A friend of mine suggested looking in Brookside, a small section of Tulsa, and so we planned on starting our search there. All dressed up and ready to dance, I met Kaytie at her house. As we set out, we hoped to experience something other than our routine small-city lives, and maybe catch the smallest glimpse of what teens in New York City or Chicago get to experience. But despite our best efforts, the only new experience we had that night did not involve partying like the big cities do. Through the course of events, we managed to wind up in a smelly casino: a veritable magnet for broken souls, empty wallets, and annoying security guards.

At the start of our evening, we cruised down Brookside, expecting to see club after club. What we did see were a few nice restaurants and a couple of unkempt looking bars, but no clubs. Disgruntled, and wanting to find somewhere new to visit soon, we searched for some sign of a nightspot we could visit. After an hour or so of driving, Kaytie and I had seen neither hide nor hair of any clubs, although we had seen some beautiful and some slightly scarier parts of downtown Tulsa. Some of the parts of downtown were grungy. Scattered in them were homeless persons, dark alleyways and broken-down buildings way past their prime. The better parts of downtown were well-lit underneath towering skyscrapers. However, downtown Tulsa did not present any possible place we could both have a new experience at, so we began to consider other promising venues we could visit.

Stepping out of Kaytie's silver Ford Taurus, the two of us were immediately greeted with an intense smell of cigarette smoke and greasy foods, reminiscent of bowling alleys. Walking into the Creek Nation Casino, we had our wallets ready with our ID's, presuming that we were to be carded as we walked into the door. Soon we found out that this wasn't the case. We were both disappointed - having just turned eighteen, we were ready to show off that we could legally enter the casino. Instead of security ready to check our identification, we were welcomed by the sight of tacky red carpet and ugly mauve walls. Not to mention slot machines. The slots were everywhere, wall to wall, huge, flashing beacons, ready for unsuspecting victims with pocketfuls of money to be drawn in. The smoke was visible in the air. Light smog wafted ubiquitously, an inescapable fog of potential lung cancer. Kaytie and I quickly stepped into the much smaller non-smoking room, and as we stepped in, I observed a man with a pipe in his mouth stepping out. So much for smoke-free.

Older people were everywhere in the casino; almost everyone seemed to be above the age of sixty. They would sit and press buttons for long periods of time, presumably not getting the results they were expecting. Their eyes seemed to glaze over as they stared at the flashing screens, scanning the computerized reels as they spun, with cherries and sevens and other bright images. Kaytie and I sat down to try one of the cheaper slot machines; we slid our dollar bills into the bright beacon and tried to figure out how the heck it worked. Mostly we pressed random assortments of buttons, trying to press the right combination in order to win. A helpful, but slightly annoying, security guard came to our rescue. He was young, overweight, and he spoke with a lisp. He showed us how to play the slot machines, and when he was done with his explanation, he stayed to watch us play for around ten minutes. Kaytie and I assumed that he stood chatting with us for so long because he thought we were attractive, because surely talking to two eighteen-year-old girls for ten minutes would be frowned upon by other security guards. Kaytie was much better at the slots than I was, or, as she put it, “better at pressing buttons.”

We didn't stay at the casino for very long, mainly because we found that it was just plain boring. It was quieter in the casino than I was expecting; I suppose it was due to the immense concentration that pushing buttons must obviously take. The slot machines seemed to be more work to figure out than they were worth, and winning a few bucks definitely did not seem worth the second-hand smoke inhalation from just standing inside the casino. Our night may have not ended with the excitement that I was expecting, but I did realize that, in life, it is probably better just to put in a hard day's work, rather than spend all of your time in a smoky, old person, tacky carpet-filled establishment.

One of the most popular tourist destination in the city is the Ibirapuera Park, which is located at the heart of the city. The park boasts of magnificent lake views and a Planetarium that the whole family can visit. There are also fountains, bicycle paths that are perfect for any family activity.

You will also find in the park the Museu de Arte Moderne and the Pavilhão da Oca, which is one of the most popular venues for international events and conferences. Another Park that is worth visiting is the Parque Zoológico de São Paulo, which features a zoo with about 2,700 animals of different species. Take particular notice at the reptiles and the birds.

Clubbing the night away

Nightlife in Brazil will never be a problem as this South American country boasts of a rich and varied clubs that will suit every interest. There are dance clubs for those who want to dance the night away; jazz clubs for those who want to listen to some good music, discos and even comedy clubs for some bit of comic relief.

Shopping a la Rio!

