My Tour of America Revisited and My Journey 'Home'

Back in the UK now after 12 months working and travelling in Australia. 

I had a fantastic time and learned a lot about myself but I'm glad to be back in the UK (for now) settled and working on a multitude of new projects including music and writing.

 

Once I'd made the decision to head back to the UK I knew there was only one way I could go - through the USA. After my tour of the west coast in 2013 I was hooked.

This time my partner and I decided we weren't going to do things by halves: we would fly into San Francisco, drive across the states and fly out of New York. A little ambitious but it was so worth it! Simply put, this was the most amazing experience of my life so far!

I've decided to revisit the My Tour of America posts and write about my extended trip across the 27 States I managed to pop into on my way back 'home'.

To get a general idea of the grandeur of the trip, here's a rough map of the route my partner and I took:

One Vivid Night in Sydney

It's been a while since I've talked about my time in Australia and I think I'm almost ready to discuss my next adventure.

But before I do...

Sydney has so much to offer, there's always something happening. Writers festivals, food and drink festivals, fashion shows, fireworks displays just for the fun of it. You really get caught up in the magic of this vibrant city.

The current offering is a spectacular display of light, music and ideas all put together to form Vivid Sydney, a plethora of light shows and installations throughout the city.

Highlights of Vivid Sydney 2014 are Martin Place, Customs House, Darling Harbour's fabulous light show (every hour on the hour) and of course the world famous Sydney Opera House which displays a stunning timeline of the development of architecture, civilisation and technology.

My partner and I spent a whole evening wandering around this amazing event; taking photos, shooting footage. We've then edited the whole thing into a nice little video with one of our Chasing Ourselves songs over the top.

Here's the link to our experience of Vivid Sydney 2014...

And here are just a few of the shots I took using my Nikon D5100 with an 18-200mm lens.

For more information on this years Vivid Sydney visit their website here or follow them on twitter @VividSydney for highlights and traffic updates.

The Big Move - Arriving in Sydney

So we finally arrived after a laborious 13+hour flight. Rushed through immigration surprisingly quickly and ushered ourselves swiftly into a taxi. We were literally shattered, hadn't slept much on the plane due to lack of space and it was incredibly uncomfortable.

All we wanted at that point was to get to our guest house, shower and sleep as quickly as possible.

However nothing prepares you for Sydney. Anyone you know who's been will tell you what a spectacular sight it is but you'll never fully appreciate it until you see it for yourself. Only one word sprung to mind... 

WOW!

The harbour bridge and the opera house are set against high rise buildings and multiple bays and coves. Being the main tourist attractions in Sydney they are instantly recognisable but no less incredible than you would imagine.

After wandering through Sydney centre for the last few days I began to get the same feeling I had when I visited Hollywood, it has a similar sense of creativity and success. 

I'm so excited to be starting my travels here.

My Little Tour of America - National Parks

In-between the city stops on the USA tour we also visited three National Parks. Deciding which ones to see was tough considering how many national parks California has to offer.

The first park we visited was Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is stunning. What seems like infinite forests of Pine trees stretching as far as the eye can see…

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!

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…

       

My Red Rose

On a shelf in my room I have a photograph of my grandparents wedding. I don't really remember the first time I saw the picture I just know I was very young. They had red roses at their wedding and I remember thinking they were very 'pretty' (in the way young girls see weddings and pretty flowers).

I recently discovered this picture in a drawer at my mum's house and the meaning this classic flower has for me came flooding back.
My grandfather died when I was 15 years old and we had red roses at the funeral. 
Soon after he died I started to write a diary, he'd been my main father figure and I missed him tremendously, and like many other teenagers, I needed an outlet.
In the diary I put the front of a sympathy card someone had bought for me which had a poem about a rose passing through to the other side of a wall (The Rose Beyond The Wall - Author Unknown) and although it had religious connotations (I'm not a religious person) it gave me a great deal of comfort at such a young age.
Also in the diary I'd included a dried, pressed rose from the funeral (I pressed flowers a lot with my grandma when I was young - it was lots of fun).

The instances of the red rose popping up had little significance to me when I was young and I think it's partly because of this (and partly because I've moved a few times and am a bit scatty) that I have no idea where the diary is. I must have lost it or thrown it away by mistake during a move.

It's only recently that I've discovered the real connotations this stunning flower has for me. It has cropped up at a few poignant moments of my life, my grandparents wedding, their funerals (we also had red roses at my grandmother's funeral), my favourite painting (Salvador Dali's Meditative Rose) and now more recently in my private life.

The more recent instance I feel has allowed me to truly appreciate why this flower means so much to me. 

The significance of being close to someone. 

The emotion it evokes. 

The understanding that you can be so close to someone - geographically (living in the same area, possibly have a similar group of friends etc), not meet them for decades, and then when you finally meet realising you have this 'thing' (in this case a red rose) in common and that the significance of that item is shared. Knowing that this significance needs no explanation -  it's just there and you both understand it.

I adore the notion that you can have something so specific in common with someone you've never met.

Throughout our teens and into adult life we're bombarded with the idea that roses are romantic, that they represent love and define a relationship yet they have little actual meaning for many people.

Take St Valentine's Day for example. Specifically, roses given as a gift - just because its Valentine's Day. I'm a strong believer that you shouldn't need the excuse of Valentine's Day to show your appreciation or love for someone, but if you're going to give a gift on that day surely there should be more thought involved - not just roses because they were on display in the florist.

The roses received in this instance will simply die and be thrown away with the rest of the household rubbish without a second thought.

Like anything else - unless they actually mean something to you they have no importance, they are just  'pretty' flowers as seen through the eyes of a small child when looking at a wedding photograph.

Salvador Dali Meditative Rose