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Contiki Grand Southern Tour Part Three

Last night in #florida 💖🇺🇸 #staugustine

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Miami rooftops 🎉🇺🇸 #saturdaynight

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Hi guys, part three of my Contiki trip is here!

After we left Orlando we visited three other cities in the state of Florida before making our way down to Georgia, Charleston and Raleigh. We’ve had a hectic week exploring lots of different places; highlights have included parasailing on Daytona Beach and hopping on a thriller speed boat ride in Miami! Here’s how the past few days have turned out…

Miami

 

I'm in Miami bitchhh! 🇺🇸🎉🇺🇸🎉 #noregrets #grandsouthern #miami

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I was sooo looking forward to reaching Miami as it’s somewhere I have always wanted to go and I certainly wasn’t disappointed! We spent time on the famous Miami beach swimming in the sea, checking out the trendy range of bars, shops and restaurants and hitting up some of the many clubs dotted around this iconic city. We also went on a thriller speed boat ride across Biscayne bay and ventured out to Star Island where we saw the homes of famous A-listers including Brad Pitt,  Jennifer Lopez and Sylvester Stallone. Miami was incredible and I would go back in a heart beat!

Daytona Beach

 

Another day another beach 🇺🇸🌊 #daytona

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We made our way to Daytona after spending two nights partying it up in Miami so it was a welcome break when we were able to chill out on the beach and soak up some sun! We ventured down the promenade, visited the arcades and rides, hit the shops and also had a little movie night down at the local cinema. My absolute highlight was parasailing along the beach; being hoisted 600ft up in the air, cruising along with the waves lapping down below and watching dolphins swimming in the distance – possibly one of the best things I have ever done in my life!

St Augustine

St Augustine 😍🇺🇸 #Florida #contiki #noregrets

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Ah this place is so beautiful!! I didn’t expect much from this little town at all, but St Augustine has been one of my favorite locations on the tour so far! We explored the historic fortress, cobbled streets and old buildings during our short stay and it was one of the most picturesque places I have ever been to. For those of you who like Spain or anywhere with a Mediterranean vibe, this is the place for you- it really is beautiful!

 

I went to infinity and beyond in space today 🇺🇸🚀 @nasa #USA #america #nasa #contiki #noregrets #kennedyspacecenter #grandsouthern

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After our stay-over we made our way to Savannah via the Kennedy Space Centre and stopped to explore NASA HQ for a while! The centre was interactive, informative and so interesting and we certainly saw some iconic space sights during our day there – we loved going to infinity and beyond!

Savannah

Arrived in #Savannah and it is BEAutiful! 🇺🇸😍 #Georgia #america #USA #contiki #noregrets #grandsouthern @contiki @statravel

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Much like St Augustine, Savannah turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip! We spent two nights in this beautiful city exploring the cobbled streets, local restaurants and bars and soaking up the Georgian history. We also took a ghost tour around the haunted streets of the city stopping at a couple of spooky sites to see if we could check out some paranormal activity. Savannah is a beautiful place and I’m thrilled to have spent two nights there exploring everything properly!

Charleston

 

#Charleston 🇺🇸🇺🇸

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This was one of my favourite spots but unfortunately we had barely any time at all to explore this little gem! Brimming with cute café’s, shops, bars and restaurants, the city’s harbour also boasts resident porpoises and other sea life. There was so much history and culture on offer in the city and I just wish we had the time to see more!

#tbt to this place in #Charleston 🇺🇸 #America #USA #contiki #grandsouthern #noregrets #throwbackthursday

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On our way back from Charleston we stopped at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, home to America’s last large scale romantic style gardens. This is also the site where a number of slaves were kept during the slave trade in America and we learnt a lot about the history of this as well as exploring the beautiful gardens, local petting zoo and original house owned by the Drayton family.

Raleigh

 

 

We literally only had one night here in this little place and really didn’t get to explore much of it at all, but we did have dinner and check out the adventure land where we acted like big kids playing go karting, laser quest and mini golf! I’m not sure what there was to explore in Raleigh but it looked super cute.. answers on a postcard please!

