48 hours in Las Vegas! (the last 36 hours)

Mornings are not really all that in Vegas but our hotel restaurant is open and actually has quite a few people.  The atmosphere is casual, some people come through to get to the pool, but the food is better than you would expect and reasonably priced.

So what can you do when the sun is up?  Check out the Atomic Testing Museum (within walking distance of the strip if you are energetic) which shows you the history of, well, the United States atomic testing history.  The exhibits are set up in digestible, well organized sections.  There are interactive stations where you can view in-depth video clips, or play a game to determine where we should store our radioactive waste!  They cover the science, the people who ran in the tests, and the culture that sprang up (atomic fireballs anyone?).  I really loved the display of patches given to those who participated in the different missions, and the short movie of an atomic explosion, rumbling seats included.  Did you know that the tests used to be a Las Vegas attraction?  From certain hotels you could see the blasts and they would hold viewing parties-check out the postcards they made out of that!

So now Vegas is starting to get moving and we go back to the strip, Bally's in fact, to see The Price is Right Live show.  Of all the game shows out there this is the only one that I wanted to watch when I stayed home sick as a kid.  I totally remember Plinko, Rice-a-roni (the San Francisco treat!), and golfing with Bob Barker.  This isn't the one on tv, but the format is similar.  You wear price ticket name tags, get called down to contestant row, bid on prizes and play a game if you make it on stage.  The value of the prizes is lower and more people win something because they call up new people to spin the wheel and play the showcase showdown.  You can bring in drinks from the bar and they show best-of clips from the tv show.  Did you know that Vanna White got called down to contestants row?   The best part of the show was that I got called down to contestants row!  And then I overbid by $5-darn.  But I'm kind of glad because the final prize was a new refrigerator and I don't think it would qualify as free shipped luggage....

By now it is late afternoon and people are going to be lining up to get into the Miss America pageant.  It's not that I'm a fan...kind of the opposite...this is an excellent people watching opportunity.  We walk through the shopping mall attached to Planet Hollywood where everyone is waiting in line to get into the auditorium and grab some pizza at a little place that has 'outside' seating.  Pretty much everyone getting in line passes in front of us and we snark.  Wow are there some questionable fashion choices.  So many sparkles, so many pairs of ridiculous shoes, so many 2-hour hair-dos.   The most memorable fashion statement was the guy with the white suit, not tuxedo-like, but with a subtle pattern of white on white, complete with white alligator shoes-he did an amazing job owning his look.  The oddest thing was that of all the gowns/cocktail dresses only one was green.  Is green considered hard to wear?  Note to self, if I ever need a fancy dress, look for green!

On the way out we try the gelato at Sugar, the candy store the hotel is hyping-not bad, but don't make a special trip.  We head to the City Center, a couple new hotels and a mall with somewhat interesting architecture, since none of us has seen it before.  The highlights for me are the Chihuly gallery (the fancy glass flowers on the ceiling of the Bellagio) and the water features outside of Aria.  The fountain in the center of the drive is a mini version of the Bellagio dancing waters without the music, but the river wall that is outside the main doors is unlike anything else in Vegas.  They run water over a vertical bed of pebbles and the sound is intense, blocking out the usual ambient casino noise, yet soothing at the same time.  Since we are close we also check out M&M world where they put their logo on everything you can think of!  Next time I'll try to figure out ahead of time if I need something printed on M&Ms.

We take the free tram over to the Bellagio and walk past the world's largest chocolate fountain.  It's an amazing piece of engineering and art...and draws a crowd of small children staring open-mouthed, asking if they can drink it :).   The Chinese New Years garden is lovely, I've always been impressed with the Bellagio gardeners because they manage to pack so much into a small space.  And finally dinner, we grab the corner table at the piano bar directly across from the lobby.  This is pretty much the ideal spot-the pianist takes requests, the drinks come from my favorite bar, they serve fancy snacks, and it is prime people watching.  For interesting drinks we try a Dark & Stormy (rum and ginger beer), a Manhattan (the best Manhattan we've ever had came from this bar), an extremely well made mojito, and a light refreshing aloe juice cocktail.  Fancy snacks include mushroom bruschetta, jumbo seafood cocktail, beef tartare, and the duck charcuterie plate.  Yum-I love snack plates for dinner!  To top off the evening we see O.  Like the Blue Man Group if you haven't seen it it will be difficult to get a complete picture from a short description.  It is world-class athletes performing variations on a theme with a thin story line running throughout.  It is incredibly beautiful and there is such attention to detail (live music, intricate costumes, audience inclusion).  Of all the Cirque shows this is my favorite and it is only in Vegas because of the special theater.  If you only have time/money for one show, spend it on good seats to O.

