Sunday 2 December 2012

USA - along the west side

Travel period: June 

Key places visited:
1. San Francisco
2. Los Angeles
3. Las Vegas
4. Anaheim (Disneyland)
5. Arizona (Grand Canyon)

San Francisco

We took Cathay Pacific (had a good deal at SGD1300) and flew in from Hong Kong into San Francisco. Most of our shopping was done around union square. They had stores like Victoria Secrets, Forever 21, Abercrombie and Fitch, Urban outfitters, Tiffany and Co etc. All were priced cheaper than SG cause they were US brands :) 

For sightseeing we went to 

1) Fisherman's Wharf -  to see the seals and to lunch along the coast.
2) Chinatown -  which was quietly disappointing. Very different from what I read in Amy Tan's books.
3) Alcatrez - an ex prison cell located on an island on its own, off the shore of San Fran. Pls book your tickets in advance cos we had to settle for the next day tix as they sold out fast.
4) Cycling to the golden gate bridge - A very challenging uphill experience but definitely worth it for the experience and view.

Food

We tried the famous cheesecake factory at Macy's. They had a wide variety of flavours and the cakes were really rich in cream and cheese. 

Los Angeles

Drove down to Los Angeles from San Fran. Yes, it was almost a 10 hour drive but we made it here! Spent the days here going to three theme parks namely; DisneylandSix Flags and Universal Studios(though I skipped this). We also checked out the hollywood walk of fame and took a spin around rodeo drive.

For shopping, we drove to the Dessert Hills Premium Outlets for a crazy day of bargain shopping. Lots of branded goods at discounted price. Do check their website out for full listing of brands available.

Las Vegas

From LA we drove further inland to Las Vegas. Had another day of crazy factory outlet shopping at yet another premium outlet near Vegas. Also caught KA, by cirque du soleil though we found it a tad bit too artsy for our understanding. A day was also set aside to catch the magnificent Grand Canyon. Despite the intense heat (well we went in summer :p ) , the natural wonder just took me by awe. Don't forget to try our their myriad of hotel buffets too! We had ours at the Bellagio and it cost us only US20 per pax for dinner.  

On our last day we dropped the car off at the airport and took a domestic flight back to San Fran. Luckily we were on our way back to Sg, so we managed to get a waiver on our domestic tax. 

This holiday definitely goes down into my record book for the most fun-filled holiday spent with the most awesome and humourous people :)