Just logged on to start thinking about some posts about Ireland, and noticed I never finished posting about New Orleans. Well, here are the notes I made. Not very interesting/useful now. Must get better at this or it's not worth doing...
Sunday, March 24, 2013
St. Charles Streetcar
Audubon Park
Magazine Street- pizza
Back through park
Tulane/Loyola
Domenica
Fritzels
Tropical Isle- Kris/fireballs
Monday, March 25, 2013
Lunch- Between the Bread
Garden District tour
Lunch on Magazine
nap
Emerils
Fritzels
All I remember for sure is that Fritzels is AMAZING! Intimate little live music place that I couldn't get enough of. The Garden District Tour was also pretty cool....lots of history and famous people's houses.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Saturday, March 30, 2013
New Orleans! Day 2
Saturday, March 23, 2013
We didn't have much of a plan for Saturday. By the time we were up and running it was already lunch time, so we relied on yelp for a lunch option near the hotel. We went to Red Gravy, and it fit the bill. I'm sure we could have found someplace a little better, but it was 1) close, 2) no wait, and 3) both breakfast and lunch on the menu.
After brunch, we made our way over to the Riverwalk. It runs along the Mississippi River. There is an open plaza area, the Steamboat ports, and a shopping center. Maybe we missed something, but unless you are taking one of the steamboat cruises, I see no reason to check out the Riverwalk. We walked around for awhile, but we not very entertained.
We had read about a food festival going on near the French Market, so we thought we would check that out. Big regret not waiting to eat lunch until we got to the food festival. There were a bunch of vendors with 2 to 3 items on their menus, mostly all local cuisine.
With the lack of a real plan, and not much else to see in the area, we decided some day-drinking was in order. We stopped in a few antique shops along Royal Street on route to Tropical Isle. We had been waiting for the right opportunity to try a Hand Grenade drink, which they are known for and claim to be "New Orleans most powerful drink". They are a bright green, melon flavored drink served in a small yard-style cup with plenty of alcohol. A little too sweet for my liking, but still a must-do while in New Orleans. While there, we got involved in another bet-- being able to shoot the small plastic grenade that comes into your drink into a net they have hanging from the ceiling. Danielle easily made the shot and won us both beers! yay! A much needed change in flavor after the Hand Grenade.
We were having a great time day-drinking, but we had to go back to the hotel to get ready for some night-drinking on Frenchmen Street. Danielle's college friend Bree was picking us up to show us the more local scene, since she's been living in New Orleans for a few years.
First she took us to The Bulldog, in Uptown/Garden District. It was a great bar with a huge beer selection and a great patio. I was able to watch some of the Duck game (NCAA tournament second round game verse St. Louis) while we were there. By half time we were ready for dinner.
We headed off for a traditional New Orleans meal Uptown, but the wait was too long and we opted for the new BBQ place next door, Squeal. Bree had heard from some friends that it was good, and it did not disappoint. I was excited to try some southern bbq!
With our bellies full we were ready to check out the much-anticipated Frenchmen Street. I had heard that it was more of a locals scene where every bar had live music. And it was amazing! Every bar had a calendar outside listing all their musical entertainment. We bar hopped down the street and heard a wide variety of music. It was one of the highlights of the trip!
The night came to a close with a late-night visit to Cafe du Monde, because beingets really should be eaten daily (at least on vacation).
We didn't have much of a plan for Saturday. By the time we were up and running it was already lunch time, so we relied on yelp for a lunch option near the hotel. We went to Red Gravy, and it fit the bill. I'm sure we could have found someplace a little better, but it was 1) close, 2) no wait, and 3) both breakfast and lunch on the menu.
After brunch, we made our way over to the Riverwalk. It runs along the Mississippi River. There is an open plaza area, the Steamboat ports, and a shopping center. Maybe we missed something, but unless you are taking one of the steamboat cruises, I see no reason to check out the Riverwalk. We walked around for awhile, but we not very entertained.
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| Steamboat |
We had read about a food festival going on near the French Market, so we thought we would check that out. Big regret not waiting to eat lunch until we got to the food festival. There were a bunch of vendors with 2 to 3 items on their menus, mostly all local cuisine.
