Fort Lauderdale - Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Up until I went to Florida, I thought the Hard Rock was just a restaurant chain. Boy was I wrong. On my last night in Fort Lauderdale in February, some local friends of mine took me out for "ladies night" at a club within the massive complex that is the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The thing is like a miniature city unto itself. Tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, theaters, billiard halls, and more than one hotel and casino mind you. Plus a big lake with pretty lit up fountains (the above picture doesn't really do it justice). Of course, it wasn't as flashy as someplace like Vegas but it was so much more than I expected. I honestly don't even remember what club we went to (maybe Pangaea?) because I was just so in awe the whole night of the craziness that was surrounding me. I had also never been in a casino before, so that was cool to see but I didn't end up finding the time to gamble (I was too busy drinking for free and dancing my butt off!).

And even though the whole place is maybe a little cheesy/over-the-top, I'd still recommend it (especially if the clubs have a lady's night for you ladies out there because then you can drink for free!) and I had so much fun!

Ft. Lauderdale - The Embassy Suites

If you can afford it, I have to recommend The Embassy Suites if you find yourself staying in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I've always been a fan of Embassy Suites hotels in general but this one is particularly gorgeous, with a beautiful garden court in the center of the building (where you can eat your continental breakfast and have free drinks from 5-7pm), a lovely heated swimming pool and hot tub with palm trees to shade you from the sun and a sort of pueblo-style architecture with warm colors and stucco. The one downside is that the hotel doesn't have free wi-fi (and I find it utterly riciculous that they want you to pay $10/day on top of what you're already paying for your room just for wireless internet). I spent a great deal of time by that pool though because of the lack of wireless, so perhaps it wasn't the end of the world (though I had hoped to get more work done while on my trip). And the pool was nice and empty because it was February and there was a "cold front" (ie it was only 67 degrees F, but that was way warmer than the -2 it was here in NYC and the sun kept me nice and warm).

The Miami Seaquarium

I have to admit that when we first decided to go to the Miami Seaquarium, I thought it would be cheesy and I thought I would feel sad for the animals. It was a little cheesy and maybe I did even feel a little sad for the animals (not to mention it was EXPENSIVE) but overall I thought it was actually quite cool. The dolphins seemed pretty content (they're fed quite well, probably much better than dolphins eat in the wild). We saw the sea lion show and the Orca show. Plus we got to see the bottle nose dolphins being fed. The shows were definitely a little cheesy but still really fun. The seal show was by far the cheesiest, but it was cute. The orca show was actually pretty cool - I was always obsessed with whales and dolphins growing up and orca's were my favorite so it was pretty awesome for me to see one up close and personal like that. And he seemed to be treated well although his tank did seem kind of small for a creature of his magnificent size.

Overall, I would say it was worth the cost of admission, especially if you're obsessed with whales and dolphins like me. In the end, this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

Louisville, KY - The Bourbon Trail

I spent less than 48 hours in KY back in August, but we packed it full of activities. My favorite of the activities was the Maker's Mark distillery tour, which is part of a much bigger Bourbon Trail (not actually in Louisville but an hour or less of a drive away). Something along the lines of 95% of the world's bourbon is made in Kentucky. I won't give away too much of the Bourbon making process, but it's quite amazing. First off, the Maker's Mark distillery tour is completely free (which I really didn't believe at first). The tour guide was so nice and informative. Second off, at Maker's Mark, everything is done by hand in surprisingly small batches, and each batch takes 5 or so years to complete. There's so much science to it, which was really interesting to learn and you get to see all the steps first hand.

At the end of the tour, you get free tastings (if you're over 21) of the bourbon at two different stages. I'm not much of a bourbon drinker myself, but it was interesting to taste it after learning about it. And if you want, you can buy a bottle to dip in wax yourself, which is pretty cool (I bought the really small bottle because I don't intend on ruining the wax that I dipped by opening the bottle and drinking it since I don't even like bourbon...).

If you have time, stop in nearby Bardstown on your way there or back. It's a very cute historic little town. There are carriage rides (though it was raining so we didn't partake in that), adorable old style restaurants and pubs and some awesome boutiques (I bought myself the cutest clutch wallet at Izzy's Boutique).

Louisville, KY - Buck's Restaurant

For dinner my one night in Louisville, we went to this very nice restaurant, Buck's. The atmosphere is great - they have a live piano player singing old classics and it's a very elegant looking restaurant. We got there earlier than our reservation so we sat at the bar for a little while. The bartender was nice and recommended different types of bourbon to my boyfriend (since we had just come from the Maker's Mark distillery, he had Bourbon on the brain). There are free Andes mints at the bar and by the door (not the cheap red and white candies that most restaurants have). The food was delicious - I had the Bourbon Pecan Chicken (stuffed with brie cheese, yummy!) and my boyfriend had the Breast of Duck Hoisin (though I'm still not sure what hoisin sauce is). For dessert we split whatever was the most chocolatey item on their menu (their dessert menu isn't listed on their website so I forget what it was called). It was all quite delicious and attractively served. The service was good, everyone was quite pleasant. They even called a cab for us to get to our next location (we didn't drive so that we could share a bottle of wine).

