little tara

Thursday 22nd March – a relatively early start! Karl, Aunty C and Emma came to pick me up from Kurt & Summer’s place; they had to work Thursday night so we left them to sleep!

Aunty C was in need of a coffee so we drove to a nearby Starbucks; I ordered a brekkie roll and a hot chocolate with caramel syrup in it (my usual favourite if I’m not drinking water). The guy behind the counter was so excited at my ‘unusual’ request (is it really that unusual?) that he called me over to see it while he made it, and then commented on how good it looked…! As always, I was surprised how big the smallest size was.

We went back to Karl’s place and waited for Caroline to come home from school before going to…. Sweet Tomatoes!!! They had known that I wanted to visit but didn’t know that I had gone with Kurt and Summer, and had promised Emma and Caroline that we would go… so I was only to happy to oblige! I once again stuffed myself with gusto, going nuts on the salads and this time trying the tomato soup (which was awfully good… especially considering that I don’t usually like tomatoes!) and the potato and rosemary soup, which was a bit thick but generally pretty damn tasty. Oh, the indulgence! Oh, the salads! Oh, the dessert!!! Aunty C and Caroline went to browse in a nearby thrift store while Karl, Emma and I hung out at the restaurant; the two of them got some pretty awesome buys that day!

On the way home, Karl drove us through what he called ‘the ghetto’, but I have to admit that I didn’t see much of it because, after our stuffathon, I was drifting off to sleep in the car! Shame on me. I did, however, spot a HUGE line of homeless people at one point, all queuing up for dinner and showers at a large building of some kind. The sheer numbers were astounding. I’m not ignorant to the homeless population in Brisbane, but I suspect it doesn’t come close to a fraction of the numbers that I saw in that queue alone, and that was only a small part of Vegas. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are.

We went back to Karl’s place to rest, and later in the afternoon we drove back out to that lovely little 60s shack downtown – Luv-It Frozen Custard! None of the others I was with that day had tried it, so of course we had to go! Most of them opted for the vanilla or chocolate flavours, but of course I had to go with the super-mega banana-butterscotch-chocolate sprinkles madness of the  Scotch Jimmie again. On the way over I consciously noticed something for the first time that I think I had noticed in the back of my mind before: the mountains that surround Vegas are awfully clear to see. The clarity of vision seems to be much higher over long distances there; I wonder if it has anything to do with a total lack of humidity…? Anyway, I enjoyed seeing every nook and crevice of some of those mountains on the drive over… quite the sight. A big ol’ basin of mountains with a big flashy city in the middle.

We hung around to eat our frozen custard in the car park, keeping good company with a police officer (flavour of choice: mango) and a giant taco truck. Caroline mentioned a food truck that she knew called ‘Wangs on Wheels’ and started talking about how delicious the food was… I lasted about 5 seconds before I snorted with laughter. I’m happy to see that Caroline didn’t seem to get the joke, but I was snickering about Wangs on Wheels for quite a while after that!

Karl drove us around ‘Naked City’ (an area of downtown apparently so named because all the showgirls used to live there, and during the day they worked on getting an even tan, if you know what I mean…); nearby there was a sprinkling of hotels with hourly rates and seedy-looking massage parlours, and then just around the corner we passed the pawn shop where the hit TV show ‘Pawn Stars’ is made. It was closed at the time, of course, but there was a cordoned-off area at the front where I assume hopeful ‘pawners’ queue before being allowed to pitch their wares to the show’s stars. I’ve never seen it, but for those of you who are interested: the guy on the show who acts silly is apparently not that stupid; he does it just for the show. I have no idea what that means but apparently it’s important…!

We made our way back to Fremont Street, and boy were the freaks out again – in force. We passed a number of people passed out against the walls on the mall, and I passed Spock, Elvis and Michael Jackson having a conversation. Talk about a one-time chance… or maybe not, on Fremont Street! I also bumped into Tupac (raised from the dead, will wonders never cease?), Stevie Wonder, Jack Sparrow, a filthy Gumby and Emperor Palpatine asking for donations for a new Death Star. His eyes looked suspicously like ping-pong balls with dots on them…! Thankfully, there was no bearded leprechaun lady with her boobs hanging out this time to assail my eyes.

