October 14, 2012

The Fantasy Five: The USA

If you haven’t read about it already on my site, or if you’re brand spanking new (in which case, you’re forgiven), then I’ll tell you again (or for the first time): I’m off to the United States of America on March 27th, 2013!

Gil Dong and I will be flying out from Manchester and going via Shannon, luckily managing to score some great deals on airfares, like JetBlue flights here, a great hotel in New York, and we’ll even be able to squeeze in California for a few days, too!

A while ago, I asked for advice on where to go on the USA’s east coast and I was flooded with comments – however I stupidly managed to delete them all, and they’re now lying slaughtered in cyberspace. Emily from One Trailing Spouse even contributed a wonderful post on her tips for what to do in the Southeastern USA, which didn’t make the decision making process any easier.

Gil Dong and I will have just over one month in the USA,  which isn’t enough time to cram in everything that we want to do. So, here’s my USA dream itinerary – hopefully there’ll be more checks than crosses next to them at the end of our time in America. 

1. New York

New York, New York! It’s been my dream to travel the world since I was little, and number one on the list has always been New York. Everyone that’s been has something to say and advice to offer on the most famous city in the world. The likes of Aaron from Aaron’s Worldwide Adventures have been giving me tips on what to do other than visit the Statue of Liberty and recreate Phoebe’s run from Friends in Central Park. The High Line looks like my kinda thing, and I’m hoping that I’m luckier in the pizza department than Ayngelina was on her visit to the Big Apple. Gil Dong wants to visit the other Apple – the tech company’s store – and I have my heart on unleashing my inner Samantha Jones. I don’t mean by having sex with a bevvy of beautiful men, rather a night of classy cocktails whilst wearing my most daring party dress.

2. Virginia

Virginia may seem like a strange place for me to go to – especially because of my ranting stance on North Carolina – but I have one big reason for going there. Her name is Kyla, and we’ve been friends since we were fourteen or fifteen – but we’ve never actually met. You see, when I was a teenager, I had a lot of ‘e-pals’ (penfriends via e-mail) and Kyla is one of just three that I’m still in touch with today. Gil Dong and I will probably hit up Richmond first, before going to chill out with Kyla in Norfolk. I’m anticipating movie days, excessive snacking, and getting the low-down on Norfolk’s bar scene.

3. Charleston

Again another strange one considering the whole North Carolina thing (which was perhaps rather hastily scrawled), Charleston is the kind of place that I know I’ll just fall in love with. Then again, I said the same thing about Gaziantep before I went there. There’s islands to explore, old southern architecture to fall in love with, and hopefully a whole lot of grits and barbecue to try. After reading this post from Leah about Texan barbecue, I’m eager to see what South Carolina has to offer in the way of ribs and brisket. I’m still not sure what brisket is, though. Plus, my totally amazing friend Chevelle is from there, so it’s guaranteed to be both fabulous and debauched.

4. Miami

I’ll be partying with the luscious Lola in Boston anyway, and hopefully we can recreate some of the surefire magic down in Miami, too – although Gil Dong and I will probably be at a party hostel, with Lola living it up in her usual luxurious style! My dreams of Miami involve warm weather, clear skies, crazy parties and a whole lot of gawking at musclebound hotties in trunks around South Beach. There may well be a photo essay to come out of the latter  activity – purely in the interests of science, of course. I’m not sure which science, though – maybe an Anatomy 101 class?

5. San Francisco

As I mentioned before, Gil Dong and I managed to bag a great fare from Miami (well, Fort Lauderdale) to San Francisco and so, unlike we initially thought, we’ll be winding up in California! I’m so, so happy I found the fare as, after New York, San Francisco is the American city that I would include on a dream itinerary. On the advice of Corey from Where’s Waldner, I’ll be hitting up Blackbird for some cocktail time, and Gil Dong and I may even be joined by those studly No Vacation Required guys for some coastal hi-jinks in the bay.

So where else, then? Gil Dong and I don’t have our itinerary set 100%, but these five places will feature for sure. We may stop off in Providence, try out some cheese steaks in Philadelphia, and if we don’t like Charleston, then we’ll pop on over to Savannah on the advice of Steph from Twenty Something Travel.

First up though is Boston, (adopted) hometown to Adventurous Kate and Travels of Adam (and that foxy Lola lady that I mentioned before). I’m not sure what to expect of the city, but I’m hoping that there’s not too much snow, and that an encounter with the beautiful Jujubee is on the cards, as well as a whole bunch of gut-busting food. Did someone say tacos?

So there you have it folks! Now, I want to hear from you! What are your tips for the five places I’ve listed here on my USA dream itinerary? I’d love to hear them! Let me know with a comment below, or shout out on Facebook or Twitter.