Travel Bug
Firstly, sorry that it's been so long since my last ramble. I will admit that it's probably seemed slack on my part, however I suppose I was just so overloaded with doing something everyday and writing all about it in my journal.
Let me tell you, that journal is stuffed cover to cover.
So let me share some highlights of the trip with you;
London
Do you really need me to say it? There is no place like London. Not to me - no matter how many times I go, the feeling of just stepping out of Heathrow and onto the Tube is like a big exhale and release. It's so nice to be there every time and I'm content with just sitting at a coffee shop, reading my book and soaking up the atmosphere. The layer upon layers of history and stories and ghost stories and legend are all so real just walking through the streets that I can barely even keep it together or the smile off my face when I'm around. You'd be doing well to get as excited by just walking through Covent Garden as I am.
But I'd have to say the highlight of London this time for me was probably finally getting to do the Jack the Ripper walking tour I'd always wanted to do. I got to track back through under the Roman wall and into Whitechapel, retracing through what was left of the original murder scenes after the WWII Blitz. (Yeah, thanks Hitler. Dick.) The only location left in a relative similar state was Mitre Square, and for anyone who's seen the show Whitechapel with Rupert Penry Jones will recognise it as one of the more action packed sequences. But not only was the tour very informative and simply exciting, but I learnt a lot more I didn't know like about theories surrounding who the Ripper was, and that the Ten Bells (the pub many of the victims used to drink in, as seen in From Hell) actually still stands in the same place and serves alcohol. Additionally, I was surprised to note that no plaques or information was around the locations to commemorate the murders. But the reason for that, government decided, was that no matter how famous the murders and the speculation Jack the Ripper was still a serial killer, and serial killer's don't get public commemoration. Good point, London.
Universal Studios, Hollywood
Anyone who's ever been to Hollywood will know that it very much lacks the glam and glitz that Entertainment Weekly and all seem to portray that it does. It wasn't my first time LA (3rd) and it probably won't be my last either, but I still enjoyed it all the same. My goal was even to make it out of Hollywood, and I did, but when you extract the movie element from the City of Angels you're not left with too much else to work with. Contrary to popular belief, LA is kind of a dump; it's a big, spread out city with a lot of run down and ill kept areas, terrible public transport and not much going for it in the history sense. Which is odd when you consider that Zorro was set in Southern California and there's a big Spanish Influence. Though that in mind, the La Brea Tar Pits were definitely worth seeing if you're at all interested in prehistory (like I am) or simply excited by large Sabre Tooth tigers and mammoths.
But like I said the best part of Hollywood is without a doubt all the glam and glitz of the film industry...which is a little less glammy in person than you probably think. Armed with nothing but time and opportunity, I attacked Hollywood with a vengeance and managed to do tours of all three major film studios available to the public, including Warner Brothers, Paramount and Universal. Whilst Warner Brothers was excellent (Friends couch, anyone?) Paramount was perhaps the better of the private tours, with a very in depth excursion offered through the sets, backlots and sound stages of the studio. Now, I didn't see a celebrity - I've never seen one in America to date - but I did get to see the sets and props for quite a few movies and tv shows that I like including Harry Potter, Friends, Glee, American Horror Story and Ellen. Though when I whittle down to my upmost favourite studio tour, I can't get past the epic awesome that is Universal Studios. Unlike the first two, Universal is a theme park along side the backlot and sound stages with an awesome selection of rides like Jurassic Park and the Mummy, exciting shows like the Animal Actors, Shrek 4D and the Special Effects show, and then everything in between. Perhaps one of my best moments was watching Beetlejuice strut around and rummage through the garbage can nearby - fans of the Tim Burton classic will understand - and attempting to eat the mother of all turkey legs. Best day ever.
San Diego
Whilst not originally one of the stops I'd planned to make in America this time, I'm glad that I made it down to San Diego. Whilst LA was spread out, dirty and kind of miserable, San Diego was picturesque and gorgeous and not even because it was less than an hour from Tijuana, Mexico. If you're looking for a chilled atmosphere, great Mexican food (without actually being in Mexico), and some awesome animal fun, then I definitely recommend it and Downtown sure knows how to make it easy for you to get around.
I went with the purpose of hitting up Sea World, and whilst I'm glad I did, Shamu's antics weren't nearly as exciting as I thought they'd be. The real stars of Sea World should have been the Sea Lions and Otter show because hot damn was that the cutest thing ever - I'd definitely go again just to see them. Also, feeding Sea Lions is an experience everyone should have. But despite the awesomeness of the fat-blubbery Sea Lions, San Diego Zoo was a much more exciting place to be. When I ignore the fact that I hiked a few miles from downtown (uphill) to get there, it was a much more enjoyable time than Sea World purely for the fact that it was probably the best zoo ever and filled with the most amazing animals. The black jaguar was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life and I probably could have just watched it for hours. They are truly the most underrated of all creatures.
