280 miles away...

I'm going to take you back to 36 years ago, when my parents first got together; At the time a promise was made to my mum, that if they stayed together, my dad would take her to Yosemite National Park, having been there himself, two years previous.

36 years later, he kept to his word and on 23rd September 2016, a promise became reality.

The drive to the park was so unlike the rest of California, that we'd seen days previous; with much smaller, almost quaint towns, comprised of little independent businesses and the temperature gradually dropping as the miles gained, the views were becoming more and more amazing as we got closer to the heart of Yosemite. 

Now, there's not really a way in which I could describe the park itself, without actually taking you there and in the most cliche way possible, I can only describe a lot of it as breath taking. 

A lot of the photos I'd taken of the day almost look as though i've photoshopped our bodies onto a backdrop and I feel that explains it, in it's entirely, just how out of this world it felt there. 

Unfortunately, due to the huge drought California is going through, this year, a lot of the lakes had dried up, which is perhaps the only thing I felt the park lacked but I'm sure if we had continued our journey around the vast land, we would have eventually seen some of the mirroring lakes the postcards show. Definitely something to bare in mind, if I'm ever lucky enough to return - spend more than a day there and see more than a day's worth! 

In some ways, I did feel like maybe I shouldn't have been there to ruin such a special moment in my parent's marriage but then, I wouldn't have the special memories myself, nor would I have witnessed seeing the huge smiles planted across their face and the realisation that no matter what crap life can throw at you, love always has it's ways of making things better and a promise can be kept (even if it does take 36 years!). 

I'll leave this post here, with a video put together by YouTuber, Sawyer Hartman, who  is the only person I've seen, who comes very close to capturing the beauty of a place and whose video is the only one i've seen to show Yosemite as it is; truly stunning. 

Until next time...

Lots of love, hugs, kisses & special wishes 

From Katy ♡

P.S. if you want to see my whole trip to California, plus more, visit my YouTube Channel HERE

Life's A Beach...

In the words of Katy Perry... Nothing comes close to the Golden Coast... which is true, but not always in the way you'd imagine. I highlighted a little on my previous post about the homeless population of LA and quite upsettingly, we learned from the locals, that often the prudish residents of Beverley Hills send bus loads of homeless people away from their wealth filled streets to the likes of Venice Beach and when that was our first beach to visit, it came as quite a shock. 

My first step onto Californian sands and that distinctive smell of urine fills the air, trolleys loaded with their possessions, groups of homeless people huddle together amongst the graffitied walls.  Alongside the urine aroma, the smell of marijuana skips through the ocean breeze and I feel fairly disappointed in what I see (and smell). Call me a snob, but it was just so far from the image painted in my head. I do have to admit though, however disappointed I was, the quirks of the beach were fun to see, with a skate park on the waters edge and gym equipment for men with muscle to show off, it was far from any ordinary beach. 

Not too far down the road was the famous Santa Monica Pier; or as my mum likes to call it, Brighton Pier with attitude! Excitement filled me as we came across a giant ferris wheel overlooking the sea. Excitement was soon exchanged with regret and fear when I got on the ferris wheel and realised it was the worst idea in the world - I told you I hated water rides, so imagine being high above the sea in a rocking carriage (rocking made worse by my dad) - nightmare! I was glad to get off and stroll to the end of the pier, and relish in the fact this would be the end of Route 66, if you were to complete it, so at least I could say I had made it to one point of my dream journey. 

Unfortunately we'd already had what can only be described as the worst meal of the holiday on Venice Beach, but we ventured into Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. regardless and sat down just for a drink. I was pleasantly taking in all the atmosphere there, with photos and quotes from the movie, and then my mum decides to exclaim she'd never seen Forrest Gump and didn't understand the theme of the restaurant... I know, right! (Don't worry, we've purchased a copy of the movie for her to watch out here!) Our waitress was extremely lovely and turned out to be an actress who had featured in Pitch Perfect (annoyingly, her lines got cut from the movie, but still cool regardless), we purchased the souvenir glasses and then just like that Day One in California was over. 

 After our trips to Universal, the tour of Hollywood and a stop over at Yosemite, it was back to the beaches to finish off our trip to Cali. 

