(no subject)
before i start this entry off proper, i would just like to say: HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY VAN AND ROBIN!!!!!!!! i hope sentosa treats you right (of course it will) and that you ladies treat each other even better in the - dare i say it? - years still to come. I LOVE YOU GUYS.
so aside from washington, which bored me nearly to tears, vegas is turning out to be my least favourite city so far. it's just -- very much not me. it's all about dirty, drunken debauchery and even with the ridiculous price tags, everything just reeks of this sort of cheap desperation. which is the point of vegas, right, and i totally get and appreciate that, and i guess i see the appeal, especially if you're into that sort of thing, but since i'm not, i'm sort of just meh about it all.
it's very impressive, though, all bright lights, big city, awesome water fountain show by the bellagio etc etc, and i'm definitely having fun! we went to have the buffet at le paris today, which is supposed to have the best desserts of all the buffets here. and it was a fantastic meal - unfortch for me, i was feeling pretty queasy (probably from all the seafood last night, but more on that in a bit!) and didn't get to eat my money's worth. SADNESS. ah, well. future opportunities and all that. anyway, after that we headed to the luxor, which i had already been kind of *_________* over when we first passed it by, because i was all, like, OH SHINY PYRAMID LET'S GO SEE IT. so when i realized the titanic exhibition and menopause: the musical were both playing there, and we'd bought tickets for both of them (half-priced, too, w00t!), i was like, SCOREEEEEEEEEE~
the titanic exhibition was FAMAZING, just fyi. i was totally bowled over by the grand staircase and the landing (if you've seen the movie, you know the one) and we literally just stood there for a while, swooning over how perfectly we could picture kate and leo in the scene. it was possibly one of the greatest moments of my fandom-loving life. plus, later you get to see the hugest piece of the ship ever saved, and it is mind-boggling. not to mention the fact that i was pretty much choking up half the time i was in there, all those fucking stories, seriously, and the talk of the survivors (and those who didn't make it). it's just - it's all a little overwhelming. almost more overwhelming than how freaking cool it is to see all the artifacts there, but i think they strike a good balance. one of the reasons for that? is that they have THIS HUGE MAKESHIFT ICEBERG in one of the rooms, holy SHIT, and you can touch it and IT IS REAL ICE, FML. this country constantly wows me, not gonna lie.
and then after, we went to see menopause: the musical. it was pretty much everything i expected it to be: cheesy, over-the-top (a lot like vegas, too, i guess, ha) and a ridic amount of fun! plus i was pleasantly surprised by how good some bits were, and the new lyrics to all those classic songs? GENIUS. and the bit with the vibrators? WILL NEVER NOT KILL ME. i am still not looking forward to menopause in the least, but our experience tonight was enhanced by the fact that christine nudged us both onstage during the last number so we all performed a little can-can with the cast and other fellow audience members. funtimes for all! plus christine got this insanely humongous cup of alcohol (more for the cup than the alcohol) that looks like a wine glass, only it's plastic, and HUGE. pictures will probably be forthcoming in a bit.
anyway, to top our night off, we stopped at the bellagio on our way back to our hotel, and hung around for a bit to catch the water fountain show (it sounds so stupid when i say that, but idk what else to call it) from start to end. i am pretty sure that i could watch that show, like, A GAZILLION TIMES OVER and i would still be ooh-ing and ahh-ing over it. i am just that kind of girl. plus, hi, total ocean's 11 moment! \o/
BUT! BUT! CAN I JUST TAKE A SECOND TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE ABSOLUTE BEST PART OF VEGAS (SO FAR)? WELL WHATEVER I AM GOING TO ANYWAY. BECAUSE IT IS, HANDS DOWN, OUR ROOM IN THE TRUMP HOTEL. I LOVE THIS HOTEL. I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS HOTEL. I CANNOT EVEN DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING THIS HOTEL IS. LET'S START WITH THE RESTROOM: THERE IS A BATHTUB. AND A TV SCREEN. AND A SHOWER. AND A SEPARATE SECTION FOR THE TOILET BOWL, SO I CAN PEE EVEN WHILE CHRISTINE IS BATHING. WHAT. UP. AND THEN THE ROOM IS THIS GINORMOUS WORK OF ART WITH LIKE TWO HUGE CABINETS FOR CLOTHES AND CABINETS WITH DECO AND AN ENTIRE KITCHEN SEGMENT AND A WORKNG FRIDGE, AND A HUGE MOTHERFUCKING SITTING ROOM AND ALL THIS FOR LIKE $100 A NIGHT. I AM IN LOVE. LOVE. I WOULD LIVE HERE IF I COULD. AND ALSO IF I LIKED THIS CITY MORE.