On Sunday morning we sleep in and then hit the hotel pool and hot tub.  Nothing super fancy, but it has a nice view of the mountains and we are pretty much alone.  We figure we need to work in a champagne brunch and there happens to be one just down the street at the Flamingo.  They have very pretty grounds in the back, koi ponds, mini rivers, and, of course, flamingos.  The brunch is nice, breakfast-y things on one side (bacon in four different places!) and Asian lunch-y items on the other.  An item on the dessert table that is a big hit with the kids is the cotton candy, but my favorite is a butternut squash ring filled with some sort of sweet butternut custard-I've never seen anything quite like it and it was clearly dessert, even though it was a vegetable.

A final tour of Caesars where we try to guess the nationality of a group by their clothes/shoes/sunglasses...and we'll never know how successful we were, but it was fun to pass the time.  It is usually fun to check out the indoor fountain shows in the mall, but we were at the one with Bacchus and it was completely broken-yikes, they should turn that off rather than leave such a terrible impression. And that is all we had time for on this trip.  A quick cab ride back to the airport and it's bye-bye Vegas...till next time!

48 hours in Las Vegas! (the first 12 hours)

Las Vegas, January 2011

I love opportunistic travel-travel to somewhere because someone else will be there.  We took this trip becuase my cousin Brenda was in Vegas for work, so E-- and I joined her for the weekend-woo hoo!  Now, the only thing about visiting Vegas is that we don't really gamble.  I can play a little slots, but not for long.  I'm too cheap and it doesn't thrill me at all. So what to do?  Turns out there are PLENTY of things to do in Vegas other than gamble, some are even free!

We arrive just before lunch on Friday and meet at our hotel.  I love staying on the strip in the fancy hotels, but am always looking for something different and/or cheaper.  I stumbled across The Platinum which is just a block behind Bally's and is completely non-smoking.  I really liked the peace and quite of being off the strip and the size of the suite was so huge we all had plenty of space to spread out.  Having spread out, we went in search of food and ended up at the buffet at Paris.  All the buffets have too much food so you really can't go wrong unless you want something specific.  The Paris buffet has a crepe station of course, and a wide selection of cheese, so that is lovely, and we end up stuffed-not really a surprise.

We are thinking about getting tickets to the Blue Man Group, which is up at the Venetian, so we head up the strip.  On the way though we get sidetracked-in a good way!  First there is a a photo shoot that we stop to figure out...turns out the Miss America pageant is this weekend.  Huh!  Who knew?  But it adds some possibilities to the weekend.  As we are walking past Bally's we see a Storm Trooper and Superman and Batman and Bumblebee.  For a dollar, you can get your picture taken with one of them. So this is actually pretty entertaining to people watch.  Who passes by without seeing them, who does a double take, and who gets their picture taken.  Bumblebee is clearly the most popular and Batman gets no love at all except if he is invited into the photo with Superman.

Once we are in the Venetian we see the Chinese New Year display.  Generally it is lovely, but there is a 20-foot rabbit that is trying to be realistic with its brown fur and moving parts and it is just a little creepy.  And even though we are still stuffed from the buffet I can't resist the gelatto because they have cinnamon, which I mix with caramel and it is quite nice.  Now we practically have to waddle north to the Wynn.  I haven't been there before and hear they have some fancy water thing.  You can see it if you check out the satellite view on Google Maps.  It is national parks ('forest' and 'waterfall') meets Greece (classical statues) and the light show part of it happens at night, so we will miss that.  But you can sit at one of the outdoor bars and have drinks and feel very relaxed by the sound of rushing waterfalls.  You just have to ignore that you are under the flight path to McCarren and get to hear a plane land, oh, every 5 minutes.  Actually if you are appropriately drunk that is totally possible.