San Francisco
I have never managed to spend enough time in the City of Cable Cars. I spent longer there by a couple days this time than I did in 2011, but it was no where near enough time to see and do everything that I wanted to. And I say this after having walked over 10 miles around the bay city once again in the fruitless attempt to find the Walt Disney museum. There has got to be a better way to find that place - it's like trying to get to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Rather than any particular place in San Francisco being my favourite (although Alcatraz was pretty amazing) I would have to say the entire city itself was a highlight for me. It was just nice - it was a big city, with a heavy animal culture, nice weather, and a much nicer culture than LA. And then there's a rich history there in Alcatraz and in the bay, the Sea Lions at Pier 39 (who you can hear all the way to Coit tower). I don't want to carry on with all the reasons why, but in so many ways San Francisco may be my favourite city in the United States - I just like it.
Salem
I was a little trepidatious to get to Boston initially since I knew the weather was going to be so cold, particularly since right before then the polar vortex had rampaged through America and left a lot of places in the north and mid-west snowed over with temperatures as low as -30. I was not looking forward to that, but luckily for me by the time my sojourn to Massachusetts did come around, things had warmed up considerably. We were back to a happy -10 or so. I can deal with -10.
I didn't know how much I'd like Boston until I got there, and by that point it was already too late to extend my stay. But the main reason I went was purely to visit the old Puritan town of Salem, just a little south of Plymouth where the Mayflower landed in the 17th century - you know, back when people were miserable and Oliver Cromwell was burning down anything remotely fun (like Shakespeare's Globe). Those of you who have heard of Salem, however, will probably recognise it from a kind of major tragedy that occurred during the year 1692 and is internationally known as the Salem Witch Trials. During 1692, 19 people (and two dogs) were executed by hanging and 'pressing' at the behest of a small group of Puritan girls claiming to be possessed or bewitched by witchcraft. Now, it's more than likely that none of the accused were actually wtiches, and the last victim was officially declared innocent in 2001, but the tragedy goes down in history as a really scary example of mass hysteria and peer pressure. So, obviously, I wanted to go my entire life and even named my black cat Salem (also after the cat in the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch). And let me tell you, even though it was cold, frozen over, and some stuff was closed, it did not disappoint at all. I will definitely be back - hopefully for Halloween one year.
New Orleans
Have you ever been to perhaps the most haunted, tragic city in the world? I have, twice. But I still love it and want to go back for a third.
But New Orleans is definitely a wonderful place even before the sun sets everyday. As one of the oldest and continuously operating places in the entire United States, New Orleans has been the home of pirates, vampires, voodoo priestesses, colonials, southern belles, confederates, cajun and creole people and swinging jazz musicians since 1718. But as you can imagine it has had its fair share of horror and not even the stuff that Anne Rice wrote about. For one thing the French Quarter burned to the ground twice, thousands were felled during the yellow fever pandemic and we haven't even gotten within 100 years of Hurricane Katrina. As sensitive as I am to spirits and ghosts and whatever you want to call them, I had a really hard time being in the French Quarter on my own after dark - not because I didn't like it, I rather loved it, but because I was so scared and I felt it so much. I found myself drinking every night in order to relax a little, and with Bourbon street (the so-called Disneyland for adults) not too far away it was never hard to find a good, strong cocktail. (Side note: the French Quarter does not have laws against street drinking so long as you keep it in plastic - you can walk around with your drinks, like on voodoo, vampire and ghost tours...). One of the best parts was drinking in the oldest bar in the US - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, since 1752 - which not only was haunted, used candles due to a lack of electrial wiring, and was one of the last remaining French buildings left in the Quarter but famous pirate Jean Lafitte and his friends used to drink there. Could that be any more awesome? Pair that with the tons of ghost, vampire and voodoo stories and information I learned from some of the greatest guides ever, and you have a pretty amazing time in New Orleans already. But one last thing: Beignets. Literally, heaven.
Disneyland
Everything is in that one word; it is my Mecca, and genuinely, in my opinion, the Happiest Place on Earth. Had I not needed to, I never would leave.
Anaheim, of all the Disneylands - and I have been to them all! - is probably my favourite. It is the original opened in 1955, and whilst Walt Disney World in Florida with its 4 parks is all kinds of awesome, there's something to definitely be said about the original. From the Indiana Jones ride, to the Little Mermaid and California Screamin'; from Space Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, every trip to Disneyland is a sure thing for a wicked good time. Need I even go on?
So, now that my amazing trip is over, I should mention that whilst I was away I was sadly informed that business had spiralled so badly of late that it was necessary for my job to be made redundant. And whilst I still loved my job I'm actually really glad because you know what this means: London.
