Well im now back home in sunny yorkshire -fully jet-lagged after my flight back from touring california yesterday. All hotels will be entered on the hotel review section as soon as i figure how to add them.

San Francisco - Amazing place - weather took some getting used to - hot during the day but then come 4ish when the fog rolled in - god it was cold -especially at the tram terminal in fishermans wharf - the bloke who was selling fleeces out the back of his van was making a killing out of us brits!! Did the usual tourist stuff - lombard street was exactly how i imagined it to be - from there we walked the 20mins to coit tower for views across the bay- paid the small fee for the lift to the top before walking back down to fishermans wharf. Personally glad we chose not to stay here as we found it great during the day but not as much going off at night as there was in union square - (stayed at the cartwright just a short walk from the square) - the trolleys were great - best ride i have been on is hanging off the side whilst it shoots down the steep roads and for $3 was well worth the money. I would highly recomend the alcatraz evening audio tour - we booked months before as we had heard they sell out fast - just remember to wrap up as it was freezing, also went on the boat trip under the goldengate bridge with red and white fleet - i forget the cost as we had vouchers but wasn;t expensive. By the way - what is this clam chowder stuff??? it smelt vile and shops were selling it everywhere?? Could go on for ages but got another two places yet.

Las Vegas - One word - un-believable - this was my favourite place - despite the weather hitting 121 on one of the days. Was way too hot to do much during the day except gamble and sunbathe!! - did the grand canyon helicopter tour with pappillion - lasted about 4hrs as we landed in the bottom had a champagne lunch - should have gone on the boat in the river but we had just flew through a monsoon and the pilot said it was too dangerous - trip was well worth the $356 took some fantastic pictures and will never forget flying through it. Took in O at the bellagio - we paid less and were on the front row of the balcony - got a really good view and would highly advise people see this but book before you go as the queue for stand by tickets was massive. We also tended to use the new monorail alot - cost $10 for 24hr unlimited use which was great in the heat and stopped outside the Imperial Palace where we were staying. The fountains of the bellagio brought tears to my eyes and after 10pm they go every 15mins. Didnt do freemont street as didnt have time - just means got somewhere else to go next time. Also had a really good buffet in the flamingo for about $15 - had really good choice - the one in the bellagio is supposed to be really good but we found the queues to be at least 2 hours long. Vegas is amazing - spending time wandering through all the hotels - will certainly be back.

L.A - stayed at the Hyatt - west hollywood - was my least favourite place - you either love it or you hate it - didnt altogether hate it and im glad i have seen it. Did universal studios- we got issued money off vouchers in our hotel - found a day long enough to see it all. Was disappointed with the mummy ride - nowhere near as good as the one in florida but hollywood is the film studios and not as much a theme park. The studio tour was good especially Tom cruises new film set was well worth a look. Chinese theater was funny - never seen as many fake elvis and imperonaters (cant spell) in one place. Did the star line tour round all the houses - sorry to be a downer again but this was utter waste of cash as everything was "this is where so and so used to live" - we later heard that it was just as good to get a map over the road and see it yourself. There was one main highlight for me that stands out from the rest of the trip. We paid $35 and went to warner brother studios tour -not the VIP one at $135 as we got told the cheaper one was just as good. The groups are small with about 8 people. When you get there - make friends with the guide especially if you wanna see something. Im a die hard friends fan and got to see everything - they took us into the house of ross and monica of the prom night and also the highlight which i will never forget is when i got to sit on the settee in centrel perk - took loads of photos - lots of filming going off aswell - we even got to see kurt russel as he was filming. Went on the set of Joey and finnished off in the museum - for all the harry potter fans -the top floor is dedicated to it. Anyway - hope ive not rambled on too much and probably missed loads of other things. Forgot to mention Rodeo Drive - well worth a look. Also saw the skeleton key movie premier with kate hudson at city walk - for those of you who are wanting to see celebrities at these type of things then go onto http://www.seeing-stars.com and click under events. Best bit was - you can be staing in the queue for a burger and you never no who you may end up talking to- ie stephen dorf in saks on rodeo drive . Back to the states again next year and cannot wait xx