Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the ultimate playground for adults in America. With the Las Vegas strip ranging over 4.2 miles long, you can stop at every hotel, have a meal, and walk it off without gaining a pound. People choose to visit Las Vegas for many different reasons. Some love to gamble, some choose to watch the shows, while other blow ridiculous amounts of money in all of the high end stores. I choose to go for the food. To me Las Vegas is a metropolis of restaurants made to cater to every craving, never lacking one ounce of creativity in the making. Sure you can get a prime rib dinner for $12.99 or an unlimited buffet for $40 per person, but nothing beats the restaurants that carry the same theme as the hotels. They tend to be pricier, but if you can’t fly out to Paris, the brunch at Mon Ami Gabi is just as good as any café across from the Notre Dame. The crepes in the halls along the casino are superb as well!

At the Cosmopolitan Hotel, you can find a burger joint, which is much fancier than just a joint, called Holsteins. Here they have almost any burger you can imagine, with dressings you couldn’t dream of. If your hamburger and fries don’t put you in a food coma, I recommend ordering one of their milkshakes, made with different alcohols to match, that will keep your buzz going as you venture through the casino walking off your food coma.

There are simply so many sights to see when you visit Las Vegas that the ample amounts of walking you do continually create an appetite. Why not curb your hunger with an everything pretzel from the New York, New York hotel, with a side of mustard, of course. If you choose to go see a show, a bucket of lightly salted, freshly popped corn will do, just make sure not to chew during the silent dramatic parts, trust me, people will be staring at you! If you’re in the mood to ditch the food, and instead choose to drinks, at almost any hotel or resort you can find a Fat Tuesday that sells yard drinks. You can have unlimited amounts of shots added to it in almost any tropical flavor you can think of. Why not have a beach drink while walking through Venetian channels listening to the men singing while operating a gondola.

Las Vegas was truly created to appease almost every sense. The sights are breathtaking. The Casino’s pump fresh oxygen to keep their gamblers awake, but to also down play on the heavy smoking they do. If you go to the New York, New York hotel you can definitely smell fresh apple mixed into the oxygen. With almost every step you take there is a new restaurant to try. Entertainers are always playing at one of the large venues. Currently Shania Twain is performing at Ceaser’s Palace and starting January 14^th, Donnie and Marie will be playing at the Flamingo hotel. How can we forget the fifth sense, touch? You can run your fingers over plush fur coats, soft suede boots, and not to mention a set of lucky dice. Your feet may hurt after a long night of walking in high heels, and the hangover may not feel so good, but most of the time, any money spent in Las Vegas is money well spent.

 

 

Devil's Bridge - Sedona, Arizona

It takes about 4 decent albums or a whole chapter of French lessons on an iPod to make the 108 miles of road pass by on the trip up to Sedona. More specifically, Devils Bridge, which is an amazing hike that ends with a natural bridge overlooking a beautiful red rock Sedona landscape. 

On August 7th this year, I chose to conquer this hike as a sentimental reminder that while I'm turning older every birthday, it's more about how my body actually feels rather than how old someone tells me I am. So I threw an apple and water bottle on the front seat of my car and plugged the auxiliary cord into my iPhone, and set out on my road trip towards Devils Bridge. 

Before I arrived to the town of Sedona, I learned a few basic phrases in French and I decided that honeycrisp apples were the absolute best. As you arrive at the exit for Sedona on the I-17 you are greeted by a plush landscape of picturesque trees and large boulders along a road that looks like it could be in one of those car commercials. In this case - a midsize light blue SUV would be coasting on the sleek black paved road taking smooth twists and turns that look effortless. The color of the car would contrast with the bright blue sky, red landscape, and evergreen trees. Maybe this is where Kia came up with the name for their “Sedona” Minivan.

As I approached the main turnabout in downtown Sedona, I swung to the left and made my way up the main road. What feels like a highway where you can go 65 mph is actually a 40 mph zone with enough cops to keep the town in business as they catch almost any speeder. You pass a McDonald's on the north side of the road, which in fact is the only McDonald's in the world that has arches of a different color than the original gold. The turquoise blue arches match most of the accent colors in Sedona, as the town is well known for it's turquoise jewelry. A few streets west you'll make a right after the Albertson's plaza and make your way up north towards the trailhead. You'll keep driving down a slow winding rode and find yourself at the parking lot for the Devil's Bridge hike. The hike lasts about fifty minutes one way if taken leisurely but if you've had a cup of caffeine before hand twenty-five minutes should do.  Make sure to watch your step and tighten your camera's wristband around your arm and prepare for some beautiful photo opportunities. It’s a mild inclined hike, but if you're not very active it'll most likely have you looking for a few extra breathes. Not only that, but the elevation is much higher than standard so the oxygen is thinner, but much richer and cleaner than many places in the valley. 

I took my time and enjoyed the beautiful sounds of nature. I reminded myself what I was thankful for, what goals I was proud of accomplishing, what I wanted to accomplish in the next year, and even some situations I could have handled differently. Before my thoughts ran out, I found myself staring at the flat top of Devil's Bridge. No matter how many times I see this beautiful spectacle, both fear and awe run over me as it can be a dangerous place but at the same time, it evokes the curiosity out from my inner child. I walked over it, back and forth a few times, and took a moment to inhale the green landscape of the valley below. The view is absolutely breath taking. This is where I sit for the next thirty minutes and breathe in as much air as I can in long deep breathes. A meditation of sorts. I never want to leave but then I remind myself of the approximate two hour drive back and remember that there is someone back at home waiting for me with a piece of birthday cake. I descend back down leaving any negativity on the path, and only bring ambition back with me. I drink about a liter of water when I get back to the car, and then curse myself because I'll probably have to make at least two bathroom stops before I get home. 

If you've never had a chance to make it to Devils Bridge, I highly recommend it. Next time you're in Sedona, or if you're looking for a place to take someone to impress them with, the views of Arizona, Devil's Bridge is definitely the place to be. 

Cabo San Lucas - Mexico

I walked off of the airplane on a steep flight of metal stairs and took a breath of the dry desert air. Not much different that the kind you have in Arizona, but I convinced myself that this one had a ting of salt in it. As we boarded a pre-booked shuttle van, I jumped into the back seat, cranked the window open, and turned on some acoustic Bob Marley on my iPod. I packed more than I should have and while watching the shuttle driver load up; I let out a small laugh as I watched him struggle with my bag.  It was an unimpressive ride filled with boring desert landscape that took about thirty minutes. I was worried that I wouldn’t like Cabo San Lucas as much as my group said I would because of the landscape but I promised myself to not pass any judgment until we arrived to our resort, which was located right on the coast.

The shuttle van rolled up to the front of Hacienda Del Mar and I immediately fell in love with Cabo San Lucas. I don’t know if it was the cobblestone driveway, the lush landscape and palm trees, or the view of the beach that did it for me, but I was hooked. For the next seven days, I would walk around the resort exploring the walkways, taking pictures of the creatures, and chowing down on Mexican-American food. It was literally impossible to rip me away from the restaurants. There were at least ten at the Hacienda Hilton resort and they all had a happy hour menu that rotated around the clock. If you timed it right, you could hop from restaurant to restaurant from ten in the morning to six in the afternoon making each happy hour. It was a foodie’s heaven. Iguanas soaked up the sun and raced away from all of the children at the resort. The negative edge pools were heated, but cool enough when you wanted to immerse yourself to take a break from the heat.

I would wake up in the morning to fresh guava and pineapple paired with a mango nectar mimosa. The soft breeze would roll through the windows and fill my lungs with ocean air. Lunch would be a heaping mound of ceviche with salty tortilla chips and a few cool coronas. I would lay in a food coma in the sunshine reading one of the many books I brought with me. Before I would leave Cabo, the many hours of sunshine I soaked up would leave me a dark shade of beige with freckles and blonde streaks in my brown hair. For dinner the table would each order an entrée and pass it around the table. There were too many choices to select just one – so we had a smorgasbord every night. We would let the waiter select a paired wine or drink and we would sit in the moonlight embracing life and indulging in happy conversation. Each one of us stepped on the scale when we returned to America and watched and the number climbed a little higher than when we had left before. 

Pike's Place - Seattle

You couldn’t find this kind of morning anywhere but here. I kept the sliding glass door cracked open so that the cold breeze would wrap itself around my toes and drag me out of bed. My instinct was to wrap myself deeper into my thick flannel blankets but I knew I had to get up if I didn’t want to be caught in the chaotic mid-morning rush at Pike’s Market. I was working in Seattle for a company that held jewelry auctions on the weekends. This meant my weekdays were my own and I could explore as much as I wanted to. While on the airplane on my way to Seattle, the in-flight magazine has a full feature article about Pike’s Place. Since I’m such an avid little chef, I knew I had to make my way down there and gather some treasures.

After about thirty minutes worth of stop and go traffic, I had finally arrived to Pike’s Place Market. I parked the oversized work van about a mile away and walked, well actually hiked, to my destination. I wore a thick black fleece and waterproof black boots my mom had gotten me because she heard it rained a lot in Seattle. I had a wad of cash in my pocket and I tucked several reusable grocery bags under my arm.  If I had known how much I was going to buy, I would have definitely opted for a closer parking spot. Instead, at the end of my trip, I ended up lugging about thirty pounds back to the van. At that point, I wasn’t even sure if I’d have the ability to mix or chop anything since my arms were so sore! With my bags in tow, I walked towards the big glowing sign that reader Public Market Center and immediately caught the smell of fresh fish and in the distance, dried sage.

Along the main arcade, smiley vendors made masterpieces out of their fresh fruits, vegetables, pastas and meats. Each stand looked like a creation, painted in every color imaginable. Ceramic containers held over a hundred different types of dried pasta. Some were infused with thyme while others with lavender. After trying over a dozen samples, I left with the lemon herb linguine. My next mission was to find some fresh butter and shrimp, so that I could make a meal out of the pasta. As I walked along the alley, I was drawn in by all of the fresh seafood. Surely this is where I would get my shrimp. From scallops to halibut cheeks, if you asked for it, someone would lead you to it. Not only was the service exceptional, they really knew how to reel you in (pun intended), one sample at a time. Smoked salmon chunks covered in peppercorn and sea salt lined the glass windows. Immediately my mouth started salivating, and like clockwork, I was offered a sample. I bought a pound, along with some oversized shrimp, to hold me over and before I go to the car, the package was empty.

I was lured into the fruit stand with samples of Braeburn apples. They even offered pressed juice, which were made while you waited in line. Of course, I decided I needed a gallon. I convinced myself that if I was going to eat all of this food, carrying all of these groceries was my workout before hand.  I threw an assortment of figs and apples into another one of my bags and exchanged in some polite conversation with the salt and peppered hair vendor, Dan. With no more than two dollars left, I decided it was time to get back home. I arranged my canvas bags over my shoulders and in my hands, zipped my fleece all the way up, and went on to conquer the uphill hike to the van. 

continued.. the Zoo in Vienna

Have you ever had a butterfly land on your bare shoulder? It’s a rare occurrence but when it does happen you have to completely stop everything in your life and admire the moment. Maybe even think about why they chose your shoulder. I thought about why this beautiful monarch landed on my shoulder as I walked through the rainforest exhibit at the world famous zoo in Vienna, Austria. Not only were there butterflies, this giant dome contained playful otters, all sorts of big eyed bugs, bats, and even species of rainforest birds flying freely. As I made my way through on the path, I encountered a rare tropical bird that almost looked like a toucan. One bird even landed on a branch in front of me, and him and I played a game, seeing who would loose eye contact first. Needless to say, I lost, as most of the crowd behind me pushed on through knocking me further along my way. Bats hung freely from banana trees and looked like decoration that people put up for Halloween. Towards the end of the exhibit was a small river, which held many alligators and small reptiles. The exhibit was recreated to look just like a swamp I had been to in southern Florida. If it weren’t for all of the writing in German, I would think I was back in America. This place was part art and part nature, but all together it was pure beauty.

In order for one to spend the day at the zoo, you need to set aside at least eight hours. That is, if you want to admire each animal and it’s habitat. Signs with different animals pointed in all directions, but in order to get to some of them, you had to climb up hills, use a skywalk that looks over all of Vienna, and stop for some hotdogs that were stuffed into baguettes. Even the wild squirrels that were just visiting and hoping to find leftover seeds weren’t afraid to be pet.

The artic zone housed friendly penguins that engaged with almost any child that rubbed their finger against the glass. If you’ve ever seen the movie March of the Penguins than you’d definitely agree that the cast from the movie was here.

 A polar bear played with its giant ball in water that looked to be below zero, and then thumped down and rested, as people walked by and tried waving to it.

I never felt bad for any of the animals while I was there. People usually have a tendency to feel bad for the animals locked up in cages, but these animals were fed day in and day out, given toys to play with, and their habitat looked just like it would in the wild. The whole day I watched as birds spread their wings and played boss among the smaller birds. I walked through exhibits where a double pane of glass was the only thing keeping me from a meat eating lion. Lemurs jumped with small babies on their back using man made lily pads to make their way across the water into the tall tangling trees on a man made island. A family of elephants played with a trainer as he sprayed water from a hose onto them in the hot summer sun. If I leaned over far enough, I could pet the back of a giraffe while it grazed on fresh hay.

There were moments where I wasn’t sure if I was in the wild or if I was at the zoo. It was the least amount of money I had ever spent to take a trip around the world.