Sin City

The main reason for hauling ourselves across country was to see Celine Dion (please see my previous post for details). And, besides that, I was looking forward to visiting Las Vegas because of its links with Elvis and more recently CSI...although, despite being an avid fan it did cause a little hesitation; I mean did I want to got to a place where a lot of gruesome crimes took place? What if we accidentally walked into the wrong part of Vegas? The episode of Greg encountering the gang of thugs who preyed on tourists filled my mind!

But I pushed them aside - Las Vegas was on my list of places to visit!

Packed and with Celine tickets in hand, we arrived late evening. And, when I say late, I mean ten to midnight. We found it quite difficult to find a flight that arrived midday but me thinks it's a marketing ploy. Flying over the city is an amazing sight. The strip and all the lights from the surrounding area twinkling above you is impressive. It also has a slightly surreal look to it as the city is ablaze with lights and its surrounded by a deep darkness that makes the place look like it's floating in mid air.

Before we arrived, we checked out the weather as we knew mid-June would be hot. So we knew to expect 100deg/F temps; the airport doors opened and "the air that came in was like the breath of an oven" (Roald Dahl, The Visitor). Hubby and I looked at each other wondering if we would survive the heat?!

We stayed at Caesar's Palace and were given a room in "The Towers", with a 'breathtaking' view of The Colosseum and a 1/3 of The Flamingo hotel. Despite the late hour, we dropped our bags and wondered around part of the hotel. Next morning, as suggested by the guide books, we allowed ourselves to acclimatise to the Vegas temperature...by staying in mostly! We ambled around the Forum Shops, stopped by a few Black Jack tables and tried to avoid the smoke. We didn't realize but smoking is allowed in all casinos and if you're not careful, as you walk through, a puff of smoke will drift in your direction from the patron 'spinning' the Wheel of Fortune wheel! Lovely..

Our ethos for the week was "path of least resistance". Why? Simply because of the throngs of people that sauntered along the sidewalk, through the casinos...at one point it felt like we were trapped on a conveyor belt just walking up and down the strip. And the remarkable thing? We walked miles that week but never left the strip! That's how big this place is - you think, lets just pop along to MGM, you see the sign in the distance, 20mins later, you're no nearer!

Hubby and I did quite a lot on our week away. Besides the marathon walking through hotels (I'm sure they perfected the "you have to walk through the entire hotel to get anywhere" stance from IKEA!); we saw the lions at MGM, walked beneath sharks at Shark Reef, donned flak jackets and became CSI rookies; brunched at The Four Seasons, took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower, met Elvis, Oprah and the President at Madam Tussauds watched the Sirens at Treasure Island, oohed and ahh'ed at the Volcano (ok, I did that) at the Mirage and went to marvel the Hoover Dam.

The best thing we did was visit the Gun Store, which basically gave anyone a chance to shoot a real gun! We had to choose which weapon we wanted to shoot and after a while, I eventually decided on a Glock 19, Hubby went with the Sig Sauer 226 and an M4 machine gun. After choosing our targets it was time to shoot and naturally, I was a tad anxious having never done it before. Boy the recall on the Glock was powerful, I have no idea how gangsters and the like can be so 'baad' ass with these things. And the noise! Geez...we both managed to cause serious wounds to our target, some were kill shots and others - well they were lucky we missed. The time flew but it was great fun..

Vegas is a shoppers paradise! I was amazed at the amount of people who popped into Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Cartier and actually came out with bags. But whilst trying to avoid being enticed, I spotted the Michael Kors handbags. My eyes were drawn to the beautiful Tangerine Gia Satchel. As I picked it up, sales assistants swarmed me. Hubby completely floored me by asking if I wanted it. "Is the Pope Catholic? Ah...if only" I sighed; and then he bought it for me! I kept saying no, you can't but Hubby being just Hubby ignored the mouth and followed the longing in my eyes! Gawd Bless 'im...

Overall, I'm glad we went to Sin City. Although disappointed that I couldn't feed actual quarters into the slot machines, I played the slot machines...in Vegas! There were some hotels that really needed a revamp (Imperial Palace was ropey to say the least!) and the cocktail waitresses that bought you drinks as you played the tables/slots were a lot of the times mutton dressed as lamb and some could do with whitening their dentures. The Pussycat Dolls tables were a highlight (I wonder why?!) but the girls doing the pole dancing a) didn't do it in time to the music and b) looked so bored?! Come the nighttime and there was a plethora of men and women dressed up to the nines queuing to get in to the clubs. Which made people watching a blast...ok it was mainly me bitchin' at what people wore, stunned at the heel heights and how many 'sugar daddy's' were around!

