Advertisement
America Saturday, 17thApril Well! Today we arrived in America, our last country before we get home. It has been a very long day as we left our hotel in Christchurch, New Zealand at 8:15am and arrived in the USA at 6am (so we arrived before we left so to speak). Of course, this was because of the time differences (we crossed the International Date Line) but it made for a pretty strange day. Our first flight was from Christchurch back to Auckland. We landed at the domestic terminal and made our way to the international terminal as we had plenty of time to spare - four hours before our connecting flight to Los Angeles. All of a sudden they were saying last call for our flight and we were running through the airport to get to our gate. The time of our flight had changed and we didn't know. We puffed on to the plane and settled ourselves down. We had never been quite sure how long this flight was as we were confused by time changes and it was only after we were in the air that we realised we would be up there for about 11 hours.
It passed eventually as all flights do and we landed in LA about 5:45am. They kept us on the plane for a while as the airport didn't open until 6am but eventually we got through the extremely lengthy immigration procedures (finger printing, photographing, multiple form filling and extended stamping), baggage collection etc and we were in the USA. We picked up the hire car and drove to Hollywood and our hotel. It is a nerve wracking experience driving in America to begin with. This is the first country where we've had to drive on the right-hand side since our trip began. There are so many intersections, the road signs are confusing, the traffic is fast and there is a lot of it. So different from lovely peaceful New Zealand! We eventually found our hotel but were much too early to check in so left the car in the parking lot (see, we speak American already) and went to explore. I'd chosen the hotel because of its location and so just down the road was Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame. We looked at all the stars of famous celebs in the pavement and the hand and foot prints outside
the 'Grauman's Chinese Theatre' and a general walk around. We wanted to find a book shop to buy a book on California and this proved more difficult than you would imagine. We walked and walked for ages before we finally tracked one down. By now we were pretty tired as we had been awake for more than 24 hours so we made our way back to the hotel, checked in and crashed out. Later in the day we decided to go out and try and find a typical American grill. We found one on Hollywood Boulevard. The waiters were all over 60, bad tempered and off hand, there were great slabs of meat, doggy bags and some very large people that looked as if they were extras from a gangster movie and it cost a fortune - welcome to Hollywood!
Sunday, 18th April This morning we decided we must experience a different side of LA and headed for Venice Beach. The sat nav. took us to Long Beach by mistake which is miles away so it took most of the morning to get to Venice. What can I say! It was an experience. There was lots going on and
many, many people. It was a kind of cross between Brighton and Blackpool on speed. There was lots to do as well as crowds of people just 'hanging out'. The beach itself wasn't that remarkable, especially after the beautiful beaches of Australia and New Zealand, but there was lots happening on the boardwalk and grass behind and the people watching was great. There was a terrific skateboard park with some amazing skateboarders to watch. They hurled themselves around at great speed with lots of twists, turns and leaps. There was one little girl, who couldn't have been more than seven or eight, who was brilliant and quite fearless. We watched for a long time and marvelled at their skills. There were also lots of street performers including a dancer/comedian that we spent at least an hour watching. All along the coast here is a path for walking but also another for wheels and you can peddle or rollerblade along them for many miles. We hired a couple of bikes and headed north. Along the way were areas where people could do tight rope walking, rope climbing, trapeze, hanging rings etc. a bit like an adult playground, as well as children's
play areas. We stopped at one place where there was a large crowd gathered to find that there were lots of different groups of people playing drums - a kind of giant drum jamming session - with others wildly dancing. There was also a fairground and lots of tacky and slightly dubious stuff for sale as well as many folk sporting multiple tattoos, strange hairdos and too much bare flesh. Well! It takes all sorts. After all this excitement we returned to our hotel for a night in with a take-away pizza.
Monday, 19th April LA is a strange place and it is quite difficult to work out where everything is. You have this image in your head from a million different films, TV programmes etc. but actually finding it is quite another thing. Today we decided to go to Universal Studios and have some fun. There is a small metro system in LA so we were able to catch a train rather than go through the trauma of driving there. Universal is on a much smaller scale than Disney and so we were able to walk around the whole of it quite easily. We want on some great
rides like 'The Mummy' and 'Jurassic Park' which were like huge indoor roller coasters, experienced a fast and furious simulation ride based on 'The Simpsons' and saw a couple of 3D presentations based on 'Terminator' and Shrek. We also did the studio tour which was very good and had lots of surprises built into it but sadly no movie stars. We enjoyed ourselves but it did all seem a little bit 'tired' and in need of a revamp - or perhaps we're just getting old and cynical for such places. Tonight we found ourselves a nice Chinese place to eat where the waiter smiled and people looked normal.
Tuesday, 20th April This morning we set out to drive north to Santa Barbara It is only a couple of hours away and so we had plenty of time to see some things on the way. Because we hadn't seen the ritzy part of LA we set the sat. nav. to Rodeo Drive first to have a look at shopping heaven. Sadly we didn't have a Richard Geer/Julia Roberts 'Pretty Woman' kind of experience and Terry did not hand me his credit card and say 'Go buy what you want'. I
did see some beautiful clothes tastefully and exclusively displayed in shiny shop windows but only from inside a locked car. There was no way Terry was going to let me out! We also drove around Beverly Hills and gawped and some very expensive real estate. Next stop was the Getty Centre. This Art Gallery is perched high up on a hill and you park below and then get a funicular railway all the way up. The building itself is very splendid - modernistic white stone and glass- and it has a wonderful display of art and sculpture and, at present, a special exhibition by Leonardo Di Vinci. There are also beautiful gardens but we had to pass on those as it was pouring with rain. (Yes! Even in California rain pursues us. We are a jinx everywhere we go.) We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours looking at things and then continued our journey to Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is very different from LA, an elegant, arty kind of town with clapperboard houses and strong Spanish influences. We found our accommodation, 'The Secret Garden Inn', which was a kind of up market B and B run by a French
lady. We had a little wooden cottage in the pretty garden. There was wine and cheese served between 5 and 6pm and we enjoyed that while chatting to other guests and getting dinner recommendations for later. In fact we were too full of wine and cheese to want dinner and just wandered round the corner to the coffee shop for coffee before an early night.
