Archives for October 2011

Vegas

October 16, 2011 by Lana 3 Comments

Vegas is quite simply mad. Mad insane and ridiculously huge.

I had heard a lot about Vegas from friends and I had read even more. That’s not even including the movies I have seen. And as if that was not enough I had youtubed every possible aspect of Vegas before we left (I was a very excited traveller).

Nothing could have prepared me for Vegas. Nothing. Not even Vegas could prepare me for Vegas.

It is HUGE. Huge and insane.

And there are a couple of things it seems to have forgotten

It is in a middle of a desert
Climate change
Global warming
Starving people

Sildenafil citrate of Super P-Force content brand viagra 100mg is said to be PDE5 blocker chemical that assists in order to improve blurred and failing vision. It is nothing but a magic to treat impotence with a blue rx sildenafil pill. Generally buy viagra in canada speaking, men will be mature at the age of twenties. Role of cardiovascular conditions: In viagra sample pills simple words, it is the incapability of your penis to hold in the blood and keep it firm.
All around you nothing at all – just desert. Perhaps the mafia and the builders of the Hoover Dam took this into account when they decided to build a city but I think not. I think they also forgot that they were in America. This is how I imagine a conversation between the architects and builder of Vegas (Vegas) and the desert may have gone (Desert)

Vegas: Let’s build the tallest hotels that we can

Desert: But there is no water and no rain, how are we going to service these hotels ?

Vegas: We will get money from gamblers and water from dams. And bottles

Desert: Okay we can get tall buildings plumbed and I guess we can get some gamblers in but I am looking to you for inspiration on shape.

Vegas: Me? Don’t look at Me. Look at the world around you. We want Paris, we want New York, hell we’ll take the whole of Italy and stash it in a corner next to a gold soaring tower. Oh and I want Egypt, a pyramid and a sphinx included. And down the road? A volcano that erupts every hour.

I also want a billion lights per square meter and don’t forget I want more slot machines than lights. And while I am at it I want ice sculptures in the lobbies of some of my hotels.

Desert: But I am a desert. You cannot sustain ice in a desert

Vegas: I’m Vegas baby.

Desert: No seriously, we are in the middle of a desert, it doesn’t rain and you want lights that never switch off, you want roller coasters on the top of buildings, you want a canal with gondola rides and that’s before we get to the whacky stuff.

Vegas: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Desert: Stop with the Vegas sayings and think about what you are asking of me?

Vegas: *Calls in mafia and gets rid of desert to create insane playground*

We had a ball. Seriously as soon as we let go of the guilt of the flamboyance in the middle of the dessert we sucked it right up. Our Hotel was like nothing I have ever seen before – we stayed at the Pallazo at the Venetian and there truly was a gondola ride through the canals of the Venice which just so happened to be in the lobby of the hotel. Our room was magnificent, the pool was perfect and my son thought he would be happy if we never actually left the hotel but when we did there was so much to delight and astound him. And us.

The Fountains at the Bellagio.

The most spectacular display that you have ever seen every half an hour during the night. Dancing fountains choreographed to music on a scale unlike anything I have ever seen before.

The Volcano at the Mirage

Every hour on the hour after 8pm up until midnight.

An amazing show where a volcano erupts in front of you – it includes running lava, fire and spectacular effects.

Treasure Island

Two shows a night. A singing and dancing extravaganza with pirates and fireworks.

M&M World

Imagine all the M&Ms in the world in one place. That’s M&M world, now just imagine every single bit of M&M merchandising that you can and you are pretty close. Little Pencil had M&Ms printed with his name on them. Win! He also now owns a lot of M&M “stuff” everything from lip balm to a slot machine where you get to win M&Ms.

Shopping Centre entertainment

We were sitting minding our own business when the HUGE fish tank in front of us went black and from the top who should appear but Zeus. The centre court turned into an amazing show between fire and water – all mediated by Zeus of course. Spectacular effects, very cool show and er, very Vegas.

The hotels

Just walking through the hotels is entertainment for almost anyone with their senses, you can see the pyramids of Egypt, the sidewalks of New York, the cobbled piazzas of Italy and opulence. Lots of it. Also shops. Insane amounts of high end shops that I could not afford to walk into.

Gondola Ride

We rode a gondola through the lobby of our hotel which was niftily disguised as the canals of Venice, complete with the ceilings painted to look like the sky – it’s not just in the casino where you can lose sense of time. It was awesome – although my son and husband had to try very hard not to laugh when the gondolier sang in Italian. It didn’t work

Food

We ate spectacular food. Interestingly enough my favourite meal was at Serendipity of all places. We had gone to try the frozen hot chocolate which is world famous (and deservedly so) but I ate grilled artichokes which were sublime. Want to go back for them. I also had the most delicious vegetarian hamburger (eggplant) at a place aptly named I Love Burgers. It’d hard to find a vegie burger that is not made of beans or chickpeas so this was particularly delicious.