We still have time before the show so we wander over to Treasure Island and get alcoholic slushies-just look out for a brain freeze!  They have some cool stuff on display, a sculpture that is part motorcycle part woman and old carved ivory tusks that are so intricate the carvings had to be done over generations.  Can you imagine seeing your dad carving this tusk knowing that you are going to have to continue working on and you won't be done so you'll have to pass it on to your kids-wow, that is some dedication to the piece!   And now we realize we may as well hang out until the show starts.  Now, it's been a decade since I saw the show and I basically remember there was some sort of pirate battle (duh, it's called Treasure Island).  They have 'sexed' it up...I guess.  The one ship is pirates, the other is sirens (female obviously) and they have a bit of a battle.  That includes singing and dancing and clothes removal.  The only advice I have is if you want to see the guys, stand near the street, if you want to see the gals, stand near the casino.

We make it back to the Venetian and our Blue Man show.  So if you have seen it, you already know.  And if you haven't...it's super hard to explain.  It is part musical, part comedy, part cultural commentary, and all performance art.  I really enjoyed it and the family behind us did too.  Turns out that was a long day, so even though the night is young for Vegas, we head back to our place and crash pretty quickly, and a good thing too because tomorrow will be a busy day!

Pt. Reyes Lighthouse

Even trips close to home counts as an adventure and there are so many great options in the Bay Area.  Point Reyes National Seashore is a really great example of the Northern California coast.  Growing up my image of California came from the tv shows of the time (CHiPS anyone?!) so I thought that all of the coast was warm water and sandy beaches.  Wow, was my move to the Bay Area an eye-opener.  The norm is rocky edges at the base of cliffs where the ocean crashes spectacularly and if you get in you better be wearing a dry suit!

On the Friday after Thanksgiving E-- and I met up with a couple friends and her folks who were visiting from Michigan.  We met at the original Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.  It is a tiny little town that lots of folks love because it is quaint.  That means that it has a a couple of restaurants, a few small stores selling whatnots and some artist studios.  Not actually the type of place I visit a lot because I get bored with that after an hour.  But Point Reyes Station has cheese and that is awesome.  We purchase bread and cheese and head on out.  If you plan ahead though you can get tours of the cheese making process.

To get out to the lighthouse you have to drive the tiny winding roads that pass by historical ranches-huh, who knew that ranches can be historical!  Once out there though it is worth it-the ocean view is amazing.  First we take some time to see it from the top from a couple of different vantage points.  Then we head down to the lighthouse.  They warn you that you will have to walk back up the 300 steps, but that is really no reason to stop you as put in some nice little benches along the way.

The lighthouse itself is interesting and there will be a ranger there to answer questions about the Fresnel lens, the foghorn, etc.  But the amazing thing to think about are the men who ran the lighthouses-what a harsh lifestyle.  They have some neat documentation about the rules and regulations they had to follow.  They were in charge of keeping the light going even in the stormiest weather.  But at least stormy would be interesting-consistency was the most important attribute in a lighthouse keeper.  You can't just take a 'mental health day'.  I'll keep that in mind the next time I feel like whining at work :)

NYC cont.

Monday-we head home later today, but there is still time to get in a few visits.  First is a nostalgia tour of the Columbia University campus where we went to school.  Good spots to visit are St. Paul's chapel, the whispering bench across from the chapel, and the Steps.  On a nice day sitting on the Steps and people watching is one of the best ways to pass the time.  We visit the last nostalgia food stop, Famous Famiglia's pizza.  This was my introduction to pizza bianca-no red sauce and glops of garlic infused ricotta.  I LOVED this stuff as a student.  Plus the counter guys were actual italian guys which was novel to me. They are not as good as I remember, maybe because they became a chain or maybe it is my memory.  Still, it has a nice crisp crust and satisfies the craving for cheese.

Now it is time to do something we never did while we actually lived in the area-visit Grant's tomb!  http://www.nps.gov/gegr/index.htm  It does not take much time, though the building is relatively large for NYC, inside are Grant AND his wife, and a few small exhibits.  I was surprised by how many people were visiting, but if you are in the area it is worth it.