Wednesday, 21st April It was still a pretty rainy day today and quite cold. After a very good breakfast we went to the Mission House which Santa Barbara is famous for. It is a very peaceful place with a lovely little garden and we spent a very pleasant hour or so there. Later we parked the car in town and took the shuttle bus down to the waterfront and the long wooden pier. Because of the weather it was too cold to linger long which was a pity. Back in town we went to the Court House and took a guided tour. This is a magnificent building, built in Spanish style, and full of interesting little details. Taking a tour was definitely worth it as we learned all kinds of interesting facts about how
it was built and the history of Santa Barbara. In the evening we found a nice place to eat which isn't difficult as the whole town is full of interesting looking restaurants and coffee shops offering all kinds of goodies.
Thursday, 22nd April After another very good breakfast we set off for the Museum of Art in town. This was a beautifully presented gallery with some interesting stuff to see. The paintings were mainly Impressionists and more modern works and there was a whole section on more ancient Asian artefacts. In the afternoon we spent quite a bit of time looking at the many, very inviting shops. After five months I am pretty fed up with the clothes I have with me and fancied treating myself to a few new ones. Unfortunately the choice was so huge that I couldn't make a decision so failed to buy anything. This evening we ate at a great Danish bakery which served excellent food.
Friday, 23rd April This morning we left Santa Barbara and continued on our drive north to Cambria. It is only a couple of hours away so we stopped on the way at a bizarre place called Solvang,
a perfect Danish village in the middle of California. It is full of chocolate box houses, windmills, fantastic bakeries, fairytale gift shops and cuteness and is about at kitsch as you can get. We had great fun wandering about the flower filled streets in lovely sunshine wondering at just how much sickly sweetness we could take. Afterwards it was on to Cambria another incredibly pretty little town full of art galleries, wine tasting shops and eating places just about as quaint as you can get. The drive, especially the last part on Highway 1, was beautiful with mountain and ocean views along the way. We were staying just out of the town on the incredibly beautiful Moonstone Beach Drive, a wild and beautiful place where the sea pounds the the boulder and driftwood strewn beach. We had treated ourselves to an ocean front room so we could sit out on our little patio and watch the waves crashing on the shore. Driving on the freeway is fairly fast and furious but in the towns it is incredibly slow and courteous. We went to explore the town centre - just one long street really - and found we were crawling along
giving way to pedestrians every few yards. It was very different from hectic LA and much more relaxing. We found an excellent place to eat, a cross between a cafe and a restaurant serving very good Asian food. So many of the American restaurants serve such huge portions that, although very tasty, are a bit off putting just because there is so much. This was much more manageable and delicious.
Saturday, 24th April Today we went along the coast a few miles to Hearst Castle. This was the creation of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate, who built this amazing fantasy castle in which to entertain the rich, famous and powerful of his day. It was originally the Hearst family cattle ranch and the land remains a cattle ranch of many thousands of acres to this day. The castle is built in European style high on a mountain top with fantastic views down to the sea and is filled with priceless antiques and works of art. It is absolutely enormous and quite impossible to see all in one day. There is a main house with 35 bedrooms and 45 bathrooms and three guest houses also containing many, many rooms.
There are two huge swimming pools, one of which has a floor of tiles containing real gold and the other, beautiful sculptures and columns of marble like a roman palace. 'No expense spared' doesn't really even begin to cover the ostentatious magnificence of this place. Because the castle is perched up high and so exclusive you have to park at the visitor centre far below and then take one of four specialised tours where a coach takes you up the five mile drive to the castle. We did the tour which included the main house and the private apartments of Hearst himself. It really was quite incredible. Although William Randolph Hearst only lived there for three years it was absolutely the place to be invited to in the 1930s and royalty, famous politicians, movie stars and captains of industry from all over the world stayed there during this time. And now we've been there too! After all this magnificence we drove along the coast a little further to an area of national park coastline which is home to a colony of elephant seals. Standing at a viewing point above the beach we could look down onto a beach absolutely covered
with seals. They come to the beach here to mate, give birth and shed their skins and there were hundreds of them. At this time of year they are shedding their skins which they do just once a year and can only do on dry land. Some were having a half hearted scrap, others were throwing sand over themselves, while most were just basking in the sunshine. Every so often a few would flop down the beach to the water for a swim. They were all kinds of different shades from pale gold to silvery grey depending upon what stage there were at in the moulting process. Back to the same restaurant as last night as it had been both good and cheap and then an evening sipping wine by the ocean.
Sunday 25th April A leisurely morning packing etc. before leaving pretty little Cambria to drive further up the coast to Carmel. This stretch of Highway 1, known as Big Sur, is an iconic drive in the travel books and one of the reasons we chose this part of America to explore. The road closely hugs the ocean and twists, turns and swoops through some amazing countryside. It
is very rugged with waves crashing against jagged rocks backed by mountains. The sea is incredibly blue, the surf fizzing and swirling with seabirds soaring overhead. The road stretches for about 100 miles with little traffic and is quite spectacular. We finally left all this drama behind and arrived in Carmel, another picture perfect town, just south of the Monterey peninsular.
