TO & FROM
There are no direct flights to Phoenix from Dublin , but plenty of one stop via USA East Coast or Mid-Western hubs. We flew via Chicago with Aer Lingus, surprisingly it is another 4 hours from Chicago to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), but with the time differential – 8 GMT, you arrive 4/5 hours later the same day. Quick exit through the terminal having cleared immigration in Dublin has you at the car rental centre in less than 30 minutes, and with On-Line check in with Alamo, you will be heading Downtown in no time.
We were staying at Found: RE Hotel a quirky art boutique hotel close to everything in Phoenix
Figure 1 Art in the Found:Re Hotel.
See 1 in Useful Links below.
Phoenix is the State capital of Arizona, and being an administrative centre, does not have that much in the city itself, although it does have a lively bar and restaurant scene due to its a large University and medical centres, so a vibrant student scene.
Day 1.
Just behind the hotel is the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library, featuring a Book of Kells permanent exhibit.
Figure 2 Our Home County “Co. Limerick” in Phoenix.
The centre is contained within the Japanese friendship gardens, traditional setting with a Koi pond.
See 2 under Useful Links
Heading down N. Central Ave, we stumbled across the Downtown Framers market, with a café that does great lunch food.
See 3 under Useful Links
Further along is City Scape shopping mall but does not offer too much in the way of shopping as you would be accustomed to in the US.
Figure 3 Interesting Restroom sign – Found Boutique Art Hotel
Close by is the Phoenix Police Museum, it is located on the first floor City hall with free admission worth a look.
See 5 under useful links
For dinner we had booked the highly rated Arrogant Butcher just off City Scape –would we go back, possibly not!
As it has a young University population the nightlife in Phoenix is lively and varied, and there are plenty of pubs, try Seamus McCaffery’s Irish bar on N. Central Avenue—he will offer you a carriage home.
Figure 4 Travel in style
Day 2.
The best of Phoenix is out of the city, and we spent the following day in the Desert botanical gardens, there is also a Zoo within the Papago Park area, popular with hikers and the outdoor types.
Scottsdale is the area to the North associated with spa resorts and golf courses, a mini Palm Springs, so a good area to settle for a few days.
Day 3.
We checked out and headed to Flagstaff, the I- 17, will have you there in under 2 hours and then onto Williams along Route 66.
Williams a City in Northern Arizona is known as the gateway to the Grand Canyon National Park via the Railway, it also straddles Route 66, with American style shops and restaurants dating back to the early 1900’s.
Figure 5 Beer tasting in Williams
Figure 6 The Grand Canyon Railway Williams.
We checked into the Railway hotel, and headed into Williams, a great little town only 60 miles from the Southern rim of the Grand Canyon, and with its own train to take you there. We had visited before so were more interested in the other part of its attraction, Route 66 and the culture associated with the iconic road. In the town memorbillia from a bygone era is everywhere, and plenty of great eating and drinking options.
Don’t miss the Red Raven restaurant, and then the historic barrell and bottle bar –they have a flight of six beer option so you can take a taste of some of the brews before settling on a favourite.
You are sure to have a late night.
See 6 & 7 under Useful Links
Day 4.
A substantial home made breakfast was the order of the day following the night before’s beer tasting, before exploring Bearizona Wildlife park, and then some sights along Route 66
See 8 under Useful Links
Figure 6 Pine Country Restaurant, Route 66 breakfast
Day 5.
We were checking out to head for our last stop and final exit point from the USA; Las Vegas
The great thing about the states is that you can without penalty pick up a car in one location and drop it back at another without complication.
The drive from Williams to Vegas takes about 4 hours, a bit more if you take some of Route 66 rather than the more direct I- 40 .
Despite only having two nights in Vegas we did opt to take in some of the famous Route 66 , a must but still manage to arrive before dark, dropped off the car and headed to our hotel the Bellagio. Vegas is a mecca for hotels so no shortage from the Bellagio, Caesars Palace & Cosmpolitan at the top to New York New York and the Westin which is nestled one street away from the madness of the strip !
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Useful Links
- https://www.foundrehotels.com/
- https://www.azirish.org/
- https://www.phxpublicmarket.com/
- https://phxpdmuseum.org/
- https://www.thetrain.com/lodging/the-grand-canyon-railway-hotel/
- https://www.redravenrestaurant.com/
- https://historicbarrelandbottle.com/
- https://bearizona.com/
- https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lasvw-the-westin-las-vegas-hotel-and-spa/
- https://bellagio.mgmresorts.com/en.html
- https://www.newyorknewyork.com/en.html?icid=GMB_Hotel_NYNY
- http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
