We flew into Vegas just in time for the 4th of July and stayed in the Stratopshere hotel (courtesy of Mr and Mrs Cardell for my birthday). It was so nice to have our own space and 2 flat screen t.vs! Vegas was not what I expected at all, so much more fun and slightly less tacky. We spent july 4th at a pool party on the roof of our hotel in 40-something degree heat. We went out most nights to the strip, but didn't win more than a dollar between us. My birthday was lovely except my bday cards got lost in the post :( Ross woke me up with a cake, card and balloon. Now I understood where he had disappeared to the day before for a few hours - he claims to have walked for miles and that was why the cake had melted! Anyway so then we went shopping for the day. We got all dressed up and Ross surprised me with a meal at the Bellagio! He'd managed to blag us window seats so that we could watch the fountains. Ross had steak surprise surprise, and I had a rather posh pizza. After that we went for a few drinks at our favourite casino and went to the club that ross had got us VIP for, but they wouldn't let him in without trousers! Oh well.
We left the next day for L.A again on a bus........never again will I get on a bus in America, neverrrr! There were a lot of gangsters talking to us for 6 hours, I even pretended to be asleep so they would leave us alone! Then we got dropped off in downtown L.A, and it tooks us about another 4 hours to reach our hostel. 3 metro rides through the dodgiest parts of L.A, a 2 mile walk in the middle of nowhere, followed by me spotting a big yellow M and Ross' face lighting up, then a taxi. We FINALLY ended up back at our favourite place again in Hermosa Beach. We spent the next 10 days sunbathing, eating, watching sunsets, cycling, watching live bands every night etc etc. I want to live there! We were so so sad to leave. The lady who owns the hostel even gave us a private room free of charge because apparently she liked us!
Then we went to New Orleans and stayed with one of the guys we had met in Costa Rica. His flat was about 5 mins from the centre of town which was perfect. They took us out that night to Bourbon Street where we drank Hurricanes and Hand Grenades. I don't remember much else. The next day I was pretty keen to see the city. Ross, however, only managed to see all the public restrooms (lets just say the Hurricanes didnt agree with him)! I still managed to stroll around the french quarter and listen to some jazz. I wish we had stayed longer because it was one of my favourite places so far.
We landed in Miami a few days ago. I have to say, it isnt one of my favourite places but we are enjoying it for what it is. It is like a ghetto Ibiza. We went on a tour to the Keys which we managed to get for a bargain! And today we went on a trip to the Everglades to see the alligators! We went on an airboat ride which was soooo fun! Anyways, thats enough for now, off to New York in a couple of days woooooooooooooooohooooooooooooo! xx
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Where to begin....
Its been a while since I've written one of these! I will try to rack my brain and remember things....
San Diego was lovely, we were in an amazing location right in the heart of the Gas Lamp district. We spent one day in Mexico(!), a day exploring a place called La Jolla cove, and a day in Balboa Park. We went on a bar crawl with the hostel which included Ross getting threatened by a tramp, me on a bucking bronco, everyone buying me drinks because of 'my accent', and not quite remembering how we got home, but all in all I think it was a good night.
When it was time to say goodbyw to San Diego we got the train (not the greyhound, never ever ever ever again will we go on a greyhound) up to Orange County where we would catch our flight to Hawaii. We booked a comfort inn for the night before the flight, and we were like children when we saw it. A T.V, clean sheets, a sofa, and a big window made us run around screaming and jumping on the bed. Yes it sounds sad, but it was such a change from hostels! We spent the night watching the nba game with nachos and burgers.
Then it was Hawaii!!!! We couldn't believe it when we saw the beach, both of our jaws dropped to the floor. I have never seen water so clear. We spent a couple of days sunbathing on Waikiki, which was needed for me (not Ross) because I haven't kept up much of a tan. One day we went snorkelling in Hanauma Bay which was amazing! We saw lots of colourful fish, including one with the name 'humuhumunukunukuapuaa'. The Hawaiian language gave us a few giggles. One of my favourite memories of Hawaii was watching the sun set on the beach whilst a hula performance was going on.
