A few weeks ago I didn't even know why I booked this trip. I figured it was to go back to San Francisco to meet up with my cousin who was studying there, and travel with a friend that was also going to start in Frisco and oh yeah, I saw a cheap ticket and just booked. And here I was, a few days into my 'trip', discovering another side of the US. I've always gone to Florida, hung out with family, friends, and getting some of that yearly dose of sunshine that I apparently can't live without anymore, but I saw another side and realized that this was why I went!
I flew into San Francisco kind of late at night, my friend from back home got there a day before me, and we met up for dinner. The next morning, we headed out to Fishermans Wharf on the F-train, old trams/trolleys, really cool! From there, we started walking and rented bikes on the way, something I had also done nearly 10 years ago! It seems unreal, but there I was, yet again, (halfway) crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was on our side, a bit of wind and sunny. We returned our bikes and headed towards the Ferry Building for lunch, I had seen a Farmers Market there and was hoping for good food! Most of the stalls were closing, so all we had was a bit of Indian naan bread with dip, delicious :)! Headed back to the city and met up with my cousin for about an hour before we had to head to the airport to catch our flight to Vegas!
After a delayed flight, we picked up our rental car and headed towards the Las Vegas strip! We arrived on a Saturday and since weekends are super expensive around the strip, we spent our first night at a hotel across Fremont Street, the old strip! Anyway, the Las Vegas strip was lit up, lights everywhere! It took forever to cross, but there was so much to see so it was okay. We passed our hotel for the second night, but I'll tell you more about that later ;)!
After check in and being amazed about the people that seem to spent day and night gambling and drinking, we headed out to Fremont Street. Full of life, lights, music, booze, performances, it was chaos, but also so much fun!!! I saw a bunch of stuff 'as seen on tv', such as the Slotzilla zipline and the Heart attack burger place. We walked around for a bit and got a frozen drink before we headed back to the hotel. A couple that I started talking to at the traffic lights kind of followed us inside and were in for drinks and fun, but we were so tired that we just couldn't. The guy gave me a quarter and told me to flick it somewhere back home (for good luck). I promised I would, but accidentally used it at Walmart later on...woops..I also found a Canadian quarter and will have to flick that one back home somewhere instead ;).
We woke up in super fun Vegas and walked on that same street we went to yesterday. It was so different and kind of empty, except for a few drunks (which is what Vegas is for ;)). We had an all American breakfast, checked out and headed towards the Silver and Gold Pawn Shop (as seen on tv), funny stuff. We then headed to Walmart to pick up supplies. The weather was shit so it was ok to be inside and we still had a few hours to kill before check in. We drove back to the Las Vegas Strip 'in search' of our hotel. Ready?! Paris Las Vegas, across from the Bellagio. We got a super good/cheap deal on Hotwire (hotels are cheaper from Sunday to Thursday on the strip anyway). Walking into this hotel was surreal, little shops, and blue (painted) skies. I e-mailed the hotel when we booked stating we were there to celebrate my friends birthday (which was on the Wednesday before) and ask for a room with a view. They told me we could go up to the 11th without extra charge and have a view on the Eiffeltower...or go up to the 32nd floor, it doesn't get higher than that for $45. F*ck it, it's Vegas, so I went for it and holy crap, was it worth it! Our room had a view of the Bellagio, its fountain (show) and the Eiffeltower and of course the strip. The rooms next to us were all suites, so we had done well! The room, the beds, the view, amazing!! Such a shame we only had one night. We walked around the strip and its hotels, the casino's, the shops. Went from Paris, to Venice, to New York, a little world trip, right there in Las Vegas! I played a dollar in each casino and I pretty much played even! I only won in our first hotel and, how could it be any different, in Bellagio! We also went to a Blue Man Group show, fantastic!!! I loved it! I almost got my head squashed by a flying rubber jello-thingy, haha. So much fun though! Enjoyed every last bit of luxury we could before checking out and having yet another all American Breakfast at the Ihop! Bye Las Vegas, until we meet again!
