Holly Madison's Peep Show in Las Vegas...Sex & City/Star Wars slot machines

LAS VEGAS - Checked out Peep Show with Holly Madison at Planet Hollywood Casino last night. I wouldn’t call it wholesome, but it’s hardly scandalous. There was a mild amount of topless dancing and plenty of gyrating and all that, but it was pretty tame compared to shows you’d see in Canada or the U.S. on cable TV.

And it actually had some fun bits and decent dancing. Not Broadway or anything, but pretty good. There were lots of couples in the audience (maybe half-full on a Tuesday night); almost entirely couples, actually. I only spotted a couple groups of guys, and none of them in a raincoat.

The audience participation was the best part. They called three guys up on stage to, well, touch Holly’s best-known assets as part of one of the numbers. One guy was from Boston and couldn’t explain what he did for a living. The other guy could only reply “Mexico” to about anything he was asked. The third guy was a mild, good-looking personal trainer named, wait for it, Timber. Or so he said.

This prompted a few jokes about falling trees and the participant’s inventory of wood, as you can imagine.

He was asked if he was drinking a “cocktail” and replied, “No, it’s a beer.” Turns out it was Bud Light. They were serving Hawaiian lager in the lobby, one of them called LONGBOARD. Would’ve been a great response for him in the double entendre department, but oh well.

The “Peep Diva” who ran the show on stage, complete with fishnets and a killer body, asked Timber (really?) if he’d ever touched a woman’s breasts.

“Not in front of my mom,” he said, looking out into the crowd.

This caused a roar from the actors and the audience, and it was actually quite endearing. They ended up stripping him to a pair of powder-blue boxers back stage, then brought him out and tied him to a bed while girls sang a song called “Pink” and danced and writhed around him; in their undies, not nekkid or anything.

Holly then came out and splashed pink paint all over the poor guy, who was already red in the face as they popped pink cotton candy in his mouth and poured champagne over his underwear.

It sounds a bit raunchy but it was pretty clean, really. And at the end of the skit, Timber got himself a handful of Holly, then turned and waved to his mom.

Not everyone’s D cup of tea, and really not mine. But I wanted to see the sexy side of Vegas one night, so that was my night. And I left halfway through to come back to the hotel and type up some notes. So I’m still on Santa’s good list, I hope.

I had a chance to check out more of the strip during another cold and blustery day, wandering through Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay and its aquarium, which is decent entertainment for the kids. I had hoped to do the rollercoaster at New York, New York but there wasn’t time. Excalibur overdoes it on the “King Arthur” stuff – they have a Canterbury wedding chapel - but I guess that’s part of the appeal for some folks.

At Mandalay I spotted a slot machine with the Star Wars logo and immediately thought, “George Lucas, shame on you.” I also saw several “Sex and the City” machines where you try to get as many Carrie or Samantha images or purses or shoes or Mr. Big's in a row, and at least one machine called “Cougar-licious.” Sigh.

I'm flying out of Vegas today. Great planning, Jim. The busiest travel day of the year in the U.S. and a day when everyone wants to protest the new American TSA security measures, meaning the body scanners.

I wrote a column with the headline “shut and get scanned already” earlier this year and got walloped with hate mail. So I’ll be keeping a close eye out today, for sure…..

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Star Travel Grand Tour finishing with a bang...Grand Canyon, Vegas and Love

We've taken readers on quite the ride since we launched our "Grand Tour" series a month and a half ago. We've visited glorious, historic neighbourhoods in Rome, wandered the markets of Dubai, checked out the wild contrasts of dynamic Tokyo, sipped South African wine in the shadow of Cape Town's Table Mountain, dined on caviar in St. Petersburg, Russia and met some amazing characters last week in tropical Maui, Hawaii.

We've had six spots so far; with a very good Final Four to come. This Saturday, we'll fill you in on incredible Buenos Aires; a South American capital with flair to spare. After that we've got Sydney, where I just spent a couple of days soaking up a little rain but a final, glorious day of sunshine on the Manly Ferry, then historic and fascinating Jerusalem.

Our final stop will be Paris, the city of Light and the winner of our readers' poll for the tenth Grand Tour destination. We hope folks have enjoyed reading, and perhaps we'll do something similar another time.

In the meanwhile, stay tuned for our final destinations, starting with Buenos Aires on Saturday, Nov. 27.

LOVING LAS VEGAS

We'll put aside the insane aspects of this town for a minute, because they're well-documented. Instead, I'll focus a bit on two bookends of an absolutely marvellous day.

The morning began with a 5 a.m. wakeup call - most folks go to BED at this time around here, not get up - and a bus ride down to the Maverick aviation office at the airport for a 7:30 a.m. helicopter departure for the Grand Canyon. It's a place I've never visited (or Las Vegas for that matter), despite growing up in California. I don't know why I'd never come, as I really love the desert and the shadows and the sense of mystery and the exotic people and creatures who make a life for themselves in hostile surroundings.

Anyway, pilot Boyd Hardy was very funny, as were my fellow passengers; a bunch of 40-year-olds from Ottawa who were celebrating their youth (but lamenting their inability to stay out as late as they used to). And the trip was glorious; cool temperatures (about 13 Celsius) but lots of fun and a smooth ride  with maybe one little exception coming over some hills on the way home. We flew over the Strip, which was great, then out over the desert and past the Hoover Dam and the new bridge (looks a bit like the ones alog the coast of California south of Big Sur). Then we lifted up over the rim of the Grand Canyon and...wow.

The colours weren't as vivid as they'd be at sunset, but they were absolutely spectactular. The silence was amazing, and the sense of majesty in watching that river flow through the

rocks the way it has for millions upon millions of years, well, I was stunned. It's an incredible experience. "Shadows dance/powerful, living rock/Water flows/solitude and beauty." That's a lame attempt at haiku, I think; I don't know. I admit I was kinda stunned sitting on the side of one of earth's
most amazing creations, so forgive me if that sounds goofy or something.

Anyway, it's a few hundred bucks for the ride but it's an unforgettable experience. So thanks to Body Hardy and the Ottawa gang for a great morning.

After exploring the Strip and having lunch at the terrific Country Club at Wynn (great views of the golf course and terrific shrimp dishes), I took in the Beatles Cirque du Soleil "Love" at The Mirage. I came here telling myself I'm not a shows guy, just like I went to see Star Wars a year after it came out telling myself I wasn't a sci-fi/space movie guy. I left Star Wars with a smile the size of the galaxy on my face, and I came away from "Love" last night wondering why I'd never come to see a Vegas show and why I'd never caught anything from this remarkable Canadian-born group.

I was absolutely blown away by the whole thing; a magical 90 minutes of dancing, acrobatics and incredible costumes all set to the music of my life; throbbing guitars and dancing melodies and pounding drums and a remarkable weaving of Beatles' hits into an incredible soundtrack. I loved the start with the anthology version (voices only) of "Because," which then stomped its way into "Get Back" mixed with the  powerful chords of "The End" and even "Glass Onion." Amazing costumes and folks bungee jumping down over the audience and springing back up. Eleanor Rigby was a touch melodramatic and I thought they overdid the white costume, dancing fairy bit on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" near the end, but most of it was stupendous; a riot of colour and artful design and great music and audience participatio with a white parachute-like sheet. "I am the Walrus" felt like Johnny Depp in Pirates mixed with Les Miserables, Oliver Twist and West Side Story, with a generous dose of psychedelia. Marvellous.

And the end? It was almost to weep, standing with a group of a couple thousand Beatles fans of all ages, clapping our hands to "All You Need is Love," and then seeing that marvellous coda to their career inscripted on the wall "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."

I'm a little sappy, I admit (I get misty-eyed at the end of "When Harry Met Sally") but I get chills right now just thinking about it.

Following the show I came to back to Encore, where I spent the night in a room with a great view of the Strip. I had dinner at their restaurant, Sinatra, and enjoyed the most silky smooth, flavourful pasta of my life. It was agnolloti with a bit of ricotta in a light cream sauce with herbs, parmesan and shaved truffle, and it was like biting into a soft pillow. Absolutely marvellous and highly recommended!

More later from Las Vegas....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney and Opera House (or is it Oprah House?) tour...Visit Britain time is here

SYDNEY (and TORONTO) - Still pretty rainy here in Sydney. Unusual for this time of year, but we can probably blame El Nina. Or El Nino. Or some kind of weird climactic situation.

It was close to 30 degrees here a week ago, and it's usually in the mid-20's by now as Sydney approaches the summer. This would be the equivalent of early May for them, so it's usually a brilliant time of year. Instead, it's gone from beautiful to bizarre, with daytime temperatures in the teens and plenty of wind and cool rain.

It's not helping my photographs, but it's still a great place to walk around. I spent the morning near the Royal Botanical Gardens, getting shots of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Later I did a tour of the Opera House, where I learned there are 1,056,006 (exactly) ceramic tiles on the roofs of the various sail-like buildings. Pretty amazing.

My tour guide showed us the lovely interiors and said that among those who have appeared in the main hall are Michael Buble and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who apparently won his last Mr. Olympia (or something like that) title in these hallowed halls. The project was slated to take three years and cost $7 million, but ended up taking 16 years at a cost of $102 million. Oprah Winfrey will be here for a slew of shows next month, which means lots of people are calling it the Sydney Oprah House, and sorry about that.

Unlike our pathetic SkyDome/Rogers Centre, however, the Opera House put Sydney on the map. Or, rather, embellished its placement as a forward-thinking/hip city. It's now impossible to think of Sydney without it, as it would be to think of Cape Town without Table Mountain or San Francisco without the Golden Gate Bridge. Toronto has improved, but we have a long way to go if we want to be in the big leagues with cities like those. It takes vision, something even David Miller lacked when it came right down to it.

Anyway, it's great to be in a place that's so cutting-edge. I had lunch in the historic Rocks district and ate at a place called Sake, a dynamite Japanese joint where one of the specialties is an appetizer called Sashimi Tacos. Sounds bizarre, but a crunch taco surrounding fresh tuna or salmon sashimi and onions  and soy and spices is absolutey brilliant. Comes with glasses of sugar-rimmed Sake, which never hurts. Likewise the sashimi with soy and thinly-sliced jalapeno peppers were top-notch. Call it Jap-Mex if you want; I call it fabulous.

I wanted to see Manly Beach and the North Head bluffs, but it was raining and I only had time for the ferry ride. Still, it's magical to see Sydney's Harbour even in the mist, and to realize how lucky folks are down this way to have so much water and beautiful beaches and tumbling, rocky bluffs all around them. Manly reminds me of Vancouver with the waterfront and the pine trees and the high-rise apartments.

I took dinner at a spot called Wine Odyssey, where they have dozens of bottles of wine where you can slip a special card into a slot and get various sizes of all sorts of wines in a variety of prices. It's very sophisticated (albeit expensive) and really lets you try a whole variety of wines by reading the labels and the little ads or blurbs that accompany them. The food is decent, but the wine selection is superb. A fun spot, topped only by a brief stop at the Fortune of War Pub, which dates back to the 1860s and has atmosphere to spare. A great guitar player/singer was singing Aussie country songs last night including ones about the Yukon Gold Rush and an old English song about Ernie, the fastest milkman in the west. It was great fun.

I remembered it was a pub that Star sports types Dave Perkins and Doug Smith and I visited the night before the start of the 2000 Summer Olympics. I remember running into Paul Beeston's daughter down near the harbour at around midnight and thinking it was a good idea to call Beest in New York, where he was working at the commissioner of baseball's office. We had a couple too many Victoria Bitters, I think, and I doubt Paul liked being woken up at 5 a.m. by a bunch of sodden Toronto Star reporters. But it was fun for us.

More later on Australia and Sydney. But now it's time for a short update from Star Travel writer Adrian Brijbassi, who attended a Visit Britain event in Toronto Thursday night.

VISIT BRITAIN

The Olympics are coming to London, and they’re going to help draw millions to Great Britain before, during and after the 2012 Summer Games. On Thursday night, VisitBritain, the British tourism agency, hosted a press gathering at the King Edward Hotel to fill us in on what’s happening around England, Scotland and Wales beyond just athletics.

Of the nearly 750,000 Canadians who cross the Atlantic to Great Britain annually, more than three-quarters are return guests, VisitBritain says. Those numbers indicate both the strong bond our nations have and the comfort we feel travelling to the land of Shakespeare and the Queen. With the exchange rate more favorable for Canadians than it’s been in years ($1 will get you about 60 pence), a trip over the pond is enticing these days. There’s also lots more excitement than just the Olympics, including: Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary on the throne (also in 2012) and a potential royal wedding (c’mon, Will, get that ring on Kate’s finger already).

One of the highlights discussed in Toronto includes a plan by Wales to have a walking path circling that coastal nation. Wales has a total area of more than 20,000 square kilometres, so that’s no mere footpath for an evening stroll they’re setting up.

“It would be very hard to imagine anyone walking the entire path, so we’ll have a Dylan Thomas stretch, and other stretches named after historic figures or prominent people, and visitors will definitely want to walk the length of those,” says Bob Titley, a PR consultant for Visit Wales.

The London Olympics will run from July 27 to August 12, 2012, and is expected to generate about $3.5 billion in tourism spending during the next decade.

If you’re thinking about heading to Britain between now and the Summer Games, keep reading Star Travel. We’ll get you prepared for what’s new in and around London well before Usain Bolt takes a run at another gold.

 

On the Rocks in Sydney...Linda Barnard cruises...Newzapalooza Concert T.O.

SYDNEY - It's been almost exactly ten years, but I finally made it back to Australia.

It took a rather long, 10-1/2 hour flight from Honolulu, but I managed to get into downtown Sydney just before sunset. Someone apparently left the refrigerator door open, however, as it was 16 Celsius and a touch drizzly when I landed. Not quite what I had in mind, but perhaps it'll change Friday.

Anyway, I have a super room at the Park Hyatt with an awesome view - right across the harbour - of the Sydney Opera House. I keep looking up from my laptop to see that it's really there, and apparently it is.

Had dinner in the Rocks at a place that Nicholas here at the Park Hyatt (he's from Newmarket, Ontario and says his mom reads the Star; Hi, Mom!) recommended. It's called Sailors Thai, and it turns out to be the same Thai place my wife and I went to 10 years ago on our only sojourn down to the Rocks. Pretty funny, I thought. Great food. Not cheap; $26 for a solitary noodle dish with veggies, prawns and a smattering of calamari. With a beer and tip it came to $40 Australian, and the Aussie dollar's at par or maybe above the loonie, so it's not like 10 years ago when I got 30 per cent on the Canadian buck.

That being said, it's a great town and I can't wait to check it out tomorrow after some (hopefully) shut eye.

LINDA BARNARD AT SEA

It's always nice to hear from The Star's roving reporters, especially crazy (in the best way) ones like Linda Barnard, ace movie critic. Here's Linda's most recent post....

Ahoy mayteys! Today's highlight was passing by the  kennels on the 11th level this morning on my walk and just happening to be there for the official portraits of the 8 dogs travelling on the ship, all decked out in Queen Mary blankets for their pictures. The 2 cats were not invited to the party. There's an old photo on board of an eccentric walking his pet raccoon in the 1930s.
Newfoundland is 400 miles to the southwest and England waits 1,200 miles ahead. So I am literally in the middle of nowhere. I have seen more rainbows (six) than passing ships (1). The ship is rolling in heavyish seas but it's actually very pleasant; there's a reason mothers rock their babies. Last night was the Black and White Ball and it was as posh as you'd expect. Our dining table (two best girlfriends from college now celebrating turning 50) a pair of fantastically hilarious gay boys from Leeds, Rolly, who lives in England and Wisconsin and me - we are having a blast. But now I must go. Yes, it's time for BINGO.

Don't judge, people.

Linda

NEWZAPALOOZA

Feeling crushed by the weight of a gruelling election campaign? Flattened by the ponderous rhetoric and runaway bocce balls? Battered by trains and drowning in gravy?

Then you need Newzapalooza, the Battle of Toronto’s Media Bands, on Friday, Nov. 5th. Clear your mind with the pulsating sound of working journalists ditching their day jobs. Seven great bands, drawn from the newsrooms of the nation’s media capital, scrapping it out for every last bit of market share they can find. Plus this year’s very special guest band - the Toronto Police Service Coppertones - will be on hand to keep the peace and the beat.

