FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 17, 2010 -> 02:43 PM) Reading is fundamental.... Or. . . in this case is that fundaMETAL!??

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 17, 2010 -> 02:33 PM) Is Westminster Abbey a place that you tour or more that you look at for a bit? Want to get an idea of how much time to set aside for some of this stuff (I'm also reading around online) as I try to design my full itinerary. Also are there anythings that are recommended for at night or daytime (i.e., that are much better at night or during the day). Maybe a romantic place for a sunset or anything along those lines. I know we are going to do Bath and a few other places during one day trip. And than also do a tour of the city in a double-decker bus (plus a river tour). Outside of that I assume there is enough stuff to see within the city that I should stay there (we are there for 4 days). Basically 1 day trip, 3 days in the city. I was thinking of getting tickets to wicked (found some discounted ones) and I've never seen it and am not usually an artsy fartsy guy but I think it would be a fun thing to do. Yeah, Westminster is a place to tour inside and out. Depending on how into architectural grandeur ypu are, you could spend anywhere from 45 minutes to half a day there. Westminster is in the West End, so you have Soho and lots of entertainment in the area. Places like Avebury and Stonehenge you have to do in the day. I can't recommend Avebury enough; it's huge, totally dwarfing Stinehenge. The largest stone ring actually encircles the village of Avebury. Plus you can still walk among the stones unlike at Stonehenge.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2010 -> 01:08 PM) Out of curiosity, is there any kind of market for Beatles type tours? Yeah, there is some of that in London — EMI Abbey Road Studios, etc. — but not as much as there is in Liverpool where the Beatles are still pretty much their biggest export.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 17, 2010 -> 08:17 AM) Doesn't that begin what could be the greatest commercial art sale ever? I believe he kept all the original Conan paintings. When I was looking at paintings that have sold for $1,000,000 and up, I was surprised to see his name. No telling how much his heirs stand to make. interesting story there, including the part where Frank Frazetta Jr. tried swiping nearly 100 original pieces from the family holdings.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 17, 2010 -> 11:35 AM) While in London, what are the key things to see/do based upon people's personal experiences? Same question about Paris? You pretty much have to do the touristy history stuff. Parliment, Tower of London, Clock Tower, Tower Bridge (which isn't the London Bridge as most people think), changing or the guard at the palace, Piccadilly Circus, double-decker bus tour, Westminster Abbey, pubbing and clubbing in Soho. . . and drinking as much Real Ale as you can while the getting's good.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 17, 2010 -> 09:54 AM) Yes I have. I've been all over western europe (minus the Iberian Peninsula). I lived in Stuttgart for 3 years. Brussels just has nothing to do there. They have a couple famous statues, Mannekan Pis and Hannekin Pis (I'm sure i butchered the spellings) but aside from that it's a boring city. Bruges is kinda considered the "Venice of Northern Europe". It's a much prettier city, but again, if you'd rather have more of an experience, it'd be worth it in my opinion to spend an extra day in the Netherlands (Rotterdam, The Hague), eastern France (Strasbourg, Loire Valley) or do something in Germany (Ruhr Valley or the Rhineland). I have yet to make the Belgium pilgrimage, but advising that it's ok to just give the place a miss sounds like advice from a non-beer person. How can you not go to the Disneyland of beer if you have the opportunity?!??

QUOTE (knightni @ May 16, 2010 -> 11:20 PM) Wow. Frank Frazetta died on the 10th. I hadn't seen that at all. He had a lot of health issues in the last several years I know.

You don't have much time I know, and I love London but I'd urge you to get out into some of the rest of Great Britain as well. Bath, Avebury, Salisbury, Stonehenge, York, etc., are all a short BritRail ride from London and it's a completely diferent feel, lots of history, good pub life, etc.

I think they're pretty funny. RIP Dio and all due respect, but He if he was a willing self parody in the Tenacious D movie he must have had a decent sense of humor about it all.

Nice to hear the Wimparoo tonight!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 14, 2010 -> 09:36 AM) I think it's now fair to say that the worst case scenario has moved from "A couple of Exxon's" to "The entire reservoir drains into the gulf". Balta, is there any idea what the size of this reservoir is?

QUOTE (DBAHO @ May 13, 2010 -> 11:19 AM) If you're making a trilogy of films, the 2nd film is pretty much the hardest because you're setting up plot points for the 3rd film, and it's just never going to live up to expectations of the 1st film. That said, if you look at a history of film trilogy's, there have been some pretty damn good 2nd films over the years. I think Godfather part II, Empire Strikes Back, and the LOTR Two Towers were all better than the first installments — all of which were outstanding in their own right.

