Concert Review: NEW HOPE CLUB, O2 Shepherd's Bush, London

I always like to imagine that I’m discovering all of these great new bands, but the truth is that some are already a lot bigger than I’d thought, and that was certainly the case with New Hope Club. If you’re an avid reader of my blog (if you’re not, what’s going on?), you’ll know that I first experienced New Hope Club a mere few weeks ago as the opening act for The Vamps on their Night & Day Tour - you can read my review of that gig here. I thought they were really good, so when the opportunity came up to see them at their first headlining show at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush, I wasn’t going to say no.

It became clear as I sat in the venue that the band had undoubtedly picked up a lot of new fans like me from their stint opening for The Vamps, as there were a lot of fans of both, with a cohesive singalong when The Vamps Middle of the Night started playing over the speakers. I see a fair bit of similarity between The Vamps and NHC, and only hope they both get the recognition and popularity they rightfully deserve.

Once we were all settled, the show began with an opening act in the form of teen twins Max and Harvey who the internet tells me originally gained fans off of musically. What a different generation it is – ‘back in my day’ YouTube was the place to go to post your songs in the hope someone important would see them and offer you a record deal…

During their set, the twins played both a number of covers, including Shawn Mendes’ Nothing Holding Me Back, Twenty One Pilots Migraine and a cool cover of Bruno Mars’ Finesse, as well as some of their own songs like Shy Girl and One More Day In Love. The best part of their set for me was when they played a game I believe they referred to as Four Chords, where they tried to mashup a number of songs suggested to them by Twitter. This was a fan favourite, for me when they sang Sam Hunt’s Body Like A Back Road, and for many others with songs like HRVY’s Personal and Jacob Sartorius’ Sweatshirt.

After the set was over, the screams continued when The Vamps’ James and Tristan were spotted in the VIP section, and again an absolutely huge scream when the stage lights came up to reveal the New Hope Club boys. Again, I found myself surprised as this band was clearly a big deal and had somehow avoided my radar up until now! As it turned out, they’ve supported The Vamps on their last three tours, so maybe that’s why…

They began with the catchy 50s style Tiger Feet followed by a new song for me Medicine with a nice groovy guitar backtrack and range of vocals exhibited by lead singer Blake. In between songs, the boys would engage with the audience, but the acoustics in the venue were so poor I couldn’t hear a word they were saying. Instead, I admired the bands style, quite unlike any other bands I was used to with a kind of 70s America vibe – bowling shirts and trousers rather than jeans. Nice.

They continued with the sultry Perfume, and I kid you not, everyone was singing. Now this is what I call a dedicated fanbase. This was followed by one of their more ballad like songs Let Me Down Slow – I don’t know who’s writing their music, but this stuff is good. If they’re not already on the radio, I have a good feeling they will be within a year.

The staging was used effectively, particularly for next song Good Day which features on the Aardman Animations film ‘Early Man’, and so we were shown clips of the film and the boys sitting in a cinema supposedly watching it, as well as obviously watching the three perform in the flesh. A nice way to add a bit of extra theatre to what was already an enjoyable show.

Whilst most of their songs are undoubtedly high energy pop, they through in a few ballads for good measure, including Water: ‘you got me falling like the rain, as my body turns to water’ – good wordplay there, boys. Unlike Max and Harvey, it seemed that this band had made their first steps on YouTube, as highlighted by a cover they performed of The Vamps Oh Cecilia, which as far as I’m aware was what got them noticed by the band and the rest, they say, is history.

Interestingly, despite it being early June, the next song they chose to play was a Christmas original they’d written with Brad from The Vamps (there’s a lot of Vamps influence with this band) called Whoever He Is. Thankfully there were no sleigh bells playing in the background and with the exception of a few references to mistletoe, it could have passed for a normal love song.

It’s hard for me to pick what I think was the best song of the evening, but new song Crazy is certainly up there with its deep bass rhythm and melody quite unlike most songs out there. Give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean. Being a lyrics girl myself, I also enjoyed the words in this song, like ‘Stupid enough to love you, foolish enough to care, crazy enough to be crazy about you’.

We got a glimpse of how the band got to where they are with a nice video montage playing on the screen which allowed for a quick costume change for the boys. In it, we saw Reece’s initial foray into the entertainment business when he applied for the X Factor; as well as some of George and Blake’s home videos. A very cute interval and a reminder that we all have to start somewhere.

