I was a bit apprehensive to be spending 4 days in Vegas but I needed a tick to check The Grand Canyon off my bucket list. I went for a cheap day tour which pretty much involved hours of driving, an hour at the canyon and a shit load more driving. I wish I had more time to spend a night or two there as it was truly sensational, in fact I wish I had more time in the states period to see some of their stunning national parks, but I didn't, so whatevs! Splashing out on a helicopter ride would be totally worth it but the budget wouldn't handle it. Plus there's something kinda cool about driving through Nevada, stopping at gas stops in the middle of the desert next to the typical American motel.
I couldn't take enough photos of the canyon, nothing would do it justice and luckily me and my new friend off the coach were able to get away from the crowds and take in the beautiful view.

The rest of my time in Vegas stays in Vegas! I was couchsurfing with a 60 year old guy who grew his own weed and spent the day eating the buffet at his local casino and taking hits from the bong. How could I not get into the Vegas spirit?! I hung out round his pool feeling every inch fear and loathing! A night at the Cosmopolitan resulted in a free ticket to see a band on the roof top bar followed by a strip club and another evening resulted in a karaoke session where a woman hugged me for having the voice of an angel. Mix that with walking the strip with a pitcher of frozen cocktail while seeing a choreographed water fountain routine and a volcano spout fire. Vegas is super cool and being there with a group of mates would be awesome but i loved the randomness of my time there and the people I enjoyed it with. You always have friends in Vegas!

SURVIVAL TIP
Get cash out and leave your card at home, otherwise you'll wake up with more than a nasty hangover!

San Francisco is ace, it's cool, laid back, arty, cultured and clean, and proud to be all of the above and more. If you google 'San Francisco quotes' you'll find a ton of great things that people have to say about the city. I started with an amazing tour from Wild Wes that I went on with people from my hostel. Dapper Wes turned up with his ukulele ready to sing to through the highlights of the city. He took us to some cool places, like an underground tunnel used by pirate smugglers as well as all the cities best sights.

Fisherman's Wharf is another tourist attraction that you shouldn't miss, especially when the sun's out. Munch on clam chowder eaten out of a sour dough bowl, maybe even buy a sour dough crab or alligator! Check out the friendly sea lions and try and see the iconic San Francisco bridge through the fog. I also went to a cool vintage mechanical games hall, which was full of dancing puppets and fortune tellers.

'The Mission'

The Mission District was my favourite area of the city. I crashed on a friends couch who lived there so it was easy to walk around and check out the area. San Francisco is HUGE! And similarly to L.A it's a lot easier if you have a car although the public transport is much easier and cheaper to navigate. The Mission is the hipster area of town with heaps of galleries, coffee shops and graffiti. It's famous for its murals which line the main streets and back alleys. There's a strong Latino culture here, after the Spanish kicked the Yelamu Indians out in the late 1800s. I loved spending the day here, sipping my latte and taking photo's. There were some super cool boutique shops with stuffed animals and weird victoriana themed artefacts. Try not to talk to homeless people though. There's a huge homeless problem in San Francisco and once you've engaged some light conversation they won't leave you alone. Trust me! Trying to lose a scabby faced gang tattoo covered drunk down back alleys while he's begging you to hang out can get a bit hectic!

ALCATRAZ!

You typically have to book Alcatraz in advance so plan your time in the city around it. Boats run back to the mainland every few minutes so once you've got your ticket out you can stay as long as you like. I found Alcatraz amazing. Steeped in history and with a really creepy lost in time feel I loved it. The audio your is awesome, taking you all round the prison with voices of wardens and prisoners adding a real human aspect to the tour. You can stand in the cells and take in the atmosphere in your own time. I latched on to a walking tour where the guide told us about several crazy escape attempts which was awesome.

SURVIVAL TIP
There's loads to do and see in San Francisco but the best thing about the city is the laid back vibe. Grab a coffee, go for a stroll and let it all sink in.

On my whistle stop tour of The States my first stop was L.A. Originally intending to hang around in the airport for a few hours on my way from Central America to Hong Kong, I changed my flights and had two weeks to see as much as I could.
The States is definitely set up for tourists and is mega expensive but I'm so glad I went. I couch surfed to keep my costs down and get the insider tips on what and where to go. Here's what I did with my three days in L.A, bear in mind I'm a slow person! If you have less time you could easily cram more in.

Day 1: Santa Monica and Venice Beach.
I was overlapping with a couple of couch surfers who had hired a car and were spending their last day on the beach so they kindly took me along. One thing to note, L.A is a bitch to get around! The public transport is pretty good (I got the bus back to Hollywood painlessly) but you have to factor this in to your timings.
Venice beach is a very bohemian hang out, full of beautiful people and a truck load if weirdos too it's an interesting place to spend a few hours. I walked from Santa Monica pier down to Venice and then got a bus back. Shopping, coffee shops, skaters and hippies, it's pretty cool. In my 6month old backpacker attire, I felt pretty out of place!
I never made it but The Getty Museum would be a good additional activity to add to this day as its pretty close (for L.A!)

Day 2: Celebrity Homes Hollywood Tour and Griffiths Observatory.
You can buy tickets for Celebrity Homes tours everywhere, haggle with them, they'll probably go as low as half price. I had an amazing time on this trip. Quintessentially American and touristy we drove past dozens of Hollywood homes and famous watering holes. Our driver had fun stories and tales to tell such as where he last saw Jennifer Aniston eating lunch and 'there's the palm tree Lindsay Lohan smashed into when she got her DUI.' Brilliant! The pictures below show the house 'The Osbournes' was filmed in and the balcony behind which MJ passed away!

Also on the tour we saw the Kardashian's shop Dash, along with other celebrity shops and stores, such as Kat Von Dee's tattoo shop, and I asked to be dropped at the walk of fame to compare my feet with Will Smiths. Along this strip is also where you'll find touts giving out free tickets for shows. I was looking for Jay Leno but instead bagged free tickets to see The Late Late Show for the next day where Keanu Reeves was a guest!

After a long day celeb spotting I met up with some more couchsurfing acquaintances and we went to the Griffiths Observatory. It's free to enter and you get fabulous views of the city at night. A great place to reflect and be thankful!

Day 3: Warner Brother's Studio Tour.
I umm'd and aah'd over Warner Brother's or Universal for my third day. By all accounts Universal is a big old theme park and a lot more expensive whereas Warner Brother's is more for the film fans, giving you back stage access to the film and TV sets you remember from childhood. On my tour I learnt how the same sets are used over and over and saw loads if stuff I remembered from TV and screen, such as the shop where Gizmo was bought in The Gremlins, the emergency fire escape where Spider-Man's 'upside down kiss' took place, and loads of stuff from 'Friends' like the park Phoebe runs in (my friends say I run exactly like her so this was exciting) and the alley way where Monica and Rachel argue over who should date Jean Claude Van Dam. We saw TV shows being filmed and I stood in Central Perk! There were also great tales and stories about glamorous past movie stars and their demands and little things kept me chuckling like seeing Ellen's parking space! For the boys there's a warehouse full of cars from Batman to Gran Torino.

Other things I did in L.A included walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard, eating lots of amazing food and eavesdropping to ridiculous conversations in the foots of the Hollywood hills. "I mean I know I'm nearly 30 but I could definitely play a 12 year old." A budding actress speaking to her soon to be agent.