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West Coast Road-Trip: Ultimate Guide Part I

“Sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind but falling in love and not getting arrested.” Leave out the whiskey part (while you’re driving, anyway) and I’d say Hunter S. Thompson has a pretty good outlook on life on the road. There’s just something about looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing nothing but endless stretches of empty, dusty roads while you’ve got your favourite tunes on full-blast. I don’t know if it’s the not knowing what lies at the end of the road that feels so satisfying, but I’m sure it’s also got a lot to do with the sense it gives you of that most treasured of American dreams – freedom.

LA to Vegas

The road from Los Angeles to Vegas is pretty uneventful for the most part, but the dry, arid scenery does start to give you an idea of that movie-like atmosphere you’ll come to expect if you’re continuing on to Arizona and Utah. By far the most stressful part of the journey for us was driving out of L.A. The highways there are some of the most terrifying I have ever experienced – four lanes on either side with very little warning about when you have to exit! Unless you’re used to this kind of driving (or you really, really love maps) I would strongly recommend getting a GPS system when hiring your car. We got a super-generic four-door hatchback.

As I’m sure it is for many people, our only stop on the way to Vegas was Peggy Sue’s diner – a super kitschy diner with menu options like meatloaf and Buddy Holly bacon cheeseburgers served by women in baby-blue aprons and soda jerk hats. It was our first tiny taste of the totally unapologetic ostentatiousness that is Las Vegas.

If you can, I would try and time this trip so that you arrive in Vegas at night-time. We had a few false alarms where we thought we’d arrived but were actually in surrounding casino towns like Primm, but there is definitely no mistaking it when you do arrive. Nothing quite prepares you for the sudden spectacle of lights you encounter when you roll in to the city from the pitch-black and desolate Mojave desert.

Where to stay: We decided that the only way to do Vegas was to really do Vegas, so we stayed at the Venetian. Of course there are plenty of hotels that are synonymous with Vegas but I liked the thought of the especially tacky, themed ones like Ceasar’s Palace. Our room had an amazing view overlooking the Nevada desert but was otherwise quite understated. The real spectacle is the lobby downstairs, where you can take a totally surreal stroll through the streets of a fake Venice with actual water canals and eat at your own ‘al fresco’ table in a fake Piazza San Marco. The most impressive part for me was how the clouds on the ceiling are painted so that they move while you walk!

If staying at one of these huge hotels I definitely recommend taking a chance at an upgrade. They’re so massive that they quite often have empty rooms and some are quite willing to bump you up at no extra cost, especially if you go on about how much you’re going to gamble at the front desk!

Where to eat: We took the same approach to where we ate as where we stayed. We were lucky that we happened to be in Vegas on a weekend when the Wynn hotel does its famous buffet brunch. We’d read about it and knew to expect a big buffet but it really has to be seen to be believed. Quite simply, there was A LOT of food – and I’ve been to weddings in southern Italy. Any type of food that your imagination can conjure up, and they will have it, all at a very reasonable price of $30 on the Saturday and $40 on the Sunday. Try to get a seat in the incredibly elaborate dining area in the front and pace yourself! It’s definitely a once (only) in a lifetime experience!

Heart Attack Grill – Like a lot of Vegas, this place is totally ridiculous. We stumbled upon it in the Fremont East district of Vegas and saw its flashing neon sign outside proudly claiming that people ‘over 350 lbs eat for free’. We tried the scales outside and didn’t quite qualify but we had to try it when we saw the giant syringe needle and pill-box they had as decor. You get a wrist-band and scrubs when you go in and the waitresses are all dressed as nurses in – naturally – glossy, red high-heels. But the best part – you get a spanking from the nurses in the middle of the restaurant if you don’t finish your meal. The food must have been good because both me and Josh finished ours. Definitely the most surreal dining experience I’ve ever had!

Things to do:

Bellagio fountains. You’ve heard a lot about them and the show is actually really impressive. It happens regularly throughout the day and is set to a different song each time.
Go to the Fremont East district – this was probably my favourite part of our time here. While it’s not exactly surprising, the main strip can seem a bit, lo-and -behold, commercial – i.e. souvenir shops and throngs of tourists sipping from giant neon-colour cocktail pipe-things (I’ve still got no idea what they were). ‘Old Vegas’, as I called it, felt a bit more like what the city may have been like once upon a time. It feels more dated and seedy but that’s exactly what I liked about it. Also, games and drinks are cheaper – Josh actually had a pretty good Poker streak here.
Lose money. Josh did not have a good streak on the main strip. If you’re like me and hate gambling, do the slots and wait for the waiters to come around with free drinks 🙂
Forget your own name
Get married. We did not.
Whatever you want. Remember, what happens in Vegas…

