Saint-Sylvestre

Nous avons passé les dernières heures de l'année 2007 avec 10 amis autour d'un fin diner à la maison.

Entrées
Tapas,
Saucisses de vienne en cornets,
Petits canapés au saumon, oeufs de lompe, et fromage
Foie gras,
Saumon à la sauce citron et crème aromatisée
Plats de résistance
Curry fait maison,
Pièces de boeufs marinées aux trois parfums et grillées au barbecue,
Raclette accompagnée de ses charcuteries italiennes, de son ananas grillé et pommes de terre
Salade, plateau de fromage
Desserts
Crêpes,
Crèmes caramel,
Buche au thé vert,
Cake marbré,
Café, thé et champagne pour les 12 coups de minuit !

Bilan pour 2007?
Et bien, pas de changement au niveau professionnel. Côté voyage, nous avons finalement pu en faire pas mal :
- week-end au ski à Bear Valley en Mars avec ma boite,
- 12 jours en avril à Singapour, Kuala Lumpur et Penang - Malaisie et Phuket - Thailande,
- 2 semaines en France à la fin de l'été pour le Carnaval de Notting Hill à Londres, Paris pour le mariage du frère à Jean et Bretagne pour revoir ma famille,
- week-end en Octobre à Yosemite en Californie du nord,
- long week-end de Thanksgiving à San Diego en Californie du sud,
- long week-end de Noël à Las Vegas dans le Nevada.

Espérons en faire autant pour 2008 !

Joyeux Noël ! Merry Christmas!

Famille, amis, lecteurs de ce blog, je vous souhaite à tous un Joyeux Noël !!!

Familly, friends, readers of this blog, I wish you all a Merry Christmas !!!

We completed our 4-days week-end at Las Vegas by the Christmas Buffet at 'Le Village' in Paris Las Vegas Hotel. The room is a two-thirds repliqua of our classic French village cliches. Buffet stations are grouped according to French regions. In Brittany, you have, of course, made-to-order crepes, except the waiter does not know what is a butter-sugar crepe... only heavy topping to put on it are availables... Other represented regions are Normandy, Alsace and Provence. Bread and cheese are better than other buffets but do not expect to find the real taste of France here. I finally think that we should have go to the Bellagio Buffet which is one of the priciest but also the highest ranked buffet. Next time.

Relax day at the Golden Nugget Hotel

Today was The Relax Day. We spent the morning enjoying our hotel features and especially the swimming pool and the jacuzzi !
Indeed, the Golden Nugget opened in 1946 but was recently remodeled. The new swimming pool has a 200,000-gallon shark tank as well as a three-story waterslide that makes you slide through the shark tank! Oh, by the way, the name of the hotel comes from the world's largest gold nugget which is displayed inside: 61 pounds and 11 ounces...

Then, we had lunch at the Golden Nugget buffet which is correct.
And, once the night came, we enjoyed the so-called "Fremont Street Experience" which takes place in the street just outside our hotel. It is a high-tech light and laser show that takes place five times nightly and it is free! The canopy towers 90 feet above the ground and spans the length of five football fields. Featuring more than 12 million LED modules and 555,000-watt sound system, the light show attracts tourists and locals alike. The first light show was broadcast in 1995. Nearly a decade later in 2004, $17 million was invested in upgrading the Viva Vision canopy. Videos are broadcasted on what is the world's largest screen.
While we were there to 'experience', we also tasted the 'Deep Fried Oreos' as well as the 'Deep Fried Twinkies'! Not so bad as it sounds, but HELLOOOO calories...
Pictures of the Christmas week-end at Las Vegas here ! Photos de Noel a Las Vegas ici !

Red Rock Canyon

After getting up late, we decided to visit "Red Rock Canyon" which is located less then an hour's drive west of Las Vegas. There is a the 13-mile scenic drive that provides vehicle access to many of the features in the canyon.
But, why are the rocks red? According to the Bureau of Land Management, more than 600 million years ago, the land was the bottom of a deep ocean basin. Over time, the changing land and water levels resulted in deposits of ocean and continental sediments. There were iron-bearing minerals in the stone and the exposure of these minerals to the elements caused oxidation, resulting in the red, orange and tan colored rocks.
To resume, oxidation of the iron in the stone causes the red hues.

Then, we tried the Rio's Carnival World Buffet ($20/person). It was recommended in our Frommer's guide and we know why! It was a real fest of king crab, delicious fishes, meat, pizza etc... and an outstanding choice of dessert (at least 70 kinds of pies and cakes) with even Crepes Suzette and Bananes flambees!
To help us with the digestion, a good walk is more than welcome. A little detail though, at this time of the year, Las Vegas is not any more the 40°C desert but a 0°C windy place...
Finally, I tried my luck at gambling in the Wynn's casino. I played $10 at the wheel of fortune and won $32..... that I immediately lost the day after and even more...

Mamma Mia! @ Las Vegas

Good news! As I finally get my monday off at work, we decided to head out to Las Vegas for the 4 days Christmas week-end with Pau Din and Yann.
Not a minute to loose, we went to pick the rental car ($171.76 for one week), a Pontiac Grand Prix, a little before midnight friday night: a 2 hours waiting line... no kidding ! Then, we put the luggages in the trunk and zoom, 8 hours and 532 miles later, Las Vegas here we are !

