La Reve at Wynn
https://boxoffice.wynnlasvegas.com/shows_info.html
Premium tickets $140 each
Section E Row D Seats 18 & 19
I’m not really sure how to describe this show… Built on a water stage that can change its depth and height quickly to accommodate dance, synchronised swimming, being dropped in the water from great heights, just crazy stuff… There was fire, smoke and of course water… Designed by the creator of Cirque Du Soleil shows in collaboration with Steve Wynn himself, it had the flavour of a Cirque show but was a little bit different at the same time…
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Paradise Garden Buffet at Flamingo
Paradise Garden Buffet at Flamingo
This was a ‘running out of time’ decision, as it was close, and we only had a half hour to make our way to the La Reve… The food was really quite crap, and strangely most of the staff here were really quite old… Won’t go back, but it was good to have a base of comparison for Le Village buffet…
This was a ‘running out of time’ decision, as it was close, and we only had a half hour to make our way to the La Reve… The food was really quite crap, and strangely most of the staff here were really quite old… Won’t go back, but it was good to have a base of comparison for Le Village buffet…
Thursday, 10th April 2008
Thursday, 10th April 2008
Another 5am start – this time to go to the Grand Canyon… We decided to pay the extra and go by helicopter rather then ride there and back in a long bus ride, this way it took a few hours rather then a full day and we got to see everything from the strip to the canon to a ranch, all from a great view… Will let Mark review it, but it was fantastic!!! Then we made the trek out to UNDFTD, across from Hard Rock Café… we were early so grabbed a yummy burger (yes we are both officially fat now) at Johnny Rockets… Checked the store and went to the Hard Rock Café to check it out, we were pretty knackered by this time so just looked at the gift shop, home, a snooze, a pretty average dinner at the Paradise Garden Buffet at the Flamingo, then on to the production of La Reve at the Wynn… This was a completely mind-blowing show… From the creator of Cirque Du Soleil, on a water stage, crazy crazy stuff! Completely action packed from start to end and well worth the cash! After the show we went on a pharmacy finding mission to get some serious water for our room, which took forever and we didn’t end up in bed till late-ish…
Another 5am start – this time to go to the Grand Canyon… We decided to pay the extra and go by helicopter rather then ride there and back in a long bus ride, this way it took a few hours rather then a full day and we got to see everything from the strip to the canon to a ranch, all from a great view… Will let Mark review it, but it was fantastic!!! Then we made the trek out to UNDFTD, across from Hard Rock Café… we were early so grabbed a yummy burger (yes we are both officially fat now) at Johnny Rockets… Checked the store and went to the Hard Rock Café to check it out, we were pretty knackered by this time so just looked at the gift shop, home, a snooze, a pretty average dinner at the Paradise Garden Buffet at the Flamingo, then on to the production of La Reve at the Wynn… This was a completely mind-blowing show… From the creator of Cirque Du Soleil, on a water stage, crazy crazy stuff! Completely action packed from start to end and well worth the cash! After the show we went on a pharmacy finding mission to get some serious water for our room, which took forever and we didn’t end up in bed till late-ish…
Flamingo Hotel
Flamingo Hotel
http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/flamingo-las-vegas/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml
Room 19059
Check in was an absolute nightmare… Took around 20 minutes just to find a bellboy to take our bags, then when we did the check in staff were extremely unhelpful… It was never made clear to me that you would have to pay the balance plus $400 deposit on arrival, I had the cash in my savings account but hadn’t transferred it to my credit card, in a fit of drama I withdrew all of the cash and paid that way, but the chick was being so hard about it all…
We finally get to the room, and it’s beautiful… I know people don’t quite understand why you would want a nice room in Vegas, but we do spend an amount of time in it and so wanted it to be nice, especially as it’s our last stop… I especially like the TV in the bathroom!
I rang for the bags as soon as we got in, they took half hour to arrive, frustrating as we both wanted to shower but our clothes were in the bags… Eventually they came; we showered and eventually got to go to the strip…
http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/flamingo-las-vegas/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml
Room 19059
Check in was an absolute nightmare… Took around 20 minutes just to find a bellboy to take our bags, then when we did the check in staff were extremely unhelpful… It was never made clear to me that you would have to pay the balance plus $400 deposit on arrival, I had the cash in my savings account but hadn’t transferred it to my credit card, in a fit of drama I withdrew all of the cash and paid that way, but the chick was being so hard about it all…
We finally get to the room, and it’s beautiful… I know people don’t quite understand why you would want a nice room in Vegas, but we do spend an amount of time in it and so wanted it to be nice, especially as it’s our last stop… I especially like the TV in the bathroom!
I rang for the bags as soon as we got in, they took half hour to arrive, frustrating as we both wanted to shower but our clothes were in the bags… Eventually they came; we showered and eventually got to go to the strip…
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Undefeated / Johnny Rockets Diner…
Undefeated / Johnny Rockets Diner…
http://undftd.com/
http://www.johnnyrockets.com/index2.php
After a long walk in the burning sun we made it to legendary sneaker store, Undefeated… Unfortunately we were an hour early (the store opens at midday), so we popped into Johnny Rockets diner for a spot of early lunch, which was thoroughly enjoyable (I had their world famous Streamliner soy burger and Corrie had a Bacon Cheddar Single, both with Cheese Fries)…
After lunch we popped back to Undefeated, which was just opening… We were greeted by their enthusiastic staff and began browsing the shelves…
Scoring the T-shirt and hoodie that I had seen on their website, we left and checked the Stussy store next door…All in all a great morning – good food, great weather, quality shopping and, once again helpful, friendly staff… Top marks…
http://undftd.com/
http://www.johnnyrockets.com/index2.php
After a long walk in the burning sun we made it to legendary sneaker store, Undefeated… Unfortunately we were an hour early (the store opens at midday), so we popped into Johnny Rockets diner for a spot of early lunch, which was thoroughly enjoyable (I had their world famous Streamliner soy burger and Corrie had a Bacon Cheddar Single, both with Cheese Fries)…
After lunch we popped back to Undefeated, which was just opening… We were greeted by their enthusiastic staff and began browsing the shelves…
Scoring the T-shirt and hoodie that I had seen on their website, we left and checked the Stussy store next door…All in all a great morning – good food, great weather, quality shopping and, once again helpful, friendly staff… Top marks…
Le Village Buffet at Paris
Le Village Buffet at ParisI know people have really different views on buffets, but we were really struggling to find suitable vegetarian fare at the restaurants so we tried this buffet… It was really yummy, heaps of veggie options, and lovely salmon, and for dessert a delightful lemon meringue pie… The only thing that wasn’t yummy was the roasted duck, too dry, but out of a plate of lots of little spoonfuls of things to try it was the only thing not good…
Wednesday 9th April 2008
Wednesday 9th April 2008
Up early, a Carmel car to the airport, costs the same as a cab, probably makes sense to call one of these if leaving from a hard to get a cab from location, or at an unusual time… Wouldn’t get one from the airport there is always an abundance of cabs!
Plane ride was fast, slept most of the ride… Then we were in Vegas… Checking in to the Flamingo was a hassle, but the room is beautiful…
We started a walk up the strip; all the info I had read suggested breaking it up into parts as it’s hot and a hard walk… We started with that idea but ended up walking for about 4 hours, almost end to almost end… Awesome… So nice to not have to wear so many clothes!
We did some shopping, and general overviews of the hotels… Which took us right through to dinner… We struggled to find something suitable for Mark so settled on Le Village Buffet at Paris hotel, which was surprisingly good… Soon after dinner we were knackered, with really sore legs and feet so we came back to the room, chilled and fell asleep…
Up early, a Carmel car to the airport, costs the same as a cab, probably makes sense to call one of these if leaving from a hard to get a cab from location, or at an unusual time… Wouldn’t get one from the airport there is always an abundance of cabs!
