It’s been over 2 months since I found out that I’d won the incredible #DTour of a Lifetime competition run by DoubleTree by Hilton (read my blog post about winning), and I found out I’d be travelling to North America in a Google Hangout with the other 5 DTourists, which you can watch here.

         This means that I’ve been desperate to find out exactly where I’ll be going in the US and Canada for over 2 months! I’m not a particularly patient person, so I’m not sure how I managed it. But I have eventually received my flight confirmations and my itinerary – and I can’t contain my excitement! I’ll be taking a total of 8 flights and visiting 7 incredible cities, starting on the west coast in California on Monday 14th October and finishing the DTour on the east coast in New York on Wednesday 30th October. I’m in desperate need of tips and suggestions for things to do and see in each of these places, as I’ve never been to any of them before except for New York (on a school art trip when I was 17). So this is a plea for your help.

Click below to see the Google Map of the route I’ll be taking.

         I’ll touch down in San Francisco, California, and be whisked away to the Sonoma Wine Country hotel. I have heard San Fran is one of the coolest places in the States so I’m really excited to explore it, see the Golden Gate Bridge and go wine tasting in Sonoma Valley.

         Next up is Hotel Maya in Long Beach, near Los Angeles, the city of a million movies, Oscar winners and struggling actors. And 90210 of course!

         Then I leave California and head over to Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’m sure Las Vegas will be wild and rather awing, although as I’ll be there by myself, I’m kind of wondering how that will turn out! Drinking and gambling alone? Surely that is just asking for disaster… We shall see!

         The next stop continues the list of Spanish-named places as I head towards the Mexican border and visit San Antonio in Texas. I’ve been to Houston a few times before but don’t remember much about it other than the fact that everything is HUGE. For San Antonio I will really need your tips, as I have never even heard of it before. I’ll be staying in The Emily Morgan hotel.

         From here on the temperature will drop as I head up to Chicago for 3 nights in theWit hotel (the photos of the hotel look stunning!). While I’m up there I’m hopefully going to meet up with two of my fellow DTourists, MJ Tam who’s travelling to Asia, and A Lady Away who’s just set off for her DTour around Europe! You should definitely check out their blogs to see where their DTours take them.

         Leaving the US, I’m going to the Niagara Falls in Canada, and one friend has said that “Canada is like a mix of the best bits of the US and the best bits of England.” So I have high expectations!

          Then I pop back into the US to finish up the trip in New York, staying in the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Times Square no less! I’m looking forward to returning to New York 7 years after my last visit, and this time being able to drink and go out! I’ll be taking a Walking Food Tour around Brooklyn to try out all the different cuisines on offer, but apart from that what do you recommend I do there? I’ve already done the major art galleries (during the art trip that actually turned into a major shopping spree as the dollar-sterling exchange rate back then was amazing – everything cost basically half what it would cost in the UK). So what else must I make sure I visit? As a very keen follower of Gossip Girl, I have some pretty amazing preconceptions of the Big Apple!

         And then after that 16-night mammoth trip covering a whopping 12,243 miles, it’ll be nearly November and it’ll be time for me to come back down to earth and return to the UK, where the rain will be in full swing by then. Let’s not linger on that unappetising prospect for too long.

         So now I know my itinerary and am setting off in just over two weeks from now, it throws up even more questions: what’s the weather like in each of these 7 places? What should I pack? What activities can I do? Will I remember to say ‘restroom’ instead of ‘bathroom, and ‘check’ instead of ‘bill’?