TRAVEL DIARIES: GRAND CANYON

Location: West rim 

Bus tour: Grayline Grand Canyon tours

I think my photos speak for the true beauty of the Grand Canyon (or at least I tried) 

You really do feel so small surrounded by the incredible rock formations that seem to go on forever. 

I visited the West rim viewpoint which is looked after by the Hualapai Indian Tribe. I was unsure which rim to visit (West, South or North) but chose the West since it was only 2 hours from Las Vegas. I went with a bus tour which picked us up from our hotel and took us to the Grand Canyon. I would definitely recommend a bus tour, the bus driver was hilarious and the trip went by really quickly.

TRAVEL DIARIES : LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN

Best location to stay: West Hollywood

Best places for shopping: Melrose place, Century City Westfield, The Grove, Rodeo drive (and the street just behind for affordable shops) and Beverly Centre

Instagram worthy visits: Glossier store on melrose place, Alfred tea room (a few streets back from melrose place) and Bumsan milk bar.

Must visit: Griffith observatory, LACMA lights, Sunset Boulevard

Tips:

- Do your research before booking an airbnb or hotel

LA is known as the car city since everything is spread out and very rarely within walking distance. When i first started walking around LA neighbourhoods i noticed how quickly the streets can go from okay to sketchy very quickly. For this reason i think its very important to make sure the neighbourhood is safe that you are choosing to stay in. Next time i visit LA i would definitely prefer to stay in West Hollywood, it is closer to Beverly Hills and the rest of the popular hotspots.

- Download the Lyft app!

Its great to have both the Uber and Lyft app on your phone to compare prices. If you are like me and didn't bother with the hassle of renting a car, you will need to be using a ride share company to get around.

- Disneyland and Universal studios

If you are not a ride kind of person like myself and can't decide between Disneyland or universal Studios, I would definitely suggest Universal. While i went to both and enjoyed them both. I must admit that universal was my favourite especially since i am a harry potter fan (butter beer is amazing by the way) The animal actors show is adorable and entertaining (major plus: you get to pat the animals at the end!) The Studio tour was also incredible and far exceeded my expectations.

Something else worth noting is that Disneyland is situated outside of LA in Anaheim which is about and hour and half uber ride from Hollywood (when traffic is good.) Universal studios is only a 15 minute drive from Hollywood so its a lot closer, which is handy if you are on a time limit.

MIRROR MIRROR

Some new purchases from my recent trip to Melbourne..

Gold mirrored jewellery tray from H&M / Boots from Tony Bianco / Jewellery from The peach box, Boutique minimalist and Dog Eared 

INTO THE ABYSS

 Into the dark Abyss at Cave beach.. another location from my road trip with the girls. 

Wearing:

Asos one piece / Seed heritage Shorts / Sportsgirl hat / Le Specs sunglasses

HYAMS BEACH

I just got back from a midweek getaway with my two lovely friends.We went to a beautiful little town on the south coast called Hyams' beach, just a couple hours outside Sydney. Hyam's beach is said to have the whitest sand in the world. Luckily we had perfect weather to enjoy every moment of the white sand and crystal waters. 

In the first photo i am wearing: 

Asos one piece / vintage denim shorts / The beach people round towel / Le Specs sunglasses 

BUDAPEST

Budapest aka hipster central.

Some people may make fun of hipsters for there hobo-chic style and tendency to wear beanies and ugly nanna sweaters but i have a small place in my heart for hipsters. If it wasn't for hipsters gluten free wouldn't be cool and i wouldn't be able to eat out (i have coeliac disease meaning i am very allergic to gluten.) Before Budapest i hadn't come across much gluten free, in fact i had been living off rice cakes and fruit most of the time so it was a welcome change to find some restraunts and cafes that could cater for me. One of my absolute favourites was this amazing raw, organic, paleo and gluten free cafe that had the cutest interior i just had to take a photo. I relaxed with a piece of cacao and mint cake and a cup of cacao almond mylk. So delicious and i felt healthy after dessert which is always a plus! 

While in Budapest I..
- Went to the Thermal Baths
- Ate my weight in food (Drop restaurant had incredible food, the saffron risotto and crispy veg soup is a must have)
- Went to the Doboz ruins club

ADVENTURE AWAITS

If you haven't figured it out yet I'm a tad excited for my Europe holiday. Yesterday my gorgeous travel wallet turned up from Asos. It was hard to find a classy leather travel wallet that wasn't too bulky, so i was thrilled when i found this one on Asos. Now i just need to wait til my trip to use it.

PARISIAN

As you may know (from my previous posts) I am heading to Europe in July and of course i will be visiting Paris. So, it was only expected that I learnt the secrets to being Parisian (I mean who doesn't want to get fat, be effortlessly stylish and comfortable in their own skin.) I had been seeing this cute book all over instagram and other bloggers sites so I decided to delve in. Its such a cute book and i can say i have gained some secrets that (hopefully) will give me that Parisian flair. 

TRAVEL

Last week I took the plunge and booked my trip to Europe with one of my best friends, ever since my brain has been in preparation mode. First on the list was to get a nice travel journal, I've always kept a diary for writing down important moments over the years so it was only right that i had something to write all my travels in. I plan to jot down every part of my trip in my spare time when i'm on the bus/train/ferry between countries. I've always thought it was a beautiful notion to have handwritten memories that i can keep forever. 

Travel Journal from Kikki K