Mallorca: Stormy Days & Balcony Nights.

On Friday morning I woke up to this:

The flashing lightning and roaring thunder was enough to wake anybody up… apart from my sister who “claims” she slept through it all.

Anyway, despite all the rain, we still made our way down to the beach to sit on some rocks and take in that refreshing Alcúdia air, and to watch the waves.

We then thought it’d be a good idea for us to head to the restaurant for something to eat.

I already knew what I had in mind especially after the previous night I hadn’t been able to order what I wanted. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE LOVE LOVE paella, and that no trip to a Spanish affiliated land is complete without a healthy serving of the dish. This paella was PHE-NOM-EN-AL! Omg!! Even thinking about it now is giving me tingles.

And obviously no meal time would be complete without a few fancy shots…

After an early dinner, we went upstairs to our apartment and spent the rest of the evening chilling out on the balcony way into the night.

Playsuit: ASOS

Vest: Jack Wills; Shorts: H&M

All things considered, it was actually quite a nice day.

alice

xo

Bye, Bye Vegas…

Waking up after our last night in Vegas was bittersweet. At same time as finding all of the previous night’s happenings hilarious, we were faced with the end of this American adventure, two daunting flights and a return to reality and work commitments. It felt ACTUALLY saying goodbye to a land and lifestyle we had grown so accustomed to living over the last two weeks. As soon as we were all packed up and ready, we drove back to the Vegas sign for one last group picture.

Then it was back to the rental service to return the vans. I wasn’t too keen on saying goodbye to the Fun Van that had served as not only our means of transportation, but as the root of many of our jokes.

As our flight was at 1.20pm, we loitered around the airport for a bit and grabbed a bite to eat before boarding.

Only in Vegas…

Once we had boarded, it was time to make the long journey home.

I’m sure it goes without saying that I had such an amazing time in America and that I’ve loved the opportunity of being able to relive it all again by sharing my adventure with you. It was nothing like I had expected it to be, and if I could, I would do it all over again (only I’d bring several pairs of shorts). Something tells me that this isn’t the last I’ll see of American land and I can’t wait! You can go back to the beginning of my American adventure here and see what I got up to over the two weeks.

alice

xo

Rock Houses and Returning to Vegas.

It seems strange to be saying goodbye to Marble Canyon, after two fun days spent in such an isolated area. At the same time as saying goodbye to Marble Canyon we’re also preparing to say goodbye to America and to this amazing experience. But anyway, before I dwell on that and get all depressed, I’ll move on. So, we started our long drive back to Vegas by stopping off at some really cool rock houses that ACTUAL people used to live in. now obviously because I’m (kind of) short I could live in there no problem, but what about the odd person that might have been (god forbid) 5”5?!

Then it was back on the road again for a couple of hours before we made a stop at Jacob Lake.

I can’t remember where, but we stopped for a quick group picture, and I have to say it had one of the best views that I’d seen all trip. Which says a lot because there were some amazing views!

By the time we stopped for food, I was gagging for some wifi and a burger of some kind, so it was pretty awesome there was a Burger King with BOTH! One thing that I’ll never be able to get over from my travels is the way Americans size their food. Is this actually a small?

We drove through a Mormon town, which I wasn’t able to get any pictures of, but believe me when I say that it felt like being thrown back in time. If you’ve ever seen The Village, it felt exactly like that! I’m also starting to think that in America, ‘towns’ are simply long roads with buildings coming off at the sides. One thing I was able to get many pictures of, was the scenery, which even though I’d seen a lot of over the past two weeks, it still felt like seeing it for the first time.

By the time we got back to Vegas, it was late afternoon, and after several hours of driving, it’s fair to say that we were all pretty tired. In some weird way, returning to the Travelodge felt like returning home, after all, we had spent our first few days here. And what better way to celebrate returning home? By going out and getting drunk hahahaha.

Georgia, Natalie and I hit up a bar called La Salsa Cantina, who had the yummiest cocktails and an even nicer waiter.

As you can see, we had a great time!

Tomorrow it’s off to the airport and back home to England. It’s going to be quite an emotional farewell.

alice

xo

Posing in Monument Valley.

Today was definitely the posiest day on trip. Personally, I blame our surroundings… I mean when you’re in such an incredible environment, you can’t help but get a little silly and enjoy yourself. Anyway, aside from all the posing, today was the day we left barren Bluff and made our way towards Marble Canyon. It was also the day that drove from Arizona to Utah and back again. Did I also mention that there’s an hour times difference between the two states? Hahaa, so yes that was a bit of a mind fuck too!

Check out my cool hat

I do feel like most of our driving was done on this day. But it was totally worth it because we got to see some truly spectacular stuff! It’s so hard to believe that Monument Valley is one hundred per cent natural. It honestly blows my mind how nature can be so freaking AMAZING! Speechless…

Let the posing begin…

After a tiring photo session, it felt good to be on the road again.

Our motel in Marble Canyon was by far the most remote place we stayed. This was because the television in our room didn’t work (I know, I know, first world problems), and the wi-fi (like in every place we stayed aside from Vegas and Safeway) was temperamental at best; so that didn’t really leave a lot of options. Just like Bluff, Marble (as I’ll affectionately call it), was basically one road with motels, a restaurant and a gas station coming off it.

Our only room key that was ACTUALLY a key

We went out to dinner in a big group, and considering there was only one restaurant, we didn’t exactly have much of a choice of where we dined.

The food was good and I indulged myself with a Thor burger. It had bacon, avocado and some other lovely bits, and just thinking about it, I could definitely eat one now.

After dinner, and an incredibly long days drive, it was straight to bed, to rest up for an even busier next day.

