24 May 2023 - Niagara Falls

Our early start saw us head out to desperately find something to eat and drink before meeting our tour guide at 7:30am. Mark found a nice croissant and a cuppa for us each to munch on while we waited. We’re currently on the mini bus on our way to Niagara. There are two other couples with us, one from Birmingham who reek of cigarettes (must be a Birmingham thing, and I’m such a critical ex-smoker) and a couple from Mexico who aren’t speaking. The guide is a young guy named CJ who seems like he’ll be fun.

CJ told us that the whole area we were in was reclaimed land. The CN tower, all the arenas and massive amount of tall apartment buildings are all built on what was originally water. Interesting! There were some very big coal powered plants on the way, spewing muck into the air. Very sad to see. 

Niagara Falls

OK, there really are no words to describe the place. No photos either. Awe inspiring nature at its absolute finest. We started out with the Skylon tower. A nice quick glass-front elevator took us up  86m (282 ft) above the falls. There was an outdoor observation deck and it was bloody windy out there. We walked out to look down at the falls - both the Canadian Horseshoe and the American Bridal Veil Falls. The plumes of mist in the centre of the Horseshoe were massive. We could see far across Lake Huon (which feeds the falls) and down past the bridge that is the Canadian/US border crossing. It was mesmerising. 

We walked around the tower looking every which way. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Toronto, but I guess it wasn’t the clearest of clear days. We took as much time as we could to take it all in. It really is breathtaking.

On the way into the tower, they get you in front of a green screen to take your photo. At the end of your visit, you get to view, and buy them. 2 photos for $45CAD. Uhm, around $50AUD. For two photoshopped pics. I can do that myself at home, thank you very much. 

After the tower, we went down to the ‘Behind the Falls’ tour. You quite literally, walk behind the falls. 125 ft to the base of the falls, they’ve cut a deep tunnel in behind. There is an observation deck before you head in, where you can be nicely drenched by the falls, as well as deafened by their sound. The ground almost rumbles with the power of the falls. According to the website, up to 2800 cubic metres of water “thunders over the brink” ever second, travelling at around 65km per hour. CJ reckoned that it would fill a million bathtubs in a second. Maybe an exaggeration, or a well rounded off sum, it would certainly fill many, many tubs very quickly - if it didn’t smash them to bits first. 

We put on our bright yellow ponchos and headed out, and then in. Phenomenal. So powerful, and sitting under the edge of the falls, you really did get a sense of those millions of bathtubs filling too quickly. Completely powerful and awe-inspiring. We walked through the tunnels to see the hmmm, hallways (?) cut into the rock, that lie directly behind the falls. You couldn’t get close enough to get up too close (barriers, water spray) but the rumble was immense and the water splashing down looked like the worst sea storm ever filmed by MGM. 

After that, it was back up to the top to board the Hornblower - the ferry that sails up close to the falls. CJ told us that the best view was the bottom right front corner. He said that everyone races upstairs and it’s an ugly push and shove match and that the bottom right sees both sides of the falls going in and then going back, so we decided that his logic was good and raced for the bottom right front corner. We were first in line, so we claimed the main spot. When we headed out, there weren’t really any people around us - so all six of us figured we had won.

One big toot of the horn and we were off. The lady from Birmingham was all ready to record the entire trip in and out, for some friends at home. We had bright red ponchos this time, very stylish. We all took lots of photos as we got closer, and then it got louder, and rougher, and wetter, and windier - and wetter still, and Mark ducked for cover, along with the Birmingham couple. I tried to ride it out. I was very wet, and very, very cold. My fingers felt like they were about to break off. But I rode (most of) it out. I gave up when it started pouring down my shirt front. Now that really was cold. I headed back towards Mark and just took in the majesty of it all. YOLO - truly. It was so completely exhilarating and so truly awesome. There is no more perfect a word for it than awesome. The power of Mother Nature rules, entirely. 

We headed back in to go for lunch. We found a small craft brewery amongst the tourist strip and had some corn bread (hmm, no, not great) and a/some (?) poutine. Chips with cheese curds and gravy. Not bad, and a real lemonade. And a couple of drink coasters for the coast (long story, but we need to collect them). 

We got to have one more big look at the falls from the top wall before having to head back to the bus. It was so easy to just stand there and stare - it was meditative, addictive and hard to look away from. Absolutely awe inspiring beauty. 

A few quick stops along the way for a bit of info. The original power stations - they are now run by an international corporation and so it’s all changed. The station now powers all the way to Florida. They have so much fresh, hard running water that they don’t know what to do with it. The falls are fed by lake Huon, 50% of the water comes through Horseshoe Falls (seems logical, but the figure seemed to be important to CJ as he told us three times) and flows into Lake Ontario, running north. We stopped at ‘the whirlpool’ formed approximately 4.200 years ago where the Niagara River meets an ancient gorge that was carved out due to the movement of the falls. Long story, worth researching - shows how soft limestone is when thousands of years of nature hit it. Mind you, the falls were moving quickly until fair recently. 

