Its hard to believe but the King of Rock and Roll Elvis died 30 years ago today at his Graceland estate in Memphis Tennessee USA. Today Graceland has been transformed into a lasting memorial to the King, tours of the house where he lived and loved are available where you can see the famous jungle room, Elvis’s den, kitchen even his fridge. The huge complex also features museums shops and other somewhat kitsch attractions and for something really special you can get married at the Chapel in the Woods which is Graceland’s own Chapel a perfect setting for an Elvis inspired wedding. The chapel like much of the huge complex was built after the King left the building and some might say they are really only cashing in on the Elvis legend, but its all fun and it sort of suits the style of Elvis. Opposite the Graceland mansion is a magnificent collection of Elvis’s possessions including many of his automobiles and motorbikes. His custom jets the Lisa Marie and the Hounddog II are also on display. There are of course plenty of his stage costumes including his glasses and those amazing jump suits, and guess what there’s plenty of gift shops where you can buy some interesting Elvis merchandise including Elvis Cookbooks, photos, DVDS, key rings, you name it you will find it. Read the rest of this entry »
As tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis’s death we thought we play tribute to the King of Rock n Roll and visit the old Las Vegas on Tripandom. Elvis was one of the entertaining pioneers of the Vegas entertainment circuit, now he is immortalized in the amazing light show covering the roof of the Fremont street downtown district. Called Viva Vision- after one of the King’s trademark songs the 20 odd million dollar display contains over 12 million LED modules and pumps out a whopping 555,000 watts of sound, its the length of five football fields and 90 feet up in the air. The show gets about 20 million visitors a year and is 100% free. There are different shows and they start nightly at dusk and go through to midnight happening about every half an hour.
Shepparton is in central Victoria in the Southern State of Victoria and is known for its fruit growing and more recently its painted cows. The city has come alive with plastic cows all painted in different styles and colours by local and some quite famous artists including Ken Done and indigenous artists Kevin Atkinson and Melinda Solomon.
How’s this one kids, a huge rocking horse, well it doesn’t really rock unless its pretty windy but is sure is cute. This great family attraction can be found in the Barossa Valley in South Australia’s wine country at Gumeracha about 40 minutes drive from Adelaide. After a few of those beautiful wines you might think you are seeing things but this horse is real. It is actually the outside a toy factory which manufactures a range of wonderful wooden toys. The rocking horse is a very popular attraction with thousands climbing it every week- and what’s even better you can get a certificate of achievement award for climbing this monstrous pony and the views of the rolling hills are great.
The Trabant has had a bit of a dodgy history, it was a East German produced vehicle which was pretty awful but has now gained a cult following of a icon of the former communist Germany. For visitors to Berlin there couldn’t be any more fun than going on a Trabi Safari in one of these weird little cars. This great tour takes in many of the Marxism and Leninism’s of Berlin where you pass some of the remaining Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and other interesting memorabilia from a time gone by. The cars are pretty special they have a whopping 26 horsepower and will do 30km through the Berlin streets and there is a great commentary with directions on the Trabant’s not so state of the art radio. You will see Berlin from a totally different perspective and you even get your own Trabant driving license on completion of your tour. Read the rest of this entry »
This has got to be one of the coolest advertising gimmicks of all time. 7 Eleven and the Simpsons Movie have joined forces to make 12 real Qwik E Marts throughout the USA and Canada to coincide with the Simpson’s movie which opens later this month. Not only have the stores been decked out to look like the cartoon store they have a huge rage of Qwik E Mart products including the Slurpie renamed Squishies, Crusty-O cereal, special pink donuts and plenty of Springfield’s favorite characters throughout the stores. The existing 7 Eleven stores throughout the USA also have a large range of Simpsons products one favorite is going to be Buzz Cola. For real Simpsons fans the stores are also running an amazing competition where shoppers can win the chance to appear as an animated character in the next series of the hit show up staring next to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and the whole Springfield community.
Get your rhinestones on and put all your money on the black. This ad has it all, the glitz and glamour of downtown Las Vegas. The floorshows, the flashing lights the one elbow bandits and a the King himself singing one of his signature tunes. Turn your speakers up kick back and enjoy the fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Well in case you haven’t noticed here at Tripandom we love everything kitsch and what could be more kitsch than a giant 30ft fiberglass pineapple. This magnificent structure is on Queensland Australia’s Sunshine Coast outside the town of Caloundra. The pineapple is part of a tourist park and pineapple plantation. Here visitors can see how these tasty sweet fruits are grown on a wonderful train ride. Visitors also can join the Nutmobile to see how macadamia nuts are grown. There’s a animal park, and a number of other great family attractions on hand plus a great cafe and of course the gift shop. Read the rest of this entry »
Spam has been notorious over the years for being the mystery meat in a can, no its not made of cute little kittens it is in fact made of a mixture of ham and pork with some spices to add a bit of flavour. In Hawaii they love it, they are the worlds largest consumer of this tasty product and now giant fast food giants Mc Donald’s and Burger King have got in on the act and are selling it on their breakfast menus. Mc Donald’s have 78 outlets in Hawaii and are trying their special eggs, rice and spam meal until the end of July. After then they may ad it to their regular menu if it becomes a popular as they expect. Hawaii’s 7 Eleven chain have also got on in the act, and hope to attract some of the huge Japanese tourist numbers to their stores with a Spam musubi wrapped in rice and seaweed… how yummy!
You might have seen this giant donut in a few of the Simpson’s episodes but I’m here to tell you it is real. The donut can be found in Inglewood California a suburb of Los Angeles on Manchester Blvd. Unfortunately it isn’t made of dough but the donuts Randy’s sell are huge. Randy’s isn’t the only giant donut in the US there are quite a few others including Kiddles. It can be found at Normandie Ave Los Angeles. Kiddles sell a Texas sized glazed donut which is over 12 inches wide and full of artery hardening stuff. LA is also home to the Donut hole, this one is like a tunnel you drive in it can be found on East Amar Rd, La Puente. So if you are feeling hungry while driving around Los Angeles- you now know where to go.
