USA Trip Part One - What Happened in Vegas

At the moment we’re not travelling (much) because we’re trying to do the grown up thing and save for a house, but Shaun managed to convince me that before we start saving we should have one last “big” holiday (not that it took much convincing!). He really wanted to take me to America so we decided to spend 5 nights in Vegas, drive to LA, spend 6 nights there, and then back to Vegas for one final night before flying home. In this post I’m going to tell you about our experiences in Vegas and some of the “must-dos”!

Hire a Car

Hiring a car is an absolute must if you’re going to be doing a lot of exploring, especially if you’re visiting places outside of Vegas. I’m so glad we decided to get one because we couldn’t have done half the things we did without it! Once we landed (after about a 15 hour journey!) we picked up our bags and made our way through the airport to the car rental desk (but not before posing for photos beside some sculptures!)

We got to the desk and there was a wee bit of a queue but we noticed a sign that said “if your name is on this screen, please make your way to the allocated parking space”, so we saw “S. Brown, parking space xx” and thought “oh thank goodness, we don’t have to queue!” and we made our way to the car.  When we got there it was a little bigger and fancier than we were expecting but we were so shattered we didn’t think to question it.  We packed up and drove out of the car park, stopping to show ID at the kiosk.  The lady looked at Shaun’s driving licence, read out “Shaun Brown, yup…ok have a nice vacation!” and lifted the barrier for us.  It wasn’t until I noticed that Shaun’s name was spelled wrong on the receipt and decided to check it thoroughly that I realized THEY HAD GIVEN US THE WRONG CAR.  There was unbelievably ANOTHER SHAUN BROWN (albeit spelled Sean) due to pick up a car that night!  What were the chances??  So we just had to drive round the block and head back into the car park to give the car back.  Unfortunately we were then told to go back into the airport and wait at the bloody desk!  (which, by the way, had an even bigger queue than it did the first time!)  Eventually we got our car, a little Nissan Juke which we were quite happy with and we headed along to our hotel.

Always Carry a Bottle of Water With You

The first thing I noticed upon leaving the car was the heat.  In the words of Janice from Friends, Oh. My. God.  I have never experienced anything like it.  As soon as you venture outside the heat just hits you, it’s like walking into a sauna and not being able to leave.  You’re hoping and hoping for a bit of wind to cool you down but even the wind is hot so there’s no escape!  If you’re from a naturally warm country you probably won’t notice it as much but when you’re from a cold country like Scotland it’s certainly a bit of a shock!

Breakfast (or any meal for that matter) at Denny’s  

On our first morning we went to Denny’s where we had an absolutely amazing breakfast and I discovered a love of raspberry lemonade!  I remember it was at that moment I just couldn’t believe that we were in America because it was just somewhere that I never thought I would get to go!

Amazing breakfast at Denny's!

Explore the Hotels 

The hotels are amazing and one of the main attractions of Vegas.  We stayed at a hotel on the strip called Circus Circus, which was on the budget side price-wise but really good value for money and we’d definitely stay there again.  Their main feature as you can probably guess is an actual circus! As we were checking in, the lady behind the desk offered us an upgrade to a suite for an extra $10 per night so we decided to upgrade.  By the time we got there we’d been up for over 24 hours and I was just dead on my feet, so much so that I barely recall the journey up to our room and didn’t even notice we were walking past the casinos!  Once we got to our room though we regretted the upgrade.  Although the room was beautiful, it had some kind of decorative grating on the windows that we weren’t advised of so it restricted our view of the strip and meant that we couldn’t take any pictures from the room so that was quite disappointing.

Each hotel has its own attraction; The Venetian has a gorgeous shopping mall and "canals" with gondolas, Caesar's Palace has the Colosseum, The Flamingo actually has flamingos, The Paris Hotel has a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower on top of it, the list goes on but I won't spoil it for you, it's much more exciting finding these things out for yourself!

Shaun and I in the Venetian Hotel

The canal in the Venetian Hotel

A sleepy flamingo at the Flamingo!

The Welcome to Las Vegas Sign

Because you just have to!

Area 51 and the Little A’Le’inn  

Because we were so close to Area 51 we just had to go and have a look!  We drove for a couple of hours through the desert to Rachel, Nevada and had lunch at a little diner that we’d seen in various YouTube videos called The Little A’Le’Inn (clever!).  If you’re even a little curious about the “Extra Terrestrial” you should absolutely go and check this place out!  It’s such a cute little diner and it’s themed really well with all sorts of alien/ufo related artifacts and merchandise.  