Back on the bus - back to Toronto. I went to sleep in the bus, nothing to see here. 

After the tour, we went for a bit of a wander around our hotel area. Down to the harbour, across to Union Station. But we were cold and tired and getting hungry. We walked past the CN tower, the Blue Jay’s stadium, and wandered into an Irish pub for dinner. A good chicken and leak pie, and reasonable steak later - we were full and exhausted. Mind you, it was 10:00pm by then. The daylight at 10:00pm is a killer.

Click here for what are too many, doesn’t-do-it-justice Niagara pics.

23 May 2023: Vancouver to Toronto

We’re bidding a sad farewell to Vancouver today as we head over the east side to Toronto. A quick brekkie in the attached cafe (which I finally learnt the name of - Aloutte) and it was still a little dodgy but we’re almost (sadly) used to the coffee pot.

Our flight was for noon but we were told to get to the airport 2 hours prior - so we did. It took a whole 10 minutes to get through check in, bag drop and security, so it was a long wait. Bag drop was different. You put the pre-printed tag that was spat out of the check in terminal on your bags, and then put them on the conveyer belt. It read the tag, weighed it, and sent it off. Zero wait time, most impressive. 

The flight was okish. Air Canada again but not as organised as International. They seemed to have a lot of issues getting people onto the plane and the staff were a bit grumpy, likely because of that. We sat in the middle of the middle row, and the man next to me didn’t seem to understand the unspoken rule of the middle seat getting an arm rest. He spread himself out and kept elbowing me for the whole (4.5 hour) flight. I sat all curled in and had to keep my arms crossed to avoid him a little. Thank goodness it wasn’t international. I watched ‘Otto’ wth Tom Hanks. It was listed as a comedy, but it wasn’t really! It finished just as we touched down, with me in tears.

A crazy taxi ride to the hotel, a little reminiscent of one we had in Madrid, saw us land at our hotel - the Ice Condominiums. It was a bit difficult to work out where to go to get in to the place, but that’s half the fun, right? A couple of security guards helped us out, and we headed up to the 46th floor. The place is in a great location, the CN tower is a block away and you can see it from the apartment. The area is all sports and sports bars, with three stadiums (football, baseball and combined basketball/hockey arena). It was incredibly smoggy and smelly outside - lots of smokers, both the nicotine and pot kind. One smelt good, the other not so much. 

I wouldn’t really recommend the apartments though. It’s an AirBnB and a tiny studio without any room to unpack anything. We’re struggling to find room for the toothbrushes! And I’ve never sat on a bed that creaks so loudly that I’m sure the people above and below can hear. As it was already 8:30pm (those time zones!), we went to one of the sports bars for dinner. Pizza, pasta and burgers - we must be close to the US here LOL. Lasagne had, we walked back to the apartment, set a 5:45am alarm and didn’t drift off to sleep. So tired, but Niagara is on the way.

22 May 2023: Vancouver day 3

It was a very slow start this morning after such a late night. I don’t think I’ve slept in until 8:00am for years. We had our included brekkie (we’re a bit over the cafe downstairs - they don’t have many choices, and they have… American pot coffee). We caught a bus down to Stanley Park. We’re getting good at this bus thing now (our second trip! Ha!). Stanley Park is huge, and like most tourists, we went to see the totem poles. They were magnificent, and there were plaques with the history and meanings of each pole. There are lots of repeated ‘faces’ as they represent the land/sea/air. I like the ones with grizzly bears hugging people. 

We wandered along the sea wall and into the forest paths. It was pretty cool in there, but so beautiful. Enormous trees, happy birds, the occasional black squirrel. It was peaceful and relatively quiet, so it was lovely to walk amongst. And cool. Did I mention cool?

We walked past Dead Man’s Island - the navy took over a native burial ground and we watched the geese dig around in low tide leftovers. Then we decided to head back onto the forest paths. There was also a horse and cart tour, but we’re reluctant these days as there are too many stories about horses not being treated very well. So we relied on our own hooves instead. They are tired hooves, already (it’s only day 3).

We bussed it back into town, had a little wander again and are now back at the hotel having a rest, packing up, getting ready to fly to Toronto tomorrow, and deciding where we’ll go for dinner. A nice mellow kind of day.

Dinner:

Mark found a very cool steak house, but he didn’t look at the prices first. So we had a somewhat expensive dinner - but what a lovely way to finish up our Vancouver leg of the trip. The waiter was great, he knew his stuff, he even suggested a very nice cocktail for us -  I heard gin, absinthe, lime and something else and something else again. It was really good, and the totally drunken cherry on a cocktail stick that had obviously been soaking for hours was really good too! 

The guy told us all about the different cuts of beef that they had, while we munched our way through cheese bread that was an ultra upmarket version of Sizzlers. So yummy. After he finished with all the steaks (he was really hard to interrupt) we had to get him to go again with a weight conversion so that we understood. We decided on the 32oz bone in rib fillet with cauliflower gratin and succotash. Ok, so the cauliflower was divine (has some nutmeg in the béchamel he said), the succotash was nice, but the steak was to die for. To. Die. For. Tender, flavoursome, just the right amount of char and seasoning. So so so good. I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant (check them out here). 

We wandered back to the hotel feeling like we’d had a marvellous time in Vancouver. What a great city to visit. So much to see and do with great restaurants and really friendly people. We’ll go back again, without a doubt. And in case you’re looking for a Vancouver hotel, we’d recommend where we stayed. 

Some more fabulous Stanley Park photos here. 

21 May 2023: Vancouver day 2

After an early night and a brekkie downstairs, we headed off to the Vancouver Lookout (tower) to take in the sights. Advice: get there early. We arrived at 9:00am and there were only half a dozen people around. By the time we left at 10:00am, it was getting a little squeezey for views.

We walked around the tower and read all the interesting signs. It was well worthwhile. I didn’t realise there was such a big stadium here (everything is still big) and I learnt that the very expensive houses we saw on the way in are in one of the most expensive areas of Vancouver. So not your average Canadian cottage after all. 

Capilano:

The name ‘Capilano’ is from the Squamish nations name kia’palano. In 1889 a suspension bridge made of hemp ropes (which were swum across the river by a team of horses) and cedar planks spanned the canyon. In 1903, the hemp ropes were replaced by wire cables, and 120 years later Mark and Michelle walked across it! If you go to Vancouver, you have to do this. There was the suspension bridge, a treetop walk, a cliff edge walk and a forest floor walk as well. We started off gently with the cliff edge and then headed over to the suspension. Now, I may not be able to look over the balcony at home, but after sitting on the Grand Canyon Skywalk floor, a little suspension bridge is nothing (ok, I hung on for grim life but I did it!). Like with the Sequioa forests, no photo will do this justice. The majesty of the place is lost on the iPhone. 

The suspension bridge sways and rocks, particularly when there are more people on one side than the other. The mid-point is above a fast running creek filled by a lovely waterfall that you can see on the cliff walk. It is so, so, so high! The treetops walk is just beautiful, and slightly more stable, but not by much. On the way up, I asked the ranger about the size of woodpeckers. It would have been at least five minutes before I could get away from him. Nice guy and all that, but I think he may have partaken of too may gummies, and he ended up searching for the answer to my question on google! We later saw evidence of woodpecker activity though and we even saw a squirrel! 
It’s hard to say much more about this place, it was all in the feel of it. The air was fresh and clean and… well, bountiful for lack of a better word, even though that sounds weird in itself. 

Grouse Mountain:

We left there and caught a bus up to Grouse mountain. Had a little difficulty with the tap and pay system on the bus, and I think the driver felt sorry for us (or frustrated with us) as he let one of us on without paying. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one of us that was. So it was a cheap trip, made cheaper. Then it was onto the gondola for the trip up the mountain. An 8 minute ride up, over the tree tops, watching Vancouver spread itself out below. What a view! 

As we were ascending, it was getting colder and colder and colder and then all of a sudden… SNOW! There was snow! I was almost beside myself. I couldn’t wait to run over and poke it, but was not dressed to really do anything else in it! The pathway had been carved out and there was a wall of solid snow/ice on either side. I tried to stick my finger through the wall, but it was too cold and too hard to get very far. But, it was all magically beautiful. I found a lower section so that I could jump on top, and ended up with wet feet and having a little slide because sneakers are obviously not made for snow. And it was so cold. The pockets in my Brisbane coat' were sewn up and I had no gloves, so my hands were icy. But it was snow - so it was all ok. We wandered around a little - they have a bear sanctuary there but we didn’t get to see the bears. We couldn’t really find it and hadn’t left enough time as we had originally thought it was much further along than where we were headed. Next time (and I’m sure there’ll be a next time). We took in some fabulous views and I walked around huffing my breath out so that I could see it (small things). 

Our next stop was the Observatory Restaurant. We had a window seat, it was warm, and they made great cocktails. The food was outstanding. I guess you can’t really go wrong with Canadian salmon, and Mark’s scallops were perfectly cooked. Then I had the beef and he had the fish and we both had desserts and we both had excellent wine… and well, you can see where the night ended up. It was a lovely dinner, and the view over Vancouver was outstanding. Another must see/do. 