Said goodbye to comfort and luxury as we headed out to a campground at the Grand Canyon National Park! A little road trip from Las Vegas via Hoover Dam to Grand Canyon. I wasn't to impressed with the dam, but all the more with the first sights of the Grand Canyon! We got there just in time for the sunset, beautiful!! We were suppose to go the sunrise the next morning but rain stopped us. My friend had a tent and slept in there since she'll go on visiting more National parks. I slept in the car. It was freezing at night! Must have had something to do with the fact that the elevation was about 7000ft. It was around 4°c if not colder. We stayed in for a bit until the skies cleared. We then headed out for breakfast and the weather just got worse and worse until we ended up in a snowstorm (rain, snow, hail). Luckily we spent most of it in a shuttle bus touring the park, we obviously couldn't see a thing! It was so cloudy and storming. I must say, I kind of liked it. Well I did when I was inside anyway! We headed back to 'our' table at one of the lodges restaurants and waited..the skies cleared again and we headed out to the Rim Trail. The views were AMAZING!! Still a few clouds that passed, but we had such cool views of the Canyon! No sunset that day, but eh we already saw one!
When we arrived back to the campsite, my friends tent hadn't survived the snowstorm, it was wet inside and one of the poles had snapped. So we both spent the freezing night in the car. It seemed colder than the night before and time seemed to be going sooo slow! After packing up and breakfast the next morning, we said our goodbyes and headed in different directions. Mine was towards Tucson, to visit a friend I met in Fiji 3 years ago! So excited to see her and good weather ahead!! It took me 3 shuttle buses and about 8,5hrs to get to Tucson. I've seen some pretty neat stuff on the way. And although I know I am in the US, it feels like I am in a different world from Florida! There's mountains everywhere, giant cactus, people are different too. It's fun to experience a different side of the US! And I had plenty of time to take it all in during my trip towards Tucson.
It is however just as warm as it can be in Florida! Just a more dry heat, very nice! We walked around in the university area for a bit and had dinner at Pei Wei, an Asian place. After that we went home and how could it be any different, before I knew it, I was drinking two drinks at the same time haha, trying out booze I had never seen before. And then off to bed, a real bed again! So nice!!!
I was to decide what to do the next day...and was told we were very close to Mexico, so I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. We went to Nogales, Mexico, just about an hour ride from Tucson.. just like me going to Germany at home. We parked the car, walked to the duty free shop, bought a bottle of alcohol each (that's all you are allowed to 'bring'), walked over the border (very strange, exciting and cool at the same time) and that was all, we were in Mexico!!! Walked around for a bit before walking back to the United States, and that's that. I just 'walked' to Mexico and back! So cool! Anyways, after that we stopped by Xavier Mission, a historic mission, and walked in and around it. And I had my first ever Indian fry bread, flat dough bread, fried in oil. I just had a plain one, but you can also get it with curry or as a taco. Pretty tasty but also oily. We continued to Old Desert Museum, which isn't really a museum, but more a botanic garden/zoo. This is the place to go to see what Arizona has to offer when it comes to wildlife, flora and fauna. It was very sunny and therefor nice to be outside. I saw all kinds of animals and plants. Kind of funny, most of it is also in our zoo back home in the Desert section. So strange to actually be in the place where the animals and plants came from! We ended the night going to a casino nearby, there was a Lynard Skynyrd tribute band playing. We listened to music and tried out our luck. I won about $5 until I cashed out anyway. My friend won about 65$!!
My last day in Tucson, time flies when you're having fun, plus I only would be here for 3 nights anyway. Went to the pool for a bit and laid in the sun. I enjoyed that so much!! After that we went to Happy Hour at Guadalajara, the Margaritas were $4 and ginormous! We then went to A mountain, a big mountain with an A (for Arizona) on it to watch sunset. It was beautiful!! And I was able to see a lot of the city (lights) and mountains too! After sunset we went to the Tanque Verde Swap Meet, a huge outside market. It felt like being back in Mexico, since most people selling and walking around were Mexican. Fun to do though. And there it is, my last night here. Leaving early tomorrow to pick up my rental car and to start my very own road trip!!!
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