Why don't we have this in Europe!!

After Vegas we needed a break from alcohol-fuelled lifestyle and headed to visit some of America's most gorgeous natural wonders. So on Friday we drove to Utah to see the Zion national park. I did not see much on the way as I slept the entire 3,5h drive there. We ended up getting a motel room near the park, for only $40, which is a positive drop from the over $60 rooms in California. The next morning we woke up early and headed to Zion, since we were driving the admission fee was $25 per vehicle. Totally worth the money after seeing the beauty of it.

 Hiking time

 Oh deer!

After a long day of hiking and driving we decided to try out alternative accommodation and ended up setting up a tent in a camping site in a place called Page about halfway between Zion and Grand Canyon. Turns out camping isn't exactly the American way to do it as there was only one other couple camping out in a tent while everyone else had their flashy RVs. At first I was excited about the idea of camping as we had brand new sleeping bags and other camping stuff we had bought from Walmart, there was even free wifi in our tent!Electronic outlets and what not. As one can imagine, the sleeping experience wasn't for my personal taste as it got freezing outside and I had a youth sleeping bag (thought i was being smart and saving money), which I couldn't even fit in so I eventually ended sleeping in the car (which was also freezing). After a shit night's sleep we headed to Antelope Canyon only a 10-minute drive from the camp site. This place is owned by the Navajo people of Arizona so we were lucky enough to have a young native American tour guide educating us on the interesting stories about this AMAZING place. This cost $26 per person but was by far the most mind-blowing thing we have seen so far.

 How can this even exist!

One of Antelope's thousands of crazy walls

After Antelope we made a quick stop at the Horseshoe bend in the Colorado River as we had seen a picture of it in a local brochure. This place is free to visit and again, blows your mind. It's literally next to a highway, yet easy to miss if you're not reading the sign on the side of the road. 

Big horseshoe. i mean, HUGE. (notice the tiny white dots on the bottom of it, they're tents)

Back on the road again, we now started racing the sun to the Grand Canyon. We barely made it as it was about 5mins to sunset when we finally got there. After driving in the national park we stopped at the very first view point called the Desert View, and it sucked. Maybe due to the position of the sun, we just couldn't see much so we drove a bit further to the next view point (Grand view point), which fortunately did not disappoint. 

Grand Canyon was grand.

After it got really dark we left the park to go find a place to sleep in. We drove about 2h to a town called Flagstaff where we again ended up getting a motel room. We had planned to spend the entire next day on the road as our next destination was Santa Fe, New Mexico. Thank goodness we saw a sign on the side of the highway pointing to a meteor crater. Curious what this place would be, we took a turn and discovered the coolest thing in the world. At first we assumed it would be just a shitty hole on the ground, probably the size of a house maybe. But no, it was a gigantic hole on the ground created by a meteor from outer space 50,000 years ago. I'm not that into space stuff but the tour we got was SOO INTERESTING!

Alien landing?

After this unexpected space lesson we continued our way to Santa Fe, which was 5h away. That night we also had our first couch surfing experience at cool people's house in Santa Fe. And these cool people happened to have 2 puppies, which made this experience priceless. So today we drove from Santa Fe to Roswell, the alien capital of America. We are now reporting from a motel room in Roswell.  Will get back to you soon. Roger.  

What happens in Vegas...gets posted on here

Despite our hotel being the tallest tower in Vegas we seemed to have trouble finding it, ending up driving up and down the strip which is not a quick affair seeing as the lights seem to stay on red for about 10 minutes at a time. Gave us a chance to soak up the illuminations which are just plain crazy. We arrived at our hotel and good things started happening already. We managed to get a room upgrade for next to nothing and ended up on the 19th floor at the Stratosphere hotel with a view looking out over Vegas.

Our first day in Vegas was Petra's birthday. After spending the day sunning by the pool (in late november) we decided to go have a birthday meal date. Obviously there was no better place than Hooters! Surprisingly the food was pretty damn good and cheap. We had to get the wings as they are famous for them. 15 sauces to choose from. Found it pretty funny that there were so many kids there especially the large group of 10 year old boys that walked in. They were loving the waitresses.

After hooters we went back to the hotel to meet up with some people we had contacted on couch surfing. We met Tim and Rik our new dutch friends at the tower and after buying small cans of budweiser for $7 each we decided to go somewhere cheaper. Another couch surfing friend took us to a bar outside the strip that had karaoke and $2 pints. We could put up with a bit of crap singing for drinks that cheap. With drinks flowing nicely and a bit of dancing with some 40 year old party animals we left with the two dutch guy to head for the strip.

