Farewell America

So, the America experience is all over and we’ve left for pastures new.

A few weeks ago, while Sha and I were on the bus returning from Ikea (aka hell of hells), we brainstormed 12 things we learnt and wanted to share from our little trip to America (okay, California). We could probably come up with more, but you have to stop somewhere.

So, without further ado, here they are in no particular order...and with links galore.

What Stu and Sha learnt from America

1. How America uses 25% of the world's energy yet only has 4% of the world's population.
2. Homelessness is a big issue over here.
3. A lot of American stereotypes are unjustified. They DO know how to eat good quality food not just fast food. Of course, this does depend where you are and the prevailing socio-economic factors.
4. Americans often mistake us Kiwis for Brits...in fact, they do it on other blog posts like this...I guess it was the pear cider comment on my blog.
5. San Francisco is an awesome, awesome city! We could definitely live here. Here be a cool blog about San Fran.
6. Vegas and L.A. are all about the money baby! If you have it, everyone else wants it. Maybe this is the reason why...
7. The only way to comprehend the sheer surreality of the Vegas strip is to experience it for yourself. And if you do go, take a gander at this.
   
8. America is HUGE. We only saw a tiny bit of what it has to offer. It would literally take years to see it all. Both Sha and I would love to drive cross country from one side to the other, the ultimate in road trips (maybe we could get our kicks on route 66?) Wow, how many blogs are there on Route 66!? Here's a goodie.
9. If driving - make sure you have a car with a GPS device. Seriously. It's very handy (and most rental cars come with it as standard). Hertz do Neverlost.
10. America does some superb beer. I'm not talking Bud, Millers or Coors but the good stuff. Anything one pour removed from mainstream should do the trick. Check out Rate Beer to see how your favourite tipple fares.
11. Make sure you've read up on tipping. It's pretty straightforward but worth knowing what the score is before you go. Remember to check your meal bill as some places will add a gratuity to it automatically so no need to tip (unless exceptional service). Tipping tips.
12. We want to go back. Yep, we enjoyed ourselves immensely for most of the trip. We would love to return one day - next time we might take a bite out of the big apple and see what the East Side has to offer. Ah, New York.

Well, that's that. America is all done and my next post will absolutely be about castles, snow, beer halls, white sausage, Tollwood, feuerzangenbowle, another castle, Mad King Ludwig II and the town of Munich. And not one mention of lederhosen.