 

Legendary host Mike Bullard brings the funny and keeps things ticking with his crack panel of critically acclaimed critics - The Star’s Ben Rayner, The Sun’s Jane Stevenson and CBC’s Errol Nazareth. You could win some of the stunning prizes culled from the finest merchants of Leslieville, all while taking in the magnificent splendour of the iconic Opera House, one of the city’s most storied live music venues.

 

And if that isn’t enough to send you home satisfied, remember that every penny raised goes straight to the Children’s Aid Foundation. Tickets $20 and available at the door or through our website (www.newzapalooza.ca). Check us out on Facebook and Twitter (#Newzapalooza) too.

 

Priscilla Queen of the Desert quite the Australia treat - pink boa's for everyone!

You gotta love the Aussies.

As manly as that country is - heck, Manly is the name of one of Sydney's top beaches - they're still able to get some major laughs out of gay culture. Witness Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which I was lucky enough to see on Tuesday night at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I came away hugely impressed by the acting and the costumes and the sheer audacity of whoever thought up the movie that sparked the play.

Wild doesn't begin to describe it. I mean, I hadn't seen a good skit involving dancing transvestite cupcakes for weeks.

Seriously, it was spectacular. But a little backstory first, if you like, and you can insert your own joke right now about checking the rearview mirror. The story involves a drag queen in Sydney who sets out to rough and ready Alice Springs to visit the six-year-old son he's never seen. He enlists an aging queen and a young, bitchy cohort to go with him and do an act in Alice Springs, but they have a few adventures along the way as they motor their way across the outback in a bus named Priscilla, encountering a few rednecks and some interesting characters along the way. The scene with the cupcakes involves the main character going outside the bus one morning and finding the aging drag queen - played spectacularly by Tony Sheldon - asleep with her head in a cake. This prompts the main character (Tick as a guy, Mitzi when he's in drag) to say how he's always wanted to sing the really stupid 1960s song, Macarthurs Park, which includes lyrics about someone who "left the cake out in the rain," as well as lyrics about sweet green icing flowing down and other cultural oddities probably appreciated most on acid, or at least some really strong dope.

Anyway, as he sings out come a bunch of queens with giant green cupcakes around their middles like some sort of hyper-caloric hoop skirt, complete with green icing and coloured smarties, with towering plastic umbrellas over their heads. Hilarious and incredibly inventive.

I'm not a fan of the music they feature in the play, being more inclined to classic rock or Elvis Costello in the 1970's/1980s versus Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive and anything that got played in places with glittering disco balls. But it's just fine and it fits perfectly with the script and the singers are tremendous and the campy nature is just so overwhelmingly in your face that you can't stop smiling.

I kinda thought the play would paint Outbackers in a bad light, but many of them come across as pretty decent guys, especially Bob, who is exceptionally played by C. David Johnson. He was quietly spectactular, and even tossed off a great ad lib when one of the sets froze in mid-stage. The workers had to come out to get something unstuck, so as he walked off the stage Johnson smiled at the audience and said, "Well, they spent a lot of money on the bus."

I have a couple quibbles about the dialogue, which often snapped but far too often sagged (insert Freudian note here, too). A couple of the lines were simply dumb, including one where an Aboriginal character was asked about something and said, "Don't mind if I didgeri-doo." Ugh. That's about as bad  as "adieu, adieu, to yuh and yuh and yuh" in "Sound of Music."

That issue aside, it was a smashing success and thanks to Australia tourism for the Aussie champers to start the night and for a fine show. I'll be in the outback meself in about 10 days time. I've seen Sydney and Melbourne and the Ocean Road and the Great Barrier Reef, but the Outback is purely virgin territory for me (sorry, I can't help it).

I'm so thrilled at the prospect, I'll reach into the (pseudo) disco era and quote Oakland, California's own  Pointer Sisters, "I'm So Excited, and I Just Can't Hide It."

I'll be visiting Ayers Rock or Uluru, just as the characters in the play did. But I won't climb it as it's considered an affront to the aboriginal people. And I probably won't take the pink feather boa that the Mirvish people kindly sent my way.

Then again....

 

Cool Tokyo shopping, Japanese airport security and cold red wine with noodles

TOKYO - My last morning in Tokyo, and I hit the jackpot.

On my way to Roppongi the other night I had passed through an area of Tokyo called Harajuku, then past the Omotesando Hills shopping mall and down through the plush stores of Aoyama. I didn't quite know I was staying that close to the area, nor had I realized how posh it was, so when I got up and had some time to kill before heading to the airport I grabbed a cab for the Harajuku metro/train station. It's a lovely, brick and wood affair on the edge of a park, and it's quite the spot on Sundays when Tokyo teens show up in wild costumes.

This was a weekday, so there was only a hint of crazy couture, but there was plenty to look at, including, if you look closely, two adorable young girls in matching purple outfits with cute hats. I wasn't quite sure where to go when I got out of the cab, my Tokyo maps being hard to read and my knowledge of Japanese at zero. I was struggling to figure things out when I heard a guy yell, "Hey, you need some help?"

My rescuer was (and is) a great guy named Darrell Green, who moved to Tokyo 17 years ago. We got to talking and I said I was from Toronto and he said he grew up in Philadelphia and moved here the year the Jays beat the Phillies to win the World Series. I don't think that's why he moved to Japan, but I didn't ask.

