Weekend Plans

So Vegas... Only a few hours but still enough evidence to suggest the trashiest, cheesiest, corniest and yet probably least disingenuous place on Earth. There is no pretension, no ambiguity, nothing that isn't clearly marked on the tin. There was one point when we were walking through what looked like a massive indoor shopping mall (Fremont?) with people whizzing past overhead on zipwires (one got stuck - a prime minister in waiting?) whilst around us we saw freaks, tarts, acrobats, prophets, rappers, men dressed in nappies, the 'thriller' backing dancers, scousers, sikhs, spaniards and endless obese americans - whilst on the stages a band mutilated 'come on eileen' and a DJ played what sounded like hacksaws. We gaped at Bellagios, unsuccessfully haggled a gondola, sent my confused mum cunningly cropped photos from the Eiffel Tower and the Trevi Fountain. I lost 6 dollars at roulette. We swerved the clubs. No need when the casinos have in-house DJs blasting out Timbaland hits from 2002.

Vegas... It is what it is.. you can slit your wrists or just go with it. To be a sport I opted for the latter.

The Grand Canyon - the most awesome thing I've ever seen. Nature at its most inspiring. No words. We stayed at a campground nearby but botched up the teepee. A couple in the next pitch not only helped us put it up in the dark but gave us a bottle of wine & first aid. The nicest people go camping. True fact.

The Joshua Tree - i had been before but nothing could've prepared me for the drama of a bee swarm in the cactus field. (Not your friendlier UK variety either..). We rescued 2 Mexican metal heads whose car had been infested. Ended up sharing 2 monstrous spliffs with them over a burrito later on (whilst their car was abandoned in the desert, engine still running)

Venice - sadly, mostly over (Camden Town by sea) although there was a cool party/drum circle on the beach. I missed the "9-11 was an insaaade jobb" conspiracy theorists this time. Perhaps they finally realised it probably wasn't?

'Make America Great Again' bumper stickers: 5

Norwegian - if you're with cattle get the window seat behind emerg exit. You'll thank me one day!

Next stop IBZ 14 Sept..
 
Decided I don't like leaving money in those markets, so maybe get something that can sit in the house for a long time and not be touched. I'm off out to the garden to see the bees. ?
 
Dropped eldest at Manny Airport this morning, gave her the usual safety advice -

Don’t leave drinks unattended
Illegal Taxis
Eastern European “Dancers” in SA
Dodgy beach sellers
Pirates in Puntos

She’s got a great 5 days planned

Zoo
Claptone Pacha
Resistance
Boat Party
Afterlife

?
 
When my daughter was planning on going with her mates I was talking friends living there that she would know for years and they said "yeah get her to stay around here as It's better the devil you know"..
 
Street Parade:

Weather turned sunny on Saturday afternoon after pissing it down in the morning; tons of people. Perfect temperature and weather (maybe 24-25 degrees)

DJ sets were OK (we mainly stayed at the main stage). It was mostly banging techno (which I love) other than Nic Fanciulli; this did get a bit much for a daytime party, it was pretty relentless. Tons of people, mostly lovely and cool, but saw 6-7 full on fights this year which I've not seen before. The vibe seemed much more aggressive and tense. It mainly seemed to be visitors / tourists from what we saw, rather than the Swiss who tend to be lovely and chilled.

We were pretty lucky to have backstage last year so it's possible that this was also the case last year, but we missed it.

I've been to this event most years since 2011 and the vibe is definitely different over the last few years; the crowd seems younger with a small percentage interested in causing trouble, rather than just having a good time.

I think if we go next year we will avoid the main stages (unless we get back stage again), and stick to the parties around the main parade.

Sunday was amazing, swimming at the Oberer Letten riverside until it started raining. Chilled vibe, cool people, gorgeous water.
 
My mates drove 3+hrs to Luton for flight to Zurich early Saturday morning, EasyJet flight cancelled and told they could go at dinner Sunday but would not get to the party until afternoon...they drove straight back to Lancashire ?
Loads of flights were cancelled / delayed - not sure what the issue was.

GF burst into tears every time another one was cancelled - ours was delayed for 1.5 hours but made it in the end!
 
Back
Top