speaking of cities i like, though. HOW ABOUT SAN FRAN. HOW AWESOME IS THAT PLACE, SERIOUSLY. the best parts of my trip totally came at the end, too, when i got to spend tuesday (a) with inahurricane (and come on now, you guys, HOW AWESOME IS KRISS? YOUR LIFE IS NOT COMPLETE IF YOU HAVE NOT MET HER, THAT IS HOW AWESOME.), (b) getting my nails done (an awesome blue, i might add), and (c) walking around union square. not to mention the fact that i got to take the cable car down to union square in the morning and TOTALLY stood on the side of the car and did not freak out when we started going downhill.
and then that evening we had the BEST seafood ever, because om nom nom JOE'S CRAB SHACK. and the BEST part was when christine got her drink, called shark bite. and our waiter (jp, who was kind of a freak but also kind of awesome) came up to the table and yelled something about sharks in the water, and christine, who hadn't seen him coming, literally jumped in her seat. I LAUGHED FOREVER, oh my god. BEST DRINK IN THE WORLD. AND she got to keep the plastic shark toy, BONUS! and then as we waited on our (delicious! as we later found out) calamari and main course, car wash started blaring from the speakers, AND THE ENTIRE WAIT STAFF FORMED A CIRCLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESTAURANT AND BROKE OUT INTO SYNCHRONISED DANCE MOVES. YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. HOW IS THAT NOT THE BEST THING YOU HAVE EVER HEARD HAPPEN IN A RESTAURANT EVER? ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
sadly that's where that awesome day ended, ONLY THE NEXT DAY WAS EVEN MORE AWESOME, IF THAT IS EVEN POSSIBLE. we had to get up early because we were booked for the first boat to alcatraz (which, hot damn, SO GLAD we did that, we thought our boat was loaded, the later boats were even worse!) and oh my gosh, that's totally going to be one of the things that sticks with me for life, even with all the other crazy awesome shit that's gone down on this usa trip. the audio tour is the most fantastical thing EVER, fml; i was legit, like, creeped out when we walked down broadway and looked up at the two floors of empty cells right there above our heads, and heard the hubbub ringing in our ears. it was like actually walking down that corridor and being jeered at - it was fucking terrifying. and - just, the view of san fran from that place, and thinking about how all those prisoners must have felt, with freedom and family so close and yet so far away, and how ALL THE AREAS were named after real streets from the real world. i can't even--there are just no words. and then the island! so GORGEOUS, unf. all that wildlife, and the western gulls, and - mother nature, man. there is no beating that.
and then capping the morning off with, like, a peanut butter hot fudge sundae (and a brownie sundae) from ghiradelli's and amazing bread from le boudin? seriously, could a day be any more perfect? i think not. and ending off my last night with amazing, AMAZING seafood from sabelle and la torre was just - OM NOM NOM. like icing on the fucking cupcake. plus, like, idk, MY SERVING WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON ON THIS PLANET OR SOMETHING, because HE GAVE ME AN EXTRA OYSTER. and also slipped a couple of extra huge shrimps in my order of shrimp sandwich (which he made fresh, jsyk) and i was like I LOVE YOU.
my stomach was not pleased, and i've been feeling bloated and weird ever since, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU KNOW WHAT? IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. BEST OYSTERS I HAVE EVER HAD EVER EVER EVER.
you win, san fran. my heart has totally been left behind. ♥________♥
so aside from washington, which bored me nearly to tears, vegas is turning out to be my least favourite city so far. it's just -- very much not me. it's all about dirty, drunken debauchery and even with the ridiculous price tags, everything just reeks of this sort of cheap desperation. which is the point of vegas, right, and i totally get and appreciate that, and i guess i see the appeal, especially if you're into that sort of thing, but since i'm not, i'm sort of just meh about it all.
it's very impressive, though, all bright lights, big city, awesome water fountain show by the bellagio etc etc, and i'm definitely having fun! we went to have the buffet at le paris today, which is supposed to have the best desserts of all the buffets here. and it was a fantastic meal - unfortch for me, i was feeling pretty queasy (probably from all the seafood last night, but more on that in a bit!) and didn't get to eat my money's worth. SADNESS. ah, well. future opportunities and all that. anyway, after that we headed to the luxor, which i had already been kind of *_________* over when we first passed it by, because i was all, like, OH SHINY PYRAMID LET'S GO SEE IT. so when i realized the titanic exhibition and menopause: the musical were both playing there, and we'd bought tickets for both of them (half-priced, too, w00t!), i was like, SCOREEEEEEEEEE~
the titanic exhibition was FAMAZING, just fyi. i was totally bowled over by the grand staircase and the landing (if you've seen the movie, you know the one) and we literally just stood there for a while, swooning over how perfectly we could picture kate and leo in the scene. it was possibly one of the greatest moments of my fandom-loving life. plus, later you get to see the hugest piece of the ship ever saved, and it is mind-boggling. not to mention the fact that i was pretty much choking up half the time i was in there, all those fucking stories, seriously, and the talk of the survivors (and those who didn't make it). it's just - it's all a little overwhelming. almost more overwhelming than how freaking cool it is to see all the artifacts there, but i think they strike a good balance. one of the reasons for that? is that they have THIS HUGE MAKESHIFT ICEBERG in one of the rooms, holy SHIT, and you can touch it and IT IS REAL ICE, FML. this country constantly wows me, not gonna lie.
and then after, we went to see menopause: the musical. it was pretty much everything i expected it to be: cheesy, over-the-top (a lot like vegas, too, i guess, ha) and a ridic amount of fun! plus i was pleasantly surprised by how good some bits were, and the new lyrics to all those classic songs? GENIUS. and the bit with the vibrators? WILL NEVER NOT KILL ME. i am still not looking forward to menopause in the least, but our experience tonight was enhanced by the fact that christine nudged us both onstage during the last number so we all performed a little can-can with the cast and other fellow audience members. funtimes for all! plus christine got this insanely humongous cup of alcohol (more for the cup than the alcohol) that looks like a wine glass, only it's plastic, and HUGE. pictures will probably be forthcoming in a bit.
anyway, to top our night off, we stopped at the bellagio on our way back to our hotel, and hung around for a bit to catch the water fountain show (it sounds so stupid when i say that, but idk what else to call it) from start to end. i am pretty sure that i could watch that show, like, A GAZILLION TIMES OVER and i would still be ooh-ing and ahh-ing over it. i am just that kind of girl. plus, hi, total ocean's 11 moment! \o/
BUT! BUT! CAN I JUST TAKE A SECOND TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE ABSOLUTE BEST PART OF VEGAS (SO FAR)? WELL WHATEVER I AM GOING TO ANYWAY. BECAUSE IT IS, HANDS DOWN, OUR ROOM IN THE TRUMP HOTEL. I LOVE THIS HOTEL. I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS HOTEL. I CANNOT EVEN DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING THIS HOTEL IS. LET'S START WITH THE RESTROOM: THERE IS A BATHTUB. AND A TV SCREEN. AND A SHOWER. AND A SEPARATE SECTION FOR THE TOILET BOWL, SO I CAN PEE EVEN WHILE CHRISTINE IS BATHING. WHAT. UP. AND THEN THE ROOM IS THIS GINORMOUS WORK OF ART WITH LIKE TWO HUGE CABINETS FOR CLOTHES AND CABINETS WITH DECO AND AN ENTIRE KITCHEN SEGMENT AND A WORKNG FRIDGE, AND A HUGE MOTHERFUCKING SITTING ROOM AND ALL THIS FOR LIKE $100 A NIGHT. I AM IN LOVE. LOVE. I WOULD LIVE HERE IF I COULD. AND ALSO IF I LIKED THIS CITY MORE.
speaking of cities i like, though. HOW ABOUT SAN FRAN. HOW AWESOME IS THAT PLACE, SERIOUSLY. the best parts of my trip totally came at the end, too, when i got to spend tuesday (a) with inahurricane (and come on now, you guys, HOW AWESOME IS KRISS? YOUR LIFE IS NOT COMPLETE IF YOU HAVE NOT MET HER, THAT IS HOW AWESOME.), (b) getting my nails done (an awesome blue, i might add), and (c) walking around union square. not to mention the fact that i got to take the cable car down to union square in the morning and TOTALLY stood on the side of the car and did not freak out when we started going downhill.
and then that evening we had the BEST seafood ever, because om nom nom JOE'S CRAB SHACK. and the BEST part was when christine got her drink, called shark bite. and our waiter (jp, who was kind of a freak but also kind of awesome) came up to the table and yelled something about sharks in the water, and christine, who hadn't seen him coming, literally jumped in her seat. I LAUGHED FOREVER, oh my god. BEST DRINK IN THE WORLD. AND she got to keep the plastic shark toy, BONUS! and then as we waited on our (delicious! as we later found out) calamari and main course, car wash started blaring from the speakers, AND THE ENTIRE WAIT STAFF FORMED A CIRCLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESTAURANT AND BROKE OUT INTO SYNCHRONISED DANCE MOVES. YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. HOW IS THAT NOT THE BEST THING YOU HAVE EVER HEARD HAPPEN IN A RESTAURANT EVER? ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
sadly that's where that awesome day ended, ONLY THE NEXT DAY WAS EVEN MORE AWESOME, IF THAT IS EVEN POSSIBLE. we had to get up early because we were booked for the first boat to alcatraz (which, hot damn, SO GLAD we did that, we thought our boat was loaded, the later boats were even worse!) and oh my gosh, that's totally going to be one of the things that sticks with me for life, even with all the other crazy awesome shit that's gone down on this usa trip. the audio tour is the most fantastical thing EVER, fml; i was legit, like, creeped out when we walked down broadway and looked up at the two floors of empty cells right there above our heads, and heard the hubbub ringing in our ears. it was like actually walking down that corridor and being jeered at - it was fucking terrifying. and - just, the view of san fran from that place, and thinking about how all those prisoners must have felt, with freedom and family so close and yet so far away, and how ALL THE AREAS were named after real streets from the real world. i can't even--there are just no words. and then the island! so GORGEOUS, unf. all that wildlife, and the western gulls, and - mother nature, man. there is no beating that.
and then capping the morning off with, like, a peanut butter hot fudge sundae (and a brownie sundae) from ghiradelli's and amazing bread from le boudin? seriously, could a day be any more perfect? i think not. and ending off my last night with amazing, AMAZING seafood from sabelle and la torre was just - OM NOM NOM. like icing on the fucking cupcake. plus, like, idk, MY SERVING WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON ON THIS PLANET OR SOMETHING, because HE GAVE ME AN EXTRA OYSTER. and also slipped a couple of extra huge shrimps in my order of shrimp sandwich (which he made fresh, jsyk) and i was like I LOVE YOU.
my stomach was not pleased, and i've been feeling bloated and weird ever since, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU KNOW WHAT? IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. BEST OYSTERS I HAVE EVER HAD EVER EVER EVER.
you win, san fran. my heart has totally been left behind. ♥________♥