Nothing excites me more than turning on my out of office, printing off my boarding card and the last-minute frantic packing the night before a trip. Okay… take away the frantic packing and you have yourselves a ball of fun…
Milan
Often described as the fashion capital of the world, Milan has been on my travel wish-list ever since I came back from Rome last December. Italy is so effortlessly beautiful; from the architecture to the chic men and women, I knew I would be returning soon. 🛬
One of my goals for 2016 was to travel alone and when I saw Ryanair flights to Milan for £12.99 each way I knew it was meant to be! Before booking I did ask a few friends if they wanted to go but alas they all declined so I just thought f*ck it, time for some solo YOLO. I always think if you spend you’re time waiting for people you’ll be waiting forever, so you just have to do things for you! 💪🏽
The best thing would be that I’ll be on my own schedule, not worrying about anyone being late to the airport or any waiting around in general. Another challenge that comes with this solo trip is taking hand luggage only, so in preparation I have been scouring travel blogs for handy tips of what to take and useful packing tips. ✍🏽
After booking my super cheap flights (ironically cheaper than some rail tickets in the UK), I was on the hunt for a budget hotel that didn’t resemble a dump. The cheapest ones of course were hostels but the idea of sharing a room with 8-10 other people really puts me off. I just can’t succumb to it. Maybe if I was lucky enough to do that GAP YAAR in-between 6th form and university I’d be more open to it. In my quarter-life crisis, I would like to experience little bit of luxury (within reason). 👀
A few other hotels that came up were really out-of-the-way, meaning I’d be spending most of my time travelling in and out of the city, so I gathered it’d be much easier to stay somewhere central. I came across the Crowne Plaza City Centre, read the TripAdvisor reviews and knew this would be perfect for a few days. At around £135 for two nights, it is actually really good value considering if you were going to be staying in a decent hotel in London, you’d be paying double or triple this amount. 💸
Why I can’t wait to go to Milan…
- The magnificent Duomo
- Shopping (I’m excited to see the holy grail that is Sephora again)
- FOOD 😍
Los Angeles and Las Vegas 🇺🇸
This trip actually started off as a drunken conversation which I can’t believe came to fruition – but I like to think I’m true to my word! My friend and I wanted to do LA and Vegas or New York and Vegas or all three but actually trying to book this on your own is SO MUCH EFFORT and not to mention so expensive. When it comes most of my life I’m a meticulous planner but this really threw me off. Even using a combination of my favourite travel sites (Holiday Pirates, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor etc) it was proving to be an arduous task. 😬
So instead I just started looking at multi-centre holidays and came across Travelbag (which I’d actually used years ago). They had Los Angeles/ Las Vegas trips starting at £939… 😍 which was well within our budget as I was starting to think it might not happen. I sent an enquiry e-mail to find out more and I had a speedy response with flight and hotel options. Not going to lie, the first set of hotels that were sent over kinda resembled a murder scene so I asked for a few more options!
So… I’ll be staying at the 5* Beverly Hilton and The Trump Vegas (Please don’t judge me😂). I would highly recommend B for booking as you only need to leave a £200pp deposit and pay the final balance 12 weeks before you fly. 💡
Having been to the US twice in the past year, you might think I’m a little hooked but I’m just trying to tick places off on my mental bucket-list (and before my future sabbatical!). Not only that, both places have so much to do and see with so many more memories to be made.
Why I can’t wait to go to LA…
– Venice Beach (Roller skates and ice cream anyone?)
– Hollywood Forever cemetery (Where the stars are laid to rest)
– Hollywood sign (You just have to!)
– Griffith Park (To see the City of Angels from a distance)
– Hollywood Walk of Fame
– Hiring a car and driving down the coast blaring Lana Del Rey’s ‘West Coast’ like Thelma and Louise 💁🏾💁🏽
And why I can’t wait to go back to Vegas…
- The Museum of Neon Signs (Sign me up!)
- Britney Spears, J.Lo, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion (90s Char is going to be so happy)
- The Grand Canyon (Not just a big hole in the ground)
- Fat Tuesdays (My last experience of Fat Tuesday landed me in Sephora and $200 poorer)
- In and Out Burger (The best burger I’ve had in my entire life)
Char xo
Becky says
I’m so glad you left your blog link with me, your posts are amazing! Im in love with your writing style, and this post was so enjoyable to read! You’ve made me really want to travel, unfortunately I’m not this year, as I have no one to go with.. i wish I was brave like you and could go somewhere solo! I’d love to visit America that is my absolute dream, amongst Rome, Paris, Italy, Barcelona, Amsterdam, etc etc! I want to explore the world!
Becky Shannon xx – Life-by-Becky
memoirsmusings says
This is the sweetest kindest comment I have ever read! If you’re ever up for a blogger holiday hit me up my love <3 xx
Tania says
Love your blog! ❤ So many tips I have just screenshot!
memoirsmusings says
Thank you my love ❤️❤️❤️