Coast Starlight

Train travel is one of the few forms of transport left that’s not just about reaching your destination but about savouring the journey itself. Going on a long train trip feels like a journey within a journey, where you’re not just experiencing present adventures but are also transported to a nostalgic, bygone time, where everything seemed to happen at a slower pace. You can admire beautiful views that you would never get to see on a plane or a bus, catch up on a book you keep meaning to read, or chat to other people who like you are in no immediate rush to do something, or be somewhere. Slowness seemed to be the theme of this West Coast trip. I flew from Miami to Seattle to visit my best friend from university who lives in a pretty, very tiny town in central Washington. It was one of those typical American strip towns with buildings on either side of the highway that takes all of a minute to drive past. I stayed here a leisurely two weeks visiting horse ranches, fossil-hunting and riding quad bikes through abandoned Cougar dens. (To be fair that last bit wasn’t really slow, those things really pick up speed! )

When the time came for me to catch my Amtrak train down to L.A., me and three friends took a road trip to Seattle along the scenic North Cascades highway. I felt like I was having the true American travel experience! The highlight of this route is definitely Lake Diablo. The North Cascade mountains that surround it are huge and usually snow-peaked, and the lake itself is an incredibly distinctive green-turquoise colour caused by the melting of nearby glaciers. The lake is a very do-able 2.5 hour drive from Seattle. While you’re there you might as well visit nearby Leavenworth too, a faux-Bavarian meets Wild West town where you can eat Schnitzel and order giant steins of (really good) craft beer from men in Leiderhosen.

The Amtrak Journey from Seattle to Los Angeles is called the Coast Starlight and takes about 2 days. I was a. On my own and b. Not in a sleeper coach, so I knew this was going to be a test of my boredom threshold as well my endurance! I shouldn’t have worried; the views were beautiful enough that the journey did not seem anywhere near its 35 hours, though I’d be lying if i said they flew by! In this direction, the views really start to become spectacular after Klamath Falls towards Dunsmuir in Oregon, with dramatic views of tall pine trees surrounding snowy Mount Shasta.You would normally be arriving here by evening, so the view is made even more dramatic as dusk turns to silvery moonlight. The next morning I woke up in Northern California, greeted by rolling oat-colour hills and grazing deer and cows. I spent most of the rest of the day in the Observation car, which has comfy seats and floor to ceiling windows for the best views. It was here that I watched the train roll into Santa Barbara at sunset, with its stunning Pacific ocean views and surfing beaches.

Coast Starlight Travel tips:

If you can afford it, stay in a private ‘roomette’. I was lucky that nobody was sitting next to me in coach so I managed to get some sleep by lying across the seats, but I’d have been wide awake all night if not. I was on a budget and a roomette is much more expensive, but you do get all of your meals included and they are served in the private Pacific parlour car. Here they have a bar, cushy swivel easy-chairs, free wi-fi, coffee and they also do free wine and cheese tastings every afternoon. There’s even a mini-cinema room! I had breakfast in the dining room on the first morning as the train rolled along the Puget sound and the food was actually much nicer than I expected.
If you’re planning to share a roomette, do it with someone you really like – they are extremely small!
Bring all the usual sleeping comforts – eye mask, toothbrush, inflatable pillow etc. (Especially if you’re in coach.)
If you have the option, do the route when the days are longest, as it was already quite dark as we got to the Cascade mountains, the prettiest part of the trip. Otherwise try and go when it’s a full moon!
For the same reason as above, do the option from L.A. to Seattle – if you have the choice.
Seats are not assigned when you book and are given out as you board so they’re pretty much luck of the draw – if you find a nice controller ask if you can get a seat on the Ocean side.
If you get bored, go to the viewing car and strike up a conversation with someone. Everyone is unhurried and relaxed and probably bored so I found that people were pretty chatty!
Use the ladies powder room – they are very clean and there’s actually a little powder-room area.
If you’re bored easily download some things to watch on your phone, ipad etc. There are sockets by the seats.
Bring your own food if you’re not keen on the menu and don’t fancy eating snacks.

Amalfi photo diary

There are places that I’ve travelled to that I know I will return to again and again, and I know that again and again I will fall even more in love with them. There is just something uniquely magical about the Amalfi coast and the picturesque little towns dotted along it. Even the journey there feels like a dream – the bus from Sorrento, the main pick-up point, takes you on a ridiculously beautiful and terrifying coastal drive along hair-pin curves and vertiginous drops to the glittering Mediterranean sea below. A few miles of lemon and bougainvillaea bedecked houses and gardens later, and you’re greeted by towns of pastel-colour houses stacked precipitously on cliffs above an impossibly blue sea. Not a bad start.