Sunset wasn’t until 9:30pm (!) and so we stayed for that and then caught the gondola back down. If I thought it was cold before, I learnt how cold a Canadian spring night could be on the way down. I cannot fathom winter here. The lights of Vancouver made for a spectacular sight. We ordered an Uber (Mark ordered an Uber) but it seems we ordered a package delivery and not a person pickup - but the Uber driver agreed to deliver our human package to the hotel for a small tip. He was a nice guy and told us all about Whistler and Jasper for our next visit. 

We didn’t get to bed until after midnight. Party animals that we are. 

Take a look at all the green and white photos here. 

20 May 2023: Brisbane to Vancouver

 Here we go! USA trip 2! 

I’d recommend Air Canada. From checking in at Brisbane to getting off the plane in Vancouver, it’s been easy and quick. They’re streamlined and organised, so we’ll fly with them again. Nice new plane, good movies, but a couple of people who thought ipad movies without headphones was a good idea, so a little bit of a hinderance to sleep. All in all though - we’ve arrived in reasonable shape.

Grabbed a taxi from the airport to our hotel and passed some of biggest houses with the biggest hedges I’ve ever seen. They must spend all weekend tending to their 12ft hedges! Vancouver’s streets are so clean, with pretty tree lined streets. We’re staying at Hotel du Soleil and it’s a lovely, arty hotel. The telephones are very cool.

They let us check in early as we arrived at 6:00am and they had a spare room. So in we went, and then down to the attached cafe for some breakfast. People are very friendly, service has been a little slow in most places we’ve been to so far, but the food has been excellent (ok, brekkie may have left a little to be desired as one meal had to wait on the cook’s counter for the other to be cooked).

After breakfast as we were getting ready to head out, the hotel fire alarm went off. They sound a bit different to ours and there is no ‘alert’, just an ‘evacuate’ so we grabbed our passports and headed down with everyone else. The fire trucks were there very quickly, and firemen jumped out with their hose over their shoulders. Nothing else happened though (yay), false alarm. Fun first day!

We strolled down to the waterfront. An enormous cruise ship was in, I’ve never seen one that big before (there are lots of first bigs happening). There were big (!) mountains in the distance, snow capped mountains no less, and lots of sea planes landing and taking off. There were so many dandelions on the side of the street that I took advantage of the opportunity and blew some off into the breeze. I haven’t blown apart dandelions since I was a kid. It was a really good vibe down there, and so we walked a bit more until we got to a cafe. Right when we sat down, the lack of sleep hit. Coffee, walk back to the hotel, and then crash for a couple of hours. 

Once we were slightly more refreshed we decided to walk down to the other waterfront and catch a little ferry across to Granville Island to go to the market. The streets were alive with people and shops and music, and a couple of protests about Iran and then one about ‘right not to vaccinate’. We saw the Canadian version of a bin chicken as well. Walking behind people, all we could smell was pot - it’s legal here (obviously). We passed some ‘weed shops’ so decided to have a look in. The one we went in to was very flash. There were little glass bottles with a magnifying glass sides containing all types of weed, so you could look at it closely, and even smell it before purchasing. Lots of paraphernalia and then large glass tubes in a maze around the ceiling: the delivery system - which they showed us a ‘delivery demonstration’ and a little tube of pot went flying around the room.

We made it to the ferry stop and got across to Granville Island. The markets there were full and busy and there were all sorts of wonderful things for sale. We tried some chocolates - Nanaimo Bars (ganache, custard buttercream, with a chocolate biscuit and coconut base). Yep, we bought some. Looked at all the cheeses, the bagels, the fresh seafood and meats, brightly coloured vegetables, and then saw the biggest fruit ever (is everything in Vancouver big?). We bought a mixed box and the strawberries were twice the size of the ones we get at home. So we sat down on the boardwalk and had a few bits of fruit - we needed the sugar hit. 

A little further down the boardwalk was The Sandbar restaurant which had a fabulous personalised oyster shell display out the front. We ended up at a table on the corner, overlooking the river, underneath one bridge, and looking at the other, with the snow capped mountains beyond. It was so picturesque. We had a seafood platter, fresh oysters, poached prawns, half a dungaree crab (accompanied by a fondue pot of melted butter to pour over it) and the most delicious Ahi tuna stack. The tuna was the best - unbelievable. It had a wasabi sauce with sesame oil and was sprinkled with black poppy seeds. So fresh, so tasty. The cocktails weren’t bad either. A yummy chocolate truffle dessert and then that was it, we just wanted to go to sleep. 