Tomorrow temperatures rise to an absolute ridiculous degree and we go on yet another challenging hike.

alice

xo

Natural Bridges.

More than half way into our field trip, I think it was fair to say we were quite familiar with each other and our routines. At this point in the trip, London, university, England, all seemed worlds away and it felt like living in a dream world of motels, dollars, Fran’s van and the endless open road. I really can’t put into words what it feels like to live out of a suitcase for weeks on end, with people you hadn’t seen, let alone spoken more than two words to before this trip – it’s totally indescribable. Anyway, waking up in Bluff felt different to the other places I’d woken up in. For starters, I was waking up in a room ALL TO MYSELF (hahahahhahahaa), and for seconds, it felt more like the wilderness (you’ll see what I mean when you see the pictures).

It would be wrong and wholly untruthful of me if I didn’t describe Bluff as barren! It felt as though Bluff was one street with a couple motels and restaurants parked alongside it, with a minimart. I think that if it hadn’t have been for the television in my room, Bluff would have definitely been the most remote place we’d stayed in.

Egg Toastie

You can just about see our motel sign peeping behind the school bus’

After breakfast we clamoured into the vans and headed off for the Natural Bridges, but not before stopping off at another Center, where I miraculously experienced Natural Bridges before everyone else did hahaha 😉

I told you so…

The number one thing I love about nature is that it never ceases to amaze me and it makes me fall in love with it over and over again.

Following the “food” incident of yesterday, we thought it wise to eat at another place tonight, so we walked up the road to Twin Rocks Café, and sat down to a very filling meal!

Another all black ensemble

I had the Navajo burger which is basically a burger in fry bread. If you’re not familiar with fry bread, it’s simply dough that’s been deep fried. It’s super yummy and tastes kind of like those chicken ball things you get with Chinese food (but without the chicken obviously).

The best piece of carrot cake I think I’ve EVER had

After dinner we headed back to the motel and I climbed into bed with watch Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal!!!! It was out of this world, watching my two favourite shows with everyone else on twitter and not having to watch it online on Friday!

My tweets from the night… INSANE!!!!

Tomorrow we move on from barren Bluff and visit Monument Valley and settle into Marble Canyon. See you then.

alice

xo

The Hopi Reservation and Native America.

After a fun filled day in the Grand Canyon, and an equally eventful last in Williams, it was time to move on once again to our next stop, the Hopi reservation. Before we reached that destination, we travelled through Native Indian land and took a look at some of the remaining sites from centuries ago.

We made a stop off at a place that looked pretty barren to me, where we were greeted by the cutest smallest lady I think I’d ever seen. She showed us around the barren land and pointed out a couple of interesting things. When I say interesting, I mean DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS!!! I mean, it really doesn’t get more interesting than that.

A dinosaur egg!!

By the time we made it to the Hopi reservation, it was so chilly and getting colder by the second, that the last thing I wanted to do was sit outside while a man tried talking to the group about what time he’d meet us the next morning for a talk.

We went to dinner and enjoyed a lovely meal (that I actually managed to finish, may I add), before calling it a night and heading off to bed.

All in black for dinner: Sweater – topshop

Beef fajitas with fries

Tomorrow you’ll see all the cool stuff we bought in Williams, you won’t want to miss it hahahaa 😉

alice

xo

The Grand Canyon and Last Night in Williams.

I know this goes without saying but the Grand Canyon was amazing! Before we reached the actual Canyon, we stopped a few times (like always) and took some pictures, as well as looking at the grand landscapes.

And I thought that everything was only bigger in Texas…

For our last night in Williams, we started in ‘our spot’ Cruisers Bar, where we had a few drinks (I won’t say I’m only twenty if you don’t…) then made our way next door to Sultana Bar for more cheeky fun 😉

The bathroom in Cruisers Bar

Tomorrow we leave Williams and make our way to the Hopi Reservation for the night. You can read other posts from my American adventure, here.

alice

xo

Williams and Sedona.

The next morning we started our day in Safeway, so that we could all get our wifi fix, and then we whizzed around the store for some lunch.

Never one to miss a photo op, we stopped for a mini photo-shoot.

Dress – Jack Wills; Sneakers – Superga; Sunglasses – TOMSeyewear

We then walked through town and had a nosey in a few of the shops, and bought a few bits (you’ll be able to see what we bought in a few days… but if you’re following me on instagram then you’ll probably already know).

After a fun morning to ourselves in Williams, we got into our vans and drove off in the direction of Sedona. Sedona is a new-wave little township with some quirky stores and FAB wifi hotspots in one of their restaurants, with awesome views of the Grand Canyon.

It didn’t really feel so much like a long day until we had to walk to a sinkhole and back. But it was so magical watching as the sun slowly retreated and night fell.

Tomorrow, more fun happens at the Grand Canyon, so you’d better check back!!

alice

xo

Vegas Pt I.

As you all know I’ve spent the last couple of weeks across the pond enjoying all the treats that the American West had to offer, on a field trip. Needless to say, because of the eight hour time difference, I’m still on American time, so for me instead of it being after eight in the evening, it’s something more of after twelve in the afternoon – what a head fuck! But anyway, in the mean time I’ll soldier on and show you some pics from my travels. I warn you now that I have a shitload of pictures to share, so without further ado here they are…

packing the night before…

driving to the airport at 5 in the morning

We arrived some time after six in the evening and made our way through the airport…

After collecting our luggages, we collected our cars from the car rental then made our way to our motel, The Travelodge, and unpacked before heading out to our first meal in Las Vegas!

Check back again tomorrow for more pictures!

alice

xo