me asked me who my favourite was, I had to admit to this. She felt sorry for me and from then on I had a running commentary on who was who and who hated who and why.

It was a brilliant evening and a great day, we loved Cleveland and I would recommend it to anyone and go back in a heartbeat.

The Next Leg - Put In Bay