Monday, 26th April This morning it was bright sunshine and we set off for Pebble Beach and 17 Mile Drive. Pebble Beach is where the rich and privileged live. It is a large gated community of incredible houses, world famous golf courses, forest drives beautiful beaches and general gorgeousness. 17 Mile Drive winds its way through all this so you can pretend to 'live the dream' for a few hours. We stopped at various places to take in the views etc. Some of the houses are huge and stunning and others quite modest. Prices range from about seven million dollars for one of the more ordinary ones without much of a view to about eighteen million dollars for ocean views and big gates. We stopped by the beach at Spanish Bay and had a walk along the boardwalk.
I had a paddle so that I could claim to have been in both sides of the Pacific Ocean but I have to say that it was absolutely freezing. We also stopped at Pebble Beach Golf Course where the US Open will be played in June. Preparations for the event were already in full swing. We went to visit the 18th hole so that we could say we've been there when it is on our television at home next month. It is an incredibly picturesque course right beside the ocean. The 18th hole is actually built out over the water and you can see how very tricky this course must be to play. After all this affluence we left Pebble Beach and went to visit the equally privileged centre of Carmel. It is full of extremely chic and expensive art galleries, coffee shops, restaurants and boutiques. All very lovely but I'm not sure where you would go to buy a pound of mince or some loo roll. Perhaps if you live here you don't have to! We mooched around for a bit but felt far too scruffy to venture into any of the shops or galleries. Fortunately our hotel is
out of the centre of town and back in the real world.
Tuesday, 27th April We had planned to hire bikes today and bike the Monterey Peninsular Recreational Trail but we woke up to rain which was a bit of a blow. You may have detected by now a theme emerging in our travels - we are able to bring rain to the most unlikely of places and have done so regularly. It never rains in California until the Connells turn up. We went still went to Monterey, home of Canery Row and Fisherman's Wharf, familiar names to those of you who have read John Steinbeck and explored the area while dodging the downpours. Later we visited an out of town shopping mall for a bit of retail therapy. We're really looking forward to San Francisco tomorrow, the setting of so many films, stories, songs and books and, for products of the 60s like us, 'The Summer of Love'. We have, of course, prepared garlands of flowers to wear in our hair although Terry is experiencing a little difficulty working out how to attach his!
Wednesday, 28th April It was still a bit rainy today as we packed
up and headed for and San Francisco and the next stage of our adventure. The countryside changes quite dramatically after the Monterey Peninsular and becomes sandy hills and then dead flat. This is prime growing land for fruit and vegetables and huge fields extend in every direction with artichokes, avocados and strawberries as far as the eye can see. We were surprised to see large numbers of workers working the fields rather than mechanisation - it was like being back in Laos! We eventually arrived in the city of San Francisco and, after a few false starts, arrived at our hotel, The Donatello. We left our luggage and set off to find Alamo Car Rental place to return the car. Easier said than done in a city full of trams, cable cars, one way streets and 43 hills! We eventually got there, left the car and after much walking, got back to the hotel. It is noticeably much colder here than where we had come from - time for lots more layers I think. We ventured out after dark to find dinner - bit of a culture shock after cutesy Carmel. The city is an ethnic melting pot, bold, brash
and exciting, neon lights, steep streets and someone begging on every corner. Anything goes clothes wise, hair wise etc and there are certainly some bizarre sites to behold. We found ourselves a nice, safe, little diner to eat in - perhaps we will be braver tomorrow.
Thursday, 29th April This morning we went to Market Street and caught the Cable Car down to Fisherman's Wharf. The cable cars are one of the things that San Francisco is famous for so, of course, we had to give them a go. The cars are like a giant, stately roller coaster that forms a network through some of the main streets. They travel on rails in the road attached to a central groove. Two men operate it - one shifts a huge brake backwards and forwards and the other rings bells, takes money etc. There is an inside compartment, open bench seats on the outside and then a narrow kind of running board where you can hang on the side. They are great fun, very popular and absolutely packed with people. There is lots of clanging and banging as you career up and down the very steep hills of San Francisco and riders
jump on an off whenever the car stops at an intersection. At the end of the line everyone gets off and the operators push the car onto a large wooden turntable, manually turn it round and set it on another groove to do the return journey. There was lots going on when we got down to the wharves. There are loads of places to eat and drink, some quite swish and some pretty tacky. All the eating places are centred around fish and there are dozens of places to eat crab, oysters or prawns and the whole area is awash with clam chowder. There is also every kind of ice cream, hot dog, frozen yoghurt and coffee stalls as well as shops selling all kind of glitzy stuff, large statues of frogs and lions, sparkly outfits for your dog and other equally essential items. Our mission was to find the place where we could book a Segway tour as we thought this would be a fun way to see the city. A segway, just in case you're not sure what I'm talking about, is a fairly unusual kind of transportation. It is a small platform that you balance on with
a wheel on either side and a long kind of stick with handlebars that you hold on to. You lean forwards or backwards to go or stop and move the stick left or right to turn. We booked on to the 12:30 tour, went and grabbed a bit of lunch and then returned for our training session before we would be let loose on the road. It felt fairly weird at first but after a few minutes of practice and a safety video we were declared ' good to go' and were off. There were eight in our group, riding two abreast, behind our leader Isha. We had a great time rolling round the streets at about ten miles an hour finding out about this part of the city. After about an hour we stopped in a park for a short break and then we were off again for more adventures. Towards the end of the tour we went to a long concrete pier where there was no traffic and few people where we could experiment with 'freestyle' segwaying, whizzing round in circles, racing one another etc, We eventually got back to the segway depot and reluctantly returned our machines.
It was pretty difficult to walk again once we got off as we had been standing in one position for so long. I don't know if it is the best method of sightseeing but it was certainly great fun and we would love to do it again sometime. After all our segwaying we hobbled back to the cable car and roller coasted back to our hotel.