Green sells umbrellas across the street from the Harajuku station, and he was mad the other morning because it had rained overnight and not during the morning commute when he needs to make his money. The drizzle was starting, however, so he was optimistic.

Anyway, he told me how to find the Omotesando shopping centre, but said I'd be wise to skip it. I told him I'd heard that the streets in and around the shopping centre were fun.

"Exactly," he said. "If you want Beverly Hills, go to Omotesando. If you want to see Japan, get off the main street."

Good advice for any tourist in almost any major city, really. and particularly excellent in this case. Not that the streets around Omotesando are filled with everyday Tokyoites; it's too expensive a neighborhood. But there were small homes and small, independent shops - one was called Crack Unit - and even a couple homes with single-car garages, and I can only imagine what those cost in a nice part of central Tokyo. I saw some beautiful Rolls Royces and Beamers, but mostly I saw ordinary things like small gardens and mailboxes and neighborhood cats and kids lining up for the school bus; great stuff. There also was a small memorial in the window of one shop with a note that read, I believe I have the name right but I couldn't quite tell, "Christopher Kenneth, God Bless You." If you notice, there's a small can of Kirin beer at the bottom of the photo.

Thanks for the tips, Darrell, and may the daytime rain continue.

NARITA AIRPORT, AND GOODBYE

It didn't take as long as I thought to get from Shinjuku to the Narita airport; only about 50 minutes from the last hotel on my pickup route, the Hilton. But I found it weird that when we arrived at the edge of the airport, the bus stopped so security folks could get on board and check everyone's passport. Then again, I realize not everyone has the luxury of relatively lax security that we take for granted in Canada. And it was certainly no big deal; just interesting.

I was lucky enough to get an upgrade from the good folks at Air Canada - always handy on a long flight, particularly when I'm headed to Dubai in a few hours, and I mean a few hours. Anyway, that allowed me to get some work done in the ANA lounge prior to boarding. It's a nice lounge, with plenty of food and a hot noodle station.

I don't really like the buckwheat soba noodles so much, so I opted for udon with tempura and fish paste. As iI got my bowl from the cook and said my obligatory "arigato, arigato," I noticed a small bowl filled with what looked like cayenne pepper and other spices.

I reached over and got a small spoonful, and the noodle cook started gesturing at me and laughing, as if I was about to commit some serious damage upon my mouth and intestinal system. I reduced my serving portion a little bit and tossed it on my soup, and he kept smiling and laughing quietly. It wasn't really so spicy, and it might have been one of the best bowls of soup I've ever had.

They had plenty to drink in the lounge, including serve yourself draft Kirin beer. I opted to relax with a glass of some interesting-looking red wine from the Ardeche region of France. It's a beautiful part of south-central France, and I'd never had any wine from the area, so I thought I'd give it a try. Lo and behold, the wine was not only resting on a bed of ice but was shockingly cold.

It was the second time in three days I'd seen red wine chilled to the bone. And I gotta say, I love Japan, but someone has to stop this immediately. Ice wine from Canada in the fridge, of course. Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay or Riesling or Champagne, yessir. But frosty red wine doesn't cut it, guys.

Anyway, I departed in a good mood, with a lot of wonderful memories and the tune of Bruce Cockburn's Tokyo rumbling through my head..."Oh, Tokyo, I never could sleep in your arms. Mind, keeps on, ringing like a fire   alarm. Me and all these other dice, bouncing around in the cup. Did you have to show me that accident scene didn't I get enough shaking up? Still, I'm gonna miss...you...."

To the noodle cook at the ANA lounge, to the Park Hyatt and the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, to the wonderful Hoshinoya Kyoto hotel staff, to my tour guides in Tokyo, Kyoto and at the Tsukiji fish market, and to the cab driver in Kyoto who insisted on taking my picture at the boat station for Hoshinoya (see photo), I say, "Arigato gozaimasu."

See you again sometime.

A Beatles band in Tokyo, wild Shinjuku and the amazing Tsukiji Fish Market

TOKYO - I spent part of Monday wandering around the crazy shops of Shinjuku, which has a series of cool alleyways/narrow streets in addition to the high-rise, electronic-advertisement postered stuff I expected. Mind you, there was plenty of that. I got lost a couple times but ended up finding a nice shopping area that included a Top Shop and some other nice stores.

The barrage of lights and sounds, however, is quite something. I stepped into a pachinko parlour for just a minute and felt like I was living inside a 747 engine. I don't know how anyone can stand the noise, but they were lined up in front of most of the machines and didn't seem to take notice. I also must say I don't at all get the anime thing. Those strange-looking little girls with the westernized faces and big eyes give me the creeps. Still, it makes for a fascinating stroll, and if I wanted to have everything be like home I could simply have stayed in Toronto and gone for a walk in  Leslieville or something.

The best part of the day was a 5:30 a.m. (yikes) trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market on the edge of downtown. It's the largest in the world, and words cannot  describe the chaos and the sound and the action that goes in that place. Tiny forklifts dashing here and there with the latest batch of snapper or shrimp, the cacophony of the live tuna auction (it's not open to the public any longer as it got too crazy, but they snuck me in for a brief peek). The massive tuna'heads were what really grabbed me; just incredible. There were hundreds if not thousands of them lying all over the place, and you could look down and see that afternoon's sushi almost ready to go.