Shows

We made it downtown to see a show – the Mike Hammer comedy/magic show which was hilarious and entertaining and Mike (you can call him Mr Hammer if you like but I am comfortable with Mike) was amazing. Spoke to his audience every step of the way and included Little Pencil in one of his tricks which was the cherry on the top.

Don’t know how comfortable I felt in downtown Vegas but I am glad we went to the show. Outside of the theatre we saw the “other side” of Vegas, and what gambling and excess can mean to the real people – not the tourists who come to give their money away at the strip. Not pretty. Sad even.

Grand Canyon

The lights and the intoxicating city had us enraptured and it was hard to pull away from it so I’m glad that we booked for our helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon before we got there.

If there are no words for the sight and spectacle of the big lights and excess of Vegas there are not even utterances for the majesty and spectacle of the Grand Canyon. We went on a helicopter tour of the Canyon and the awesomeness of Mother Nature and the sheer vast expanse of the Grand Canyon is something that will live with me forever.

The helicopter pilot was friendly and informative but perhaps most importantly he was also ex air force so I felt supremely comfortable and confident, but I think the sheer magnificence of what we saw would have overridden any fear had I succumbed to it. The tour was expensive but I would have gladly gone without meals for a day or so (and I LOVE my food) to indulge myself with this vision of one of the Great Wonders of the World.

The helicopter took us right to the Grand Canyon and then landed at the bottom where we were served a picnic lunch and champagne. Seriously. Go there if you can. You don’t have to be a very spiritual person but it is hard not to feel some connection with the world with this miracle of nature surrounding you. It is also about as far away from Vegas as you can get – theoretically. Like Vegas would be if she were a desert…um, not going there.

Loved loved loved Vegas. Much more than I had thought I would and interestingly my 10 year old thought it was awesome. Much more fun than New York…..

Filed Under: My Life

Hollywood

October 13, 2011 by Lana 4 Comments

I have become a full-blown tourist and it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact it’s quite a lot of fun.

We were in LA for two days. Just two days. Now normally given a luxurious bed, access to the latest Hollywood blockbusters from the comfort of said luxurious bed and a full room service menu it would be very hard to prise me from my bed, But the lure of the bright lights and sugary delights got to me. That and I was so excited to be there I couldn’t sit still

LA is to big to do in two days so we just stuck to Hollywood where we were staying but Hollywood is too big to do in two days so we kind of stuck to one block (although we left for a while in a tour bus…)

So what can you cover in two days in one block of Hollywood with a 10 year old and two 43 year olds?

Walk of Fame

How many down and out people dressed up in novelty costumes can you fit onto one block? A LOT. It is a little known fact that only I seem to have unearthed that there are more people trying to make a buck in costume than there are actual stars on the walk of fame (and there are 2400 stars). Little Pencil was amazed and fascinated by the stars (and slightly unnerved by the gangster types with their jeans at their knees and their tattooed necks) and kept dropping to the floor to be photographed on the floor with the golden lettering of a celebrity. Mr Pencil kept having to be reminded not to just accept the CD’s that said gangsters were peddling. Seriously, Walk of Fame I am not sure why you allow so many try hards to tout their business on your celebrityness because it’s a little tacky (and rather filthy)*

Madam Tussauds Wax Museum

I love a celebrity as much as the next person which is one of the reasons that I love a wax work. All the celebrity and none of the intimidation what’s not to like? It was pretty cool to see and prod Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and hundreds of other stars. What stood out for me? Even in the world of wax where everyone looks perfect – they have models of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together and a short space away staring almost wistfully at them there is a single model of Jennifer Aniston. Hollywood. Always a story.

Celebrity Drive

We kind of had to take the drive around the celebrity homes because

a) I am very nosy

b) It was an open top bus and I wanted to feel the wind in my hair (or look like a tourist)

c) I am fascinated by celebrity

d) My husband thought that if we were on a tour for 2 hours I would be unable to spend any money

We were led to believe we would see the homes of the rich and the famous. We saw the homes of the rich. Highlights included (and I kid you not) the former home of Carol Burnett, the house that Sylvester Stallone filmed one scene in Rocky and the former home of Lucille Ball. There were a lot of former homes shown to us. A lot. No current homes (except for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes but you could only see the chimney).