After I was eaten alive by bed bugs ( i counted to 63 on my legs alone and got bored...) we decided to check into a hotel which was only a few dollars more, and got upgraded to a sunset ocean and city view! Wait, I can't believe I haven't mentioned the SKYDIVE yet! I spent the day before not talking to Ross as I was too scared. It was so funny waking up in the morning - we just exchanged a very serious 'morning' and didn't speak whilst we brushed our teeth and waited for the shuttle to pick us up for the jump! I was expecting some kind of briefing or training before we went on the plane, but oh no, just a 10 page form we had to sign that said at the bottom of every single page YOU MAY DIE. It was reassuring to say the least and really calmed my nerves about the whole thing. Anyway so the truck ride to the plane was scary enough, very unsecure. And then we got into a very small rattley plane without any seats. And then when you think you can't get any higher, they throw Ross out of the plane. It was so funny! One minute he was there, the next he was a little dot in the sky! Next was my turn, it wasn't even scary by the time you realise that you have no choice but to fall 15000 feet. It was so much fun freefalling for about 60 seconds, then gliding around for about 10 minutes seeing the amazing view of the North Shore. Anyway I would have loved to have bought the video but we couldn't afford it as well as the photos. This was one of the best moments of the trip!
Ooh so we arrived back in L.A and started our rooooaaaddd triiiiip! We started off driving through Malibu and then stopped in Santa Barbara. Then we pelted it along the Pacific Coast Highway (which was amazing) to get to the Big Sur on time to get a cabin to sleep in. But Ross delayed us quite a bit by stopping at every single opportunity to take pictures of lovely scenery, but it all started to look very similar to me! So after discovering that it was very expensive to stay in the Big Sur ($100 dollars up), we managed to afford a 'tent cabin', with no electricity or plumbing, which is great fun when you arrive at night and can't see anything. When we woke up we discovered we were on a river in a redwood forest! It was so pretty and unlike anywhere I had ever stayed. It was a shame to leave but we had to cover a lot of the coast before night time again. Next stop was a place called Carmel. This is where i will live when I have lots of money and am retired. Its right on the sea, and the people here are so happy and chilled out. All the shops and cafes are very Lorna-esque with little Cath Kidston (everythings covered in polka dot or flowers) looking things everywhere. Then we drove to Santa Cruz! I don't want to bore you, but that was lovely too! We got a little cable car over the pier. That night we slept in a lighthouse! Watching the sun set there was another highlight of the trip (photos to come!). The next day it was time to head for San Francisco!
So my first impressions of San Francisco weren't quite as I had hoped. Scary, crazy people everywhere. but then I realised we had been hanging around in the 'Tenderloin' district, a.k.a The Ghetto, and also it was Pride weekend. So basically everyone was walking around naked etc etc. But we decided to embrace it and went to the Pride festival, it was crazy! Then we went to the Pink Party at night which was a street party with a DJ, I have never seen so many people (let alone crazies) in one place. The next day we watched the parade which was interesting....but also very fun! The next few days we hung around with some english guys which was s surprising relief. Haha Ross just reminded me of his karaoke, I managed to persuade him to sing (or rap) Crank That by Soulja Boy - he even did the dance to accompany it. I have never been so proud. The following week we went to a place called Fishermans wharf, and generally just wandered around. Ooh yesterday we went to a Jazz festival! Oh and one day we met up with a girl we knew from Costa Rica, and she showed us a posh hotel and we got to go up and see the penthouse where all the Presidents stay! Anyway I'm a bit bored trying to relay everything, and you are probably bored reading it so I will go now. Theres so much more I could say!
VEGAS TONIGHT! Its 44 degress....Oh dear xxxxxx
San Diego was lovely, we were in an amazing location right in the heart of the Gas Lamp district. We spent one day in Mexico(!), a day exploring a place called La Jolla cove, and a day in Balboa Park. We went on a bar crawl with the hostel which included Ross getting threatened by a tramp, me on a bucking bronco, everyone buying me drinks because of 'my accent', and not quite remembering how we got home, but all in all I think it was a good night.
When it was time to say goodbyw to San Diego we got the train (not the greyhound, never ever ever ever again will we go on a greyhound) up to Orange County where we would catch our flight to Hawaii. We booked a comfort inn for the night before the flight, and we were like children when we saw it. A T.V, clean sheets, a sofa, and a big window made us run around screaming and jumping on the bed. Yes it sounds sad, but it was such a change from hostels! We spent the night watching the nba game with nachos and burgers.