With the lack of a real plan, and not much else to see in the area, we decided some day-drinking was in order. We stopped in a few antique shops along Royal Street on route to Tropical Isle. We had been waiting for the right opportunity to try a Hand Grenade drink, which they are known for and claim to be "New Orleans most powerful drink". They are a bright green, melon flavored drink served in a small yard-style cup with plenty of alcohol. A little too sweet for my liking, but still a must-do while in New Orleans. While there, we got involved in another bet-- being able to shoot the small plastic grenade that comes into your drink into a net they have hanging from the ceiling. Danielle easily made the shot and won us both beers! yay! A much needed change in flavor after the Hand Grenade.
We were having a great time day-drinking, but we had to go back to the hotel to get ready for some night-drinking on Frenchmen Street. Danielle's college friend Bree was picking us up to show us the more local scene, since she's been living in New Orleans for a few years.
First she took us to The Bulldog, in Uptown/Garden District. It was a great bar with a huge beer selection and a great patio. I was able to watch some of the Duck game (NCAA tournament second round game verse St. Louis) while we were there. By half time we were ready for dinner.
We headed off for a traditional New Orleans meal Uptown, but the wait was too long and we opted for the new BBQ place next door, Squeal. Bree had heard from some friends that it was good, and it did not disappoint. I was excited to try some southern bbq!
With our bellies full we were ready to check out the much-anticipated Frenchmen Street. I had heard that it was more of a locals scene where every bar had live music. And it was amazing! Every bar had a calendar outside listing all their musical entertainment. We bar hopped down the street and heard a wide variety of music. It was one of the highlights of the trip!
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| Debauche- very unique music |
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| Huge calendars of entertainment outside every bar |
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| Enjoying some crazy music |
The night came to a close with a late-night visit to Cafe du Monde, because beingets really should be eaten daily (at least on vacation).
New Orleans! Day 1
Friday, March 22, 2013
There was so much to do and see that we really didn't know where to start. With food on the brain, we headed off to Jackson Square, where there were a few restaurants that were recommended to us.
We walked along St. Peter Street, which was lined with shops and eateries. Behind St. Peter Street was the Mississippi River. We got to Jackson Square and it was beautiful. There are some stairs you can walk up with a great view of the square. Horse drawn carriages and street artists lined the street, Cafe du Monde sat on the corner, and beautiful St. Louis Cathedral was visible from anywhere on the square. Now it felt like we were in New Orleans!
The restaurants coming with recommendations had long waits, and we were starving. We walked around forever and finally towards the French Market in a search for lunch. We sat outside at a cafe that overlooked the market. Sadly, the cafe did not live up to all the great things we had heard about the food in New Orleans. Granted this was a random cafe in a touristy area, but it was kind of gross.
Next we explored the French Market. The back side is lined with food stands, serving mostly New Orleans-style food, including Gator Po Boys and Jambalaya. The rest of the market is filled with vendors selling mostly the same souvenir junk over and over. I came across a local artist though, and bought a print of one of his drawings.
We decided to go back to Jackson Square since we didn't see much of it, as food was our first priority. We noticed there was no line at Cafe du Monde, so we decided it was time for our first beignet experience. I was worried there was too much hype around these and thought I might be disappointed. Nope. They are all the rage because they are that amazing. Warm fried goodness drenched in powdered sugar. We sat at a small table soaking in the yumminess and listening to a street band place some jazz.
We took a long walk down Royal Street popping into shops here and there. We ended up back on Bourbon, and decided to stay in the area since we had a Cocktail Tour lined up a little later. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was in the first round, so we took a rest (the first of many visits) at Tropical Isle, to watch some of the games and have a beer. They had two people singing some covers which was fun.
Scandalous Cocktail Tour
What's not to love about this concept? A little bit of history and exploring the city AND drinks! I mean, it sounded perfect. We chose the Scandalous Cocktail Tour ($25 and starts at Pat O'Briens). (Danielle did another cocktail tour with her co-workers, so I will have to find out which she thought was better.) Rebecca was our tour guide and she was really knowledgeable about some of the scandalous past of New Orleans. We visited six locations on our 2.5 hour tour, four of which were bars where Rebecca recommended a cocktail and told us some history about it. Here is where we went and what we drank:
1) Hotel Monteleone- Carousel Bar
This historic hotel is owned by a Sicilian family (who still lives in the penthouse of the hotel), who had ties to the Mafia and Lee Harvey Oswald. They are famous for their carousel bar, which is made from a real carousel and slowly spins.
Cocktail: Sazerak
2) Royal Sonesta Hotel- Irvin Mayfield Jazz Club
Irvin Mayfield is a grammy-winning jazz artist and owns a jazz club in the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Free live jazz every night, but sadly we never made it back.
Cocktail: Gin Fizz
3) May Bailey's
May Bailey's is a former brothel. We learned some interesting information on the role of prostitution in the history of New Orleans.
Cocktail: Pimms Cup
4) Omni Royal Hotel
Rebecca told us a tragic (and more recent) story of a man who killed his girlfriend, cooked her, and then committed suicide by jumping from the hotel's balcony bar. There is a book about the story called Shake the Devil Off.
No cocktail at this stop
5) Pirate's Alley Cafe and Absinthe House
We learned all about Absinthe and how to prepare it. Then we went inside where we got to watch the bartender make the drinks. It is an interesting process involving absinthe, sugar, and cold water. Too bad it tastes like black licorice.
Cocktail: Absinthe
6) Fritzel's
All I can say is THANK YOU to Rebecca for bringing us to this place, as it became one of our favorite places to visit throughout our trip! It's a small hole-in-the-wall type place with live jazz every night. More on Fritzel's later though.
No cocktail on this stop
Overall, we really enjoyed the tour! We tried three of the four drinks (we skipped the Pimms Cup) and learned a lot of scandalous info! I would recommend this tour (but I noticed the other guide had lots of negative reviews--be sure to go in Rebecca's group, not Glenn's).
After all these drinks, we were ready for some dinner. We had walked past a restaurant that was giving out free samples of yummy sausage, so we decided to go back there for dinner. We got a cute table outside at Cafe Soule on St. Louis St. The kitchen seemed to have some issues, which put a damper on our meal. My sausage po' boy was pretty good (although missing the sauce when it came out), Danielle's fried oyster crepe had some issues (weird crepe consistency), and our crab cakes never came (apparently they ran out and didn't tell our server). Pretty disappointing, but this place could have some potential if the kitchen could get it together.
It had been a long day, so we wandered back to our hotel and called it a night.
There was so much to do and see that we really didn't know where to start. With food on the brain, we headed off to Jackson Square, where there were a few restaurants that were recommended to us.
We walked along St. Peter Street, which was lined with shops and eateries. Behind St. Peter Street was the Mississippi River. We got to Jackson Square and it was beautiful. There are some stairs you can walk up with a great view of the square. Horse drawn carriages and street artists lined the street, Cafe du Monde sat on the corner, and beautiful St. Louis Cathedral was visible from anywhere on the square. Now it felt like we were in New Orleans!
The restaurants coming with recommendations had long waits, and we were starving. We walked around forever and finally towards the French Market in a search for lunch. We sat outside at a cafe that overlooked the market. Sadly, the cafe did not live up to all the great things we had heard about the food in New Orleans. Granted this was a random cafe in a touristy area, but it was kind of gross.
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| New Orleans food at the French Market |
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| French Market |
We decided to go back to Jackson Square since we didn't see much of it, as food was our first priority. We noticed there was no line at Cafe du Monde, so we decided it was time for our first beignet experience. I was worried there was too much hype around these and thought I might be disappointed. Nope. They are all the rage because they are that amazing. Warm fried goodness drenched in powdered sugar. We sat at a small table soaking in the yumminess and listening to a street band place some jazz.
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| Beingets! |
We took a long walk down Royal Street popping into shops here and there. We ended up back on Bourbon, and decided to stay in the area since we had a Cocktail Tour lined up a little later. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was in the first round, so we took a rest (the first of many visits) at Tropical Isle, to watch some of the games and have a beer. They had two people singing some covers which was fun.
