Honeymoon in the USA and Polynesia

Departure ROME - LOS Angeles via Paris

10.30 a.m. Wake up calmly to begin our journey that will take us to touch 2 new continents still unexplored for us: America and Oceania! We put away the last things before definitively closing the only suitcase we decided to bring from Italy since we will pass through Las Vegas where I have already taken the address of the Las Vegas Premium Outlets 875 South Grand Central Parkway Las Vegas, NV 89106 (702) 474-7500 where the bargains are enormous, but let's not get ahead of ourselves too much!! At lunchtime we arrive comfortably by train at Fiumicino airport where, after a sandwich, we board for Paris CDG where we arrive very calmly and the slight delay doesn't frighten us because anyway we have the intercontinental flight the next morning at 10 from CDG to LAX airport and we will sleep one night in one of the hotels near CDG.

(A very apt choice since we met a couple who, leaving the same morning with the 6 a.m. flight, besides having had to get up at 3 in the morning, had to do an incredible rush due to a delay of the Rome-Paris flight and change terminal from 2F to terminal A which, for those who know CDG, with luggage is no walk in the park when you have little time and an intercontinental flight to catch!!!) Anyway on the morning of the 13th we board the Air Tahiti Nui flight, which for those who decide to travel to Polynesia and make a stop over in the USA has the best fare, and we arrive in Los Angeles!

LOS ANGELS

Arrived at LAX we rent a class B FORD FUSION 2800 V6 which we will leave in San Francisco. After a few minutes to understand how the automatic gearbox and the NEVERLOST navigator work, which you absolutely must get if you want to undertake such a long trip in the USA, we arrive at the hotel in Beverly Hills very close to Rodeo Drive where we immediately go for a stroll, but whether it's because of the heat or because it's Sunday there's no one around and so we take a few photos along the street and after a pizza we get back in the car and take a drive towards the beaches where we arrive at sunset but the humid and cold air and the jet lag tiredness don't make us want to stay longer also because we realise that the traffic is very similar to the Cristoforo Colombo in August in Rome!!

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

If you decide to go to Los Angeles you CANNOT NOT visit the STUDIOS...an amusement park for adults that deserves a whole day! so in the morning as soon as we wake up at 6!! perhaps due to the not fully absorbed jet lag we rely on our Neverlost which takes us inside the studios after a drive among the villas of Bel Air! Here we spend a beautiful day of fun. Important Tips: -Buy the tickets on the Internet even the day before from the hotel, avoid useless queues and as soon as you arrive do the upgrade for the FRONT which allows you to skip all the queues! -Most beautiful attractions Waterworld and the Simpsons

LOS ANGELS - FLAGSTAFF ( 750 Km )

In the morning we wake up early again and after leaving the hotel we take a walk on Hollywood Blv. also known as the Walk of Fame... the Hollywood walk of stars with their handprints. After a few photos and a bit of shopping we decide to begin our first stage, over 600km of road await us beyond the hills of Los Angeles. The road is very fascinating, the landscape changes continuously before our eyes and the Km or rather the Miles flow quickly thanks also to the automatic gearbox and the cruise control which allows us not to pay too much attention to not exceeding the limits of the US highways! In the evening a little tired we arrive in FLAGSTAFF which we discover by reading our Lonely Planet to be a lively university town but with a detail that is to say the least disturbing...

this city has the record for the number of freight trains passing through it, over 100 every day, each of which during the night signals its arrival with a long whistle. So we hope to have a hotel far from the railway but as was to be expected our Best Western is right in front of the railway, but our room is on the right side. After a shower and a little rest we take a tour of the city passing through the shopping centre where we discover the Hollister shop (Brand of Aberchrombie & Fitch) where we begin our US shopping tour!! and so in the evening, after an excellent dinner based on a rear steak and french fries, we fall asleep in a flash.

FLAGSTAFF - GRAND CANYON ( 150 Km )

Very early in the morning we leave our BW and set off to reach the first park on our itinerary, the GRAND CANYON! As soon as we arrive in the park we take our room at the BW inside the park and, having bought the annual pass, very convenient for anyone who decides to see quite a few of them like us, we head towards the South Rim where the view is nothing short of incredible! I finally have the chance to go wild with my new EOS 500d, paid an exorbitant amount, snapping away in burst mode!! After a few hours we decide to go back to the hotel and then return at sunset when the colors of the Canyon turn a surreal red!

GRAND CANYON - RED CANYON - BRYCE CANYON ( 180 Km )

The next morning we wake up early again and head towards Bryce Canyon, but not before making another stop at another scenic area at the exit of the park, this one also stunning. We continue our itinerary through a succession of canyons, plateaus, mountains and cliffs that lead us into RED Canyon, a spectacular fiery red landscape pierced by the bright green of the conifers and the cobalt blue of the sky...A natural spectacle. We continue our journey to Bryce Canyon; we have left Arizona and have already entered Utah. Once inside the park we leave our luggage at the usual BW of the day that welcomes us and head towards BRYCE CANYON to make the most of the last hours of the afternoon before sunset.

If the Grand Canyon is incredible for its majesty, Bryce Canyon is unequalled for its shapes and colors, with the fantastic feature of being able to immerse yourself completely inside the canyon by taking a walk within it along the trails among its red spires. A fantastic feeling that gives you chills. Even though it is less well known than the Grand Canyon, I strongly recommend everyone to stop by Bryce too!!