We watched the (rather anti-climactic) Bon Jovi light show; once an hour, on the hour, the whole roof of the mall lights up like a giant TV screen with various shows and musical themes; I think we just got a mediocre one! It’s not that I don’t like Bon Jovi… I just didn’t think the show was much cop. Boo! It was followed by  a short promo for March Madness basketball, which I think I actually preferred!

Having ticked the light show off the ‘to do’ list, we made our way back to the car and back home, and that was that for the day.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tara.

Tags: food, las vegas, travel

Monday, 19 March 2012. It’s hard to believe that my father has now been gone for exactly 11 years. It doesn’t feel that long. I suppose it’s fitting that I’m off adventuring in Las Vegas and hanging with family when this day comes around, embarking on another big trip; I think Dad would have been proud, and just fine with the way I spent the day. This day’s for you, Dad.

I struggled to get up at a reasonable hour again, but luckily Karl had a couple of errands to run (including dropping Caroline off at school) before we set off for the day. We packed all my junk into the car and we drove over to Kurt and Summer’s place, where I’m all set to spend the next few days. They have a pair of the most disgustingly cute chihuahuas EVER… one of them has had a few teeth removed from the side of her mouth and now her little pink tongue sticks out of the gap most of the time, as if she’s always thinking very carefully! I never saw myself as a fan of little dogs, particularly chihuahuas, but I think these two little ones might have converted me!

We all got into the car and drove straight for the western side of town. Our destination? The Zombie Apocalypse Store. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a shop in Las Vegas where you can buy everything you need to prepare for – and survive – the (apparently) impending zombie apocalypse! Everything from zombie target practice, knives, powdered eggs, stun guns, Wolverine claws (!), zombie handbooks, tinned food and crossbows to t-shirts that read, “There is nothing to fear but fear itself…. and ZOMBIES!” What’s really funny is that the place is doing a roaring trade. All of us were laughing our asses off as we walked around the shop until we noticed the icy stares we were being given. There were some people in there who were taking it WAY too seriously; there was one sweaty fat guy carefully picking out a camouflage backpack and a knife who looked like he could be president of the Jeffrey Dahmer fan club, you know what I mean? Anyway, I bought myself a postcard and resisted the temptation to buy a ‘Hello Zombie’ (instead of ‘Hello Kitty’) t-shirt before we left. You know what else made us laugh? The owners of the Zombie Apocalypse store also own an artificial grass/turf company. At the back of the shop, among all the wierdos in camouflage gear, was this conservative-looking old lady in Dr Scholls sandals and socks, sitting at a little desk, ready to sell you some grass for your lawn! Karl saw her shuffling in the car park outside later and said, “Oh my god, there’s one of the zombies now!” Poor thing – one can only imagine what it’s like working in there!

Having prepared ourselves for a zombie infestation, we were starving so we headed out for a drive and almost immediately stumbled across a pupusa place – yay! It was a Honduran/Mexican restaurant called Rincon Catracho, near the university. It was huge, but dimly lit with a Spanish-speaking TV channel murmuring at the back of the restaurant; it was filled with bottle-green plastic booths and latino youths eating great food at ridiculously low prices. We filed in and, after devouring our complimentary bowl of corn chips with salsa and cheese, all of us ordered pupusas, which are basically little circular dough patties filled with the good stuff of your choice and fried. I had a pork one and a cheese & bean one, and both of them were just delicious. Just what I wanted! 🙂 After that, Karl drove us back to Kurt’s place and he went home to help Caroline with her homework; the rest of us spent a few hours relaxing at Kurt’s place, which was really nice.

At around 6 o’clock we took a short drive to Paymon’s Mediterranean Cafe and Lounge, where I got to meet Summer’s parents – who were just lovely people. For starters, we feasted on hummus, baba ganoush, pita bread, calamari and a stupidly good dip that was a mix of artichoke, shrimp and cheese; for mains I had a garlic cream pasta dish with chicken, mushroom and sundried tomatoes, but I have to admit that I only got a few bites out of it before I was full – I had overdone it on the starters!

