Chris Dyson's Travel Blog

With less than a couple of months to go until South America, I have been to the doctor to get various vaccines in preparation. In total I had 4 different vaccines, 3 of which where free on the British NHS and the 4th was a Yellow Fever vaccine which cost me £55. It lasts for life and is common in South America and central Africa spread through mosquito bites. Once the vaccine has been done, you are given a small certificate as evidence because some countries require to see it as part of the entry requirements at the border. Some free travel competitions to enter: Win A Pair Of Return Economy Flights To Miami Courtesy of Virgin Atlantic Answer - C) Statue of Liberty Closes - 15th December 2019 https://www.brightsun.co.uk/competition Win a 10-night holiday for two to Hawaii Answer - Family Closes - 16th December 2019 http://sharethealoha.co.uk/win.html Win a city break for two in Vienna Answer - On City Hall Square Closes - 22nd December 2019 https://www.wien.info/en/comp...

With just a couple of months to go until South America I have started to finalise things for this trip. This will be the first time I have been to the continent and have decided to make an appointment for the Yellow Fever vaccine. Although it is mainly Brazil that it is most common (which I am not visiting on this occasion) I have decided to get it as a precaution for Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. A Google Earth animation preview of this tour can be found below: I have managed to order 2 out of the 4 currencies online as they are not common ones some of them were hard to get hold of before reaching the country. I have got my hands on some Chilean Pesos and Peruvian Sol and will need to pickup some local Bolivian currency when I get there. As for Colombia I am in the country less than 12 hours so I can just use my card at the airport to get some food before joining a city tour.  After this multi-country group tour is over it should take my total tally of visited count...

Panorama Glass Lodge stay for two in Iceland *Return flights for two from Europe to Reykjavik, Iceland. *3 nights accommodation at The Panorama Glass Lodge, Iceland. Enter Here - https://www.tedbaker.com/uk/win-with-Ted Competition closes on 21st October 2019. Canadian Rockies ski holiday to Banff & Lake Louise * 7-night trip for two people, departing on the 7th March 2020. *2 x return flights and transfers. Enter Here -  https://www.skiworld.co.uk/ski-deals/banff-competition Competition closes on 29th October 2019. Short break for two in Venice * Return flights from London to Venice for two adults. *A 2-night stay for two adults in Venice. *30-minute gondola ride for two adults. Enter Here -  https://www.specsavers.co.uk/prizes/venice Competition closes on 31st October 2019.

I was staying at a hostel around the corner from the drop off point after my tour finished, so I walked around there to quickly check-in because I had things to do and explore in New York. Once I was sorted and had a quick rest, I went to the High Line Park. The Park is a former train track that was converted into a park in 2009. High Line Park. I then walked to Times Square just as the sun was setting to see the famous billboard lights. It was very busy as it is obviously a very popular area. I then walked around the corner to the beautiful Grand Central Terminal. It certainly is very grand and big to look at on the inside. Times Square. My final destination of the day was to go up the Empire State building with my prepaid ticket that I bought online. I got to skip one of the entry lines but still had a very short wait for the elevator but no big deal. I took some photos and went to bed for the night as I was very tired. Up the Empire State Building at night...

Our final group tour breakfast this morning opened at 06:30am, with the same usual early risers there first thing. The coach loaded just before 07:45am as we started the drive back north east to complete the tour. The mornings drive would be around 3 hours as we made our way once again to Pennsylvania. This time we would be spending an extended stop in Philadelphia where we can explore and have lunch at Reading Terminal Market. Before we got there we drove through Delaware for about 20 minutes in the early morning, to add to the count of states visited on this trip. Philadelphia City Hall. After lunch we had a 90 minute walking tour of the city, stopping at as many places that we could in the time we had available. At 13:30pm we made the final push as a group to get back to New York. Independence National Historical Park. We hit the usual traffic getting into New York from New Jersey but the tour concluded at 16:00pm and everybody said their goodbyes. A vide...

Breakfast opened at 06:30am this morning which we had a voucher for, before loading everything onto the coach 1 hour later. Today we would be making the long drive to the nation's capital of Washington DC, where we would spend 2 nights. We drove for around 4 hours with a morning break before arriving at our quick 45 minute lunch stop. As we continued on through Pennsylvania, we were able to pass through an Amish community. We stopped here briefly to look at a farm with miniature horses before driving closer to our final destination for the day. Miniature horses. We continued on towards Washington DC passing through Baltimore, where we arrived around 5:30pm. Before check-in at the hotel we visited Arlington National Cemetery which has many gravestones of those who lost their lives in the many wars America had fought in. Arlington National Cemetery. Later in the evening we had a quick drive around to see a few of the memorials lit up at night. We finished ...

This afternoon we drove from Detroit, Michigan to Cleveland, Ohio for lunch and some free time to explore. Some of the group went to the rock and roll hall of fame museum to spend a couple of hours in there. I personally walked and explored the city itself for a few hours taking various photos and videos. We all met up again on the coach at 4:30pm before driving further towards Pittsburgh. Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum. This would be our 3rd city of the day, arriving after a quick rest stop turnaround for some dinner. Upon arrival we took the Duquesne Incline Railway up the hill to get some nice photos of the city skyline, as the light started to fade. We then checked into the hotel after 9pm ending a long day. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A video of this day can be found below: