Las Vegas is an interesting place to be once in a lifetime. A city in the middle of the desert, which has based their economy in taking advantage of a difference in the law among States in the US (gambling is only permitted in Nevada) since 1930’s.
An amusement park for adults, they use as a motto: “Do whatever you wouldn’t do at home”, and they complete the picture with tematic hotels, full of casinos, restaurants and shops, with constant light making you feel it’s always nightime, in order to make sure your appeal to consume is as high as possible. I am glad to say that I got benefits from the small amount I “invested” in the Roulette.
We drove to Los Angeles the fourth day. We had been told Los Angeles was quite deceiving, and hence we only programmed half day there.
A quick visit to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood Blvd, uphill to Hollywood Hills (where the famous sign is still presiding), and then down to Beverly Hills to check the huge houses of some well off film industry professionals. Impressive.
Based on the excuse of visiting a friend living in San Franciasco, we organized a 10-day trip around California and hitting Las Vegas as well. A lot of miles (they don’t use kilometres over there) with what they consider a “too small” car (Ford Focus, Kia Soul), including nature (Yosemite Park, and the Central Coast), desert (Death Valley), craziness (Las Vegas), big cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco) and coast towns (Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, etc).
I will split the trip in three different posts to make it more readable, and make the pictures also viewable without falling asleep. The first part covers Yosemite and Death Valley, the second will take from Las Vegas to half of Central Coast, and the last part will cover the second part of the Central Coast to San Francisco.
The first day we visited Yosemite. It is one of the famous National Parks in United States and its fame is very well deserved.
The park surrounds the Valley, which is the result from the presence of a glaciar 10 million years ago, and which now is full of trees, and surrounded by steep granite walls, where waterfalls find their way out (or down).
The day after it was time to drive to Las Vegas. Long drive through the desert in Nevada State, and also a quick visit to the deepest point in North America, in Death Valley (which you may guess it is not full of life).
I liked the experience of being in the middle of nowhere for real. We crossed just a couple of small towns, with very long distances among them, and which made you reflect, how it would be living over there, especially when we looked to the steady outside temperature over 40ºC.
Cuando me propusieron empezar la temporada de verano, con una travesía en velero alrededor de Ibiza y saliendo desde Denia, he de admitir que me dio cierto respeto, aunque afortunadamente se me pasó pronto. Me encanta ir a Ibiza fuera de temporada y disfrutar de las magníficas calas que hay por toda la isla, y lo de tripular un velero, me atraía como curiosidad. Así que dije sí.
El resultado fue mejor de lo esperado. Han sido unas vacaciones perfectas para desconectar. Suficientemente relajadas para descansar y recuperar fuerzas, y lo suficientemente activas con todo el manejo de cabos y velas, como para no tener mucho tiempo para pensar demasiado. El máximo esfuerzo intelectual era ver qué viento iba a soplar al día siguiente y ayudar a nuestro capitán a decidir la noche donde fondearíamos.
Si a eso le añades un tiempo espectacular, una tripulación perfecta, y descubrir un nuevo hobby, creo que es normal que esté pensando en cuándo repetimos… (e incluso en sacarme el PER!).
Más fotos con olor a mar en esta presentación.
Yet another year of the Alcoy’s Moros y Cristianos festivities. Just a gift for your senses.
More pictures in this slideshow.
Istanbul came up as the destination for our Easter Holidays almost by chance. Close enough to make it a 5-day long one, but too far for a weekend… and for that reason an unknown destination for such a big group as ours (8 people). A good decision, as it did not disappoint us at all.
Istanbul location (right between Europe and Asia, and next to Middle East) is translated into the city’s culture and architecture: mosques, modern Western buildings, and Western clothes mixed in the streets with traditional Muslim burkas.
The city grows around the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus strait, one of the most important cargo paths in the World, and which has always been a key strategic location, and home of many battles. Even nowadays, the strait is heavily surveilled by radars both to control the intense vessel traffic, and for security reasons.
The Bosphorus strait and the Golden Horn divide the city in three main areas.
The southernmost one is the Old Area. There is where most of the tourist spots can be found, and where certain taste of the old Istanbul flavour can still be enjoyed. To mention a few of these spots: Santa Sofia temple (first a church, then a mosque, now a museum), Sultanahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque), the Basilica Cistern (not enough highlighted in most of the travelguides), or the Süleymaniye Mosque.
Istanbul is also known for their bazars, which are found in this area: the Grand Bazar (which did not impress me much, as I am not into bargaining and I was not looking for any specific object) and the Egyptian Bazar or Spice Bazar, which will capture you with the mix of smells and the ability of the sellers.
To the East, you can reach the Asian part by taking one of the many boats that cross the strait in just 10-20 minutes. We did not enjoy this part so much due to the horrible weather of that day, but the views of the old part are great.
To the North, crossing the Galata bridge, you get to the Galata and Besiktas neighbourhoods. The more western, modern and expensive areas of the city, look like any other city in Europe, with restaurants and live-music pubs flooding the streets.
By the way, restaurants… Food. Who doesn’t know kebaps? They have become popular all over the world thanks to the Turkish population in Germany who have make it international. If you are used to the great mixes you can try in Germany, the first thing you will realize in Turkey is that most of the ingredients are missing, and each kebap is lighter in a way, but with a more delicious meat and a great bread. But Turkish cuisine is not only about meat: fish, milk products (ayran, cheese), bread, pistacio and sweets are also worth to try.
