What’s one way to show a little spontaneity in an un-adventurous vacation? How about a meeting under the sea. Ithaa, the world’s first all-glass undersea restaurant at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, is celebrating its fifth anniversary by turning its underwater restaurant into a suite built for two.
The Maldives resort is offering guests the chance to spend the night under-water by turning the restaurant into an exclusive suite for two, complete with a private champagne dinner and breakfast in bed. (Caveat: Private in this sense means more underwater sea creatures and less humans.) Resting five meters (approximately 16 feet) below the Indian Ocean, the restaurant-turned-romance room is surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and encased in clear glass. Using aquarium technology, “Ithaa” meaning “pearl”in the Maldivian language of Divehi, was built to allow guests to enjoy the color, clarity and beauty of the Indian Ocean without getting their feet wet.
Diners at Ithaa Undersea Restaurant enjoy a set-menu of 23 different dishes over four courses. The restaurant is adults-only for dinner (children can join for lunch) and it only seats 12 people.
The cost of this little luxury? $320 per person for dinner. Want to spend the night? The price is available upon request, depending on your dates of travel.
Each week, Gadling is taking a look at our favorite festivals around the world. From music festivals to cultural showcases to the just plain bizarre, we hope to inspire you to do some festival exploring of your own. Come back each Wednesday for our picks or find them all HERE.
No matter what part of the country you live in, chances are you can roll your way to one of many cities that hosting an annual Lebowski Fest this year. The festival(s) celebrate the Coen Brother’s 1998 film “The Big Lebowski” starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, and Steve Buscemi. Organizers Scott Shuffitt and Will Russell started the first Lebowski fest in 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky. It was such a success that there are now multiple festivals a year in select cities across the country. (If you’ve never seen the movie, I recommend reading this quick synopsis to familiarize yourself with how the below activities cleverly tie the film and festival together.)
I became a huge fan of the film in college, so I made the two hour trip from Nashville to the Louisville festival last July. I followed the advice on the Lebowski Fest site and rented a discounted room at the suggested hotel, which is within walking distance to the bowling alley where all festivities take place. Make sure you book your reservation early as the rooms tend to go quickly.
The first night’s events include a screening of the film, followed by live music or a special appearance from a comedian or actor. The organizers try to bring in a well-known act and you will be pleasantly surprised with whom they are able to round up.
As fun as the official events can be, don’t forget to check out the pre-fest activities are also good fun. Upon arriving to the field outside the bowling alley, you can try your hand at the “ringer toss” where participants throw a suitcase full of the dirty white laundry over the Dude’s car to hit a target on the other side. This is your chance to meet other die-hard Lebowski fans, strike up conversations, and make new friends over a few oat sodas. Some festival-goers even dress the part, donning costumes and personifying their favorite characters from the film. These costumes serve a greater purpose later on in the festival, so be sure to bring a camera.The second night is when the real magic happens. If you’ve purchased your festival tickets in advance and arrive to the bowling alley early you can reserve a lane for unlimited bowling. Lanes are given up on a first come, first served basis.
Even if you don’t get a chance to bowl, this night serves as a social hour and you might even run into certain actors from the film who played minor roles. For a Lebowski fan, this is still an exciting run-in. Sharing a White Russian (or a caucasian) with Malibu’s Chief of Police is something to write home about!
The highlight of the festival is the costume contest which takes place in the bowling alley. Participants are judged by the audience based on originality and quality of costume. There are so many “Dudes” they have to award a prize just for the best Jeffrey Lebowski look-a-like. If you feel confident and can whip out your best Walter Sobchak aviator shades, I say enter that contest and go for it.
Overall, the best part of any Lebowski Fest is meeting new people and interacting with fans from all corners of the world. Sure, you might wake up the next morning with a headache from all the White Russians, but sharing a few laughs, and a few burgers with like-minded people really ties the whole thing together.
In 2010, Little Lebowski Urban Achievers can spend two days in Orlando (May 21-22), Louisville (July 16-17), Chicago (September 17-18), Seattle (October 15-16) or one in New York (November 4). Los Angeles already celebrated this year on April 2-3. Ticket prices can vary from city to city so check The Lebowski Fest website for updated pricing info.
A California entrepreneur is reopening a historic 1920’s L.A. hotel as America’s first pot-friendly accommodation. Dennis Peron, a long-time marijuana dispensary owner and medicinal marijuana advocate, is currently remodeling Los Angeles’ Hotel Normandie with plans to turn its 106 rooms into a haven for smokers around the world.
Though the property is far from complete, Peron is planning a grand opening for the new residence today, April 20th, or “4/20” in smoker slang. Once complete, Peron’s vision is a hotel with a “hippie rustic” theme and a rooftop deck where users could light up, framed by the hotel’s vintage neon sign.
