Monday 21st July
So, the alarm goes off at 8am and suddenly you wake up and realise, the day has come to return home.
It seems like we have been out here for years because I have seen so much in my time out here, but at the same time it also feels like the time has flown by.
I have been soaked in Orlando, Sunburnt in Dallas, swelteringly hot in Vegas to freezing cold in San Francisco.
I have met some really friendly people along the way and had some fascinating conversations, also encountered my fair share of scammers and loonies but survived relatively unscathed, which is more than i can say for my poor shower in LA when it was faced with me.
Saw a NASCAR event at Daytona, a Queen gig in Dallas, the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip, the glitz and glamour and sandy beaches of Los Angeles....and managed to escape Alcatraz on my visit to San Francisco.
For our final morning we decided a good breakfast was in order as we had no idea where our next decent meal would be coming from.
So less than 12 hours after our last visit we were back down to good old Lori's Diner for one final time. We had to queue to get in...not quite as long as the queue for Alcatraz, we were only waiting for 5 minutes but it proves the diners' popularity! It was a good breakfast...2 pancakes, sausages,bacon, 2 eggs, hash browns!!!
After this we had a few hours to kill before the shuttle bus was due to pick us up so we headed (or waddled) down to fisherman's wharf one final time to get a final view of the bay and breathe some sea air. My feet were really hurting today due to the amount of walking we had done over the course of the last 2 1/2 weeks. My blisters were very painful, but more so today than any other day of the trip so it was a little extra effort for me.
Jacob had a bit more souvenir shopping to do so i decided to head to pier 39 and rest my feet for a while, admire the view and soak up the atmosphere one last time.
I was approached by some Japanese tourists whilst sitting there who came up to me with their iPad and said "toooh daaaaaahhhk" handed it to me, i said "do you want me to take your photo", which is what you would normally want if you handed your tablet to someone on pier 39 with Alcatraz Island as your backdrop. "noh, noh.....is toooo daaaahk" she said.
I then realised what she was talking about, her screen brightness was too dark. I thought, ah this shouldnt be too tricky....well....first problem, the screen was indeed so dark i could hardly see the display....but secondly....all the writing was in Chinese! After trying my best for them i handed it back and appologised....beaten by technology!
Then came the dreaded walk back up to Sutter street where out hotel was located. It took 1 hr and we were concious of the time because we were being picked up at 2pm. The walk was agonising for me with my feet and i had to take it really easy. It seemed like it took days to get back to the hotel. We had to stop by a Walgreens on the way back to get a strap for my case as it had a small split down one side and knowing how baggage handers can throw them about I needed to secure it properly, had visions of watching my luggage being taken off the aircraft in Heathrow with all my clothes still on the conveyor belt.
I was well and truly knackered by the time we reached the hotel. I had 20 minutes to catch my breath before the shuttle bus turned up. We said goodbye to the hotel staff who had looked after our bags for the morning and headed to San Francisco airport. The trip didn't take as long as we thought and thus got to the airport 4 hrs before flight departure time! Still, better to be early than late.
Got through security despite hardly being able to walk at all by now. I was told by the guard "I will need to sweep your leg, do you need the private room?" I thought....what the hell is he going to do to me! I said "no thanks". It was nothing out of the ordinary for an airport search.
As time went on at the airport gate I just had to sit, normally i would keep active knowing i would be sitting for the next 10 hrs but i really could hardly walk, the pain i was in with my feet. There was hardly anything to look at in the terminal we were in though, about 3 expensive designer shops, a cafe that sold sandwiches at rip off prices and a news stand that had a limited choice of snacks and magazines.
It was at the airport that I began to feel slightly achy and unwell. I thought i would be fine as soon as i boarded the plane, i could relax, rest my feet and all would be fine.
Initially on the plane i felt better, had a great view of San Francisco from the sky when we took off, settled down to watch some of the in-flight entertainment and thought i would be ok. About 2 hrs into the flight however i began to feel achy all over and a massive headache came on. This got worse as the flight wore on, flu like symptoms. Of course there is not much you can do when stuck in a chair at 37000 feet anyway but it was such a huge effort to even raise an arm! Being in the air probably magnified the problem but i dont think i have ever felt that ill before.
I seriously thought that when we landed i would have to get straight to hospital...that's if i made it that far!
I kept watching the clock wind down on the in flight map and it was moving so slowly, I just wanted to get home! I took a couple of paracetamol and managed to drift off to sleep for about 90 minutes and when i woke up i did feel slightly better. I managed breakfast on the plane and drank plenty of fluids as i had been sweating and shivering.
I was glad when we landed back at Heathrow, i was one step closer to home where I could treat my blisters and recover in comfort!
Struggled through passport control and baggage reclaim but was glad to see my parents who i had not seen for 2 1/2 weeks. Mum questioned me as to why i was hobbling, i told her about the blisters and the fact that I nearly died on the flight home. The strange illness was down to dehydration we have concluded, i.e. me not drinking enough water in all the heat and walking about we had been doing.
Traffic was bad on the M25 on the way home (welcome back to England) but the weather was warmer than San Francisco! I kept awake on the way home somehow by telling my parents all about the last few weeks and everything that i had done, seen and heard.
It was weird to be back home, almost seemed like i had never been away, or that i had been in a time lapse. Suddenly the last few weeks seemed a distant hazy memory.
What a great few weeks though, when I look back i realise how much we did cram in, we truly made the most of the time we had and pretty much saw everything we wanted to see in the cities we stayed in....except Orlando, it would have been nice to have seen the conclusion of the Coke Zero 400 but still that was a very minor setback. It was such an adventure to do this trip, to be completely independent in Orlando, having to work out transport, accomodation, daily schedules etc was great fun.
Meeting up with Jacob for Dallas and beyond was a blast. We had so many laughs and made some memories that we will never forget, saw some interesting things along the way...some that we would like to remember, others that we would like to forget but that is all part of the experience!
So that was it....USA 2014......here's hoping i can re-visit the land of the free and the home of the brave again.....soon! Another NASCAR trip maybe? I wouldn't say no!
Thursday, 24 July 2014
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The Sunday sun shines down on San Francisco Bay.......not quite
Sunday 20th July
Our second day in San Francisco, and our last full day in the US!
So we were making the most of it! The alarm went off at 4am. We requested a wake up call the night before and when I told the hotel receptionist what time I wanted it for this was the transcript....
Him:- What time do you need the wake up call?
Me:- 4am please
Him:- No, what time really?
Me:- 4am!
Now we were doing this for a very good reason. We would need to be in line for Alcatraz tickets at around 5:30am and it took the best part of 45 minutes to walk down to Pier 33 where the ferry's depart from.
After getting washed and dressed we left the hotel at 4:45am. It was chilly outside and still dark. On the way to pier 33 we encountered many people who were returning home after being out the previous night!
We followed some German tourists most of the way so we were trying to keep up with them to ensure we could get as close to the front of the line as possible.
We got there at bang on 5:30....but the ticket office didn't open until 7am. There were already 50-60 people there queuing at a rough estimate. Having been told they have 100-150 'walk up' tickets each day we knew we were in pretty good shape.
About 15 minutes after we arrived a security guard came round handing red coupons to everyone in the line, this entitled you to a ticket once the ticket office opened, but you had to stay in line and wait. The woman behind us was trying to hold a space in the queue for her family but was told that they could not jump in line, they would have to join the back of the queue. When asked if she wanted a ticket just for herself, she declined. Shortly after 6am all the red coupons had been handed out which meant nobody else would get a ticket today!
One guy shouted..."I got the last ticket". It seemed to fall on dead ears however as the people in front of him already had tickets and the people behind him just wanted to lynch him because they had missed out!
Anyway when the ticket booth opened we bought tickets for the 10am trip.
We then headed for a short walk down to pier 39 where we had a lovely breakfast in a restaurant overlooking the bay, not that you could see much as it was extremely foggy.
This set us up nicely for the day. We then sat by pier 33 for a while after visiting a couple of gift shops.
To visit the Alcatraz prison (famous for being a high security penitentiary from 1933-1963 and holding some of the most notorious criminals) requires a short 15 minute ferry ride over to Alcatraz Island. Our ferry left at 9:30am.
Incredibly I didnt feel sea sick at all...and the sea wasnt exactly calm! Usually just being on a boat does it for me.
We hopped off the boat and walked up to the entrance where we were met by a National Park Ranger (Alcatraz is a US National Park). He gave us a bit of background history on Alcatraz (it started its life out as a fort). We then joined another guide for a short walking tour up the steep hills to the prison cell blocks. He gave us more of an insight into what prison life was like and told us lots of interesting stories as to what went on in the prison and all the conflict between prisoners and inmates.
When we reached the prison cells we took a self guided audio tour which gave us a fascinating impression of what the prison was like to work and live in from the 30s-60s, all the gruesome things that happened, all the escape attempts etc. The narrator was excellent (he sounded like Johnny Cash actually), really put you in the moment. Hard to imagine that all this went on in the building that you are standing in! One of the best audio tours I have done, well up there with the Kennedy one in Dallas.
We were there for about 4 hours it was that interesting, this also included a few short talks that we sat and listened to about the famous attempted escapes from the Island. The most famous of which in 1962 when 3 men made it to the island waterfront, set sail in a dinghy they had made, never to be seen again. The men, now in their early-mid 80s are still on a wanted list with a reward for fining them of a mere $3.2 million.
Just before heading back to the mainland we watched a short film about the island which was interesting, however die to being up since 4am Jacob and I could barely keep awake.
Had a bite to eat on the boat back to San Francisco and in the afternoon we toured a few more gift shops again on pier 39 where I bought some souvenirs and a jacket, once I had annoyed the lady in the shop by not being able to do the zip up and trying on each size twice!
By then it was time to head back to the hotel to catch our breaths for a while. We caught the bus back to union square, the nearest stop to our hotel. This is where we encountered a woman, sitting behind us on the bus with her husband, who would not stop moaning about everything! Why was the bus not moving, how poor the organisation was, how foul her bottled water tasted. Then when the bus got going she totally changed her tune, suddenly everything was "Awesome" The banksy artwork we saw, the cable car...everything. We were killing ourselves with laughter. By the time we got back to the hotel we only had about 30 mins rest before we headed out for our final evening which consisted of a night time bus tour around San Francisco. The bus left at 7:30pm and we had to run to catch the bus...we just made it in time. Had to stand up initially because the tour was so popular but managed to get a seat after the Golden Gate Bridge stop.
Got some great pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge just as the sun was going down. The best part of the tour took us over the newly rebuild Bay Bridge over to Treasure Island where I was able to get some great pictures on San Francisco Bay in the twilight.
The tour ended at Union Square at around 9:30pm but we were both ready for dinner, so we hit good old Lori's Diner again. Once again great service and great food! This was a great way to round off a great day....just one more day to go now....not even that, as we have to make the long trip back to the UK tomorrow. There will be enough time to head out for a while in the morning however, just to savour every last moment.
Our second day in San Francisco, and our last full day in the US!
So we were making the most of it! The alarm went off at 4am. We requested a wake up call the night before and when I told the hotel receptionist what time I wanted it for this was the transcript....
Him:- What time do you need the wake up call?
Me:- 4am please
Him:- No, what time really?
Me:- 4am!
Now we were doing this for a very good reason. We would need to be in line for Alcatraz tickets at around 5:30am and it took the best part of 45 minutes to walk down to Pier 33 where the ferry's depart from.
After getting washed and dressed we left the hotel at 4:45am. It was chilly outside and still dark. On the way to pier 33 we encountered many people who were returning home after being out the previous night!
We followed some German tourists most of the way so we were trying to keep up with them to ensure we could get as close to the front of the line as possible.
We got there at bang on 5:30....but the ticket office didn't open until 7am. There were already 50-60 people there queuing at a rough estimate. Having been told they have 100-150 'walk up' tickets each day we knew we were in pretty good shape.
About 15 minutes after we arrived a security guard came round handing red coupons to everyone in the line, this entitled you to a ticket once the ticket office opened, but you had to stay in line and wait. The woman behind us was trying to hold a space in the queue for her family but was told that they could not jump in line, they would have to join the back of the queue. When asked if she wanted a ticket just for herself, she declined. Shortly after 6am all the red coupons had been handed out which meant nobody else would get a ticket today!