There is no need to wait around and start to worry that I'm wasting any time because the time is here. I've actually already booked a tour through Europe for May, something I'm vastly excited for because (you know, apart from the fact that its in Europe) I get to be away for my birthday and for the first time travel somewhere during warmer months. I'm even planning to stay away, volunteer, do some archaeological digs, and travel for 4 months prior to meeting the rest of my family in Singapore to go on a cruise through Asia. But obviously I intend to work in the meantime and I've already been applying.
No matter the heebie jeebies I get, or concerns my family raises with my apparently 'rash' or unreasonable move to get out there, I'm not afraid. I know that this is what I want, I have and will have the means to do so, and that this is the best thing for me to do. I'm only 23, I've got all the time in the world, and it's not as if I haven't thought about it. I'll get another full-time job when I get back, though I've already applied (even in London), and things are going to be fine. I'm an adult and even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it - I do know what I'm doing.
I guess you could say the travel bug caught me, but the adventurous spirit has been inside me my whole life.
Let me tell you, that journal is stuffed cover to cover.
So let me share some highlights of the trip with you;
London
But I'd have to say the highlight of London this time for me was probably finally getting to do the Jack the Ripper walking tour I'd always wanted to do. I got to track back through under the Roman wall and into Whitechapel, retracing through what was left of the original murder scenes after the WWII Blitz. (Yeah, thanks Hitler. Dick.) The only location left in a relative similar state was Mitre Square, and for anyone who's seen the show Whitechapel with Rupert Penry Jones will recognise it as one of the more action packed sequences. But not only was the tour very informative and simply exciting, but I learnt a lot more I didn't know like about theories surrounding who the Ripper was, and that the Ten Bells (the pub many of the victims used to drink in, as seen in From Hell) actually still stands in the same place and serves alcohol. Additionally, I was surprised to note that no plaques or information was around the locations to commemorate the murders. But the reason for that, government decided, was that no matter how famous the murders and the speculation Jack the Ripper was still a serial killer, and serial killer's don't get public commemoration. Good point, London.Universal Studios, Hollywood
Anyone who's ever been to Hollywood will know that it very much lacks the glam and glitz that Entertainment Weekly and all seem to portray that it does. It wasn't my first time LA (3rd) and it probably won't be my last either, but I still enjoyed it all the same. My goal was even to make it out of Hollywood, and I did, but when you extract the movie element from the City of Angels you're not left with too much else to work with. Contrary to popular belief, LA is kind of a dump; it's a big, spread out city with a lot of run down and ill kept areas, terrible public transport and not much going for it in the history sense. Which is odd when you consider that Zorro was set in Southern California and there's a big Spanish Influence. Though that in mind, the La Brea Tar Pits were definitely worth seeing if you're at all interested in prehistory (like I am) or simply excited by large Sabre Tooth tigers and mammoths.But like I said the best part of Hollywood is without a doubt all the glam and glitz of the film industry...which is a little less glammy in person than you probably think. Armed with nothing but time and opportunity, I attacked Hollywood with a vengeance and managed to do tours of all three major film studios available to the public, including Warner Brothers, Paramount and Universal. Whilst Warner Brothers was excellent (Friends couch, anyone?) Paramount was perhaps the better of the private tours, with a very in depth excursion offered through the sets, backlots and sound stages of the studio. Now, I didn't see a celebrity - I've never seen one in America to date - but I did get to see the sets and props for quite a few movies and tv shows that I like including Harry Potter, Friends, Glee, American Horror Story and Ellen. Though when I whittle down to my upmost favourite studio tour, I can't get past the epic awesome that is Universal Studios. Unlike the first two, Universal is a theme park along side the backlot and sound stages with an awesome selection of rides like Jurassic Park and the Mummy, exciting shows like the Animal Actors, Shrek 4D and the Special Effects show, and then everything in between. Perhaps one of my best moments was watching Beetlejuice strut around and rummage through the garbage can nearby - fans of the Tim Burton classic will understand - and attempting to eat the mother of all turkey legs. Best day ever.
San Diego
San Francisco
I have never managed to spend enough time in the City of Cable Cars. I spent longer there by a couple days this time than I did in 2011, but it was no where near enough time to see and do everything that I wanted to. And I say this after having walked over 10 miles around the bay city once again in the fruitless attempt to find the Walt Disney museum. There has got to be a better way to find that place - it's like trying to get to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.Rather than any particular place in San Francisco being my favourite (although Alcatraz was pretty amazing) I would have to say the entire city itself was a highlight for me. It was just nice - it was a big city, with a heavy animal culture, nice weather, and a much nicer culture than LA. And then there's a rich history there in Alcatraz and in the bay, the Sea Lions at Pier 39 (who you can hear all the way to Coit tower). I don't want to carry on with all the reasons why, but in so many ways San Francisco may be my favourite city in the United States - I just like it.Salem
I was a little trepidatious to get to Boston initially since I knew the weather was going to be so cold, particularly since right before then the polar vortex had rampaged through America and left a lot of places in the north and mid-west snowed over with temperatures as low as -30. I was not looking forward to that, but luckily for me by the time my sojourn to Massachusetts did come around, things had warmed up considerably. We were back to a happy -10 or so. I can deal with -10.
