America is one of my favourite places in the world. I love the fact that each state can be like visiting a different country, and I'm desperate to go back and explore a little more. During the time I have visited I have come across some things that were a little different to life in the UK... 

After an amazing trip to Miami earlier on in the year, we suffered from major holiday blues on our return which resulted in a long weekend booking to Spain.

For a large majority of my childhood my grandparents lived in Torrevieja, which is located in the Costa Blanca in Spain. I grew up visiting most years so have come to know it fairly well. It's also incredible how many people I know have links to Torrevieja - it's a very small world.

For this trip we went from Thursday-Monday which was perfect for a sun top up. We flew to Murcia airport rather than Alicante which was a first for me. Murcia was a lovely airport as it was really small, so you could get in out out pretty quickly avoiding the major trek to passport control that you have to deal with in other airports (I'm looking at you Heathrow).

We stayed in an area, which according to my photos in my phone is called 'Residencia Los Altos', and is also near Punta Prima. It is a short walking distance to what my family and I refer to as 'The Top Road' however it is in fact the N-332 which just doesn't sound as exciting. This road is home to some of my favourite restaurants.

On the first night we dined at Restaurante Patio Andaluz which is a place I visit every time I'm in the area. As our first night was a Thursday we were able to go to Flamenco Night which I personally believe is a must (note: booking is also a must). Throughout the evening there are numerous performances by the flamenco dancers as well as the Spanish guitarists. And as a bonus, the food is delicious. Whilst you wait they give you bread and the yummiest alioli - which if you don't know is kind of like garlic mayonnaise but even better. You can buy it in Morrison's but it really isn't the same when you eat it in England.





On the other side of the road there are plenty of bars - all with football screens for the fans, and as a compromise for the other 90 minute neglected girlfriends like myself, they do some amazing cocktails. I had the biggest Cosmopolitan I had ever seen for €5.
Mixed in with the bars along the road are a great selection of restaurants. Whatever you fancy you can pretty much get. There is Indian, Chinese, German and Italian On a Saturday one of the restaurants - Gelateria Italiana,  serves a massive portion of schnitzel (could be described as a breaded pork) and chips for around €6 - booking required. And on a Wednesday they do an extra large night where all the portions are double the size for the same price - and they they are pretty big normally! 

Another great restaurant that we visited was Restaurante Giocomo, which is a lovely little Italian that we went to on our final night. We had recommendations from family members to go there and I am so glad we took their advice as the food was lovely and even well presented. We finished the meal with a fabulous Bailey's Banoffee Pie - just writing about it makes me want to go back! 





If you go down to the coast you can have a meal with a view at The Nautilus, a brilliant restaurant that looks out over the sea. They do the best pizza's so I was looking forward to going here as soon as the holiday was booked! I think it is possible that I plan my life a little too much around food! 

During the trip we also visited La Mata which has a beautiful park that you can walk through to get down to the beach. We went in the morning as it can get really hot there, and it was a lovely walk. Along the beach there is numerous beach cafes, where you can get you can get an ice cream or even a cocktail! The beaches weren't incredibly busy, but we were there in September and the Spanish seem to think it is colder then - they don't even open the water park! 






If you like to shop, the best place to go is La Zenia Boulevard, a big shopping centre only a short drive away from where we were staying. You'll find brands you recognise such as Primark, Zara, and Pandora, as well as plenty of new ones you haven't heard of before. There is also a MASSIVE supermarket incorporated in. The upper floor of the centre is a food court, where you will find whatever you fancy. There is a great American Diner called Tommy Mel's which does the best milkshakes - I had chocolate brownie flavour and I'm still thinking about it! The shopping centre also has the water mist sprayers (I really do not know the correct name for them) as you walk around to keep you cool in the Spanish heat, which means more time shopping! 






Another local beach that we visited was Punta Prima. Punta Prima is a pretty fancy area, and as you drive through, you pass some pretty expensive looking houses. The beach is pretty small, but here you can hire a four poster sun bed! Punta Prima Restaurant is above the beach and is the venue for some spectacular weddings. 

Torrevieja town is home to a large marina and there are boat trips available from here. Along the seafront you will find a fair - which I believe is only there in the summer, and a night market. The night market is where you can get your hair braids, or even a caricature.  Last time I went I had a caricature done and the artist drew me in a bikini on the beach, with an old man looking at me sweating, with his wife stood next to him hitting him...awkward.

Every time I visit the town, I walk through the streets and all the shops seem to be closed, so I have no idea when they are actually open. The bars and restaurants are always open though and there is a huge selection. One of my favourite parts of the town is the fountains along the front. They are a landmark photo point for me for every holiday. 









