The Stanford Theater Experience

It has been a while since I updated this blog as I haven't been on any trip after my the Las Vegas tour during Christmas. However, I have been busy with quite some interesting activities-movies, books, shopping, lunches and job interviews.

One Sunday, while we were waiting to be seated for our brunch at Hobbees, V casually found a bunch of brochures on the table. It was a flyer for the Hitchcock film festival at the Stanford theater. And luckily for us, it has started that week, so we didn't miss out on any films.

Stanford theater is located on University avenue in Palo Alto downtown. We now have a rental car so didn't have to be dependent on the Caltrain. Stanford is a movie theater with an old world charm and features Hollywood classics.

Everything about this theater gives you a chance to experience the movie-going experience of the past. The illuminated movie hoarding, the quaint box office, the food counter serving nothing fancy other than the mandatory pop corn and soda, the seating at two levels and of course the screen with its red curtain. What is even fantastic is that a live organ is played before the evening shows on weekends. They also have a gallery with original posters of many yesteryear classic films. 

They are currently playing the Hitchcock films-2 movies per week. The best part is that for the price of one ticket ($7), you can watch both the movies back-to-back. So far, we have watched all the movies screened every week and intend to continue doing so until the end of the festival in April. 

I had never watched a single Hitchcock flick until now. And I'm glad I got to experience it on the big screen. My favorites films so far have been Rear Window, Rebecca and Rope. 

The Grand Canyon

As promised before, I'm writing about my trip to the Grand Canyon-a natural wonder of the world. It is an enormous canyon formed by the Colorado river in Arizona. On our third day in Vegas, we took an organized bus tour (yes, we still don't drive!)

After scouring the internet for various discount deals, I realized that there is only one single company that conducts these tours and the tickets are sold by a hundred different websites. I booked the bus tour to the South rim of the Grand Canyon. They do have tours to the west rim too. But that one is expensive and I hear the view isn't as good as the southern rim. In fact, the western rim is not even a part of the Grand Canyon National Park. The website mentioned that the entire trip would take 15 hours. We were prepared for this and slept early the previous night. The bus was supposed to pick us up at 6.30 am!

 We diligently woke up and got dressed on time. We even managed to finish breakfast and as expected the bus was late-by half an hour. I could have happily used the extra time for some more sleep. The bus arrived and took us to their office, not far from our hotel. There, the south and west rim passengers were separated. Each of us was given a colored tag, a meal voucher, a danish, orange juice and coffee. Since we already had breakfast, we packed it all up for use during the journey.

It was a double-decker bus with a seating for 75 people. The driver announced that there would be three stops before Grand Canyon-Hoover dam, Mc Donalds and IMAX theatre (a hour show on the Grand Canyon on the big screen for those who purchased tickets).

We were told interesting facts about the villages we passed and about Hoover dam when we reached there. Most of which I have forgotten :D We drove through the Mojave desert and it was a very scenic drive. My idea of a desert was sand dunes but this was a rocky desert. Vast expanses of rocky lands and nothing else around.

We arrived at Hoover dam in about 45 minutes. This dam was constructed to control the flooding of the Colorado river and also to provide a means of employment during the Depression. It saw the influx of workers from all over America. The chief in charge of the dam was a ruthless man who ensured that nothing or nobody stopped the project. When workers developed carbon monoxide poisoning, he pressurized the doctors to falsely report their condition as pneumonia so as to not create a controversy that could potentially stall the project. We only had 15 minutes to see the dam and click a few pictures. There are separate dam tours for those who would like to explore it more.

Next stop was Mc Donalds to get a quick snack. No vegetarian food so I didn't step out. And then the bus began to slow down. It seemed like the engine was having some trouble. The driver continued to drive at snail's pace for about 45 minutes and then it began raining. He slowed down even more. After a while, he stopped and restarted the engine. This seemed to improve things. However, it started snowing. My first experience of snow and I was super thrilled. I had always wanted to see how it looked when it snowed. All the trees were covered with white flakes and the ground had a thick layer of white. It looked serene and mesmerizing. The bus slowed down as the roads were narrow, inclined and icy. We reached the IMAX theatre an hour later than we should have.