Friday, 30th April Today we got a Street Car (no, not named 'Desire') to the Golden Gate Park. The street cars are like ancient trolley buses and run on overhead cables. Golden Gate Park is a huge expanse of greenery, parks, gardens and museums - much too big to do in one go. We went first to the Museum of Science which is a bit like a natural history museum, a planetarium and an aquarium all rolled into one. The building itself is interesting, very modern and mainly glass and steel. The entire roof is covered with soil in which grows hundreds of different wild flowers so that, from above, the whole place looks like a flower meadow. After visiting the roof we went to a couple of exhibitions - 'Extreme Animals' about
the different kinds of adaption that mammal have made to be successful and 'Under the Sea' which was mainly different coral reef habitats and their inhabitants. Later we signed up for the planetarium show which was excellent recreation of how the earth and other planets and stars are formed. After all this intellectual stimulation we took ourselves off to the Japanese Garden for a bit of peace and tranquility and strolled around for an hour or so enjoying the beautiful shrubs and trees, pagodas, bridges and water features etc. With our karma fully restored we jumped back on the street car and went back to Fisherman's Wharfe so that we could ride the Cable Car back to the hotel. A bit of a long way round and we had to queue for ages but we just love those cable cars!
Saturday, 1st May This morning we had booked a walking tour of Chinatown. It turned out to be just us and our guide, Linda Lee, which was great. Linda is a Chinese American and was born in Chinatown so could give us lots of interesting information about the different buildings, how it used to be, what it is like
to live thee and so on. We also went into some great food shops where they sold a huge array of different fruit and vegetables and animals, dead and alive. If you want to buy two dozen chicken's feet or a pound of bulls' testicles, this is the place. (We decided not to.) We also went into a Chinese pharmacy and saw all the weird and wonderful things they use to make medicines. The pharmacist asks you your symptoms and lots of other questions and, based on what you say, picks out a number of ingredients (plants, roots, animal bones etc) which you take home, boil up and drink. We finished up in a restaurant where we had a very good Chinese dim sum lunch washed down with chrysanthemum tea. After all this we left Linda and went back down to the wharves, this time to the Ferry Building. This is no longer used for ferries and now houses an enormous range of very up market food stalls, restaurants and wine bars. As it was Saturday there was also a farmer's market outside in the square. We browsed all the wonderful foods - a whole stall devoted to different kinds
of mushrooms, another to olive oil, another to pig parts (yes! pig parts) and many more. On the waterfront side were lots of places serving huge dishes of oysters and other seafood. As we were full of dim sum we could only look at all the yummy stuff but it was very enjoyable. We did venture into a wine store and buy a bottle for later and then made our way back to the hotel.
Sunday, 2nd May Since we arrived in San Francisco we've been gazing at the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Today was the day we were going to cross it. We decided that the best way was to do what lots of people do and hire bikes to cycle across it. We caught the cable car down to 'Blazing Saddles' the hire company and hired two bikes, helmets and a map. The plan was to cycle to and across the bridge to Sausalito and then catch the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharfe. The problem with cycling anywhere in San Francisco is the 43 hills. Which ever way you go you're bound to have to go up on. We set off on flat ground along
by the water. It was incredibly busy because, apart for all the usual walkers, joggers and cyclists, we discovered that it was the annual 'Escape from Alcatraz' Triathlon today. There were hundreds of very fit looking competitors just finishing the running stage. Then they were going to jump on their bikes to cycle a fair number of miles before finally swimming round Alcatraz far out in the bay. What a way to spend your Sunday! We resisted the temptation to join them and fought our way through the crowds to the approach to the bridge. This is where the hill comes in. It is a long, slow climb the the start of the bridge and the road (like most of the roads in California) is pretty rough and filled with pot holes. With lots of huffing and puffing and a fair amount of walking the bikes we finally arrived at the bridge. We were a bit disappointed to find that it is actually iron oxide red and not golden at all but it is a beautiful bridge and quite inspiring in the way that most huge bridges are - well to me anyway. We set off in single file on
the dedicated cycle lane over the bridge. It is a splendid sight with the bay spread out before you, little sailing boats racing across the water and the famous island of Alcatraz in the distance. The traffic on the bridge is, however, fast and continuous so we were very glad of the safety of the cycle path . Now when we crossed Sydney Harbour Bridge I noticed that there was netting above the railings to stop anyone in the depths of despair being able to jump off. I have observed similar safety precautions in many of the high or dangerous places we've visited in the last few months. I was amused to discover that no such precaution exists on the Golden Gate Bridge and the railings are conveniently low for anyone wishing to end it all. However in the middle of the bridge, tucked behind a pillar, is a crisis telephone for those contemplating ending it all. Let's hope any would be suicidal person thinks to walk to the middle of the bridge before they climb up to jump and that there is always someone on the other end of that phone line! Having crossed the bridge it was a
wonderful down hill for a while before and up and down switchback into Sausalito. This is an up market kind of place full art shops, expensive clothes shops and restaurants backed by forests and hills. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky so we sat for a while just people watching and resting our sore bums. We visited an excellent Italian deli where we bought some very good sandwiches. After an hour or so we caught the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharfe. Although it was a lovely day the wind was very cold on the water but we got some great views of the bay from the ferry as we chugged along. Exhausted, we returned our bikes and caught the street car back to the hotel. We've had a great time in San Francisco and loved the city. It is a bit scary at times, particularly if you wander down the wrong street as we did once, but it's full of action, a real multicultural melting pot with lots to do and see and it would be good to stay longer but the bright lights of Vegas are calling and we
must be off.