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| Balconies & Horsies |
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| Jackson Square |
Scandalous Cocktail Tour
What's not to love about this concept? A little bit of history and exploring the city AND drinks! I mean, it sounded perfect. We chose the Scandalous Cocktail Tour ($25 and starts at Pat O'Briens). (Danielle did another cocktail tour with her co-workers, so I will have to find out which she thought was better.) Rebecca was our tour guide and she was really knowledgeable about some of the scandalous past of New Orleans. We visited six locations on our 2.5 hour tour, four of which were bars where Rebecca recommended a cocktail and told us some history about it. Here is where we went and what we drank:
1) Hotel Monteleone- Carousel Bar
This historic hotel is owned by a Sicilian family (who still lives in the penthouse of the hotel), who had ties to the Mafia and Lee Harvey Oswald. They are famous for their carousel bar, which is made from a real carousel and slowly spins.
Cocktail: Sazerak
2) Royal Sonesta Hotel- Irvin Mayfield Jazz Club
Irvin Mayfield is a grammy-winning jazz artist and owns a jazz club in the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Free live jazz every night, but sadly we never made it back.
Cocktail: Gin Fizz
3) May Bailey's
May Bailey's is a former brothel. We learned some interesting information on the role of prostitution in the history of New Orleans.
Cocktail: Pimms Cup
4) Omni Royal Hotel
Rebecca told us a tragic (and more recent) story of a man who killed his girlfriend, cooked her, and then committed suicide by jumping from the hotel's balcony bar. There is a book about the story called Shake the Devil Off.
No cocktail at this stop
5) Pirate's Alley Cafe and Absinthe House
We learned all about Absinthe and how to prepare it. Then we went inside where we got to watch the bartender make the drinks. It is an interesting process involving absinthe, sugar, and cold water. Too bad it tastes like black licorice.
Cocktail: Absinthe
6) Fritzel's
All I can say is THANK YOU to Rebecca for bringing us to this place, as it became one of our favorite places to visit throughout our trip! It's a small hole-in-the-wall type place with live jazz every night. More on Fritzel's later though.
No cocktail on this stop
Overall, we really enjoyed the tour! We tried three of the four drinks (we skipped the Pimms Cup) and learned a lot of scandalous info! I would recommend this tour (but I noticed the other guide had lots of negative reviews--be sure to go in Rebecca's group, not Glenn's).
After all these drinks, we were ready for some dinner. We had walked past a restaurant that was giving out free samples of yummy sausage, so we decided to go back there for dinner. We got a cute table outside at Cafe Soule on St. Louis St. The kitchen seemed to have some issues, which put a damper on our meal. My sausage po' boy was pretty good (although missing the sauce when it came out), Danielle's fried oyster crepe had some issues (weird crepe consistency), and our crab cakes never came (apparently they ran out and didn't tell our server). Pretty disappointing, but this place could have some potential if the kitchen could get it together.
It had been a long day, so we wandered back to our hotel and called it a night.
New Orleans! Arrival
I just returned from a fantastic trip to New Orleans! It has been on the top of my list of US destinations for quite some time now, and a great opportunity to make it happen came up. My cousin Danielle was heading out that way for a work meeting, and we decided to go out early to explore the city.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
We flew out on Thursday morning, and arrived in New Orleans just in time for dinner and drinks. We stayed in the W in the Central Business District (CBD). If I did it again, I would probably stay in the French Quarter (off Bourbon), but we got the room at a great rate and made it work. It was probably a 15-20 minute walk to Bourbon Street, that we got quite familiar with.
So we ventured to Bourbon Street after getting settled at the hotel, not knowing if our visions of it would live up to our expectations. Bourbon was alive and well. We walked in awe down the long, narrow street peaking into different bars and getting pelted by beads being thrown from balconies up above.
We got our first drink at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, an old, quaint bar. It was a cool place, but with an open-container law at our fingertips, we poured our beers into a "to-go" cup and kept wandering.
Our next official stop was Pat O'Briens. It was recommended to us by just about everyone who had a recommendation to give. We found our way to the dueling piano room, and it was bustling with people. Somehow we got two stools at the bar, and parked it there for a lot of the night. We met a nice group of guys in town for business, when we somehow got involved their bet of how quickly they could take down a hurricane drink. Ryan won at 5.8 seconds. Wow.