One guy shouted..."I got the last ticket". It seemed to fall on dead ears however as the people in front of him already had tickets and the people behind him just wanted to lynch him because they had missed out!
Anyway when the ticket booth opened we bought tickets for the 10am trip.
We then headed for a short walk down to pier 39 where we had a lovely breakfast in a restaurant overlooking the bay, not that you could see much as it was extremely foggy.
This set us up nicely for the day. We then sat by pier 33 for a while after visiting a couple of gift shops.
To visit the Alcatraz prison (famous for being a high security penitentiary from 1933-1963 and holding some of the most notorious criminals) requires a short 15 minute ferry ride over to Alcatraz Island. Our ferry left at 9:30am.
Incredibly I didnt feel sea sick at all...and the sea wasnt exactly calm! Usually just being on a boat does it for me.
We hopped off the boat and walked up to the entrance where we were met by a National Park Ranger (Alcatraz is a US National Park). He gave us a bit of background history on Alcatraz (it started its life out as a fort). We then joined another guide for a short walking tour up the steep hills to the prison cell blocks. He gave us more of an insight into what prison life was like and told us lots of interesting stories as to what went on in the prison and all the conflict between prisoners and inmates.
When we reached the prison cells we took a self guided audio tour which gave us a fascinating impression of what the prison was like to work and live in from the 30s-60s, all the gruesome things that happened, all the escape attempts etc. The narrator was excellent (he sounded like Johnny Cash actually), really put you in the moment. Hard to imagine that all this went on in the building that you are standing in! One of the best audio tours I have done, well up there with the Kennedy one in Dallas.
We were there for about 4 hours it was that interesting, this also included a few short talks that we sat and listened to about the famous attempted escapes from the Island. The most famous of which in 1962 when 3 men made it to the island waterfront, set sail in a dinghy they had made, never to be seen again. The men, now in their early-mid 80s are still on a wanted list with a reward for fining them of a mere $3.2 million.
Just before heading back to the mainland we watched a short film about the island which was interesting, however die to being up since 4am Jacob and I could barely keep awake.
Had a bite to eat on the boat back to San Francisco and in the afternoon we toured a few more gift shops again on pier 39 where I bought some souvenirs and a jacket, once I had annoyed the lady in the shop by not being able to do the zip up and trying on each size twice!
By then it was time to head back to the hotel to catch our breaths for a while. We caught the bus back to union square, the nearest stop to our hotel. This is where we encountered a woman, sitting behind us on the bus with her husband, who would not stop moaning about everything! Why was the bus not moving, how poor the organisation was, how foul her bottled water tasted. Then when the bus got going she totally changed her tune, suddenly everything was "Awesome" The banksy artwork we saw, the cable car...everything. We were killing ourselves with laughter. By the time we got back to the hotel we only had about 30 mins rest before we headed out for our final evening which consisted of a night time bus tour around San Francisco. The bus left at 7:30pm and we had to run to catch the bus...we just made it in time. Had to stand up initially because the tour was so popular but managed to get a seat after the Golden Gate Bridge stop.
Got some great pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge just as the sun was going down. The best part of the tour took us over the newly rebuild Bay Bridge over to Treasure Island where I was able to get some great pictures on San Francisco Bay in the twilight.
The tour ended at Union Square at around 9:30pm but we were both ready for dinner, so we hit good old Lori's Diner again. Once again great service and great food! This was a great way to round off a great day....just one more day to go now....not even that, as we have to make the long trip back to the UK tomorrow. There will be enough time to head out for a while in the morning however, just to savour every last moment.
Monday, 21 July 2014
I'm not trying to get out, I'm trying to get in!
Saturday 19th July
So the next morning we went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
It was a quirky little north African restaurant which was a little unusual because it served American breakfasts.
Our waitress was a little eccentric but it was a nice start to the day.
Then we thought we would enquire about a day trip to Alcatraz, thinking that it would be good to go there today. When we asked about this at reception they told us that this tour was sold out until the middle of August! There was on one other way to get onto a tour, that was to queue up at the ticket office at fisherman's wharf ridiculously early the next morning for a chance at getting one of 100 first come first served tickets that they issue. We figured that if we wanted to go there, and we did, that this was the only way to make it. I find it somehow ironic that from the 1930s to the 1960s prisoners were looking for every which way to escape the prison and now people are lining up to get in!
Reception advised us that the best way to see San Francisco was to get one of the hop on hop off bus tours like I did in LA. This would take you round the main attractions in the city.... Except Alcatraz!
We opted for this tour however and it was good because it was narrated like the one in LA but this time by a real person.
It took us initially around to the Golden Gate Bridge. By the time we got there the fog was just starting to lift so was able to get some fantastic views of the bridge, alcatraz and over to the city.
The route then extended out to Sausalito, a pretty little town just over the golden gate Bridge with plenty of shops and eateries. We had planned to get some lunch there but the plan was to get back to fisherman's wharf and enquire about alcatraz trips.
So we stayed on until the tour reached fisherman's wharf. Unfortunately lady at the ticket booth could only repeat what the concierge at the hotel said, all tours sold out until August 17th but we could come to the ticket office very early in the morning to queue for a ticket, however there was no guarantee that either would get one. She advised us to get there before 6am!
So the plan then was to get an early night to be up and ready the next morning.
We took a walk around fisherman's wharf and the famous pier 39 which is littered with cafes, restaurants and quirky little gift shops. The streets around have such a vibrant atmosphere of street entertainers, music and hoards of people.
We had a look around here for a while and saw the sea lions that congregate in the bay. The place hasn't changed all that much since my last visit.... 16years ago.
The streets are still as steep as they used to beof course. Walked up 2 of these which are practically 40 degrees (not sure how accurate that guestimation is.) The view from the top was worth it though. So was the visit to Lombard Street, home of the crookedest Street. Here is a steep and windy Road that cars can actually drive down, albeit at walking pace. We walked down it to, took some pictures of the cars coming down, wow it was steep.
Shortly after we headed to a nice little restaurant done out like a British pun. Got chatting to some really nice american family again, they said how they loved our accent and asked where we were from. We had a long conversation with them about all things America and Britain.
They were from Texas.
From then we headed back to the hotel as it would be a very early start tomorrow... Wake up call at 4am!
So the next morning we went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
It was a quirky little north African restaurant which was a little unusual because it served American breakfasts.
Our waitress was a little eccentric but it was a nice start to the day.
Then we thought we would enquire about a day trip to Alcatraz, thinking that it would be good to go there today. When we asked about this at reception they told us that this tour was sold out until the middle of August! There was on one other way to get onto a tour, that was to queue up at the ticket office at fisherman's wharf ridiculously early the next morning for a chance at getting one of 100 first come first served tickets that they issue. We figured that if we wanted to go there, and we did, that this was the only way to make it. I find it somehow ironic that from the 1930s to the 1960s prisoners were looking for every which way to escape the prison and now people are lining up to get in!
Reception advised us that the best way to see San Francisco was to get one of the hop on hop off bus tours like I did in LA. This would take you round the main attractions in the city.... Except Alcatraz!
We opted for this tour however and it was good because it was narrated like the one in LA but this time by a real person.
It took us initially around to the Golden Gate Bridge. By the time we got there the fog was just starting to lift so was able to get some fantastic views of the bridge, alcatraz and over to the city.
The route then extended out to Sausalito, a pretty little town just over the golden gate Bridge with plenty of shops and eateries. We had planned to get some lunch there but the plan was to get back to fisherman's wharf and enquire about alcatraz trips.
So we stayed on until the tour reached fisherman's wharf. Unfortunately lady at the ticket booth could only repeat what the concierge at the hotel said, all tours sold out until August 17th but we could come to the ticket office very early in the morning to queue for a ticket, however there was no guarantee that either would get one. She advised us to get there before 6am!
So the plan then was to get an early night to be up and ready the next morning.
We took a walk around fisherman's wharf and the famous pier 39 which is littered with cafes, restaurants and quirky little gift shops. The streets around have such a vibrant atmosphere of street entertainers, music and hoards of people.
We had a look around here for a while and saw the sea lions that congregate in the bay. The place hasn't changed all that much since my last visit.... 16years ago.
The streets are still as steep as they used to beof course. Walked up 2 of these which are practically 40 degrees (not sure how accurate that guestimation is.) The view from the top was worth it though. So was the visit to Lombard Street, home of the crookedest Street. Here is a steep and windy Road that cars can actually drive down, albeit at walking pace. We walked down it to, took some pictures of the cars coming down, wow it was steep.
Shortly after we headed to a nice little restaurant done out like a British pun. Got chatting to some really nice american family again, they said how they loved our accent and asked where we were from. We had a long conversation with them about all things America and Britain.
They were from Texas.
From then we headed back to the hotel as it would be a very early start tomorrow... Wake up call at 4am!
San Francisco re-visited
Friday 18th July
So onto our final stop. The beautiful city of San Francisco with its lovely features such as fisherman's wharf, golden gate Bridge, alcatraz and much more.
Our shuttle bus would be leaving our hotel at around 10:30 to head to LAX. This meant no time for any more sightseeing.
Had a good breakfast down at the breakfast room which wasn't bug enough to swing a cat. Had an interesting conversation with an American lady about US culture and how things differ from our systems in Britain such as health care, which they have to pay for privately, as opposed to us, we moan about the NHS but really is a better system than what some US citizens have. She also explained the reasons for so many homeless people on the streets which is sad to see.
A lovely lady but we couldn't get away.
Once we did, the cases were ready and waiting and so we're we. The shuttle bus took 1 hr to reach the airport which was fine because we had planned to get there well in advance.
Got through check in fine and waited around for a few hours in the airport, not much to do here really.
We flew with virgin america, based around the West coast, didn't know much about the airline but when we got on... Wow!
So much more leg room than any other airline. Not only that.. We had seat back TV showing a range of films and LIVE TV!
Shame the flight was only 1hr!
Jacob got chatting to a friendly American from Flagstaff who was telling us all the things we could do in San Francisco... Didn't need my guide book after that!
Best airline I have flown with domestically in the US though!
Once through baggage we heckled a shuttle bus and some grumpy sod took us to our hotel near downtown San Francisco. The weather was quite cold, long sleeves and jeans weather, for the first time on the trip since touching down in Orlando!
Out hotel was on Sutter Street, ironically the same street we stayed on during my last visit here... 16years ago!
During this time I fondly remember a near little American diner not far from there... Named 'Lori's Diner'. Well.... That same diner is still going strong after all this time! So naturally we headed down there for dinner on our firsts night in the city.... It was just how I remember it being all those years ago... The food was just as great to! Got chatting to a family in there a dad and his son and daughter. He lived in the city but the daughter is at uni in Nottingham and the son lives in the Netherlands! We got chatting with them about San Francisco, US sports, UK related stuff etc, such friendly people! After talking about our professions the dad now potentially wants me to build him a website! Maybe the start of a new business venture haha.
Tomorrow we will head out and explore this city with its very steep hills, cable cars and fantastic bay area. We hope to get alcatraz but much to our amazement tickets are sold out a month in advance! We have a few options open to us so. Let's see what happens.
So onto our final stop. The beautiful city of San Francisco with its lovely features such as fisherman's wharf, golden gate Bridge, alcatraz and much more.
Our shuttle bus would be leaving our hotel at around 10:30 to head to LAX. This meant no time for any more sightseeing.
Had a good breakfast down at the breakfast room which wasn't bug enough to swing a cat. Had an interesting conversation with an American lady about US culture and how things differ from our systems in Britain such as health care, which they have to pay for privately, as opposed to us, we moan about the NHS but really is a better system than what some US citizens have. She also explained the reasons for so many homeless people on the streets which is sad to see.
A lovely lady but we couldn't get away.
Once we did, the cases were ready and waiting and so we're we. The shuttle bus took 1 hr to reach the airport which was fine because we had planned to get there well in advance.
Got through check in fine and waited around for a few hours in the airport, not much to do here really.
We flew with virgin america, based around the West coast, didn't know much about the airline but when we got on... Wow!
So much more leg room than any other airline. Not only that.. We had seat back TV showing a range of films and LIVE TV!
Shame the flight was only 1hr!
Jacob got chatting to a friendly American from Flagstaff who was telling us all the things we could do in San Francisco... Didn't need my guide book after that!
Best airline I have flown with domestically in the US though!
Once through baggage we heckled a shuttle bus and some grumpy sod took us to our hotel near downtown San Francisco. The weather was quite cold, long sleeves and jeans weather, for the first time on the trip since touching down in Orlando!