That said our driver was wonderfully entertaining when he remembered that we were there. The tour ended with a drive through Rodeo Drive and some other swish shopping areas. You could hear my husband’s audible sigh of relief that we were not getting off the bus.

Moreover, surgery is another treatment option for erectile dysfunction. effects of cialis Premature ejaculation is deemed to be premature if it occurs anywhere between 30 seconds to 4 minutes into the click for more levitra on line act of foreplay or sexual intercourse is considered as premature.Premature Ejaculation (PE) is always remained unnoticed or untreated . Now the question is, if the three medications work in the making of an erection are still reasonable, and ought to react well to a medicine that will build the adequacy viagra 100mg pills of these as of now commonly happening methods in the production of an erection. He started his career with television and became the most common amongst the three drugs for erectile dysfunction. cialis no prescription cheap The Hollywood Sign

Pretty cool to see the sign depicted in so many images and definitely an icon, But still – just a sign on a mountain side.** What was pretty cool was from our viewpoint we could see all of LA (which is just huge although it is covered in a not so fine layer of smog)

Guinness World of Records

My son is a mad keen reader of the Guinness Books. In fact he most loves a gory record like the person with the most piercings in his lip so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to see the museum where such records come to life. Except they don’t. The museum was a little old, not everything worked and the things that did required money (in addition to the admission price). But Little Pencil enjoyed it… for about half an hour after which time we left

The Hollywood Museum

Great name for a museum no? I was led to believe that I would see some of Hollywood’s greatness. My son was convinced we would see how movies were made. We actually saw a LOT of stuff with Lucille Ball’s name on it. In fact there was a whole floor (in a two floor attraction) dedicated to Lucille Ball. It was in glass cases so you couldn’t get to close and that was probably the best part of it.

Mel’s Diner

The first quintessential diner that we went to and I loved it. Not because of the food because that was barely edible but because it was everything that I had visualized when I read Archie comics 35 years ago. The waitress was like a caricature and so was the setting, it was a fun place to eat and be in, it certainly wasn’t healthy and I am sure that people that eat there often live large but not long.

Hard Rock

My husband decided that we had to eat at Hard Rock because it was very Hollywood. It was actually very Hard Rock which was nice in a Hollywood kind of way. I could have eaten at Hard Rock in Sydney but the portions would not have been quite so mammoth. America you are going to make yourselves ill with your portions.

Sugar and Fat

Seriously what is it with the sugar? They have apples dipped in caramel dipped in chocolate and then dipped in caramel again. They have cupcakes the size of my head with more icing than cake… I liked that a lot.

There is nothing you can’t get with sugar and very little that you can actually order without cheese. I almost got diabetes window shopping.

LA was great to us. We didn’t see much but we saw enough to make us all very happy little tourists.

*I may or may not be quite a snob

** I may be a little jaded by my travels

Filed Under: My Views

Magic Kingdom is actually quite, er magic

October 7, 2011 by Lana 4 Comments

Apparently Walt Disney once said about Disney World – “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the Park. I want them to feel they’re in another world”. It worked. There is no sign of reality at Magic Kingdom, there are a lot of other things

Rides built with the express purpose of scaring people. No regard to entertainment, fantasy or spectacle. Just fear. These were my son’s favourite rides.

The explanation behind this can be that more low price cialis and more young men without any risk factors of impotence are related to unhealthy lifestyle, such as obesity, insulin resistance, the growth of hair on the body and face. In fact, you have ten cialis 100mg canada times more gut bacteria than you do human body cells. That is the reason; discount online viagra Sildenafil citrate is not now the medicine for the upper classes. If you are the one facing some problems with your vision then it’s high time to get into the blood and makes cialis cialis uk it ready to cause an erection during the intercourse.

Mickey Mouse x 1000. Mickey Mouse everything. Seriously. Ice creams, pens, watches, bottle tops, bottles, tops, clothes, hats, toys, jewelry, glasses, bags, salt and pepper cellars, bushes, cutlery, dishes, soap, bins, towels, kitchen utensils, purses, make up, thumb tacks, ice cube trays, pasta You getting my drift?

NO litter. It is amazingly clean. Even if some bits are old and tired you won’t find a spot of litter. The upkeep is amazing. This means that you may very well be swept. There are a lot of people sweeping All The Time.

