Advertisement
June 16th- So I finally arrived at my hotel in Dallas at around 7:30pm USA time. I already got the feeling of America whilst waiting for my transfer at lax.....when I saw small dogs in carry on bags lol! After a long taxi drive where I'm pretty sure the driver didn't know where he was going as he got his sat nav out. He then continued to drive extremely slowly, hence my bill of $65....this made me feel a little faint. After check in I wasn't sure what to do first.....eat, sleep or shower. So I multi tasked and ordered room service whilst I showered and got in my pjs. Nothing better than pizza and a movie in a king size bed! I woke at like 5am raring to go....methinks the jet lag is getting the better of me.
June 17th-Happy birthday to my friend Ella 😊 Today was amazing! I found bagels and cereals at breakfast....bliss! I then caught the hotel shuttle to Southfork Ranch and chilled in the gift shop and their little museum for an hour as I missed my riding slot as I was late...are you surprised? It wasn't entirely my fault. I probably would have just made it if the Scottish people hadn't asked to stop at Walmart on the way, I mean really? It was probably meant to be though as I got to ride with 2 lovely ladies-1 lived in Texas and the other was her friend who was British. I really wanted to trot and canter on the horse but we weren't allowed and to be honest, after 2 months without riding I was quite happy just to mosey on. I was riding Zoe who was nicknamed Lucy out of the series as apparently she likes the boys! We found out that the horses they use are rescue horses which is lovely.
The girls invited me to lunch with them which was nice and we had BBQ Texas style! I saw one of the yellow American school buses like in the films....they really do exist! After they dropped me back to the ranch I did the tour which was obviously amazing. I'll try and snap a picture. We got to see the house (which is much smaller in real life), hear the story of how filming came about, see Elena's cottage, the horse stables and wander around the grounds. In the shuttle on the way home I got chatting to a lady from Louisiana who married a French guy and they were visiting. They invited me out to dinner with them which was lovely.....I must have a 'rescue me, I'm on my own' sort of face. Her nice hubby paid for my meal too...so sweet!
June 18th-Well I've figured out that I only need about 2 days on my own before I get lonely. Thank god I booked so many trips! Can't wait to meet my new tour buddies. Hopefully I'll make some friends in New Orleans. Today I milked the breakfast for all I could get before making my way to the airport via a shuttle bus for half the price....this pleased me. I sat chilling in Pizza Hut awaiting my flight.
I arrived at my hotel mid evening and was taken to my room by the bell boy (I think that's what they call them) who addressed me as baby and told me to ask if I needed anything. Sweet! I decided to head out for dinner but the restaurants were a little walk away so I turned back and ate at the hotel. Didn't think it was wise to walk back on my own in the dark.
June 19th-Happy Birthday Vanessa! Miss you baby cakes! Today I set out just after 10 to explore New Orleans. I got a day pass for the street car (which looks the same as a tram) and headed to the French Quarter for breakfast. Afterwards I set about making my way to the bicycle tour office. They only run tours in the morning as it gets too hot in the afternoon. I can verify this as I'm fairly sure I've burnt the bak of my legs :/ I think the only thing I haven't burnt this holiday are my feet! So I'm booked on the tour for tomorrow.
I decided to head to the garden district as apparently famous people live there.....I didn't see any. I did however do my own little walking tour with a map someone gave me of the old mansions. I came across the house of Benjamin Button which was pretty cool...love that film! The houses really do have porches with little swings on 😊 There was also a cemetery that everyone was looking around with big tombs...I meandered through quickly as it seemed a bit weird.
I then took myself off to the cinema and watched an okayish film. The best bit was you pressed a button in your seat and a waitress came to take your order for food and drink. I then got myself back on my street car and headed downtown, past my hotel and to a live jazz bar.....be rude not to whilst I'm in the home of jazz! 😊 So I sat at the bar with my pimms cocktail and grub chilling out....gotta carry ID everywhere here...young features see. A surgeon walked in in his scrubs and hat for a Chardonnay....all I kept thinking was 'oh my god the risk of infection!'
June 20th-I was up and out on the street car this morning to get to my bike ride. I love these....I could do them in every city! They said I could just rent a bike but where's the fun in that? We visited Jackson square and St. Louis church first before riding through an area full of creole cottages. We then went through the jazz national historical park to Congo square which is the birth place of jazz. We then stopped at a different cemetery to the one yesterday.....this one has a tomb shaped like a pyramid that Nicholas Cage has bought for when he dies. Seems strange visiting an empty grave. We finished our tour on the waterfront.
I placed myself nicely across the street after the tour in a French market cafe. Afterwards I decided to make my way to city park on the street car. They have green ones for downtown and red for uptown (I think). When I got there I assessed the map and decided to head to the equine farm.....the lady in the administration office said it's a bit of a walk. I stupidly decided to do it in the midday sun and I'm sure it was hotter today than yesterday. The walk took forever....it must have been at least an hour! I should've given up when the path disappeared and I was walking alongside the road. When I got there I discovered it was just a stables and riding lessons. There were no bus stops and no water. I very nearly cried as I began the long journey back. I finally got there and downed a coke and water.
My little tram took me back to the centre where I stocked up on goodies in Walgreens (Boots) and headed back to my hotel. I've got a red neck, red arms and red lower legs. The lines above my knees are horrendous! I can't wait to meet my new group tomorrow....I'm so frigging bored! It is fun exploring though.
June 21st-Longest day of the year and first day of summer 😊 So today I met my new tour buddies yay! We checked in and then hit the French Quarter. For lunch I had this amazing crab and tomato soup that was like the size of my head! In the evening we did what I'd been waiting the most for....party! We went for a 3 course dinner and then hit Bourbon Street. I drank these big green drinks known as hand grenades....two of them and I was tiddled! People stand on the balconies of buildings and ask the girls to flash their boobs and you get free bead necklaces. I got some without flashing 😊 We made it home around 1ish and the room was spinning. I must have been drunk as I had to be reminded of events in the morning. My roommate is Zoe and she's lovely.....an Aussie. Most of my group are so I'm gonna hopefully line up some places to stay 😊 xx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.218s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 43; dbt: 0.0723s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb