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Cosmic's Corner of the Space Time Continuum

Category Archives: Travel

Vegas Vacation – Photos and Neon

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Bucket List, Travel

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bucket list, travel

We started out at our favorite breakfast spot across the street from the Bellagio fountains, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris.  Amazing fresh fruit with yogurt and brown sugar, “skinny” pancakes, French toast with blueberries and all the early morning people watching you could possibly want while Mon Ami Gabisipping coffee or a mimosa.  With several hours ahead of us, we cruised down to the National Geographic 50 Greatest Photographs exhibit at the Venetian.  The back stories and videos side by side with some truly iconic photojournalism were fascinating and the ones where the photos taken before and after were displayed alongside the “great shot” were a neat look at how difficult it can be to get that one perfect picture.  Completely worth it, but wear good shoes – it’s a standing exhibit and takes some time.

Last time we were in Vegas, we really wanted to make it to the Neon Boneyard and didn’t manage to get our tour booked in time.  Oddly, this worked out well as they have a new building and new evening tour times.  It’s a short ride from Fremont St. and I highly recommend doing the twilight tour (it costs more but worth it in our opinion).  We were blown away by the tour guide’s knowledge of the history of neon, Las Vegas and of the various neon artists who created the signs.  Some of the signs have been Stardustrefurbished, most have not but the mix frankly adds to the tour.  Make sure you buy water before the tour starts as it is outdoors and gets hot even in the evening.  It’s a sign (yeah, pun) of a great museum or art exhibit when you leave and want to read up and find out more about the topic – I wanted to dig into neon, the artists and Vegas, so a home run.  I highly recommend this if you want to walk through the neon bones of Las Vegas Past.  Schedule in advance and be prepared to take pictures.  Lots of them.  (And be patient – the Stardust photo took me quite some time to get right as I was timing the neon and adjusting angles to get the horizontal stars into the shot.)

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Vegas Vacation – Day One

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by cosmichomicide in Bucket List, Travel

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bucket list, travel

Seven days in Vegas.  Last year it was ten.  And still a list we didn’t think we’d get through – but we tried.  Last year we missed Hofbrauhaus – so this year we started there.  Wish we had been there a bit later so we could have spent time with the band and festivities, but the food was terrific and the ambiance was very Munich (one of my favorite cities) since the building is an exact replica of the original in Germany.  The beer was excellent as were the strudels and schnitzels – a great start for the week.

Checked into the Bellagio and headed to the Sports Book for a few drinks and a bit of the British Open (and ponies and baseball) – they have several champagne Bellagio 2011 New Yearspecialty cocktails that are simply light and perfect.  Not to be missed are obviously the Fountains of Bellagio which can be viewed from several of the restaurants, the Strip or from a fountain view room with the “Fountain Channel” playing the accompanying music.  The Fiori Di Como is simply breath taking- the hand blown glass flower chandelier that spans nearly the entire lobby area leading into the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  The gardens are changed seasonally and can be viewed on web cam – particularly fascinating when they are setting up the next exhibit.  This year was a stunning spring scene complete with populated aviary, lighthouse, river, bridge, boat and tree house.  The first year I went (2011) the Chinese New Year was the theme, last year was Holland with tulips, windmills and kites.

There is something to see and something new to discover everywhere in Vegas, even without leaving your hotel.  (Even though we definitely did a lot of that over the week.)  Next up – the Neon Boneyard – not to be missed!

Still Catching Up – Yikes!

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by cosmichomicide in Books, Changes & Progress, Health, Minimalist, Paperless, Travel

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books, certifications, goals, health, minimize, organize

Amazing how fast the year has gone by – school getting ready to be out, summer vacations starting.  While I’m not taking the summer off, I’ve decided to focus on completing and extending goals – upping my game to a 10K, repurposing the office to the heir’s new room, home improvements too long neglected, finishing up all my certifications and updates.  So, the punchlist is:

  • Bill simplification – June is the month for the last utilities budget billing which should finish this off.
  • Bank changes – Need to close the last account and move my safe deposit box and all will be clean, neat and consolidated.
  • Will & Retirement – just need to get this one done
  • Certifications – upgrade the existing ones, move forward on my ITIL expert
  • Books, books and more books – Goodreads challenge
  • Health and fitness – 10K by the end of the summer, allergy testing
  • Bucket list – update and cross off one per month, cause I’m not getting any younger

And finally – upload all the pictures from the earlier finished goals!

The Launch Valet

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by cosmichomicide in Changes & Progress, Minimalist, Travel

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goals, minimize, organize

This isn’t anything new, but it’s probably one of the most useful areas in my house and heck, might give someone an idea.  I have one of those old school wooden valet stands like every house had back in the day when men wore suits, ties and cufflinks to work.  Since you can’t really see the actual stand in the picture, you can search eBay for “Valet Stand” and see a variety of designs.  Mine is pretty simple and there are usually valet stands available locally secondhand and relatively inexpensive.   No, I don’t wear suits to work (far from it if you can’t tell from the picture) nor cufflinks, but I do have “stuff I need to find and remember in the morning” so that I get out of the house smoothly and with everything I need.

Year round I keep my keys, purse, employee badge, transit pass, lunch bag, tote (with charged ebook reader and phone) and the clothes I’m planning to wear on it.  In the winter, I add my coat, gloves, hat and scarf.  Shoes (with socks inside) on the bottom rack.  Fall and spring add cape or sweater and umbrella.  From there, I get up in the morning, shower, dress, grab and go – no wandering, wondering or panic.  It’s like a locker, but convenient and not ugly.  The key thing to making this work is single use – don’t let this become a dumping ground for stuff you don’t want to put away.  This is where you store the critical stuff you need for your day to go smoothly – so make sure you put it back there when you get home.  (Scribbles a note to pull out the leather reconditioner this weekend and get to work on the purse and tote – yoiks!)

Cities I'm Always Happy to Visit (and wouldn't mind living, either):

07 Saturday May 2011

Posted by cosmichomicide in Cosmic Questions, Travel

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There are many many more that could go on the list if it were just to visit – Hamilton, San Francisco, London, New Orleans, Vancouver, Chicago. And if the list were cities I’d like to visit, there’s another whole list – but places to move and live… that’s a smaller group.

 
Washington Monument – Washington, DC. (Explored!)

Munich, Germany – food, beer, music, architecture, wonderful people.

Buenos Aires, Argentina – red wine, amazing beef, tango clubs.

Sydney, Australia – nothing not to love here.

Washington, DC – museums, monuments, gardens, just an all around terrific city.

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2013 Reading Challenge

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