7 Things I've Learnt from Travelling America

Having now completed all of my posts about my trip around the States, I thought I would finish off with a little summary post, i.e. I’m not quite ready to let go just yet…

Plus, with my next travel adventure beginning next week, what better time to reflect on the things I learnt on my last trip, right?

Hopefully the following points will prove that I am now a wiser and more knowledgeable individual (hah, or at least stop me from making the same mistakes again).

Travel: Los Angeles

So here it is. My final post on our trip to America. But, before you get too sad about that, there will be plenty more travel posts on their way once I’m back from Southeast Asia (plus a few travel-related list posts scheduled for whilst I’m away).

Los Angeles was one of the first places to become a definite stop on the trip when we started planning. I mean you can’t travel America without stopping in LA, can ya? However, I wasn’t convinced that I would love it, having heard from various people that they were a little disappointed.

I think the main problem is that people go there with the image of Beverly Hills in mind, and obviously that’s just one small part of the rather large city.

Travel: Zion National Park, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon

After a few days in Las Vegas, we picked up our campervan and headed off for a week exploring some of the national parks in the surrounding area.

I was both excited and nervous; excited because I’d never seen anything like the Grand Canyon before, but nervous that somehow between us we had to drive a huge campervan. On the wrong side of the road. In a place with different road rules. Plus, I’d only ever had one camping experience with Tom before, and let’s just say he wasn’t the happiest camper!

Review: Pants on Fire – Ovid’s Metamorphoses

On Friday evening, after devouring too much pizza in Covent Garden, I headed to Earl Haig Hall in Crouch End to see Pants on Fire’s production, Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

The venue itself is a pub, in what used to be a British Legion social club, and Pants on Fire’s production is taking place in Room 2 or the ‘Pop-Up Palais’. It’s an intimate space, with the performance area located on the floor in front of eight or so rows of tiered seating.

The show is adapted from Ovid’s epic Roman poem “The Metamorphoses”, which is a collection of stories and myths that set out to explain the history and beginnings of the world, with the shared theme of transformation between the human and its natural surroundings.

Review: RHODES – Wishes

Top tracks: Intro, Raise Your Love, Breathe, Your Soul

Songs to skip: Better

Now it’s been no secret on this blog that I love RHODES. If you need to catch up, he’s already featured in Dot to Dot Festival 2014, Dot to Dot 2015 and my post about Boardmasters. I was beyond excited for this album. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing I’ve ever pre-ordered from iTunes; usually I will listen to an album on Spotify first before committing to buying it.

One of the things I love most about RHODES’ music is that it feels unassuming and familiar, yet at the same time irrevocably haunting. His songs are beautiful in that melancholic way that sad narratives are captivatingly moving.

Travel: Las Vegas

Las Vegas was the fourth stop on our American road trip. Although it was somewhere I knew I wanted to see at some point, it was actually Tom who really pushed for it to be a part of this trip, having been there himself a couple of times before and insisting that I needed to experience it.

We flew into Vegas from New Orleans, which gave us some pretty cool views of the Grand Canyon on the way. The Vegas experience really does begin the second you get into the airport, with the baggage reclaim area being full of billboard screens and slot machines.

But before we even began to adjust to the Vegas way of life, we had to get used to the climate change. Whereas Washington D.C., Nashville and New Orleans had been very humid, Vegas was a completely dry heat. And about 10 degrees hotter.

Review: James Bay – O2 Academy, Brixton

As I mentioned in my most recent Sunday Brunch Post, last Friday I went to see James Bay at the O2 Academy in Brixton.

I first discovered James Bay about a year ago at the iTunes Festival as a support act, and although I really enjoyed his performance I didn’t properly start listening to him until I came across this live version of Scars. If you watch it you’ll understand why I became obsessed and why I was so keen for his album.

So when I found out that he was doing a UK tour, I didn’t think twice about booking tickets.

The Sunday Brunch Post, Episode II

 DISCLAIMER: Brunch still not included.

Hey there, and welcome to the second episode of the Sunday Brunch Post. If you’re sitting there with a blank face all confused at what is going on right now, you might want to head over to last fortnight’s post, which will explain everything. Perhaps.