We found a taxi just outside and jumped in for the ride back, but somehow, he misunderstood and took us on a half hour ride around Vancouver, who knows where he was going. It took twice as long to get home in a taxi than it did to walk down to the waterfront, let alone get a ferry across! He didn’t charge us full fare though, so faith restored.

Now, we’re both fading fast, so bed summons. Great views, great food, lovely people - it’s been a very good first day in Canada!

Check out the big photo album here.

December & December : Bali & Bali

 The last of my ‘I’ll catch up very soon’ posts. 

04 Oct: Los Angeles

 Coming soon! 

03 Oct: Disney’s California Adventure

 Coming soon! I promise I’ll catch up shortly! 

02 Oct: Disneyland Park

 This is a ‘coming soon’, post. 

Photos are here.

01 Oct: Universal Studios

 (5 year old memories and notes again!)

This place is spectacular. We had so much fun. Word of advice though, book the ‘front of line’ ticket. They only do a limited number for each day so you need to pre-plan and book at least a month in advance. We got on every single ride though. We met another Aussie lady just after lunch, and she had only managed to get on one ride. So it’s worth spending the money on.

We parked on the Frankenstein level of the carpark – it’s Halloween month and so everywhere you look there are Halloween-y type things. Made it past the big Universal globe and we ran straight into Beetlejuice. He harassed Jamie and was pretty disgusting (LOL) and Jamie said that even his breath was rancid. Next we ran into Scooby Doo and King Julien. I had a little boogie with the King and then he held out his hand for me to kiss – and then promptly turned and walked off!

We headed straight for Harry Potter World. Disneyland is my dream, HPW is Jamie’s. This is so well laid out and just a magical place (pardon the pun). I guess when you make movies, you know how to do sets and graphics! We made a beeline to the main HP ride and jumped straight on. This is pretty much the best ride ever invented. We started screaming/laughing from take off until the end – all three of us. I can’t say I’ve ever laughed so much on a ride. It was a mad ride through Harry’s world – flying cars, quidditch, talking paintings and broomstick rides. There were dragons and spiders and spectres and all things otherworldly. I’m unsure how they did it – I think it was just a big seat that moved around and there was a screen all around it so it really did feel like we were flying and falling. Just an amazing ride. When we got off, we were so excited and just wanted to go on it again. We raced around to the entry and ran inside. Jamie flashed her pass and was off and racing, and then the girl stopped us to say that we could only ride once on the ‘front of line’ pass. I stammered something about my daughter racing in (she had seen her run in) and then said “shhh, don’t tell anyone” and let us in. So we got to ride it a second time. Mindblowing. Must be experienced to understand.

After that, we went on a short and sweet mini rollercoaster ‘Flight of the Hippogrif’ and then spent an hour or so wandering around all the shops. Jamie bought a mug of butterbeer, we went to Ollivanders and watched the wand choosing ceremony. Jamie got herself a willow wand and a quill and was very happy!

Next, we wandered into Simpsons Land and started to hit all the rides. The Simpsons was a 3D ride and that was amazing as well. At one point, giant Maggie sucks you into her mouth with her dummy. This was a crazy, upside down ride as well – again, I’m pretty sure that the seat was just rocking and rolling with a huge screen around you, but it’s totally immersive and you are right there in the action. The Mummy ride was similar – just mind blowing in regard to movement and graphics. The Jurassic Park ride was fun in the middle of the day – it’s a water ride, so nice and cooling. Mark got the wettest of all of us and Jamie and I stayed reasonably dry.

The Transformers ride was closed (boo, but yay for maintenance) however Optimus Prime had a photo meet and greet out the front of the ride. That machine is HUGE! He chatters away to each person as they come up for a photo. We noticed that most people got their photo and then just took off without even saying thank you or looking back at Optimus – so we made a point of saying thank you to him. Then he thanked us for saying thank you and said that we were special people (made me feel really good). Machines are human too, you know.

We had a crusty burger for lunch (ick) and then wandered around and ran into Marilyn Monroe. I sat down with her to have a chat. She was so lovely! We talked about shoes and hair and the fact that I had never fund the right shade of red lipstick. I asked her the best way to pose for a photo and she told me all about putting your hand up beside your face and tilting your head back (I seemed to go forwards even after this sage advice).

Next up was the backlot tour. This would have been fab if we could see things – but we were right at the back of the train. Don’t do it if this is your only option, wait for the next tour. We missed out on the water rushing down the hill, Bruce from jaws jumping out of the water (we saw his snout sink back under) and we were sitting right over the engine, so we didn’t get to hear a word the guide was saying either. We did however, see the Bates motel and the War of the Worlds plane crash sight. They had a King Kong vs Dinosaurs thing which was up there on par with all the rides. It was inside a garage stop and it played out all around the outside of the train. It made the tour worthwhile.

