Hotels

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Karan and Don, our partners in travel, called last night to say that the Chicago hotel is booked - another step in the right direction. Staying in the very central Comfort hotel and suites that, if trip advisor is to be believed, sounds clean and adequete... if not quite 'The Hilton'. We're city explorers though and on previous experience hotel rooms are solely for sleeping and showering so for us location is the primary factor.

The quite plush looking Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas has also been reserved and the surreal vision I have of Las Vegas makes me excited but a bit sceptical about this section of our trip. The idea of a manmade city in the heart of the desert, created entirely to reflect capitalism and materialistic pleasure just sits strangely with me. Yes, of course all cities are manmade but they are usually a more organic process, this of course leading to all manner of diversity. Vegas is different - an entirely hedonistic creation, a playground for the rich and not so rich, a shameless display of tack and vulgarity. And yes I can hear myself - so many preconceptions of a place I have never been. I look forward to my opinions being validated or contradicted.... I look forward to the experience, I don't doubt that I will enjoy it on many levels and that is the beauty of travel. It's not always about dream destinations it's about seeing as much as possible of what this incredible world has to offer.

We're currently locked in debate as to whether or not to take a risk on "The Pod" NYC for four nights. All reports suggest that while clean and funky, this hotel takes the term "box room" to a whole new level. Can we compromise and transform into peas for a few days in order to benefit from what appears an excellent midtown location....I'm game for it, working on the others now. All in all a few dollars saved on a hotel room has got to allow for a few dollars to splugre in a upmarket NYC eatery on our 1st Sat night in this iconic city!

Have I mentioned that I wish we were leaving tomorrow. Anyway back to planning and my route 66 research makes me feel like we're going to venture into the land of old school rock and roll and see an America that in many ways progress seems to have left unharmed!

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