Chicago 2018

So we checked into the River Hotel which was reasonably priced and so well located I had to pat myself on the back because I think I am getting quite good a choosing accommodation. Free coffee and snacks. Free wine at 5pm. Free laundry downstairs.

We wandered out and found ourselves at a 'speak easy' tiki bar called Two Dots and a Dash for cocktails followed by a BBQ feast for two at Bub City. With a live band.

 If you need to fill up on a good chain burger with lots of fries, try Tilted Kilt, like we did on Thursday at lunch. We headed to Lollapalooza, one of the biggest music festivals in the world. 100 000 attendees a day over 4 days! Our super compact picnic blanket - one of Neil's eBay purchases came in very handy.

 Arctic Monkeys was the headline act and they were good but they don't possess much stage presence and didn't know how to engage with the crowd. In fact, there aren't any bad boy rock band personalities these days. Lauren Mayberry from Chvrches talked about how she's too short to reach the top shelf in a grocery store. Rock chick? Not!

On Friday at lunch time we ate at The Purple Pig -where pork features highly on the menu.Superb wine list, with lots of options by the glass and great sharing plates.

Then it was back to Lollapalooza. Later we found the Cupcake Wine Tent and hung out on the sofas with the only other 50 somethings at the fest. We met some great people.

Later Friday night we found ourselves heading back to Bub City. It was busy; a pick up joint for the way over 30's.

On Saturday we had really good tacos at Broken English. A boy on the train had said he thought Chicago Mexican food is far better than what you get in Santa Fe, where he was traveling from. So we tried it. He may be right.

We spent most of the day at the Museum of Science and Industry. 

In a city of a 100 steakhouses..John and Sue -friends from the Cupcake Tent - recommended Eddy V's. The steaks were the best we've had in years..I had a bone-in fillet with bernaise sauce; Neil, a chef's special New York prime strip...and Neil's Maine lobster taco starters were wonderful. We shared a dessert of flambéed banana foster cake and an awesome jazzy live band topped it all off....good enough for a celebration...Happy Anniversary...now we don't have to remember in November!

California 2018

On Friday 20th July we flew to San Fransisco.  We had come to SF for the Rugby Sevens World Cup. Held in the baseball stadium with the bay as a back drop to some really exciting rugby. 

With the Blitsbokke as the current series champions, our team and the Fijians were favourites. In the end we had to settle for 3rd and 4th respectively with the Kiwis taking gold and the English, silver.

The 21st Amendment Brewery became our fan base. We met Gary and Craig and a bunch of Saffers there after the tournament each day.

Hotel G is a cool hotel in the Union Square area. Just over the road we discovered the Pine Crest Diner, good for brunch or late night suppers. It's open 24hrs a day and there is almost always a line waiting for a table.

We stayed till Tuesday and enjoyed walking through neighborhoods like SOMA, North Beach, Mission and Chinatown.

We saw a really good Magritte exhibition at SFMOMA.

SF is a cosmo-foodie paradise as the list of places we enjoyed attests to..

Chaat Cafe - Indian

Belotta- Spanish

Ideale - Italian

Lao - Laotian

And don't forget to try Sight/Glass coffee, the ultimate West Coast hipster brew.

We spent a few nights with Stephan and Andrea; as always a pleasure.. We enjoyed a few parties to try out their new beer-garden tables and benches. More wine than beer consumed, for sure.

We stayed with Larry and Jean in Capitola for the weekend. They have a wonderful apartment with great sea views. Capitola in Summer is a typical Northern Californian beach town with a laid back feel. After walking along the coast, we enjoyed a pub crawl through town and down to main beach. Neil declared that if he HAD to pick a place, he could retire there.

On Sunday we drove to Long Beach to see Julie and on Monday after a walking tour of downtown LA, we checked into Union Station to board the South West Chief for the 43hr train journey to Chicago.

It's a fun journey. We had a sleeper cabin but all meals are served in the dining car and there's a viewing lounge too. For each meal we were seated at a different table which made for meeting some interesting people. There's lots of time to read but the patchy WiFi connection would drive some people a little mad.

Las Vegas 2018

As you all know, we love Las Vegas...and we don't gamble...

This time was more or less like last time..

6 nights at the Flamingo Hotel; not the flashiest hotel on the strip but it has the best central location. And it's not too big. And the beds are really comfy. That's a fact I've never discussed on the blog before - I like a very firm mattress and a very thin, soft pillow. European and American beds are generally a bit too soft for my liking. Asian beds are very hard ; just right for me. I have been known to spread the duvet out on the floor to sleep in preference to spending the night on a saggy, soft mattress.

Our routine in Vegas remains the same:

Sleep late.

Enjoy a good lunch.

See 3 shows a day.

Listen to music at our favourite bars.

Grab a late night snack and a nightcap.

In bed by 2am.

We went to a great Counting Crows concert at the Hard Rock Casino.

Our other favourites in 2018 :

Shows

David Copperfield

Xavier Mortimer

Opium

V Variety

Restaurants

Estiatorio Milos

Jaleo

Virgil's

Gordon Ramsay Steak

Bars

OTS at Linq Promenade

Carnavale at Harrahs 

Le Caberet at Paris Paris

Napoleon's Duelling Pianos

Travel One Liners from 25 June to 13 July

Haarlem, Netherlands - 25 June
A small Dutch city featuring a square, some canals and a windmill.

Rotterdam, Netherlands- 26 to 27 June

A modern city with interesting architecture.

World Cup Football on TV.

Luxembourg  - 28 to 29 June
A couple of nights at Anique's.
A day trip with Charles to Schengen - a tribute to a unified Europe.
A boat trip on the Mosel at Remich and wine tasting.

Magden, Switzerland - 30 June to 1 July

A weekend at Justine and Arjen's.
A teenage birthday party and a braai.
World Cup Football on TV.

Memmingen, Germany - 2 July

A braai in the campsite with Russ.

Munich, Germany - 3 to 8 July
Tollwood Music Festival.
Braai at the Isar River.
Beergardens.
Weekend party at Christine and Christo's.
World Cup Football again (and some rugby and tennis) on TV.

London England -9 July
Overnight in a hotel at Heathrow.
Fly to Newark, NJ.

New Jersey - USA 10 to 13 July
Family time at the Sesink-Clee's.
A party with live music in Ram and Ranji's  back garden.
SHOPPING!!