On the way back for another look at HPW, we saw Optimus again but Bumblebee was with him this time. Jamie and I raced over to get in line for a photo with Bumblebee. When we got to the front of the line, Optimus remembered us and told Bumblebee how we were nice people and that we needed an extra good photo. Bumblebee played with Jamie’s hair (quite a mean feet for someone with hands as big as a giants head) and held my hand (or I held his finger) for the photo. We both talked to them for a bit as well, or Bumblebee made sounds at us while Optimus spoke. It was a really fun interaction. Be nice to characters people!

We found The Walking Dead walk through ‘ride’ and decided to head in. I was very brave until it got underway. It’s like one of the old ghost houses, where you walk through and people and things jump out at you. Real people – or in this case, almost real zombies. When the first one jumped out, Jamie and I started screaming and didn’t stop until we were outside. This of course, attracts zombies – so we discovered. Mark was in the middle of us and we both clung onto him like our lives depended on it – he was killing himself laughing, we were just dying in general. It was so much fun, but adrenaline was racing and it was quite terrifying! We survived though – most because Mark protected us, I’m sure.

Oh, and we hit the Minions 3D ride as well – I can’t remember it now but my notes tell me it was great fun.

I’d go back to Universal in a heartbeat – but only with that front of line ticket as it was crazy busy and their rides are not short ones, so it doesn’t move through as quickly as Disneyland can (and we all know how slow that can be, right)? Great rides, great graphics, great experiences and great fun. So much laughing and screaming in one day! 

I should note here - the previous night there was a shooting at the Harvest Music festival in Vegas where 60 people were killed and over 400 injured. We had left in the morning and were right by the Mandalay Hotel which is where the gunman was firing from. We woke up to many, many texts and facebook posts checking to see if we were ok. We had no idea. I try not to get too political here, but sheesh America - gun laws, fix them!

Have a look at our Universal pics here

30 Sept: Las Vegas to Disneyland

Last day in Vegas and time to say goodbye to Connie. We decided to have brekkie in Paris. In Vegas. You know what I mean. It was a lovely breakfast – I had a divine crepe with lemon and caramelized pineapple, caramelized pineapple anything is always good.

We all packed up and jumped into our cars to head over to the Vegas sign for some farewell photos. How organized was this place! They had a nice, orderly line with a guy at the front who’d take your photos for you. And he even knew all the best poses (I guess when you’ve been doing it for that long…). We took lots of pics and then some crazy ones over to the side while everyone else took advantage of the free photographer. Jamie and I did the jumping photos, but we had to jump too many times. I think sometimes Mark has bad timing on purpose. We saw Grandpa from the Addams family and he was certainly a bit weird. Looked good, had the coffin on wheels and all, but he was all about bagging Hilary Clinton. Jamie decided on a photo with him anyway. Hey, it’s Vegas, right? 

Connie and I said a very tear-laden farewell and we waved goodbye as her and Kelly drove off into the sunset (sunrise actually, nah, more like mid-morning brightness) in their flashy convertible. We jumped in the car and headed for Disneyland. A day of many mixed emotions.

We drove into Anaheim and made our way down Harbor Boulevarde. I was almost beside myself in the back of the car, and couldn’t get over the fact that we were driving past THE Matterhorn. I didn’t want to look but I didn’t want to not look. This was the start of a 45 year old dream. I have wanted to go to Disneyland since…. forever. I remember Walt Disney on TV on Sunday nights, I have a vague recollection of the Mickey Mouse club on TV when I was very little. My grandparents gave me ‘world books’ and one had a section on Disneyland that I poured over. And then my father took my stepbrothers to Disneyland when I was 7. The first time I saw ‘the internet’ was with Mark – he asked me what I wanted to look at. I chose Disneyland and so it was my very first webpage as well. And we were there.

I had bought tickets through Disney, a special deal – and we were to pick up the tickets that afternoon for our first day there on Monday. We were meant to go to this special Disney tourism centre, on the outside of the park and so we headed over. On the way we walked between Disneyland Park and California Adventure. I admit, I cried. It was so surreal. We finally found this little office we were meant to collect the tickets from and … it was closed. They didn’t open again until 9:00am Monday. I was beside myself because this meant that we wouldn’t make park opening and would miss a couple of hours of the quietest time at the park. If you’re a Disney tragic, you know how important this is. We rang and spoke to someone and then to someone else and then another person and no one would help. Disney tourism office sucks the big balls. I put my big girl pants on and we headed over to the Disneyland Hotel where I proceeded to have a not so big girl tantrum – tears and all. After lots of explaining and a very caring cast member (staff member) on the other side of the desk, we had our Disney tickets and a special badge for me stating it was my birthday (which I wore every day from then on in). It stopped my tanty and I was very grateful that they fixed the problem.