Ahh, so this is what Katy (Perry) was talking about... so much cleaner and more beautiful, with the condo filled streets, quirky restaurants and a much happier air about the place, Ventura beach completely fitted the image I had of the West Coast! We had a delicious meal in Duke's (blackened Salmon and a plate of veggies(!) to be exact!) and then strolled to the waters edge to dip our feet in. Admittedly, we weren't here for long, as we were all pretty tired from the long drive from Yosemite but I think we all regretted this decision after, as it was definitely the nicest of the beaches we'd seen.

Contrary to where it say's it's set in Newport, the Cohen's house featured in The OC was actually filmed in a house up on the hills of Malibu, we tried to get up there but unfortunately the road was private, which was a shame, as I would have loved a classic tourist selfie there! However, I did a little reading up and found out it was only the outside of the house filmed there, and the pool house was elsewhere and then they gave up and filmed in a studio anyway! But still, it would have been cool... 

We had wanted to stop off at Malibu beach but the traffic was building up and it was getting later, so we called it a day. 

Our last and final day was spent trying to waste time until our flight back to Florida at 9pm. We left the hotel (/the dump we stayed in the night previous - long story!) and ventured down to Redondo beach. Now, as I said, I had done a little bit of research about The OC's filming locations at this point (*side note, I loved this show back in the day, so as always I became a bit of a fan girl knowing I was in the State it was filmed in), it turns out the famous pier scene, which again, is meant to be in Newport, was actually filmed on the Redondo pier - you know the one... where Marissa and Ryan ride on the bike together and Seth trails behind on his skateboard... yeah that one! So walking on there definitely made up for the fact I didn't get to see the house. 

We ate in Old Tony's, more fish and more veggies (yay!) (by the way, having vegetables whilst eating out in America, is a big deal and very rare!) and then made our way to the sea's edge to check out the classic car show, that just so happened to be occurring on that day. 

By this time, it was so hot and so a milkshake was very much needed, so we left the beach and found ourselves in IHOP - I pretty much live in their whilst in America. I LOVE PANCAKES! By this time it was almost time to fly home, so off we went to LAX Airport, the week was over. 

There's one or two more posts I'd love to write about our trip to California, so if you've enjoyed them so far, keep your eyes peeled...

Until next time...

Lots of love, hugs, kisses & special wishes 

From Katy ♡

Hooray For Hollywood...

Los Angeles probably springs to mind Glitz and Glamour (well, it did to me before I visited), but like many of it's residents, even Hollywood has to do some serious acting; what the media doesn't show is the vast amounts (and I'm talking 20+ on each block) of homeless people, the filthy streets and gentle smell of warm piss filling the air, not quite the image depicted in the movies and television! 

I can honestly say that I don't get what all the fuss is about, now that I've been, I'm disgusted by the sheer amount of money in the area and yet just down the road from your favourite celebrity's house is poverty. How can there be such a divide? It's really quite immoral. 

Of course, it didn't stop me from relishing in my love for Harry Potter and holding hands with the cast (did I mention that Emma Watson's hand is exactly the same size as my own?!) and yes it was exciting to take a tour to see the house where Michael Jackson died, Lady Gaga's new humble abode being fumigated and Sylvester Stalone hanging out near Rodeo Drive, in fact, I love to be nosy like that, but in may ways it has really disappointed me to know what LA is truly like behind the scenes. 

One thing that was certainly no disappointment was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios; I've never felt so much in my element before. What felt like a world away from the streets of LA, picture Hogsmeade, just like you would in the movie, with snow covered buildings and a magical sense in the air, place yourself in the entrance, add in tingling goosebumps (yes, really) and a huge smile and you can be me for the day! 

First stop is a photo op with the Hogwarts Express Conductor (mine was called Tom and he's either really aced the British Accent or is indeed British himself - authentic huh?!) we had a little photo in front of the Hogwarts Express and then off I went to check out all of the extremely detailed, magical and cutesy shops lining the street. 