The band burst back onto the stage looking very dapper in suits for a Beatles medley including hits like I Want To Hold Your Hand and Twist & Shout. Again, the screens were used to great effect, showing ‘Beatle-mania’ as we saw girls screaming and crying over The Fab Four. I’d say it’s about time we found a Beatles-like band for the 21^st century, wouldn’t you? Could New Hope Club be contenders? If their current fanbase has anything to say about it, I wouldn’t be surprised.

The main set finished with big hits Start All Over, with the very American high school prom music video playing in the background; and the repetitive Why Oh Why with lyrics displayed on the screen in the unlikely event you didn’t know the words, which I’m not sure anyone could say that evening!

They chose a good song to finish on, a tied first place with Crazy for me: Fixed. After seeing them open for The Vamps and now on their headlining show, I have nothing but respect for this band. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so impressed by a boyband, but I’ll certainly be returning to their future shows, which I’m sure there will be plenty more of. That is, if I can get a ticket! Great night all round. Let’s do it again soon!

I hope you enjoyed today's review! Let me know if you were at the concert (or wish you were!) by dropping me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry; and make sure to stay tuned for plenty more reviews coming very soon! 

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TRAVEL: New Mexico Road Trip (Part 3) - Santa Fe up to the Colorado border

Our journey continues where we last left off - in Roswell, New Mexico (the preceding adventures of which you can read here). We started the morning with a breakfast of eggs, toast and fruit before hitting the road again. We drove through the small towns of Santa Rosa and Las Vegas, stopping for coffee before we carried on to Pecos National Monument, a ruined missionary from the 17th century built by Franciscan missionaries for the local people of the Pueblo. We had a lovely, informative walk around the convent and its surrounding grounds before heading off for Santa Fe. 

We'd booked two nights at the Inn on the Alameda, a quaint mix of adobe buildings which happened to host a wine and cheese social hour every evening which was great after not having eaten since breakfast. After dropping our bags, we did a quick self-guided walking tour, checking out the oldest church structure in the USA, the State Capitol Building, the Palace of the Governors and its surrounding Plaza, as well as St Francis' Cathedral, which is beautiful both inside and out. 

We picked what had thus far been my favourite restaurant of the trip for dinner at Harry's Road House, which was a short drive out of the city, but absolutely worth it. The portions were generous and delicious, including my wonderful baked cheese & tomato pasta; and this wasn't even including dessert. I wish I'd had more room for it, but we split a magnificent strawberry & rhubarb tart. 

The next day started with a walk to the Railyard District, where we saw Rail Runner trains heading off from the Santa Fe depot, and were invited inside a old style train carriage that was being redecorated by the 'Keep Santa Fe Beautiful' people, a real honour as I'm sure not even many of the city's residents had seen inside of it. 

After a further wander around downtown, we went back to the hotel to pick up the car and drive to one of my recommendations for the trip - Meow Wolf. Honestly, it would be easier to tell you to just go and visit the attraction yourself as it certainly is hard to describe. My best explanation would be to describe it as an immersive art exhibit with a narrative which you could choose to follow, or just check out the fascinating rooms you could wander in and out of. You started off in a house, then making your way into alternate dimensions through secret passages and tunnels to the most amazing places. I hope some of my photos can do it justice! 

Lunch was at the nearby Capitol Coffee before a 45 minute drive back up to Los Alamos, which we'd passed through a few days before, but not really seen. This town was birthplace of the atomic bomb, and so we did a walking tour to see what the town was like before this occurrence and during its era of secrecy whilst all the lab work was being done. Even more than the atomic era, I enjoyed reading about the towns role in the Homestead Act, and take pleasure in walking around on the warm Spring evening. 

We headed back to the city for dinner at The Ranch House on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately for me, they had both spinach artichoke dip and mac & cheese (my two favourite dishes on the menu), so of course I had to go for both! Service was speedy, which was a pleasant change from some of the slower service we'd experienced over previous nights. 

The following morning we hit the road early and drove upstate, stopping off at various National Monuments along the way. The first of these was Fort Union, a fort used by the Union army during the Civil War to protect the land from various tribes and then the Confederate Army in later years. The adobe buildings were mostly almost all ruined, but you got a sense of the scale of the fort, and it's remoteness in New Mexico's vast plains. 