Afterwards we drove to Area 51 just to check it out but there’s not really much to say about it.  We stopped quite a distance away from the gates because we didn’t want to get into any trouble or seem suspicious but I still think it’s cool that we were even anywhere close!  One of the highlights of that day for me was getting to drive the Juke in the desert!*  I’d only ever driven a standard UK right hand drive manual car before so getting to drive a left hand drive automatic (on the “wrong” side of the road as well!) was pretty exciting for me! 

*for about 20 seconds before Shaun got scared and asked for it back.

Ok I've taken your picture, now give it back

Fremont Street Experience 

Situated in Downtown Vegas, the Fremont Street Experience just amazing,  the atmosphere is incredible and there’s so much to see and do.  There’s a zip line that goes along right above the street but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to have a go. There’s live music, light shows and attractions everywhere you look and you can get your photo taken beside a million dollars in cash FOR FREE at a casino called Binion’s! One of the places we would recommend to eat is at the Heart Attack Grill.  It’s a novelty burger restaurant where you dress up in hospital gowns, drink wine through an “IV line” and get spanked if you don’t finish your meal! (don't worry, that part is optional!). There’s also karaoke while you eat which is pretty entertaining! 

Hoover Dam 

The Hoover Dam is definitely worth visiting because it’s so impressive!  It’s on the Nevada-Arizona border so there’s actually a time difference of one hour between one side and the other!

Linq High Roller 

Situated at the Linq hotel on the strip, it’s basically just a big ferris wheel but Vegas-style.  It stands at 550ft tall which makes it the tallest ferris wheel in the world! It takes approximately 30 minutes to rotate and there are screens in each pod that tell you facts about Vegas and the hotels and also tells you when you’re at the very top.  Ticket prices start from around $22 but you can usually get good deals if you buy them online.  There’s also a bar where you can buy yourself a drink before heading into your pod. (Go for the alcoholic slushies, they’re amazing!)

Carlo's Bake Shop 

Anyone who watches Cake Boss will know about Carlo's Bakery and their famous Cannolis!  I’m a fan of the show so when I found out they had one in Vegas I was super excited and just HAD to get one! You can find the shop in the Venetian hotel and I have to say, the Cannoli was absolutely out of this world!

My amazing Cannoli!

Celine Dion 

Celine has a residency at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace so if you’re even just a little into her I’d definitely recommend getting tickets for her show, she’s just incredible!  Although quick tip – if you do go to see her, or any show for that matter, PLEASE don’t sit and chat and laugh your way through it because it is VERY frustrating to those who have paid to actually hear her sing.  The 4 French people in the back row next to us I’m looking at you!  Why pay all that money to chat and laugh all the way through the performance??  Soooo disrespectful!

Eiffel Tower Experience 

If you like amazing views then this is another must-do.  The Eiffel Tower Experience is a 460ft high observation deck on top of the Paris hotel.  Shaun surprised me with tickets right after the Celine Dion show at night so we got a brilliant view of Vegas in the dark!  Prices range from $16 during the day to $22 at night.

View from the Eiffel Tower Experience

Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden 

You can find the Secret Garden at the Mirage hotel.  Tickets cost around $22 but it’s definitely worth it because you can spend as much time there as you like, watching the dolphins or walking around looking at the tigers, lions and leopards.  There’s also a snack bar if you get hungry, as well as a shop and a discovery centre.

"Hello!" :)

Shark Reef Aquarium 

Mandalay Bay has its own aquarium with lots of exhibits featuring over 2,000 animals and over 100 different species (including 15 species of sharks).  Tickets cost around $25 for an adult and around $19 for kids.

Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch  

If you do drive from Vegas to LA as we did, a good place to visit is Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch on Route 66.  It’s basically a LOT of “trees” made from metal and glass bottles with various decorations around them.  The story is Elmer’s father used to collect glass bottles and when he passed away Elmer inherited his father’s collection.  He wasn’t sure what to do with them at first but he eventually decided to create bottle trees from them and there are now over 200 trees at the ranch!  It’s really quirky and it’s completely free, although you can leave a donation if you wish.  Elmer himself usually wanders around talking to visitors so if you’re lucky you might get his story first hand!  You can find out a bit more about it in this post from California Through My Lens, a travel blog that I follow.  