I can’t believe that I’m now on the final stretch of this trip and in just a few days time it will all be over! I am having the time of my life and so don’t want to go home! My final few days will be recapped in part four of my blog and I’ll post this ASAP.

Speak soon!

Love Jess x

 

Savannah ghost hunting with my #contiki fam 👻💀👻💀

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Savannah and Charleston, you've both been beautiful!! Next stop Washington DC 🇺🇸🇺🇸 #noregrets #contiki #grandsouthern

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Contiki Grand Southern Tour Part Two

 

Baseball baseball ⚾️⚾️ #Memphis

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Hey everyone!

Part two of my American adventure is here! Sorry about the wait but I’ve just been having too much fun to blog 😉 Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been everywhere from New Orleans to Miami and I’ve had a blast! Here’s what I’ve been doing…

Fortworth/Dallas

Ah Texas you stole my heart! I absolutely loved my time in this state and Fortworth/Dallas were one of the highlights for me. We strolled around the western town of Fortworth and explored the historic stockyards before making a day trip to Dallas. We visited the Sixth Floor Museum, the site where the late president John F Kennedy was assassinated, and paid tribute to him at one of the many memorials around the city. We also visited the Dallas Cowboys football stadium for a private tour which was a fantastic experience and somewhere definitely worth stopping if your a sporting fan! There’s so much I haven’t seen of Texas and its one of my favourite states so I’ll definitely return one day!

 

 

Stockyard station at #fortworth 🐴🚂 #Texas

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Memphis

After crossing the Mississippi river, stopping at Texarkana, and being in two states at the same time, we made our way towards the rock n roll city of Memphis, Tennessee. We toured Graceland, the home of Mr Elvis Presley, and visited Sun Studios where the likes of The King, Johnny Cash and Jerry-Lee Lewis recorded. We also hit up Beale Street for some epic nightlife and watched a minor league baseball game at the Memphis Redbirds Autozone Park. Memphis was such a vibrant city with so much to see and do; if you’re a music fan this is most definitely the place for you!

 

 

 

New Orleans

New Orleans was a funny place for me, I still don’t know how I feel about it and I’ve been thinking about this since I left there! It’s not that I didn’t enjoy myself, it’s just that I felt there wasn’t enough to see and do to make it stand out for me. I felt the whole place was hot, busy and slightly smelly but that may have been all the sewage problems! Having said that, I had a fantastic time alligator hunting on a swamp boat and enjoying some authentic jazz music down on French street!

 

 

We also explored the local flea market to pick up some bargains and saw the fairytale square of Jackson Square both at night and during the daytime. I may need to return to central New Orleans in order to get the most out of this city as we were staying in the downtown area, but I’d love to hear your thoughts or tips on how I can get the most out of any potential future visits! I also did an Instagram takeover for Travelex UK during my time in the city – head over and check out their Insta page to see my selection of photos!

 

 

Panama City beach

Panama City Beach was one of the hidden gems of Florida and I had a wonderful time with the most amazing view from the hotel room! We spent most of our time at the beach, having dinner and exploring some of the local shops. Panama was beautiful and I really could have done with one more night there!

Orlando

Orlando was one of the highlights for me, mainly because I went to the happiest place on earth!! For any of you that know me well enough, I’m the worlds biggest Disney fan and have been wanting to visit Walt Disney World for as long as I can remember. My dreams finally came true in Orlando and I spent 15 hours running around the parks like a child from dawn til dark! I watched the parades and the fireworks, went on tonnes of rides, ran around after characters and just soaked up the Disney atmosphere in full. I had the time of my life at Disney and can’t wait to go back one day! 💖

 

 

After Orlando we ventured to other parts of Florida and have just been to Georgia for two nights checking out the charming city of Savannah! As you can tell, I’m a little behind on the blog posts but I’ll write again with part three ASAP.

Don’t forget you can still follow my adventure on snapchat @jessica16_x as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Until next time!

Love Jess x

 

Finally found my dream horse 🐴🐴 #Dallas

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#Texas you've been a blast! Next stop #Memphis 🔫🇺🇸🎉 @contiki #noregrets #USA #america #contiki #grandsouthern

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