We carried on to Capulin Volcano, a dormant volcano which was now covered in shrub thanks to the fertile soils resulting from the volcanic ash. We were able to drive up to the top and then take a walk around the rim of the volcano. Up here it was extremely windy, in some of the highest gales I'd ever experienced, which caused the trees around the crater to shudder and pushed me from side to side. We read as well that this was a hotspot for lightning - somewhere I definitely wouldn't want to be when it struck! From here we could gaze across the mostly flat landscape, with the exception of volcanic forms here and there, like the smaller Baby Capulin. 

We took a brief pit stop at Enchanted Coffee in Raton, a small joint full of plenty of regulars who chatted amiably with the waiting staff, and then it was time for our New Mexican adventures to end as we crossed the border back into Colorado to continue the final section of our road trip (which you can read about here)!

Tips for visiting New Mexico: Travel far and wide - New Mexico is a huge state, and if you only see Albuquerque or Santa Fe, you'll only have scratched the surface. Road tripping is a great way to pass through towns visitors rarely ever go through, and I'm sure you'll give locals a highlight when they get someone from far away visiting their shop or cafe! Secondly, layer up, particularly if you're visiting around Springtime. As you head South, the weather gets warmer, so it's worth having light layers that you can easily take on and off, especially as it gets pretty cold at night! 

Concert Review: LOUISA JOHNSON, indigo2, London

Because there’s nothing better to do on a Friday evening than go and enjoy some live music, when I found out that Louisa Johnson would be playing a gig at indigo2, I thought ‘why not?’ Granted, my knowledge of her didn’t go much beyond the fact that I was aware she’d won X Factor a few years ago, and had some pretty decent bops on the radio. You’d hope as well that the winner of X Factor could actually sing, so I felt certain that I’d hear some good music anyway.

Upon arrival, it became clear that this was actually a charity concert raising money for the Charlton Athletic Community Trust, which celebrates its 25^th year this year. We were therefore told that we would be hearing from a number of acts found ‘right in this community’ before the headliner herself came on. The show started with a short set from young sisters Rachael and Elizabeth who played songs they felt inspired them, including This is Me from The Greatest Showman, Alicia Keys’ Girl on Fire, and a Christian song.

This was followed by an interesting act called Cle who rapped a tune of her own composition with the somewhat catchy hook of ‘wavy, wavy, drip drip, wavy’ and encouraging the crowd to get ‘lit’. The final talent show act was Shania, who sang a pleasant rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Valerie as well as a Spanish song, with all of the acts who had performed dressed head to toe in Primark which was one of the evenings sponsors.

The official ‘opening act’ appeared to be Autumn Sherif, an artist from the community who had auditioned for The Voice and was now pursuing a solo career. I wasn’t familiar with her, but was very impressed from the first few notes of Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody where she was able to flaunt her lovely soulful and gospel-like voice.

She played a mixture of her own songs and covers like a funky version of Dua Lipa’s New Rules and helped to engage the audience by splitting us up to sing different bits. She did a good job of both warming the crowd up with energy and cooling them down with slow, deep and groovy tracks too, before making way for the main act of the evening.

Louisa Johnson, who I believe is now using the stage name Louisa, took to the stage in a black and white pantsuit launching straight into So Good, a party anthem about not being supposed to go out but falling victim to wanting to stay out until the sun comes up. With this, it becomes evidently clear as to why she won X Factor as her voice is truly something to be admired.

Her ever so slightly raspy voice continued to shine on new song Bad Habit and a cover of Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself which, even if you weren’t familiar with Louisa’s own tracks, you’d be sure to know. This was followed by the fun and upbeat Unpredictable, originally recorded as a duet with Olly Murs but gave Louisa the opportunity to encourage the crowd to sing along on his parts and achieve Cle’s earlier goal of getting the crowd ‘lit’.

She continued with her self-proclaimed favourite release Best Behaviour which again highlighted just how good these pop songs that she sings are. Each and every one has the potential to be a commercial radio hit, which I think is particularly important for artists nowadays and even more so for those who rose to fame through talent shows and have the potential to all too quickly be forgotten. I hope this won’t be the case for Louisa.

