Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Helloa! Apologies for the late update, it has been a manic few days. We are now in LA at a very homely hostel which has a family feel to it (a family of about 30 people that is!).
NEW YORK
To see most of Manhattan by foot was quite a feet! Lower Manhattan was our first expedition seeing the likes of Times Square, Finance District, 9/11 site (not the memorial, if you plan to visit this anyone who is reading this, book your visitor pass in advance as this caught us out!) and the saddening views of lower Manhattan which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy (it's a hurricane everyone, not a "Superstorm!!!"). The new World Trade Centre seems half way there and is already quite a sight.
Food was definitely a highlight with the likes of Little Italy and Chinatown and of course.... IHOP! This is International House Of Pancakes to those that don't know of it and makes for a very happy Steve (me).
For Dan's birthday we decided to take him to the Coyote Ugly bar. Made some rather random friends and Laura danced on the bar (again) upon request of the bar maid. Fair play to her as she was the only girl there that rised to the challenge!! Needless to say a hilarious night was had by all (especially Dan) and heavy heads in the morning in time for seeing Upper Manhattan! We marched on up to Central park and visited the BIG piano in FAO Schwartz and finished off our day with amazing night views from the Empire State building where Dan conquered his fear of heights. Well done Dan!
LAS VEGAS
We set off to Vegas on Thanksgiving under the impression we were being picked up in a standard NYC cab however to find a stretch limo waiting for us! Result! After a 6 hour flight and 3 time zones crossed, we arrived in sunny Vegas. Laura nearly throttled a child on the plane upon landing. The noises coming out of this thing resembled something from Jurassic Park! When travelling on the Airport shuttle bus we passed by numerous exotic hotels where people were being dropped off. We were the lasts ones on the bus when we arrived at our hostel which had bars on the windows. Sin City Hostel is pretty basic and we were glad to have brought some sheets to sleep in! Overlooking two wedding chapels, each offering Elvis Impersonators and drive-through option. Classy. After a 45 minute walk we eventually got to the life of the strip. Even for Thanksgiving it still had quite a buzz to it. We checked out the Venetian which had its own river chanels for Gondola rides in with a roof that resembled blue skies! Shortly after we visited the Belagio with the famous dancing fountains outside. What an amazing site when they get going. Check out the video! When our feet began to give up nightfall was upon us and we made our way back noticing that each hotel seems to have its own free show for the strip to view. For example the Mirage hotel has a five minute pyrotechnic show of a Volcano erupting, very cool!
The next day was the day Laura has been looking forward to all year.... turning 30! We went to IHOP... again, then headed to the strip to check in to our luxury for the night. After a few drinks and Margarita we went to watch The Rat Pack is Back at the Rio hotel. Laura then went to try her luck at the Black Jack tables only to receive beginners BAD luck where the dealer was dealt Black Jack instantly! She didn't even get to say "Hit Me!" which is what she really was looking forward to! We finished the night up with dinner and more drinks.
The final day we finished viewing the grand hotels on the strip which each had their own quirks and designs to them.
LOS ANGELES
We got the Greyhound bus which took a good 6-7 hours getting caught up in long weekend traffic. Full blog to follow as we are getting sighs from nearby lodgers as we are taking too long. So until next time! Hope you are all doing well.
S & L
- comments
Brenda Pooran Great to finally get some news from you - sounds hectic and exciting. Don't forget to email the Fiji hotel about your late arrival and maybe you should ask for ackowledgement of this. lots of love
Liz Ahh your trip is sounding amazing! Loving hearing about it & look forward to the next update! Hope you're enjoying everything so far? X x
Fi It sounds like you're all having lots of fun! :) Matey, I'm glad you got to see the Big piano without the fear of possibly vommig on it this time ;) hee hee. Enjoy Fiji you lucky things!! Looking forward to the next update xxx
Meech so glad to hear your news. it's all so exciting. living vicariously. HUGS!
Lis Aww im loving this guys! keep em coming :) X