// us holiday wrap-up

We were very lucky to have the opportunity to visit America for a month this summer. Our stay there was truly memorable and is one of the highlights of 2015. We loved it so much that we’re constantly convincing our mother to move there in a few years, ha! It was exciting going to places we’ve never been before, eating at restaurants we’ve never eaten at before and shops we’ve never been to. If you’ve read our older blog posts, you’d know that we’ve been to the most famous landmark in Arizona which is the Grand Canyon and of course the beautiful city of Los Angeles. We were also able to explore the different cities in Arizona such as hip downtown Tempe, to Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale and Phoenix. 

 

Our uncle has actually taken us to one of the night art walks in Tempe. If not mistaken it happens every first Friday of the month. They close off streets and then different art galleries, vintage shops and stalls selling a variety of things and food open up. There was this one art gallery where the woman gave us gum, asked us to chew then spit it out on her hand. She then sticks it onto the wall, it was for her contemporary project. We came across a vintage bookshop which was lovely but surprisingly no book caught my eye so I wasn’t able to buy anything. The atmosphere was amazing. Loads of friends and family came all over Arizona. There was live music, varying from jazz to rap. Different kinds that would suit your taste. One thing I liked the most about Tempe though was their street art and graffiti. It was really beautiful and I wish I could’ve taken more to show you guys.

 

 

 

 

 

We were also able to go to Phoenix Zoo! It’s such a bummer how it’s only open till 2 in the afternoon. We freakin’ walked around the zoo at 12 noon when the sun was at it’s highest and it was scorching hot. In the pictures below you could see some of the animals we saw.

Besides our love at first taste with Chipotle, we also tried Rubio’s Mexican Grill, which according to my uncle was Chipotle’s competition lol. They were both really good! Hanna ordered the grilled mahi-mahi tacos and I got the salsa verde shrimp which was yum! We loved it. They’re both our faves, you could get something from Rubio’s that you wouldn’t get at Chipotle and vice versa. 

We got to try Sonic, which is a drink shop (if you didn’t know!). Our other uncle treated us after we went for a swim. They sell these massive (really good) milkshakes and slurpees which was bomb. So you park your car and you make your order. They then bring your order to you whilst wearing rollerblades, how cool is that? And if it’s ten past in the evening, everything in the menu is half priced. I got the frozen limeade, cherry limeade for Kyra and Oreo milkshake for Hanna. 

And last but not least, we went to Scottsdale to check out Scottsdale Fashion Square and of course go to Sprinkles! If you didn’t know what Sprinkles cupcakes was, you must be living under a rock because I would always see it on tumblr and youtubers always post about it on different on their instagrams and stuff. The cupcakes were a bit pricey but it was worth every frickin’ dollar. This may sound over exaggerated but their cupcakes was out of this world good. Hanna got the Salty Caramel, Vegan Red Velvet for me, Cinnamon Sugar for my aunt and Chai Tea for my Grandma. Hanna and I got sad that our cupcakes was gone so we got more from the cupcake ATM this time (Don’t judge! We ate it the next day) ATM!? For cupcakes!? How adorable is that. It’s also hassle free because you just pay by card. I’ll probably research their recipe and try to recreate it even though I know deep inside it wouldn’t be as good. 

I'm crossing my fingers and toes that we get to go back in America next year and do stuff we weren't able to do during our last stay. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and loved looking at the photos :)