Things to do: The first time I visited I went to Positano. This is possibly the most visited town along the coast and rightly so as it is stunning. You’ve probably seen pictures of views from hotels with the iconic yellow church steeple all over instagram. On our most recent visit we went to Capri and Ravello. Capri is its own island rather than a town along the coast, and has its own magnificent views – most famously of ‘I faraglioni’ – the two giant, iconic rocks that jut out of the sea. We decided that we wanted to see them up close so we rented out a powerboat and did a tour of the island from the sea. We went through the famous hole in one of the Faraglioni and visited one of the many cool caves that are dotted around the island. In the bay outside the cave we had a picnic on the boat and I think I can categorically say that was one of the loveliest days of my life.

Capri is also famous for the blue grotto – a cave that is illuminated bright blue inside because of the angle at which the sunlight hits it. You get in on little rowboats and the men that steer them love to sing Neapolitan songs inside the cave as they echo so loudly. This and the strange blue light make it one of the most eerie and magical experiences I’ve ever had. Some people go swimming in the cave after hours when the boats have left. This is illegal and we definitely did not do this…nope…

If you go to Capri you must make sure to visit the area above Anacapri – the most elevated part of the island. Getting there is fun as you have to get the funicular, and the views from the top are totally breathtaking.

We wanted to go to Ravello on this trip as it is one of the most high-up of the towns along the coast (you have to get a bus that goes up the mountain from Amalfi) and thought it would have amazing views. We were not wrong. The most memorable moment here was the view from the Terrace of Infinity in the gardens of Villa Cimbrone. This Medieval villa is famous for its beautiful flower-filled gardens that gradually lead the way to a statued terrace with stunning views. I don’t usually mind heights but looking down here made me feel very dizzy. There is a tiny, half-hidden bar below the terrace with a balcony overlooking this view that’s about big enough for two people. We got my favourite pre-prandial, a bright orange Aperol.

I’ve been to the Amalfi Coast about four times now, and even though I love ticking as many countries as I can off my bucket list, it keeps beckoning me back. My grandparents are from this area originally, so I guess there’s a sort of psychological affinity there, but really I just think it is uniquely beautiful. Perhaps Steinbeck said it best in his book about Positano;”Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.”

Where to stay: Hotel Rufolo. Nice decor and great views. It is one of the more slightly affordable hotels for the view that you get. My dream is to one day stay at Villa Cimbrone.

Where to eat: Anywhere. Really, I have never had a bad meal in Amalfi, even in the most touristy of areas. The seafood especially is consistently amazing. One particularly memorable restaurant was at Cumpa’ Cosimo in Ravello. The food here is trattoria style rather than Michelin and is run by a lovely, frilly apron-clad woman called Netta. She’s such a larger than life figure that most locals simply call the restaurant Mama Netta’s. The food was so good here that I can still remember the taste. I recommend the pizza.

Anegada

Pineapple bikini – Midori Bikinis – Top, Bottom; Crochet dress – Souvenir from Cuba.

If the BVI is already off the beaten tropical track, then lonesome Anegada, the most remote of the Virgin islands, has fallen clear off and into the ditch. Being on Anegada feels like being on another planet. The landscape is eerie and desert-like, populated by cacti and swampy-sea shrubs. The island is so flat that you’d be forgiven for missing it on the way in on the ferry – the biggest giveaway that you’re arriving is the ocean going from a deep blue to a dreamy tropical turquoise.

If you’re looking for an activity holiday then this probably won’t be it. They say that the donkeys and flamingoes outnumber the people (this is definitely not true), and there are only a handful of sun-bleached bars and restaurants. But if if you like the idea of feeling like you’ve been ship-wrecked on a desert island, and having nothing much more to do than listen to the sound of lapping waves, then this is the place for you. One of our favourite things to do was to walk along the endless deserted beaches to our favourite sleepy, pastel-coloured bar for a rum cocktail. If we were feeling lazy we’d go in our Wrangler rental with the local radio station on at full blast – having the radio on here feels strangely like a link to forgotten civilisation. It’s a cliche’ but my boyfriend and I decided that if paradise had beaches they couldn’t look much better than the idyllic beaches on Anegada. They’re even mysteriously strewn with hundreds of huge, beautiful pink Conch shells that you stumble upon everywhere. Maybe I’ve not travelled enough – is this the case anywhere else?!

