Posts under ‘USA’

We thought we would stay in Vegas again today and talk about the Wynn and Encore Las Vegas which are two of the most luxurious resort hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. These golden shiny towers are both part of the Wynn Resort which holds more 5 star awards than any casino resort anywhere in the world. The luxury and detail is second to none. The Wynn was the first hotel to open in 2005 and the Encore followed in December of 2008. Together the total resort employees around 5300 people.  The two hotels are connected by a luxurious shopping arcade with all the big brands including a Ferrari dealership where you can actually purchase a car. As well as extensive gaming facilities the resort has its own golf course, pools and some of Vegas’ best clubs and dining.  The hotel rooms are another luxurious feature of these two towers, all have huge flat panel TVs, marble  bathrooms and plenty of modern automation. The huge windows with great views of the golf resort or the strip are another feature which cant be bet anywhere in Vegas.    For more info on Las Vegas visit:  http://whatshotinvegas.com/

The Bellagio is one of the biggest and most luxurious of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and features a huge eight acre lake in front of it facing the strip. The lake is home to an amazing water display which is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Las Vegas strip. The water display consists of more than 1200 nozzles and more than 4500 lights which combine to create a spectacular show night and day. The fountain show was estimated have cost $40 million to produce and takes place every half hour during the afternoon and every 15 minutes from 8 pm til midnight. The fountains are choreographs to various tunes, from famous Vegas Show tunes to classical arrangements. The largest nozzles can shoot water as high 140 metres in the sky which makes for one amazing show. For more on Las Vegas visit http://www.whatshotinvegas.com/

San Francisco is known around the world for its fantastic China Town but not many people are aware of its Japan Town which is just as fascinating and a great place to visit.  The whole precinct makes you feel like you are in Japan, the paving the landscaping and even the architecture is very Japanese.  The precinct centres on a large shopping and exhibition plaza which is full of Japanese stores, from nick knacks, clothing, music and DVD and plenty of eateries.  The food is sensational, whether you want a simple piece of sushi or a full Teppanyaki experience. The area has a huge five tiered pagoda which although made of concrete is pretty impressive.  Like Japan the area is very popular during the cherry blossom season when the whole area comes alive with blossoms.

Underneath the streets of Seattle lurks another Seattle, Seattle from the past. Pretty much a whole precinct of Seattle has been built onto of an older precinct and today it lurks underneath full of dust, rats and reported spooks and ghosts. Fire destroyed much of the area in the late 1880’s and it was rebuilt using stone and brick two stories above to avoid flooding. In 1965 a local citizen called Bill Speidel started taking people on tours through this old world Seattle, and 40 odd years later it is one of the city’s more interesting tourist attractions. In the early years of last century the underground was used for a lot of illegal activities in the city with gambling halls, opium dens and sex trade. Today it serves as access to buildings above and home for a few rats and spirits, but a great experience to any visitor.

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The much loved Disneyland Monorail has been a part of the themepark since its opening in 1959. Over the years it has had several facelifts and model changes but it is still one of the parks biggest attractions.  The monorail is used to transport guests around the park and to the shopping and entertainment area of Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel.  The monorail offers spectacular views of the Disneyland park as it follows its snake like route around Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn and across the Submarine Lagoon of the Nemo ride.

The Reno Arch is an iconic landmark along Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada and is as iconic as the “Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign of its big brother up the road. The original arch dates back to 1927 when it was built to celebrate the copletion of the Lincon and Victory Highways. The slogan “the Biggest Little City in the World” was actually a slogan from a winning competition and it was put on the arch in 1929. After some complaining the slogan was later removed but more complaining saw it return. There have been quiet a few versions of it over the years and the one standing today dates back to 1987.  The sign has had a few facelifts since then including new LED bulbs and is still one of the most photographed icons in Reno.

Back in February on 1969 The city of Everett made history as the first Boeing 747 to fly. This aircraft was the first flying prototype to what would become one of the most successful aircraft in history with over 1400 of them sold over the last 40 odd years in various variants. The aircraft now lives back in Seattle only miles from where she was built in Everett. The plane is part of the wonderful collection that makes up the Museum of Flight at King County Airport just south of Seattle. The old girl is looking a bit tired and weary these days but the future looks bright although it may be a little time off. The Museum of Flight plan to build a new annex where a restored City of Everett will take centre stage regaining her former glory. Currently the Jumbo is parked in a lot open to the public with a 707 US Air force 1 Presidential Plane and Supersonic Concorde close by.

The Space Needle in Seattle is one of the world’s most recognisable towers and was built for the World Fair in 1962. Like the Eiffel Tower which was built for the Paris fair it was only meant to be a temporary structure but the people liked it so much it stayed. Standing at 184 feet the tower isn’t huge on today’s standards but is still a much loved icon of this Washington city.  The trip to the top takes about 43 seconds and when there you will see some spectacular views over Seattle and the bay, it’s a great place to start your trip to Seattle as you get your bearings. On a nice clear day you can see as far as Mt Rainer and the Cascade Mountains.  For a special evening in Seattle why not try revolving restaurant which offers not only tasty food but magnificent night views of Seattle.

No aliens have not landed in San Francisco, but someone passing the bayfront along The Embarcadero might think otherwise. Standing at 40 foot the Raygun Gothic Rocketship is a pretty impressive piece of artwork on display in the bay city. 

Some say the Raygun Gothic Rocketship (RGR) is an 80 year old vessel that has a duty of scientific discovery and exploration. Reports say she has crash-landed on the frozen seas of Mars, gathered specimens from every last one of the 400 volcanoes of Io and charted the caves of Mongo. While others might try and diffuse the myth by saying shiny silver retro themed rocket ship is the work of dozens of bay area artists, but we like the earlier.  Hope they brought back some cheese from the moon! Read the rest of this entry »

Portland in Oregon USA has an amazing Saturday market for anyone visiting this great city. It holds the record of the longest continuous running outdoor market in the USA, starting in 1974/ It is jam packed with some great arts and crafts, there’s clothing, jewellery, sculptures painting you name it. The market features plenty of great music and performance art too. The market is located on SW Ankeny St + Naito Parkway and around the Ankeny Plaza. IT. The market runs from the 1st weekend in March til Christmas, on both Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget to try the food too, there are some very tasty offerings at the food vendors, and look out for the beer tents where you can taste some of Portland’s delicious microbrew beer- it is amazing. We tried the IPA from the Rogue Brewhouse and couldn’t stop at one. Read the rest of this entry »