Although we kept the night fairly mellow, the whole trip is a little blurry and I can't remember if we went anywhere else this night. I do, however, remember that we realized we never ate dinner and wanted to grab a snack for our walk home. We had, what I think we agreed, was the grossest peice of pizza ever. I guess they think drunk people don't know the difference.
After a stop at CVS to pick up some hotel room essentials (water and goldfish), we called it a night, so we could start really exploring the next day.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
We flew out on Thursday morning, and arrived in New Orleans just in time for dinner and drinks. We stayed in the W in the Central Business District (CBD). If I did it again, I would probably stay in the French Quarter (off Bourbon), but we got the room at a great rate and made it work. It was probably a 15-20 minute walk to Bourbon Street, that we got quite familiar with.
So we ventured to Bourbon Street after getting settled at the hotel, not knowing if our visions of it would live up to our expectations. Bourbon was alive and well. We walked in awe down the long, narrow street peaking into different bars and getting pelted by beads being thrown from balconies up above.
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| Bourbon Street |
We got our first drink at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, an old, quaint bar. It was a cool place, but with an open-container law at our fingertips, we poured our beers into a "to-go" cup and kept wandering.
Our next official stop was Pat O'Briens. It was recommended to us by just about everyone who had a recommendation to give. We found our way to the dueling piano room, and it was bustling with people. Somehow we got two stools at the bar, and parked it there for a lot of the night. We met a nice group of guys in town for business, when we somehow got involved their bet of how quickly they could take down a hurricane drink. Ryan won at 5.8 seconds. Wow.
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| Dueling Pianos at Pat O's |
Although we kept the night fairly mellow, the whole trip is a little blurry and I can't remember if we went anywhere else this night. I do, however, remember that we realized we never ate dinner and wanted to grab a snack for our walk home. We had, what I think we agreed, was the grossest peice of pizza ever. I guess they think drunk people don't know the difference.
After a stop at CVS to pick up some hotel room essentials (water and goldfish), we called it a night, so we could start really exploring the next day.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Our Nation's Capital: Day 1
On May 8th I flew out for my first visit to our nation's capital-- Washington, DC! A good friend, Jenny (aka "G"), was getting married over the weekend, but I thought I would take the opportunity to explore DC for a few days.
I arrived on Tuesday night, and Tom (a friend I made traveling in Thailand) picked me up from DCA, which is right near downtown DC. He wanted to show me a bit of DC at night, so we went to Old Ebbitt Grill, which was a cool, old restaurant. While we waited a short while for our table, we walked a few blocks down to see the White House and the Old Executive Building lit up at night.
The day didn't end there though. I wanted to see the Georgetown area, since a few different people recommended it to me. We decided it would be a good place to meet up with Kelly and Pablo who had flown in from Spain for the wedding. We got apps and beers at a local bar, and Kelly shared some VERY exciting news with me (let's just say she wasn't drinking beer with us at the bar). It was so great to see her and I nearly cried (happy tears) when I heard the news :) Kelly and Pablo were jet lagged and Tom had made some plans with his friends to watch the playoff hockey game at a bar near his house. So we parted ways with Kelly and Pabs, and headed back to Arlington to finish the night. Wow, what a day!
I arrived on Tuesday night, and Tom (a friend I made traveling in Thailand) picked me up from DCA, which is right near downtown DC. He wanted to show me a bit of DC at night, so we went to Old Ebbitt Grill, which was a cool, old restaurant. While we waited a short while for our table, we walked a few blocks down to see the White House and the Old Executive Building lit up at night.
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| White House at Night |
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| Old Exectutive Building |
On Wednesday, we headed out for a long day of DC site seeing! We took the metro from Arlington, where Tom lives. The first stop on our tour was the Washington Monument. I was impressed with how tall it actually is! From there, we started a big loop, which included (hopefully in order): the WWII Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the George Mason Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the MLK Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and finally the White House. My favorite was the FDR Memorial! This took us all morning and we were more than ready for some lucnh!