So if you're off to visit the great Las Vegas, I recommend (in no particular order) the following:

1. See Celine Dion - Caesars Palace
2. Lunch at Munch Bar - Caesars Palace (the chilli is to die for)
3. CSI Experience - MGM
4. Breakfast - Mandalay Bay/Four Seasons
5. The Gun Shop
6. A cup of tea & a slice of cake - Payard, Caesars Palace.

Oh and if you're going to gamble, study how to play the games...you could go home with a lot of money. Sadly, Hubby and I came away with $25 at the end of the week. Ah well, I'll stick to the Grand National, better odds. But I still won big time anyway...with my fabulous new handbag!! Viva Las Vegas...

Fabulous Celine

I've just come back from Las Vegas having seen Celine Dion in concert...it was AMAZING!!

There are very few artists that I 'love'. Readers of a previous entry will know that one of these few loves is my undying one for Rick Astley; and that was really it until Celine Dion came along.

I wouldn't claim to be her biggest fan, but I certainly have the majority of her albums and know the lyrics to all the songs, the names of her children, that she has a home in LA, Las Vegas and Canada...but, no not a huge fan.

I've always wanted to see her in concert but with one thing and the other, never got around to it. When she announced six years ago that she was going to do a five year show in Vegas, it got me thinking...wouldn't it be great to go and see her. But yet again, life intervened and pushed it to the back of my mind.

The five years came and went and I felt saddened that I didn't make it to see her. Sister kindly tried to get tickets to see her when she was doing her world tour, but it never happened. Then, Celine made an announcement that she was returning to The Colosseum and my mind started to race - for at the same time Hubby and I were America bound.

I again, put it to the back of my mind for a while but then April last year, I called Hubby (who was already stateside) asking nay, begging to go to the concert. I argued cost wise it may not be too much as we're already in America...cutting a long story short, my wonderful and generous Hubby agreed and a year later we were on a plane heading to Vegas.

The evening of the concert, as I got dressed I began to get very excited. Staying at Caesars Palace meant that we had a very short walk from the elevator to the main doors of The Colosseum, so I wore my strappy wedge heels without fear of a blister!

I wasn't 100% sure of the seats that I booked. Looking at a diagram when booking I figured we had pretty good seats. When we were shown to our seats we were less than 10ft away from the stage; albeit we would spend most of the show looking side onto Celine, but frankly, I didn't care! I was seeing Celine live!

Before we went, I said to Hubby that we had to dress up. No ball-gown and tiara but nice, smart jeans and a shirt type thing. So we did that but actually felt a tad overdressed when we looked at what some people wore. Forgive me for sounding like a snob, but why have people lost the sense of occasion? You're here seeing Celine at Caesars Palace! A few people were wearing three-quarter length trousers and trainers, one guy had on a shorts and a vest type thing. I couldn't help but have a look of disdain on my face!

Moving on....

....we settled into our seats and the show began; and boy was it amazing! The stage setting was simple as its main focus was the orchestra that played behind Celine. As she sang her first song, images of when she first started singing appeared. The show included a tribute to Michael Jackson who came to see her at the first set of Vegas shows and a duet with Stevie Wonder and an incredible french song which reduced her to tears.

Her array of dresses were stunning - long flowing numbers with just the right amount of sparkle and the shoes! Fabulous...works of art.

The concert was soon over ending with a couple of numbers that had us all on our feet dancing. Thankfully, it drowned out the old guy who sat next to me who insisted on humming away to most songs. I wouldn't have minded except he hummed out of tune and a tad loudly...

Celine's encore was to sing My Heart Will Go On. She wore a sea green/light aqua flowing dress with a jeweled flower motif at the waist. As she sang, she was raised on a podium and as the song hit its crescendo, down came a circular cascade of water around her. Breathtaking!

Even if you're not a fan of Celine, I would recommend seeing her. She's funny, chats with the audience, she sings live every night...and boy is she a powerhouse of a singer. Brilliant stuff...I wanted to see her all over again...but we had other things to do in Vegas and well, I couldn't subject Hubby to another Celine concert....or could I?


