American Roadtrip! Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam

Last week I had a post showing some of the things my boyfriend and I did on holidays when we were in LA. We also went on a road trip as my boyfriend really wanted to go to Las Vegas. And so I decided if we were going to Vegas, I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon! So we rented a car and off we went for three days.

First off we left LA and headed for Vegas. It took us 4 hours to drive there. At first I was nervous about the drive, as the drivers in LA can be a bit erratic! But my boyfriend coped really well at driving on the other side of the road! The trip there was tiring so by time we checked in I really needed a nap (so rock ‘n’ roll!) so after that grabbed something to eat and walked down the Vegas Strip at night. As we were staying at the Circus Circus hotel, we walked down as far as the Bellagio to see the fountains, stopping along the way to look at the other hotels, specially the canals in the Venetian. Vegas is a whole other world! It’s great for people watching and if you’re a party person, you’ll probably love going there! I’m not, so I found it a bit overwhelming but I did enjoy the people watching aspect and all the crazy hotels. The heat though! At midnight I was still in a t-shirt because it was so so warm out. It was glorious standing by the fountains and other water features because it gave some relief!

 

Clockwise from top left: Circus Circus hotel, Bellagio Hotel, canals inside Venetian hotel, Bellagio fountain show

 

The next day we got up early to drive to Grand Canyon! We decided to go to the Southern Rim as I’d heard the views there were the best but it did mean it took us 5 hours to drive there. And 5 hours back! Was it worth it though? Yes it was! In hindsight we should have stayed the night closer to there as it was a lot of driving but I’m just so happy we went. It truely is breath taking and I really want to read up more on the history of the place. We also got to travel on parts of Route 66, including posing with some vintage cars at a gas stop.

American flag was at half mast at Grand Canyon (and most other places) because of the tragic events in Orlando, Florida at the weekend

When we arrived back in Vegas that night we ate at our hotel, had a few drinks and gambled to help us wind down after the long day. Unfortunately I didn’t win the jackpot otherwise I’d be off somewhere right now! We had a well deserved lie in before checking out, hitting up the breakfast buffet and gift shops before leaving the hotel. We visited the famous Vegas sign, the one thing I really wanted to do in Vegas. It was a good half an hour wait in the swelting sun but it’s a Vegas must do!

Before truly leaving Vegas, we visited Sin City Knit Shop so I could pick up some yarn as a present to myself! Then we headed back in the direct of the Grand Canyon but only for an hour. On the way there the previous day we past Hoover Dam but didn’t have a chance to stop. We decided we’d detour there before heading back to LA. The first thing we did was go on the Memorial Bridge, which looks down over the dam. It is THE windiest place I’ve ever been! Then we went to have a look around Hoover Dam itself. We were too late to do any of the tours but there’s still enough to look at and read without doing that. It’s actually pretty fancy looking! There’s so much beautiful Art Deco design and the doors are gold! Probably not real gold but there’s such an element of decadence. The heat that day was unreal. LA was hot too but being by the sea seemed to make it easier. Being in the desert the heat was unrelenting!

 

View from Memorial Bridge, look down on Hoover Dam; View from Hoover Dam looking up at Memorial Bridge; vintage cars at Route 66 gas stop

After Hoover Dam, we drove back to LA, stopping at a Walmart for some essentials and to stretch our legs. I never looked at the food section when I was in there and I’m kicking myself as I probably would have found some interesting Oreo flavours! I was too busy looking at the beauty bits and obsessed with finding nail polish heaven which I didn’t find. I wanted rows upon rows of shelves of nail polishes and didn’t really come close. But I did find some beauty bits which I’ll share later in the week. After returnign to LA, we had two more days there’s before our flight home. One of those days was at the Emma Cline book event in Skylight Books which I’ll also be blogging about soon!

Christmas Pudding Nails!

Yay it’s December! I’ve been excited for Christmas for a while now and last night I decided to get into the swing of things especially for The Late Late Show. So I put on my new Christmas jumper and did my nails!

I love Christmas puddings as a Christmas symbol (but not to eat!). Two years ago I made myself a Christmas jumper and put a pudding on it. For this nail art design I was inspired by the lovely Lynnie on Beaut.ie (also found on her own blog Lyndar the Merciless)

Colours Used

Brown- Catrice Ulimate Nail Lacquer in CO2 Reggaeton (Cucuba Limited Edition)

White- Art Club

Red- Art Club

Green- Art Club

Black- Wet n Wild in Black Cream

Top Coat- Colour Club

I have a few more Christmas nail ideas which I’ll hopefully get down. I saw a great snowflake design on Behind Green Eyes which is inspired me, check it out here!

25 Before 25: Visit the Aran Islands

Another 25 Before 25 post! I’m enjoying seeing things crossed off the list. But I should really get a move on and complete some more!

The trip to the Aran Islands was the day after surfing and boy did we pick a good day to go! It was so sunny and warm, just lovely! We chose to go to Inis Mór mainly because, if I’m honest, I wanted to go to the Supermacs there! Come on, who doesn’t want to go to Supermacs on the Aran Islands!