A highlight of the evening was her cover of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You which I would have been equally happy had she recorded it herself as it sounded great and fit her voice perfectly. The evening ended with club anthem Yes and of course her first official release which wasn’t even her own, Clean Bandit’s Tears. I’m unsurprised this was such a commercial success given how well Louisa sang it on stage. I was thoroughly shocked to hear that this was the first headline show she’d ever done, so what a treat for us! No doubt there’ll be many more where that came from.

I hope you enjoyed today's review! Drop me a comment in the box below or follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry with any suggestions you may have, and stay tuned for plenty more concert reviews and interviews coming soon! 

TRAVEL: New Mexico Road Trip (Part 2) - Albuquerque, Madrid, the VLA, Carlsbad Caverns and more!

From Taos (which you can read about here), we continued on our way South, with our destination for the night being the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort on the outskirts of Albuquerque, a lovely large resort staring out across the plains. We were treated on arrival with margaritas before heading to our rooms which looked out on the most beautiful view. We headed out on a short walk around the resort, checking out the three pools and wedding venue. 

Given that we had credit at the resort to use, we decided to eat at the hotel's Corn Market restaurant, where I had a very pleasant green chile corn chowder and black bean burger. Admittedly, without the credit we probably wouldn't have eaten there given the prices, and I'm sure there are plenty of lovely places to eat around Albuquerque too. 

After a yummy breakfast the next morning (French toast with prickly pear for me, an extensive buffet for the other members of my party), we made the short trip to Petroglyph National Monument, where at the Visitors Centre it was revealed that the Monument extends across various parts of the city, so we hopped back in the car to part of the Monument with the highest proportion of petroglyphs.

A one hour walk around the sandy paths meant we passed by hundreds of petroglyphs carved into the rock, ranging from lizards, hand prints and human figures to indecipherable geometric shapes, the meanings of which have been lost to time. 

We next headed into Albuquerque's Old Town, which just so happened to be celebrating their Founders Day, meaning that we were treated to live music, dancing and shows as we walked around. We did a short walking tour of the town which took us through arty mini-districts and past some of the city's museums. 

It being lunchtime, we went in search of food, ending up at the number 1 eatery in Albuquerque, the Golden Crown Panderia. This bakery is famous for their huge sandwiches and pastries, both of which we tried, including fruity empanadas and free cookies which they hand out to every patron. 

We next headed to Sandia Peak, which involved a relatively long drive as the 'tramway' (ie cable car) up to the peak was closed for maintenance during our visit. From the top, we got a lovely, albeit windy, view which on a clear day you would be able to see for over 100 miles. Nevertheless, it was still pretty warm, although snow still lay on the ground. 

Back at a lower elevation, we chose the scenic Turquoise Road home via the delightful town of Madrid, with its colourful mailboxes and quaint houses, with live music from the local tavern drifting out across the town. As we headed back to the hotel, we stopped off at The Freighthouse for a dinner of ribs and mac & cheese before another quiet and peaceful night at the resort. 

The next day started with a long drive way off the map to the Very Large Array (the VLA), a series of 28 huge satellites which chart data from across the universe. Admission included a self guided walking tour of the facility across some of the windiest plains I've ever walked across. It was very interesting to see this strange environment as well as learn what these vast structures are used for. The VLA doesn't even shut down for movie filmings, charting data 24/7, 365 days a year. 

It took an hour to get back to some form of civilisation, and 3 and a half hours to get to the next point of interest. These are distances unfathomable to us UK dwellers, where you wouldn't be able to go more than a few tens of miles without coming across a town or at least a village. 

Eventually we arrived at White Sands National Monument, which was similar to the Great Sand Dunes National Monument we'd visited in Colorado, with the key difference being the colour of the sand. Again, this was something you would never imagine to find in the middle of the States, with vast dunes stretching for miles and hiding any signs of interstate or buildings. There was the option to walk along the dunes, but the 32'C temperatures and strong winds put us off. Heavens knows how unbearable it would be in midsummer! 

We headed about 20 minutes back to the nearest town of Almagodoro, if you can even call it a town. We concluded that the town had sprung up around the nearby military base with a long strip of fast food chains and not much else. We checked into the Holiday Inn Express before heading out to one of the few non chain restaurants, Can't Stop Smokin' BBQ, for a decent barbecue dinner before it closed, which most places in this town did pretty early on a Sunday evening. 