I got to taste some snapper that had just been caught a few hours before, and while I'm not usually one for sashimi at 7 a.m. I gave it a go. I also spotted large hunks of balleen whale on ice, something the PETA people would NOT be happy about.  There also were wriggling fish I couldn't name, sea cucumbers, slippery eels, mackerel and more tuna. Outside, you can get a glimpse of the place where they dry small bonito, then smoke then and slice the pieces into bonito flakes, which are used for making stock the way we would use chicken broth and such. Fascinating to watch.

The vegetable market is more open to the public than the tuna auction, and it's almost as impressive. There were spears of asparagus as wide as the bottom of a baseball bat, as well as two-foot-long green onions, luscious pears and tiny limes that are quite prized in these parts.

I watched a man package some enormous, purple grapes with a care and style most of us wouldn't dream of. Heck, I wouldn't spend that kind of time or effort wrapping my wife's anniversay present. But these grapes were lovingly wrapped in pink tissue paper then placed in a beautiful box. The Japanese love presentation, not to perpetuate a stereotype, and a lovely bunch of grapes is just as much a piece of art to them as a painting. And good on them, I say.

Following the tour, my guide, provided nicely by the folks at the very chic Park Hyatt Hotel in the Shinjuku area of town, insisted I try some fresh sushi. I love the stuff, but usually not at 8 a.m. Still, I was game. I didn't expect eight pieces and six rolls and miso soup three hours after downing some croissants and toast and coffee for my first breakfast of the day, but there you go. I wasn't hungry again until nearly 5 p.m. But I couldn't have had sushi for dinner if you'd paid me.

SHE LOVES YOU HAI, HAI, HAI

With nothing big scheduled for my last night in Tokyo, and not feeling up to anything late, I took in a Beatles replica band in the Roppongi District. The bar is called The Cavern Club, one of the Beatles first live concert sites in Liverpool, and I think the band carries the same name. It was a fairly quiet night in Tokyo, with perhaps 20 or 30 people in the audience. It costs a decent amount of money, about $30, to get in, and there's a one-drink minimum with beers costing about $9.

There actually are two such bars in Roppongi, the Cavern Club and Abbey Road, but I opted for this one as it seemed manageable to find on a map. And that's not easy in a city like Tokyo. Anyway, I was a touch skeptical, and it threw me when they did some John Lennon solo stuff for the first couple songs. Nice jobs on both Starting Over and Beautiful Boy, but it wasn't what I came for. Pretty soon, however, they were boogeying to Don't Let Me Down and Strawberry Fields Forever, which had some killer drum work. They absolutely nailed Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight and I was really into it by then.

The four guys in the band speak little English, but they've got the words for the Beatles catalogue down pat, and the main singer does a very credible Lennon impersonation. They don't look like the Beatles, of course, and they wisely don't try to dress the part. They also have a keyboard player instead of three guitar players, but it helps with tunes like Strawberry Fields, and the keyboard player also did a jazzy riff before the guitar solos in Carry That Weight.

Overall, I can see it as a great spot to hang out with English-speaking friends or to feel a little bit at home when you're on the road. Quite enjoyable. Next time, Abbey Road!

 

Niagara Wine and Food Festival...tons of fun in St. Catharines

ST. CATHARINES – Had a chance to check out the Niagara Wine (and food) Festival in downtown St. Kitts on Saturday, and I came away fairly impressed.

They could’ve used a few more signs pointing the way to Montebello Park, which I read somewhere was designed by Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted, and that's pretty impressive. It’s a lovely spot, and organizers did a nice job of mixing things up for adults and kids.

There were plenty of climbing castles and jumping trampoline thingy’s for little ones, and there was a steady parade of pretty people and guys with tattoos, all wandering about tasting everything from venison hot dogs and plates of pasta with meatballs to Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. You can get a small bite to eat for a token, which costs $3. One token also gets you a small glass of wine; plenty for tasting and sipping.

 

I had some pretty decent wine, but none that could approach the Cabernet-Merlot from Niagara's Tawse. It had none of the green pepper/vegetal taste that I tend to find in many Ontario wines; a taste I find to be a real turn-off. Smooth and flavourful and mellow, it’s definitely worth looking for.

 

They had plenty of live music, including a nine-piece rock/blues/pop band called, I think, Groove Hammers. They covered everything from Springsteen’s Tenth Avenue Freeze Out to Soul Man, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4, which they absolutely nailed with a sax, trumpet and trombone, not to mention a silky lead guitar player. Very, very good stuff on a warm sunny day, especially when you can sit on a lawn in Southern Ontario and openly sip a glass of wine

The festival goes on through next weekend, so check it out.

 

I stayed the night in Niagara Falls at the bustling Fallsview Marriott. The views aren’t quite as good as they are from the fallsview rooms at the Hilton down the street, but they’re still excellent. And the lobby isn’t quite so crazy as the Hilton, which I found to be something of a zoo when I was there in summer.

 

I thought about having dinner at the Marriott’s dining room, which they say “overlooks nothing but the falls.” A nice line, but mostly it overlooks a series of trees and the Niagara River and only a very small sliver of the falls themselves.

 

I opted for dinner a block away at Milestone’s, situated in the Sheraton Hotel. The Ontario Tire Dealers’ Association commandeered most of the restaurant for a dinner, which featured a speech from Ontario’s head tire guy. I couldn’t resist clapping when he finished his talk, feeling silly but seeing another person with no connection to the convention doing likewise and grinning as stupidly as I was.

 

I put in $5 in a slot machine in the Fallsview Casino and actually got a little bit back, although not much. My wife won almost $5 on her first spin on the machine next to me, and we wisely packed it in after four minutes and a grand total of 75 cents in winnings. Big-time.