Monday, 3rd May Up at the crack of dawn for an early morning flight to Las Vegas. All went smoothly - we're really old hands at this now - and by mid morning we were touching down in the gambling capital of the world. We got a shuttle to our hotel, 'The Bellagio', right slap bang in the middle of the action on 'The Strip'. You could not fail to be impressed by 'The Bellagio', a majestic building of Tuscan style architecture fronted by a huge, 8 acre lake complete with choreographed dancing fountains. An army of doormen open doors, get taxis, handle luggage, direct traffic and usher large numbers of people in and out as it we were all royalty. The hotel lobby is splendid with a 18ft ceiling adorned with a back-lit glass sculpture composed of 2000 hand blown flowers. Behind the reception desk are massive towers of fresh flowers reaching up to the ceiling and trickling fountains. Picture all this and then picture two slightly scruffy, overweight, travel stained, retired teachers with rucksacks and numerous other assorted odd bags trying to look at home in all this sumptuousness. Well, at least they let
us check in and didn't direct us to the trade entrance. The first thing you notice about a Vegas hotel is that the casino is the most important part and you have to walk through it to get anywhere. We trailed all our bags and baggage through the casino to the elevators to reach our room on the eleventh floor. It was a very nice room with a massive bed and a bathroom bigger than some of the other hotel rooms we've been in. We unpacked, sorted ourselves out and went to explore. First stop was the conservatory which is a vast area with a changing display of vegetation. At the moment it is Spring and there were huge beds of tulips, hyacinths and other Spring flowers all in full bloom. There were also enormous sculptures of insects, some in metal and some in flowers. The whole thing is spectacular and smells delicious. We knew that we wanted to see a show while we were in Vegas so next stop was the concierge to book theatre tickets. We booked 'The Jersey Boys' (the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) for tonight and 'O' a Cirque de Soleil show
for Wednesday night. Then we went to one of the many restaurants within the hotel to get some lunch. Delicious and beautifully served of course. Later in the afternoon we ventured out onto 'The Strip' to have a bit of a look around. All the hotels have different themes and the whole place is larger than life. Opposite our hotel is 'Paris' complete with Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe (quarter scale). Next door is Caesar's Palace a vast Greco-Roman fantasy land featuring towering columns, classic marble statues, the Trevi Fountain and so on. We ventured into a couple of shopping malls just to look. I've never seen so many designer shops filled with gorgeous clothes (made for stick insects, of course) and opportunities to buy diamonds. We didn't venture into any of them but it was fun looking in the windows. Later we got a taxi down to the 'Venetian' , another huge and sumptuous Italian styled hotel, to see 'Jersey Boys'. The show was great, lots of high energy singing and a real feel good factor. When we got back we watched the Bellagio Fountain show. This is just about as spectacular as fountains can get. Dozens
of choreographed fountains perform to music soaring a hundred feet into the air. The show lasts about five minutes and happens every quarter of an hour from 3pm to midnight. I'm not sure how many different shows there are but we stood and watched two different ones. They were amazing. We rounded off the day with a cocktail and then a little flutter at the video poker. Expenditure $25, Win $43. Net gain $18 Not exactly the last of the big rollers but at least a positive result.
Tuesday, 4th May One of the strange things about this place is that you have no sense of time. There are no clocks anywhere and everywhere operates in a kind of soft twilight. So you have no idea if it is day or night. Even the shopping malls are totally enclosed and have false skies so it could be any time of day. You can gamble, shop, eat or drink at any time of the day or night and people do. We caught a shuttle bus down 'The Strip' to a shopping mall that had more normal kinds of shops and spent some time browsing and buying a few things. We
spent the day mooching about and just taking in the atmosphere. What is very apparent is that anything goes. There are 'babes' and lots of glitz and glamour but also lots of ordinary people just enjoying a vacation with a bit of gambling excitement on the side. It is also clear that you can have absolutely anything you want, just as long as you have the money and money certainly counts. You are also expected to tip everyone for everything which is a minefield as far as we are concerned. How much, how often. Nightmare! This evening we thought we would ride the shuttle bus to some of the other hotels as they all have something different and special about them to lure you in. Unfortunately we managed to catch the wrong bus and ended up very 'downtown' in an area that seemed to specialise in bail bonds. Not quite what we had planned. Back at the 'Bellagio' we watched some roulette and blackjack but decided it was far to scary and we'd stick to the video poker. Expenditure $40 Win $40 Net gain $0
Wednesday, 5th May This morning we went to 'Luxor' and 'New York, New York
Hotels to see what they had to offer. They were cleverly themed but aimed at families full of MacDonald's and much tackier than our beautiful Bellagio. Interesting but we were glad we weren't staying there. This afternoon we finally managed to find the hotel swimming pool. We had seen it out of the window, a huge terrace complex of five pools but we couldn't work out how to get there. The hotel is so vast and the signing geared up to directing you to the casino so it is quite difficult to find you way around. When we eventually arrived at the pool we found a convenient sunbed and settled down for a relaxing afternoon. Unfortunately the elements had a different idea and, although it was sunny and hot, the wind started to blow a gale. Sun umbrellas were flying around, towels flapping wildly and there were waves on the pool. We abandoned the idea and retired to our room for a siesta .Most of the biggest hotels have some kind of special feature. At 'The Mirage' it is a volcano that erupts every hour, on the hour, after dark so in the early evening we went down to watch
the fun. It is amazing the effects that can be produced with light and colour and sound. After dinner we went to the late night 'O' Cirque de Soleil show which happens here at the Bellagio. I'm a bit lost for words to describe just how brilliant this was. It was a combination of high trapeze, acrobatics, ballet, synchronized swimming, high diving and much more, all accompanied by music. The whole stage set and production was totally fascinating. Most of the time the stage was a deep pool but the floor was constantly changing so that one moment characters were swimming and diving and the next, splashing through shallow water. The costumes were fascinating as it didn't seem to matter if they were wet or dry and the twists and turns of the high trapeze artists was quite breath taking. Often people just seemed to rise up though the water or fly down from the sky as if by magic. It was all totally compelling and like nothing we'd ever seen before. It was amazing - dare I say 'awesome' and we were completely stunned by the time it ended two hours later. A last flutter on the video poker
on the way back to the room was a bit of a mistake however. Expenditure $40 Win $0 Net gain $-40. Bang goes our hopes of paying for our trip with a big win. Perhaps it is just as well we are leaving for the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
Thursday,6th May A leisurely start to the day. We left 'The Bellagio' and headed off by taxi for the car hire place to pick up a car for the rest of our time in America. A bit confusing at first but we finally made it to the Alamo depot and got our car. We had bought our own GPS as we had discovered that it was actually cheaper than hiring one and set the co-ordinates for Grand Canyon. This had been way up near the top of the list when we planned this trip so we were pretty excited at the prospect of actually being there. Our destination was a motel just outside the Grand Canyon National Park. It was actually a much longer drive that we had anticipated and the route over the Hoover Dam was very slow. After the dam the landscape became much more barren as we steadily
rose to the attitude of the Canyon plateau. We actually followed the infamous Route 66 for much of the way but it is difficult to see what all the fuss is about. There was more than the average number of Harley Davidsons about but that was about all. We found our motel reasonably easily and checked in. Although it was quite sunny, it was surprisingly cold and not what we had expected. .We thought it would be hot, hot, hot.