Unfortunately the dreams for America’s first marijuana hotel are threatening to go up in flames. As it currently stands, Peron and friend Richard Eastman are running short on funding for the ambitious project. A few rooms have been remodeled but the majority are not. The proposed renovation is likely to cost upwards of $500,000 and the real estate investor who purchased the property for Peron is $200,000 behind on payments.
Will this pot-friendly hotel ever see the light of day? The answer, it appears, is hidden by a cloud of smoke.
Bald-headed and brazen, Andrew Zimmern takes culinary risk-taking to new heights on his Travel Channel show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Zimmern has traveled the streets of Nicaragua to the state fairs of Minnesota to find the craziest edibles on earth. We cringe when we see him chowing down on iguana eggs, reindeer pizza and pig stomach tacos — but he does it with such zeal that we keep tuning in. With the show’s fourth season premiering on April 26, it’s a great time to revisit some of Andrew’s strangest meals. Put down that sandwich and check out these eight clips below.
Squirrel Brains
When Zimmern visited Appalachia, he knew he was in for some down-home oddities. But at a restaurant as fancy as Ember in Snowshoe, West Virginia, the ultimate comfort food is chicken-fried squirrel.
Live Soup
In South Korea, Zimmern digs into a soup that wiggles until the last second. Talk about fresh!
Cow Urine
That’s right, cow urine. This short and, well, not-so-sweet clip shows Zimmern knocking back a glass of the stuff in Goa.
Spleen Sandwich
When you think Italian, you think spaghetti and meatballs — but probably not Spleen. But in Sicily, Zimmern sprinkles his spleen sandwich with cheese.
Baby Piglet
This clip from a Los Angeles restaurant might make you go vegetarian. Zimmern raves about the taste, but all we can see is a whole cooked piglet on the table.
Fish Eye
No cooking necessary when Zimmern visits Samoa. Just tear the fish’s eye from the socket, and enjoy.
Shark Meat
In Iceland, taking a bite out of Jaws is nothing new. Zimmern says the meat “smells like ammonia,” but tastes “sweet” and “nutty.”
Mystery Meat
Sometimes, the fear of the unknown can be worse than eating the strangest dish. Despite the “putrid, foul stench” Zimmern notes while eating “K’Lia” in Morocco, he still suffers through.
Looking for more Andrew Zimmern and Bizarre Foods on Gadling? Check out interviews with Andrew HERE and HERE.
During 9/11 I was stuck in Zurich, Switzerland for over a week. Sure there are much worse places to be, but I spent ninety percent of that time sitting around the airport waiting to get back to the United States. Every single day I checked out the hotel, dragged my bags a few blocks in the dark to the train station, and waited at the airport just like thousands of other stranded passengers. I was number 800-and-something on the standby list and all the flights departing to the US – two of them a day – were full. Some passengers became impatient and decided to rent a car and drive to airports in neighboring countries in the hope of getting out sooner. A few days later they were back. The rest of us just sat around waiting for our names to be called. It didn’t take long for strangers from all over the world to become friends.
Now with a volcanic ash cloud over Iceland shutting down European air space, thousands of passengers are stranded at airports around the world. With so many passengers spending time together, I can’t help but wonder if any love connections have formed over the last few days. What can I say, I’m romantic like that. Put a group of people together, throw in a natural disaster, and relationships are bound to form. And with all that time just hanging around airport hotels with nothing to do but, well, ya know, babies are bound to be born nine months later. Don’t ya think?
Remember the 2003 New York City blackout? I wanted to know if it resulted in a rise in births. So I did a little research and found out that the baby boom theory after a disruptive event is an urban legend. Isolated events like blackouts, and I’m going to assume erupting volcanos, do not cause babies to be born. It’s a misconception that people use their downtime to, well, ya know, get busy. Apparently that is the last thing on their mind. Don’t know why. I guess they’re just a little too busy waiting to board a flight that isn’t going to leave for days than to get jiggy with it. So what does cause a baby boom? According to Judith Nolte of “American Baby” magazine in an article written in 2003, the only thing that will create a baby boom is a surging number of women who are fertile. Like we didn’t know that.
I don’t care what the scientists and baby experts say, I predict there will be quite a few babies born as a direct result of Eyafjallajokul erupting. So what do you say we help name all those little volcano babies? After I sent out a tweet asking for a few suggestions, the names came pouring in. Valen, one of the more interesting ones, came from Infobitsystems. It’s a variant of Valentinus; the name of more than fifty saints and three Roman emperors. Now that’s a powerful name! NavyAirCrewman came up with Pele for a girl (Hawaiian volcano goddess) and Hephaistos for a boy (Greek god of fire). Now it’s up to you to decide.