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Driving on the wrong side - Part 1

So, my UK license is only valid for about a year in the land of the free.
That's fine. I know how to drive and cars being mainly automatic - no problem (my beloved peaugot was an automatic).

Knowing that I'd have to get a US license, I ventured into the nearest bookstore thinking that I'd purchase the US equivalent of the Highway Code. I looked and looked but to no avail; so I spoke to the lady at Information. Luckily, she was English and understood me saying "do you have the American version of the 'Highway Code'?" It seems no, but if you go the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) site I can download it for free (as opposed to going to the DMV office and paying $5?!! Go figure, someone missed a trick there!)

Whilst chatting, she (Information Desk lady) said the road test was very easy - 10/15min it's nothing to worry about. Excellent, I thought but then again ten or fifteen minutes road test? No wonder there are so many bad drivers around. No wait, that's due to them driving, whilst on their cell phones, around corners, ignoring/getting annoyed at pedestrians on the crossing.

Moving on. Hubby, the gem that he is, printed out a copy of the Massachusetts Drivers Manual for me to start revising. I should point out that every state has their own set of road regulations and signs as well as the 'doesn't matter where you live, these are the road regulations'; and if you move to another state, you need learn their state laws, re-take your test and surrender your previous state driver's license. Geez...

I start to read/memorize road signs and regulations. And, although I've driven a few times on American soil, reading said material made a lot of things clearer! having said that, common sense plays a major role in driving - where ever you are in the world (lesson over, ahem).

There isn't a lot of difference in US signs to UK, just different expressions. For example, the 'Give Way' sign is 'Yield', the motorway is called the interstate etc; oh and of course, driving on the right hand side of the road. That's not too much of problem...it's the fact that the drivers sit on the left-hand side of the car. Thank God an automatic car means no shifting gear otherwise I would be doing moves from Saturday Night Fever trying to remember that the gear stick is to the right of me!

As I continued through the book I came across the section on 'Rotary Systems'. And in English...that's a roundabout; but bizarrely enough a smaller 'rotary' is called a roundabout?! In my world, ain't that the same thing? I have no issues with roundabouts, but being over here...well, I'm not overly keen on them. Firstly, I'm approaching them from the right hand side of the road and then giving way to the left. It was clearly stated that the car travelling in the rotary has right of way. Well, duh! otherwise you'd go ploughing into them?!

Anyway, I found a free online testing site and worked through the test papers getting between 80-95% (who had the right of way at an intersection always tripping me up). So between reading the manual and taking the online tests, I figured I'd pass the written exam.

I arrived at the DMV office, sat around waiting for my ticket to be called then realised after 40mins that the receptionist didn't tell me that I had to go to the 2nd floor. She claims she did. I refrained from pointing out that if I had heard her would I have not trundled up there? So, having cursed her with a miserable day, headed up to hand over my paperwork. This aforementioned paperwork consisted of -

my passport
my UK license
my application for a drivers permit
my birth certificate
a letter from the social security office stating that I don't get benefits and documentation with my current home address

I'm only getting a drivers license...not a renewal of my visa!!

Anyway, the guy at the counter didn't take long to go through all of that stuff. Unfortunately, he mumbled so I felt like I kept saying "Hmmm?" and "Sorry?", "Ah..um, excuse me?" all time and thought he'd insist on my taking a hearing test. He was interested and pleasantly surprised that I was from Guyana and recommended that I go to South Africa - although he hasn't been himself? (shaking my head in a perplexed manner)

I then entered the room where you take the "written" test. It is in fact a touch screen set up. I had 25mins and had to get 18 questions correct. The first 8 questions, I sailed through (they tell you straightway if you got the question correct), got the next 6 wrong only because they were blithering on about if you're 16 what's the minimum fine for driving without an adult, what's the fine/sentence if caught with an illegal substance. I don't know...I completely forgot reading about that and who cares if a 16yr old gets done...it's their problem for getting caught! The next 10, fine...they were road signs and before I knew it I had passed (yeah me!)

I now have the road test to endure. And for that...I need to have a sponsor. What's that? I hear you cry. No, it's not someone I will call in the middle of the night when I have a crisis about why it can't be called a roundabout instead of a rotary, no, it's someone who will be with me in the car as I take my test. Yes, in the car with me as I take my test. Crazy, I know. It's bad enough I'm worrying about taking a test on American roads, but I have to have a passenger with me? beyond comprehension, I tell yah.