Friday, 7th May This morning, after a pretty substantial breakfast, we set off for the Grand Canyon. We were entering at the south rim which is the most accessible point, especially at this time of year. First stop was the Visitor Centre to find out the best places to go. The canyon is over two hundred miles long and ten miles wide so not something you can take in in a single glance. There is an excellent shuttle bus service that takes you to many different view points and the start of numerous walking trails. We took a walking route from the visitor centre to the rim for our first glimpse of the canyon. Although you've seen the pictures
and the films nothing quite prepared you for the actuality. There are no foot hills or undulations, just a flat plateau, and then suddenly you reach the edge and peer down into the most amazing sight ever. The canyon is vast and like nothing else you've ever seen, Sheer drops, striking bands of different coloured rock, strange, isolated outcrops and incredible colours. It is like the landscape of an alien planet and very beautiful. At midday, when we first saw it, there are no shadows and little definition. It is a deep, deep valley with many sub valleys at right angles to the main one. The Colorado River, a mile below, is so far down that you can only glimpse it in tiny patches. We walked along the rim for about two miles fascinated by the view and the play of light on the rocks below. After a snack lunch we decided to return to the hotel and come back later to see the sun set. About 6pm we got the shuttle bus round to Hopi Point and watched the sun set. Because of the shadows the canyon looked quite different from earlier. We took lots of pictures and watched
the setting sun until it finally disappeared beyond the rim. . Quite magical!
Saturday, 8th May Right from the start, when planning this trip , we had promised ourselves a helicopter flight in the canyon. Today was the day. We had deliberated long and hard and finally decided to go for the longest trip in the best helicopter. Yes children, this is your inheritance we're spending. A very short drive to the helicopter terminal and a short safety video later, we were strapping ourselves into a very flash, brilliant blue helicopter with our pilot, Nick. There were only six seats, allocated according to weight (a bit traumatic) and each one had a great view. We put on earphones, partly for the commentary and partly to blank out the noise of the blades, and we were off. We had never been in a helicopter before and the sensation is quite different from a plane, even a very small one. The helicopter is much more direct and it hovers and banks and turns in a totally different and much more direct way. First of all we cruised quite low over the pine forest which makes up the outer region of the
national park and then suddenly we were at the rim and there was that astounding moment when you swoop over the rim and down into the canyon. It was quite sensational. and made more so by the music being played in the headphones - it was the theme from 2001 ( daah daah daah dada!) We flew right into the canyon surrounded by stunning rock formations and the mighty Colorado River thundering along beneath us. I don't really have the vocabulary to describe the colours and shapes of the rocks and terraces but it was truly sensational and we loved every minute. Sadly forty minutes later we were heading back to the heliport. Still buzzing with the excitement of the whole experience we came back down to earth (both in actuality and metaphorically). After a few moment to enable us to get back to reality we were in the car and setting off on the long journey to Phoenix, our next stop. The journey was hot and tiring and pretty uneventful but the landscape changed considerably as we dropped from 7000ft above sea level at the Canyon plateau to 1000ft above in the valley that Phoenix lies in. We broke
the journey at Flagstaff and found quite a good stopping place, the Museum of North Arizona, which we hoped would yield a good coffee shop as well as a bit of culture. It did very well on the culture but failed miserably on the lunch as no food or drink was to be found. We did see some very interesting exhibitions about the Native Americans of Arizona including some wonderful jewellery, weaving and clay work, another about the local geology of the area and some excellent paintings of the Grand Canyon and other National Parks by a German artist. A 'Subway' a little way along the road checked out for lunch then we hit the highway again. After a few false starts in Phoenix, we finally found our accommodation, Pointe Hilton Squaw Resort, where we will be staying for four nights. It is a large complex of accommodation, pools, activities and places to eat. We have a very pleasant suite in a block that surrounds a one of the quieter pools. There is a big shady terrace which will come in very handy for evening sipping. It is very hot today - about 95 degrees . Because we were both
pretty tired after the drive we just explored a little, got a bite of supper and had an early night.
,
Sunday, 9th May Terry was up early this morning to check out the football on the television. The last game of the season with only one point between us and Chelsea and we were hoping for a miracle. Unfortunately, although United won, Chelsea did too so we just missed out on winning the League (for the forth year running). After the sobbing had finished we spent an extremely pleasant day doing absolutely nothing at all. There are not many people here at present so we didn't have to share the pool with many, the sunbeds were the most comfortable ever, there was plenty of shade and the poolside jacuzzi was just a few steps away. We did manage to totter down the road to a supermarket to buy some wine for later and that was about it. The Latina Grill, just beside our apartment, came up with an very good evening meal and then it was back to the terrace for evening sipping.