We had a particularly early start the next day for one of the longest drives of our road trip, this time to Carlsbad Caverns (which I still think sounds German) which would be the furthest South we'd be going on this journey. We split the drive with a pit stop at Jahva Coffee in the small town of Artesia, which turned out to be a particularly religious coffee shops, with numerous crosses adorning the walls. 

After around 3 hours of driving, we arrived in the town of Carlsbad itself, where we had considered staying overnight but decided against due to the cost of staying in this oil-mining town. A short drive further took us to the Caverns, and then the excitement began. We started walking down a path that took us nearly a mile beneath the surface.

The deeper we descended, the darker it became and we soon lost all sign of daylight. The cavern contained hundreds of speleothems everywhere you looked, a thoroughly fascinating experience, particularly given the scale of the cavern. Even when we'd reached the bottom, there was an additional mile and a half walk around the 'Big Room' which contained some amazing natural structures. 

Unfortunately for us, the elevator, which usually takes visitors back up to the Visitor Centre, was broken, and so we had to retrace our steps all the way up back up the entrance route, which was certainly tougher than going down! As we emerged, a flock of swallows swooped in and out of the cave, providing a deep contrast from the stillness of the caves below.

To build up our energy, we made a stop at Sonic 'America's Drive-in' where you pull up in booths, make your order, and then a carhop brings your food to you. I chose a delicious Oreo Peanut Butter shake to keep me going. Our destination for the night was the Holiday Inn in Roswell, a town made famous for a supposed UFO crash decades ago, although the legacy remains. Many of the shops had little green men standing outside, and even the lampposts had alien eyes on them. We took dinner at Cerrito's Mexican Restaurant which seemed fairly authentic, and definitely spiced up our evening! Next stop: Santa Fe!

TRAVEL: New Mexico Road Trip (Part 1) - Taos, Rio Grande, Bandolier and more!

Our journey into New Mexico started right at the border with Colorado with a little blue metal sign welcoming us to the state. Whilst there were no immediate differences between the two states, the further we drove, the more the architecture came to look like New Mexico, with small adobe huts lining the roads with their curved edges and distinctive colouring. 

We were headed for Taos, a town renowned for its arty community and liberal lifestyle. Our accommodation whilst in Taos was the Mabel Dodge Luhan house, which had been recommended by a friend back home as somewhere we had to stay if passing through. 

As the name would suggest, the house was previously owned by one Mabel Dodge Luhan, who invited all kinds of creative types to come and stay, including D H Lawrence, Georgia O'Keefe, and more recently actor Dennis Hopper, leaving the property full of history and a point of pilgrimage for those wishing to find themselves creatively. 

The house has expanded over the years and now consists of various adobe huts, with our residence being the Gatehouse, a quaint old-style apartment behind the towering bird houses erected in front of the main house. 

Once settled in, we ventured out into the town, browsing through the various galleries with their varying artistic styles, and towards the central square, around which a number of eateries, outdoor shops and gift emporiums sat. We continued out past the Kit Carson Memorial Park until we found the Love Apple restaurant where we'd planned to have dinner.

The restaurant had an interesting setup, with guests coming in through the side of the restaurant and practically into the kitchen before being seated in a relatively small room with roughly ten tables. Everything on the menu looked delicious, but I settled on a round of blue and yellow cornbread with sweet and savoury butters, the 'Beets on Beet' dish of beetroot hummus and chopped beets, followed by a delicious tamale smothered in a rich tamale (even though I was full by the time we got to the starter!)

It was only upon returning to the Gatehouse that I realised my room had no curtains, somewhat a prerequisite in my opinion for a good nights sleep, and upon realising that the House's maintenance man was unlikely to visit before the next morning, I was shifted to the Georgia O'Keefe room, along the external corridor beside the Main House. 

Breakfast the next morning was served by the lovely Pam, who served up porridge, yoghurt and berries, cornbread muffins, scramble, potatoes, sausages and bacon. We certainly wouldn't be going hungry. It being off season, we were one of the few guests, joined only by a cowboy who was in the area scouting out land to buy. Now this is the kind of stuff you can't make up! 

