Many of you may know the name Casa Bonita from the South Park episode where Cartman tricks Butters into hiding for a week so he can go in his place to his favorite Mexican restaurant. In fact Casa Bonita is a real Mexican restaurant located in Lakewood, Colorado (just like the fictional South Park). Casa Bonita was once a chain of restaurants but only one now remains. The restaurant seats 1100 and has attractions like cliff divers, caves, flame jugglers and Mexican dancers, making the South Park depiction of Casa Bonita fairly accurate. The Restaurant is designed to look like a Mexican Village and its big seller is the all you can eat dinners. The video above is of the popular cliff divers diving into the restaurants artificial lake. If you ever get to Casa Bonita let us know what the tacos are like.
Posts under ‘Kitsch Stuff’
Warning- Treckies everywhere!
Thousands of Trekies and even a few normal people flock to the Las Vegas Hilton daily to visit the Star Trek Experience for a amazing adventure to the 24th century in a 4D spectacular. There are two shows to catch the Klingon Encounter and the recently opened Borg Invasion both use state of the art technology and are great fun. The experience also features a Star Trek museum where you can see some of the original props and costumes plus plenty of memorabilia. And of course there is the Star Trek gift shop at the close of the experience where you can pick up just about any imaginable piece of Star Trek souvenir and while you are at the Hilton why not catch a show from Barry Manilow or one of the other superstar entertainers who regularly play there.
McMuseum
In the late 1950’s a milkshake salesman came across two brothers Mac and Dick McDonald running a small but innovative hamburger restaurant in Bernardino, California. He got friendly and ended up going into partnership with the brothers and later buying them out in 1961 for $2.7 million dollars- the rest is history. Now McDonalds is the worlds biggest restaurant chain stretching to the four corners of the globe. The first branded McDonalds was opened in 1955 at Des Plains in Illinois, after decades of modifications and change what was left of the original building was demolished but a faithful replica of the original building has been built on the site using the original blueprints. It has been transformed into a museum with plenty of photos, memorabilia and presentations from the famous franchise. Strange thing is you can’t buy your favorite hamburger there, but there’s a nice new McDonalds just across the street.
Bargains amongst the palm trees
If you’ve spent the day in the sun on Waikiki Beach and need to find a bargain or that special kitsch gift for the friends back home give the International Marketplace a go. There are over 130 stores with everything you will ever need- authentic Hawaiian Shirts, jewelry, nick knacks and lots of other cool stuff. If shopping gets too hard there’s a few good cafes and bars to kick back in for a while before doing a bit more bargaining with the friendly store holders. Most nights there is free entertainment to make a great evening of it and the market is open seven days a week from 10 to 10:30 PM. days a week from 10 to 10:30 PM.
Celebrating Oktoberfest Japanese Style
Yebisu Garden Place is the located in the suburb now more commonly known as Ebisu which is a suburb of Tokyo not far from Shibuya and Roppongi. The Yebisu beer head quarters is situated here. The huge complex features a beer museum complete with samples of their tasty products, a large shopping mall, several restaurants and of course an indoor beer hall. The highlight of the centre is the whimsical Oktoberfest clock which celebrates every hour and delights young and old. The clock features horse drawn carriages with beer barrels, lots of German inspired characters and of course plenty of Ompha music, which for a moment makes you feel like you are in Munich.
Whimsical Waterfront Bollards
Geelong in Victoria Australia is home to over 100 wooden bollards painted up as historical figures from the area stretching the length of its magnificent waterfront. This one in our photograph is a favorite for the town, he celebrates the rich tradition of one of Australian Rules Football most mighty of clubs- the Geelong Cats, who incidentally finished on top of the ladder this season. There bollards were painted by renowned local artist Jan Mitchell and are a favorite for young and old. Made from century old timber from a old city pier that was removed, the iconic bollards cheerfully brighten up the waterfront precinct. Read the rest of this entry »
Have a Cold one at the Ice Bar
Check out this video of the Absolut Ice Bar at the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarv Sweden. The whole complex is made out of ice like a giant igloo. Located at one of the northern most points of Sweden it not too far from the south pole (and possibly Santa’s house) you can stay at the hotel for about 200 euro a night where you sleep in a ultra warm sleeping bag on top an ice bed. With temperatures around -6 deg C there is no need for a mini bar in these rooms besides you will want to warm yourself up with a drop of vodka from their Ice Bar. Also note the glasses sitting on top of the bar, if they look a bit odd to you, it’s because they are made of ice. Read the rest of this entry »
300 Metre long crocodile found in Australian Outback
About two and a half hours drive east of Darwin in the heart of the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park you will find one of the worlds most unique hotels. A huge crocodile shaped hotel. This luxury hotel is at Jaburu in the heart of Kakadu. The hotel, created by a Darwin architect working with the local Aboriginal people, measuring over 250 metres long the head holds the foyer, reception, gift shop and restaurants. While the body is home to the 110 luxury rooms. The legs are the stairs to the rooms while the tummy of the beast is home to the pool and gardens. The whole reptile is covered in a green scale like metal cladding. Tourist coaches pull up in the jaws of the crocodile to offload and pick up the hotel guests.
They play both kinds of music… Country and Western!
Well it might be more a kitsch souvenir shop than a full blow Willie Nelson museum but who cares it’s a lot of fun. Its one of the many some what half arsed attractions around the Opreyland in the Country Music capital of Nashville. Willie Nelson is one of Country music’s favorite sons with a list of amazing songs like On the Road Again, Always on my mind and of course his beautiful version of Georgia. Willie is a real colorful fellow and has been on the wrong end of the law quiet a few times for things like tax evasion and for smoking a bit of that green weed. Anyway back to the shop, I mean museum- There are quite a few good Willie Nelson displays and some of he other artists that Willie enjoys including Patsy Cline, Audie Murphy and of course Elvis Presley. You can pick up some pretty cool nick knacks including some of Willie’s trademark bandannas, fake Willie hair braids, musical instruments, photos, and other collectibles. The centre is just over the road from the Opryland Hotel at 2613 A McGavock Pike in Nashville and is right next door to a quaint little toy museum which will put a smile on any child’s face.
Elvis spotted in Hawaii
Yes its true I spotted him the other day, he was outside the Rock Island Cafe on Kalukua Avenue in along Waikiki beach belting out a tune. Elvis loved Hawaii who could forget the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert which was beamed around the world or Blue Hawaii his 1961 musical which stared Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury next to the king. Then there was the toe tapping Paradise, Hawaiian Style movie in 1966 which stared Suzanna Leigh and featured such classic Elvis songs as Scratch My Back (Then I’ll Scratch Yours) and Datin’.