 

I got up Sunday morning and walked along the lovely parks they’ve built behind the Fallsview Casino. Very impressive; with benches and little paths and thousands of mounds of towering impatiens and nice views of the falls

 

The falls were as lovely as always. The sheer power and drama of Niagara Falls never ceases to amaze me. But as I stood along the precipice, not more than 10 feet from the rushing water plunging downward, I kept thinking, “How in hell did they build this platform so close to one of the most powerful, death-inducing waterfalls in the world?” I’m sure there’s an explanation, but I sure as heck don’t get how they managed it….

 

Cuba to remain American free, methinks...Whistler tix on sale...More Blue Rodeo

A couple months ago it was all the rage. U.S. President Barack Obama was at last going to lift the gates on American tourism to Cuba.

Stacks of New Yorkers and Miamians would flock to their local airports and hop on planes to embrace the heady culture of Havana and the endless beaches. Thousands of blenders would be fired up to greet them on the ground with minty mojitos, and tourism in Cuba would skyrocket.

It sounded too good to be true. And I suspect it is. There was a report from Time online yesterday that said a U.S. lifting the ban on American travel to Cuba is, quelle surprise, stalled in the House of Representatives. The bill apparently has cleared one committee but truculent congressmen in two other House bodies might make sure it doesn't even come up for a vote this year.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd have to think Cuba's embargoed status is about minus-173 on Obama's to do list. My goodness, the economy is in near disaster mode down south, he's dealing with the horrible situation in Afghanistan, not to mention Pakistan and a very strident Russia...and now he's trying to put his stamp on the Middle East peace process, and he's gonna worry about little old Cuba and give the Republicans another sword with which to slice and dice his political capital between now and the mid-term U.S. elections in November?

I'm no expert on American politics. I did grow up there and studied political science in university, however, and I still think I have at least a vague idea how things play out with our neighbour to the south. And I just can't see the Obama administration going to the trouble.

The bad news is the lack of competition might not drive down prices the way some thought, although prices are already quite good for a Cuban holiday. The good news is you won't have to elbow anyone from Michigan out of the way at the buffet table in Holguin come January.

BRRRR....IT'S HAPPENING, FOLKS....

Saw a tree that was more red than green on a bike ride in North Toronto on Sunday. That's not good. Now comes word that, and I can hardly bring myself to type this, (sniff)...now comes word that 2010/2011 Whistler Blackcomb early bird season passes have gone on sale.

Basking in the aftermath of the Winter Olympics and what they say is 1,025 centimeter (404 inch) snowfall average, folks at Whistler Blackcomb say that from now until Oct. 11 an unlimited Season Pass is available for $1,349; a saving of $350. Unlimited Season Passholders get unlimited access to the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains year-round, both winter and summer.

I've had a chance to ride the gondola twice, and it's a hoot and-a-half. Beautiful in winter, as you can see at left, but also lots of fun in the summer if you get the chance to check out British Columbia next year.

ADRIAN BRIJBASSI ROCKS OUT IN STANLEY PARK

I wrote last week about seeing Blue Rodeo, my favourite band on the planet, perform at the Molson Ampitheatre. Naturally, fellow Star Travel dude Adrian Brijbassi was out west and saw them sing outdoors at Stanley Park in Vancouver on the weekend. He, of course, had to trump the travel editor by filing a report on the beauty of it all. I'm not jealous. He did a nice job, as you can see below. I just hope he enjoys that nice two-week trip to Serbia next January for our "Testicle Cooking Festival" special section.

By Adrian Brijbassi

VANCOUVER - The B.C. bud was fragrant as several hundred Blue Rodeo fans helped Greg Keelor celebrate his birthday on Sunday night at one of the country’s best open-air venues, Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. After the crowd belted out “Happy Birthday”, Jim Cuddy serenaded his partner-in-rhyme with “Try” (kind of a creepy choice for the moment, but hey, it’s Vancouver). The highlight was a lengthy jam on “Five Days in May” as Cuddy again sang better than a white, heterosexual man should be able. Keelor usually regales the Vancouver audience with “English Bay” and the story of how he wrote that tune about long-distance love while watching the waves from the Sylvia Hotel, but this time he did the haunting “What Is This Love?” Almost thought Sarah McLachlan would walk out on stage at that moment. Kudos to the crowd who were on their feet a lot – a nice change from many previous sit-on-your-hands-like-you’re-a-hostage audiences. Another great show from these Canuck icons!

Now, if Cuddy would only share his favourite travel stories with Travel Editor Jim Byers – that’d be an encore!

Star guy Adrian Brijbassi gets a Vancouver food tour from legedndary Vikram Vij

Star Travel writer/organizer/web guy/deputy editor in all but title Adrian Brijbassi is wrapping up his vacation out west, but couldn't resist filing a blog post on the restaurant scene in British Columbia's biggest city. Specifically, he got to take a tour with the hugely talented Vikram Vij.

 

VANCOUVER — Vikram Vij isn’t just one of Vancouver’s leading restaurateurs, he’s also a fan of the city’s eclectic food scene. The other day he took some time to introduce me to a couple of recently opened spots in areas where tourists may not think to venture for fine food.

 

The first was Campagnolo, a charcuterie at 1020 Main Street, close to the Pacific Central bus terminal. Campagnolo (www.campagnolorestaurant.ca) cures all its meats on the premises, a sure sign of a restaurant serious about charcuterie. It also serves a range of reasonably priced cuisine, including pizzas, salads and a must-try appetizer of pan-fried chickpeas with mint and citrus. The wine list is short, but it has a strong mix of provincial and international selections. A moscato from Italy was a refreshing finish, similar to an ice wine but not as sweet.