Our driving for the day was to take us around parts of the Enchanted Circle road, with the first stop being the wonderfully named Angel Fire. At the top of a hill rests a memorial for Vietnam War veterans, with a small but comprehensive museum and tiny chapel housed within a fascinating piece of architecture jutting out of the hillside. 

We continued on to Eagles Nest down by a beautiful lake which I'm sure would be a hotspot for visitors during the summer months, but not so much this time of year. In fact, I'm sure that we would be one of the few, if not only, visitors to the visitors centre, as the attendant was more than happy to spend a good twenty minutes telling us about the area and where we should go. 

Our next stop was a bridge crossing the Rio Grande gorge, which was absolutely spectacular. Stepping out into the centre of the bridge, you could gaze for miles in either direction (as seems to be possible wherever you look in this part of the world), but the difference being the gaping cavern hundreds of meters below you - a mini Grand Canyon if you will. I felt that this would be the perfect place for bungee jumping, though I hear that's not allowed on working bridges like this one. A highlight was when an Oversize lorry made its way across, shaking the bridge and making the more vertigo-inclined tourists clasp the barriers!

The loop took us back into the edge of Taos where we decided to stop for lunch at the Farmhouse Cafe. Not wanting to spoil my appetite for dinner, I thought I'd be safe with a bean & cheese burrito from the kids menu but clearly forgot that everything's bigger in the States as what arrived was something larger than my face! This coupled with the generous slices of carrot and strawberry cakes meant that I hoped dinner would be more meagre!

Our journey continued to Espanola which seemed to sit in the middle of some of the larger cities around it. Whilst none of the houses in Taos or the other towns we'd passed through had been particularly large, those here were particularly small, with most people choosing to live in trailer homes, some of which seemed to be in quite dishevelled states. One has to wonder what residents do for a living this far away from big cities or even towns. 

We moved on to the High Road scenic byway, stopping briefly at El Sanctuario de Chimayo, a lovely little church where the fences around were lined with crosses, rosaries and candles; clearly a very spiritual location for many. We continued on the High Road, passing through other small villages with some of the most dramatic backdrops you could think of for a house, and knowing that your next neighbour could be miles away. 

Back in Taos, we made our way down to the Plaza for dinner at Bella's Mexican restaurant. Although still very full from lunch, the menu was so delectable, I was keen to fill my boots with as much as possible. They had the usual favourites like burritos, chimichangas and chilaquiles, but what I really wanted to try (and what I hadn't managed to find during my trip to Mexico last year) was elote, a mayo, lime, cheese and chill covered corn that I'd heard was a classic Mexican dish. My Horchata milkshake was much needed to numb the spice, and absolutely delicious. I finished my meal with a slice of Tres Leches cake, another Mexican staple of milk soaked sponge topped with whipped cream and ice cream. 

Back at the Mabel Dodge Luhan house, I had a very eventful night, being awoken in the middle of the night by a drunk/crazy man who made his way into the interior alcove of my room, banging on the bedroom door and yelling. Being totally alone and knowing I was in a country where guns are allowed, I made as little noise as possible and quickly texted my family members to come rescue me which they soon did. Thank goodness for phone service, or else I don't know what I would have done! Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night back at the Gatehouse - curtains or no curtains, I was not keen to run into any more strangers that night! 

The 'excitement' continued the next morning when I woke to be told the police wanted to speak with me. It turns out that the Main House had been broken into during the night, and the office, parts of the kitchen and dining room ransacked. Whilst not a nice experience for either us or the staff members, the staff were wonderfully helpful, and assured us that this was the first time that something like this had occurred, so I can promise that it's not a regular occurrence! We nonetheless had a pleasant stay at the Lodge and even this would not put me off visiting again.

After breakfast, we headed out on the road through more vast wastelands with nothing but brush to Bandolier National Monument. This National Monument is full of hundreds of cave dwellings cut into the rock, which visitors are able to climb up into (although people hundreds of years ago were significantly smaller than we are today, meaning not too much standing room!) At the end of the trail was an additional walk to the Alcove House which involved walking up steep and reasonably rickety ladders which were great fun, particularly where there was nothing to the side of you except thin air!

We continued on to Valle Caldera National Preserve, which was well and truly in the middle of nowhere. This vast caldera stretched for miles around and involved driving along a long dirt road lined with hundreds of tiny prairie dogs, which I loved seeing, and have now become one of my favourite animals!