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| Washington Memorial |
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| WWII Memorial |
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| On Our Walk to the Jefferson Memorial |
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| George Mason Memorial-- just begging for an imitation photo (I took another with his actual pose) |
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| One of many poses with statues during the day |
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| Artistic Photo of the Day- Viet Nam Memorial |
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| Lincoln Memorial |
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| Interior of the Old Post Office |
Tom took me to the Old Post Office, which was a really impressive building. They have a food court on the bottom floor, so we grabbed a quick bite before continuing the tour. Next stop was the tower of the Old Post Office. It was free to ride to the top and there was a great view from up there. You could spot most of the monuments and memorials.
Next up on the tour was the Air and Space Smithsonian Museum. I knew I would only have time for about two Smithsonians, and this was my first choice. Seeing all the planes, rockets, and space shuttles was really cool!
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| First Airplane |
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| Air & Spance Museum |
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Water Sports in Nusa Dua
On Thursday, we headed to Nusa Dua for a day of water sports. Nusa Dua is still in the south of Bali, but on the east coast. The water sport company Bali Jet Set Dive and Marine Sports picked us up from our villas. When we arrived, we got to select the sports we wanted to sign up for. About half the group decided to SCUBA, while the rest of us picked a few other activities.
Bali Jet Set was really nice. They had a restaurant, pool, and a bunch of lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The view from the ground wasn't all that pretty, but the view from above was great. Its set on an inset of the ocean and the water looks all murky. We met the owner, who is from the US, but moved to Bali to start this company. She said there are lots of water sports businesses on Bali, but only three of them are actually certified.
The SCUBA crew had a two hour training in the pool and about an hour out in the water, which gave the rest of us plenty of time for other activities.
First, everyone in our (non-SCUBA) group tried the "Flying Fish." This sooooo would NEVER be legal in the US (or at least I wouldn't think so). Basically there is a large floating raft with spots for two people to lay down on their backs. There is nothing strapping you into the raft; you simply hold on to two straps and then rest your feet on part of the raft. Once your "secure," the raft gets towed by a boat out on the water. Oh, and there is another guy/guide sitting on the raft with you. Once the boat gets enough speed, the guide lifts up the raft, so it goes airborn. Then you are basically like a kite in the sky until the guide lands you back on the water. They send you airborn three times. I screamed the first time, especially since my feet we're planted firm enough and I felt like I was going to fly off the thing. The view from up above was really pretty!
Some of the group jet skied. A guide goes out with you on the jet ski, which I had never seen before, but they said the guides let them do all the driving and they could go anywhere they wanted.
Next it was time for parasailing. This ended up being a somewhat stressful outing and I was a bit disappointed with how it all worked. I wouldn't recommend parasailing (in Bali)...it looked like all the businesses followed the same procedures.
So basically, they brought us to the parasailing spot by boat. When we got to the location, they made us get out of the boat and stand in waist-deep water while we waited for our turn. It was all slimy with seaweed and there were super sharp rocks. They put a blue glove on one of your hands hand and a red glove on the other, which corresponded with two of the lines on the parachute. When it was your turn, the parachute would come down and they would very quickly attach your harness to the parachute and let you go. The view from up top was gorgeous!
You were supposed to keep an eye on the water down below to see when they started waving the blue flag at you. When you saw the blue flag, you were supposed to pull on the blue line of your parachute to help bring yourself down. When it came time for me to pull on it, I started pulling. As I started to come down they were all screaming at me to pull harder...I was already using both hands and all my strength, but I guess it wasn't good enough for them. Finally I was low enough for them to grab me. Six people rush me and unhooked me, before shoving the next person in. Then they start yelling at me that I didn't see the blue flag. Sorry there were 50 people standing in the water and I missed you. Geez!
So overall it was stressful and I felt like I was getting screamed at a lot. I much preferred my parasailing experience in Hawaii when I got to stay on the boat the whole time and they reeled me in and out. They also let us float down to the water and then pulled us back up in the air, which was cool.
Once our whole group was done, we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out when/how we would get back to Bali Jet Set since our boat just dropped us off there and left. Finally they came with jet skis to get us.