The irony of travelling to such a remote place is that you end up getting to know the few tourists and locals you meet better than you probably would somewhere busier. It’s also the perfect place to go with a group of friends. The second time here we sailed over in a big group. We moored up to a bar with a pretty empty dance-floor but we soon changed that around and ended up having one of the best nights of our time out here.

Sleeping: We stayed at the Anegada Beach Club sea-front tents, which we saw on our first visit and vowed to come back and stay in. It’s not really camping as you know it – think four-poster beds with mosquito nets blowing in the breeze, deck hammocks, solar-powered showers and views overlooking a milky-blue Atlantic Ocean. Each tent even has it’s own mini path to the beach. They have paddle-boarding and snorkelling gear for in- between tanning sessions.

Eating: Anegada is famous for its lobster. They have so much of it and in most places it’s plucked straight out of lobster traps and cooked right in front of you in converted oil-drums. We went to the Lobster Trap for my birthday meal. It has tables on a jetty decked out with fairy lights right over the water. We were the only people in the whole restaurant! If you want to visit at a busier time of year then the lobster festival is held on varying dates in November.

Neptune’s Treasure: Famous for it’s cinnamon buns and home-made bread. Have breakfast while watching the boats moor up on the harbour.

Anegada Beach Club: Get the coconut French toast!

passing ships

Bikini – Missoni very similar here. I also love this one-piece and this bikini on sale. Necklace worn as bracelet – Givenchy vintage; Hat – lying around the house; Sunglasses – Gucci.

Location: Long Bay, Tortola

I hope this seventies revival never ends. I keep panicking that its inevitable demise is just around the corner. I’ve had this vintage Givenchy necklace forever and I feel like I can wear it with anything I buy at the moment. I thought it would go perfectly with this Missoni bikini that I managed to extort from my family as a Christmas gift. I won’t get started on Missoni or I’ll start gushing uncontrollably so suffice to say that I think their use of texture and and tactile design is the best in the industry.

This is one of my ultimate beach-crushes in the BVI. I love the hill in the background, it reminds me of a teeny-tiny St. Lucia. Amazingly, the beach is never crowded – it always looks pretty much like it is here in the pics. When I’m there I always try to get a fresh coconut at “nature boy’s” tiny beach bar that you can just about see in a couple of the shots. It occasionally collapses with the breeze and is quickly repaired with some deft palm-leaf rearrangement. So much better than bars that don’t fall over.

Florence

Chanel-style jacket customised with faux fur cuffs – Tailor-made; Jeans – Abercrombie & Fitch similar here; Shoes – Nine West; Bag – Louis Vuitton vintage

I’ve often wondered what it is about Florence that makes it so special for so many people. There are lots of beautiful cities in the world but I’ve yet to meet a person that thinks that Florence is just meh…Maybe it’s the fact that there are so many intact Renaissance buildings, and so few modern ones, which is rare for any city. Even the roads and pavements with their distinctive ‘stab marks’ (last pic) seem untouched by time. There’s also the fact that like the rest of Tuscany, what’s attractive is not just the beauty of the place, but the lifestyle that goes with it – amazing food, beautiful clothes, and of course, the best gelato in the world.

I also think that Florence is the probably the most romantic city I’ve been too. It seems a strange thing to say but I always seem to imagine Florence at sunset. There’s some sort of magical orange light about it at all hours of the day. I’m sure it’s just the colour of the buildings that makes it seem that way, but it’s certainly beautiful. My Italian family lives quite close to Florence, and it was always my favourite place to go for a date… Continue reading Florence

Truffle Fair

Location – San Miniato Truffle Fair (Various dates in November)

The first time I tried truffle I wasn’t all that impressed – it smelled really strongly of gas and looked pretty gross. I remember thinking that people must like it because it’s rare and exclusive. It only took a few more tastes though before I was hooked – that stuff really grows on you! Or not, as the case may be, because truffles are a fungus and this is what makes them so rare – you can’t cultivate them and you need trained dogs or pigs to sniff them out. On top of that they seem to only be found in certain areas of Italy and France, and a very few on the West Coast of the US.

One of these areas is the beautiful countryside around San Miniato in Tuscany, where they hold a truffle fair every November. If you’ve ever thought, ‘I like this [insert food stuff], but it would be better with truffle’ – you’ll find it here..cheeses, salamis, hams etc. These are found in the stalls in the lower part of the old town, where you then you work your way up to the the top part with its breathtaking view overlooking the Tuscan countryside. The view is reserved for the special stalls – they literally have red velvet carpeting – to showcase the don of the truffles: the white truffle. These are weighed on chrome scales and if you’re really keen on them – you can take them away with you for about $200+ per 100g. We bought a tiny piece and had it with butter and parmesan tagliatelle that night. So so good!

