Las Vegas trip {summary}

We stayed in the Luxor hotel, which is the big pyramid at the end of the Strip. We had a nice view of the pool and mountains outside Vegas. It was a good hotel but if you compare it to Caesar's Palace (where we stayed last time)- phew.... that hotel deserved its 5 stars!

So I don't really remember what we did every day, it all blurrssss in to one big day somehow. So this is a little mix up of what we were up to:

A little trip to Caesar's Palace to gamble, get a little drunk on funny drinks in funny containers... and the lovely Eiffel tower at night...

Oh yes, Vegas is definitely better at night..

More funny drinks in funny cups. This time at the pool (with the big pyramid behind me!).

Jeez, that lift was horrible! You could hear it rattle which does not make you feel good about being in a lift.

You can't see it but I am playing a Hangover slot machine and it was SO much fun, I am still sad because I ran out of money. Dang it.

I already wanted to see the tigers last time we were there. I don't know if you are familiar with Siegfried and Roy, but they were the biggest stars of Vegas with their magic show and tigers, until Roy got injured by his tiger in 2003.
I think my expectations were a bit different and also I don't know if those were the actual 'cats' that used to be in the show... but it was a bit sad to see- I like zoos when you see happy animals and this did not feel like that sort of place...and as much as I ADORE dolphins, I am never sure what to think of all of this.

but they were SO cute.

sleepy lion.
So yeah. I didn't take that many pictures with my big camera and a lot of the Iphone pictures are just... food haha. There will be another post about Vegas, but this was the big picture post- stay tight!

Why Vegas// {Las Vegas trip}

So yeah, why Vegas?
Haha good question. After everything I posted about our road trip, going to Rhode Island etc...we flew across the continent...and landed in Sin City.

Well. Renting a car is easier when you are 25, that's for sure. If you are not, they charge you all sorts of crazy shit money. So our car would have been really expensive. I don't know, that combined with the fact that Miriam is a little bit crazy and it somehow felt right saying 'Vegas baby', we ditched our old plans and just booked Vegas.
I struggled a bit more with the decision, but then it was a fat case of #YOLO, so I just stopped thinking about my credit card and went for it. So what, I am young (now that my credit card statement came I did feel a bit older though).

The thing about our Vegas trip is that it was really cheap- I will tell you more about that, but let me tell you- flights with a good airline and a good hotel for little money- we were in! Also we booked it only a couple days before our departure, so we were really happy. What's not so cheap of course is Vegas itself obviously but I think we made the best out of it. We knew Vegas already so we didn't go crazy and just took it for what it was.

5 days of sun in a crazy city that is made for holidays.

 

More pictures tomorrowwww x

New York trip {day 4/ going upstate!}

On that Monday, which was Labor Day, we checked out of the hostel and took the train upstate to go to my former host family. I hate saying that they are my host family because they are so much more than that. When I talk about them I just say they are my family, because that is what they are to me. Everytime I visit it just feels like home- the cat that still remembers me, my pictures in the house, my old room, driving on those streets, knowing exactly where to go, knowing people in that area... how could it not?
At my farewell party 3 years ago there were no people my age- it was basically just the mom's of the kids friends. And now when I go to the kids soccer games they are still there and they still remember me, which warms my heart every time. It was such a special year we had there and it felt SO natural to be there with Miriam, it was like no time had passed at all.

I don't really want to post a lot of pictures of the kids as I don't think they should be online-  but man it's scary how big they got. How annoyingly grown up they are, not falling for kids stuff anymore. Thank god I am not their nanny anymore, it was definitely easier before they knew all the swear words!

So we spent the whole week with them, played baseball, went to the movies, ate at our favorite places, went shopping in our favorite mall, went swimming, cuddled with the cats, made too many pancakes, had too much ice cream and candy... and planned our trip to Vegas!

All about that crazy adventure tomorrow!

New York trip {a very lazy day 3}

So it was Sunday and it definitely felt like it.
We got a super lazy start because we hung out with the boys on the roof top the night before- I think for a couple more years I definitely will enjoy hostels and the people you meet. Not just the snoring ones, but the amazingly fascinating ones with stories that make you want to travel so much more.

Alright. We started to make our way downtown to go the Highline but with food. Luckily Whole Foods was more or less on the way so we indulged and bought amazzzzing food. Sometimes I wish we had that store here in the UK but that would definitely ruin me.
Because we really felt like getting pampered we ended up getting a mani and pedicure (I might have almost fallen asleep during it, so good!). I love to do these things as I don't really do it when I am here in Scotland (or Germany), so it's really a treat for me.
Afterwards we were walking through the city somewhere around Madison Square Garden and we saw a sign for a psychic and a 10$ offer.
That Sunday was definately a weird one so we went to her apartment. Of course that 10$ offer was not on the cool stuff so we ended up paying 25$ each for a palm reading about our future. Jeeez that was cool. There is something goosebumpy about a stranger telling you stuff about yourself, that's for sure. She made some comments about stuff she could not have known, which was super cool. You don't really have to convince me though, she could have been a total rip off and I would have enjoyed it anyway. So yeah, career and love life all sorted out.

After this super enlightening experience we made our way to Shake Shack, because I have heard amazing things about their burgers. It was a nice and warm day so we headed to the one outside near the Flatiron Building. The line was preeetty long but the wait was actually alright. And it's so pretty with all the fairy lights! The burger was so so good and worth the wait!