Flowers in your hair

Our second last stop on our epic trip away was one of the places I had been looking forward to all along- San Francisco! I had heard so many good things about the city from so many people, so I couldn't wait to check it out for myself.

Boy- did it deliver!! I almost instantly fell in love with the place. The weather, the people, the music, the bars, the surrounding nature- it really is pretty special.

We had a (HUGE) wander on our first day. Seriously. We walked pretty much... everywhere!!

We were staying in the famous and very central union square, and from the first wandered down through China town! Which was pretty cool I thought- quite clean (for a China town- in my experience!) and long, with lots of different (well, let's face it, most of the knick-knacks are exactly the same) shops and things to see.

Then we moved into Little Italy, where we stumbled upon this rather impressive church! Incidentally, this is where Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio!

Of course we had to walk along the waterfront. I always love a city with a good harbour. Having grown up in consistently dry and drought-plagued Canberra, I really appreciate what a waterfront can do for the vibe of a city. The whether, the activities, the atmosphere- it's almost guaranteed to be happening along the water!

Ahhh shhit this was a bit ridiculous- there were like 200 sealions sun baking, squealing, playing dead, roaring and pooping on the wharf- it was the funniest thing! But it was almost even funnier seeing all the tourists (well.. we were included in this for a while..) scrambling to to see them, they were seriously almost falling in/ over each other for the best spot to see the (rather smelly) creatures.

Just a little lollypop ;)

So much awesome street art everywhere! In fact, so much art generally- we perused many a corner art gallery! So much creativity going on.

I thought this was a good background for an impromptu photo shoot. Because I'm just that glaaam! Ha!

The painted ladies. AND a film being shot behind me! Who knows, maybe I'm in the backdrop of something famous.

Mac and Cheese in Castro district! Was actually so yuuummo!

Tim doing as he was instructed! (Yes. He is dancing. Not pretending take a shit. hahaha kidding, babe- you're a great dancer!)

You've seen a lot, I can tell. Wise looking man in a street of murals- really awesome place.

If you're going to San Fransisco... you know how it goes! <3

SO this barely touches on San F- I have so many more photos! So I just might do another post on it! Being that it was definitely one of my favourite places, I think it deserves it!! X

Vivaa Las Vegas!

It has been more than 2 weeks now since we returned- so these posts are a bit behind schedule, but I'm loving looking through all the photos and laughing at the silly, fun, amazing moments we had! 

Vegas is one of those places that you 'must see'. Because it is tacky, because it is an icon, because it is in your face- it's Vegas! I had fairly low expectations to be honest- I thought it would be superficial, exploitative and kind of sad and really not my thing- and in some respects, I was right. BUT, that being said- we actually ended up having SO much fun!

 This was my dessert. At the breakfast buffet. Because- you know- I could.

We stayed at Treasure Island- one of the many resorts on the main strip of Vegas. It was one of the old hotel/casinos- and was delightfully trashy- complete with pirate themed decor and a 'Wenches of Treasure Island' show out the front! It had everything we needed- many (actually good- and cheap!) restaurants, comfy beds in big rooms, and one of our many opportunities to gamble to our heart's desires (which was severely limited by our wallets, mind you).

 Classiest man I know!

It's a funny place really. Sightseeing involves walking through one giant casino/hotel with some extravagant theme to another. It also involves people watching, drinking and gambling. We did a lot of the first two, a little of the other for fun, and came out happy, confused, enchanted, mesmerised and amused. We met a few absolutely charming, helpful and funny people- a few old locals who gave us perspective on the place in its hey day, and others for whom the city had more charm away from the extravagance and craziness of the main strip and where there are actually real people living. We didn't really see that side to the city apart from in stories, but I guess that comes with being a tourist and having limited time. But it was fun to hear about another side to such a famous city.

Pretending to be fancy at the bathrooms of Caesar's palace

The Bellagio Fountain show was pretty spectacular really- done to the theme song of Viva Las Vegas- of course!!

Drinks at the Paris Las Vegas (which comes equipped with a model Eiffel Tower and views of the fountain show)

Sometimes you just can't take life so seriously. Yes, Vegas is consumeristic, extravagant and ridiculous- but we had an amazing few days absorbing all the crazy.

On the border

Sometimes the accidental places you end up end up being the most special. We weren't planning on stopping in this little seaside town on the border between the US and Canada- but we are so glad we did. 

Anacortes is a sleepy little town on the US side of the border where my Dad's cousin Ros and her husband live. It was so lovely of them to spontaneously offer to have us stay, and we had such a wonderful, relaxing time with them.

Little bit colder than the beaches we're used to at home- but still beautiful!

Deer in the garden!

Such wonderful hosts and lovely people, thank you Ros and John so much for your hospitality!!

This was a little stop we made on the way back to Vancouver airport- where we were flying back into the States- next stop Vegaas baby.

We had some farewell Caesar's in the airport to say a final goodbye to our adopted home. I wish I could have one of those right now! <3

Keep it weird.

It feels a little weird writing this as it seems like a lifetime ago we were in the US, let alone Portland, which wasn't even the last stop... We got home a few days ago, and it really is lovely to be home. But it's also great to reminisce, so I'll do a few posts on the last couple of weeks before moving onto anything from here!

Portland was a bit of a random choice of city to venture to- we knew pretty much nothing about it, but it happened to be a cheap bus ride away from Seattle and we had some time left to explore the US, so we decided to give it a try!

I'm so glad that we did. Portland is like a smaller, cleaner, greener little brother of Seattle- a bit of a hippie town with a million pubs and bars, coffee shops and organic cafes, book stores and thrift shops. We wandered the city, drank coffee and beer, ate hot dogs and donuts, justified shopping despite absolutely no room left in our luggage, and admired the relaxed, clean, pretty Portland style.

Speaking of donuts- this was one thing we had heard of before we got there- the (somewhat) famous Voodoo donut shop- complete with a compulsory line out the door.

We gave them a try, (and of course Tim had the girlier pink and coconut-flaked one), and they were alright. Nothing spectacular (my lemon filling had a distinct artificial tang, and Tim's was dry, really), but there you go.

Tim being a creeper in the Tugboat Pub and Brewing Co, which was an adorable old pub with so much character and great beer, too. Plus we played cluedo- what could be better!

There was lots of awesome street art and sculptures

I mentioned before that Munro's books in Victoria was the best book store I had found up until that point.. well, that all changed when we found POWELLS. It is an amazing emporium of 3 levels and many many rooms of new and used books, with great displays, amazing prices, reading rooms and an amazing cafe. It was so awesome, I could have spent days in there.

See anything wrong with this picture? Tim grew rather attached to his mane-like lumberjack hat.

Then the time finally came. To say goodbye to our newfound lovely city, but most importantly- our awesome little travel companion. Gemma has since skipped, hopped (or maybe flown) over to Boston, Tokyo and now Brisbane, before eventually returning to her native kiwi home. It was a great adventure for those weeks with you, we miss you!! See you in NZ, friend. x