Plane ride was fast, slept most of the ride… Then we were in Vegas… Checking in to the Flamingo was a hassle, but the room is beautiful…
We started a walk up the strip; all the info I had read suggested breaking it up into parts as it’s hot and a hard walk… We started with that idea but ended up walking for about 4 hours, almost end to almost end… Awesome… So nice to not have to wear so many clothes!
We did some shopping, and general overviews of the hotels… Which took us right through to dinner… We struggled to find something suitable for Mark so settled on Le Village Buffet at Paris hotel, which was surprisingly good… Soon after dinner we were knackered, with really sore legs and feet so we came back to the room, chilled and fell asleep…
Tuesday 8th April 2008
Tuesday 8th April 2008
Today was our last day in NYC, we were lucky enough to have a Big Apple Greeter to show us around Harlem… It was a fantastic and informative tour, but I will get into that later… Harlem is such an interesting place, in its rise and fall, only to be coming up again… Great architecture and culture…
The tour ran late and we had to get home and have some dinner before the Joell Ortiz show… I was feeling pretty crappy with the cold but we made our way out, the restaurant we wanted to go to had a 45 minute wait, and we didn’t have the time, we ended up at a local Italian, it wasn’t great, we didn’t get the name or exact location and no photos of the food… We were hungry and in a rush, it filled the spot… Then off to SOBs for the Joell show, it was a fairly interesting night… The sound took a while to iron out, there were a few interesting acts… Was totally bizarre to hear M Phazes being shouted out, haha… It was good to see Ari again, but I was struggling to stay awake… I left just before Joell came on, sad I know, but Mark had Ari to chill with, so I walked home and went to bed as we had a 5am start to get to Vegas…
Today was our last day in NYC, we were lucky enough to have a Big Apple Greeter to show us around Harlem… It was a fantastic and informative tour, but I will get into that later… Harlem is such an interesting place, in its rise and fall, only to be coming up again… Great architecture and culture…
The tour ran late and we had to get home and have some dinner before the Joell Ortiz show… I was feeling pretty crappy with the cold but we made our way out, the restaurant we wanted to go to had a 45 minute wait, and we didn’t have the time, we ended up at a local Italian, it wasn’t great, we didn’t get the name or exact location and no photos of the food… We were hungry and in a rush, it filled the spot… Then off to SOBs for the Joell show, it was a fairly interesting night… The sound took a while to iron out, there were a few interesting acts… Was totally bizarre to hear M Phazes being shouted out, haha… It was good to see Ari again, but I was struggling to stay awake… I left just before Joell came on, sad I know, but Mark had Ari to chill with, so I walked home and went to bed as we had a 5am start to get to Vegas…
Big Apple Greeter
Big Apple Greeter
http://www.bigapplegreeter.org/
‘A free public service that helps visitors discover the hidden treasures of New York City, the world's most exciting and diverse city.’
I applied for our spot with a greeter to see Harlem about 6 months ago, as I knew that older requests take priority to new ones… So if you are going to do this, get on it!
We meet Chaffin, a 70 something retiree, at the subway stop… I had no idea of his age as he was very interesting, articulate, knowledgeable and funny… Only when we told him it was our wedding anniversary did he say that he and his wife had been married 57 years, I was doing the math, blown away!!! He lived in Harlem from childhood until the mid sixties when he moved to Brooklyn with his wife to get away from the violence of Harlem…
The first stop was the Time Warner Centre, we went up to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to check the view, AMAZING, if you get a chance go and have a drink, or if you have the time and cash, a meal up there… Then off to Columbia University, walked around the campus to get an idea of the size, and the universities history with Harlem… Up to the ballroom where Malcolm X was shot and killed… After which we walked around for hours all around Harlem, hearing about the buildings, churches and overall history of the area…
Downtown to the African burial ground in the foyer of a massive building, they discovered the burial ground when excavating to build the building, stopped building for 8 months while going deep into the ground to get all of the bodies out, and then did a tribute to the Grounds in the foyer… Over to Brooklyn to check out some more history and great views…
Not sure whether I have gone into enough detail but I am still processing all that I learned and saw in this trip it was fantastic! Chaffin was a fantastic guide, such an interesting and engaging character…
http://www.bigapplegreeter.org/
‘A free public service that helps visitors discover the hidden treasures of New York City, the world's most exciting and diverse city.’