We were given meal vouchers and we supposed to get the food at the theatre canteen. The only problem was that all 75 people were queuing up with vouchers. Everyone was hungry as it was well past lunch time. I was glad that they had 2 vegetarian options. By the time my turn came, they only had one cheese pizza left. I quickly grabbed it and gobbled it down.

The driver wasn't sure if the Grand Canyon gates would be still open to tourists due to the heavy snow. The helicopter tours were already cancelled. Luckily, the gates were open and we reached the spot. First look at the snow covered canyon and I was amazed at how such a thing of beauty can ever exist. It was tall and wide and beautiful. I was freezing. I quickly took a few pictures, walked around the rim and the sun set. We got only about 45 minutes of viewing time and the show ended!

We headed back with just one stop on the way back-Mc Donald's again. It was dinner time and they did not have any vegetarian options so I had to make do with french fries and a milkshake. I have strong doubts that the tour company has some kind of contract with Mc Donald's. It was 11.30pm by the time we got back home.

Tired, sleepy, half-hungry yet satisfied at having laid my eyes on such a marvelous natural beauty.

Fabulous Las Vegas

We decided to spend our Christmas break at Las Vegas also known as the Sin City, entertainment, gambling, and marriage capital of the world. One just can't avoid the glitz and glamour of this happening city.

After the detailed trip planning of the San Diego tour, I decided to go easy on this one. There was no real plan for the four days that we were there. Visit the Grand Canyon and experience Las Vegas-that was about all I had in mind. And that was exactly what we did. I'll cover the Grand Canyon tour in a separate post.

Las Vegas, as everyone knows, is famous for gambling, entertainment and prostitution-a heady mix for sinful living. All the big names in the hotel industry have huge resorts and casinos with lavish decor and over the top lighting. Each one has a theme which is very unique and makes it stand out from the others. 'The Luxor' has an egyptian theme and is shaped like a pyramid. 'Caesar's palace' has a roman theme complete with roman architecture and sculpture. 'Paris' has a half size replica of the Eiffel tower while 'New York New York' has a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

The best part about the hotels is that all are interconnected. You can easily walk from one casino into the other without having to come on to the street. They even have free trams running between different hotels.

The casinos have slot machines, poker, blackjack, roulette & craps tables and digital versions of these games as well. Smoking is permitted in the casinos so there is a horrible stench in the air and I found it very uncomfortable. Drinks are served free of cost to those gambling and you can see waitresses in skimpy costumes strutting around taking orders. ATM machines are located at multiple, convenient locations inside the casinos so that people are never short of funds to gamble. I found it really funny how everyone was standing in a queue at the ATMs only to lose their money.

In the connecting walkway between hotels, you can find food courts, designer apparel stores, beauty salons, gifts & souvenir shops and the likes. It is designed to ensure you get every opportunity to blow away your cash!

It being December, the weather was very cold and chilly. However, once you step into the casinos, the temperatures are so high and I found it very uncomfortable. It looks like some plan to keep people inside the casino all through out. I was surprised to find that the slot machines and tables were occupied right from the morning.

The hotel buffets are very popular. They are known for having exotic food, especially sea-food, at very low rates. Every restaurant inside the casinos had a long winding queue during lunch-time. Since I'm vegetarian, the buffet did not offer anything to me so I skipped it and opted to eat outside. However, there was not much luck there too. Unlike the Bay area, none of the restaurants had any good veg food options. I had to make do with a salad, fries or pizza on most days.

Las Vegas has some of the best shows to offer. Dance, comedy, magic, music, acrobatics-everything under the sun! Some of the big names in the industry regularly perform in Vegas. The streets are filled with people who sell you "cheap" or "free" show or event tickets. The best way to get tickets for the shows is through the 'Tix4 tonight' counters located along the Strip. They usually have very good deals for the same-day shows. I decided to watch a magic show by Murray-the magician (he was one of the America's Got Talent finalists). He was amazing and very goofy. Most of the tricks were something that I'd already seen before but his presentation filled with humor made it a winner.

