Travellers tips

Hey all!

I made it to New York in one piece.

Unfortunately check in wasn't until 3pm and I arrived at 6am so I've been hanging around for ages.

I went for a walk through the city when I first arrived. It was a nice way to experience Manhattan Island for the first time. The streets were empty and the sun was rising. It was really peaceful  like I was being slowly introduced to the hustle and bustle of the city.

I’m too tired to do anymore exploring so I thought I would share some tips from my trip so far.

LA

LA is known for having one of the worst transport systems in America. To get anywhere without a car allow 2 hours. An alternative way of getting around is using the free shuttles to the airport. Most hotels/hostels offer a free shuttle service to and from the airport and they don't ask for any accommodation confirmation so you can do a sneaky. Say you want to go to Santa Monica, just google a hotel in Santa Monica and catch your hotels free shuttle bus to the airport, then get on a free shuttle from the airport to a hotel at your destination. 

If you're travelling by yourself do your research and make sure you're staying in a good area. I would recommend anywhere along the coast particularly, Santa Monica or Hermosa Beach. Don't stay near the airport unless you're just having a stop over. You might see some murders like I did.

In terms of nightlife, ladies need to get onto a promoter. Ask a local if they have any contacts and see what they can offer. Basically the more people they get in on their list the more money they make so you can usually get free entry and a bottle of spirits for free. They are sleazy though.

Grand Canyon

When choosing a hike to complete, take note of what grading they have been given. We chose a 'difficult' trail, thinking that it was probably not that hard but we were very very wrong. Go early before it gets hot and you're really gonna want some hiking boots. Trainers will get ruined.

San Fran

If you want to go to Alcatraz you have to book months in advance. They do release a limited amount of same day tickets but it's first come, first serve so you have to get there early. The girls I travelled with got there at 4am, and there were people who'd been waiting since 2am.

Another sneaky is ye olde back door tram trick. To be honest I saw a lot of people not paying for the tram and hopping on the back door. It's only $2 but if you're only going a couple stops i reckon you could do it guilt free.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you get a fine and/or jail time. 

I'll add some about New York when I get the energy to leave my hotel room lol.

B xxx

Highway 1, Pismo Beach, LA

Took the lovely Highway 1 along the coast yesterday from San Fran to Pismo Beach where we spent the night.

It was a big driving day but we made a couple of stops; one at Monterey and then a lookout to see some elephant seals.

Monterey is a pretty little seaside town. Seemed quite affluent but was really charming, you know, selling candied apples and kids building sand castles on the beach.

Elephant seals are huge but they are super cute. They're not the most interesting creature to observe though, they just laze around all day. Hard Life.

We set up camp in Pismo Beach. It's a nice beach but really weird. It has a lake that runs kind of parallel to the shore line and its full on got moss and ducks and reeds. Was different seeing that on a white sand beach.

Anyway today we made it back to LA. This post comes to you from the same hotel that my first post did. I've gone full circle.

Tonight we are going to have a goodbye dinner as we all go our separate ways tomorrow.

Sad times :-(

Tomorrow I leave for NEW YORK.

Excited and sad at the same time.

B xxx

Goodbye San Fran you crazy beast of a city

Views along Highway 1

Elephant Seals

Watching the sunset at Pismo Beach... you can see the lake

LA- San Diego

LA really hasn't been kind to me.

Besides my CSI experience when I arrived (the DOA), todays adventures were destroyed by some loser who decided to steal the trailer off our tour bus.

Okay, it's not the end of the world but the delayed start cost us our trip to Venice Beach :-( . Annoying but hopefully I can get there once the tour finishes.

It's pretty hard to draw conclusions about a place I've only spent 2 nights in but unfortunately LA has really disappointed me and it's a shame because I really really wanted to like it.

There is this sort of disconnect. The nice parts of LA have no vibe, no atmosphere, no sense of community. It's just tourists and rich folk. I think 'Beverly Hills' is the dream but murders and thefts are the reality.

I probably wouldn't even bother going back to LA and if I ever do, I will definitely be staying along the coast (probably at Hermosa or Venice Beach).

San Diego on the other hand has completely surprised me.

The city is known for its naval base camps with the custom built, extra tall Coronado bridge to compensate for the large ships passing underneath.

Downtown, the Gaslight Quarter is beautiful and buzzing, i'd liken it to Soho in London. You don't have to look very far for fun, it will find you.

Despite a bit of sunburn and aching legs, I'm just looking forward to a smoother day tomorrow where we can just stick to the itinerary and do what's promised.

Fingers Crossed.

B

xxx

This is the only star I got a picture of...
couldn't be bothered fighting all the tourists

Thank god I got the camera with extra zoom!

Old Historic Town, San Diego

San Diego skyline

'Tent city' Home for the night

LA Day 2

Today I had this brilliant idea.

I thought to myself 'hey, why don't you cycle 37km along the californian coast'.

So that happened. Cati (new bff) and I cycled from Hermosa beach to the start of Venice Beach and back. I still can't feel my legs.

Along the sea-front at Hermosa beach, there was this really interesting protest. An oil company is proposing drilling for oil a mile out into the ocean which would completely undermine the Green Task Force Stability Plan introduced two years ago. Hermosa Beach is a really pleasant place with a cool, environmentally friendly vibe. Let's hope their voice is heard.

Fracking seems to be a big problem in America at the moment. I knew nothing about it before I came but i'm getting a fast lesson.

In the evening, I met my tour group. Everyone is lovely. There are two girls from Belgium too so I get to practise my French.

Hopefully my legs have recovered by tomorrow so I can explore the rest of LA.

B xxx

Hermosa Beach

Beach Volleyball Tournament

Cruising along the Californian coast

I'm still smiling here, must have been early on...

Cati was way in front of me the entire ride back

LA

Well, I made it!

It was about a 24hour round trip but i'm here in my hotel...safe and sound.

I use the term 'safe' loosely.

After waiting about an hour for the free hotel shuttle bus that "runs every 15 minutes" it finally arrived.

On the drive from the airport, I saw a guy that had been shot in the head. FULL ON, SLUMPED AGAINST THE WALL, BULLET IN THE HEAD. YEAHHHHHH

Welcome to LA...

Police were just arriving on the scene and a whole bunch of fire fighters etc drove past us.

Anyway, it ended up that one of the girls on the shuttle bus is doing the same tour so I already have a friend. We bonded over my new fear of going anywhere in LA by myself.

We are going to grab dinner once I look less sleep deprived.

B xoxo