Finally we get our gear and head out.  This time we take the LIRR, just because we can-pretty nice but not really much faster than the subway.  Coincidentally a good friend will be landing about 2 hours before we leave, so we meet up and chat for an hour.  That's it-a reasonable flight and our quick NYC weekend is over :(

NYC Nov 2010 cont.

Sunday morning is clearly for sleeping in.  I generally pack a lot of activity into a small space, but never neglect sleep!  Lack of sleep makes everyone cranky and less fun.  After E-- and I finally get going, the first stop is another nostalgia food stop.  Amir’s falafel-they have a super decadent tahini on the schwarma that we’ve not found elsewhere.  Fortified we head to Brooklyn for the New York Transit museum  http://mta.info/mta/museum/index.html.  We’ve been meaning to go pretty much forever-the subway system is so cool and living in New York it’s a necessity so you come to know about your little piece of it that you take for granted while keeping in the back of your mind that the possibilities are endless.  Anyway, turns out we don’t think we ever really have been to Brooklyn.  I mean we’ve been across the bridge, we’ve been on the Long Island railroad to the beach and of course the airports….but never Brooklyn for its own sake.  Finally we are going there for the museum.  Which is just right-not too small, not too big, not empty, not packed.  There are exhibits on how the subway was built, the history of the ticket system (from paper, to tokens, back to paper), the improvements in turnstiles, the money (this was amazing-the amount of $$ in the system-wow), the trolleys and buses, and of course the subway cars themselves.  And all of it is in an old subway station that still has working controllers.  Probably not a must see on your first visit to New York, but if you ever lived in the city, like trains or transit in general it is worth a stop.

To get back to Manhattan, we walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge.  It is quite a popular attraction for tourists, plus some folks actually use it to get back and forth, so it is busy with people and thus good people watching.  The bridge ends near city hall and our plan is to wander up to China town to catch the subway.  On the way, we stumble across a National Monument that we didn’t even know existed.  It is the African Burial Ground National Monument http://www.nps.gov/afbg/index.htm and it’s quite moving.  It is a tiny little plot of land in Lower Manhattan where burial grounds were discovered during a construction project.  During the 1700’s this area was outside of the city and since Africans weren’t allowed in the cemeteries, they formed their own.  The symbolism is nicely explained in the brochure and you can get more information from the Park guide.

Once we wander through Chinatown, we get on the 6 train heading south.  Which is odd because there is only one stop left and it is City Hall, and we just walked up from there….hmmm.  I’d read online http://jalopnik.com/5684329/how-to-see-new-yorks-secret-city-hall-subway-stop that there is an old stop at the end of the 6 line where the train turns around.  It was designed to be a highlight with beautiful mosaics etc. but because it is on a sharp curve it is not safe.  So at the last stop they ask everyone to get off, but they don’t enforce it, so you can stay in the car, ride past the stop, and be on the Uptown 6 when it stops again.  So we take the short ride, sit put when the canned announcement asks everyone to leave and look over at a father and son who are also sitting put.  We admit to each other that we heard about this online and wanted to check it out.  The doors close and off we go.  It is a short ride, and sure enough, midway through we can see out the right hand side that there is a subway stop.  It is dimly lit so hard to view all the great work that is there, but worth this quick detour to see something usually reserved for the conductor!

And we’re off to Times Square!  The whole reason we are here is to see Pee Wee’s Playhouse on Broadway.  We meet up with our friends and grab a quick dinner at Mars 2112, a space themed restaurant.  Is it good?  Well, it all depends on what you are looking for!  Entertaining?  Yes.  Food?  Decent, a tad pricey (remember that you are paying for atmosphere).  American style?  Most definitely!  I would call a novelty place, almost on par with Casa Bonita.  And finally we get to the show.  It was fantastic!  Now, obviously we are fans of the original.  Which is why we went and it was exactly what I wanted.  Enough of the original to do fan service (the set, the cast, the word of the day) but with current events (including suggestively naughty bits) as well so it is not just something you could have seen on tv.  

NYC Nov 2010 cont.