Something I always worry about when I go abroad is the language barrier. I know a small amount of Spanish as I have been there so many times, but I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with someone. My limits are ordering a drink and asking for the bill.  Luckily as it is a popular tourist destination, people speak English everywhere you go. I still like to try and talk in Spanish, as I am in Spain, however it's relaxing to know it's not a problem if you get stuck. 

Flying over LA and it didn't ever seem to end. I never realised just how huge the city was. When we arrived at LAX we hopped into a cab and headed over to Venice Beach which took about a 15 minutes.

We stayed in Venice Beach Hostel - it was horrific. The staff were very rude and didn't want to help us with anything, the rooms were horrible and the noise was too much. It is right next to bars that are open late which is great if you were on a party holiday, but we were there to explore and were knackered at night and just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately it was waaaay too hot to shut the windows and the noise went on until the early hours. At the time it was the first hostel I had ever stayed in, so I assumed they were all grotty like this one - they are not. I've stayed in a few since then and none of them were this bad.

On our first day we did some exploring. My number one goal while in LA was to see the Hollywood sign - of course! Baring in mind Hollywood is no where near Venice Beach, we headed to the nearest bus stop to get some advice. Luckily the bus drivers were super helpful and gave us the advice the hostel staff failed with. We took 2 buses - the first was to Santa Monica (this was walkable but took about 20-30 mins and we were saving time) the next bus took us fairly near to Hollywood. We did have a short walk, but it was nice to have a look round.

When we got to Hollywood, the first thing I spotted was the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We didn't have time to walk the whole thing. But we did spot famous names such as Orlando Bloom, Michael Jackson, Julie Andrews and Christina Aguilera. We were also there shortly after the death of legendary actor, Robin Williams, so we got to see the little memorial that had been created on his star.



We decided to do a Hollywood Bus Tour. The street was full of people trying to sell tickets for their tours so it was a bit confusing trying to work out what one was best. We went for one of the smaller buses as they got closer to the Hollywood sign. The downside was the seats were in rows of 4 and I was stuck in the middle, next to a stranger with personal space issues, so my photos didn't come out great. Next time I think I would stick with a hop on hop off bus as they the seats are in pairs and worth paying the extra money for. During the tour we got to see some of the main sights in the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area. We went around the celeb houses, saw some famous movie locations and got to get out the bus near the Hollywood sign for a pic.





After the tour we decided to get a taxi to Beverley Hills as we had spotted a Cheesecake Factory whilst driving round. It was pretty surreal sitting in Beverley Hills eating cheesecake and I definitely felt I was living the dream. I'm definitely recommending the lemon meringue cheesecake, it's like heaven on a plate. After stuffing our faces with the biggest slices of cheesecake you have ever seen, we wandered around for a bit and saw all the designers stores and the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed!

We got the bus back to Santa Monica and explored the shopping complex and then walked back along the beach. Santa Monica has the famous pier that has loads of restaurants and a fairground on it. We strolled all the way back to Venice Beach and admired the views and sunset. Venice Beach is where the 'hipsters' hang out. There is a lot of skaters and a lot of people smoking things that I'm pretty sure would not be legal here. There are a lot of shops and food outlets along the beach front. This the place to get a pizza slice or a corn dog. I also came away with a tie dye top from one of the many t-shirt stores. Also as you walk along Venice Beach there are a lot of artists working and selling their creations. It is fascinating to watch.

The following day we decided to hire bikes. We initially hired a tandem, but we only managed a few metres before we realised it was way too hard so we stuck to normal bikes. We got breakfast at a beach cafe - blueberry pancakes - delish. We cycled down the beach for a while. It was so relaxing, and great seeing the different beach areas. When we found a nice quiet spot we went to relax on the beach. My major fail of my whole trip happened at this point. My sun cream application was disastrous and I got the worst sunburn of my life. The sea breeze is very misleading and I didn't feel like I was burning. After about an hour I started to feel really ill. We headed to a McDonalds so I could cool down in their air con. Eventually I realised I was a complete lobster and had to head back to the hostel to recover. I ended up with crazy burns on one of my legs and it took a few months to heal. It partly ruined my trip to Vegas, and was too painful to even wear shorts.

Remember kids - suncream is vital!

The final day we had to travel to Downtown LA to catch a Greyhound bus. We got on the bus and it took about an hour to get there. Crazy right? One thing I loved about the buses in LA is that people can put their bikes on the front of the bus - its a pretty weird thing to see, but totally normal to the Americans! When we got to Downtown LA, the bus driver warned us not to walk to the bus station - apparently it's not very safe. We got a taxi and managed to get our bus on time. The Greyhound was pretty amazing. There is so much leg room I didn't feel guilty about reclining, so the journey to Vegas was the perfect time to catch up on sleep!