Saturday 10 June 2017

Los Angeles

Hello,

So, we've just spent 3 nights in Los Angeles, which was pretty amazing. Getting through LAX was a little scary, with all of the security, but it's to be expected.
We joined our Trek America tour yesterday morning. Everyone is so great and friendly, and our tour leader Jen is amazing!
Our holiday highlight so far was Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier. Venice Beach is full of quirky shops selling a range of products like clothing, crystals, jewellery, creative crafts, and of course great food and drinks. The live performers and artwork were amazing too. We couldn't believe how great Venice Beach was, I really don't know what we were expecting, but with its quirky artistic nature, it's the perfect place to spend the day. We only wish we had more time there. So, we're definitely planning another trip to LA in the near future, as there's so much to do and see there, and three days really isn't enough.
Out on Santa Monica Pier Amy went on the Ferris Wheel and loved it, apart from the wind. While I went and sat at the end of the pier and watched a guy singing with his guitar, who was brilliant.










During our visit to Hollywood we walked the walk of fame and took a lot of pictures. We spent a while tracking down Johnny Depp's star, as Amy was dying for a picture,  and after walking the opposite direction a few times we found it. We ate at the famous Mels Drive-in diner, which was lovely. I recommend the grilled cheese combo with sweet potato fries. And although we didn't have one, the milkshakes look really good.
On our second day in Hollywood, we we're fortunate to be there while the red carpet had been rolled out, with big names such as Reese Witherspoon, Morgan Freeman,  and Diane Keaton walking up.
We booked Starlines tour bus, which is great to stop off at various points around LA like Venice Beach and Downtown Los Angeles. And, we met a lovely couple from Ohio who were very helpful - the people are great. We were a little disappointed with the tour, but it's definitely worth booking to get around easier. We also booked onto a Hollywood Homes tour later, where we were given information about the homes of the stars as we drove past, as well as a scenic stops along the way, which was pretty cool.
There are a lot of people dressed up in costumes on the street, if you have a picture taken with any of them, we were warned to make sure to give them a dollar or two, as they are known to find you and publicly shame you. If you don't want a picture, just politely decline and keep walking.
Hollywood is full of great shops that we don't have in the UK like the makeup shop Sephora, where I bought a lovely pink glitter eyeshadow.
Money wise we bought a few things, ate lunch at Johnny Rockets (Amazing food!) and had a great day out all on $100.
During our stay in LA, we stayed at Fairfield Inn and Suites. The hotel was really clean, with a double bed each, big flat screen tv, mini fridge, coffee machine, and a lot of choice of breakfast - including a chance to make your own waffles, which was fun! We slept really well here in comfort, the only downside was the unexpected tax and amenities charged to our cards, which would have been fine if we had been warned in advance. But, no complaints whatsoever about the hotel and its staff, which were very helpful.
On our last night we ate out at IHOP, which was unbelievable! I ordered the Mushroom and Spinach Omelette, with a side of cupcake pancakes, and Amy ordered the Strawberry Crepes. Amy said hers was okay, but I loved mine... I couldn't eat it all obviously!



So, all in all 9/10 for Los Angeles for me, and 8/10 for Amy. The missed points are because of the rough areas of LA.
More pictures to follow...

Thanks for reading,
Lou and Amy.


Tuesday 6 June 2017

Off We Go ...

Hello,

We've been off to a great start, with a lost card and breakdown on the motorway, with faces like a frowning elephant!


But, I'm pleased to say all is well now and we have arrived at our airport hotel in Manchester, yay. The first thing on the agenda was a well deserved cup of tea, and now we've got a very long sleep of three hours,  before our taxi takes us to the airport.

More coming soon...

Lou and Amy.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

1 Week To Go!

Hello,

In exactly 1 week we'll be landing in America. We have a full schedule planned for the holiday ahead, covering Los Angeles, Yosemite, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Arizona.
We'll be staying in hotels, hostels and camping in the great outdoors!
So, we've been doing some research into all of the amazing things we could do, and so far we've planned to visit The Grand Canyon in Arizona, Shark Reef Aquarium and the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas, the Walt-Disney Museum in San-Francisco, Natural History Museums, Alcatraz Prison, and the Golden Gate Bridge and Sunset River Cruise. And, we're planning to book a hop-on bus tour with Starline for an easy route around LA.
We'll also be joining King Arthur and his Knights at the Excalibur Hotel in Vegas - a place we can't wait to explore :-)


With only one week to go the countdown has now officially begun, and we can't wait to share this journey with you.
See you next week, when we land on US soil :-)

Thanks for reading,
Lou and Amy.

Sunday 21 May 2017

My Log Travel Blog in USA Welcome Post

Hello,

I'm Louise, a 28 year old dreaming of her first journey abroad, and still officially a Continental Virgin. Everytime I've planned a trip abroad, life always seemed to get in the way. But, on the 6th June, in around 2 weeks, all of that will change, as I will go abroad for the very first time in my life, with my friend Amy.


Come and join us as we emark on a two week holiday to America, travelling with Trek America on their California Calling Tour. We've also added on extra days in Los Angeles and San Francisco before and after the Trek America trip, as well as a few days in Las Vegas, and a deluxe trip to the prehistoric, sacred site that is the Grand Canyon, with Canyon Tours.



We only had eight months to save, so we'll be living off no more than a $100 a day budget, sharing our tips on how to have a good time on a budget. I'm extremely excited and completely terrified, at the same time. I've gone my entire life without ever travelling on a plane, and now I've got a fourteen hour flight to look forward to! And, as far as the four nights camping are concerned, I've never camped a day in my life in the great outdoors or even put up a tent - apart from one of those pop ups in the backyard as a kid of course. And, I should probably mention my huge fear of moths, spiders, and, well anything creepy, eeeeek! I'm forever told of how bigger everything is abroad, including the insects and arachnids, so if you ever see someone frantically screaming and running as fast as an Ostrich, that will probably be me.


So, the question is how in the world am I going to combat these fears?
Well the answer is simple, come and join me on my journey to find out :-)
Before we set off and during we will be documenting our trip in stories, pictures, video diaries, and our holiday highlights.

See you soon :-)
Lou and Amy.