Out hotel was on Sutter Street, ironically the same street we stayed on during my last visit here... 16years ago!
During this time I fondly remember a near little American diner not far from there... Named 'Lori's Diner'. Well.... That same diner is still going strong after all this time! So naturally we headed down there for dinner on our firsts night in the city.... It was just how I remember it being all those years ago... The food was just as great to! Got chatting to a family in there a dad and his son and daughter. He lived in the city but the daughter is at uni in Nottingham and the son lives in the Netherlands! We got chatting with them about San Francisco, US sports, UK related stuff etc, such friendly people! After talking about our professions the dad now potentially wants me to build him a website! Maybe the start of a new business venture haha.
Tomorrow we will head out and explore this city with its very steep hills, cable cars and fantastic bay area. We hope to get alcatraz but much to our amazement tickets are sold out a month in advance! We have a few options open to us so. Let's see what happens.
Saturday, 19 July 2014
It's a Hoot
Thursday 17th July
Another cool day in LA. A welcome break from the searing heat of Dallas and Vegas.
After fighting through the queue for breakfast, which was just a cardboard textured waffle and a cup of coffee it was time to plan my ventures for today.
I still had the 48 hour narrated tour to jump on because I had only covered one part of the route. Jacob joined me today and just as we were getting ready to head out we were asked (by housekeeping) to move rooms due to our knackered shower.
Today we headed back up to Hollywood boulevard and jumped on the bus for the ride down to Santa Monica. We passed Fox studios, TV and film company, and many other landmarks.
The ride took about 90mins to get down there but it was well worth it as we were greeted by the amazing view of sandy beaches, hot babes in their skimpy bikinis, blue sky and sunshine! After stopping for a few minutes to take in all these wonderful sights we headed down onto Santa Monica pier. From here we had great views of the Sierra Nevada on one side to Venice beach on the other. The pier was full of quirky gift shops and seafood restaurants and a healthy number of fishermen catching a variety of fish.
After walking this we headed back in the bus to our next stop, the famous Venice boardwalk. (which is concrete)
Again, much like the walk of fame, not as glamorous as you would think but still a vibrant happy place with Rollerblades, bikes and skateboards everywhere. The place had a reggae, Bob Marley feel about it with the street entertainers. Headed into the beach for a few minutes, lovely sand.
All that walking made me hot and in a need of something cool and refreshing. I didn't fancy the sea so headed to a food kiosk and opted for.... A frozen banana, coated with chocolate. We were somewhat worried when waiting for it as we were watching the chefs prepare the wide range of food options available and whilst doing so happened to notice a plume of feathers raining down onto someone's pizza that was being cooked! I bet chicken was off the menu after that!
Anyway after some slight concern our frozen bananas were actually very nice, so refreshing, will have to try that at home!
Didn't realise how far the boardwalk went but we had to. Walk back to catch the bus back to Hollywood which would be a good 2.5hr bus ride back. The traffic coming back was horrendous. LA traffic is Bad. We moan back in the UK but LA is much worse.
Once back at Hollywood however we decided to have dinner. There was a hooters opposite the bus top... Perfect!
Our waitress was stunning and the food was almost as good. My key lime pie was great!
So that was it. LA was over! Actually could have done with one more day here to visit the Griffith observatory which gives great views over he whole city including the Hollywood sign and would have liked to have visited the petersen motor museum.
Onto our final stop in San Francisco tomorrow, it's all flying by so fast.
Another cool day in LA. A welcome break from the searing heat of Dallas and Vegas.
After fighting through the queue for breakfast, which was just a cardboard textured waffle and a cup of coffee it was time to plan my ventures for today.
I still had the 48 hour narrated tour to jump on because I had only covered one part of the route. Jacob joined me today and just as we were getting ready to head out we were asked (by housekeeping) to move rooms due to our knackered shower.
Today we headed back up to Hollywood boulevard and jumped on the bus for the ride down to Santa Monica. We passed Fox studios, TV and film company, and many other landmarks.
The ride took about 90mins to get down there but it was well worth it as we were greeted by the amazing view of sandy beaches, hot babes in their skimpy bikinis, blue sky and sunshine! After stopping for a few minutes to take in all these wonderful sights we headed down onto Santa Monica pier. From here we had great views of the Sierra Nevada on one side to Venice beach on the other. The pier was full of quirky gift shops and seafood restaurants and a healthy number of fishermen catching a variety of fish.
After walking this we headed back in the bus to our next stop, the famous Venice boardwalk. (which is concrete)
Again, much like the walk of fame, not as glamorous as you would think but still a vibrant happy place with Rollerblades, bikes and skateboards everywhere. The place had a reggae, Bob Marley feel about it with the street entertainers. Headed into the beach for a few minutes, lovely sand.
All that walking made me hot and in a need of something cool and refreshing. I didn't fancy the sea so headed to a food kiosk and opted for.... A frozen banana, coated with chocolate. We were somewhat worried when waiting for it as we were watching the chefs prepare the wide range of food options available and whilst doing so happened to notice a plume of feathers raining down onto someone's pizza that was being cooked! I bet chicken was off the menu after that!
Anyway after some slight concern our frozen bananas were actually very nice, so refreshing, will have to try that at home!
Didn't realise how far the boardwalk went but we had to. Walk back to catch the bus back to Hollywood which would be a good 2.5hr bus ride back. The traffic coming back was horrendous. LA traffic is Bad. We moan back in the UK but LA is much worse.
Once back at Hollywood however we decided to have dinner. There was a hooters opposite the bus top... Perfect!
Our waitress was stunning and the food was almost as good. My key lime pie was great!
So that was it. LA was over! Actually could have done with one more day here to visit the Griffith observatory which gives great views over he whole city including the Hollywood sign and would have liked to have visited the petersen motor museum.
Onto our final stop in San Francisco tomorrow, it's all flying by so fast.
City of Angels
Wednesday 16th July
Today was the first real opportunity to explore the wonders of Los Angeles, the city of angels as they call it (then what we're we doing here?).
There was so much to see here and the sheer scale of the place is just mind blowing.
I had looked at how I might get around the city by public transport system but I shortly realised that it would not be possible to fit everything in easily and it would just be a major hassle.
To solve this issue I opted for a hop on hop off city tour of Los Angeles. I bought a 48hr pass which gave me access to the bus routes. This tour covered all of Hollywood and the surrounding area, Beverly Hills, right into Downtown and also Santa Monica beach and Venice Boardwalk.
I was extremely glad I took this tour as not only did it save my badly blistered feet from walking long distances but it was a narrated tour. Each passenger had a set of headphones through which to listen to it.
This was fascinating as it gave me a real insight into the history behind all the buildings. For example it turns out that a little run down chicken restaurant just across the road from our hotel is where Brad Pitt started his acting career, promoting the restaurant outside dressed as a chicken!
Before I boarded the tour I took a stroll down the world famous Hollywood boulevard, home of the Hollywood Walk of Fame! This features a long road with pavements (or sidewalks) each side that are littered with stars on the ground representing hundreds of different actors, actresses, musicians and comedians. I was a little bit disappointed with this. What should be a road with palm trees either side and nice cafés and restaurants to complement in fact is packed with Street vendors and performers, hundreds of gift shops, men dressed up in superman/spiderman costume, homeless people and our rapper friends trying to flog their homemade CDs.
Once I boarded the tour I enjoyed a ride around the most famous parts of Hollywood such as the sunset strip where many famous musicians and comedians were discovered. This led us into Beverly Hills where I could just about see the homes of some of the celebrities through the trees.
This part of the route room around 2hrs and brought me back to where I began. After this I headed to madame tussauds museum as I was entitled to free entry which was incorporated into the bus tour. Packed full of wax models of various celebrities, some more accurate than others but it was well presented and something different. At least I can say I saw some celebrities today.... Even though they were just wax models.
In the afternoon I headed back out on the same route because it was so nice to have that cool breeze on a nice sunny day but stopped at the La Brea Tar Pits this time along the miracle mile.
This was quite an interesting area to visit. Natural asphalt has been bubbling to the surface here for millions years (and still does to this day, that much is evident by the smell) and was also a watering hole for animals. Unaware, they headed into the water and became stuck in the sticky asphalt beneath them and drowned, hence this is a popular area for excavators to dig up fossils.
By the time I had finished here I had planned to head to the petersen motor museum but time wasn't on my side and I had to go back to do some washing.
After my day out I could have been forgiven for thinking that all the excitement for the day was over... How wrong I was! After taking a shower the water would not stop no matter what I tried, it was still gushing out water. So just after midnight I has to call out the hotel receptionist. He came in to try and fix it but the handle had completely broken so the only way to stop it would be to get in behind the panel. The receptionist made about 5 trips back and forth, each time with the wrong tools for the job, he then drafted in some help from some random guy who was equally perplexed. In the end they did get the panel off and managed to turn the water off but not exactly what you need or expect. What is it with me and water/plumbing?. He apologised and decided to give us the night free of charge, to be honest, he handles the situation very well. What can I break next to get another night free? I'm joking of course
Today was the first real opportunity to explore the wonders of Los Angeles, the city of angels as they call it (then what we're we doing here?).
There was so much to see here and the sheer scale of the place is just mind blowing.
I had looked at how I might get around the city by public transport system but I shortly realised that it would not be possible to fit everything in easily and it would just be a major hassle.
To solve this issue I opted for a hop on hop off city tour of Los Angeles. I bought a 48hr pass which gave me access to the bus routes. This tour covered all of Hollywood and the surrounding area, Beverly Hills, right into Downtown and also Santa Monica beach and Venice Boardwalk.
I was extremely glad I took this tour as not only did it save my badly blistered feet from walking long distances but it was a narrated tour. Each passenger had a set of headphones through which to listen to it.
This was fascinating as it gave me a real insight into the history behind all the buildings. For example it turns out that a little run down chicken restaurant just across the road from our hotel is where Brad Pitt started his acting career, promoting the restaurant outside dressed as a chicken!
Before I boarded the tour I took a stroll down the world famous Hollywood boulevard, home of the Hollywood Walk of Fame! This features a long road with pavements (or sidewalks) each side that are littered with stars on the ground representing hundreds of different actors, actresses, musicians and comedians. I was a little bit disappointed with this. What should be a road with palm trees either side and nice cafés and restaurants to complement in fact is packed with Street vendors and performers, hundreds of gift shops, men dressed up in superman/spiderman costume, homeless people and our rapper friends trying to flog their homemade CDs.
Once I boarded the tour I enjoyed a ride around the most famous parts of Hollywood such as the sunset strip where many famous musicians and comedians were discovered. This led us into Beverly Hills where I could just about see the homes of some of the celebrities through the trees.
This part of the route room around 2hrs and brought me back to where I began. After this I headed to madame tussauds museum as I was entitled to free entry which was incorporated into the bus tour. Packed full of wax models of various celebrities, some more accurate than others but it was well presented and something different. At least I can say I saw some celebrities today.... Even though they were just wax models.
In the afternoon I headed back out on the same route because it was so nice to have that cool breeze on a nice sunny day but stopped at the La Brea Tar Pits this time along the miracle mile.
This was quite an interesting area to visit. Natural asphalt has been bubbling to the surface here for millions years (and still does to this day, that much is evident by the smell) and was also a watering hole for animals. Unaware, they headed into the water and became stuck in the sticky asphalt beneath them and drowned, hence this is a popular area for excavators to dig up fossils.
By the time I had finished here I had planned to head to the petersen motor museum but time wasn't on my side and I had to go back to do some washing.
After my day out I could have been forgiven for thinking that all the excitement for the day was over... How wrong I was! After taking a shower the water would not stop no matter what I tried, it was still gushing out water. So just after midnight I has to call out the hotel receptionist. He came in to try and fix it but the handle had completely broken so the only way to stop it would be to get in behind the panel. The receptionist made about 5 trips back and forth, each time with the wrong tools for the job, he then drafted in some help from some random guy who was equally perplexed. In the end they did get the panel off and managed to turn the water off but not exactly what you need or expect. What is it with me and water/plumbing?. He apologised and decided to give us the night free of charge, to be honest, he handles the situation very well. What can I break next to get another night free? I'm joking of course
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
California Dreamin
Tuesday 15th July
The sun rose over the Las Vegas strip but our stay in Sin City had come to an end. We had booked a 2pm shuttle bus to the airport so still had a few hours to kill in the morning.