QUOTE (Cali @ May 13, 2010 -> 01:11 AM) And I hate you.... To be fair though, I hate "downtown" LA. It's the worst downtown in the history of downtowns. Hollywood is really not that interesting I don't think, but some folks find it interesting, all in all Hollywood is pretty dirty, is the best word I could use to describe it. At the very least just take a drive up the sunset strip if you're into rock n roll history and see some of the clubs (Whisky, Roxy, House of Blues/The Riot House) Universal Studios blows, Disneyland, while expensive is waaaaay worth it and Anaheim isn't that far, and if you get on the 5 at like 10am on a weekday it only takes about 45 mins to get there from the Valley. San Diego is NOT a hour away from Los Angeles. Santa Monica is really nice, the pier and promenade are musts. West LA in general is a pretty cool area. Burbank has a lot of studios if that interests you (Warner Bros, Disney, NBC and technically Universal Studios is in Universal City but it's literally right across the street from Warner Bros.) Don't go on the 405. (I have to every morning...it blows) The Whisky would be a great rock pilgrimage. I made sure to do CBGB the first time I spent time in NYC, but I was also able to catch a good show there (NRBQ) so it was a no-brainer. Really, I agree about Hollywood being pretty rundown and dirty on the whole. My wife hasn't been so I know we'll have to do that stuff and I'm concerned she's going to be fairly underwhelmed. That's why I'm hitting you all up for some good suggestions.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:50 PM) Too bad you aren't going to SF. As a bootlegger you should check out Alcatraz. Another trip perhaps, since it's another place I want to play around in.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 12, 2010 -> 10:44 PM) Petersen Automotive Museum Philippe's (first french dip sandwich ever) Of course, http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/los-angeles/index.htm The French dip origin is still up in the air. Cole's claims to have 8 years on Philippe's. May have to try both. Ans several of those bars are on the hit list. Not the she-she poser bars, but the serious cocktail destinations.

Anybody ever been to the Tiki-Ti? Of course this is a top priority for the visit. Also will be on the lookout for any package liquor stores that sell the nearly impossible to find Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum, in case any of you have spied it in your wanderings.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 12, 2010 -> 04:03 PM) If I wasn't out in Indy for business, I'd tell you we'd have to catch a game or have a beer together. That would be cool — another time. QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 12, 2010 -> 05:22 PM) The place that invented the french dip sandwich is in downtown LA, cant remember the name. That's Cole's which is where the Varnish cocktail bar is, so it will certainly be a stop. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2010 -> 05:54 PM) Taking the wife for a walk down the 3rd street promenade and Rodeo drive is nice. There's also the LaBrea tar pits and a museum next door to it that interested me. Yeah, I've wanted to go to the tar pits since I was like 10 years old, so it will be fun to finally do that. Thanks for all the good suggestions. California folks. Keep them coming.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 12, 2010 -> 03:55 PM) I hope you aren't flying in to LAX, ugh. Indeed I am. One of my least favorite airports as well, but usually I've just been on layover.

QUOTE (longshot7 @ May 12, 2010 -> 03:38 PM) Good restaurants: Bossa Nova (Brazilian) on Sunset and also Robertson. BJ's Pizza in Westwood and also Burbank. lots of good sushi places too. As for sights, apart from touristy things, see the Griffith Observatory and the LA County Museum of Art (on Wilshire). Worth it. The Griffith is at the top of my list ‚ an not just because I'm a Rebel Without a Cause fan. It's a museum conference I'm going to and a behind the scenes at teh Griffith and the Natural History Museum is on the itinerary. Any cocktilians been to the Varnish yet? It's a vintage cocktail bar tucked inside a room at the back of Cole's and it looks unbelievably good.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 12, 2010 -> 03:16 PM) If you want some argentinian food, go to this place called lala's jim. Its real good. I'll write up something more descript for you. Yumm. Good beef I assume? Anybody ever go to the Stinking Rose out there? Interesting looking garlic themed restaurant.

We have the theme parke here, sure, but Disneyland still has some allure as the first one with some history. Probably no time to hit it though. San Diego we might be able to pull off. Anybody have any thoughts on Catalina Island? Mariners are in town to play the Angels while we're there, but probably going to pass due to time constraints.

Get rid of the "clean" coal technology investment and most of that sounds pretty good.

Heading to LA next weekend for a conference and then a mini vacation with Mrs. FlaSoxx. My to do list is filled up with museums, food, and cocktail bars, but I assume there's a thng or two on my list I might be missing. Thinking about doing a day and maybe an overnight on Catalina, the standard tourist bus and/or walking tours, Hollywood hills, Rodeo Drive, etc. What else should we consider hitting? We're there for 8 days and though I'm in a conference for the first half of that I have evenings free to play. Thanks for any insights.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 12, 2010 -> 06:40 AM) technically speaking you calling blasphemy is kind of like Rush complaining about drug cartels. I left the South Side. The Blasphemer is talking about the Sox leaving the South Side.