USA Part 4: Viva Las Vegas

Our journey ended with a bang at fabulous Las Vegas. We were stoked upon checking in at Caesar's Palace to be given a room upgrade - perfect way to begin two nights in Sin City! We spent our first afternoon walking up and down 'The Strip', doing a bit of shopping and eating ridiculously sized meals at Serendipity Cafe. Before heading back to our room to get ready for our night out, we stopped at Margaritaville and bought ourselves a giant slushy each. They were so sickly sweet and we struggled to drink even half but we would have regretted not doing it!

We had a really fun night out, starting with a bit of gambling at the casino at Caesar's. To be honest I'm pretty clueless when it comes to gambling, but I gave it a red hot go (read: didn't win a cent). We then made our way to a few of the nightclubs for a boogie. I found the bikini-clad dancers at every club a bit of a surprise but the happy hour for ladies was a bonus! Jess and I, being the grandmas that we are, had made a pledge to stay out until 4am. I think we made it to 3am...haha.

The next day, after a sleep-in, big breakfast and a swim we took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. It was spectacular to see two of the seven wonders of the world in the same day (Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon). The helicopter took us right into the centre of the Canyon where we landed for a short time to refuel before hopping back on. Unfortunately someone I know (cough cough Jess) got a little bit motion sick - we really hadn't factored in how bumpy it was going to be! We were also in the same helicopter as a couple who were having a really rough time - the guy was sick pretty much the whole way there and back! Despite all that it was still pretty awesome (well for me, haha).

Flying back over Vegas was really cool. You don't realise how amazing it looks - it really does just appear out of the desert. For our second night out we went and saw Cirque du Soleil 'Ka' at MGM Grand. Wow wow wow! It was amazing. The whole time I was thinking to myself 'I can't even do a cartwheel!'. 

Our time in Vegas really flew by, but I'm glad we went. If I ever go again I'll try and make it a weekend and will make the effort to find some of the wedding chapels as we didn't see any at all and maybe stay out until 4am. Maybe. It's the kind of place that has to be seen to be believed! 

P.S I hope you enjoy that first pic of Jess and I at the Vegas sign. It was such a mission to find! Someone gave us really bad directions and we ended up wandering around in 40+ degree heat before a nice chap offered us a lift. So glad the photo turned out so well! 

USA Part 3: California Dreaming

The next part of our Great American Adventure was a road trip down Highway 1 between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Neither Jess or I had ever driven in America before, so were both feeling a bit nervous when we arrived at the hire car centre at SFO. After they gave us the keys to our ride for the next week, we ended up sitting in the car park for about 20 minutes before we were brave enough to take off! I volunteered (sort of) to drive first and it wasn't as bad as we were expecting - once we figured out that the left lane was the fast lane not the slow lane and got a handle on which side of the car to get in.

Our first day of driving took us south from San Francisco to Santa Cruz where we stopped for a burrito at the famous boardwalk. It definitely looked like something out of a movie with its cheesy arcade, roller coasters and people playing volleyball on the beach. We drove a little bit further south and arrived in the coastal town of Monterey, home of the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and the jellies!!! We arrived at the aquarium close to closing time so did a whirlwind tour. Unfortunately it was pretty grey and cold during our time at Monterey so I didn't take many photos. The next morning we packed up and took the famous 17 mile drive before joining up with Highway 1 again.

A large section of Highway 1 takes you through the area known as Big Sur - miles and miles of winding road hugging the spectacular coastline. A little hairy and narrow in places but breathtaking nonetheless. Jess and I took turns driving so one could be official photographer/enjoy the scenery while the other kept their eyes on the road! So many 'wow' moments as we rounded the bends. We stopped off for lunch at the Big Sur River Inn which was a gorgeous spot by the river (as the name suggests - duh).

That night we hadn't made any bookings so decided to see where the road took us. One thing about San Francisco was the taxi drivers were all SUPER friendly. One in particular suggested we go to a coastal town called Cayucos if we had the chance. Lo and behold we saw the sign so decided to pull in and check it out. As we approached this little town we immediately knew it would be our home for the night. We pulled into one of the first motels we saw, right by the beach. I ran inside to check if they had any rooms. Indeed they did and we were give one with ocean views. We were very happy campers. It was a sleepy old town; the people were very friendly, there were some awesome vintage shops and a cookie bakery with the most melt-in-your mouth butter cookies I've ever tasted. A bottle of wine, some nibbles and selfies on the beach at sunset followed - it was such a perfect night! Thank you Mr Taxi Driver for the awesome suggestion.

We rose early the next day and headed for sunny Santa Barbara where we spent a few hours wandering, shopping and eating (what we do best). After lunch we continued our journey down the highway until we found ourselves in the middle of Los Angeles traffic! What an experience - 7 lanes on each side and cars honking and whizzing past, no indicators or nothing! We spent the next two nights in Orange County being regular Summers and Marissas. Jess had a friend living near Newport beach so we were able to meet and party with some locals which was a lot of fun. It was kind of surreal to visit Newport Beach as well as Laguna and really see what that lifestyle is like!