So that’s it for Vegas, I’ve rambled on enough for one post!  Stay tuned for Part 2 – Los Angeles, California!  

I’d love to hear about some of your experiences in Vegas, tell me about them in the comments section below!

5 Things That Grind My Gears

I'm usually known as the laid back one, as Shaun says "you're so laid back you're horizontal"! But there are a lot of things that grind my gears, so here's my top 5.  

1.  Incorrect Punctuation/Grammar/Spelling

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a complete and utter grammar nazi.  It drives me crazy reading through a news or magazine article where they haven’t even bothered to proof-read it!  I know, I know, I’m THAT person but I just can’t help it! It has recently been suggested that always feeling the need to correct someone else's grammar is actually a variant of OCD. 

I just think that if you’re being paid to write and publish a post/article on a well-known website, it should be 100% grammatically correct.  If grammar and punctuation aren’t your forte, get someone else to proof read it. (note to self, Google “proof reading jobs near me”).

Also, remember “back in the day” when you had your first mobile phone and each text had a character limit so you shortened your words to fit everything into one message? Well Facebook/Messenger etc. doesn’t have a limit, so write in full bloody sentences and “nt lyk dis. No wut I mean?”

Does this bug anyone else or just me?

2.  Not Indicating!

Hey, see those little blinky lights on either side of your car? They’re called INDICATORS and are used to INDICATE to other drivers which direction you’re going!  The only thing more irritating (and dangerous in some cases) than people NOT indicating, are people indicating incorrectly, or forgetting to turn them off!

3.  Drivers Speeding Up When You’re Overtaking Them

This REALLY annoys me, they’re cruising along at 65mph in a 70mph zone in their brand new fancy pants Audi*, and then they see this old 53 plate Fiesta in their mirror overtaking them. Oh no, we can’t allow this to happen, an old FIESTA overtaking ME in my brand new fancy pants Audi? Absolutely not, lets speed up, we’ll show them who’s boss.

Seriously? Get a grip.

*Side note:- no offence to any Audi drivers, your cars are very nice and I’m sure it’s only the minority who drive like idiots. 

4.  Rudeness

I’m sure this annoys most people, but why is it so difficult to hold a door open for someone or say thank you if someone holds it open for you? The world seems to have no manners these days!  I was brought up to be polite so I never let a door go in someone’s face (even if they’re miles behind me) and I always thank people if they hold one open for me.  As the saying goes, “manners cost nothing”!

5.  The Media Telling us How to Look

This one has been bugging me for years now, and I’m considering doing a whole blog post on it at some point in the future.  Magazines, TV, Model Agencies, Fashion Brands, all telling us how we’re “supposed” to look.  And I’m not just talking about women because it’s the same for men nowadays. There’s so much pressure to look a certain way.  You need to use fake tan because pale skin is gross. You need to be under a certain weight. You need to have abs for people to find you sexy.  You need to plaster your face with make up because you’re clearly not pretty enough without it. 

I know teenage girls who are considering PLASTIC SURGERY because they feel they aren’t beautiful enough. They want lip fillers because they feel like they should have plump lips like Kylie Jenner for boys to like them, or a boob job because they think theirs aren’t big enough to be sexy.  THIS IS NOT OK. All these magazines and celebrities are making these young girls and boys think that they should ALTER THEIR BODIES to be considered beautiful, when there’s nothing wrong with how they look.  The number of admissions to hospital of patients with eating disorders has DOUBLED in the last six years, and I genuinely believe that the media etc. has a lot to do with it.

ENOUGH.

If you’re reading this and you feel the same, remember you are beautiful just the way you are. You don’t have to go and alter yourself just because the celebrities and magazines say so.  I know people who won’t go on holiday or wear shorts or a skirt without putting on fake tan first – why? I never use fake tan and I’m like a ghost! (Typical Scottish skin!) Who cares? Nobody!  There are wayyy more important things in life to worry about! I promise you nobody's going to look at you and think "he/she should have put on some fake tan". (Oh, and sunbeds are a complete no-no, but that's a topic for another day).

Go out, have fun, explore the world and don’t let the media tell you how to look.  Because you are beautiful just being you. 💓

Bonnie Scotland - Places You Need To Visit

I read recently that Scotland has been voted the “Most Beautiful Country in the World” by readers of “Rough Guide” and if I'm honest, I completely agree, so here are a few of my favourite places to visit and things to do.