First stop was Bills Saloon where Petra found her love of blackjack as well as the free drinks brought round by the waitresses. Despite Riks expert guidance Petra managed to lose her money in the next casino although found an amazing tactic for winning it all back without having to gamble. Whining about losing loudly and drunkenly until someone feels sorry for you and gives you everything you have just lost back. Yes this did happen.

Overall the night was a huge success. Lots of casino fun, even a quickie at the legendary Ceasar's Palace, which is totally not designed for cheap traveller fun. Minimum bet for the bar machines $30 so our tactic of pretending were playing until we get served free drinks didn't go as planned and we ended up paying crazy money for the drinks we accidentally ordered. Do note that this does work in most places though. Hence getting hammered in Vegas is very cheap.

The original plan was to leave Vegas the next day as we had only booked the hotel for 2 nights. Somehow Vegas sucked us in for an extended stay and despite the worst hangover ever experienced the next day we somehow ended up repeating the birthday night, but unfortunately cannot write too much about it as none of us remember much. All we know is that we didn't get back to the hotel until 6am the next day. For this I blame the best 24h drunk food selection including fatty diners all over the strip. Check-out was at 11am so you can only imagine how fun it was to wake up and pack our backs. Hangover breakfast/lunch was enjoyed at the infamous Señor Frog's, where the food was rather disappointing. So if you wanna go there, make sure you only go there to drink. Saying goodbye to our new crazy friends, we finally hit the road heading to Utah. More on the national parks in the next post.

Birthday meal at Hooters!

Petras casual takeaway margarita from Hooters

Petra and her gambling partner Rik

Probably the one and only $100 bill I will hold on this trip

Us with Rik outside the 'real' Trevi Fountain

Couchsurfing friends. My have had a few by this time.

Us with Rik and Tim at the Jack Daniels piano bar

We totally finished the whole bottle and that was the last memory

California Roadtripping

 Okay this post will be a quickie as we're now in a hurry to get to Hooters. So, long story short, we have now made it to the Sin City after lots of driving. On Sunday we picked up our rental car from San Fran after which we headed down to LA through the scenic  Highway 1. Too bad we missed most of the amazing views as it got dark around 4.30pm. But the bits we did get to see did not disappoint. Amazing ocean view when driving on the cliffs, and we did witness a pretty amazing sunset from the gorgeous Californian coast.

Before hitting the road we had to join the other 100 tourists checking out the famous Lombard street in SF. 

After it got dark theres not much else to say about the drive other than the fact that it seemed to last forever. After 10h of solid driving we gave up and crashed at Motel 6 just outside LA. My first motel experience was not very amazing. Shitty.To be frank. And it cost over $60. 

Woke up early the next morning to get to LA in time to sort out our Chinese visa mess. Here are the good news; we did get to submit the applications!So in yo face San Fran consulate! Overall, this consulate was sooo much better and ran so smoothly we had no problems with anything. To celebrate, I dragged Tony to a girl's heaven on earth: American Apparel Factory Outlet. The factory store itself was just like any AA anywhere, nothing special but the gigantic and apparently famous flea market that covered an entire floor in this huge building was something you won't find anywhere else. and CHEAP (for American Apparel). I ended up getting the perfect hoodie I've been looking for, for only $30 and  one of their classic long-sleeves for $12. Conclusion, anyone who likes AA will find this place a paradise.  

Outside the American Apparel headquarters and factory

That night we walked around Hollywood, which was such an anti-climax. Hollywood Blv was pretty gross to be fair, everything was expensive and crazy commercial. But since we were there, we couldn't resist the temptation and went into the Disney diner/shake shop for a $9 Mickey Mouse sunday. Again, nothing special. 

Having had enough of Hollywood mania, we went to Korea town to see Skyfall. Man we liked it! After the movie we finally decided to try out in-and-out Burger. Now thats what I'm talking about!No wonder this chain is praised by mr. Bourdain and rest of Americans. 3 burgers on the menu, back to basics, and hand down the best fast food burgers ever!That night we stayed in a pretty shitty hostel (Paradise Backpackers or something) in the famous semi-ghetto of Inglewood. And guess what, the beds had bed bugs!And guess who got bit by them, me, Petra. So NEVER stay in this dump. Waking up the next morning after having slept for about 2 hours, we headed to the Chinese consulate hoping to get our visas but that would have been too good to be true. Long story short we were told we would have to wait till next monday to pick them up, which considering our plans, was disastrous news. So now we are using an agency to collect them and send them to us. After a hassle at the consulate we started our drive to vegas.

The drive was five hours of not a lot other than dusty mountainous terrain with the odd little town every  once in a while. Vegas was like a glowing beacon on the horizon as we arrived towards sunset.