Monday, 10th May We had decided we were going to do very little for these
few days so that's exactly what we did - very little. There are even less people here today so we almost had the whole pool to ourselves. We lounged, ate, drank, read, swum and slept in about equal quantity.
Tuesday, 11th May More lounging, eating, drinking, reading, swimming and sleeping but probably in a slightly different order. We made it as far a a store to buy some more books to read but that was about the extent of our adventures. What has happened to those intrepid travellers of six months ago? Answer: They're knackered!
Wednesday, 12th May We made a leisurely getaway from Phoenix to drive to our final adventure, the 'dude' ranch. The route was largely North, back the way we had come but the views, for some reason, were much more spectacular than when travelling South. It was interesting the way the vegetation changed according to the altitude, cacti around Phoenix changing to scrub land and then pine forests as we got higher. The mountains were interesting too. The ones around Phoenix looked like huge piles of different coloured sand and then as we got higher they became more rugged and then others just looked
like heaps of round boulders thrown down by some giant hand. Driving through Arizona was a reminder of just how much desert we've seen during this trip - Egypt, India, Australia, America. It's really brought it home to me how much of the Earth is barren and non-productive. You don't realise when you live in leafy, green, little Chichester. The directions for the ranch were a little vague. The address doesn't exist as far as the GPS is concerned. We had found some directions on their web site which we had copied onto the computer so we drove as far as we could on the interstate highway and then hit the dirt tracks. We hadn't been able to print off the instructions so we booted up the computer. Because the sun was so bright it was impossible to see the screen so we continued our journey with me with my head under a blanket shouting out directions to Terry. All the little dirt roads were named after cowboys so it was left at Butch Cassidy, right on Roy Rodgers, drive six miles on Sundance etc. We were laughing so much we nearly fell off the road. The track was bumpy
and dusty and very slow driving. After about 12 miles off road we eventually saw the ranch. Yee ha! It stood in the middle of a vast plain with mountains in the far distance in every direction. We were met by Carrie, the owner, and shown around. There was one large building done out rather like a saloon with pool table, card tables, bar, comfy chairs, cowboy memorabilia etc, another which was the dining room and then various other smaller buildings which were accommodation, tack room etc. All was in brown stucco to blend in with the surroundings. There was also a swimming pool and hot tub and a large corral of horses. In the outdoor seating area was a large group of cowboys who looked as if they had come straight off a film set. They all had stetsons, waistcoats, leather trousers etc and were seated around a table covered with bottles of whiskey and beer. My goodness me! What had we let ourselves in for? In fact when Carrie introduced them they were a group of seven Austrian drinking buddies who had treated themselves to a holiday on a ranch and had never ridden a horse before in
their lives. We sat and chatted for a while - they were certainly having a whale of a time and Boy!, could they drink. We had arrived too late for the afternoon ride but got ourselves settled into our room, went to visit the horses and had a wander round. The ranch is family owned and run, can accommodate up to about 40 guests, had about 50 horses and has been open about 12 years. At dinner we met two more guests who arrived today as well, Christine and Ralph from New Jersey, so altogether there are just eleven of us at present. Portions at dinner were absolutely huge and as our package includes three cowboy size meals a day, so will we be by the time we leave.. After dinner the Austrians wanted to party so we had an impromptu shindig with line dancing, polka, Viennese Waltz, drinking and singing under a night sky bright with thousands of stars. We gave up long before they did and retired to bed
,
Thursday, 13th May This morning, after a hearty cowboy breakfast, it was time to hit the trail. There are three wranglers (Carolyn, Natasha and Craig) plus Carrie to
lead the rides so we could split up into smaller groups for rides for different abilities. The Austrians went off together and we rode with Christine and Ralph. They are actually very experienced riders but just wanted a quiet outing this morning. My horse was called Wrangler and Terry's was Chief. We were out with Craig for about an hour just walking the horses and getting used to it all. I felt reasonably OK but was very aware that if I fell off there was nothing but dust and rocks and cacti and other spiky stuff to land on. Better make sure I stay on! The ride was good but we were pretty hot by the time we got back. The temperature here is at least 95 degrees (35' C) and so we were very happy to jump off the horses (well kind of slide really) and into the swimming pool to ease our sore backsides and soak away the aches and pains. After general lounging about, lunch, a game of pool and more lounging about, it was back on the horses for the afternoon ride. This time we tried some trotting and banged and bounced our way across the
plains. Lots more soaking in the hot tub was required on our return. A quieter evening tonight - I think the Austrians are running out of steam a bit. They brought more than 400 cans of beer with them and they are at least three quarters of the way through.
Friday, 14th May More lounging, eating, swimming, soaking, riding, bouncing in about equal measure. Just for the odd moment we feel we are in control of these horses when we're trotting along and we seem to be in a rhythm but most of the time it is just the opposite and it is bang, bang, bang on the saddle (and our poor bottoms). We'll get the hang of it soon (but probably not soon enough). Christine and Ralph went out for a gallop today and Christine came off, spraining her wrist and bruising her ribs. She's OK but a bit shaken. We're even more determined to hang on like grim death now! Another guest, Sonia, arrived today from Germany but the Austrians are leaving tonight at midnight. They managed to finish off their almost all their 400 beers and 8 bottles of whiskey tonight. I like we will be
a much quieter group from now on.
Saturday, 15th May Another day of lounging, swimming, riding, eating etc. It is extremely hot today, nearer to a hundred degrees I think so the afternoon ride was delayed until it was a bit cooler. We felt by the last ride that we had made a little progress and might even continue when we get home. We'll see! Everyone has been absolutely great and we've had an excellent time. It was certainly a super way to finish our big trip but six rides in three days is probably as much as our backsides can manage and three huge meals a day is certainly more than our stomachs can take so it is probably no bad thing that we are leaving tomorrow. Carrie and Dan have a wonderful outfit here and they, their family and the wranglers are a great team. We couldn't have wished for a better last fling before being homeward bound.
