Fire and Water
Monday May 28, 2012
This city is really hot. I find myself at another McDonalds - this time at the one opposite Mandalay Bay. We've just walked in 30C heat to the famous "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Previously today we did the CSI Experience at MGM and looked at the sharks at Mandalay Bay, and yesterday went up the Stratosphere Tower, saw the Mirage Volcano and the Treasure Island Sirens, but the highlights of the city so far have been the Bellagio fountains and Cirque du Soleil's "O" show. Art, fashion, music, acrobatics and comedy come together in this spectacular show based in the watery stage at the Bellagio. Absolutely amazing and totally mesmerizing.
Tomorrow we will be taking a day trip out to the Grand Canyon!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:30pm on Monday May 28, 2012 :: 0 comments :: 
Vegas, Baby
Sunday May 27, 2012
Our last day in San Francisco was pretty relaxed. Allison took us to this delicious sandwich place near the Castro called Ike's before dropping us at the airport. The flight was delayed and it also had to transit through Los Angeles so it wasn't until around 7.30pm that we landed in Vegas and around 8.30pm that we were ready to hit the Strip and find some food.
Vegas is amazingly colourful at night. As we walked down the Strip, we looked in awe at the massive hotel complexes and their accompanying neon light display, all lining the road in a brilliant display of fluorocolour awesomeness.
Also I'm at McDonalds using their wifi because the hotel doesn't have free wifi.
Posted by Jeremy at 5:53pm on Sunday May 27, 2012 :: 2 comments ::
Opaque
Friday May 25, 2012
Thursday was pretty relaxed. We took a look around the piers south of the Ferry Building. Not really that much to see; there were some monuments and a good view of the Bay Bridge, but the main feature of that area is the AT&T Stadium, home of the San Francisco Giants.
In the afternoon I pretty much just bummed around town since my feet were sore and I was feeling lazy. I eventually went back to the motel where Allison picked us up to go to a restaurant called Opaque.
Opaque is dining in the dark. The restaurant is underground and pitch black. You cannot see what you are eating (but you do order from a menu before hand so you at least know what most of the food items are). The serving staff are blind but they're awesome and chatty and really fun. The experience is surreal. When you take away your ability to see (and take photos) you must feel what your food is; you appreciate the textures of various foods - crispy pears, creamy aioli with a hint of wasabi, gorgeously thick chunks of beef tenderloin - and of course, the incredible flavours that tantalise your senses of smell and taste.
It's like nothing I've ever done before but the food was absolutely delicious and would highly recommend Opaque to anyone visiting San Francisco.
Allison took us to a club called Ruby Skye after dinner and we had a few drinks before hitting the dance floor briefly. It was fun but not really my scene. I was also reasonably intoxicated after three drinks of Southern Comfort and Sprite (works better with L&P actually).
Last full day in San Fran!
Posted by Jeremy at 4:04pm on Friday May 25, 2012 :: 0 comments ::
Fantabulous Times
Thursday May 24, 2012
So I did manage to track down the ever-elusive Steve Mariotti, who was my lead programmer on Rugby League 3, at Nihilistic Offices in Novato. It was great to see him after all these years, even if it was only for a short time. Also, Nihilistic have a cool office! There's heaps of cool concept art around the walls and newspaper clippings of media coverage they've featured in, several arcade games and a gummi bear dispenser!!
Today we returned to Japantown to find some Pokemon merchandise and zipped back to town to meet Allison for lunch at this delicious sandwich place. From there, we went to Alamo Square to see that shot of the houses from the Full House intro sequence, then to the pirate store on Valencia, and finally the Castro. Not as scandalous as the last time I was there, actually.
We met Allison for dinner and she took us up to Twin Peaks afterwards for some magnificent views of the city as the sun was setting. Despite the chilling wind, we managed to watch the light of the sun dim in the distance as the city lights began to flicker on. There was a beautiful crescent moon out and Venus the evening star close by.
This place is awesome.
Posted by Jeremy at 6:35am on Thursday May 24, 2012 :: 2 comments ::
Fawg
Tuesday May 22, 2012
We made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday to find it shrouded in the ever-famous San Francisco fog, naturally. While this made for good photos, it also made for a bloody cold trek across the bridge. However, as we began to approach the northern end of the bridge, the sun's brilliance began to shine through and we were treated to a glorious view of the entire bridge and the whole city from Vista Point.
From there, we headed southbound to Golden Gate Park and walked around Stow Lake and the Japanese Tea Garden. Most of the places there are closed on Mondays, so we missed out on a few things that we wanted to see. From there, we walked to Japantown... And boy, Japantown was AMAZING. So many great collectables and plushies and figurines from Pokemon and Mario and Kirby and all the other awesome things that Japan makes. Definitely have to go back there to explore tmore and hopefully try some of the cuisine there too!
Met up with Allison for dinner and drinks in the evening. Got a bit tipsy after three CC & Dry's. >_> Nevertheless, feeling great and non-hangovery this morning. I will be hitching a ride with Tobias soon to visit the Nihilistic office and explore the area, and hopefully track down a certain someone whom I haven't seen in three years!
Posted by Jeremy at 1:50pm on Tuesday May 22, 2012 :: 0 comments ::