Salt Lake City, Utah.

I decided to take a spur of the moment trip in April to see my friend Meg who has been doing her year abroad in Salt Lake City. I was excited and curious to visit Utah and see how different it was from California. When I arrived I had a wander around the city and became aware of how nice it was and how different it was to downtown Long Beach. It was refreshing to have the main shopping mall actually in the city centre and it was designed to have the roof open on warm days. The area was very nicely designed and well-kept to compliment the impressive Mormon Temple which is also at the heart of the city. It was even more interesting on that particular day as there was a Comic Convention which meant people were walking around in all types of wacky costumes. I met Meg and after grabbing some food at Subway she showed me around the city. That night we went out for Pizza at The Pie with her friend which was really good.

The next day we walked through the University campus and went to the bookstore where I bought a couple of T-shirts. We then went to a British Store where an American was pretending to be English with a bad Cockney accent. I'm sure it was obvious to the American customers who the real English were when they heard us! We then went downtown and saw some of the important old buildings and a colourful arty mural which I would not have expected to see in Salt Lake but it shows how interesting and diverse the city actually is.

University of Utah stadium:

Downtown Salt Lake Art:

After we had seen downtown we took the train to Syracuse for Easter weekend to stay with a family Meg had met when she arrived in the US. We went for a walk and saw the snow-capped mountains and then headed back to the house to try an American Easter tradition, dip-dyeing eggs!

View of the Mountains from Syracuse:

An American Easter Tradition, Dip-Dying Eggs:

On Easter Sunday we had a relaxing day, including an Easter egg hunt, lots of candy, and some amazing food, which you appreciate that much more when you've been living on dining hall food for months! We then went back to the city and visited the LDS Church temple and also saw the Utah State Capitol Building.

The Salt Lake Temple:

Salt Lake Selfie with Meg:

Utah State Capitol:

Salt Lake City Council Hall:

View of the Salt Lake in the background:

The Temple at Sunset:

The Mother and Children Statue in Temple Square:

The Temple at dusk:

Salt Lake City, surrounded by its impressive mountains, is definitely worth a visit! Thanks Meg for having me! I'd love to go back to Utah for longer, especially to fully experience the natural beauty of the state, which unfortunately I did not get time to do while in the USA.