California knows how to party (part 2)

And I'm back with another round of vacation bragging... I left off at San Francisco which I've come to learn is known as the industrial city although I really thought that it was the city of cheese and hills. Maybe even hills made of cheese.

Anyway... Day 7: After a quick breakfast at Just For You, where I had a wonderful french toast that was just for me but someone (the boo) didn't get the memo and kept swiping bites, we headed for Camp Curry in Yosemite which is where I was roughing it out (ok more like glamping, the tent has a light, a bed and is heated but there was no electricity in the tents when we arrived because of a fire that happened near the generators plus I totally had to use communal bathrooms GASP). We spent the night stargazing which included lying on the really cold floor of a field and shivering but it was very beautiful.

It's better in person.

Peekaboo! This dude and his buddy were just hanging out at the camp. Even the squirrels weren't scared of people.

Totally worth it

Day 8: After breakfast, it was ADVENTURE TIME which meant taking a strenuous 5-6 hour hike up Nevada Falls. And before you jump to the conclusion that I had to be carried up and I cried because the sun got in my eyes - You are wrong suckerrrrr! I was totally owning that mountain. But that's also because it wasn't the most strenuous route (that one is the climb up half dome and apparently there are parts where it's practically a vertical hike nothankyoudonotcomeagain). So up we went and we brought along a sandwich lunch to eat at the top of the falls which was so scenic although a squirrel kept harassing me for food. Then because the previous evening's stargazing left us wanting more, we drove an hour to some supposedly awesome vantage point (this time with blankets) and plonked ourselves down and collectively we saw 6 shooting stars which means that we win at life and all our wishes come true.

This is the way I hike.

Do not get eaten by bears.

The view from the top or at least from pretty high up

Then I took a nap!

The boo went on and on about the milky way so oohs and ahhs are appropriate now please

Day 9: We left Yosemite for its polar opposite - Las Vegas. We checked in to the MGM Grand hotel which was decent except that it doesn't provide bottled water and the hallways are ridiculously cold. We chowed on some ribs at the Grand Lux Cafe then watched the Cirque Du Soleil show Mystere which lives up to its name because it leaves you pondering mysteries, including but not limited to, 'why babies?', 'why snail?', 'can my body do that?' - I've only an answer to the last question. It's 'no'. Then the boo played some roulette because it's Vegas baby. But more importantly we ate a steak for supper at the Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill which was pretty tender and delicious. 

Vegas reminds me of the movie setting of Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Shoe addict

I totally got scolded a second after taking this picture because evidence of debauchery isn't allowed apparently

The set of Mystere

Day 10: So in between the gambling, we ate at Gordon Ramsey's Burgr (that's not a typo) and the burger was mad yums but it was really packed so service was slow, then we ate at Project where we customised our own pizza and I realise that if I could have it my way, my ideal pizza would be garlic, onions and more garlic (for warding off vampires and any potential love interest too I guess). Then we watched another Cirque - Zumanity. All I can say is: BOOBS!!! Obviously there are no pictures of that but you can do your own google search if you really wanted to, you perv. 

Get in ma belly.

The fries were great

I'd totally have made bank if I was the sole lighting contractor

Day 11: We caught an afternoon magic comedy show by Mac King and it was pretty decent but basically the tickets were cheap and it was a nice break from all the fit Cirque bodies that made me want to take up gymnastics and stop eating food forever. And because we're fancy people, we had dinner at L'atelier by Joel Robuchon. Their starters were FANTASTIC and I was darn near licking the plates to get every last bit of deliciousness. Their mains and desserts were slightly disappointing, while tasty, they weren't as mind-blowing as their starters. But the service was beyond excellent!

The kitchen in the front had our attention the whole night

Spinach and cheese foam was delightful

Duck gyozas with more foam

Day 12 and 13: We headed back to Irvine and were welcomed back by Olive and Mike who kindly prepared ribs, artichoke, and vegetables for another successful BBQ dinner. The next day, we went to the outlet mall at Orange where the boo bought his weight in Penguin shirts. Then we watched Fury in the cinema which left me...Furious. Ba dum tssshhhh.

Welcome home guys - eat food now.

Day 14: More outlet shopping but this time at Citadel which was enroute to LA. We were very successful in stimulating the US economy. You're welcome, America. Then we had dinner at Umami Burger and the boo was so certain that Nicholas Hoult (Beast from X-Men) was sitting behind me. So when he and his friends got up to leave, I went to ask him for a picture. But he seemed kind of disinterested (which was probably my fault since I didn't even know his name or who he was at the time) so I decided against pressing for it. His friends were super nice and chatted to me so does that mean I'm famous too? Autograph signing here for 10 bucks a pop.

He's the one photobombing and totally ruining my picture.

I ate this.

I didn't eat this but it looks nicer in photos than the one I ate

Then we met my cousin moo and husband Adam for the Haunted Hayride (Halloween is taken very seriously here guys so they've got these haunted houses and activities for the month of October) and we sat in some buggy that was pulled by a tractor through a field in Griffith Park with a whole bunch of scary scenarios and people who jump out at you and scream in your ear. 

I look like I just jumped into some stranger couple's photo

The carousel had horse skeletons for spooky effect. And it went backwards so looking at it made me sick.

I've made a terrible mistake

I made some friends

Day 15: We did some last minute gift shopping for our moms and aunts so that meant lots of nuts. I'm not sure what it is about these nuts, and whether there's some conspiracy by the nut factories of America but everyone above the age of 50 asks for nuts when people travel to the states. True story. We hit up a farmers market then Trader Joe's for our nutty goods and steaks for our BBQ dinner. Then we went to Fashion Island to the Penguin store there because apparently you can never have too much Penguin. I imagine if it was the animal I was talking about, I'd be more excited. 

Tip: look for 'certified organic' because some pretend to be but aren't actually

Too. Much. Eating.

Chef Boo hard at work

It was a lovely vacation and aside from shopping, I really enjoyed hiking Yosemite. I'd love to head back to the states again sometime in the near future but you know what? I'm really happy to be back and I'm not sure if I can stay away for so long because.... 

I MISSED NACHOOOOO!!!!

Thanks for reading! Go hug a dog now!