After stuffing ourselves again (I sense a pattern here), we said goodbye to Summer’s parents and drove to The Strip for a bit of good old-fashioned touristy action. We parked at the Bellagio – the utmost bastion of taste on The Strip. They have a little botanical garden there which they fill with fresh flowers; apparently they change the display every month. As we approached it, we could smell the flowers; quite an unusual thing, as often when you buy flowers these days they’ve had the scent bred out of them! At the moment they’re having a ‘Spring Celebration’ with a Netherlands theme, and I have to say that it was quite the beautiful sight. Giant hovering bumblebees made of flowers, a little lake with a giant swan and cygnet swimming along, a windmill, a carousel lit up with sparkling fairy lights, a huge pair of painted wooden clogs… and let’s not forget the flowers. Thousands of stunning plants and bulbs in a riot of colours, from tulips to daffodils to chrysanthemums to carnations, all beautifully arranged. There was even a giant version of Claude Monet’s ‘Fisherman’s Cottage On The Cliffs of Varengeville’, faithfully reproduced, using only plants and flowers to represent the colours. Beautiful. On our way out of the casino we passed the entryway ceiling, which is covered with hand-blown glass blooms in hundreds of colours. Each flower is about 30 to 50 cm wide and just lovely. Still, I wouldn’t want to be the poor bastard who has to get up on a ladder and clean those things.

We exited the casino and went round to the front of the Bellagio; we arrived just in time for the fountains to begin. I’ve seen the show before, but this time was the best – a wicked fountain show synced up with Frank Sinatra’s ‘Luck Be A Lady’. Very Vegas! It ended with a couple of massive sprays, shooting high into the air; the vapour lingered for quite a while after it was done.

We went back to the car and drove around to the Caesar’s Palace car park, from which we walked to the Forum Shops… I had heard that there was a Bettie Page dress shop there, and I really fancied going and poking through all the lovely 50s pin-up dresses and pretending that I had the money to buy them (and the figure to fill them)! 😉 We walked through the Forum Shops, which I’ve always liked; the ceiling is painted to look like the sky and the sound of running water from all the fountains follows you all through the mall. All of the shops were designer labels way out of my reach, and almost all of them were empty; I have to wonder how much longer these places can sustain themselves. We rode the circular escalator (quite the mind-boggle) up to the third floor and found the Bettie Page shop; I tried on a couple of dresses but was almost relieved when I discovered that they didn’t have the colour I wanted in my size, so I couldn’t spend the money!

Then it was time for dessert! We drove towards the downtown area, to a dingy little corner in a dodgy, empty area, and pulled into the car park at Luv-It Frozen Custard. I’d never tried frozen custard before, so I decided to go for the works – a ‘Scotch Jimmie’ sundae, which is your choice of flavour with chopped bananas, butterscotch sauce and chocolate sprinkles (known as ‘jimmies’ here). I tried it with the vanilla and chocolate custards. It was… amazing. It was similar to ice cream, and it’s hard to describe how it’s different. I guess it’s much smoother, less grainy, more airy, and… a bit more ‘eggy’. Anyway, it was delicious, and together with the sweet banana and sugary butterscotch, I could have eaten about ten more sundaes. YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

We took a short drive from Luv-It over to The World’s Largest Gift Store and ate our sundaes in the car park before entering the store. Everything you never needed but really wanted resides inside this store. Bacon wallets, Vegas snow globes, hot dog hats, meatball chewing gum, swearing chickens, poker chips, penis masks, toy turds, hen purses, tacky t-shirts, remote-controlled zombies, ‘great philosopher’ finger puppets, 64 oz (about 2 litres) hip flasks… it’s all here. We whiled away hours poking through the goodies, but we left empty-handed. It’s lots of fun but did I really need anything? No. 🙂

We went home and watched Grimm (which I’d never seen before) and other good TV before finally making it to bed at about 5am…!

Thanks for stopping by,

Tara.

Tags: food, las vegas, travel