Travelling days are always a tad monotonous as usually everything that we want to see during our time in each city has been done.
I am not as sad to leave Las Vegas as I was Orlando because as I had previously mentioned, it had its spectacular sights that are a must see but you never felt 100% safe with people throwing CDs at you and demanding money or slapping prostitutes cards in front of your face all the way down the strip. Every city has its fair share of weirdos but as the main tourist pull is the strip it is all concentrated to that area.
I would go back as part of a trip but not especially and next time would include a trip to the grand canyon which would take a full day and have you back in Vegas for the evening when everything comes to life. The excalibur itself was quite nice, away from the hustle and bustle of the main casino, not the best view but hey, we weren't there to look out the window.
We spent the morning browsing the souvenir shops, couldn't really go that far out because we had to be conscious of the time.
We ventured back into New York New York and had lunch, I couldn't resist a final quick gamble on the fruit machines before we left... Determined to hit the jackpot... But not doing so.
Before we knew it 2pm was here and it was all aboard the bus to McCarran airport, seemed like we only just got there despite the eventful few days we had!
Took us ages to grapple with the self check in service email. Delta you have successfully failed to create an easy usable experience for your customers.
The airport itself also contains lots of slot machines in every terminal building for those who just have to gamble from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave. Not for me, I had done enough.
Our aircraft was only a 2x2 seater with it only being a 1hr 5min hop over to Los Angeles. The time flew by (no pun intended) and we were soon on the ground in LAX. The weather here was significantly cooler at 80F with a nice breeze that was a welcome break to the heat in Dallas and Las Vegas.
Once we were reunited with our bags we headed for the super shuttle station (sounds more fancy that it was) to get transport sorted to our hotel in the Hollywood area.
The shuttle bus took 1hr 45 minutes to get to the hotel as LAX is located out of the city centre and our hotel was in Hollywood. He did have to drop others off as well bit that's the first time the shuttle ride has taken longer than the flight itself!
The hotel itself is OK, nothing special but within walking distance of the main attractions in Hollywood sounds a great location.
After walking the streets looking to find somewhere to eat baring in mine we were unfamiliar with the area, it was late and we were aware of dodgy characters we only looked for a brief while before settling for an IHOP (international house of pancakes) not far from us. Very nice it was to! Had a Philly cheese steak.
Tomorrow we head out to explore LA, home of many a celebrity, who knows, we may even see one!
The sun rose over the Las Vegas strip but our stay in Sin City had come to an end. We had booked a 2pm shuttle bus to the airport so still had a few hours to kill in the morning.
Travelling days are always a tad monotonous as usually everything that we want to see during our time in each city has been done.
I am not as sad to leave Las Vegas as I was Orlando because as I had previously mentioned, it had its spectacular sights that are a must see but you never felt 100% safe with people throwing CDs at you and demanding money or slapping prostitutes cards in front of your face all the way down the strip. Every city has its fair share of weirdos but as the main tourist pull is the strip it is all concentrated to that area.
I would go back as part of a trip but not especially and next time would include a trip to the grand canyon which would take a full day and have you back in Vegas for the evening when everything comes to life. The excalibur itself was quite nice, away from the hustle and bustle of the main casino, not the best view but hey, we weren't there to look out the window.
We spent the morning browsing the souvenir shops, couldn't really go that far out because we had to be conscious of the time.
We ventured back into New York New York and had lunch, I couldn't resist a final quick gamble on the fruit machines before we left... Determined to hit the jackpot... But not doing so.
Before we knew it 2pm was here and it was all aboard the bus to McCarran airport, seemed like we only just got there despite the eventful few days we had!
Took us ages to grapple with the self check in service email. Delta you have successfully failed to create an easy usable experience for your customers.
The airport itself also contains lots of slot machines in every terminal building for those who just have to gamble from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave. Not for me, I had done enough.
Our aircraft was only a 2x2 seater with it only being a 1hr 5min hop over to Los Angeles. The time flew by (no pun intended) and we were soon on the ground in LAX. The weather here was significantly cooler at 80F with a nice breeze that was a welcome break to the heat in Dallas and Las Vegas.
Once we were reunited with our bags we headed for the super shuttle station (sounds more fancy that it was) to get transport sorted to our hotel in the Hollywood area.
The shuttle bus took 1hr 45 minutes to get to the hotel as LAX is located out of the city centre and our hotel was in Hollywood. He did have to drop others off as well bit that's the first time the shuttle ride has taken longer than the flight itself!
The hotel itself is OK, nothing special but within walking distance of the main attractions in Hollywood sounds a great location.
After walking the streets looking to find somewhere to eat baring in mine we were unfamiliar with the area, it was late and we were aware of dodgy characters we only looked for a brief while before settling for an IHOP (international house of pancakes) not far from us. Very nice it was to! Had a Philly cheese steak.
Tomorrow we head out to explore LA, home of many a celebrity, who knows, we may even see one!
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Hit the slots!
Monday 14th July
After a healthy breakfast (not) we headed out to the south end of the strip to find the famous 'welcome to Las Vegas' sign that is the feature image of many postcards.
It was a short walk from us which only seemed longer because of the heat, it was around 100degrees again today
The sign was full of tourists from all countries all wanting their photo taken by the sign, there was a woman there taking photos for people who wanted it but she wanted money for the privilege so I just took one of the sign itself and one of Jacob that he requested.
From there we got out of the heat, risked our lives crossing the road and headed into Mandalay Bay casino to hit the tables.
Had a go on the roulette tables but being las Vegas and being on the strip the stakes were high. $15 minimum bet on the roulette tables. This may not be much for seasoned gamers however I decided to head to the slot machines and computerised roulette tables to try my luck after a little dabble here. There are a plethora of machines to choose from with infinite themes but all based on the same principle.
With all the fun I was having and money I was losing (not too much) we missed lunch but did have a nice meal In Dennys diner before hitting the strip in the evening when the sun went down. I was determined to get a good view of the strip at night from some sort of elevated level. I did consider heading to the top of stratosphere, which is located at the north end of the strip. This has the highest observation platform in Las Vegas. However as it was quite a distance I decided to head to the eifel tower experience which meant that for just over $15 you could get an elevator up to the observation platform on the eifel tower in the grounds of the 'Paris' hotel & casino. In my Las Vegas guide book this observation point was voted the best place to get a great view of the whole strip. When I got up there I realised why. It is located pretty much in the middle of the strip which meant that I was able to get some great pictures of both ends. I was also lucky enough to catch the Bellagio fountains performance which is cleverly coordinated to famous pieces of music and happens every 15 minutes or so. The view was breathtaking allowing you to see right over the airport and into the mountains, it was like a sparkling carpet of neon lights.
After touring the strip again we headed back pretty early for Vegas. I had a shower before making the most of my last night in Vegas by heading to the casino in our hotel to grab a drink and chill out by yes... You guessed it, hitting the slot machines again. Tried some different ones this time and actually broke even so decided to call it a night just after 2am. The casino was still vibrant and full of atmosphere at this time however, a really enjoyable experience.
So then, tomorrow it is on to our penultimate stop, Los Angeles. Feels like I have been out here forever but the time is just flying by.... If that makes sense. Las Vegas is a place with stunning bright lights, it is vibrant with a real party atmosphere. Each casino /hotel has its own unique style but each have the same features, which are restaurants, bars, the same tables, and slot machines.
The weather in LA should be a little cooler as temps of Upper 70s are predicted. Better wear a coat!
After a healthy breakfast (not) we headed out to the south end of the strip to find the famous 'welcome to Las Vegas' sign that is the feature image of many postcards.
It was a short walk from us which only seemed longer because of the heat, it was around 100degrees again today
The sign was full of tourists from all countries all wanting their photo taken by the sign, there was a woman there taking photos for people who wanted it but she wanted money for the privilege so I just took one of the sign itself and one of Jacob that he requested.
From there we got out of the heat, risked our lives crossing the road and headed into Mandalay Bay casino to hit the tables.
Had a go on the roulette tables but being las Vegas and being on the strip the stakes were high. $15 minimum bet on the roulette tables. This may not be much for seasoned gamers however I decided to head to the slot machines and computerised roulette tables to try my luck after a little dabble here. There are a plethora of machines to choose from with infinite themes but all based on the same principle.
With all the fun I was having and money I was losing (not too much) we missed lunch but did have a nice meal In Dennys diner before hitting the strip in the evening when the sun went down. I was determined to get a good view of the strip at night from some sort of elevated level. I did consider heading to the top of stratosphere, which is located at the north end of the strip. This has the highest observation platform in Las Vegas. However as it was quite a distance I decided to head to the eifel tower experience which meant that for just over $15 you could get an elevator up to the observation platform on the eifel tower in the grounds of the 'Paris' hotel & casino. In my Las Vegas guide book this observation point was voted the best place to get a great view of the whole strip. When I got up there I realised why. It is located pretty much in the middle of the strip which meant that I was able to get some great pictures of both ends. I was also lucky enough to catch the Bellagio fountains performance which is cleverly coordinated to famous pieces of music and happens every 15 minutes or so. The view was breathtaking allowing you to see right over the airport and into the mountains, it was like a sparkling carpet of neon lights.
After touring the strip again we headed back pretty early for Vegas. I had a shower before making the most of my last night in Vegas by heading to the casino in our hotel to grab a drink and chill out by yes... You guessed it, hitting the slot machines again. Tried some different ones this time and actually broke even so decided to call it a night just after 2am. The casino was still vibrant and full of atmosphere at this time however, a really enjoyable experience.
So then, tomorrow it is on to our penultimate stop, Los Angeles. Feels like I have been out here forever but the time is just flying by.... If that makes sense. Las Vegas is a place with stunning bright lights, it is vibrant with a real party atmosphere. Each casino /hotel has its own unique style but each have the same features, which are restaurants, bars, the same tables, and slot machines.
The weather in LA should be a little cooler as temps of Upper 70s are predicted. Better wear a coat!
Weird and Wonderful
Sunday 13th July
After exploring a small portion of the Las Vegas strip the night before and getting back rather late (or early depending on which way you look at it) meant that our day would start slightly later. About 9:30am we headed to the food court just across the casino from our hotel (but in the same building).
Rooms in our hotel are set away from the main casino area which covers a huge area downstairs. Full of poker, blackjack, roulette and craps tables and hundreds upon hundreds of slot machines where you can bet anything from 1 cent to over $100k!
Later in the day we found a nice bar in the grounds of the Luxor hotel & casino in which to watch the world cup final between Germany and Argentina. Had a budweiser and relaxed to watch Germany triumph 1-0 in Extra time.
We planned then to head back into Excalibur to get a quick bite to eat as we had missed lunch. Our adjacent casino/hotels Luxor and Mandalay Bay had moving walkways and interconnecting corridors which effectively joined them together. It was when walking through one of these heading back from Luxor that we were approached by 2 men who claimed to be rappers. They stopped us and tried to get us to take some CDs that they claimed they had made, signed them for us and wanted us to give them a donation for them, to which we refused. We walked on as they muttered obscenities at us.
After checking our pockets to make sure we both still had our wallets and other valuables we made it to what we thought would be the the safe haven of the food court we were then approached by a woman (obviously had psychiatric issues) who had been loitering around by the seating area. I was watching closely as Jacob was consulting his map of the strip. All of a sudden she stepped forward and took the map from his grasp, muttered something before putting the map down. I think she had been causing other people grief as well because security surrounded her. We didn't stay long enough to finish our drinks or to find out what happened next, we were gone.
Thanfully none of us were harmed and we were able to head back late out and enjoy the fantastic sights of the strip later that evening after a delicious meal in an Italian restaurant.
The strip at night is awe inspiring. We headed through New York New York which is a mini replica of the city itself with a mockup of the statue of liberty, empire state building, brooklyn Bridge and a roller coaster that runs inside and outside the building.
From there we headed to MGM Grand which was also huge, the impressive rainforest cafe inside was quite quirky to with a life size albeit fake alligator that opened it's jaws and moved around few times each minute, great for the kids. MGM and most other casinos host theatres and arenas that hold shows every night. I think Shania Twain was supposed to be playing in the Mirage when we were there.