I didn't know how much I'd like Boston until I got there, and by that point it was already too late to extend my stay. But the main reason I went was purely to visit the old Puritan town of Salem, just a little south of Plymouth where the Mayflower landed in the 17th century - you know, back when people were miserable and Oliver Cromwell was burning down anything remotely fun (like Shakespeare's Globe). Those of you who have heard of Salem, however, will probably recognise it from a kind of major tragedy that occurred during the year 1692 and is internationally known as the Salem Witch Trials. During 1692, 19 people (and two dogs) were executed by hanging and 'pressing' at the behest of a small group of Puritan girls claiming to be possessed or bewitched by witchcraft. Now, it's more than likely that none of the accused were actually wtiches, and the last victim was officially declared innocent in 2001, but the tragedy goes down in history as a really scary example of mass hysteria and peer pressure. So, obviously, I wanted to go my entire life and even named my black cat Salem (also after the cat in the show Sabrina the Teenage Witch). And let me tell you, even though it was cold, frozen over, and some stuff was closed, it did not disappoint at all. I will definitely be back - hopefully for Halloween one year.New Orleans
Have you ever been to perhaps the most haunted, tragic city in the world? I have, twice. But I still love it and want to go back for a third.But New Orleans is definitely a wonderful place even before the sun sets everyday. As one of the oldest and continuously operating places in the entire United States, New Orleans has been the home of pirates, vampires, voodoo priestesses, colonials, southern belles, confederates, cajun and creole people and swinging jazz musicians since 1718. But as you can imagine it has had its fair share of horror and not even the stuff that Anne Rice wrote about. For one thing the French Quarter burned to the ground twice, thousands were felled during the yellow fever pandemic and we haven't even gotten within 100 years of Hurricane Katrina. As sensitive as I am to spirits and ghosts and whatever you want to call them, I had a really hard time being in the French Quarter on my own after dark - not because I didn't like it, I rather loved it, but because I was so scared and I felt it so much. I found myself drinking every night in order to relax a little, and with Bourbon street (the so-called Disneyland for adults) not too far away it was never hard to find a good, strong cocktail. (Side note: the French Quarter does not have laws against street drinking so long as you keep it in plastic - you can walk around with your drinks, like on voodoo, vampire and ghost tours...). One of the best parts was drinking in the oldest bar in the US - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, since 1752 - which not only was haunted, used candles due to a lack of electrial wiring, and was one of the last remaining French buildings left in the Quarter but famous pirate Jean Lafitte and his friends used to drink there. Could that be any more awesome? Pair that with the tons of ghost, vampire and voodoo stories and information I learned from some of the greatest guides ever, and you have a pretty amazing time in New Orleans already. But one last thing: Beignets. Literally, heaven.Disneyland
Everything is in that one word; it is my Mecca, and genuinely, in my opinion, the Happiest Place on Earth. Had I not needed to, I never would leave.Anaheim, of all the Disneylands - and I have been to them all! - is probably my favourite. It is the original opened in 1955, and whilst Walt Disney World in Florida with its 4 parks is all kinds of awesome, there's something to definitely be said about the original. From the Indiana Jones ride, to the Little Mermaid and California Screamin'; from Space Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, every trip to Disneyland is a sure thing for a wicked good time. Need I even go on?
So, now that my amazing trip is over, I should mention that whilst I was away I was sadly informed that business had spiralled so badly of late that it was necessary for my job to be made redundant. And whilst I still loved my job I'm actually really glad because you know what this means: London.There is no need to wait around and start to worry that I'm wasting any time because the time is here. I've actually already booked a tour through Europe for May, something I'm vastly excited for because (you know, apart from the fact that its in Europe) I get to be away for my birthday and for the first time travel somewhere during warmer months. I'm even planning to stay away, volunteer, do some archaeological digs, and travel for 4 months prior to meeting the rest of my family in Singapore to go on a cruise through Asia. But obviously I intend to work in the meantime and I've already been applying.
No matter the heebie jeebies I get, or concerns my family raises with my apparently 'rash' or unreasonable move to get out there, I'm not afraid. I know that this is what I want, I have and will have the means to do so, and that this is the best thing for me to do. I'm only 23, I've got all the time in the world, and it's not as if I haven't thought about it. I'll get another full-time job when I get back, though I've already applied (even in London), and things are going to be fine. I'm an adult and even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it - I do know what I'm doing.
I guess you could say the travel bug caught me, but the adventurous spirit has been inside me my whole life.
Sam xox
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