Thursday 12 November 2009

In A New York State of Mind


Cooooeeee! Coooooeeee! Is anybody still out there?

Mmmmm, well, where did I disappear to? AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, we went all the way to the United States of America and had, quite simply, THE BEST TIME EVER. It was just incredible: the people, the food, the countryside, even the coffee went way beyond my expectations.

I have only been to America (to New York) once before back in 2005 and I loved it then but going back a second time with our good friends and doing a road trip made it that much more enjoyable.

We flew into New York for a few days of Bright City Lights before flying to Denver, Colorado, where we picked up THE TRUCK (aka a Chevy Tahoe SUV) for the drive to San Francisco. When we first clapped eyes on the Chevy in the rental car parking lot we were all giggling wildly-it was ginormous! Once we were on the open road, however, we quickly realised that almost everyone drives these humongous vehicles- and if they aren't driving one of them, they're driving an RV with an SUV trailered to the back!

So where did we go?
Gunnison, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains (1 night).
Monument Valley, Utah/Arizona (1 night). We stayed at the View hotel which is located inside Monument Valley and is pretty spectacular especially as the sun sets and rises.
Flagstaff near the Grand Canyon (1 night).
Las Vegas (1 night). I am still not sure quite what to think of Vegas- it is almost like Disneyland for grown-ups but in very twisted way. Loved the lights along The Strip at night and the world's grumpiest Elvis who we encountered on an afternoon stroll (and who I swear is on tv advertisements back in the UK for Vegas) but I don't think I would go out of my way to go back again anytime soon.
LA (2 nights)- 1 night near Anaheim, 1 night in West Hollywood
San Francisco (following the coastal road) and the Napa Valley.
Home to London and the most dreariest weather ever.... with a horrid flu to top things off which has kept me in bed for the last week:(((

If you are thinking of doing a trip to the States and want to start in New York and finish in San Francisco, I would highly recommend the route we took. We saw so much diverse countryside (a lot of California reminded me of Australia) and stayed in some fantastic motels along the way which were really cheap and super roomy (compared to travelling in Europe).


I *heart* you America!


p.s. more importantly than my blithe holiday wafflings, this photo is of the lovely Francesca Vuillemin, commercial director of Six Scents Parfums in NYC. Francesca was wearing a cute customised t-shirt by Philip Lim; Dr Denim high waisted jeans and Melissa shoes.

20 comments:

  1. your holiday sounds like a dream! nice to have you back, and perhaps you will be sharing some photos?

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  2. wow, sounds like you had an amazing time! very jealous.
    love her top - looking forward to more new york/america snaps?
    oh and hope your feeling better soon :)

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  3. It's great to have you back!!!
    I really like your blog.
    :)

    www.barboradudinska.blogspot.com

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  4. youhouhou! Vous ĂȘtes de retour ! Je suis tellement contente !
    léontine

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  5. Sounds like a great time. Never been to LV but would love to see SF. When I worked for Ritz-Carlton, its hotel was the one and only choice to for winners of the annual employee honors prize. Check out this http://velovogue.blogspot.com/
    for a bit of Chattanooga!

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  6. Glad you are back! Already LOVING these U.S. shots. My blogroll's seemed quite empty without your posts ;]

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  7. So very happy to see you back !!! Thank you for sharing your trip !
    Rose.

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  8. Oh I LOVE that Tshirt!
    I really need to travel to San Fransisco some time in my life...road trips are pretty awesome anyway.
    Oh, and Colorado is one of my favorite states...the Rocky Mountains are beautiful...once you overcome that level-headedness (you know, when you drive up the mountain).

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  9. Awesome pic and super sweet caption! Thank-you :) Come back to New York soon!
    Big Hugs from Soho!
    xo

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  10. hey, good to have you back! I'm in Paris for a few weeks - working this time. Your photos looks great. Jo xx

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  11. I'm ecstatic to see you back!!! Can't wait to see more photos!

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  12. jeans and tshirt are the best friends.. its casual and looks great..

    Love your blog!!

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  13. Oh Vanessa it's so glad to have you back! And I'm so jealous about your trip...sounds so good! ;-)

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  14. So you had a little stint in Utah, eh? (the state in which I reside and call my humble abode) :)

    Glad to hear that you had such a great road trip!

    ~BB

    P.S. Nice to see one of my favorite bloggers back online too :)

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  15. ohh!! I'm soo happy that you are back :) and I love NY too,I'm going there for Christmas !!!WELCOME BACK!!

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  16. Keep on blogging Vanessa !
    great work !!

    Fred

    Easy Fashion Paris

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  17. Thanks so very much everyone- it is so lovely to be back and to such a warm welcome- was worried you had all forgotten me!
    Sorry I haven't replied earlier-there was a slight problem with my computer since my last post....ie it was DEADED. Have new hard drive now after lots of tearing out of hair, tears and bad,evil, burny feelings towards it (like hurling it into Thames, running over it in car 100 times, burning it in our fire...ya know, just the usual thoughts I have towards my computer ;-)

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