It was still hot waking the strip, even late at night. The strip was packed with people though, mainly tourists but also Street entertainers, people selling 'water, water, ice cold water', countless people trying to hand out rap CDs (as we had encountered and knew to ignore) and even more seedy men handing out cards with pictures of naked women with fictitious names who will apparently turn up to your hotel room within 20minutes and 'fulfill your needs'.
The architecture of each building is purely stunning, each one with an apparent theme whether it be the Parisian style of 'Paris' which has its own half size replica of the eifel tower or the purely stunning Venitian which has mock michaelangelo paintings in the ceiling in the lobby area and a 2nd floor which has clouds and blue sky painted on the ceiling with restaurants and shops either side of a river that offers gondola rides to the paying public... All of this in the second floor and in the same building as a hotel and casino!
We continued walking the rest of the strip down as far as treasure island and Mirage where we saw a volcano erupt!
This place really is the only place in the world where you can visit Paris, New York, Venice and Monte Carlo but never have to leave dry land. It is just a shame it is packed full of weirdos! Can't say I ever felt truly safe walking the strip and the various bridges you have to use to cross sides. Ironically the casinos feel the safest places because they are heavily guarded by security.
After making an emergency stop to grab a big gulp (99cents for a huge cup of soft drink) we headed back to the hotel. By now the blisters on my feel were hurting so bad after walking what seemed miles.
Tomorrow I'm going to hit the slots for the true Vegas experience.
After exploring a small portion of the Las Vegas strip the night before and getting back rather late (or early depending on which way you look at it) meant that our day would start slightly later. About 9:30am we headed to the food court just across the casino from our hotel (but in the same building).
Rooms in our hotel are set away from the main casino area which covers a huge area downstairs. Full of poker, blackjack, roulette and craps tables and hundreds upon hundreds of slot machines where you can bet anything from 1 cent to over $100k!
Later in the day we found a nice bar in the grounds of the Luxor hotel & casino in which to watch the world cup final between Germany and Argentina. Had a budweiser and relaxed to watch Germany triumph 1-0 in Extra time.
We planned then to head back into Excalibur to get a quick bite to eat as we had missed lunch. Our adjacent casino/hotels Luxor and Mandalay Bay had moving walkways and interconnecting corridors which effectively joined them together. It was when walking through one of these heading back from Luxor that we were approached by 2 men who claimed to be rappers. They stopped us and tried to get us to take some CDs that they claimed they had made, signed them for us and wanted us to give them a donation for them, to which we refused. We walked on as they muttered obscenities at us.
After checking our pockets to make sure we both still had our wallets and other valuables we made it to what we thought would be the the safe haven of the food court we were then approached by a woman (obviously had psychiatric issues) who had been loitering around by the seating area. I was watching closely as Jacob was consulting his map of the strip. All of a sudden she stepped forward and took the map from his grasp, muttered something before putting the map down. I think she had been causing other people grief as well because security surrounded her. We didn't stay long enough to finish our drinks or to find out what happened next, we were gone.
Thanfully none of us were harmed and we were able to head back late out and enjoy the fantastic sights of the strip later that evening after a delicious meal in an Italian restaurant.
The strip at night is awe inspiring. We headed through New York New York which is a mini replica of the city itself with a mockup of the statue of liberty, empire state building, brooklyn Bridge and a roller coaster that runs inside and outside the building.
From there we headed to MGM Grand which was also huge, the impressive rainforest cafe inside was quite quirky to with a life size albeit fake alligator that opened it's jaws and moved around few times each minute, great for the kids. MGM and most other casinos host theatres and arenas that hold shows every night. I think Shania Twain was supposed to be playing in the Mirage when we were there.
It was still hot waking the strip, even late at night. The strip was packed with people though, mainly tourists but also Street entertainers, people selling 'water, water, ice cold water', countless people trying to hand out rap CDs (as we had encountered and knew to ignore) and even more seedy men handing out cards with pictures of naked women with fictitious names who will apparently turn up to your hotel room within 20minutes and 'fulfill your needs'.
The architecture of each building is purely stunning, each one with an apparent theme whether it be the Parisian style of 'Paris' which has its own half size replica of the eifel tower or the purely stunning Venitian which has mock michaelangelo paintings in the ceiling in the lobby area and a 2nd floor which has clouds and blue sky painted on the ceiling with restaurants and shops either side of a river that offers gondola rides to the paying public... All of this in the second floor and in the same building as a hotel and casino!
We continued walking the rest of the strip down as far as treasure island and Mirage where we saw a volcano erupt!
This place really is the only place in the world where you can visit Paris, New York, Venice and Monte Carlo but never have to leave dry land. It is just a shame it is packed full of weirdos! Can't say I ever felt truly safe walking the strip and the various bridges you have to use to cross sides. Ironically the casinos feel the safest places because they are heavily guarded by security.
After making an emergency stop to grab a big gulp (99cents for a huge cup of soft drink) we headed back to the hotel. By now the blisters on my feel were hurting so bad after walking what seemed miles.
Tomorrow I'm going to hit the slots for the true Vegas experience.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Jewel in the Desert
Saturday 12th July
So today it was time to head from the gunslingin' state of Texas to sin city that is of course.... Las Vegas, the jewel in the desert.
It was travel day once again as I headed to my 3rd destination on this trip. exactly halfway through in terms of days. Where has the time gone. Orlando seems a lifetime ago.
I woke up to some extremely happy news from back home in the UK that I had achieved a first class honours degree in Digital Media.... I. E.... Top marks!!!
Vegas seemed like the perfect to place to go to celebrate.
We couldn't do much in the morning because of the fact we had pretty much exhausted Dallas and couldn't get too far out of the city, we would need to get to the airport by 3:30ish
We did venture out took for a big western wear store which was supposed to be a 10 minute walk.
1.5hrs and a couple of bottles of water later and we were back in the hotel lobby, having checked out and waiting to go to the airport.
After almost getting lost on the train there we eventually found our way... Even if I directed us to the wrong gate initially!
The flight was very picturesque, very rural and rugged territory, the real wide open spaces of America. Got some great shots of the Nevada desert, Lake Mead and the Sierra Nevada on arrival into McCarran airport.
We would be staying at the excalibur hotel and casino on the Famous strip.
Even before we left the airport we caught our first glimpse of the slot machines, as the airport hosts hundreds of machines in the airport terminal.
The excalibur....
Wow what a site, it's more than a casino, hotel, it has a food court, several shops, restaurants, live music and more.
Almost gatecrashed a wedding party on arrival, we held the doors open for the newlyweds!
We took dinner and then exported the casino in awe, the architecture, the atmosphere and vibrance of the place is great.
From here you can walk through to the adjacent casinos, Luxor which is shaped like a pyramid and has a strong Egyptian theme. This too hosts thousands of poker, blackjack tables and thousands of slot machines. This also hosts a permanent Titanic exhibition and a show theatre.
Remarkably you could also walk into Mandalay Bay casino, where we found a shopping mall and a nightclub and yet more entertainment.
This place really plays havoc with your senses and it was great to experience it on a Saturday night. Tomorrow we plan to explore the strip further, hopefully get a good view of the strip at night, a much better time to do it when it is all lit up and slightly cooler.... I. E under 100 degrees.... Oh and I might hit the slots to!
So today it was time to head from the gunslingin' state of Texas to sin city that is of course.... Las Vegas, the jewel in the desert.
It was travel day once again as I headed to my 3rd destination on this trip. exactly halfway through in terms of days. Where has the time gone. Orlando seems a lifetime ago.
I woke up to some extremely happy news from back home in the UK that I had achieved a first class honours degree in Digital Media.... I. E.... Top marks!!!
Vegas seemed like the perfect to place to go to celebrate.
We couldn't do much in the morning because of the fact we had pretty much exhausted Dallas and couldn't get too far out of the city, we would need to get to the airport by 3:30ish
We did venture out took for a big western wear store which was supposed to be a 10 minute walk.
1.5hrs and a couple of bottles of water later and we were back in the hotel lobby, having checked out and waiting to go to the airport.
After almost getting lost on the train there we eventually found our way... Even if I directed us to the wrong gate initially!
The flight was very picturesque, very rural and rugged territory, the real wide open spaces of America. Got some great shots of the Nevada desert, Lake Mead and the Sierra Nevada on arrival into McCarran airport.
We would be staying at the excalibur hotel and casino on the Famous strip.
Even before we left the airport we caught our first glimpse of the slot machines, as the airport hosts hundreds of machines in the airport terminal.
The excalibur....
Wow what a site, it's more than a casino, hotel, it has a food court, several shops, restaurants, live music and more.
Almost gatecrashed a wedding party on arrival, we held the doors open for the newlyweds!
We took dinner and then exported the casino in awe, the architecture, the atmosphere and vibrance of the place is great.
From here you can walk through to the adjacent casinos, Luxor which is shaped like a pyramid and has a strong Egyptian theme. This too hosts thousands of poker, blackjack tables and thousands of slot machines. This also hosts a permanent Titanic exhibition and a show theatre.
Remarkably you could also walk into Mandalay Bay casino, where we found a shopping mall and a nightclub and yet more entertainment.
This place really plays havoc with your senses and it was great to experience it on a Saturday night. Tomorrow we plan to explore the strip further, hopefully get a good view of the strip at night, a much better time to do it when it is all lit up and slightly cooler.... I. E under 100 degrees.... Oh and I might hit the slots to!
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Smokin hot day in Dallas
Friday 11th July
Another scorcher of a day in Texas.
After a day where we had packed a lot in we had pretty much covered everything to see in downtown Dallas, so therefore after another hearty breakfast we headed down to the station to catch a train to Fair Park to see the 'Cotton Bowl' former home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.
Got as far as the first row of teired seating before being told they were closing the gates in preparation for a food festival that was happening in the vicinity.
After that we took a short train ride back into Downtown to view the historic West end which is full of nice little eateries and authentic western were shops which were packed full of cowboy attire from boots, hats, waistcoats etc. Country music was also playing in the background.... I was in my element!
once we had immersed ourselves in true texas culture we headed out of the heat to a nice cool shopping mall just on the outskirts of the downtown area. This was packed full of department stores and expensive shops so not very interesting but at least it was our of the intense heat.
About 4:30 we headed back to the hotel which as I said was just a short walk from the train station. Was glad to get out of the intense heat.
It was this time that I was to discover my uni module results, A's in all the outstanding results I was waiting for.
After cooling down we headed out again at about 6:30 back to the west end area in downtown to find a nice place to eat.
Walked up and down the street and decided on a proper texas style steakhouse! Had a lovely stake with potato wedges and salad and a LARGE budweiser to celebrate.
After this we headed back around to dealey plaza which was surprisingly packed with tourists even at 10pm. The Dallas skyline looked pretty as well so took the advantage of grabbing some photos.
It will be nothing like the bright lights of Las Vegas however which is where we are heading to next!
Another scorcher of a day in Texas.
After a day where we had packed a lot in we had pretty much covered everything to see in downtown Dallas, so therefore after another hearty breakfast we headed down to the station to catch a train to Fair Park to see the 'Cotton Bowl' former home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.
Got as far as the first row of teired seating before being told they were closing the gates in preparation for a food festival that was happening in the vicinity.
After that we took a short train ride back into Downtown to view the historic West end which is full of nice little eateries and authentic western were shops which were packed full of cowboy attire from boots, hats, waistcoats etc. Country music was also playing in the background.... I was in my element!
once we had immersed ourselves in true texas culture we headed out of the heat to a nice cool shopping mall just on the outskirts of the downtown area. This was packed full of department stores and expensive shops so not very interesting but at least it was our of the intense heat.
About 4:30 we headed back to the hotel which as I said was just a short walk from the train station. Was glad to get out of the intense heat.
It was this time that I was to discover my uni module results, A's in all the outstanding results I was waiting for.
After cooling down we headed out again at about 6:30 back to the west end area in downtown to find a nice place to eat.
Walked up and down the street and decided on a proper texas style steakhouse! Had a lovely stake with potato wedges and salad and a LARGE budweiser to celebrate.
After this we headed back around to dealey plaza which was surprisingly packed with tourists even at 10pm. The Dallas skyline looked pretty as well so took the advantage of grabbing some photos.
It will be nothing like the bright lights of Las Vegas however which is where we are heading to next!
Friday, 11 July 2014
Somewhere down in Texas
Wednesday 9th July
So Wednesday morning came along and my stay in Orlando Florida had come to an end.
