Phoenix from the Flames

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My flight to Phoenix was so much nicer than taking the Greyhound. For a start, there was only one semi crazy person on board, and that was me. It also saved me from 13 hours of travelling and meant I had the afternoon to do what I wanted in Phoenix. Which turned out to be watching the Simpsons movie. I would have gone to the gym, but managed to injure my foot somehow, and had a trainer full of blood when I got to the hotel. OK, I'm exaggarating. But my sock was stained red.

The next day I took a bus downtown to the Arizona science centre, which my Lonely Planet assured me was a good place to visit. Maybe for a 10 year old, yes, but I felt decidedly above most of the exhibits, though did enjoy designing my own house, complete with toilet in the kitchen. They also had a Titanic exhibition on, which was better than the film, but still not great.

In the afternoon, I visited the Heard Museum, a museum of American Indian culture, which was much better. I was so inspired in fact that I bought 2 handcrafted, sunglass wearing, wooden chickens from the gift shop.

Arriving back at the hotel, my key didn't work. I went to reception where they informed me that I had checked out earlier that day. I assured them this wasn't the case and after a lengthy conversation with Hotels.com, they finally believed me. Which was a relief - although better than 12 hours at a Greyhound station, 12 hours at an airport wouldn't have been much nicer.

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