All three days were spent walking from one casino to the other and still we couldn't cover all of them. Since it was the Christmas weekend, the place was crowded and I was surprised to see a lot of families coming on vacation. Kids, teens along with their parents and even grandparents were enjoying their time off at Vegas. Of course, children are not allowed to loiter around the casinos. We found that out when we were asked for our IDs while we were watching a game. I found it amusing and flattering at the same time :D

Although my vacation was nothing like the one in the movie 'Hangover,' I definitely had a great time being awe-struck by the extravagance and hedonistic way of life. 

San Diego-Day 4: Cruise & Gaslamp

On the last day of our tour, we took the 2 hour cruise from Harbor drive. It was a narrated tour that took us down the south bay and the north bay.

The guide showed us a large number of ships used by the US navy. I learnt that San Diego is the second largest naval base and has one third of the naval ships. Since I'm not too keen on ships, I didn't pay much attention to it and was interested in taking in the beauty of the ocean.

At one point we saw 3 islands which marked the Mexican border. We also saw the Shelter island marinas, Maritime museum, Naval training building, Coronado bay bridge and the downtown skyline.

After which we walked to the downtown region known as the Gaslamp quarters. It has a lot of eateries and businesses. It was a complete contrast to the cosy restaurants of Old town. Here, it was more about flashy and shows hotels. We walked along the entire stretch checking out all the places until we got hungry. We had an early dinner (5.30 pm!) at a fancy Italian restaurant and then headed back to the hotel as we had to catch a flight at 7.30 pm.

San Diego has so much to offer and appeals to everyone's tastes. Some of the things that we could not cover were Sea World, La Jolla Island, Sea Port village and Coronado island. There is just so much to do and four days was just not enough. It was a perfect break for us. 

San Diego-Day 3: Visit to Old Town

After spending an entire day in the Zoo, we decided to head out to Old Town. It is the birthplace of California and was the first place where the Spanish explorers settled. The heavy Spanish influence can be seen in the people, art, houses and music.

Old Town park

The Old Town Historic park is a fantastic cultural hub with quaint museums, arts & craft stores, numerous eateries, ancient homes and musicians playing Spanish songs. 

Performers

We first went to a cafe called 'California Cottage' It was a cottage converted into a cafe. We sat outdoor with the gas fireplaces and brilliant lighting. As I sat sipping my Hot white chocolate (which was simply out of this world) an elderly gentleman with a Spanish guitar moved to our table and asked us if we'd like to hear a song. V immediately agreed and the gentleman said he would play a romantic song for us. He played a Spanish song-although we didn't understand the meaning of it, we thoroughly enjoyed the melody.

Musician

We then walked to the park and looked around the stores with their old-world charm selling pottery, tobacco, masks and others. There was live music, freshly baked mexican goodies, wine sellers, olive oil tasting and open air restaurants. I will never forget that scene in my life-colorful, lively and buzzing with activity.

Decorated shops

The streets are lined with a wide array of mexican restaurants. I had a tough time picking one. However, one of them 'Old town cafe' has a separate section for vegetarian food and also mentioned that vegetarian food is cooked in separate oil. I hadn't heard of such a thing in any other place and immediately decided to go in. This was also very quaint and cosy. We ordered and surprised to see the huge portions-one dish enough for two people.

 

There is a haunted house -Whaley's house which is supposed to be the most haunted place in the US. We briefly passed by the house and saw there was a huge queue outside waiting for the ghost tour. I was not interested in paying money and getting sleepless nights.

We were so glad that we picked this place to spend the evening.

San Diego-Day 3: Visit to the Zoo

Zoo Entrance

The 100 acres San Diego Zoo is one the most famous attractions in San Diego. It has 400 endangered animals and 800 different species. It also has a wide range of flora. It is located inside the Balboa park campus.

It is divided into several different sections: Africa Rocks, Asian Passage, Elephant Odyssey, Lost Forest, Northern Frontier, Panda Canyon. As the names suggest, each zone has its unique theme and special attractions.

Like the other attractions in Balboa park, one needs to plan ahead and identify the areas one wants to explore as the zoo is huge and cannot be covered in one day. We saw the Polar bears, pandas, apes, african lions, elephants and a whole bunch of deer-like animals whose names I forgot.