Okay, times running out so will fill you in more on Vegas later.

Tony at the pool in the Vegas Hotel

Stuck in America?

First a little recap of yesterday's crazy events:

Well, hopefully we won't get stuck in America. Unfortunately we won't be sure until next week when were making an emergency visit to the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. Turns out, the Chinese in San Fran didn't really dig us that much as they decided to deny us even an opportunity to apply for a visa, and told us to go back to Europe to apply for one. Apparently you have be a permanent resident in the US in order to apply for it here. Panicking, we decided to finally get a US sim card so we could start sorting this mess out. The chinese consulate in LA was much more optimistic when we called them and they told us we can apply for a visa, despite the fact we are only here as tourists. Anyway, long story short, hopefully by Tuesday we will have good news and well be able to continue our trip to Asia in January. If not, tough shit. It will be China's loss. Not ours. just kidding. Please please please let us in.

Next thing after the visa hassle, we only just remembered we had booked a trip to Alcatraz starting in about an hour. The weather had also turned against us as it was literally pissing down rain, nevertheless, we weren't going to miss the famous prison tour.

The night tour on the island was OK. Not amazing, but still would recommend it to people who are into prisons. It included an audio tour of the most fascinating events in the prison such as the great escape attempt of some famous guy whose name i can't remember, the bloody battle of Alcatraz when a bunch of prisoners almost managed to escape but ended up dead in the end along with a bunch of prison guards as well as the 3 guys who did in the end manage to escape and still remain unfound. In conclusion, the place itself was pretty damn cool considering it has remained more or less untouched since the mid-1960's when it was closed down for good.

 Cell of one of Alcatraz's famous escapees (and their fake head they left behind)

 Tony enjoying his audio tour

Creepy hospital beds

We ended up taking the earlier ferry back to San Fran from the island as we thought we had seen most of it. Getting back to Oakland was not as smooth though, as AGAIN, we had the worst luck with public transport and ended waiting for a bus back to the house for over 40mins. 

Today we headed up to the famous Mission district since we still hadn't had a chance to visit it properly. It was pretty cool. We got off on Mission St and it felt like we had just stepped into Mexico. Taquerias and local Mexican shops everywhere. We wondered around for a while, found the crazy artsy hipstery street with the most impressive street art ever seen (which Mission is known for). Getting hungry, we asked a local guy for a cheap mexican food place and he directed us to El Farolito, an amazing California ''chain''. Ok Mexican food lovers out there. This place is the shit. Dirt cheap, greasy cheesy authentic Mexican food with an atmosphere. No compulsory tipping, free nacho chips and home-made salsa selection. There was even live music by a bearded Mexican with a broken guitar who was most likely the owner's abuelo. And Mission is full of places like this. Culture/foodwise Mission does really seem to be the hub in San Fran. 

Tony exploring Mission 

 Tony with his £8 huge Enchilada 

Local church with some ''average'' wall art

Okay, now were headed out in Oakland, which should be interesting. Probably will be quite a different experience from SF nightlife as were probably the only tourists in Oakland. 

Holla laterzzz!

P. 

Ghetto Stylin' on the Ghettohound Bus

We have now left Portland and arrived in Oakland CA just across the bay from San Fran. We are staying in cool victorian style house with people we found on airbnb which is a great alternative to couch surfing and hostels as you save money whilst also getting your own room (not just a couch).

On our last night in Portland we went out to celebrate with Morgan and Clayton. It also turned out that the people whose house we were staying in, in Oakland, were up in Portland so we arranged to meet up for a couple of drinks. Pretty random but thats how it goes. The night ended in the usual way with us hitting a couple more bars and making friends with the locals (i.e. three african dudes). This was followed up by Taco Bell which better get its ass to Europe and the Americans can take back Macdonalds and Burger King in exchange.

On the last day a goodbye meal was in order so the four of us went to a Hawaiian joint called Ate-Oh-Ate. Having never had hawaiian there were no expectations other than a recommendation from a Portland local. Hawaiian food is awesome and pretty cheap especially at happy hour. (It must be explained that it is always happy hour at some restaurant any time during the day and the prices plummet during these select hours both for food and drink). $2 veg curry and a pint of Mai Tai for $5. Cannot complain.

The girls discovered an amazing looking dessert and couldn't resist this Hawaiian Coconut Butter Mochi. Apparently popular in Asia as well.

 Petra and Morgan with their rather strong Pint of Mai Tai

 Delicious Mochi with homemade ice cream

Our chosen method of transport to get back to california was Greyhound bus due to the fact it was a hell of a lot cheaper than Amtrak and flying. Can honestly say that spending 15 hours on a dirty bus that smelt as bad as the other passengers on it was not fun. The aircon was broken and leaking water on the seats and simply put it is no wonder that everyone in the US drives cars. Public transport just isn't done here and is really saved for the few weirdos who we saw on board.