We left from Doolin on the Doolin2Aran Ferries. First we passed Inis Oírr and got to see the shipwreck from the opening credits of Father Ted!

When we arrived on Inis Mór, we decided to rent some bikes. Unfortunately this dinosaur helmet did not fit me!

We cycled around the island until I got too tired and whined that I didn’t want to cycle up any more hills! So we went to the seal beach but unfortunately there was no seals around then. Boo!

And I was thoroughly amused at the Bank Of Ireland they have there.

And finally we got to go to Supermacs! YAY!

And had a drink in the American Bar.

Horsey outside the bar.

And of course, me being the amadáin that I am, I forgot to put on sun cream and got scalded. For shame really, as I’m ALWAYS hassling people to put on sun cream. I usually always put it in but in my sleepiness that morning (and the fact that it was cloudy when we left the house), it completely slipped my mind. Needless to say I will not let that happen again!

BT Art Boxes

The British Telephone box. An icon really. It’s one of those ‘have to take’ photos tourists do when in London (along with a picture of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace). So I when I was wandering around Covent Garden I was curious as to what all the jazzed up and made over telephone boxes were about. Turns out it’s the BT Art Boxes, a project to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee as well as raising money for Child Line’s 25th anniversary by auctioning off the boxes. Here’s some of the pictures I took.

The last two were found at Trafalgar Square. There are loads more dotted around the city, click here to see them (you can also view by map to see what’s close to you). I’m a bit sad I didn’t know about them until I stumbled on them, otherwise I would have made more of an effort to find some more! Especially the one that has been made into a couch! And even though I’m back again in London next week, the exhibition ends on July 16th. So if you are around London before then, keep an eye out for them!

Miss Courtney’s Tearooms, Killarney

I was in Killarney, Co. Kerry at the weekend and when I remembered Miss Courtney’s Tearooms was there, I couldn’t wait to go! It was first opened in 1909 by the current owner’s great-aunt.

It was a rainy day, so my boyfriend and I were glad to get out of the rain. The place was busy and we had to wait for a seat but we didn’t mind. First thing that struck me was the decor. It’s amazing! I loved the retro vibe, the old black and white photos on the wall, the table cloths, the china cups hanging off the chandler. I’m a sucker for places like this, it reminds me of a cafe closer to hand called The Potter’s Hand in Kilrush, Co.Clare.

There was lots to choose from on the menu, the list of teas alone takes up a whole page. While the afternoon tea was tempting, I had missed breakfast and wanted something more. So I went with the scrambled Eggs with griddled pancetta and toasted focaccia.

Himself had vegetable soup and brown bread. I loved the way the butter is shaped.

I couldn’t resist a cake so I decided to go with the coffee one (even though if I’m honest, I would have tried them all!).

One of my favourite things about Miss Courtney’s is the fact that all the china and cutlery are all miss-matched. It adds a certain charm to the place.

 

I’d love to go back to Killarney again some day and when I do, this place will be top of the list!

October Recap: London Part 1

I got to go to London the last week of October. Let me say I love London, so so much. I don’t know why but it’s a place I could visit over and over again and not get bored.

Anyway, I spend 5 days in London. Well, 4 really as I spent my first night and second day visiting friends in Oxford! Here’s a quick recap of my first 2 days.

After roughly 3 hours of sleep, I got up and headed to the airport with 4 friends (and a fifth met us at Stansted). From here, I went onto Westfield’s Stratford and met up with Lex, from bonjour, l’amour. We had a great day shopping, laughing and having fun, even though we did have wait 45 minutes for our lunch from GBK. Best shop was probably Forever 21, you could get lost in there looking at everything!

Lex on the giant shoes in New Look!

After Lex caught her train I did a bit more shopping and then headed to Paddington Station to catch a train to Oxford! When I arrived, Beth had made me a yummy dinner (as well as some delicious brownie cheesecakes!) and after we had some wine, chats and old music. And then to bed, which looked like this

The next day we did some shopping and went to lunch with Angela, looked at some of Oxford’s pretty scenery, had some Krispy Kreme donuts, saw a hotel that was once a prison and took advantage of Happy Hour! I was sad to leave Oxford as I was having a great time. And I wish our friend Donna could have been there too.

 

Yummy lamb burger for lunch; Pretty Oxford

Donuts! And the prison hotel

Beth, Angela and me.

That afternoon I went back to London to meet my cousin and my friends for a Jack the Ripper Walk! We went with Ripping Yarns and had a great time with our tour guide Dickie. The walk was about 2 and half hours long and brought us around a lot of the East End, through places like Brick Lane, Whitechapel and Spitalfields, showing us places where Jack the Ripper victims lived, worked and died. It’s very entertaining and well worth the £7. After we ate and then I headed back with my cousin to her house to catch up on some sleep!

St. Boltoph’s Church, Aldgate. Also know as “Church of Prostitutes”.

(last picture from http://www.jack-the-ripper-tours.com/)