Monkey

Panda-The star attraction

Polar Bear

The zoo has a skyfari which takes you from one end of the zoo to the other giving you a bird's eye view of the entire zoo. As expected it was crowded but we managed to get 2 rides in it. A wonderful view from up above.

Skyfari

We also saw a 4-D movie 'Ice Age and Christmas.' It was fun and kids love it. We also took the 35-minute bus safari that takes you on a trip around the zoo and gives very interesting info about the animals. Plenty of shopping and dining options available throughout the zoo.

Bus Safari

What: San Diego Zoo
Where: 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego, CA 92101
When: 9 am-5 pm (changes during winter/fall months)
Fee: $42

San Diego-Day 2: Balboa Park

Balboa Park is easily one of the best attractions in San Diego. It has a little something for everybody. 14 museums, parks, 19 gardens, gigantic zoo, tennis courts, gym, theatre, shows, restaurants and more. Since V and I are both museum lovers, I decided to allocate an entire day to explore the park. It was a tough call to choose from so many museums. We finally picked 5 and armed with a map of the park in hand, we began our journey. 

It being a Friday, gave us some more time as some museums operate longer on Fridays. The five museums we visited were:

Museum of Man

1. San Diego Museum of Man: 

Mayan Statue

Mummy coffins

A beautiful display of exhibits that trace the journey of man. Right from replica of fossils of the early man to the Maya statues and modern photographs. My favorite part was the Anthropology section that showed the evolution of man. The changes in the brain, bones, teeth etc over time from monkeys and apes to modern man. It was amazing to see all the stuff that we learnt in history. Only this time, instead of text books, it was more of visual learning. I also saw mummies-real Egyptian mummies. They are truly fascinating. 

I would have loved to spend more time here but we had other museums to cover so had to limit ourselves to only an hour at each place. 

Evolution of Man Exhibits

2. San Diego Air and Space museum:

Aircraft used during World War II

The receptionist at the previous museum recommended that we check out this one. Although, neither of us was too keen on visiting it, we decided to go as she made it sound very exciting. This museum houses all the planes that were used during the world wars. It also has flags, clothes etc used by the astronauts who went to the moon. To some one who is interested in this subject, this would be a wonderful place but to me it was quite boring. The only fun part of this one was the 4-D theatre.  Three five-minute movies were played and the 4-D effect was mind-blowing. I would visit this museum again only for the 4-D show.

3. Museum of Photographic Arts:

I have no words to express what I felt at this museum. I was stunned to see the collection by Ruud Van Empel. Each work was a result of stitching together several different photographs together. I was surprised to find out that every individual represented in the pictures was put together using features from many different people. There was a haunting quality in each of his works-almost surreal yet piercing. Fabricated reality-that was the term used to describe his works. Photography was not allowed inside the museum so could not click any.

4. Reuben.H.Fleet Science center:

An interactive science center that has numerous exhibits that allows one to learn the different science phenomenon. Interesting, educative and fun. I'm sure my relationship with physics wouldn't have been so bad had I got a chance to learn it in an interactive way like the science center. All the models were thought provoking and had detailed info about the phenomenon it described. However, the place was crowded with children who were more interested in playing with the models rather than learning anything. It was quite sad that most parents too didn't try to use the exhibits as a learning tool and let the children use them as toys. The best part about this museum is the dome shaped IMAX theatre. We opted to watch the movie 'To The Artic'. The theatre is like a planetarium-the screen stretches from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. The movie depicted the sad state of the polar bear due to the melting of the arctic snow caps as a result of global warming. It was an irony that it was both touching and beautiful at the same time. 

5. The San Diego Museum of Art:

The last museum for the day. We only had 40 minutes to explore this one before it was closing time. There are several galleries for Asian, African, American, European and Modern Art. Since we were pressed for time, we chose the European section. We walked through the Renaissance, Impressionist, Post-impressionism paintings from Italy, France and Germany. V explained to me how the themes and art evolved during each of the periods. It was quite overwhelming to see paintings that were so old yet were magnificent.

Overall, the visit was very informative and fun at the same time. I would definitely recommend keeping an entire day for this activity. A day well-spent!