I applied for our spot with a greeter to see Harlem about 6 months ago, as I knew that older requests take priority to new ones… So if you are going to do this, get on it!
We meet Chaffin, a 70 something retiree, at the subway stop… I had no idea of his age as he was very interesting, articulate, knowledgeable and funny… Only when we told him it was our wedding anniversary did he say that he and his wife had been married 57 years, I was doing the math, blown away!!! He lived in Harlem from childhood until the mid sixties when he moved to Brooklyn with his wife to get away from the violence of Harlem…
The first stop was the Time Warner Centre, we went up to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to check the view, AMAZING, if you get a chance go and have a drink, or if you have the time and cash, a meal up there… Then off to Columbia University, walked around the campus to get an idea of the size, and the universities history with Harlem… Up to the ballroom where Malcolm X was shot and killed… After which we walked around for hours all around Harlem, hearing about the buildings, churches and overall history of the area…
Downtown to the African burial ground in the foyer of a massive building, they discovered the burial ground when excavating to build the building, stopped building for 8 months while going deep into the ground to get all of the bodies out, and then did a tribute to the Grounds in the foyer… Over to Brooklyn to check out some more history and great views…
Not sure whether I have gone into enough detail but I am still processing all that I learned and saw in this trip it was fantastic! Chaffin was a fantastic guide, such an interesting and engaging character…
Friday, April 11, 2008
All Apologies...
Vegas has been non stop from am to pm, will do my very best to get on here tomorrow with the last day of NYC and first two of vegas... some big things to tell you about, but have been up since 5 the last two days and am going to sleep...
love and light...
love and light...
Joell Ortiz @ SOBs…
Joell Ortiz @ SOBs…
Corrie and I had booked tickets to see Hip Hop artist Joell Ortiz in London, but had passed them up in favour of hanging out with our friends… So we were more than happy when he announced he was performing at SOBs in New York during our stay…
We eventually got tickets online (the physical box office never seemed to be open – the door was unlocked but never staffed), paying all those annoying extra costs for the privilege…
SOBs is a 2 minute walk from our accommodation in Greenwich Village, so we walked down early and entered a tiny, empty venue…
The support acts (both billed and unbilled) kicked off early, but for the most part sucked (aside from opener Dan Johns who worked a crowd even with faulty sound, and Emilio Rojas who was good despite battling illness)…By the time Joell Ortiz had made it on stage, the venue was packed and the crowd were hyped for his set…
Joell smashed It, working his way through tracks from his brilliant ‘The Brick: Bodega Chronicles’ LP from last year, as well as treating the rowdy crowd to some brand new tracks and breaking between songs to chat with the audience…
A cracking show…
Corrie and I had booked tickets to see Hip Hop artist Joell Ortiz in London, but had passed them up in favour of hanging out with our friends… So we were more than happy when he announced he was performing at SOBs in New York during our stay…
We eventually got tickets online (the physical box office never seemed to be open – the door was unlocked but never staffed), paying all those annoying extra costs for the privilege…
SOBs is a 2 minute walk from our accommodation in Greenwich Village, so we walked down early and entered a tiny, empty venue…
The support acts (both billed and unbilled) kicked off early, but for the most part sucked (aside from opener Dan Johns who worked a crowd even with faulty sound, and Emilio Rojas who was good despite battling illness)…By the time Joell Ortiz had made it on stage, the venue was packed and the crowd were hyped for his set…
Joell smashed It, working his way through tracks from his brilliant ‘The Brick: Bodega Chronicles’ LP from last year, as well as treating the rowdy crowd to some brand new tracks and breaking between songs to chat with the audience…
A cracking show…
Premium Laces…
Premium Laces…
68 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012…
http://www.premiumlacesny.com/
While we were in London I foolishly passed up buying a pair of Air Force 1 Safaris from Nike Town, presuming I’d be able to get them in New York for cheaper… Silly me… It seems that the Safaris don’t drop officially in the US until this Saturday (12th April)…
