Le Reve at the Wynn

We're in Vegas, so of course we had to go and see a show.

We chose "Le Reve," which is playing at The Wynn.

The theater is round. Seats circle a pool of water. The water is the stage.

The performers do synchronized swimming and diving and, and, and . . . and oh my gosh! So many other things!

Like falling out of a black hole way up over head and dropping into the water while doing acrobatic moves that I can't even begin to describe.

I spent the show in a terrified state of awe.

Terrified because I was horrified at the danger level of the stunts I saw being performed.

Awestruck because I had never ever in my life witnessed such a display of color and motion.

There was so much going on that most of the time, I had no idea what to look at. I felt like I had ADD of the eyeballs.

We felt uber lucky to have scored the seats we did. We were seated in row 1 -- and they were the cheap seats!

Row 1 and 2 are considered the "Splash Zone." Because the stage is water, and the show is a lot of diving, we were told that we should expect to get wet.

We decided to go for it, though, as how often do you get to sit front row at a Vegas show? If getting wet was part of the deal, we figured we'd just end up with a story to tell.

Our story? I got splashed twice. And both times, by mere droplets, which was sooooooooo worth the front row seats!

Wish I'd Won This!

I'd never have the guts to play this slot machine. But it looks like whoever did, walked away a winner!

Looking Up in Las Vegas

Arrived in sunny Las Vegas for a long weekend.

So far, I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything other than the decor.

These casinos are beautiful, although quite ostentatious.

It took so much money to create these indoor wonderlands . . . if I stop to think about it too long I find it rather off-putting.

And so...I'm taking pictures instead.

My eyesight keeps shifting between the lighting displays and the itty-bitty, teeny tiny dresses walking by.

I think it's probably safer to snap pictures of the lights...

Both of these were shot inside the Palazzo, which is part of the Venetian.

Mui Ne Photo Gallery

GoNomad recently posted a photo gallery/article I wrote about my stay along the South China Sea in a town called Mui Ne in Vietnam.

Check it out!

Mui Ne, Vietnam: A Photo Gallery

Stopping to Smell Flowers with Basho

One of the joys
of travel -- rare
talk about an iris.

Matsuo Basho

I have discovered the writings of Matsuo Basho, the original haiku master, and oh, what joy!

Who could imagine, that in 2009, a gal in Minneapolis would be reading these teeny poems penned by an dude who lived in Japan during the 1600s?

But Basho was not just any dude. He was a dude after my own soul -- he was a traveler.

He packed up all his belongings and hit the road, walking across all of Japan. More than once! And his haiku chronicle his journey.

I especially like this haiku about the iris. He's right. Travel has the power to pull you outside of yourself. Because you're not at home, following convention, travel gives you permission to stare at a flower, talk about it, take its picture and smell it with utter abandon.

Here's a flower picture I snapped in Bangkok. Not an iris, but the purple color reminded me of one...

Smart Talking Diane Keaton

This week I attended the last of this year's Smart Talk events in Minneapolis.

The speaker for this go around was Diane Keaton.

When Ms. Keaton stepped out on stage, a wild noise of applause filled the air. The audience was thrilled to see Ms. Keaton herself, but I think most of the joy was over her skirt -- a flouncy, bouncy, chic and totally glamorous white and black polka-dot print.

She told us in the course of the night that she'd gotten the skirt for free as part of her work on a L'Oreal campaign. It was Dolce & Gabbana.

Ms. Keaton talked on several subjects. Yet she always seemed to come back around to memory and how important it is for her, and for all of us really, to document our personal lives in whatever medium fits us best -- home movies, photo albums, scrap books, journals, etc.

In the course of her talk, these were some of the things she said that stuck out at me:

"Vibrancy has to do with being curious, not youth."

"Perfection is the death of creativity."

"A memory is when your heart takes a picture."

Photo courtesy of Smart Talk.

The Art of Chicken Husbandry

This story was published this week. It's about an area working/educational farm that is offering a class on how to raise chickens in your backyard.

Did you know that you could raise chickens in your backyard? In the city?

I didn't, but now I do.

I don't think, though, that it's a hobby I'll take on.

For now, my two dogs are enough!