Next we travel by subway to get to our housing and are changing trains at Penn Station.  Which is 34^th street.  Which is Harald Square.  Which is Macy’s and the site of the parade in just a couple days.  We figure this is our opportunity to see the famous Christmas windows and the set up of parade route while all is quiet.  The window display is enchanting.  They took the classic story of “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” and depicted it through paper cutouts.  These are not your run of the mill snowflakes, but intricately designed, exactly cut and layered, full size dioramas of people and scenes.  One window shows mom sitting on a bed and the bedspread is incredibly detailed-three layers of different colored cutouts to make the flower details and each one just a little different.  The windows also incorporate movement in the scene and curtains that cover the entire scene briefly.  Lovely!  But a big part of the reason it was lovely is that we had the windows basically to ourselves.  This is one of my favorite methods of maximizing my travel-visit off season.  Why did we have it to ourselves?  8am Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Onto check into our lodgings!  This time I have tried something new for us-staying in an extra room of someone who is living there.  I looked at a couple of different websites for this type of stay and found this place on airbnb.com.  We stayed with a family who had an extra room that is usually their office in the section of Manhattan where we wanted to be.  It was a fantastic experience-we met new cool people, felt homey and relaxed, and contributed a smaller environmental impact. 

Having dropped off our stuff we ventured out into the city.  The sky was clear so we headed to a new-to-us park, the Highline.  An elevated park on top of old railroad tracks, the Highline seems to be a big success as it was mobbed with strolling, chatting families.  It is relatively small but there are already two planned expansions.  A really neat aspect of the park is that they have incorporated old railroad rails, ties, and they abstractly reference rails in the seating and layout.  This is a great people watching spot and I would recommend anyone visiting the area to drop by.

At the north end of the Highline is the gallery district and I just happen to have a gallery that I want to visit-the ET Modern.  Edward Tufte is a genius of data presentation-if you are a scientist (or have an interest in design or presentation) and haven’t heard of him, check it out ASAP!  The gallery is the place for him to present his artistic work.  And he happens to be giving tours today (well, I planned it that way after looking at the schedule online).  This is the first time I’ve gotten the artists view of their own work in the person.  It was a little intimidating (wrack brain, try to ask something intelligent…nothing comes to mind, well, at least don’t knock over anything!).  But it was enlightening to look at the work in real time as he was explaining what to look for.  I really appreciated how light interacts with his works and the meta humor he injects into some of his works.

Onto one of my favorites-the Metropolitan Museum of Art!  In my mind it is one of the top attractions of NYC for visitors or residents.  The exhibits that present an entire room are the best: the temple of Dendur, the Japanese courtyard, the Zen garden, the Assyrian monument, and the new Jain entranceway.  New to me this time are the Christmas tree in the medieval section (which is still closed off), some new buddhas, and a new set of screens in the Japanese art section (the picture on the screen is of screens-nice!).  On Saturdays they stay open late and serve drinks and nice snacks so of course we have to try that.  Very nice-probably overpriced but you are clearly paying for atmosphere.  If you are thinking of checking it out the drinks the main gallery is busy and music filled while the cafe near the European sculpture garden is quiet, cozy and has an extended menu.  We have drinks and snack meal at the cafe-fancy ravioli, meatballs in sauce so thick it is stew and olives that have been spiced to taste like the holidays.  Phew!  Fantastic day-head home and sleep for 10 hours! 

New York City

Ah-NYC.  I love visiting New York.  Visiting old favorites and finding new ones.  This visit is E---and I to see Pee Wee Herman on Broadway-but that is not until Sunday night and we arrive Saturday morning so there is plenty of time to do other things as well.  I hate to feel like I'm losing a whole day to air travel which means a few hours of really terrible sleep.  This is the first time I'm trying a neck pillow-everyone else uses them so they must be good for something-it turns out it doesn't do what I want it to!  Doesn't it look like it is supposed to hold your neck up?  Not so much.
 
Train into New York and our first nostalgia stop-Tom's Restaurant.  Most people will know this as the res RESTAUANT sign from Seinfeld, but we ate here as undergrads when it was famous for being in the Suzanne Vega song ("I am sitting in a diner on the corner....").  I remember mostly burgers and fries and milkshakes but go for breakfast-y French toast and sausage.  The thing is they have spruced up the place a little by replacing the cracked leatherette seats and the menus...but the atmosphere is actually still the same.  They have specific rules that are posted and don't even try to defy them.  Food is homey, unpretentious, and likely to put you into a food coma if you order too much.  Perfectly nostalgic.