I’ve seen a few samples of the shoe in the various sneaker spots in NY, but none in my size… At Flight Club they suggested I checked Premium Laces, so Corrie and I headed down to Spring Street to get in some last minute sneaker shopping…
The store is great and the staff are fantastic… Oh, and they had the kicks I was after – they had them in stock 2 weeks before the official release date…
If you’re after some exclusive crepes, check out Premium Laces…
68 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012…
http://www.premiumlacesny.com/
While we were in London I foolishly passed up buying a pair of Air Force 1 Safaris from Nike Town, presuming I’d be able to get them in New York for cheaper… Silly me… It seems that the Safaris don’t drop officially in the US until this Saturday (12th April)…
I’ve seen a few samples of the shoe in the various sneaker spots in NY, but none in my size… At Flight Club they suggested I checked Premium Laces, so Corrie and I headed down to Spring Street to get in some last minute sneaker shopping…
The store is great and the staff are fantastic… Oh, and they had the kicks I was after – they had them in stock 2 weeks before the official release date…
If you’re after some exclusive crepes, check out Premium Laces…
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
New York Knicks v Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden…
New York Knicks v Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden…
Section 131, row F, seats 3 & 4
As a teenager I was Basket Ball player… I played in my schools team and in a local team out of school hours… Ever since my first game I’ve had a keen interest in the sport, specifically following the NBA, so was stoked to get to check the New York Knicks play the Orlando Magics…
We arrived at Madison Square Gardens early, collected our tickets and then joined the crowd of people waiting to enter the stadium… Once the doors opened we made our way in, grabbed some food from the food court and found our seats…
It was a while before the game began, but we were kept entertained by all the warm-up action…
Soon enough both teams were individually introduced to the audience and the game began… Those that follow the sport will know that the Knicks haven’t been performing their best as of late, so it was very exciting to see them take an early lead in the first quarter…
For a full run down of the game check this link:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2008040618
The game was excellent and we both had a great time… Another recommendation for anyone in New York – well worth it…
Section 131, row F, seats 3 & 4
As a teenager I was Basket Ball player… I played in my schools team and in a local team out of school hours… Ever since my first game I’ve had a keen interest in the sport, specifically following the NBA, so was stoked to get to check the New York Knicks play the Orlando Magics…
We arrived at Madison Square Gardens early, collected our tickets and then joined the crowd of people waiting to enter the stadium… Once the doors opened we made our way in, grabbed some food from the food court and found our seats…
It was a while before the game began, but we were kept entertained by all the warm-up action…
Soon enough both teams were individually introduced to the audience and the game began… Those that follow the sport will know that the Knicks haven’t been performing their best as of late, so it was very exciting to see them take an early lead in the first quarter…
For a full run down of the game check this link:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2008040618
The game was excellent and we both had a great time… Another recommendation for anyone in New York – well worth it…
Lombardi’s
Lombardi’s
32 Spring St
Lombardi’s looks like a lovely little Italian restaurant – with celebrity pics on their walls… It felt and looked nicer then Johns, so we ordered the same pizza, pepperoni on one half and extra cheese on the other, with a starter of bruschetta… The bruschetta was AMAZING, but the pizza was good, just good, not amazing… Johns won, hands down…
32 Spring St
Lombardi’s looks like a lovely little Italian restaurant – with celebrity pics on their walls… It felt and looked nicer then Johns, so we ordered the same pizza, pepperoni on one half and extra cheese on the other, with a starter of bruschetta… The bruschetta was AMAZING, but the pizza was good, just good, not amazing… Johns won, hands down…
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