To fill our starving stomachs, we first stopped at the Main Street Station Hotel for its recommended buffet in the old Las Vegas.
Then, we took some rest at our hotel the "Golden Nugget" ($142.08 for 3 nights).

Las Vegas is famous for its casinos but also for its shows. So, we went to the Mandalay Bay Hotel to see the "Mammia Mia!" Show ($46.25/person). This Broadway hit was created by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' with 22 of ABBA's greatest hits woven into an irresistible love story. We were all enchanted by the show. If you are a fan of ABBA, it is a must see !

For those who lived in an igloo the last 35 years (...), ABBA was a Swedish pop/dance group active from 1972 until 1982. The quartet was formed through the friendship of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and their respective girlfriends Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog. Together, they topped charts worldwide from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The name "ABBA" is an acronym of the first initials of each members name: A for Anni-frid (Frida), B for Benny, B for Bjorn and A for Agnetha.
By goggling on the net, I also found out that the movie "Mamma Mia!" will be released this summer 2008.

To help you wait, I found this irresistible video of Abba's tiny muppets dancing and singing:

If you carefully pay attention, you will recognize their following songs: Mamma mia, Watch out, I have a dream, Rock me, Under my sun, Take a chance on me, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, Money money money, Dancing queen, Ring ring, Two for the price of one, Waterloo, Thank you for the music, The winner takes it all and Hasta manana.
Correct me if I am wrong but you may also recognize Björn at the minute 1:52, the man that's walks in, Benny is at 3:15 on the phone, Frida appears at 2:35.... she's now a blonde and poses with her hand on her hip, then Agnetha walks along behind her at 2:37 holding a clip-board.

Et pour vous faire plaisir, voici le vrai clip de "Mamma Mia":

I am Legend

Just released last Friday, "I am Legend" is a great movie: Will Smith performance is awesome, and his dog's too!
The scenario is inspired from Richard Matheson's novel written in 1954. The suspense is there all along the movie but I tell you, the end is a little sad...
I feel that this kind of scenario could really happen. With all the genetic experiments going on, man does not know everything and could generate a very bad bacteria, virus or clone against the mankind. Maybe it already happened? We never know... It is like this controversial theory about HIV virus. It suggests that the AIDS epidemic was inadvertently started in the late 1950s in the Belgian Congo by Hilary Koprowski's research into a polio vaccine... Hmmm, disturbing isn't it?

Synopsis: Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- The Infected -- lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time.

J'ai craqué...

... pour ce magnifique sac à main Coach ! Mon premier sac américain de 'luxe'.... D'habitude, je ne trouve rien à mon goût dans cette marque dont les américaines rafolent, mais pour une fois, j'ai eu un coup de coeur sur celui-ci. Pour le moment, je trouve la finition pas mal mais, vu qu'il est en daim, j'attends de voir comment il vieillit pour me faire un avis définitif.

A part ça, c'est de la pure folie en ce moment dans les centres commerciaux et ça devient invivable le week-end... Santana Row, Valley Fair, Stevens Creek boulevard attirent les foules pour les achats de Nöêl et il faut être très patient dès que l'on prend la voiture pour rentrer ou sortir de chez nous.

Pour couronner le tout, on ne peut plus aller à la banque, au supermarché, au resto.. ou allumer la radio sans entendre ces musiques de Nöêl qui vous restent dans la tête pour le reste de la journée: Let it snow, Jingle bell, O Christmas Tree, O Holy Night, We Wish you a Merry Christmas... Alors je vous ai trouvé cette version un peu plus "swingie" de Jingle Bell -->

Puis, à la nuit tombée, tout s'illumine: Santana Row a ses palmiers vetus de lumières vertes et rouges, un énorme sapin de nöêl devant le Valencia Hotel ainsi que devant le Maggiano restaurant. Beaucoup d'américains décorent leur maison pour Nöêl (intérieur et surtout extérieur) avec des animations lumineuses comme des traineaux, des pères nöêl, des rennes, des ours, des cadeaux, des sapins etc...bref, le show à l'américaine...

Soirée Pizza-Jacuzzi chez Clément...

Pour bien commencer le week-end et oublier le froid qui s'installe, nous nous sommes retrouvés entre francophones chez Clément.

Située à deux pas de chez nous, sa maison est plus récente mais surtout, comporte un superbe jacuzzi quasiment tout neuf ! Alors, pour se tenir chaud, on achète l'enorme pizza Costco avec un poulet tout cuit-tout chaud puis on plonge entièrement (ou juste les pieds ;o)) dans le jacuzzi pour déguster le gâteau chocolat-amande préparé par Marthe... Haaaahaaa, elle est pas belle la vie ?

Happy Birthday Yann !

Tonight, we gathered with some friends to celebrate Yann's Birthday at the French restaurant "Left Bank" in Santana Row.

Food was not as good as expected for the price, but the wine Yann ordered was very 'delectable'. What was the name of this wine already? Too bad I forgot...

From left to right: Kara, Servane, Jean, Pau Din, Ashvinder, Marthe, Clement, Virgile and of course... Yann !

We offered him the Borat gift set which contains the DVD of the movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" plus a cap of the Kazakhstan and a wonderful blue t-shirt 'High Five'. What a nice outfit it makes, the pictures speak for themselves :
Happy Birthday Yann !