Oh and as for my 'curse' to the receptionist who claimed she told me to go to the 2nd floor? As I left the DMV offices, she was talking in an exasperated manner on the phone and had a queue of 12 people, looking bored and annoyed, waiting for a ticket...



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Location:Chauncy St,Cambridge,United States

What, No Cheese?

Americans have an obsession with cheese; and not in any 'la-dee-la' have you tasted this sheep's milk cheese infused with a hint of garlic and a sprinkling of chive way. No, it's the square, processed can be used as putty type of obsession.

Once you get over the initial cloying slightly plastic taste (oh and the luminous yellow color) it's not that bad. It actually has a nice flavor to it - but am I just lovin' the processed part? Plus it has a good melting consistency to it - all gooey and stringy - very nice.

But, what I want to know is - does everything have to have cheese in it? Let me enlighten you...

Like its 'rival' state NYC, Boston is well known for its sandwiches. Call them what you may - subs, panini's, grinders...they'll make whatever you want...all with added cheese. And to be fair, it's not just the great American slice that's your choice; there's also provolone, pepper jack, swiss and non British cheddar (Cor, do I miss a nice bit of British cheddar...said in my best Wallace voice). Picking up one half of a sandwich requires both hands and that's not to do with just the size but more to stop the filling from falling out.

Once you've accepted the cheese in your sandwich - comes breakfast and cheese. Even if "America runs on Dunkin' (Donuts)"...there's a plethora of other breakfast items like croissants, bagels and English muffins (yes, you can find English muffins over here - they love 'em). And whilst you can get it plain (the offer of some sort of cream cheese or butter is never far behind), the most popular way to have these breads is with sausage (flat patties - not the bangers that we're used to), bacon, egg and of course cheese! Sometimes because of our 'deep' English accents, they mishear us and forget the sausage altogether and we've ended up with just an egg and cheese muffin.

Pop into a restaurant for brunch and the scrambled eggs come mixed in with cheese. I'm not convinced how much flavor this adds - chives yes, spring onion or red peppers definitely, but cheese? Hubby doesn't mind it too much...I've yet to be convinced.

Why this post on cheese? Well, the other day I popped into get a sandwich from a local place. A sandwich of turkey on rye, black pepper, lettuce with mayo and the following conversation ensued...

Me: can I have a turkey on rye, lettuce, mayo and black pepper please?
SL (sandwich lady): did you want cheese?
Me: No (otherwise I would have asked for it, I thought)
SL: OK. So, that's turkey on rye, lettuce, mayo, black pepper.
Me: Yes, thanks
SL: No cheese
Me: (oy-vay), no...thanks
SL: OK
SL to assistant: Turkey on rye, mayo, lettuce, black pepper - no cheese
Assistant: no cheese?
SL: no cheese

For the love of all that is good! I'm asking for a sarnie without cheese not an assault rifle (although I'm sure that wouldn't be given a second thought if I did ask for one!) So, now the word will spread around all Cambridge sandwich proprietors...watch out for the woman with a funny accent who doesn't like cheese in her sandwiches.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good bit of cheese as much as the next person...just not in everything...America - please forgive me!

Madeline

I despair!


Over the years I've always been drawn to the appeal of madelines...or rather
the tins in which they are baked. The shell-like pattern is what defines the madelines from other cakes. (Also the use of melted butter - melted to the point of just browning that adds to the distinct flavor). But for me, it's mainly to do with the baking tins.

I confess, I love baking tins - I'm slightly obsessed with them. At any given opportunity I will amble into a kitchen shop and peruse their collection of tins in quiet contemplation. Ah yes, as I pick them up be it a muffin or bundt tin, I'll think of recipes that I've come across and how lovely they would look in said tin. My tenderly holding them has led to some sales assistant sauntering over and asking me if I need any help. No thank-you, my gentle caress of the tin doesn't mean I want to pilfer the thing!

Not that I'm some sort of strange person that needs psychiatric help to understand why I love baking tins. I won't be appearing on an edition of Taboo or anything like that (Taboo for those who have not seen the program is about people who have strange loves; like a man who likes being dressed up as a baby or a woman that's in love with an object, which is a wall I believe). It's just a healthy appreciation.

So whilst visiting Williams & Sonoma (anyone not knowing what the shop is about, you must pay a visit to their site. They have the most divine things for all kitchen/dining related items. Pricey, but my piece of heaven on earth!) Anyway, I sauntered over to the baking section and whilst I mulled over how much use I'd get from the Star Wars pancake moulds I spotted the madeline tin. Now, I have one back in the UK; unfortunately, it's neatly packed away metaphorically gathering dust in storage. So my dilemma - should I get another one? The last time I baked said cake, they didn't turn out the way I expected. To say they were a little dry and 'heavy' was an understatement!

As I contemplated whether to buy or not, I noticed that they had a mini version. It looked so damn cute that my failure hurtled to the back of my mind as I reached for the shiny metal object. Ahh yes, I have a home you my mini madeline tin.

Fast forward to my day to bake. I looked in my cookery books for a good recipe with doubt settling in quickly about how good they'll turn out. Now the US don't really do 'self-raising' flour; they do 'self-rising' which to me is the same thing, but they mainly use 'all purpose' flour to which you add baking powder/soda/helium - anything to make the cake light. But they also have 'cake flour' - which I used for this recipe. I promise I followed the method and although it said to use self-raising/rising I thought cake flour should suffice - wouldn't it? But maybe there is a huge difference in cake flour and self raising? Back in ol' Blighty I used sponge flour for all my cakes to no ill effect - Lord I miss McDougalls!!

Cutting this saga short, I baked 32 mini madelines and were they light and fluffy? About as light and fluffy as a hippo on a tightrope.

The recipe that I used advised: "best eaten on the day made - except if you're Shalini, in which case, give up all hope and find another use for your madeline tin".



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Location:Chauncy St,Cambridge,United States

Starbucks, Apple & A Good Idea

Forgive the interruption in service. There really is no excuse for not making regular posts. But, being a new 1950s housewife is very time consuming ahem...

So, where was I? Ah yes...

...Hubby has hit upon a brilliant idea. Whilst passing by (my beloved) Starbucks, we looked in to see if there was any room. Alas, on a Saturday afternoon, it's nigh on impossible to find room for one, let alone two people.

I suggested to Hubby that we loiter and stare at people so those sitting with empty cups and half eaten brownies will feel guilty and vacate their seat/table. Admittedly, I lack the courage to actually carry that 'threat' out, so we stood for a moment contemplating where to go for a cup of java.

Whilst standing there, Hubby surveyed the tables. And smiled, "you know", he said to me "Apple needs to open up a 'Genius Bar' here...or at the very least PC World should sponsor this place. Actually make that Best Buys."

Brilliant idea! Each time I enter SB, I don't see tables laden with used paper cups or crumbs from a devoured coffee cake, but rather laptops, i-pods, and i-phones. With the amount of Apple laptops that adorn the front window benches, a Genius Bar would do very well. How many essays, thesis' or notes have disappeared or a web page not loaded properly? Their frustration would be resolved in an instant. But, would having a Genius Bar encourage folk to stay even longer and therefore deprive me from leaving crumbs of coffee cake behind?

Still, I reckon Hubby is onto something - I should get in touch with Apple & SB to suggest the idea...and obviously get some sort of compensation...

My Hubby, not just a handsome bloke


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Location:Cambridge

Take A Hint

I was reading the Metro section of the The Boston Globe recently and happened across the agony aunt section. I normally read these (problems) just because I'm nosey and possibly, selfishly, feel better about my life because at least I don't have their issues.

And, after reading them it does make me wonder why people feel motivated to write in and share with the world their dilemmas. Yes, I appreciate that 'talking' to a stranger allows a little perspective, but why do it so publicly?

Mind you, writing in about a problem is much better that airing them on national TV - need I mention, Jerry Springer, Trisha and the like? Why people, does finding out that your best friend slept with your mother's best friend's daughter make for interesting viewing? (rolling my eyes). Moving on...

...this particular problem...this woman wrote in saying that (in short) her husband has changed his Facebook profile picture from the two of them to just himself. When seeing his friends she doesn't get invited along, although sometimes the friends wives do; on occasion their dog attends events. She asks what she should do, as the relationship has changed.

I can't remember what the agony aunt's response was but this is what I would say (and I appreciate that it may come across as a tad harsh but..)

"Dear Unsure,

Lord have mercy, how thick do you have to be?

The DOG gets invited out but you don't. Er, let me think - yeah love, I'd say your relationship has changed!!?! Maybe he's not 'man enough' to leave you, but girl...get the heck out of there!

Hope it all works out for you.."

Yeah, I know...maybe a career as an agony aunt is not quite for me...