Skip to main content

Things I Learnt in America

Hello!




Last October my mum and I went on a holiday to America! I was so excited as that had been at the top of my list of places to visit. We went to Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Washington and Ohio. A friend picked us up from Ohio and drove us to Michigan. We stayed there for a night and then went to Toronto, Canada.


In this post, I am going to share a few things I learnt in America - Differences between there and Australia, things that surprised me and a little information about the sights. I will start with our first destination, LA.




Los Angeles
  • Driving from LAX airport, I thought we would pass by well known buildings but it was mostly grass, like we were in the middle of nowhere, until we got to Hollywood & Highland, where our hotel was.
  • There are so many people dressed up as movie characters walking around and you can take photos with them but you have to pay them. On our first day there, my mum and I were exploring the area near the hotel and we took photos with some characters including Shrek, Batman and Edward Scissorhands. After taking the photos, we said thank you and walked away but noticed they were following us, expecting some money so my mum gave them some.
  • McDonalds in America have a bigger menu than Australia with things we don't have such as Smokehouse burgers, buttermilk crispy chicken and yogurt. They call some of their burgers sandwiches and biscuits. After watching the movie Supersize Me at school, I thought super size meals would be an option but they ended it in 2004.
  • I thought I might see a celebrity walking around at some point so I kept an eye out for a camera crew but I didn't see any. I would have loved to see someone famous.


We stayed at the Hilton Harden Inn
Highland Avenue

Edward Scissorhands
Make sure you have money before you take a photo with any of the characters!

A sausage biscuit with egg from McDonalds
Photo: McDonalds Website

Boston
  • In Harvard University, there is a statue of a founder. My aunty told us that it is actually a former student. People touch the statue for good luck .
  • You can take a "duck tour" of the city on a bus that goes on both the road and water.
  • The Charles River is 800 miles long.
  • Houses in the area we were staying in all looked similar. They are called Tudor houses.
  • The Leonard Bridge is the widest cable bridge in America.
The statue in Harvard University

Inside the Duck Tour bus

Leonard Bridge

New York
  • Central Park is huge! The first thing we did when we arrived in New York was go for a walk around there with my cousin, his wife and daughters. We took a long walk and then we looked at a map of the park and found that we hadn't covered even half of it! It is so beautiful!
  • To go to the Statue of Liberty, you need to catch a ferry as it's on an island. We didn't actually get off there. We just saw it from the ferry.
  • The ball in Time Square that drops at Midnight on New Year's Day is much smaller than we thought.
  • On television, the subway looks scary but it's actually much better than it appears in shows. They exaggerate it.
Central Park

Statue of Liberty



Washington
  • You can only look at the Whitehouse and take photos from across the street.

The White House



  • When you go to a shop counter to buy something, the price of the item will be more than what is on the tag.
These are just a few things I learnt while I was there. I really enjoyed my time in America and wish I could have stayed there longer. I hope to go there again one day!

Vishi xoxo


 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Virtual Stop #1: Lymington - A Seaside Gem Discovered by Chance

Welcome to my virtual travel series, where I explore beautiful corners of the world without leaving my bed. Inspired by TikTok livestreamers and walking tour videos, these posts capture what I see, feel and learn as I journey through new places from afar.  I wasn't planning to visit Lymington - not virtually, not in any way. I had never heard of it before watching my favorite singing buskers livestream from the quaint little town in the UK and now I'm captivated. The charm of Lymington unfolded before my eyes: Cobbled pathways, rows of boats bobbing gently at the marina and friendly locals to stop and enjoy the music. I experienced it from my bed.  There is something so welcoming about the town, The people passing by weren't just polite - they were supportive. Some clapped, others left kind words or a few coins, and a few even stayed for songs. There are three ladies who go often to support the guys. They have all been following them on TikTok for a while and met each other...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Prove It Game

The public opinions on Meghan Markle, or Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are divided. Some love her and most seem to hate her. I admire her in some ways. I just watched an interview she did with podcast host Jamie Kern Lima and something she said resonated with me.  Image from Jamie Kern Lima YouTube.  Here it is: "We spend so much of our lives trying to prove something. You have to prove that you're enough, you have to prove that you're pretty enough, you have to prove that you're smart enough, you have to prove that you're a good wife or a good friend, and I am just so done with the prove it game. When you get to the place where you feel like I don't have to prove anything to you anymore. I don't have to prove that I'm a good person, I don't have to prove that I'm a good wife or mum or friend, I don't have to prove that I work hard. It can be really freeing when you stop playing the prove it game." - Meghan Markle. I completely agree with...
Post a Comment
Read more

Social Media Ban

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that the Australian Government will enact laws to ban children under 16 years of age from social media and here I am sharing my thoughts on this.  Image from The Chapel Hairdressers - Horsham Facebook page  There are many benefits of social media. We can share photos and videos with our families and friends to keep them updated on our lives, instantly communicate with them, have a record of special memories, businesses can promote their products and services, connect with people professionally and do so much more. So many people are working on social media full time as influencers, working with brands and creating content online  and some have even married people they met online.  Social media can also be used as a weapon.   Preteens and teenagers go through puberty, stress about getting good grades at school, do their best to live up to their parents expectations, have many things they are worried about and just wan...
Post a Comment
Read more