Jen and I had planned on snorkeling as well, but we ran out of time and the first two activities seemed like enough excitement for one day. Good excuse to go back though! You always have to leave something out so you need to go back :)
We had a long lunch at Bali Jet Set (some confusion with orders, but that is bound to happen when there's a language barrier). The food was just ok, but the view and the company were great!
The prices were pretty reasonable. If we participated in two things, we got a 20% discount, and if we did three activities, we got a 25% discount. For my two activities and lunch, I spent about $50. They took credit card.
Fun day for sure!
Oh, and the SCUBA people said they had a good experience. They said the visibility wasn't very good, but that it was probably weather related. They saw lots of tropical fish and soft coral.
Pictures coming soon...
Bali Jet Set was really nice. They had a restaurant, pool, and a bunch of lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The view from the ground wasn't all that pretty, but the view from above was great. Its set on an inset of the ocean and the water looks all murky. We met the owner, who is from the US, but moved to Bali to start this company. She said there are lots of water sports businesses on Bali, but only three of them are actually certified.
The SCUBA crew had a two hour training in the pool and about an hour out in the water, which gave the rest of us plenty of time for other activities.
First, everyone in our (non-SCUBA) group tried the "Flying Fish." This sooooo would NEVER be legal in the US (or at least I wouldn't think so). Basically there is a large floating raft with spots for two people to lay down on their backs. There is nothing strapping you into the raft; you simply hold on to two straps and then rest your feet on part of the raft. Once your "secure," the raft gets towed by a boat out on the water. Oh, and there is another guy/guide sitting on the raft with you. Once the boat gets enough speed, the guide lifts up the raft, so it goes airborn. Then you are basically like a kite in the sky until the guide lands you back on the water. They send you airborn three times. I screamed the first time, especially since my feet we're planted firm enough and I felt like I was going to fly off the thing. The view from up above was really pretty!
Some of the group jet skied. A guide goes out with you on the jet ski, which I had never seen before, but they said the guides let them do all the driving and they could go anywhere they wanted.
Next it was time for parasailing. This ended up being a somewhat stressful outing and I was a bit disappointed with how it all worked. I wouldn't recommend parasailing (in Bali)...it looked like all the businesses followed the same procedures.
So basically, they brought us to the parasailing spot by boat. When we got to the location, they made us get out of the boat and stand in waist-deep water while we waited for our turn. It was all slimy with seaweed and there were super sharp rocks. They put a blue glove on one of your hands hand and a red glove on the other, which corresponded with two of the lines on the parachute. When it was your turn, the parachute would come down and they would very quickly attach your harness to the parachute and let you go. The view from up top was gorgeous!
You were supposed to keep an eye on the water down below to see when they started waving the blue flag at you. When you saw the blue flag, you were supposed to pull on the blue line of your parachute to help bring yourself down. When it came time for me to pull on it, I started pulling. As I started to come down they were all screaming at me to pull harder...I was already using both hands and all my strength, but I guess it wasn't good enough for them. Finally I was low enough for them to grab me. Six people rush me and unhooked me, before shoving the next person in. Then they start yelling at me that I didn't see the blue flag. Sorry there were 50 people standing in the water and I missed you. Geez!
So overall it was stressful and I felt like I was getting screamed at a lot. I much preferred my parasailing experience in Hawaii when I got to stay on the boat the whole time and they reeled me in and out. They also let us float down to the water and then pulled us back up in the air, which was cool.
Once our whole group was done, we stood around for a few minutes trying to figure out when/how we would get back to Bali Jet Set since our boat just dropped us off there and left. Finally they came with jet skis to get us.
Jen and I had planned on snorkeling as well, but we ran out of time and the first two activities seemed like enough excitement for one day. Good excuse to go back though! You always have to leave something out so you need to go back :)
We had a long lunch at Bali Jet Set (some confusion with orders, but that is bound to happen when there's a language barrier). The food was just ok, but the view and the company were great!
The prices were pretty reasonable. If we participated in two things, we got a 20% discount, and if we did three activities, we got a 25% discount. For my two activities and lunch, I spent about $50. They took credit card.
Fun day for sure!
Oh, and the SCUBA people said they had a good experience. They said the visibility wasn't very good, but that it was probably weather related. They saw lots of tropical fish and soft coral.
Pictures coming soon...
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