My Little Tour of America - Las Vegas

The final city (booo!) on my tour was Las Vegas.

It’s quite a surreal place, all those mini ‘cities’ within walking distance from each other. It really is like being in a different world. 

The 'Great' British Summer

Lovely weather we're having! 

This start to the 'Great' British summer has been an excellent preview of my pending relocation. On the 3rd September I'll be taking Polygarble to Australia. 

Although I've been busy with preparation, this beautiful sunshine has allowed me to take my breaks outdoors...

My Little Tour of America - Los Angeles

The second city I visited during my little tour of West Coast USA was Los Angeles.

It’s hard to say because my trip was so varied but I think L.A. (Hollywood in particular) was my favourite part.

It has such a good vibe. There's an abundance of creativity all around you. I felt as though I was really in the heart of where ‘it’ was all happening.

My Little Tour of America – San Francisco

My little tour of West Coast USA was the first trip of this kind for me. I used to be a beach, hotel pool, resort type of girl but have been introduced to a whole new way of holidaying and I have to say – there’s no going back. Moving from place to place, 2-3 days at a time, getting to see so much in one trip is an amazing experience.

The tour began in San Francisco…

A beautiful city with an abundance of culture. 

                               
                                            Chinatown                             St Peter and Paul Church

                       
                                             The Bay                                          Pier 39

This was also the first time I had experienced an ‘American breakfast’. It consisted of bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes and maple syrup all on the same plate. It was amazing! Probably a good thing I don't live there, I’d be huge. 

While there I took a Segway tour of the city and learned more from the young tour operator than I could from any book or website. It was great to quickly and easily move around the city hearing about China Town, the gold rush, Little Italy, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe and so much more. Fabulous!

I also visited Alcatraz Island home to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, what an experience that was. For the most part it’s grim; derelict buildings where the prisoners, guards and the guard’s families lived for months, even years.  

And the yard the prisoners spent their daytime, surrounded by a huge wall with amazing views of San Francisco just out of sight.

Then in contrast there are beautiful gardens and nesting sites for many different species of birds e.g. seagulls, cormorants and snowy egrets (no I’d never heard of them either and they make a very strange noise!). 

   

And finally, if the notorious San Francisco fog has lifted, there's the Golden Gate bridge…

All in all San Francisco is an amazing city, and a wonderful introduction to the West Coast!

Birthday fun...

I love birthdays (especially my own), always a great excuse to get together with the family and consume copious amounts of food, cake and in my family’s case, wine. 

The Solved Case of Too Much Make-up (put to the test)

As promised in my 'Case Solved' post, this post is mainly how I put to use the excellent advice I was given, with pics!

I used the BB cream for day and night, even in the national parks, it gave really nice coverage, wasn't heavy and even in the Vegas heat wasn't greasy.

During the day I went for light coverage with a touch of the combined bronzer/blusher and mascara, wore the lip gloss during the day in the cities but not in the national parks – it was way too windy and dusty!

                    

                                                                                                                                     

In the evening I applied slightly more of the BB cream (but not much more) and added more blusher, eyeliner and the lip gloss. 

I was so glad I'd only taken a small amount of make-up, I didn't have to change the products from day to night and didn't have to worry about choosing a lip or eyeliner colour.

Simple and much less time consuming.

Here’s a few more snaps for good measure…