At the Visitor Centre, we discovered that they ran minibus rides further into the caldera where visitor cars are not permitted. We hopped into one of these with another small group and a knowledgable guide, who brought us around the caldera for about an hour, explaining the different hands that the Preserve had passed through, as well as various movies and TV shows filmed there, including Disney's The Lone Ranger, and Netflix series Longmire. There was plenty of wildlife too, including chipmunks and even a coyote. Definitely worth the visit. Next stop: Albuquerque!

TRAVEL: Colorado Road Trip - Denver, Boulder, The Rocky Mountains and more!

Denver airport is quite unusual with its tentlike shape, but somehow manages to be home to thousands of passengers who pass through its terminals everyday. We were among these passengers after a nine hour flight from London, but didn't stay long - heading out of town towards Castle Rock for our first night.

There's not much going on in Castle Rock aside from an outlet mall, with our visit only as somewhere to stay the night before we continued on our journey. Our accommodation was a perfectly fine Holiday Inn which had a hearty breakfast in the morning including cinnamon rolls (yum) and freshly made pancakes.

Hopping into the car, we started driving bright and early, and I was throughly fascinated by the landscape, which stretched for miles and miles around with only the faraway mountains in the distance. The not densely populated parts of Colorado that we were passing through meant that people could have no neighbours for miles around - a concept I found strange coming from suburbia where you'd find it hard to find that kind of solitude.

Nevertheless, I kept myself entertained, crossing off all the fast food chains they have out here as we passed signs for each of them (and there are a lot!) and enjoying watching the US Airforce pilots training over the Colorado Springs base where they performed loop the loops and other heart-thumping tricks. Soon afterwards, we ran out of 'civilisation', so I continued passing the time by peering around to see if I could spot any wildlife, ranging from cattle and horses to deer and the more elusive bison.

After a few hours drive, we finally turned off of the interstate that had taken us pretty much all the way to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Arriving at the entry gates, we groaned at the sign suggesting we'd have to pay $20 for entry, but thankfully this being off season, there was no one manning the booth, with a sign saying payment not needed today - what a nice surprise!

The dunes are pretty easy to spot as you drive along the straight road of the National Parks, with huge mounds of sand rising out of the distance, looking quite strange amongst the flat plains and the Rocky Mountains behind it. 

Parking the car, we took our first few steps on the sand, sinking quickly as the sand shifts so much which made it a difficult trek even to walk a few hundred metres. Added to this was the deceptive nature of the dunes, which looked much closer but actually took quite a while to get to.

However, once close, they were truly magnificent, and unlike anything you'd expect to find in this corner of the world. I spent some time climbing the smaller dunes, and watching other visitors slide down them on sand boards which looked like great fun. Unlike other destinations that you might find dunes though, it was quite cold on our visit, with wind chill making it feel even colder. 

Having had our fill of fun and freezing weather, it was then time to find something for lunch, and the spread out nature of the state meant that we really had to travel miles to find something, ending up driving 17 miles from the National Park to the nearby (ha) town of Alamosa. 

For somewhere not particularly 'on the map', Alamosa nonetheless had quite a lot going on, with a bustling high street with plenty of cars rolling through, even midway through a Tuesday afternoon, and an interesting train graveyard with carriages from decades past. 

Having done our recent (thanks TripAdvisor) we stopped at Roasts Coffee Company, a hip place linked to the brewery next door, with the two businesses split by huge brewing tanks in the middle of the room. The saying 'everything's bigger in the States' was proven by the size of the coffee cups we were served, and I also opted for a bowl of spinach artichoke dip, which I maintain to be one of the greatest culinary inventions ever made. 

Following the foray, we continued on our way soon passing into New Mexico (you can read about my adventures in New Mexico here), not returning to Colorado for a while.

It was late afternoon when we made it across the border from New Mexico over a week later, and the further we drove in, the more marked the changes in residences became. Whilst New Mexico was full of small adobe houses, here they became more what we were used to, and seemingly more prosperous than the parts of NW we'd visited, as the houses were all of ample size, some even mansion worthy.

Our destination was a request of mine, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. I'd seen videos of artists I love performing at this incredible venue, and put it on my bucket list as somewhere I absolutely needed to visit. The Amphitheatre sits directly between huge imposing and beautiful Red Rocks, and honestly I know of no more spectacular venue. No one was playing the night we arrived, so we had free rein of the park, without even needing to pay an admission fee.