Like I say, I was quite sad to be leaving as it felt like the end of the trip, I guess because when I had previously flown out of the US it was because I was returning home from holiday.
Not this time however as I was bound for Dallas, Texas!
The morning started with a continental breakfast of which I really stocked up on not knowing when I would next eat again.
I repacked my case which is already starting to feel full and then checked out of my room. Not the best motel I had stayed at but for 2 nights it was ample, was within walking distance of a bus stop, had free breakfast so was very convenient.
I didn't have to wait long for my shuttle bus (which actually was just a small chevrolet) which took me to the American Airlines terminal.
It is here I realised how unfamiliar I am with negotiating US airports. I am familiar with the layout of Gatwick or Heathrow back in the UK but put me in Orlando airport and everything is different. I had to check by bags in via a touch screen program which was quite challenging, even for me.
From there after security I had to get on a monorail to my gate where I had a couple of hours to kill due to getting to the airport early. So I just relaxed in the area near the gate, grabbed a burger king. Ordered a medium meal but of course it came out so big the burger was more like a pancake size. Almost needed a ladder to be able to drink my mountain Dew!
Soon time passed and I was on the plane and headed for the lone star state. It was a 2.5 hr flight which wasn't too bad, pretty smooth all the way. Couldn't believe the size of Dallas Fort Worth airport though. It took us 15 minutes once the plane had landed to get to the gate.
Once off the plane and through baggage claim I had the tricky task of locating Jacob. Luckily he had made his way over to my terminal and we were able to find each other relatively easily. He has just flown in from Chicago.
We we stepped outside the heat hit us like opening an oven door, it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit!
We then took a shuttle bus to the hotel which dropped us off safely. The hotel itself is very nice, a short walk from a train station and very clean with a bar/restaurant on premises.
After a little while planning our day on Thursday we headed down to the restaurant for a meal and a drink before taking a walk down to the train station to find out how we can get around the city, and then chilling out for the rest of the evening back at the hotel.
Thursday 10th July
For today we had planned to visit dealey plaza and the sixth floor museum, made famous of course for the assassination of president John F Kennedy.
To kick start the day we had a good American style buffet breakfast, Jacob had about 3 of them!
Had everything you could want on offer from waffles to cereals, fruit, cooked breakfast (which I went for)
After then we took the short walk over to the station where we bought a day pas for a reasonable $5 which allows you access to all of Dallas's downtown areas via train or bus.
It was at one of our stops that we encountered a couple of weirdos looking for some money to buy a train ticket... One which said they needed to get to a psychiatric appointment! A slightly uneasy moment!
Anyway we made it into Downtown fine and headed for a 'seven eleven' convenience store to pick up some water... And also a large soft drink with ice for 69cents. Bargain and a necessity in this heat.
Walked around to dealey plaza, the site of the Kennedy assassination in November 1963. Took some photos like the proper tourists we are. Hard to realise the events that took place that day when you are stood right there. Just 2 crosses on the road mark where the shots were fired.
Took the tour of the sixth floor museum at the old school book depository where (supposedly) the gun shots were fired.
I have done this tour before buy Jacob handnt and was absolutely fascinated by it all. Even for my second visit, I still found it a really interesting and worthwhile visit as it give you so much Information about Kennedy himself, his presidential reign and of course what happened on that fateful day and in the aftermath.
The audio guide was fantastic allowing you to move through at your own pace.
After exploring a couple of shady parks in Dallas we headed back to the hotel where I got ready for my evening entertainment.
I was headed to the American Airlines arena in Downtown Dallas to watch Queen +Adam Lambert!
Took me longer to cross the road to the train station than the train ride itself I think to get there but arrived safe and sound.
The gig itself was great, fantastic atmosphere, played all the hits, the lighging was awesome. Boy can they still play!
Got chatting to some fellow bits who overheard me talking to the lady serving me my chicken and fries at the venue. they actually lived in Wichita about 2 hours drive north of Dallas.
also got chatting to some other Queen fans sat nearby me, otherwise of which had seen the band before back in the 70s and 80s. They were very friendly and seemed interested in this trip, the fact that I have seen Queen before AND met Brian May (had to get that in).
Gotta say one of the best gigs I have been to, sheer awesomeness!
Tomorrow we explore more that Dallas has to offer!
So Wednesday morning came along and my stay in Orlando Florida had come to an end.
Like I say, I was quite sad to be leaving as it felt like the end of the trip, I guess because when I had previously flown out of the US it was because I was returning home from holiday.
Not this time however as I was bound for Dallas, Texas!
The morning started with a continental breakfast of which I really stocked up on not knowing when I would next eat again.
I repacked my case which is already starting to feel full and then checked out of my room. Not the best motel I had stayed at but for 2 nights it was ample, was within walking distance of a bus stop, had free breakfast so was very convenient.
I didn't have to wait long for my shuttle bus (which actually was just a small chevrolet) which took me to the American Airlines terminal.
It is here I realised how unfamiliar I am with negotiating US airports. I am familiar with the layout of Gatwick or Heathrow back in the UK but put me in Orlando airport and everything is different. I had to check by bags in via a touch screen program which was quite challenging, even for me.
From there after security I had to get on a monorail to my gate where I had a couple of hours to kill due to getting to the airport early. So I just relaxed in the area near the gate, grabbed a burger king. Ordered a medium meal but of course it came out so big the burger was more like a pancake size. Almost needed a ladder to be able to drink my mountain Dew!
Soon time passed and I was on the plane and headed for the lone star state. It was a 2.5 hr flight which wasn't too bad, pretty smooth all the way. Couldn't believe the size of Dallas Fort Worth airport though. It took us 15 minutes once the plane had landed to get to the gate.
Once off the plane and through baggage claim I had the tricky task of locating Jacob. Luckily he had made his way over to my terminal and we were able to find each other relatively easily. He has just flown in from Chicago.
We we stepped outside the heat hit us like opening an oven door, it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit!
We then took a shuttle bus to the hotel which dropped us off safely. The hotel itself is very nice, a short walk from a train station and very clean with a bar/restaurant on premises.
After a little while planning our day on Thursday we headed down to the restaurant for a meal and a drink before taking a walk down to the train station to find out how we can get around the city, and then chilling out for the rest of the evening back at the hotel.
Thursday 10th July
For today we had planned to visit dealey plaza and the sixth floor museum, made famous of course for the assassination of president John F Kennedy.
To kick start the day we had a good American style buffet breakfast, Jacob had about 3 of them!
Had everything you could want on offer from waffles to cereals, fruit, cooked breakfast (which I went for)
After then we took the short walk over to the station where we bought a day pas for a reasonable $5 which allows you access to all of Dallas's downtown areas via train or bus.
It was at one of our stops that we encountered a couple of weirdos looking for some money to buy a train ticket... One which said they needed to get to a psychiatric appointment! A slightly uneasy moment!
Anyway we made it into Downtown fine and headed for a 'seven eleven' convenience store to pick up some water... And also a large soft drink with ice for 69cents. Bargain and a necessity in this heat.
Walked around to dealey plaza, the site of the Kennedy assassination in November 1963. Took some photos like the proper tourists we are. Hard to realise the events that took place that day when you are stood right there. Just 2 crosses on the road mark where the shots were fired.
Took the tour of the sixth floor museum at the old school book depository where (supposedly) the gun shots were fired.
I have done this tour before buy Jacob handnt and was absolutely fascinated by it all. Even for my second visit, I still found it a really interesting and worthwhile visit as it give you so much Information about Kennedy himself, his presidential reign and of course what happened on that fateful day and in the aftermath.
The audio guide was fantastic allowing you to move through at your own pace.
After exploring a couple of shady parks in Dallas we headed back to the hotel where I got ready for my evening entertainment.
I was headed to the American Airlines arena in Downtown Dallas to watch Queen +Adam Lambert!
Took me longer to cross the road to the train station than the train ride itself I think to get there but arrived safe and sound.
The gig itself was great, fantastic atmosphere, played all the hits, the lighging was awesome. Boy can they still play!
Got chatting to some fellow bits who overheard me talking to the lady serving me my chicken and fries at the venue. they actually lived in Wichita about 2 hours drive north of Dallas.
also got chatting to some other Queen fans sat nearby me, otherwise of which had seen the band before back in the 70s and 80s. They were very friendly and seemed interested in this trip, the fact that I have seen Queen before AND met Brian May (had to get that in).
Gotta say one of the best gigs I have been to, sheer awesomeness!
Tomorrow we explore more that Dallas has to offer!
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
International Drive
Tuesday 8th July
Tuesday morning and another glorious day in Orlando.
The outer parts of the city where I was situated is more famous for the big theme parks such as walt disney world and universal studios.
Today gave me the opportunity to experience some of the sights that the world famous international drive has to offer. My hotel was located just beside the 'wet n wild' water park and an indoor sky diving center..... Only in Orlando!
I had earmarked a couple of museums that I wanted to check out along the way, the first of which was the Titanic artifact exhibition and the bizzare 'Ripley's Believe it or not' museum.
The area around my hotel was plagued with roadworks which would make getting around that little bit harder because some of the bus stops had been moved. I later found out from a trolley driver and fellow Jeff Gordon fan that they were widening the road putting in bus lanes all along iDrive to make bussing it more convenient
I had bought an iRide trolley pass for the day for $5 which allowed you to get whenever you wanted along international drive, stopping at over 20 locations, really useful.... Or so it sounded.
They were supposed to stop every 20 minutes and when I did eventually find a bus stop that would take me south to where I wanted to go I ended up waiting 40mins in the searing heat. 2 bottles of water that I had didn't go very far.
Eventually arrived at the titanic museum a little later than planned however most of iDrive is open until midnight each night.
The museum itself was very good. Decked out (shameful pun) to look like parts of the ship and packed with fascinating artifacts, not the least of which, a massive section of the ships Hull which was carefully brought to the surface from titanics watery grave over 2.5 miles at the bottom of the Atlantic.
There was also a feature which allowed visitors to touch the Iceberg, not the actual one of course, to give them the impression of how cold the waters were on the night of the tragedy. Still feeling extremely warm from the temperature outside I gladly took this opportunity..... With both hands.... And arms!
A very worthwhile visit!
Next up was the ripley's museum, this was just a few stops down on the trolley route so rather than wait until the year dot for a trolley I decided to walk it.
What a fascinating place this was.... Full of oddities and interesting objects from shrunken heads to a cars made entirely from musical instruments and much more. Another worthwhile visit and bigger than I expected it to be.
After this it was back to the hotel to cool off! Got back and watched a bit of the football..... Saw the score was 5-0 to Germany and thought my eyes had deceived me with all the heat.
Made plans for the evening and discovered there was a nascar sports grille nearby up by universal studios.
Once I had figured out which bus to catch I headed up there... Only to find it was actually in the grounds of universal studios itself so I took the opportunity to have a proper look round and take some pictures before heading to the nascar sports grill for some dinner. Very nice it was to... Except my waitress was wearing a Jimmie Johnson shirt!
A great atmosphere in the park with music playing, everyone having fun, theme park rides all around, glad to have made this trip in the evening.
When I left on the bus to head back to international drive I got caught in a florida rain shower.... I was soaked from head to toe.
Fortunately it let up. A bit and the humidity dried me off somewhat. Still headed back to the outlet stores a bit wet but not too bad after I wrung my socks out!
Got a pair of Levi's for bargain prices up there before heading back to the hotel later on in the evening.
I have to say I have really enjoyed my time in Orlando, covered pretty much everything I wanted to, got soaked and sunburnt but loved every minute of it.
I head off to Dallas on Wednesday, a whole different types culture and list of new things to see. It is here that I continue my travels with Jacob who is flying in from Chicago, it will work great to meet up and carry on with the rest of the tour together.... Watch out America!
Tuesday morning and another glorious day in Orlando.
The outer parts of the city where I was situated is more famous for the big theme parks such as walt disney world and universal studios.
Today gave me the opportunity to experience some of the sights that the world famous international drive has to offer. My hotel was located just beside the 'wet n wild' water park and an indoor sky diving center..... Only in Orlando!
I had earmarked a couple of museums that I wanted to check out along the way, the first of which was the Titanic artifact exhibition and the bizzare 'Ripley's Believe it or not' museum.