There were so many that I had to come back to those later, I couldn't wait to be inside the castle any longer; Hogwarts is home to the Forbidden Journey ride where even the queue was magical; with moving and talking paintings, objects from the movies and holograms of some of your favourite characters, it is everything you'd expect it to be. When it was finally our time to get on the ride, I can safely say, I've never smiled so much in my life; the whole ride was spent showing my pearly whites (unless of course I was being chased by a dragon, spiders or the dementors, in which case I screamed!) there is no other word, it just simply was MAGICAL! I'm really not going to give the game away by telling you too much, in case you ever go yourself, but I felt like I was actually there - the best simulator ride I've ever experienced! We went on again at the tail end of the day and although I knew what was coming, it was still just as magical. The other ride, The Flight of the Hippogriff, was a little disappointing as rides go, but I guess they do need to have some more tame rides for kids and I did get a great view of the whole of LA from it. Also, I believe that's what the argument between Orlando or Hollywood is, Hollywood offers better in technology and Orlando in quantity - I'm already planning my visit to Orlando, don't you worry!  

I could have spent all day indulging myself in all things Harry Potter but there was the rest of Universal on offer, so I wasn't going to miss out on that! Mostly consisting of other simulator rides, live shows and a studio tour, it was everything I love about American 'movie based' theme parks. 

One of my fondest memories was the Jurassic Park water ride; I often fear water rides the most over all others (in my head I might fall out and drown) and just before the 84ft drop(!) I started to chicken out but of course, it was too late - I screamed the raft down as we plummeted to the bottom, where the tidal wave of water fell down on me like a curtain! Me being open mouthed from all the screaming, gulped in a whole lot of water and was completely drenched -   it happened to be one of the best and funniest experiences, especially as it was such a dad and daughter moment, where I gripped to his arms for support! My adrenaline levels were high and I was ready for anything else the park had to throw at me. We managed to complete all rides in the park, bar one (a little annoying that we missed it!) and each was just as entertaining as the last, with its own little story to tell. 

Unfortunately, due to her heart condition the rides were a no go for my mum but I honestly didn't consider that to be a problem, as aside from the rides, were the live shows; The Special Effects Show, Waterworld and Universal's Animal Actors. 

Let's talk about the latter... 

Often when we picture actors, we don't think about the animals who put on a show for us too. From Dogs to Cats, Guinea Pigs to Rats, Owls and even Chickens, we saw some of the cutest and most clever actors in that show; it was funny, insightful and just so goddamn adorable. Another time for my pearly whites to show and another time for me to be in awe of all things performing arts. (plus the animals had all featured on the big screen, so that was pretty cool!) 

Talking of those from the big screen, cue the appearance of stunt men and actors alike from Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Walking Dead and Step Brothers in the Waterworld live show; thank god we weren't sitting in the soak zone seats, because with sprays from the jet skies, high dives and swamp boats, the audience in those seats were guaranteed to get wet (and if the spraying wasn't enough, the cast were happy to throw a bucket of water or two over your head!) Again, incredibly put together, utterly entertaining and jaw dropping in amazement. 

For me, I find all things behind the scenes incredibly interesting, I could sit and watch DVD footage of it all day but to see it live, with real stunt men, sets, props and special effects was just to another level. Admittedly I've seen some of the things before, from previous park visits to Orlando but now that I'm older and more interested, there was something just so magical about it this time around. I was and still am in awe of how movies are made and to be this close to it all was just incredible for me. If I could be a part of it myself, I would but I don't think I have what it takes to set myself on fire, like in the Special Effects Show or to dive into pool, blazing with flames whilst maintaining the whole act, like in Waterworld or even to come close to designing some of the amazing sets, as shown on the Studio Tour. I guess I could work in the Harry Potter section of the park, as a cute English girl though... *stops daydreaming and reverts back to blog post* but for now, just to experience the live action first hand was something I'll never forget.

If I could have spent the whole 6 days of my trip to California in Universal (maybe a trip to Disney too!) I would have happily obliged but there were 5 other days of sight seeing and I can't wait to fill you in on these too. I'm going to close this post off here though, as I feel like you have a lot to take in. I doubt I can paint the picture to you as well as it all felt in real life but maybe this will excite some of you to go too or maybe you've already been and can relate to this post too, if so, let me know in the comments, your favourite part of your time in Universal, Hollywood. 

Until next time...

Lots of love, hugs, kisses & special wishes 

From Katy ♡