Dundee (The City of Discovery)

Ok so I’m kind of biased because it’s where I live, but I genuinely think Dundee is quite beautiful. Obviously it has its “not-so-great” areas (what city doesn’t?) but it is definitely on the up with the new V&A museum and the brand new waterfront area. There’s also the Law  (which used to be a volcano) where there is a really nice walk and it gives you amazing views of the whole city, and over the River Tay to Fife! Dundee has a lot of history as well, and is famous for the three Js – Jute, Jam and Journalism. Jute because the Jute mills were the main source of employment in the 19^th century, Jam because of the worldwide export of Keillors marmalade, and Journalism because of the headquarters of DC Thomson, the publishers which were founded in the city in 1905. Read more about Dundee’s history here. If you love animals (as I do), you have to visit Camperdown Wildlife Centre! We live just ten minutes away and visit a few times a year.  With it only being £5.50 for an adult, it’s great value for a day out! 

View from the Law Hill - The River Tay, the Tay Rail Bridge and Fife

The "Swannie Ponds", Dundee

Broughty Ferry

Just a couple of miles outside of Dundee lies the little town of Broughty Ferry. It’s such a lovely little place, especially in the summer, and it has a gorgeous beach and esplanade. The sunsets you can see from “the Ferry” (see below) are incredible! There’s nothing like having a drive into the Ferry on a sunny Sunday afternoon and walking along the beach with an ice cream from Visocchis! Unfortunately a lot of other people feel the same because the queue for Visocchis is usually out the door and half way down the street!  Be sure to visit Broughty Castle Museum too, entry is free and it has lots of interesting historic displays.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is one of my most favourite cities in the world, simply because of its rich history and impressive architecture, especially in the Old Town.  You could never be bored in Edinburgh because there is just so much to do! Edinburgh Castle is a must-see, it’s so impressive and there’s SO much history behind it. It’s only £17 for an adult as well so it's amazing value.  There’s also the 200ft tall Scott Monument (dedicated to Sir Walter Scott) which is £5 per person and gives you incredible views of the city. If you like a bit of grisly history, you will LOVE Edinburgh Dungeons! (As it is a Merlin attraction though, be prepared for the obligatory photo at the entrance! 😣)

The Scott Monument

West Highland Line

If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, a fun thing to do is to take the train over the Glenfinnan Viaduct (as seen in HP and the Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry are in the Ford Anglia). You can take the actual Jacobite steam train or just an ordinary Scotrail train (we did the latter). We left from Glasgow in the morning (the Jacobite leaves from Fort William), and made our way to Mallaig, and the views from the train were absolutely stunning. It was January when we did it so it was very wintry and it just made it even more magical. We stopped in Mallaig for a couple of hours for lunch and a wander and then it was back on the train to Glasgow. It took most of the day and we were on the train for the majority of it but we weren’t bored because we got to see the wildlife and changing landscapes (until it got dark!)

These photos were taken from a moving train so apologies about the quality!

The Outer Hebrides

A couple of years ago Shaun surprised me with a mystery trip. He just told me to pack a case and wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We stopped off at our friends’ house under the pretence that he needed to speak to them about something, turned out we were borrowing their convertible for the weekend! We drove and drove, I was getting more excited by the minute, and then we got to Skye and I thought we were there…nope! We turned round a big bend and Shaun said “oh no, we’ve run out of road, what will we do now? We’ll just have to go on that ferry”! So we got the ferry over to a place called Lochmaddy which is a lovely wee village on North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. He then took me to a lovely B&B (hello Marion, Angus and Cara 🐕!) for the weekend and we got to explore the islands. It was fantastic! Although there’s not much to do, there’s still plenty to see. The beaches are stunning and even though the weather wasn’t that great we still had an absolutely fantastic time. We loved it so much we went back again the next year to the same B&B!

A beach in Sollas, North Uist

Uist traffic!

Eriskay Beach

Eriskay Beach

The second time, we stayed in Skye for a night and visited the Dinosaur Museum in the morning before heading over to Uist. We tried to find the dinosaur footprints on Staffin beach but unfortunately the tide was too far in 😞 The beaches on Skye are just as stunning as the Outer Hebrides, we are so lucky to have such wonderful scenery in our country 😊

Portree, Skye

I was so disappointed about not finding the dinosaur prints that I made my own!

Staffin Beach, Skye

Staffin Beach, Skye

What’s your favourite place in Scotland? Let me know below in the comments!