The area around my hotel was plagued with roadworks which would make getting around that little bit harder because some of the bus stops had been moved. I later found out from a trolley driver and fellow Jeff Gordon fan that they were widening the road putting in bus lanes all along iDrive to make bussing it more convenient
I had bought an iRide trolley pass for the day for $5 which allowed you to get whenever you wanted along international drive, stopping at over 20 locations, really useful.... Or so it sounded.
They were supposed to stop every 20 minutes and when I did eventually find a bus stop that would take me south to where I wanted to go I ended up waiting 40mins in the searing heat. 2 bottles of water that I had didn't go very far.
Eventually arrived at the titanic museum a little later than planned however most of iDrive is open until midnight each night.
The museum itself was very good. Decked out (shameful pun) to look like parts of the ship and packed with fascinating artifacts, not the least of which, a massive section of the ships Hull which was carefully brought to the surface from titanics watery grave over 2.5 miles at the bottom of the Atlantic.
There was also a feature which allowed visitors to touch the Iceberg, not the actual one of course, to give them the impression of how cold the waters were on the night of the tragedy. Still feeling extremely warm from the temperature outside I gladly took this opportunity..... With both hands.... And arms!
A very worthwhile visit!
Next up was the ripley's museum, this was just a few stops down on the trolley route so rather than wait until the year dot for a trolley I decided to walk it.
What a fascinating place this was.... Full of oddities and interesting objects from shrunken heads to a cars made entirely from musical instruments and much more. Another worthwhile visit and bigger than I expected it to be.
After this it was back to the hotel to cool off! Got back and watched a bit of the football..... Saw the score was 5-0 to Germany and thought my eyes had deceived me with all the heat.
Made plans for the evening and discovered there was a nascar sports grille nearby up by universal studios.
Once I had figured out which bus to catch I headed up there... Only to find it was actually in the grounds of universal studios itself so I took the opportunity to have a proper look round and take some pictures before heading to the nascar sports grill for some dinner. Very nice it was to... Except my waitress was wearing a Jimmie Johnson shirt!
A great atmosphere in the park with music playing, everyone having fun, theme park rides all around, glad to have made this trip in the evening.
When I left on the bus to head back to international drive I got caught in a florida rain shower.... I was soaked from head to toe.
Fortunately it let up. A bit and the humidity dried me off somewhat. Still headed back to the outlet stores a bit wet but not too bad after I wrung my socks out!
Got a pair of Levi's for bargain prices up there before heading back to the hotel later on in the evening.
I have to say I have really enjoyed my time in Orlando, covered pretty much everything I wanted to, got soaked and sunburnt but loved every minute of it.
I head off to Dallas on Wednesday, a whole different types culture and list of new things to see. It is here that I continue my travels with Jacob who is flying in from Chicago, it will work great to meet up and carry on with the rest of the tour together.... Watch out America!
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Impromptu shopping day
Monday 7th July
So After getting burnt and drenched over the last few days it now came time to check out of my hotel at the florida mall. A top notch hotel with all the facilities you could need and friendly staff on hand to assist.
This day would be a bit tricky because I had to check out of one hotel at 11 and couldn't check into my next one on international drive until 3.
It felt quite sad to be leaving actually, almost felt like the end of the holiday, even though it is only just beginning!
So the morning was spent looking around the mall and like I said before, it is huge. Would be so easy to get lost in there. Found M & Ms world which was full of colour, chocolate and.... Well, M&Ms really. It also had a full size replica of Kyle Busch's nascar in there!
Got collared by a nice young lady trying to sell me some hand and body moisturiser and demonstrating (on me) how nice it could make my hands and skin feel! I didn't mind that bit though.
Obviously did not buy it at the astronomical prices she was selling the stuff for despite how many smiles and seductive poses she tried.
Didn't buy anything in there actually was just killing time until I went to catch my bus.
Managed by some miracle to get on the right bud despite there being 2 with the same number that went to different places!
I had to keep alert because all the stops were requested stops and having not used public transport in the US much before I was a bit of a rookie. However... Thank heavens for Google maps! Using my tablet and it's inbuilt GPS feature I was able to tell exactly where we were throughout the whole journey and therefore get off at the correct stop.
Managed to find my next hotel... Well, it's actually a motel. It is around the corner from a crazy golf Park that also has live baby alligators. As long as one of them doesn't escape I should be OK!
The motel is a bit basic and noisy, the shower is just about to fall off the wall but anyway.
Later on in the day I decided to head out to the outlet stores at the top of international drive. Man was it busy, lots and lots of tourists from all nationalities and all of them looking for a bargain...... Of which there were plenty.
I took advantage of the dirt cheap prices and could easily have filled a other suitcase full of stuff. The area is vibrant though , it was a lovely evening weather wise, the place is like a giant shopping mall now with bars and little cafes, even fountains and a nice little stream as well.
Relaxed there with a beer and some food before catching the bus back to the hotel.
Last day in Orlando tomorrow and plenty to do.
So After getting burnt and drenched over the last few days it now came time to check out of my hotel at the florida mall. A top notch hotel with all the facilities you could need and friendly staff on hand to assist.
This day would be a bit tricky because I had to check out of one hotel at 11 and couldn't check into my next one on international drive until 3.
It felt quite sad to be leaving actually, almost felt like the end of the holiday, even though it is only just beginning!
So the morning was spent looking around the mall and like I said before, it is huge. Would be so easy to get lost in there. Found M & Ms world which was full of colour, chocolate and.... Well, M&Ms really. It also had a full size replica of Kyle Busch's nascar in there!
Got collared by a nice young lady trying to sell me some hand and body moisturiser and demonstrating (on me) how nice it could make my hands and skin feel! I didn't mind that bit though.
Obviously did not buy it at the astronomical prices she was selling the stuff for despite how many smiles and seductive poses she tried.
Didn't buy anything in there actually was just killing time until I went to catch my bus.
Managed by some miracle to get on the right bud despite there being 2 with the same number that went to different places!
I had to keep alert because all the stops were requested stops and having not used public transport in the US much before I was a bit of a rookie. However... Thank heavens for Google maps! Using my tablet and it's inbuilt GPS feature I was able to tell exactly where we were throughout the whole journey and therefore get off at the correct stop.
Managed to find my next hotel... Well, it's actually a motel. It is around the corner from a crazy golf Park that also has live baby alligators. As long as one of them doesn't escape I should be OK!
The motel is a bit basic and noisy, the shower is just about to fall off the wall but anyway.
Later on in the day I decided to head out to the outlet stores at the top of international drive. Man was it busy, lots and lots of tourists from all nationalities and all of them looking for a bargain...... Of which there were plenty.
I took advantage of the dirt cheap prices and could easily have filled a other suitcase full of stuff. The area is vibrant though , it was a lovely evening weather wise, the place is like a giant shopping mall now with bars and little cafes, even fountains and a nice little stream as well.
Relaxed there with a beer and some food before catching the bus back to the hotel.
Last day in Orlando tomorrow and plenty to do.
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Racing the radar
Saturday 5th July
On Saturday we headed back up to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400. It was the big day for the nascar sprint cup series.
We would be keeping a close eye on the weather all day with the rain forecast to arrive late afternoon. On the way to the track we were told that in the event of a rainout there would be no transportation available and we would have to make our own way to the track, though surely it wouldn't be an issue.... would it?
The atmosphere in the coach on the way up was good with everyone looking forward to watching their favourite drivers in action. Lots of Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon fans on the bus, as well as some fans who have come all the way from Tasmania..... Sure enough they were Marcos Ambrose fans.
Race traffic wasn't too bad, good job I didn't decide to hire a car and park near the track as that would have set me back $60 in some places!
When we arrived I decided to explore the section behind turn 4 that I hadn't covered yesterday, mainly driver merchandise haulers and stages, picnic areas, eateries where you could buy pretty much any food as long as you didn't mind it coming with fries.
Whilst in the merchandise areas I spent way too much money..... Could swear the lady at the Jeff Gordon hauler had a glint in her eye when she saw me coming, but hey its not every day you get to go to a nascar race.
Was also lucky enough to see a lot more drivers in this area.... Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick, Brian Vickers.
Just as I began to head back towards the tri oval entrance to the grandstand..... Yep you guessed it..... It began to rain.... Hard!!!
From then on it was a long wait, everyone was taking cover in any dry spot they could find.... Under the stands all you could see was people studying their phones for the latest weather information. One woman told me that it was due to stop... At 10:30pm.....3hrs after the scheduled race start.
Bought a funnel cake (cross between a pretzel and a doughnut with icing sugar if you can imagine such a thing) before realising it had a radius almost bigger than a Goodyear Nascar tyre and figuring out I wasn't that hungry anyway.
By 8:45 the rain was still coming down and I overheard a Daytona official say they wouldn't start the race any later than 11pm. Now I'm no Einstein but it didn't take much to realise that this race wasn't going to happen tonight. Driver intros and all the pre race stuff was done anyway but shortly after that the footpaths under the stands were flooding and I was getting soaked! I took the decision to head back to the coach until it was either postponed or by some miracle it stopped.
My next concern was how would I get back up to the track tomorrow. I asked Lily, our primesport rep. She said that if 40people on the trip were willing to come back they would put a coach on for us but we would have to pay a small additional fee. Whatever..... I was getting there come hell or (yet more) high water!
The Aussies on our trip were delighted that we did indeed reach 40.
Sure enough soon after I boarded the coach the race was postponed for 11am Sunday.
Had a nice chat with a Dale Jr fan on the way home about Nascar and all the races that we had both been to, like many Americans, she couldn't believe we followed nascar in the UK. She has been to at least 1 race since 1996 now that's dedication for you! She so said that most of the races she has been to have been affected by rain! Maybe it was an omen.
Back to the hotel for 10:30 and I was pretty much straight to bed as the coach would be leaving 8:30 tomorrow.
Sunday 6th July
So then....... Sunday.....
A nice Starbucks to start the day and off we went..... A Bonus day at Daytona. I could navigate my way around that place blindfolded now. The weather was glorious and when we got there I headed straight for my seat as the green flag was not far away.
The stands were not as busy as they would have been for the race but the atmosphere was great, especially as the cars took the green flag to start the race. Well.. We only got 11 Laps in before rain hit the speedway which lead to another rain delay. Luckily it let up and we were back underway within the hour.
The race itself was action packed with wrecks and plenty of battles especially as we didn't know how far the race would go.
There was weather all around the speedway but most appeared to be avoiding us.... Until lap 112, over halfway thankfully. The back straight was covered by a mist and shortly got a soaking...... Just as we were basking on sunshine in the tri oval.
The weather was so bizzare. The officials almost got the track dry with the air titans but then a torrential downpour soaked the track.... I was listening get in to the officials on my scanner, soon enough I heard what I expected... 'the race has been declared'
Everyone then faced a rush to get out before getting soaked, puddles and gushing water everywhere.
Aric Almirola was declared the race winner. His first sprint cup win.
Despite the rain and interruptions I've got to say I had a blast. Yes it was a shame the race didn't reach a proper conclusion but to be there was special enough and to be around fellow race fans made for a great atmosphere. Still..... Daytona and I have unfinished business!!!!
Thank you to primesport for getting us up there again today for a relatively small fee.
On Saturday we headed back up to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400. It was the big day for the nascar sprint cup series.
We would be keeping a close eye on the weather all day with the rain forecast to arrive late afternoon. On the way to the track we were told that in the event of a rainout there would be no transportation available and we would have to make our own way to the track, though surely it wouldn't be an issue.... would it?
The atmosphere in the coach on the way up was good with everyone looking forward to watching their favourite drivers in action. Lots of Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon fans on the bus, as well as some fans who have come all the way from Tasmania..... Sure enough they were Marcos Ambrose fans.
Race traffic wasn't too bad, good job I didn't decide to hire a car and park near the track as that would have set me back $60 in some places!
When we arrived I decided to explore the section behind turn 4 that I hadn't covered yesterday, mainly driver merchandise haulers and stages, picnic areas, eateries where you could buy pretty much any food as long as you didn't mind it coming with fries.
Whilst in the merchandise areas I spent way too much money..... Could swear the lady at the Jeff Gordon hauler had a glint in her eye when she saw me coming, but hey its not every day you get to go to a nascar race.
Was also lucky enough to see a lot more drivers in this area.... Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick, Brian Vickers.
Just as I began to head back towards the tri oval entrance to the grandstand..... Yep you guessed it..... It began to rain.... Hard!!!
