Category: USA

This is L.A.

Reading Time: 18 minutes
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Venice Beach, L.A. (April 2017)

I have been to L.A. many times. My first visit was as a child, aged 9, with my family. I returned when I was 23, with my boyfriend (now hubby), and we have been another 7 times since then, mostly as a couple, twice with our children. We all love this city. It’s big, diverse and has a great climate. There’s something to offer for everyone, whatever your tastes or interests.

We often return to the same places, each time relieved to see only subtle changes, generally for the better. Although we like going back to places we know, we also try to discover and experience something new each time.

Apologies in advance, this post is quite long – I have so much to say about this city. Hopefully you will find my tips useful if you are planning a visit!

This is L.A. Continue reading “This is L.A.”

Why you should visit Palm Springs

Reading Time: 11 minutes
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs at dusk (July 2015)

The first time we visited Palm Springs was July 2015. Our first impression couldn’t have been better. We arrived on a Wednesday evening, a little tired after driving from San Diego and a day at Legoland with our two children, then aged 11 and 8. After checking in at our accommodation, we all walked up the quiet main street to look for somewhere for dinner. Timed perfectly with the sunset, we saw gorgeous musky pink colours reflecting off the palm trees and buildings, hazing over the surrounding mountains. The vibe of the town was relaxed with a vintage feel, thanks to the architectural design and resort style of houses & buildings, combined with interior artwork and retro décor. I felt like I had stepped back in time and almost expected to bump into Elvis or some other old movie star. We all instantly fell in love with this town.

PS Florist (May 2017)

Despite what you might hear, Palm Springs is not just a place for retirees. There’s a great selection of things to do, as well as bars and restaurants, appealing to all generations. It’s also very stylish. Walking back from a restaurant later at night and browsing in the windows of the art and furniture stores, you will always see something interesting and unusual that catches your eye.

Continue reading “Why you should visit Palm Springs”

How to survive a day at Death Valley

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Death Valley, California, USA (May 2017)
Death Valley (May 2017)

Having driven past the signs for Death Valley several times on our way to Las Vegas, this is a destination we have always wanted to visit but were discouraged due to the extreme heat. According to the nps website it can reach 120F (49C) on a summer’s day and others claim this to be the ‘hottest place on earth’.

When we were planning 3 nights in Las Vegas for May 2017 and considering new places to experience during the day, I wondered if being Spring, this might be an ok time of year to visit Death Valley? We only had one free day due to other attractions we wanted to see around Vegas, so I started researching to see if a day trip would be possible. I was pleased to learn it was a manageable 2 hours drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley Junction and that you can visit quite a few of the ‘must see’ popular spots in one day. Although I also discovered that even though we would be going in early May, it could still be quite hot… low 100’s!

We decided to go for it, and thanks to research and careful planning, this turned out to be a successful trip. However, I will say straight up, while it is possible to visit as a day trip from Las Vegas, there is a lot to see in Death Valley and if you truly want to appreciate this national park and intend to do some hiking, you should consider an overnight stay or two.

Fortunately, it all worked out and turned out to be a very enjoyable, although long, day. We made it to all but one of our planned stops.

This was our route plan: Continue reading “How to survive a day at Death Valley”

Family road trip to Grand Canyon

Reading Time: 11 minutes
The Grand Canyon’s South Rim, Arizona, USA (July 2015)
The Grand Canyon (July 2015)

Ok, so when someone says they visited the “The Grand Canyon” you need to ask them to clarify which part – it is absolutely enormous! Unfortunately, we could only squeeze 2 nights into our itinerary for our visit, so after doing my research I decided we would visit the South Rim. On most accounts that I read during my research, this was the most spectacular – the real Grand Canyon. Not to detract from the other parts, but we couldn’t see it all…. So South Rim it was.   As it turned out, 2 nights (one full day) really wasn’t enough time to spend there either; there was so much more we could have done and seen, although from the children’s perspective, that was probably the extent their attention span could manage.

This was another trip that turned out to be a success, with all the planning working out well.  Here are my tips and our experience of our road trip and visit to The Grand Canyon: Continue reading “Family road trip to Grand Canyon”