Then it was Hawaii!!!! We couldn't believe it when we saw the beach, both of our jaws dropped to the floor. I have never seen water so clear. We spent a couple of days sunbathing on Waikiki, which was needed for me (not Ross) because I haven't kept up much of a tan. One day we went snorkelling in Hanauma Bay which was amazing! We saw lots of colourful fish, including one with the name 'humuhumunukunukuapuaa'. The Hawaiian language gave us a few giggles. One of my favourite memories of Hawaii was watching the sun set on the beach whilst a hula performance was going on.
After I was eaten alive by bed bugs ( i counted to 63 on my legs alone and got bored...) we decided to check into a hotel which was only a few dollars more, and got upgraded to a sunset ocean and city view! Wait, I can't believe I haven't mentioned the SKYDIVE yet! I spent the day before not talking to Ross as I was too scared. It was so funny waking up in the morning - we just exchanged a very serious 'morning' and didn't speak whilst we brushed our teeth and waited for the shuttle to pick us up for the jump! I was expecting some kind of briefing or training before we went on the plane, but oh no, just a 10 page form we had to sign that said at the bottom of every single page YOU MAY DIE. It was reassuring to say the least and really calmed my nerves about the whole thing. Anyway so the truck ride to the plane was scary enough, very unsecure. And then we got into a very small rattley plane without any seats. And then when you think you can't get any higher, they throw Ross out of the plane. It was so funny! One minute he was there, the next he was a little dot in the sky! Next was my turn, it wasn't even scary by the time you realise that you have no choice but to fall 15000 feet. It was so much fun freefalling for about 60 seconds, then gliding around for about 10 minutes seeing the amazing view of the North Shore. Anyway I would have loved to have bought the video but we couldn't afford it as well as the photos. This was one of the best moments of the trip!
Ooh so we arrived back in L.A and started our rooooaaaddd triiiiip! We started off driving through Malibu and then stopped in Santa Barbara. Then we pelted it along the Pacific Coast Highway (which was amazing) to get to the Big Sur on time to get a cabin to sleep in. But Ross delayed us quite a bit by stopping at every single opportunity to take pictures of lovely scenery, but it all started to look very similar to me! So after discovering that it was very expensive to stay in the Big Sur ($100 dollars up), we managed to afford a 'tent cabin', with no electricity or plumbing, which is great fun when you arrive at night and can't see anything. When we woke up we discovered we were on a river in a redwood forest! It was so pretty and unlike anywhere I had ever stayed. It was a shame to leave but we had to cover a lot of the coast before night time again. Next stop was a place called Carmel. This is where i will live when I have lots of money and am retired. Its right on the sea, and the people here are so happy and chilled out. All the shops and cafes are very Lorna-esque with little Cath Kidston (everythings covered in polka dot or flowers) looking things everywhere. Then we drove to Santa Cruz! I don't want to bore you, but that was lovely too! We got a little cable car over the pier. That night we slept in a lighthouse! Watching the sun set there was another highlight of the trip (photos to come!). The next day it was time to head for San Francisco!
So my first impressions of San Francisco weren't quite as I had hoped. Scary, crazy people everywhere. but then I realised we had been hanging around in the 'Tenderloin' district, a.k.a The Ghetto, and also it was Pride weekend. So basically everyone was walking around naked etc etc. But we decided to embrace it and went to the Pride festival, it was crazy! Then we went to the Pink Party at night which was a street party with a DJ, I have never seen so many people (let alone crazies) in one place. The next day we watched the parade which was interesting....but also very fun! The next few days we hung around with some english guys which was s surprising relief. Haha Ross just reminded me of his karaoke, I managed to persuade him to sing (or rap) Crank That by Soulja Boy - he even did the dance to accompany it. I have never been so proud. The following week we went to a place called Fishermans wharf, and generally just wandered around. Ooh yesterday we went to a Jazz festival! Oh and one day we met up with a girl we knew from Costa Rica, and she showed us a posh hotel and we got to go up and see the penthouse where all the Presidents stay! Anyway I'm a bit bored trying to relay everything, and you are probably bored reading it so I will go now. Theres so much more I could say!
VEGAS TONIGHT! Its 44 degress....Oh dear xxxxxx
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