From then on it was a long wait, everyone was taking cover in any dry spot they could find.... Under the stands all you could see was people studying their phones for the latest weather information. One woman told me that it was due to stop... At 10:30pm.....3hrs after the scheduled race start.
Bought a funnel cake (cross between a pretzel and a doughnut with icing sugar if you can imagine such a thing) before realising it had a radius almost bigger than a Goodyear Nascar tyre and figuring out I wasn't that hungry anyway.
By 8:45 the rain was still coming down and I overheard a Daytona official say they wouldn't start the race any later than 11pm. Now I'm no Einstein but it didn't take much to realise that this race wasn't going to happen tonight. Driver intros and all the pre race stuff was done anyway but shortly after that the footpaths under the stands were flooding and I was getting soaked! I took the decision to head back to the coach until it was either postponed or by some miracle it stopped.
My next concern was how would I get back up to the track tomorrow. I asked Lily, our primesport rep. She said that if 40people on the trip were willing to come back they would put a coach on for us but we would have to pay a small additional fee. Whatever..... I was getting there come hell or (yet more) high water!
The Aussies on our trip were delighted that we did indeed reach 40.
Sure enough soon after I boarded the coach the race was postponed for 11am Sunday.
Had a nice chat with a Dale Jr fan on the way home about Nascar and all the races that we had both been to, like many Americans, she couldn't believe we followed nascar in the UK. She has been to at least 1 race since 1996 now that's dedication for you! She so said that most of the races she has been to have been affected by rain! Maybe it was an omen.
Back to the hotel for 10:30 and I was pretty much straight to bed as the coach would be leaving 8:30 tomorrow.
Sunday 6th July
So then....... Sunday.....
A nice Starbucks to start the day and off we went..... A Bonus day at Daytona. I could navigate my way around that place blindfolded now. The weather was glorious and when we got there I headed straight for my seat as the green flag was not far away.
The stands were not as busy as they would have been for the race but the atmosphere was great, especially as the cars took the green flag to start the race. Well.. We only got 11 Laps in before rain hit the speedway which lead to another rain delay. Luckily it let up and we were back underway within the hour.
The race itself was action packed with wrecks and plenty of battles especially as we didn't know how far the race would go.
There was weather all around the speedway but most appeared to be avoiding us.... Until lap 112, over halfway thankfully. The back straight was covered by a mist and shortly got a soaking...... Just as we were basking on sunshine in the tri oval.
The weather was so bizzare. The officials almost got the track dry with the air titans but then a torrential downpour soaked the track.... I was listening get in to the officials on my scanner, soon enough I heard what I expected... 'the race has been declared'
Everyone then faced a rush to get out before getting soaked, puddles and gushing water everywhere.
Aric Almirola was declared the race winner. His first sprint cup win.
Despite the rain and interruptions I've got to say I had a blast. Yes it was a shame the race didn't reach a proper conclusion but to be there was special enough and to be around fellow race fans made for a great atmosphere. Still..... Daytona and I have unfinished business!!!!
Thank you to primesport for getting us up there again today for a relatively small fee.
Friday, 4 July 2014
Independence day
Friday 4th July
Happy July 4th to all Americans!
I kick started this day with a proper American breakfast to set me up for the day.
Marcelo's was full of fellow English holidaymakers.... A whole new meaning to the phrase 'full English breakfast'.
Anyway after this I had a few hrs to kill so watched the end of the first Wimbledon mens semi final before venturing into the florida mall, adjacent to my hotel. Again lots of English voices could be heard. I was amazed at how they have really got into soccer over here now, there are several shops selling us soccer team merchandise and they were showing the world cup on a big a screen inside the mall. The mall itself is huge, never ending, completely dwarves Brighton or Eastbourne with lots of department stores and hundreds of others.
At 1pm I met up with the rest of the race folk to head up to Daytona for the NASCAR nationwide race. It took 90mins to get to the track, about expected with traffic on interstate 4 (Orlando equivalent of the m25)
The primesport staff are all really friendly and glad to help out, plus they were giving out free bottled water which would be needed again today as the humidity was extremely high and the temperature around 90 again.
When I got off the coach I was right by a tram stop which was taking fans to the sprint fanzone area on the infield section of the speedway so decided to go there first. Here I got to overlook the teams hard at work preparing the sprint cup cars ready for their qualifying session later in the afternoon. Now, name dropping.... Saw Kurt Bush, Jimmie Johnson and Danica Patrick in the garage area and also Ryan Newman later on the main stage in the fanzone area.
Wandered the area some more, headed to victory lane, watched a bit of the nationwide qualifying session before the heavens opened after the first session.
Took the tram back over to turn 1 but my grandstand seat was nearer turn 4..... That was a looooooong way to walk. the sheer size of the place is mind blowing, I must have walked a few miles. After hitting the merchandise trailers (had to be done) I headed to my seat to watch cup qualifying. This to was rained out after just 1 session. From then on we has a long persistent period of heavy rain which lasted a couple of hours.... Needless to say the nationwide race was late starting, don't think it started until around 9pm. The rains stopped and the air titan track dryers worked really well as they managed to dry the 2.5 mile oval fairly quickly once the rain let up.
Had a good seat just on the entry to the tri oval, which is where I will be tomorrow as well. Can pretty much see the whole track!
What a great atmosphere when the cars fired up and the race for underway..... A really special moment. The race itself was pretty clean for most of it but the final part was excellent, nail biting until the end with Kasey Khane winning with a last lap pass in virtually a photo finish.
Hopefully the weather cooperates tomorrow for the cup race, the forecast is for it to be clearer to here's hoping no more rain delays.
Got back to the hotel just before 1am.....we do it all again tomorrow...... Bring it on!!!!!!
Happy July 4th to all Americans!
I kick started this day with a proper American breakfast to set me up for the day.
Marcelo's was full of fellow English holidaymakers.... A whole new meaning to the phrase 'full English breakfast'.
Anyway after this I had a few hrs to kill so watched the end of the first Wimbledon mens semi final before venturing into the florida mall, adjacent to my hotel. Again lots of English voices could be heard. I was amazed at how they have really got into soccer over here now, there are several shops selling us soccer team merchandise and they were showing the world cup on a big a screen inside the mall. The mall itself is huge, never ending, completely dwarves Brighton or Eastbourne with lots of department stores and hundreds of others.
At 1pm I met up with the rest of the race folk to head up to Daytona for the NASCAR nationwide race. It took 90mins to get to the track, about expected with traffic on interstate 4 (Orlando equivalent of the m25)
The primesport staff are all really friendly and glad to help out, plus they were giving out free bottled water which would be needed again today as the humidity was extremely high and the temperature around 90 again.
When I got off the coach I was right by a tram stop which was taking fans to the sprint fanzone area on the infield section of the speedway so decided to go there first. Here I got to overlook the teams hard at work preparing the sprint cup cars ready for their qualifying session later in the afternoon. Now, name dropping.... Saw Kurt Bush, Jimmie Johnson and Danica Patrick in the garage area and also Ryan Newman later on the main stage in the fanzone area.
Wandered the area some more, headed to victory lane, watched a bit of the nationwide qualifying session before the heavens opened after the first session.
Took the tram back over to turn 1 but my grandstand seat was nearer turn 4..... That was a looooooong way to walk. the sheer size of the place is mind blowing, I must have walked a few miles. After hitting the merchandise trailers (had to be done) I headed to my seat to watch cup qualifying. This to was rained out after just 1 session. From then on we has a long persistent period of heavy rain which lasted a couple of hours.... Needless to say the nationwide race was late starting, don't think it started until around 9pm. The rains stopped and the air titan track dryers worked really well as they managed to dry the 2.5 mile oval fairly quickly once the rain let up.
Had a good seat just on the entry to the tri oval, which is where I will be tomorrow as well. Can pretty much see the whole track!
What a great atmosphere when the cars fired up and the race for underway..... A really special moment. The race itself was pretty clean for most of it but the final part was excellent, nail biting until the end with Kasey Khane winning with a last lap pass in virtually a photo finish.
Hopefully the weather cooperates tomorrow for the cup race, the forecast is for it to be clearer to here's hoping no more rain delays.
Got back to the hotel just before 1am.....we do it all again tomorrow...... Bring it on!!!!!!
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Orlando Magic!
Thursday 3rd July
Well it's not the sort of news you want to wake up to when you are just about to fly to the US is it. UK airports are strengthening security amid renewed terror threats...
Anyway the fact that I am writing now proved that I made it to Orlando OK.
A bit if a weird feeling this morning as I stepped into the departure area at Gatwick, I was alone against the big wide world.... An exciting yet daunting prospect.
Got there in plenty of time and had nearly 2 extra hours to kill.
The flight itself was pretty smooth, full of Scottish folk who had flown down from Glasgow earlier in the morning. There were a wide array of films and TV programmes to choose from on the flight as well as the TV programmes I had downloaded onto my tablet. The 8hr 53min flight time seemed to pass quite quickly.
I was sat amongst one Scottish family of 5, embarking on a trip to Disney land. Unfortunately their holiday got off to a rather turbulent start as one little girl was being violently sick for the majority of the flight poor old soul. If the flight was an hour longer I think we would have run out of sick bags.
I think she was relieved when we touched down in Orlando, and boy did everyone know when we touched down! That was the bumpiest landing I have
Ever encountered.
A native floridian or whatever you call them joked to the cabin crew when departing the aircraft.... "tell the captain that was one hell of a landing"
Anyway we moved swiftly through customs and I picked my bag off the carousel in no time.
the temperature outside was a meer 93 degrees but drizzling rain when I took the shuttle bus to the hotel. Ssoon enough I arrived and wow! What a place It backs out onto one of floridas largest shopping malls and has 2 restaurants, 10 floors etc up great facilities.
Picked up my nascar race package when I checked in and then proceeded to my room but not before trying to step onto an escalator that was coming down when I wanted to go up!! I put it down to tiredness.
After I had settled in I headed down to the bar for a budweiser or 2. Ended up ordering a club sandwich with fries as well!!! The bar was swarming with..... British... I may as well had been in my local back in East Sussex!!!
Anyway that's about it for today... Tomorrow I am Daytona bound for the first of 2 days of Nascar.... Weather permitting... Hopefully not too many rain interruptions
Only day 1 though and I have already encountered some really polite Americans who want to make you feel at home and want to ensure you have a great time ...
Anyway until next time... G'night
Well it's not the sort of news you want to wake up to when you are just about to fly to the US is it. UK airports are strengthening security amid renewed terror threats...
Anyway the fact that I am writing now proved that I made it to Orlando OK.
A bit if a weird feeling this morning as I stepped into the departure area at Gatwick, I was alone against the big wide world.... An exciting yet daunting prospect.
Got there in plenty of time and had nearly 2 extra hours to kill.
The flight itself was pretty smooth, full of Scottish folk who had flown down from Glasgow earlier in the morning. There were a wide array of films and TV programmes to choose from on the flight as well as the TV programmes I had downloaded onto my tablet. The 8hr 53min flight time seemed to pass quite quickly.
I was sat amongst one Scottish family of 5, embarking on a trip to Disney land. Unfortunately their holiday got off to a rather turbulent start as one little girl was being violently sick for the majority of the flight poor old soul. If the flight was an hour longer I think we would have run out of sick bags.
I think she was relieved when we touched down in Orlando, and boy did everyone know when we touched down! That was the bumpiest landing I have
Ever encountered.
A native floridian or whatever you call them joked to the cabin crew when departing the aircraft.... "tell the captain that was one hell of a landing"
Anyway we moved swiftly through customs and I picked my bag off the carousel in no time.
the temperature outside was a meer 93 degrees but drizzling rain when I took the shuttle bus to the hotel. Ssoon enough I arrived and wow! What a place It backs out onto one of floridas largest shopping malls and has 2 restaurants, 10 floors etc up great facilities.
Picked up my nascar race package when I checked in and then proceeded to my room but not before trying to step onto an escalator that was coming down when I wanted to go up!! I put it down to tiredness.
After I had settled in I headed down to the bar for a budweiser or 2. Ended up ordering a club sandwich with fries as well!!! The bar was swarming with..... British... I may as well had been in my local back in East Sussex!!!
Anyway that's about it for today... Tomorrow I am Daytona bound for the first of 2 days of Nascar.... Weather permitting... Hopefully not too many rain interruptions
Only day 1 though and I have already encountered some really polite Americans who want to make you feel at home and want to ensure you have a great time ...
Anyway until next time... G'night
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