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.

The Big Move - Leaving

I won’t bore you with the details but this last 12 months has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. 

I made the decision in June this year that I wanted to travel and my first stop is Australia. 

I'll be leaving the UK on 3rd September and starting in Sydney. 

I’ve never done anything like this before, I didn’t think I wanted to travel. Thought I was happy in my comfortable job at my local council, would get married and have a few kids and that would be it.

Then I met my current partner and things just changed. 

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. 

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!

Holiday Countdown #3 The Case of Too Much Make-up!

Now to pack...

It's now 1 week away from my trip and the levels of excitement are getting silly!

I decided now would be a good time to get all my clothes, toiletries and essentials together.

Choosing what make-up to take is really hard. My trip involves cities and national parks and I don't want to take too much.

So I've taken to twitter and enlisted the help of the wonderful beauty bloggers on there...

I posted the question:

"Help! #bbloggers Going on a trip that involves cities and national parks, don't want to take too much make-up, what should my essentials be?"

Stay tuned to see what advice I'm given and what make-up I've decided to take!

Holiday countdown #2

Who else thinks it's really unfair when you go shopping with a huge list of things you want, come away with only 3 things off that list and the person you're with, who says "I'm only going to pick up a few bits", comes back with 2 huge bags full of clothes and shoes.

Not fair!!!

Here are some of the things I did pick up...

 Mela Loves London at New Look

 H&M

 New Look

I had already bought this dress...

 New Look

And this bag...

George at Adsa

Oh yes, and the slightly less exciting but very essential walking boots...

Karrimor

Ah well, I'll just have to go again next week and hopefully be able to cross some more items off my list!

Holiday countdown #1

Why is it so difficult to shop for holiday clothes?

I'm going away in May for just over 2 weeks and I'm already having a heart attack over what clothes I'm going to pack (8 weeks is not enough time to plan my wardrobe).

It's not essential that I take a different outfit for every day just enough to mix and match and, of course, shoes and accessories.

But where do I even start?

I don't find it hard to put outfits together on a day to day basis but for some reason it's much more difficult when I'm going away. I tend to worry I might forget to take something I'll need or want while I'm there (I never feel like that when I'm actually away though, it's just when I'm trying to pack).

I thought I'd have a quick browse on a few online shopping sites to get some ideas as to what I might buy to take with me (I'll be taking a couple of things I have already but will obviously be taking pretty much all new!)... 2 hours later I'm still looking and have around 20 tabs open, half of those with the same sandal in different colours.

Now, I want to buy all the things I've seen and will want to take 2 suitcases of clothes just to 'make sure I have enough', even though I'll do what I do every year and take way too much and not wear half of it!

So, I'm going to make a list and stick to it...

Clothes:

• Dresses x 2/3 (probably 3)
• Skirts x 2 (1 short, 1 long)
• Shorts x 1
• Jeans x 1 (it'll be warm so I won't want too many pairs)
• Trousers x 1 (probably cropped skinny capri's or linens)
• Basic vests x 3/4 (can take more of these, they don't take up much room)
• Tops/blouses x 2/3
• Cardi's x2/3

Shoes:

• Sandals x 1
• Pumps x 1
• Walking boots (extremely necessary for the national park visits) 

I've made the executive decision this year not to take heels, I always take 1/2 pairs and have never worn them, I just think cute sandals are much better for that transition from day wear to evening wear.

Well that's my list so far, no doubt I'll add to it as I go through the next 8 weeks but hopefully wont deviate too much and I'll post some of the things I buy as I continue my countdown...