We raced down to the Trading Post to pick up some merch (I'm sure you'll see me wearing it in photos from future blogs!) and then walked up through the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is dog friendly, which was a great way to highlight the excellent acoustics of the venue, as each time a dog barked, you could hear it reverberating against the walls. What a special place to visit. I'd love to come back to see a concert there some day. 

As the sun set, we headed towards Denver for dinner at Acorn, a hipster restaurant housed in an old warehouse called The Source. The menu was a bit too pretentious for me, with the format being sharing platters but only stating the ingredients of the dishes, and not what they actually were. The food was decent, but we were told by the waiter we'd need to order lots, which meant the bill was pretty hefty. Probably not somewhere I would have chosen myself, but an experience nonetheless.

Thankfully we had other plans for dessert, and made our way into Downtown Denver to Voodoo Doughnut, made famous for its voodoo doll shaped donuts and round-the-block queues at its inaugural Portland destinations. Lucky for us, there was barely a queue here and so we sampled a collection of voodoo donuts, Oreo Peanut Butter, and the 'Memphis Mafia' - a hulking slab of a donut covered in PB & chocolate chips. 

We drove a further twenty minutes into Westminster to the Westin Hotel, a pleasant hotel with great views over the area. Breakfast was good, although not included unless you had status with the hotel chain; plus the service was pretty slow, so you wouldn't want to be in a rush. 

Filled up, we drove our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. Up here in the heights, the weather was a lot colder and the higher we climbed, the colder we got, eventually reaching minus temperatures complete with little flurries of snow. We did a few mini walks although you wouldn't want to be out in that weather for very long! However, the Park is home to the highest continuous paved road in the United States, and so we had a nice drive, checking out the herds of deer who had no problem standing at the side of the road as cars cruised by. 

We then drove down to Boulder, stopping the car to wander up and down the Main Street and glance at its lovely shops. Lunch was at Lindsay's Boulder Deli for a yummy soup and salad, somewhere I was pleased to stumble across as it was top notch. Boulder seemed like a nice place to live, and I liked gazing at the houses in suburbia and picturing a life for myself somewhere like this. 

Our next stop was the Centennial Trailhead leading up to Sanitas Mount for a quick walk, which turned out to be horrendously strenuous. Whilst the path started off paved, it soon turned into craggy rock you had to scramble up and down at constant risk of breaking an ankle - not my idea of a pleasant walk! We ended up at the end with members of our party injured with grazed head and pulled knee, needless to say we are not hardy hikers. However, the sense of achievement at finally making it to the top and admiring the view was undeniable, even if it meant an equally difficult trek down.

As the hike took longer than we'd expected, we raced off for dinner at Georgia Boys BBQ in Longmont, which had an excellent selection of barbecue options. Not much for vegetarians though, and I ended up getting the kids grilled cheese option, much to the amusement of my server who was expecting an under 12. However, for $5.50 for sandwich, chips and unlimited drinks refills, I couldn't have been happier. 

After our final night in the Westin, and indeed of our holiday, we started the day with another breakfast at the hotel before indulging in a bit of shopping at Target and Boot Barn for western wear before driving into Downtown, this time in the daylight. We parked the car near the main 16th Street Mall, took a little walk up to the State Capital building where an anti-Trump protest was taking place. There was a handy free bus that went up and down 16th Street which was useful to take us back to Union Station where we stopped for coffee and scones. 

We picked up the car and drove down to the river where we enjoyed a pleasant walk, passing plenty of dogs and happy strangers enjoying the early Spring sunshine. A lovely way to end our time in Colorado and New Mexico before hopping off to the airport for the long red eye flight home. If only we could have stayed longer...

Tips for visiting Colorado: Try rural and urban. Part of the beauty of Colorado is that it's so easy to move from absolute wilderness to big city, and I loved seeing both - indulging in the culture of the cities and towns and then heading out into the endless nothingness of the Parks and Forests. And then a personal tip from me, try a Voodoo Doughnut - you won't regret it! If you're in Denver for longer than we were, drop in a few days early with a photo of yourself, and they'll ice you a personalised voodoo for just a dollar extra!