But if you want to investigate the idea, take a look at my story:

The Art of Chicken Husbandry

Photo by Mark Trockman

Day in Life of Co-op Buyer

I had a fun time writing this article.

It's a piece focused on the theme "a day in a life of".

I interviewed a woman who is a buyer for a co-op grocery store.

After talking with her, I was a bit overwhelmed. And I thought I had a lot of things to juggle.

Read the article:

A Day in the Life of a Co-op Buyer

Photo (c) The Mix

Shuang Cheng Walleye

Hubby's favorite place to eat in all of Minneapolis is a Chinese spot called Shuang Cheng.

It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall place. It's not really a dive, but it's certainly not swanky. It is, however, really really really good food.

The restaurant is in Dinky Town, a small retail neighborhood on the University of Minnesota campus.

One of my favorite things to eat there is the walleye with black bean sauce.

If you're not familiar with a "walleye" it's just about the best fresh water fish ever. Minnesotans love their walleye and now that fishing season is officially here, walleye fever is in full swing.

A recent article I wrote for a local publication was little more than a list of walleye recipes.

And in one month, I will be taking a trip to northern Minnesota to try my own hand at walleye fishing. I'll write about it all, of course, for GoNomad.

But even if I manage to snag a big one, I don't think I'll be able to bring it home and deep fry it whole like they do at Shuang Cheng.

Parking Meters in Excelsior, MN

Here's a slice of Minnesota . . .

I recently snapped this shot in the town of Excelsior, which is a western suburb of Minneapolis.

Excelsior sits on the banks of Lake Minnetonka. The lake is a prime boating destination and Excelsior is a fun place to stroll. The town has a quaint downtown with shops, wine bars and coffee shops. Boaters on the lake like to stop there for a snack or potty break.

That snack or potty break will cost you some of your spare change, though. A string of parking meters on the city's public docks regulates boat parking.

There is a two-hour limit and the meters are checked from 8 am to 1 am, seven days a week, including holidays.

Paris by Night in St. Paul

Before I married Hubby, and consequently into the Vietnamese community, I had no idea what these words meant: Paris By Night.

Paris By Night is the name of a stage show performed in Vietnamese. It includes singing, dancing and comedy skits. The show is always emceed by the same male-female duo.

Even though all the performers are Vietnamese and all the acts are in Vietnamese, ever since the fall of Saigon, the show has been produced outside of Vietnam.

It plays to sold out crowds in California and tours the United States stopping in cities with a large Vietnamese community.

Every time the show is performed, it is video taped and turned into a DVD. My mother-in-law owns rows upon rows of Paris By Night DVDs and I've spent several hours lounging on her couch with Paris By Night playing in the background.

In fact, I've been to house parties, wedding showers, baby showers and more where Paris By Night is running on the TV background.

If you've never seen or heard of Paris By Night, the thing you most need to understand about it is that

1) It takes place almost entirely in Vietnamese

2) It is dramatic -- lights, make-up, fancy dresses, high heels, dancers, emotionally-wrought duos and ballads.

3) It goes on forever -- as in FIVE HOURS!

And this weekend I successfully sat through my very first LIVE Paris By Night performance.

The Paris By Night show came to Minneapolis-St. Paul. Hubby and I went, along with a bunch of his relatives.

Most of the singers were really very very very good. Even though I don't understand Vietnamese, their voices were incredibly powerful and stunning.

But . . . five hours is just too long to sit still and listen to a show.

I feel like I passed some sort of cultural milestone by going and hearing and making it through the whole darn thing, yet I think that will probably be the last live Paris By Night performance I attend!

Rollerskate at Roller Gardens

How hilarious is this? I went roller skating!

Friday nights are "21 And Over" at Roller Garden. All night long, the tunes are "Old School Funk and Disco."

I used to go roller skating at Roller Garden when I was in elementary school, and I was floored to find out this site of my wholesome, girlhood fun is now a Friday night hot spot for adults.

There were some seriously dedicated and talented roller skaters out there groovin' on the rink.

I, though, was not one of them. I remember that I used to be able to do a "crossover," skate backwards and even "shoot the duck."

No more. But I did get a work out! Gee whiz! Roller skating is hard work!