After leaving the OC we spent a day at Santa Monica and Venice Beach. It was the Labor Day long weekend so naturally it was packed. We had heaps of fun riding bikes along the beach and taking in all the weird and wonderful people going about their business. We spent two nights in Downtown LA in a converted warehouse complex. We took the car for a spin down Sunset Boulevard, climbed the narrow, winding (and a bit frightening) roads to the Hollywood Sign, ate amazing Japanese on Hollywood Boulevard, walked miles and miles looking for Bob Dylan's Star of on the Walk of Fame (turns out he doesn't have one yet - can you believe that!?), drank cocktails at Sky Bar and made a mandatory stop at In & Out Burger (I made Jess eat a burger since I'm vego but the fries and shake were pretty damn good).

And that was the end of our sunny Californian road trip. Next stop Vegas!

USA Part 2: San Francisco

Upon leaving NYC we flew to San Francisco to begin our West Coast adventure. This was my first time visiting San Fran and I absolutely fell in love. It is such a gorgeous city and in some ways seems kind of European, with its hilly streets and beautiful Victorian style houses. I've always said I want a window seat in my house one day and now I realise I might just have to move to San Fran. It seems every house there has big bay windows with cute little seats - including the lovely little house we stayed at. I was over the moon.

We arrived to clear blue skies and it stayed that way for the 3 days we were there. After landing and dropping off our bags we discovered we were staying right across the road from a gorgeous French cafe so we stopped for a quick bite. We then caught the bus down to the water and decided we definitely had to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge that day. Not really knowing anything about the city we ended up walking a fair way to Fisherman's Wharf where we picked up our bikes. It's actually quite a journey to get to the bridge itself - up many classic SF hills and around the bay. I had a bit of a cold that day and not being the fittest I've been it was a bit of a struggle. But when we finally got up there and coasted along the (flat!) bridge with the wind in our hair it was absolutely breathtaking. One of the best things I've done. You could even hear me shouting a few 'woohoo's' on the way. Over the other side of the Golden Gate is a village called Sausalito which is very quaint. We parked our bikes and found a restaurant by the water where we enjoyed a well-deserved glass of wine followed by a huge and delicious ice cream before hopping onto the ferry with our bikes and heading back to Fisherman's Wharf as the sun set. To top the day off we had an amazing meal at Scoma's at Fisherman's Wharf, followed by a few drinks at a bar featuring an awesome cover singer who obliged and played a few of our requests. What a perfect day.

On our second day we caught another ferry to Alcatraz Island and did the tour there. It was fascinating and quite haunting! I can't imagine how scary it would be at night time. The self-guided audio tour is really well done. We then caught the ferry back and had lunch at Pier 39 while watching the Sea Lions bask and play in the sun. That afternoon we did some shopping in the famous Haight-Ashbury district. Lots of interesting characters to be seen there! 

Our third morning was spent doing a bit of shopping in the city. We found a Madewell store and both bought some of their jeans - they have such gorgeous clothes. We then jumped on one of the old cable cars and made our way to Lombard Street. I think we were the only people walking UP the street. Oh well, at least we got our exercise for the day. In a guide book we read about a cafe nearby at the San Francisco Art Institute which apparently had wonderful views - so we found it and pretended to be students and enjoyed a sandwich looking over the bay. We visited the famous Ghiradelli Square and chocolate factory and I stocked up on some sea salt caramel chocolates (amazing!) for our short train ride north to Berkeley to visit my old housemate Whitney (we were roomies in New York). Jess and I were both pretty excited to see Berkeley being big fans of the OC (that's where Sandy Cohen went to College!). Berkeley was a really beautiful little town. We spent the afternoon driving around with Whitney and having a tour of the campus there. It seems like a lovely place to live and is so close to San Fran.

On our last morning we walked from our apartment to the famous Alamo Square (featured in the last pic). You may recognise those houses from the old sitcom Full House. I used to love that show so was really excited. Unfortunately that was the end of our short stay in San Fran and we headed to the airport to pick up our hire car for our roadtrip down the coast. More on that next time!

USA: Washington, Dallas, NYC

I'm back from my 5 week Great American Adventure and I had an amazing time. My trip started out in Washington DC where I was for work. It was my second time to DC but the first time I was there in the thick of winter so it was great to be there in summer. DC is a very pretty city and despite being there for meetings I squeezed in some sight-seeing and had a lot of good food!

Next stop was Dallas in Texas for a conference. I didn't see a lot of Dallas because the conference consumed most of my time. It was extremely hot and dry there and everything really is bigger in Texas. The conference itself was a lot of fun. Each night was a different party at a big and exciting venue which while exhausting was heaps of fun.

Upon leaving Dallas my official work duties ended and I was able to relax into holiday mode a little. First stop NYC! I was so beyond excited to get there that I stupidly booked myself on a 5am flight the day I left Dallas. Definitely a rookie error but that said it was amazing to have that extra time in my favourite city. I had 2 days by myself before my best friend Jess arrived. We spent our first week in the East Village in a really cool apartment. It was so exciting to be in NYC in the Summer as there is so much more happening than in winter (I spent 4 months there including the whole winter last time).

Jess and I had a ball eating our way around the city, shopping, doing all the touristy things, catching up with some of my friends there and visiting a number of rooftop bars. We also spent 4 nights out in a loft in Williamsburg which was awesome for a change of pace. While I kind of thrive in the busyness and crowds, Jess wasn't too keen on it and was relieved when we got out to Brooklyn where everything is a little slower.

I'll do another post soon with my photos from the West Coast! Stay tuned.