The Not So Sinful City..

There's nothing more annoying than going to a country where the legal age limit is 21, and you're 20. Welcome, to my trip to Las Vegas! A two and a half day extravaganza filled with the excessive use of our credit cards and what not. I don't quite know why my family and I decided to go to Vegas; we weren't really the 'gambling' type of family and 2/3 of us who were remotely interested in experiencing the clubbing scene couldn't even walk through the casinos on our own! (My older sister is 27 whilst my youngest just turned 18!) - And as if my parents would want to go clubbing!?

From our stroll along the strip :) 

Anyway, we stayed at the Monte Carlo hotel which, like most of the leading hotels in the city are located along the Vegas strip. We however chose the wrong days to go to Vegas, it was early in the week so from Monday to Thursday, which meant that there were fewer people around. This was ok on some degree, considering I feel my parents would have been overwhelmed by all the whackos who would hand business cards advertising strip shows.

Since I'm allergic to peanuts, this is the closest I'm ever gonna get!

On the first day we decided to do what every visiter does in Vegas; go to a buffet. Since Monte Carlo is a part of the MGM Resorts brand, we were entitled to any buffet for free! It was pretty cool, and I did enjoy my five plates worth of food and desserts! After that we strolled around the city centre which was located right between the Monte Carlo and the Cosmopolitan - it was all high end brands but strangely deserted! (Once again, I blame this on the fact that we went when everyone was still at work.) We didn't buy anything, seeing as we were already pushing the limit with our luggage so we made our way to the MGM Grand Hotel where we would watch our Cirque du Soleil show which I booked for the family.

And so the fat life begins..

KA was a heartwarming performance based on the story of two siblings who were separated by a violent rebel gang. The siblings, who were royal were each accompanied by their noble trustees and went on an enchanting adventure. The stage for KA was one that made you appreciate technology; their incorporation of both martial arts and acrobats made it a gravity defying, mind blowing experience!

Our second day, involved nothing but utter relaxation. Something we didn't get much of in LA. So we just stayed in our hotel, parents had their way at gambling, I bought an amazing set of cupcakes, took a nice relaxing bath and all that jazz.

At the Bellagio Hotel watching the dancing lights! It was so beautiful!

The next day, which was our final day we spared nothing! At $300 per person, my family and I decided 'YOLO, lets go to the Grand Canyon'... but in a different way. Sick of all of the long drives, we chose the option which allowed you go to by aeroplane to the west rim of the Grand Canyon. From there, my family and I all went on a helicopter which then took us INSIDE the Grand Canyon! It was the most beautiful and awe inspiring site I've ever seen! And what a way to experience it. The package then included a boat ride along the Colorado river which is located inside the canyon.

Lol, my parents freaked out when I sat here.

If I could take anything from Vegas, I would say it was an eye opening experience. I can't wait to come back, when I'm legal!

Aloha!

Hello everyone I hope all is well! As you may know I’m currently on a family vacation in the United States and I thought it would be cool if I wrote a little update on my trip so far :) At the moment we’re finally in Los Angeles but there is no way I could miss our trip to Hawaii!

After an unfortunately uncomfortable plane ride from Sydney to Honolulu airport - I had an annoying passenger sit in front of me who booked an extra seat beside him so he can truly make himself comfortable as he also reclined both seats! We made our way to our first hotel along Waikiki. The Courtyard by Marriott was our home for the first four days; they had amazing customer service with quick and easy room service, an incredibly inviting pool and hot tub and quick and easy access to food and the main strip of designer stores! 

Locals constantly informed us that the best place to shop was at Waikele and Ala Moana - the two have great outlets and impressive, affordable prices considering most things in Hawaii are relatively pricey. For instance at Waikele I bought my first designer backpack at Coach which was at an impressive discount of 50% and then a further 30%! Imagine that! And, I was able to score a couple of pairs of Converse chucks - two for only $60 seems pretty attractive to me!

After exploring the main strip of Waikiki and visit the main outlets surrounding Honolulu we hired our own Jeep for the rest of our stay here so we were able to travel without having to rely on all of the trolleys. With that being said we visited Pearl Harbour. Being a modern history in high school only made me extremely excited to visit the site - I always find tours interesting and not to sound so corny, but seeing the conditions all of the soldiers faced really makes you admire what happened.

Later that day we also visited the North Shore of the island of O’ahu. It was a tourist ‘must-do’ thing to do and it was a shame we didn’t go earlier during the day because it was truly an amazing site to see. Especially for a view of the sunset. In addition to that I was also quite surprised it only takes an hour to drive from the north to the south point of the island.

The next stop we made was to the Hilton Hawaiian Resort in Waikiki. It was absolutely beautiful and like a mini city in its own as you can see in the photo above. With multiple towers located within the premises and their own pool and restaurant we were free to roam around and fall in love with the gigantic pool and own private lagoon. It was so relaxing staying in our suite - check out our view! ... it was just a shame I fell ill, I think it was because I swallowed a tad too much in the fresh, light, saltwater beach. Sad face!

I really began to miss eating food: Denny’s, iHop, McDonalds - they were pretty much the basic places I would spend my days at for a quick and easy feed and I couldn’t eat any of it! I had to survive on a diet of Sprite and toasted bread, as well as anti-biotics. It broke my heart seeing as all I could do was sit on the sidelines and watch my family enjoy. Wah!

After a change in plans (we were meant to go to Maui but discovered it would have been $150 for a plane ticket and even more for accomodation) we decided to relocate to a new hotel to spend the remaining three days. This was when we met the Ihilani JW Marriott Resort and Spa which is located on the west coast of O’ahu. Every room seemed to have a view; secluded from the hustle and bustle it was a perfect way to relax - even with a view like this! 

Waking up and going to sleep at a view like that was a dream come true, I’m glad my parents were able to experience it too. Later during the second evening, and unfortunately towards the end of our trip we were finally able to visit a Luau. Whilst most people would typically visit a Luau hours within their first arrival, we pretty much left it last minute. It really makes you appreciate the Polynesian culture; how they’re so traditional and welcoming. I absolutely loved it. And it made me want to learn how to hula! The dancers are so graceful and omg, it was soo cool. Hehehe.

So, there you go guys! I hope everything is going well with you. Let me know if you’ve been to Hawaii before! It was seriously the perfect way to begin a holiday, I wish I didn’t have to leave though.

The Worst Blogger in the History of the Universe

Hey guys, so you're probably wondering, Niki.. What's happening?
I apologise for not blogging as much as I initially intended when I began this blog; I'm starting to think maybe I chose the wrong time to start this considering I'm so busy with work and my trip overseas.
I truly intend on starting proper posts perhaps whilst I'm on my trip and so on which, I leave for on Friday! I'm so excited, my family and I haven't been on a vacation together in a while and we'll be going to the USA! Hawaii, Los Angeles, Vegas and New York. Could I be any more excited!?

I'm really trying to think about how I could start a youtube channel - how do people start one? Do they have to make an introduction video or do they just do whatever?
By the way, totally irrelevant to this paragraph but more so relevant to the first. What places do you recommend I check out whilst I'm in the States? Do you have any favourite locations? (I'll definitely be checking in at In-N-Out Burger that's for sure!)

Here's just a few photos I've found on my laptop that's kind of got me a tad bit more excited :) Hope you enjoy! And... bear with me!

How amazing was Beyonce at the Super Bowl Half Time Show - and don't tell me you didn't get excited when Destiny's Child came together and when she did her Crazy In Love strut!