Che Spotting on World Hum

Big News!!!

Che Spotting is the feature story on World Hum today!

This is so very exciting! I've been a World Hum reader since its early days, back before it was bought by The Travel Channel.

I can't hardly believe that my new web site, Che Spotting, made front page news! Or front page, online travel news!

Read the article here:

Che Spotting Interview on World Hum

The Fairy's Garden

Now that the snow is gone, I'm looking at my yard and thinking it needs some help.

Landscaping. Flower pots. A space for some tomato plants would be nice.

Maybe I should also clear a spot for a "Fairy Garden."

What's a Fairy Garden?

It's a miniature garden complete with tiny houses, tiny pathways, tiny shrubs and tiny fountains populated by tiny gnomes, tiny bunnies and tiny fairies.

A Fairy Garden is necessary, I've learned, in order to keep pesky fairies from messing up your life -- or at least that's what Kathryn Swenson told me.

Swenson started a company called The Fairy Garden that makes all the fairy accessories you might need to create a Fairy Garden in your own backyard.

My article about her was recently released. If you'd like to read it, check out Fairy Tales.

Or you could visit her web site, The Fairy Garden.

My Best Feature? Sexy Brain

I snapped this shot at the Humane Society Walk for the Animals over the weekend.

Where can I get one of these shirts?

Walking in Theodore Wirth Park

Finally, the weekend weather was gorgeous in Minneapolis.

It was a jam-packed time of being outside, being active and being with friends.

On Saturday I participated in the Walk for Animals, a fundraiser for the Humane Society.

Roughly 8,000 people showed up with their dogs, cats, billy goats, ponies, ferrets, hamsters and guinea pigs (I even spotted a man with a monkey!) to complete a five-mile circuit.

The walk wound through Theodore Wirth Park, a 700-plus acre swath of green at the edge of downtown Minneapolis.

The park includes an 18-hole golf course, a wildflower garden, picnic pavilions and a swimming beach.

The air was warm and the general atmosphere couldn't have been more genial.

Everyone was pumped to be outside soaking up sun, getting some exercise and doing some good.

The only thing better than the sun was the people -- er -- animal watching.

A dog with a pink hair? Another wearing a long, blond wig?

Yes and yes.

Plus dogs in tutus, dogs in sweaters, dogs in sunglasses, dogs in strollers, dogs in Baby-Bjorns.

Anyone remember that children's book Go Dog Go?

The entire event was like a page straight out of it!

Elizabeth Peyton: Live Forever @ Walker

Now that spring has finally arrived in Minneapolis, I want to be out of the house.

A day at the Walker Art Museum is always a curious way to pass some time. The Walker is all about "modern" art, which means a lot flies over my head.

But right now, and through mid-June, there is an exhibit at the Walker called "Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton."

It is all paintings by a contemporary American painter named Elizabeth Peyton.

Most of her work was close up portraits of people. Many were quite small -- the size of a coffee table book or even a dictionary.

This one really caught my eye. It wasn't a full on portrait and it showed a scene I can totally relate to right now.

Oh, to be chilling in the bright sun with a big body of water glistening in the background while I read, or sketch, or whatever . . .

Soon. Soon. Summer is coming.

Bank on Bank for Good Food in Minneapolis

I'd been wanting to eat at a restaurant called Bank in Minneapolis.

It opened about a year ago, but I just hadn't made my way there. Now that the sun is shining and spring appears to have arrived in the Twin Cities, I've been feeling the need to get out of the house and into the city. And so I made a lunch date with Bank.

The restaurant gets its name from its historic location. The building it is in was built in 1941 and was the Farmers & Mechanics Bank.

A few years back, the building was gutted and turned into a hotel. Now it is the Minneapolis Westin.

The restaurant is in the hotel's lobby, but it is also in the space that used to be the bank lobby, and it feels like a bank when you walk in -- an old-money sort of bank.

The decor is rich and earthy, lots of wood, lots of windows, and impressive, funky chandeliers that look like huge pineapples.

The old teller counter is still there. Now, instead of withdrawing money there, though, you can sit at the teller bar and sip a cocktail while watching the action going on in the kitchen.