BRYCE CANYON - LAS VEGAS ( 450 Km )

The next morning we head towards Las Vegas, the city of gambling but above all of the American mentality of luxury and ostentation, creating a city of entertainment and gambling, turning a place almost forgotten by everyone into an attraction for millions of tourists in the middle of the desert where otherwise no one would ever have gone, it's a genius that is purely American!! Anyway, we arrive at the Circus Circus, one of the many hotels on the famous STRIP that also allows a stay of just one night, and we do a first round of the hotels to see the sparkling lights of the city. The following day we stay in Las Vegas and treat ourselves to a few hours of shopping at the Premium outlet where we max out not one but two credit cards and finish off the little cash we had brought to buy a giant-sized suitcase filled to bursting.

Just to give a few examples, Tommy & Hilfiger polos and sweaters $8.00 - $13, in Italy 120 euros!! Oakley sunglasses $120, in Italy 400 euros, Guess jeans $38, in Italy 110 euros, with a very favorable exchange rate of 1.5 euros/$, in short, if you want to renew your wardrobe this is the right place for you!!!! TIP: On a trip with such long mileage, a 2-day stop in Las Vegas is absolutely necessary to recharge and face the second part of the tour more relaxed, especially with the prospect of passing through Death Valley in the summer period!

LAS VEGAS - DEATH VALLEY ( 250 Km )

In the late afternoon we set off towards Death Valley and it doesn't take us long to understand why it was called that!! We enter this forgotten valley without meeting a single car for miles and miles; moreover, don't venture inside without a supply of water with you, the temperatures by day and by night during the months of July and August are close to 50°. Once we reach Furnace Creek, the ONLY hotel in Death Valley, the furnace wind advises us to take a refreshing shower, which however only helps for a few minutes; after stopping at Zabriskie Point, known for the famous film, we honestly can't enjoy it as we would like given the excessive heat, so we head towards the painting road but we are assailed by a sandstorm that allows me to take some very suggestive photos but at the same time advises us to return safely to our hotel.

In the morning at 4, advised by the park guides to avoid problems with the car radiator overheating, we set off towards Yosemite park; during the stop we see landscapes incredible for their peculiarity, the salt lake below sea level, the sand dunes, and the scenery changes suddenly from mile to mile. TIP: Avoid Death Valley in JULY and AUGUST, they are too hot, while it's worth staying even 2 days in MARCH and APRIL when the temperatures allow you to explore all the beauties of the place more calmly.

DEATH VALLEY - YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK ( 280 Km )

After so much heat we finally arrive at Yosemite national park, where waterfalls, woods and a curious BROWN BEAR welcome us into the park!! Here at last, after a trip below the waterfalls under which we cool off, we treat ourselves to some well-deserved relaxation in the pool below one of the park's highest waterfalls! In the hotel where we stay inside the park we find an unusual cockroach of never-before-seen size, so much so that even the hotel attendant is amazed by its size, assuring us he has never seen such big ones...but deep down it's we who are occupying their territory!!!

YOSEMITE N.P. - SAN FRANCISCO ( 300 Km )

In the morning we set off for San Francisco where we are welcomed by a cold and fog that all year round envelop the city of the most famous bridge and prison in America! The strange thing we notice is that unlike the rest of the USA we have toured, here the speed limits on the highways near SF are often ignored! Here we stay at the Sir Francis Drake hotel right in the center behind Union Square! The city is very European and doesn't resemble the classic American cities but more a European capital with neighborhoods each with its own different characteristic. TIP: DON'T BUY ANYTHING AT THE CAMERA SHOPS IN THE HARBOR, VERY OFTEN THEY PULL SCAMS OR SELL NON-ORIGINAL ITEMS AS IF THEY WERE ORIGINAL. I was looking for a Canon lens and I was almost scammed. VARIOUS PEOPLE from SAN FRANCISCO confirmed this fact to me.

SAN FRANCISCO

In San Francisco we do the usual sightseeing tour with the Red bus just to orient ourselves a bit within the city, which is very large and sprawling, but then in the afternoon we take our car and go towards the Golden Gate and I have fun driving up and down the hills of SF's streets like in the most famous films! In the evening we go to eat, after crossing the park, at a restaurant with a very suggestive view of the ocean. TIP: even though I normally prefer to eat local cuisine when I travel, an Italian restaurant where you can eat excellent pasta in the center on Powell Street behind Union Square!

SAN FRANCISCO - LAX - PAPETE

After this long and as fascinating as it is exhausting trip in the USA, the time has finally come to fly towards the most coveted destination for newlyweds.....POLYNESIA!!!

5 NIGHTS IN BORA BORA

FINALLY AFTER 4000 KM IN 11 DAYS we arrive at the long-awaited vacation in Polynesia! the calm and unique beauty of Polynesia in a few hours makes us forget the tiredness accumulated during the tour in the USA and as soon as we arrive we pick up the catalog of excursions to see all the beauties of the island and so in the 5 days we spend with other couples met at our Sofitel resort we enjoy the island. TIPS: Excursions to do: Obviously diving, every resort has its own diving center, but here a trip with swimming with sharks, rays, turtles with a tour of the island. Jet skis to tour the island are also fun but make sure the weather is good.

5 NIGHTS IN FAKARAVA

Bora Bora is the island best known to Italians as far as Polynesia is concerned, but if you want to see the real Polynesia you have to go through Fakarava or Rangiroa. Here everything you see has not been altered by man...there are no ultra-luxury resorts, beaches created specifically by man...here everything is as nature created it, unforgettable places, unequaled colors. if I had to recommend to someone where to go in Polynesia, Fakarava, even if very spartan in its accommodations, is certainly the place for those who like untouched nature. Places to see: Blue Lagoon and the reef south of the island, the most beautiful natural places I have ever seen in my life.

FAKARAVA - PAPETE - LAX - PARIS -ROME

...AND AFTER MORE THAN 36 HOURS OF TRAVEL you wake up and there's a person next to you who says she is your wife but you struggle to recognize her.... or maybe you don't want to,-P)

Happy Travels to everyone.... wherever you are headed!