Sunday, 16th May Packed up today, left the ranch and drove back to Vegas. We returned the car early as we didn't want to drive right into town just to leave it in the Bellagio car park at exorbitant cost. Sorting it all out and getting us and all the luggage to the hotel was a bit of a nightmare but we finally sorted it out and are back in the bright lights and glitz. It is absolutely heaving with people today as, just across the road, is the final of the Miss America Beauty Pageant. We've spent lots of time in the last few days talking about the fabulous time we've had on our great adventure. We couldn't have wished for a better time and, with the benefit of hindsight, would hardly have changed a thing. We've done things we never imagined we would have the chance to do, seen so many things on our list of 'must see in my life' and many more that we didn't even know existed. We've learned loads of things about different places and the way people live. Perhaps most of all we've met some fantastic, interesting, lovely people who we will remember all our lives. But now it really is time to go home to see our wonderful family and friends, all of whom we've missed a lot. We need to get back to our house and garden, settle down for a while and return to a bit of normality until, of course, we get itchy feet and start planning another adventure. Where will it be? But before all that we have to pack our bags and hope that BA strikes and volcanic dust clouds will let us get on that flight home tomorrow.
Monday, 17th May Our flight wasn't until the evening so there has been a lot of hanging about today. We managed to get a late check out at the Bellagio and so had a very leisurely breakfast there and spent quite a bit of time reading, going over to the shopping mall and generally watching the world go by. The BA strike has been postponed and the dust cloud has moved away from England so things were looking hopeful. All went according to plan and by 9pm we were in the sky heading for home.
Tuesday, 18 th May By mid afternoon (British time) we were circling over London ready for landing. The countryside looked incredibly green and lush and it was great to see lots of bendy roads after the straight grid patterns of America. A smooth landing only about 45 minutes late. Thank goodness all the luggage arrived with us (we had gained another bag by now) and then we were through customs and jumping up and down and waving to sister Suni who was meeting us. Lots of hugs and kisses all round and then the hour and a half drive home. There was our home looking incredible (thanks to Suni, the house minding fairy), our garden very colourful, neat and tidy (thanks to Colin, the garden god) and the fridge full of goodies (thanks to Maria, the cooking angel). What more could we have asked for? And that is the end of Frances and Terry's big adventure - for now, anyway!
WORLD TRIP SUMMARY Flights 1.England to Egypt
2.Egypt to Jordan
3.Jordan to Delhi
4.Delhi to Cochin
5.Cochin to Delhi
6.Delhi to Bangkok
7.Vientiane to Luang Prabang
8.Luang Prabang to Hanoi
9.Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City
10.Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
11.Siem Reap to Bangkok
12.Bangkok to Singapore
13.Singapore to Perth
14.Perth to Uluru
15.Uluru to Sydney
16.Brisbane to Auckland
17.Wellington to Queenstown
18.Christchurch to Auckland
19.Auckland to Los Angeles
20.San Francisco to Las Vegas
21.Las Vegas to England
Hotels/Accommodation Egypt - Cairo, Fayoum, train, boat, Luxor, Hurghada, Cairo = 7
India - Delhi, Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, desert, Jodhpur, Bhenswara, Ranakpur, Udaipur, train, Jaipur, Agra, Delhi, Alleppy, Cochin, Munnar, Periyar, Rice barge, Kayaloram, Varkala, Cochin = 21
South East Asia inc Singapore - Bangkok(1), Bangkok (2), train, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Hanoi, boat, Hanoi, train, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Singapore. = 15
Australia - Perth, Denmark, Maragaret River, Bunbury, Perth, Uluru, Sydney, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Noosa, Brisbane = 11
New Zealand - Auckland, Russell, Rotorua, Napier, Wellington. Queenstown, Wankara, Franz Josef Glacier, Greymouth, Christchurch = 10 (64)
America - Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Cambria, Carmel, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Ranch, Las Vegas = 10 (74)
Things we have 'ridden' Jet plane everywhere
Propeller plane in Queenstown
Segway in San Francisco
Streetcar in San Francisco
Cable car in San Francisco
Ferry in San Francisco
Camel in Egypt (without stirrups)
Camel in India (with stirrups)
Donkey in Egypt
Elephant in India (on Howdah)
Elephant in Laos (bareback)
Horse in Queenstown, New Zealand
Horses in Arizona
Big Wheel in Singapore (Singapore Flyer)
Train in Egypt, Vietnam, Rajasthan
Train in Australia
Train in New Zealand
Steam train in New Zealand
Rice boat in Kerala, India
Passenger Boat in Halong Bay
Longtail boat in Bangkok
Speedy ferry in Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Tall ship in Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Car Ferry in Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Jetboat in Queenstown
Horse and carriage in Egypt
Bike rickshaw (behind driver) in Egypt
Tuk-tuk in Vietnam
Bike rickshaw (in front of driver) in Vietnam
Funicular in Wellington, New Zealand
Gondola in Queenstown, New Zealand
Luge in Queenstown, New Zealand
Numerous buses, taxis, coaches, mini buses and hire cars throughout the world.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.427s; Tpl: 0.036s; cc: 6; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0544s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.6mb
Sue Cock
non-member comment
From Sue in UK
Hi to you both, so glad you are enjoying your trip. It is bringing back many memories for me as I did the same trip as you. Did not make San Francisco which looks lovely. Enjoy the Grand Canyon as that was a highlight for me. Will look forward to meeting up and having a chat etc. when you get back to the UK. Take care and enjoy the rest of your trip. I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Love Sue xx p.s. had Marje and her mum over for supper last night and they are both well.