We went back to the motel and unsuccessfully tried not to watch the Disney fireworks and went to bed, ready for Universal studios the next day.

 

Click here for Vegas farewells.

29 Sept: Las Vegas (Day 3)

 (Again, told from memory and notes, too many years in the future!)

We got up early to get ready for our helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon. The transfer took us through almost every other hotel on the strip as we were the first pick up. It was a cool way to see them all (I guess). We joined about 500 other people at the helicopter place – and we slowly made our way to it being our turn to take off. We watched lots of other choppers take off first, and they all (nicely) flew along hovering just above the ground for a way before lifting off into the air. I don’t think I was the only person there who was terrified of the height thing. Don’t be scared people, just take a valium (yes, I did).

We met our pilot, Daniel and we were lucky enough to score the front seat as the 2 Irish girls, and 2 Spanish girls with us didn’t want to sit in the front. I remember climbing in and I sat on the outside. It was just a glass panel beside me and under my feet. A good view indeed. (Glad I took the valium). Once we took off though, I was fine. It was actually pretty good! We flew over the Hoover Dam (isn’t that big!) and across some plains on the way to the Canyon. We travelled alongside it for a bit and then Daniel let us know that we were about to ‘go in’, threw the theme from Bonanza into our headphones and down we went. It was magnificent, awe-inspiring, mind-blowing and a once in a lifetime adventure. Words cannot describe how fabulous it was. And we were down in amongst it all. It was a bit of a short ride as it was so twisty and turny, but still breathtaking even if it was only a few minutes.

We headed over to the Grand Canyon skywalk and landed there for our next fun valium need-inducing moment in time. It’s a big loop hanging 1200m (4000 ft) high out over the canyon with a glass floor to walk over. (You’ve probably seen/heard about it but if you haven’t, here is their website). There were people freaking out walking onto it, and about a third of those who came back were still freaking out – the other two thirds were pretty mindblown, so I figured the odds were almost in my favour. I put on my little paper nurse booties, and very delicately stepped out. Next thing I knew, a photographer was urgently saying “stand here, sit here” blah blah so that he could take the included souvenir photo. It all happened so quickly, that next thing I knew I was sitting on this glass floor smiling up for a photo. Then it was up and over to the edge for another photo. I’m kind of glad really, because once that all happened, I was more than ok to stand there looking out or down, and shuffling along with everyone else. I think it (almost) cured me of my fear of heights.

After that, we wandered outside and looked over the edge at a different spot and tried to take a couple of selfies. What’s with it with people that want to walk behind you and stand there though when they see you taking a photo! Who does that? Well, lots of people actually. Back to the skywalk to grab our official photo (my notes say that Mark wanted a different photo but we got the one I chose, go figure) and then back on the chopper for the ride back. Mark sat on the outside this time, and I got cosy and warm between him and the pilot. If you are in Vegas, this is a must. Expensive, but a must.

We got back to the motel to find that Jamie had been stuck in the room all day because she didn’t have a room key. No comment. No comment here about ringing reception either. She had a nice relaxing day either way. We all headed out to have a look around Caesars and Ballagio again, checked out the harvest/fall display and had some Gordon Ramsay’s fish & chips for lunch (not bad). I have a note that says “peach and ginger lemonade and iron chef with spiky hair”. Not sure what that’s all about but obviously something that impressed me at the time. We headed back into the Flamingo, found a shop that had a flamingo hat that I simply HAD to try on while watching my family walk away from me with shame. I liked it though. Saw a big Donny and Marie cut out so I had to have my photo taken with them, and Mark sat down to the biggest glass of beer known to man.

We had arranged to meet Connie and Kelly at 6pm to head out to dinner and we ended up at Margaritaville. Crumbed coconut shrimp and some watermelon cocktail meant that it was good. We wandered down to see the volcano explode (hotter than a KISS concert) and had a little gamble at the Mirage. It was the first time Connie and Kelly had played poker machines, so it was really just an educational experience ;-)

Back at the Flamingo, Connie and I (a little drunkenly) did the now world famous ‘Flamingo pose’ made popular by Celine Dion. Whether we succeeded or not depends on how many drinks you’ve had when you look at the photos.

Pictures (many) are here.

28 Sept: Las Vegas (Day 2) - catchup post too many years later!

What better way to start your wedding day than with some vegemite toast! Jamie had brought some for me and this was my opportunity to show Connie that it didn’t, in fact, “taste like dirt”. Both her and Kelly tried it. Kelly quite liked it, Connie was diplomatic, and I enjoyed it no end.