If shopping is your forte, you can browse through the different shops near Rua Oscar Freire. This is only a block away from the famed Hotel Fasano.

History and view combined

A place known for its fresh water areas and rock caverns, the Serra da Cantareira is one place that you should not miss when you go to Brazil. Only half an hour away from the city, here you will find the Parque Estadual da Cantareira, which features a preserved rainforest. You will also surely enjoy walking through the Pedra Grande and get to see a panoramic view of the whole city from this vantage point.

Capital of the Arts

One of the places that you should definitely not miss is the Museum of Art in Sao Paulo. This is where the Biennale is held every year, which is one of the most important event in Latin America. Museum of art of Sao Paulo also has a very extensive collection, including the works of several European masters such as Conde Nast.

Planets and stars

Another must see in Brazil especially to young children and science enthusiasts, is the Carmo Planetarium, which can house more than 50n people. One of the great feature of the planetarium is the special chairs that are tilted at different angles, allowing everyone to have clear sight of the dome.

Mansion from the past

Another tourist spot that should be included in your itinerary while traveling in Brazil is the old mansions that once belonged to the coffee barons. These magnificent mansions can be found in the Avenida Paulista and Bixiga.

Despite the old-worldly charmed that the mansions presents, the district has also come to be known as one of the major financial hubs in the country, occupied by big banks and other major financial institutions.

A little of Paris in Rio

Inspired by the great opera houses in France, the Teatro Municipal is built with gold leaf accents and moss-green marble. The auditorium is also filled with mirrors and other art nouveau elements. The Theater Municipal is where some of the greatest art festivals and cultural events are held.

Over the past two decades, Turnmills has established itself as one of London's most influential entertainment venues. Easy to reach from the City, Docklands and West End, Turnmills is located just 2 minutes from Farringdon station.

Turnmills is renowned for the chart-topping DJs who frequent The Gallery on Friday nights. Dance until 7:30 AM to thumping beats by the likes of Tall Paul, Benny Bennassi and Judge Jules.

The Turnmills complex houses two restaurants, a bar, gymnasium and recording studio and of course their world famous nightclub. Having been granted the UK's first ever 24 hour entertainment licence and with a generous late licence, Turnmills has developed an unrivalled reputation for event promotion and first class club nights.

Turnmills has a bit of a bad reputation for aggressive bouncers and a sterile warehouse-like ambiance, but I have found both claims unfounded. Besides, it’s the strong drinks and phenomenal sound system that keep the clubbers queuing.

Be savvier than the masses by booking tickets in advance so that you can jump the queue, get discounted admission and get your dance on as soon as you arrive.

Ministry of Sound is located near the Elephant and Castle tube station, a dodgy neighbourhood with very few decent bars nearby. Any pre-clubbing cocktails should definitely be consumed outside the vicinity of Elephant and Castle.In hindsight, I should have heeded this as an omen, but I remained optimistic.

I visited on a Friday night in hopes to experience clubbing bliss with London’s hottest movers and shakers. This popular nightclub/ global empire is world renowned for featuring some of the best DJs on the planet, so I was eager to discover first-hand what the hype was all about.

The club opens at 11:00, so I arrived at 11:30 in hopes that I would arrive before the masses but alas, the queue was already winding down the street. The security here is second-to-none. My bag and I were both thoroughly searched before I was allowed entry. A bit of a nuisance, but also reassuring as you don’t have to worry about potential armed assault from other revellers.

The cover is a bit steep at £15.00, but I figured that they had to pay for their extensive marketing somehow. Once inside, I wasn’t that impressed. The club was far smaller than I had anticipated, the staff members were unfriendly and the drink prices were ridiculous (a double Jack and Coke was $8.00)!

I wandered upstairs to get a birds-eye view of the dance floor below. I noticed that there was a VIP area to my left, so I sauntered over to the bouncer to inquire about entry. He informed me that this privilege was available for a mere £80! Talk about highway robbery. The exorbitant fee would have been justified if there were acrobats dangling from the ceiling, pole dancers on the table and champagne flowing like water, but alas none of this fabulousness was present.

Bored upstairs, I trotted back downstairs to explore the other dance room, which was featuring hard house music. The sound system was blaring almost to the point of distortion and this room was also nowhere near capacity, and therefore, was also disappointing.

My friend and I grew tired of this overpriced, over-inflated club within a few hours and decided to call it a night early, although we could have danced until 6 AM had we so desired. One would need very deep pockets and low expectations to party all night here. Sadly, the highlight of the evening for me was helping myself to the free Ministry of Sound pins at the door only so I could say “been there, done that.”