 

The room was airy with understated décor, adding a classy touch to a part of town long known for dive bars and seedy nightlife.

 

“You may not expect to find a restaurant of this calibre here, but things are starting to change,” Vikram says.

 

Stop No. 2 was Bao Bei, a Chinatown restaurant that’s only been open for a few months and was doing brisk business midweek. It’s fusion cuisine includes Shao Bing (braised pork on a sesame seed flatbread with Asian pear), grilled squid with pork belly and bok choy, and a delicious beef tartar topped with quail’s egg and served with lotus root chips. Really interesting stuff from chef Joel Watanabe.

 

Bao Bei (www.bao-bei.ca) is tucked away at 163 Keefer Street, not Pender, which is the main street in Chinatown. It’s also not far from Main and Hastings, the notorious corner where Vancouver’s drug culture is on cringe-inducing display.

 

“Again, location doesn’t matter as long as the food is good. You can see they’re packed, so word is getting out,” Vikram says of Bao Bei, whose name means “treasure” or “precious”. “And you can see from the sign it’s called a ‘Chinese brasserie’. That’s saying something about where they want to go and it takes some guts to do this kind of food.”

 

We finished the night at Chambar, the Belgian restaurant that opened a few years ago and has turned into a favourite in town. Along with great mussels and scallops, Chambar has an outstanding beer selection and brews its own ale and lager.

 

As you’d expect with a local celebrity, wherever Vikram goes there are plenty of people who wave and come over to shake hands. The front-of-house staff at the restaurants are happy to see him and chefs drop by the table, eager to hear what he thinks.

 

“Vancouver isn’t like other cities. We all support each other, we all want to see each other’s restaurants do well,” says Vikram, whose own establishments — Vij’s and Rangoli — continue to do amazing business. Waits are now three hours for a table at Vij’s and about an hour at Rangoli. Both restaurants (www.vijs.ca) are on 11^th Street, just off of Granville.

 

Vikram will be moving to a new 2,400-square-foot location on Cambie Street soon, allowing him to meet the demand.

 

In the meantime, he has a new cookbook (“Vij’s at Home”, co-written with wife and chef Meeru Dhalwala) that’s already sold thousands of copies in Canada, and he is helping to set up the second annual Canadian Chefs’ Congress, which takes place in Duncan, B.C., on Sept. 11-12. Some of the nation’s leading chefs from each province and territory will cook for 500 invited guests and select media members.

Great stuff, Adrian. Thanks. And now, back to your regularly scheduled blogger, Jim Byers.

NEW YORK FASHION DEALS

NYC & Company, New York City's marketing, tourism and partnership organization, announces more than 40 NYC hotel properties are offering Fashion’s Night Out packages during the month of September

Deals include discounted room rates, gift cards, continental breakfast, complimentary cocktails, Fashion’s Night Out clothing items and canvas tote bags for shopping sprees on September 10. Some of the hotels participating in the City celebration include 6 Columbus, Fashion 26, Hudson New York, Paramount Hotel New York and the Mandarin Oriental, New York

In an effort to increase visitation and consumer participation in the Fashion’s Night Out fashion show on September 7 at Lincoln Center and the citywide shopping event on September 10, varying special offers will start September 1 and run until September 30.

Not that you needed another reason to go to New York, but there's also the newly opened Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC hotel. Some of you may have heard of the Gansevoort down in the meatpacking district, with its cool rooftop bar. This is a new Gansevoort up at 29th and Park, on the edge of the quiet but well-located Murray Hill area.

The p.r. folks tell me it's 20 storeys with "249 elegant, generously-sized guestrooms averaging 475 square feet with loft ceilings, and 37 suites ranging from 560 to 1,550 square feet, many with balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows."

Just be prepared: introductory rates at Gansevoort Park Avenue will start at $395 USD per night from August 26 to September 7. After September 7, 2010, the rates at Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC will start from $495 USD per night.

BLUE RODEO ROCKS

This has very little to do with travel, but I guess I could point out that the band is in Vancouver this weekend. Anyway, I caught Blue Rodeo's Molson Ampitheatre Show at Ontario Place Thursday night, and it was awesome.

The keyboard player, Michael Boguski, was spectacular all night, but especially during a raucous version of crowd favourite "Five Days in May." He really pounds the keyboards. And I've always loved drummer Glenn Milchem's work; powerful yet also restrained when required.

The usual singalong to Greg Keelor's "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" was wonderful, and Jim Cuddy did some real rocking out on his guitar. It's a shame we haven't heard bassist extraordinaire Bazil Donovan croon of late, but there's always next year.

My wife and I have now seen these guys 20 or 25 times. We kinda lost count, but we started going around 1988 and make it a regular show at the ampitheatre and at Massey Hall, where we always order the second seats go on sale and usually get the second or third row. Insanely great shows.

It was funny to see several elderly folks with canes at a rock concert, as well as a few kids. The group in front of me featured a boy of about 10 with two adults in their late 20's or early 30's, plus an older guy who turned out to be former CFNY deejay Don Burns! They had a fabulous time, bopping and rocking all night long.

If you've never seen Blue Rodeo, you're missing a group of real Canadian icons. There's not a more passionate, tuneful, musically talented and enjoyable band on the planet.

Now, if I can only get Jim Cuddy to call and tell me about his favourite travel spots I'd really be in heaven....I'd even buy him a glass of his favourite red wine.