After no sleep we made it to Oakland greyhound station and got a cab to the house as we were pretty damn sick of busses by this point. Had no choice but to collapse and sleep for a few hours. We woke up when it was dark and went out on a hike across Oakland to find a Safeway (supermarket) and then went to a local Thai/Lao restaurant recommended by our host to eat as we couldn't be bothered to cook anything.

First meal in Oakland

recommended links

www.airbnb.com

www.ate-oh-ate.com

http://champagarden.com/

not recommended links

www.greyhound.com

Finally made it to Voodoo donut

Despite our plans to go see the Shining hotel, which turns out, is located not too far from Portland, we ended up just staying in the city today due to heavy rain and me sleeping in too late (which i call a 2-day-hangover). So we hit Portland's Old Town, which was buzzing with a market under a bridge. Again, finding too many food carts, we couldn't resist the temptation and ended up trying a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, which we hadn't had before. Tony loving both steak and cheese of course liked it, but for me it was a bit too much. 

Tony's serious business with his Cheese Steak

Since we got to Portland we have been meaning to go to this crazy famous donut shop called Voodoo Doughnut, which happened to be right next to the market. Anthony Bourdain, Man vs. Food and Andrew Zimmern (all greatly admired by us) have all praised this place so you can only imagine the line we found outside the shop; despite the rain it took us about 30mins before we even got in there. But it was well worth it. Not only do the donuts look absurd (penis shapes, voodoo dolls etc.) they come in about 100 different flavors, including bacon (eeeew!), Fruit Loops, Oreo, bubblegum, curry and peanut butter.  

People (including us) going crazy over donuts

 The moment we have waited for

After wanting to vomit after too many donuts we headed to a movie theater located in a super cheesy mall (with an ice rink in it) and went to see Taken 2. Conclusion; Liam Neeson the stud is seriously unbeatable. That's all. 

Goonies never say die

Thursday we decided to take a little trip out of Portland up north to one of Oregon's State Parks. Apparently in Oregon it is quite common to find Yurts (Mongolian tent) in a lot of the camp sites. Finding it impossible to get in contact with the sites we chose one and decided to just turn up hoping that there were some available. We drove up north and arrived at Nehalem bay state park in the pitch black. By pure luck the camp ground attendant was there and we managed to get our Yurt. Very compact but it had all of the basics plus heating which was amazing for $36 between four of us. Petra got a fire going with our 1 remaining match and so our dinner of barbecued wieners was a raging success. 

 Morgan, Petra and Tony outside the Yurt

After the pretty comfortable night in the yurt we headed out along the coast to find one of the beaches. Cannon beach was supposed to be a pretty good one especially as it was the beach used for the filming of 'The Goonies'. You can clearly see the famous rock when you get there. The weather was perfect for a wander down this amazing piece of coastline and due to the shear size of it we didn't mind sharing it with a few others. Would definitely recommend this place to any that visit Oregon.

 Petra and Haystack Rock

Haystack Rock with Wrinkly Dog

Feeling a bit hungry after the 3 mile hike down the beach, we drove a bit further up the coast to a small town known as 'Seaside'. Very original naming. After seeing clam chowder advertised everywhere when we were in San Francisco we finally decided to find out what the hell it is. It turns out its basically clam and potato soup and commonly comes in a bread bowl. Pretty tasty and you get to eat the bowl. Would not recommend prawn cocktail though at this place as it seems to be prawns and chilli salsa which just doesn't seem right.

Morgan and Clayton really enjoying bread bowl clam chowder

Just as we left the weather went crap and started to hail, really hard. Luckily we were able to take shelter in a taco house that was on happy hour. 99 cent tacos, definite win. 

We had every intention of staying another night in a yurt somewhere but it being the weekend, nowhere would be available so we headed back to Portland for a night out in town. Petra made some traditional Finnish Fisu (fisherman's friends vodka) which is dangerously nice despite being basically straight vodka. After a few we set out for the Mississippi District for a drink or 10 in a German bar called 'Prost'. Making new friends was pretty easy as Petra spent the whole night with an old gay bouncer and his little dog. Verdict on the bar was very good especially as they served beer in litre glasses. We were saved the next day by a trip to the local food carts in Hawthorn neighbourhood and a large dose of chilli cheese fries. This area is amazing if you like your vintage shops.

 Getting kisses from new bff

 Hangover cure. Tastes a lot better than it looks.