Mark, Jamie and I went for another hot sun wander while Connie and Kelly met up with one of Kelly’s friends, the infamous Dr Toby. Again, it was bloody hot in the sun, but as soon as you were in shade, it was quite bearable. We walked down to the Venice – which really is a mini Venice. Gondolas, Doge’s Palace, Campanile, the whole kit and caboodle. Only with chlorine instead of sea water. We went down as far as The Mirage where we would be seeing the Cirque Beatles show ‘Love’ that night.

The casinos all have very inviting pools but we went for the air conditioning instead. We ducked into the foyer of Caesars’ Palace (after walking past the Colosseum). Yep, it’s pretty impressive. Huge marble statues and fountains and floors made of beautiful Italian marble. We went and looked at the gambling areas in here as well as a few other casinos, but they are all smoking venues and so we wouldn’t last very long before deciding we valued some fresh air above the flashing lights. They must have amazing air conditioning systems though because even though everyone was smoking, it wasn’t like walking through a pub in the 80s. It was smoky air but not stale cigarette smells – and it disappeared as soon as you were out of the playing area.

We went into the Bellagio in search of ‘the world’s largest chocolate fountain’. That seemed like a logical thing to go and look at. We had a look at all the very expensive Bellagio shops; Harry Winston, Tiffany’s, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Hermes, Valentino – you name it, if the prices tags were in the hundreds of thousands, it was there. We ended up needing to ask where the fountain was as it seemed we were on the wrong path. A bellhop pointed us in the right direction but we can see why we walked straight past it. It was a little sad. Not unlike the buffalo in San Fran, it was undersized and lacking in any energy.

 ~ OK, writing from memory now as we’ve jumped into 2023 ~

It was get-ready-for-the-wedding time. Jamie and I got all prettied up, and I can’t remember where Mark went while we did! I know we met up somewhere in the lobby with him and Connie and Kelly. We decided it would be good to go to the chapel in Connie’s rented red convertible, so we headed off to the carpark. It was then that we realized that five people were not going to fit in the car! So Mark, Jamie and I hightailed it back to the Flamingo and had the valet bring our car around. We somehow managed to navigate to the chapel – but we were running late by this stage. When we arrived, the couple who were ‘going’ after us were there, so they decided to go in early so that we could wait for Connie and Kelly to arrive. We were given our leis and our Elvis sunnies and took some crazy pics while we waited. Then it was our turn.

Elvis was fabulous. (Gosh, I don’t know what to write about all of this – it’s a blur because it was all so full on). He told us how it would all work, marched Mark and Jamie (his best-woman) off down to the end of the aisle and Kelly into the guest seating. He came back to grab me and I’m pretty certain Connie walked down the aisle before us. I should say, Jamie was Mark’s best-woman because she was my bridesmaid the first time around, and Connie was my bridesmaid this time! We were ‘doing’ the Rock-a-Hula Elvis wedding, but in all the time delay confusion, Elvis walked me down the aisle to ‘I Can’t Help (Falling in Love with you)’ rather than the Hawaiian Wedding Song (which my grandparents were married to – that’s a long story). It was ok though, he changed to the Hawaiian stuff later. He was a fab Elvis impersonator and looked and sounded like the real deal.

The ceremony was so much fun. He had these crazy funny vows – “I promise I’ll always love your tender and be your hunk-hunka-burning-love” and “I will always let you step on my blue suede shoes” type stuff. It was really hard to repeat after him as we were laughing so much. It was great fun. And then he got all serious – and we said serious vows, which neither of us were expecting. We thought it was all a bit of a lark, something to do when you’re in Vegas type stuff – and so when the real vows came out, it turned from funny into really lovely. I can’t remember them, so I wish I had blogged sooner. I remember that I cried, and that it was in so many ways, more meaningful than our original wedding. Yeah, it was that good.

Then we had all the wedding photos, followed by a fun version of ‘Rock-a-Hula Baby’ where we all danced up and down the aisle. Elvis of course finished with a “thank you very much”. It really was great fun and a very special memory. I quite often tell people how we had a sleazy greasy Elvis wedding in Vegas – so kitschy.  After all that fun, we of course had to have a ‘reception’ so we headed to one of the bars outside the Flamingo and dug into margheritas, beers and nachos. Connie had the biggest mound of nachos ever. Take a look at the photo album to see the gimungous thing! Lots of toasts, and lots of laughs. 

That night, we went to see Cirque de Soleil’s Beatles show ‘Love’. This is not a touring show and so if you’re in Vegas, it’s worth seeing. It was really well done. Dancers, lighting, sets and props – it was very typical Cirque style, made all the better with a Beatles soundtrack. Sadly, it’s all a bit of a blur now, but I know we all walked away talking about how wonderful it was.

Check out lots (and lots) of crazy photos here.