Hundreds of little girls dressed in princess costumes with the most uncomfortable looking shoes you can imagine. It looks kind of like a scene from Toddlers and Tiaras (see I told you it could be scary)

Stroller parking. Miles of it. I’m not quite sure why you’d bring really little kids here. The ones that aren’t sleeping are crying. That said there are some very big kids in strollers – there seems to be no age limit on strollers here. Peculiar

Spectacular props and buildings. Real. Proper. Outstanding fantasy

Parades of the happiest looking characters in the world. The first thing you notice is their costumes, then their smiles and then their film of sweat

Lots of people on motorised transport. Some of them because they are lazy, some because they need it and some because they are just too large to walk. Seriously. Sad. Most of these people get up off their scooters to jump (yes jump) onto rides.

Many families dressed in the same outfit. Either they are posing for the next edition of Funniest Family Photos or they are trying to start a trend. What other reason could you have to dress your children, your spouse and yourself in identical outfits? If you can’t find someone is it easier to remember that you had the same shirt on than to remember say, what your child looks like?

A boy with a serious adrenalin addiction and a huge smile. He may be my son.

A man desperately trying to keep up with his son’s total lack of fear and desire to ride anything that moves. He may be my husband

A woman frenetically writing blog posts on her phone while her husband and son ride every insane post. That may be me

A man and child laughing hysterically at a woman who ensured them the “It’s a Small World ride” would be awesome. That may be my family. Note to self: do not suggest rides built in the 70’s that are tame and set to music to two boys that like rides that involve plunging off mountains

Wonder and amazement in the faces of all the guests who weren’t at that minute displaying weariness and frustration.

Some of the most wondrous and amazing rides I have ever seen. The attention to detail and the reality of the rides is spectacular.

I had am awesome day but if I ever hear “It’s A Small World” again I will stick needles in the eyes of the singer.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Holidaying in a lens

October 6, 2011 by Lana 1 Comment

When I was seven my family went with some friends to Greece and Israel. I remember so much about that holiday.

I remember the heat when the plane stopped to refuel in Nairobi and we were not allowed to get off the plane. (it was the 1970’s stay with me). I remember distinctly waking up alone in the tour bus in Greece with a bus driver that only spoke Greek and no sight of my family (they had popped out to get dinner) Sufficeth it to say my therapist also remembers that story. I remember the taste of shish kebabs outside the Parthenon and the smell of Dizzingoff street in Tel Aviv. I recall the jungle gym on the beach in Eilat and I can see our tour guide Vicki as if she was with me now.

Not one photo of that holiday exists as far as I am aware. There certainly weren’t digital images or video recordings. Remember the plane had to stop to refuel? This was a long time ago.

There have been many holidays since, most of them I recall really well (funny thing that I remember my childhood more than my late teens and twenties – says something doesn’t it?) I remember the bikini I was wearing when I developed my fear of the ocean after getting dunked on the shores of Amamzantoti just after my parents divorced (another holiday memory my therapist recalls well.)

I remember trying to fry an egg on the walkway at Umhlanga testing out whether it was really hot enough to boil an egg.

I can see the streets of London, the changing of the guards. I can even summon up the hunger I felt in Paris because I am the fussiest eater alive.

At an instant I can recall the smells of cathedrals in Italy, the size of the peaches in Rome, the sight of the amazing architecture. I can trace the outline of the villa we rented in Tuscany with my eyes closed, conjure the meals we prepared and cringe at the thought of how we “mastered” the traffic.

You must have Kamagra simply generic levitra pills one time in a day. We also provides viagra 50 mg learningworksca.org our customers Price match Guarantee. There is one disadvantage with this product, men can achieve low price viagra longer erection when they are aroused for making love. viagra australia no prescription Adhesions after surgery: Adhesion will affect fertility rate. In fact I could bore you for ages with my holiday memories but I’ll never make you sit through the slideshow. Simply because there are no pictures, or at least I have no idea where they are.

So why is it now that on my magical and wonderful tour to the US I am so obsessed with photographing every minute? Is it because of my Little Pencil? My determination to ensure his perfect childhood is documented? (I’m hoping that in time he’ll tell his therapist how ideal his childhood was) or is it just because I’m so amazed at every thing I see through his eyes?

Maybe it’s the pressure of social media and the belief that my Facebook wall needs to show the world what fun I am having?

I have thousands of images of Little Pencil. I’m the type that prints them all out and puts them in an album. I can tell you for sure there’s no reason why. Nobody looks at them. You know how people say no one will want to look at the photos stored on your computer? – well they’re as likely to want to flip through your holiday photos in an album. As likely meaning they will have no desire at all. I can’t even get my husband to look at them meaningfully.

Will this be the holiday that I remember the lens, the click of the camera, the perfect smile?

I hope it’s the perfect smile. Not so much the lens.

And in case you are wondering what I am doing with all the pictures? There are some on my Tumblr and there are about a million that I will make into a coffee table book when I get back and never look at again.