For some reason, most of the patrons of the restaurant seemed to be over 50 and I kept thinking that the young people in Louisville are clearly missing out, (so don't let that deter you if you're younger - I'm 23 and my boyfriend is 26 and we very much enjoyed it). I highly recommend this place and it was one of the highlights of my (very short) trip.

Louisville, KY - 4th Street Live

I was only in Louisville for one night, but I managed to have a blast at this little semi-outdoor, slightly cheesy but overall fun, mall complex called 4th Street Live. Located in Downtown Louisville, there are bars, restaurants, a comedy club, dance clubs, etc. First we hit up the comedy club and saw Ralphie May from Last Comic Standing. I have to say, it was interesting to me what people in KY find funny versus here in NY. They were definitely not so comfortable with some of the more politically incorrect humor. But it was still a hilarious show all around and I had a lot of fun. There is a 2 item (food OR drink) minimum (on top of the tickets, which were $25), which I find a tad bit ridiculous. But the margaritas were good, and overall I'd say it was worth it.

Next we went dancing at a club in the complex, the name of which I forget (those 2 Margaritas from the comedy club went straight to my head!). I have to say, the club wasn't really my scene. People in Louisville dress to impress at these clubs apparently, so I felt kind of out of place in my tank top and jeans while everyone else was wearing mini-skirts and tube tops with their hair all done up. Plus it was mostly top 40 rap, which I'm not a big fan of. But for those of you who like to get all tarted up and go dance on tables/poles to P Diddy, 4th Street Live seems to have at least a few options. And I didn't hate it. I just didn't love it. All in all, it was a fun night.

Oh, and one final note: if you happen to be in the military or be with a date who is in the military (seems to me as if most of Kentucky is involved with the military in one way or another), you can get free cover or discounted cover at a lot of these places. Just make sure you ask for their military discount!

Things You Should Know: Salt Lake City

As you hopefully know, Salt Lake City (and Utah in general) is made up predominantly of Mormons and so the laws very much reflect that. For example, their alcohol laws. There aren't "bars" because serving alcohol publicly is illegal. Instead there are "private clubs." The catch is, anyone can go into most of these "private clubs." But you have to pay an annoying "membership" fee. I think you may also have to pay a "membership fee" to drink at restaurants but my memory isn't so strong on that point because I was there on business and so most of our meals were paid for. Restaurants do serve alcohol, but they card quite strictly, so if you're under 21, don't count on drinking while you're there. But if you are old enough to drink, try some of the Polygamy Porter! (yes, that is really a beer)

Secondly (and probably most importantly) is that all the roads are named in relation to the temple. It's a bit confusing at first because 200 South runs East/West and 800 West runs North/South. Sometimes (particularly on Google Maps) they're listed as S 200 E, which makes it seem even more confusing. You have to ignore the first letter because that's just telling you you're going South on the road, so it's just going South on 200 East. It all makes sense, however, when you understand that 200 South means you're 2 blocks South of the Temple. and 800 West means you're 8 blocks west. Of course, blocks seem to get bigger and bigger the further out of the center of the city that you get, and the blocks have since been broken up so you get blocks like 4370 East. And some of the streets have names (though you will almost always see the number written below it).

Lastly, if you tour the Mormon temple grounds (which isn't as interesting as I'd hoped it would be because you're not really allowed to see anything) DO NOT give them your personal information unless you actually want them to contact you (because they will. for the rest of your life.). But do try to catch the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is quite impressive. And if you're as lucky as I was, maybe there will be a temple opening somewhere in Utah while you're there (which is entirely possible since the Mormon population in Utah continues to grow and so they are built there occasionally to relieve other overflowing temples), definitely go tour a temple. Non-Mormons are not allowed in the temple (hence why the SLC temple tour wasn't very interesting) except for during the few weeks before it is consecrated and opened. Of course, because of the fact that I'm not allowed there, it was one of my life goals to see the inside of a Mormon temple and I was thrilled to find out that one was opening in Draper, not 20 minutes away (that's what the picture is from above). It's interesting to see the rooms where they perform things like "baptism of the dead" and their family "sealing" ceremonies (ie a couple gets married and are "sealed" to each other for eternity or new children who are born are "sealed" to their parents for eternity, etc). But I think you have to have a natural curiosity for religion like me in order to really find this stuff interesting.

The best way to see Salt Lake City

When I went to Salt Lake City for the first time in May of 2008 on a business trip (to film for a documentary), I was in awe of the mountains (it was my first time seeing real mountains in person). So naturally, my favorite memories from that trip were the ones in which we got some lovely views of them from on high.

Our second to last day we went to the Sundance Institute (an hour or so outside of SLC) and took the ski lift to the top (we're not wusses, we were just short on time so we didn't hike it). The views were amazing. It was also my first time being at that altitude and I made the mistake of running up part of the rest of the mountain, and could hardly breath. But the views were breathtaking. And the drive was beautiful too (the drive between Park City and Ogden at the Sundance Film Festival was equally gorgeous and one of the only positive things about that trip). If you're there in the non-skiing season, it's definitely worth taking the lifts to the top just for the views. You can also use the lifts to bring mountain bikes to the top and bike down.

Our last morning in Salt Lake City, one of the people we were filming took us up in his small 4-seater private plane. We flew around the mountains, dipping and swaying with their peeks (not for the weak of stomach mind you) and over the Great Salt Lake, which was so much more amazing than I expected it to be. We got to see Promontory Point, wild bison, old Native American caves, the Spiral Jetty (totally underwhelming btw), salt mines, red and orange water (different minerals in different parts of the water). It was seriously such an amazing experience and I got to see parts of the lake that I never would've otherwise. So if you can hire a pilot to fly you around Salt Lake City, do it. It would be expensive, yes (although probably not as expensive as you're imagining if you do it in a small plane for 4 people or less), but I think it's worth it. The best things that Salt Lake City has to offer you are its natural wonders, some of which would take days of hiking or hours of driving uninhabited dirt roads or boating through dangerously shallow waters to see. And some of which can only be seen from above. As proof, the slide show:

Why I will never again attend the Sundance Film Festival

This past January, I went to the Sundance Film Festival and I decided that I will never attend again unless I have a film playing in the festival. Here's why:

1. It's totally disorganized and completely confusing - everything from buying tickets to getting to the theater is incredibly confusing. Most volunteers didn't seem to know up from down (though they were all quite friendly and tried their best to help you). The online ticketing process is complicated and obnoxious. They don't tell you where the theaters are, so if you don't know that the Egyptian theater and the Egyptian theater- Ogden, are two different things and that Ogden is an HOUR or more away from Park City (though it is a beautiful drive), you make the mistake of buying tickets that have exactly an hour between shows thinking you can get there and then have to frantically sell them like a sketchy scalper on the streets. They also lost my freaking industry credentials, so it took me all day to sort that out (the only good thing about the whole situation was that they are so disorganized that they didn't charge me for them so I saved $100 - which is good since it turns out that the credentials don't get you much anyway).

2. You can't party. Period. Unless you're at least somewhat famous, you just can't get into any of the parties. You can't even go to a bar and hang out with your friends because all the bars are being used for private parties. Every single one of them (I suppose Utah liquor license rules don't help that). Really, it sucked. I even have so crazy amazing connections to the Utah film scene and I still couldn't get myself on any lists (or well, supposedly I was supposed to be on one but when I got there, we weren't).

3. It's freaking expensive. Tickets to the shows are $15, plus every single one that you buy online (which you basically have to buy them all online if you want to see anything good at a convenient time) has something along the lines of a $3 "convenience" charge. So that's $18 per movie.

4. The bus system sucks. You can't park in Park City, so they tell you to take the buses - but then the buses aren't running when you need them (screenings start as early as 8am at some places, to which you're supposed to arrive early, but then the buses don't even start running until 8am) or they take 20 minutes to arrive and you're standing in the FREEZING COLD. Plus you have to pay to park at all the park 'n' rides. And if you have to go to Salt Lake City or Ogden, well then forget it because that means you have to take a bus to your car and then drive a bunch.

The one and only good thing I will say about Sundance is that the movies were good. In fact, most of them were great. I only saw one that I didn't like. Most of them are now coming out in theaters, and I'm really excited about that. It will give me a chance to see the ones I didn't get to see and a chance to brag about already having seen the ones I did. But even the bragging rights doesn't make it worth it when I can see them all later in the year for $12 instead of $18 (plus the plane ticket, car rental and whatnot).

Welcome to Guilt Free Pleasures - Travel edition

Welcome to Guilt Free Pleasures - Travel. This blog was started in relation to the music blog I write, Guilt Free Pleasures. This blog is predominantly a travel blog, but for the times when I am not traveling (which unfortunately is a lot of the time), I will write about past travels and cool things to do in New York City (where I live) or Minneapolis (where I grew up).