Italy has all types of food fairs year-round and nationwide. They call them Sagras and they can be devoted to anything from cherries, fish, tagliatelle, pumpkin ravioli.. anything really. I’ve had some of my best meals with sporks and plastic plates at these fairs. As a bonus they’re usually held in the pretty piazzas of old, picturesque towns. All the English sites only seem to have dates for the big food expos but this translatable Italian one is pretty good.

Tuscany

Tights – Topshop; Jacket – H&M; Skirt – Liu Jo; Boots – Ralph Lauren, I also like these Laboutin ones; Shirt – Pepe Jeans Andy Warhol collection; Bag – Braccialini.

Location – San Miniato, Tuscany

Of all the places I’ve lived in and travelled to in the world, I know that Tuscany is the place where I’m going to end up; hopefully in a house like the one in Under the Tuscan Sun, with fountains and cypress trees all around it. I’m even willing to have a bird poop on my head if that’s what it takes (That’s not totally random, you have to see the film.) Not only is Tuscany aesthetically beautiful – think rolling olive groves steeped in mist and beautiful crumbling Renaissance buildings – but I find the lifestyle and its emphasis on family time, food and togetherness beautiful too. It’s a stereotype I suppose but I can only speak for my own loud Italian family and their ~~obsession with~~ emphasis on delicious meals and family gatherings. In case you hadn’t guessed – that’s my lovely nonna in one of the pics!

Lots of people know about the famous Tuscan towns – Florence, Lucca, Siena – but the fact is that there are so many old towns and hamlets dotted throughout Tuscany that are all so beautiful. They all invariably have picturesque piazzas, old churches and of course restaurants worth visiting. This town where I took the pictures for example is not particularly touristy, except for a few days maybe during the Truffle Festival (next post), but it’s one of my favourite places in the world. (Also my boyfriend’s, who has his eye on a church there :):):)) If I were visiting Tuscany for the first time I would rent out a car and take the country routes to as many pretty towns as I had time to see, taking unscheduled stops on the way. Elena Nacci has a really good shortlist of less touristy places to visit in Tuscany.

Tuscany is also famous for its manufacturing and artisanal goods. Some of the most famous designer brands originate here – Gucci, Prada, etc. The bag I’m wearing in the pictures is by popular Italian label Braccialini and is also based in Florence. They make really cute and unique designs and I would gladly own every single one of their bags. I love how they can make a dark winter outfit really pop.

Brick Lane

Shearling coat – Vintage, I also love this one from ACNE Studios; Skirt – vintage from Rokit; Shirt – Oscar Milo; Hat – H&M; Shoes – Converse; Bag – Yves Saint Laurent vintage.

One of the best things about London is that here you can wear whatever you want and nobody will bat an eye. In fact, the general rule seems to be the weirder, the cooler. Continue reading Brick Lane

Home sweet home

T-shirt – Vinmag; Jeans – H&M; Shoes – Vintage Abercombie and Fitch

Before this trip home I’d never been away from London for more than 2 months, so coming back after almost 2 years in the Caribbean was really strange. It made me appreciate things about London that I’d never really noticed before. I missed the familiarity and cosiness of my flat (which suddenly felt like the perfect place to take pictures!) – my books, my piano, my coats and black jeans. It felt so nice to know that if I got a weird craving for a Chai latte infused with desiccated almond milk from the Chilean Andes, or felt like wearing a royal-green polka-dot beret that day, I could probably just pop out and get it. I love my movies too so being able to go back to independent theatres like the Prince Charles in Leicester Square was probably the best thing of all. Still, I’m not quite ready to swap my swimsuit for an umbrella quite yet! Also, I suppose that if I ever wanted to buy anything as horrible as a green, polka-dot beret, there’s always the internet.

Like I said, I love my movies, and I’ve had this t-shirt from the film Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard for ages, but I checked the shop where I got it and it turns out they still sell them. The store (Vinmag) is in Soho and it sells all sorts of movie memorabilia and vintage gadgets. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit in this store – my Bates Motel coffee mug is one of my most prized possessions. If you have a film/TV show/ cartoon/ anything you love and want to proudly broadcast it on your chest – they have 35 pages of t-shirt designs on their website so I’m sure you’d find something.

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