My West Coast road trip has come to an end and I’m back in Vienna again. Work, meetings, learning and so many things to do, but I’m totally looking forward to it. The road trip has been a perfect escape from everyday life and an amazing opportunity to recharge. Now I’m again totally motivated for all the things that are on schedule. In this post I want to share with you the most beautiful places I’ve seen and experiences I’ve gained.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas was our first and our last stop on the trip. An amazing city – at night. Bright lights, crowds of people wandering down the Strip, gambling, drinking and partying – something you’ll never see anywhere else in the world. But why am I saying “at night”? Maybe it’s because we’ve been to Vegas in July, but the days are so hot that you can’t even enjoy the swimming pools. Just unbelievable. The best thing to do by day is to go shopping in closed shopping centers. My favorite – Fashion Show. It’s a huge center with stores like Nordstrom, Sephora, Macy’s and just every store you know . In Vegas, I’ve also had the best, bestestestestest mac and cheese and steak ever!!!!ever!!! Gosh, I would visit Vegas again only for another meal at Carson Kitchen. It is located downtown and more an insider tip since it’s not a tourist spot, but rather a favorite of the locals. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, but if you ever visit Vegas, you just mustn’t miss it. Another place you must visit during your stay in Vegas is the Hoover Dam.
MY PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS: Carson Kitchen and Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan
Sequoia National Park
Located between Vegas and San Francisco. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to go to the Yosemite National park, so we opted for Sequoia. We spent a night at a little town called Tulare. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is famous for the gigantic sequoia trees and home of the largest tree in the world – the General Sherman. It is just unbelievable how huge it is… Just watch out for the bears when you visit .
San Francisco
The most beautiful city on this trip. To be honest, I’ve expect the most of LA, but San Francisco is just….special. The architecture is like in a fairytale. The city has somehow a European flair, which I really liked. It is not too big, so getting around is not that complicated and you don’t need a car. However, a little shock we had was the temperature. We came from Vegas, where it was almost 50 degrees and as we arrived in San Francisco, we realized that it was only 12 degrees… so if you’re doing a West Coast road trip, don’t forget to pack some warm clothes. Another tip: if you want to visit the Alcatraz, book a tour at least 3 weeks in advance. Unfortunately, we were too late, so we could just enjoy the view from a distance.
MY PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS: Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, just strolling around the city and enjoying the beautiful architecture
Highway One
Highway One is the most stunning and beautiful highway – probably in the whole world. It is a highway that runs along the Pacific coastline. We drove it from San Francisco to LA with an overnighter in the little town of San Simeon. Plan at least 2 days to drive down the highway since you’ll want to stop like every 10 minutes to take beautiful pics. It’s just breathtaking.
MY PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
LA
LA was the place I was most excited about. The city is just unbelievably huge and without a car you’re totally lost. It was just overwhelming. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about the city… There were places that are absolutely stunning, but also places that were totally different than they’re presented on TV. I know, it’s maybe naive to expect places to be like on TV, but you know, LA is a city that is most presented on screen and you just expect it to be like that. But mostly it wasn’t. Especially lately, there’s been a total hype about LA, mostly among bloggers, but I personally don’t quite understand the hype. Of course, there were places that were absolutely stunning, like Venice Beach or Beverly Hills.
MY PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS: Santa Monica, Venice Beach, iPic Theatre in Beverly Hills
Antelope Canyon and Grand Canyon
Antelope Canyon…. The most beautiful place on Earth… it’s just… I don’t know how to describe it. Just see the pics (which were taken with my iPhone, no filters). Grand Canyon was also absolutely breathtaking, but if you have to choose between the two canyons, definitely choose Antelope Canyon.
Now guys, this was my West Coast road trip in a nutshell, where I just wanted to share with you my personal highlights and favorite pics. It was so hard to choose among thousands of shots, but here they are. Has anyone of you been to these places? Which ones were your favorites?
The Cosmopolitas ist ein Lifestyle Blog geführt von Kaja und Timo aus Wien. Unsere Mode-Inspirationen sowie Erlebnisse zum Thema Reisen, Essen und anderen alltäglichen Dingen teilen wir mit euch sowohl auf unseren Social-Media-Kanälen als auch hier auf unserem Blog.
