Knowing another Havana across the bay - We had to cancel this excursion and leave Havana early because of a storm was causing cancelled flights in the US.
London Carnival aka Notting Hill is one of the world’s
largest street festivals, I can’t even begin to put into words how many people
were out and about on Carnival Tuesday.Endless blocks of people ram packed, just a sea of people.London Carnival is said to have somewhere
around 2.5 million attendees. To put that into perspective, Trinidad carnival
has around somewhere around 35,000 visitors for carnival. The parade is well
organized, although at times it was gridlock because the entire planet and even
some neighboring planets were out there.London has an extensive train system so it was very easy to get to and
leave the parade, it also made affordable lodging easy to secure because you
could stay near or far and train to the parade. The costumes & J’ouvert
were very affordable (PS: they do provide limited booze so be sure to bring
your own to keep the party going).
A a portion of my carnival spreadsheet so you can see just affordable the fetes were, they are apparently not about that all-inclusive / drink inclusive fete life over there. No biggie, I had a flask or 2 of over proof rum *wink* Anywho, excuse Tuesday.I like to tell myself that I’m a cool cat, but then other times I have to admit that I’m a dork.This was my first time in London and I didn’t get to do much sight-seeing, but because I am a ginormous Harry Potter fan, I had no plans on leaving London without going to see Harry Potter’s Platform 9 ¾. I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of my trip.Don’t worry you get to enjoy my Harry Potter experience too, it deserved its on Youtube video (below).
So here are few stolen moments from my Notting Hill trip
along with a recap video of carnival Sunday & Monday.
Scorch _uck Work
Pon De Roof
Ruk a Tuck
Kind strangers sharing their booze and cigs after Tribe Ignite
Minimal amount of tourist mode
Geeked Out!
Got to see the famous Tower Bridge only because it was next to my hotel
Jouvert with Chocolate Nation Mas
I met this lovely young lady Jamaica Carnival 2016 & she wore her new collar to Knotting Hill carnival the next year and now she plays mas in the kiddie carnival :-)
Monday mas w/ Chocolate Nation as well
Shout out to my Carnivam Compadres
She was TOO cute to not give my collar too, super early in the day.
I had this idea, what if I bought a $15 flight that I didn't plan on utilizing just so I could go to the airport lounge & drink up all the free booze.
I had a received a few questions so I should elaborate a bit
1) How did I gain access to the lounge? I have a Priority Pass membership. Priority Pass is a network of about 1,200 airport lounges world wide. You can get a Priority Pass membership free with various credit cards such as Amex Platinum, Hilton Surpass Amex, Citi Prestige, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, Ritz Carlton Card, Mastercard Black, etc. Feel free to use my referral link for the Hilton Surpass Amex.
2) Are there really airlines that only charge $15 for flights? Yes, but these are budget airlines. Don't book a flight thinking you are going to get the same amenities others airlines provide. They charge for bags, seat assignments, snacks/refreshments, there is no wifi, no outlets, minimal legroom and seats don't recline.
I haven’t been to Vegas in maybe a
decade, not sure what kept me away so long, but I has a BLAST this trip.Spent 3 days at the Park MGM and 2 days at
the Aria.I decided to do Vegas in FULL
TOURIST mode, I read a couple articles and watched a few Youtubes on how to do
Vegas like a pro.
I was initially against attending the daytime pool partyz,
they looked too wild online, like everyone was either vomiting or fornicating
in the pool. Just looking at the pix online made me feel super old.My
chica Andrea wanted to attend one so I went off recommendations of friends and
picked Drais Beachclub.All research
told me that you don’t need to pay to attend any partyz in Vegas, so I put us
on several different Guest Lists… Just to be sure.Surprise, surprise Drais was a BLAST. They don’t
need to charge for entry cause they charge an arm and a leg for drinks and sadly
booze is my weakness (even tho I brought my lotion flask full of 151 to each
venue). After that I was SOLD on Vegas Pool partyz, I just don’t need to go to
the mega large partyz where everyone jam packed like sardines.We ended up going to the pool party at our
hotel the next day and it was equally fun.
I’ll share with you my corny list of things I wanted to do “Vegas
- Adult Style” so disappointed that I didn’t put “SEE JABBAWOCKEEZ” on my list,
I feel like I need a return trip to Vegas just them. I really let myself down!
I had some really lame old ppl stuff on there… lemme explain.(1) I don’t gamble (I had a bad experience
many many years ago). (2) The Taco Bell Cantina looked very intriguing online,
I had to see it for myself.(3) I had
planned on chilling at the quiet pools located at our hotels, now I know
better. Although we did spend Sun & Mon at the chill pools
On the Record speakeasy inside the Park MGM gets my vote as coolest lounge I’ve been to in a while.It was so uniquely designed, the DJs were on point, very laid back atmosphere, not crazy crowded. Definitely will return should I come back anytime soon.
The usual disclamer *Atlanta has two (2) carnivals, held on the same day, at the same dayym time, different locations... The carnival in DeKalb carnival has the most mas bands, but Ima be rouge and play mas downtown this year.
Anyway, as always I gotta start off with the FETE OF THE YEAR aka Cooler Fete that actually takes place the weekend before ATL Carnival... be there or be square.