Tag: Magic

Off To Visit the Baby, Madrid 2025 Day #3. “Another Great Day With Our Kids”

by reissmd, posted in Madrid

Last night we had a wonderful dinner.  We ate at El Valle (Calle de Sebastián Herrera, 6  Madrid, Spain).  It only gets a 3.6 on Trip Advisor but this was our second time visiting this restaurant and we give it 5 stars.  Clearly Reiss Travel Blog is about to surpass Trip Advisor with users.  The food was excellent.  We had a Turbot that fed all 4 of us.  The food was very good and the waiter deboned the fish (not all bones were gone, so be careful when swallowing). Last time we were here the server did the deboning at our table which provided a wonderful show.  This time it was done out of sight.  The service was good except for one of the busboys spilling our water (which we paid for) and then he planned to just put a small towel over the wet area that encompassed almost half our eating space.  We convinced him to change the table cloth instead.  In addition to the turbot we had a side order of potatoes (that came with the fish) and appetizers of calamari and croquettes.  They gave us a complementary after dinner drink called Crema de Orujo which was a lot like Bailey’s.  Then we shared a Tart de Santiago (almond cake) for dessert.  It was a wonderful meal. Following dinner we hung out at the hotel for a while and then it was off to bed. 

The Turbot before deboning.
Turbot after deboning and ready to eat.

I slept in this morning and got us off to a late start.  Erica gave us instructions on how to take the bus to her place.  I love learning how to get around town with local transportation.  I did a great job, turning a 16 minute walk into a 20 minute bus trip. 

For breakfast Erica took us to a local place which was one of the few places that were open because today is Constitution day (December 6) a holiday in Spain.  The place had seating inside and out. It is not horribly cold so we might have chosen to sit outside but outside there are frequently smokers nearby.  We were told there was only one table inside that would seat the four of us.  They said we could have the table ONLY if we promised to vacate by 3 pm.  We were told this at 11:30 AM.  I LOVE SPAIN. 

We then strolled around the town seeing the opera house, Plaza España, Cervantes statue, Sol, and something I’d must have walked by numerous times but never seen before, Raton Perez (known by locals as the “Tooth Fairy”).

Don Quixote in front, his sidekick Sancho Panza, at his side, and their creator, Miguel de Cervantes.
Raton Perez, aka “The Tooth Fairy”
Outside the building we saw where Raton Perez enters and exits the building

We did a fair amount of walking today (obviously I am feeling guilty for not exercising on the treadmill) so this deserved a little treat (oops, need to get back on the treadmill) so we went to the famous Chocolatería San Ginés There we had churros and Spanish style hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is more like a dipping sauce.  It was divine.  

Churros and Hot Chocolate from Chocolatería San Ginés.

We need to go back to the hotel to rest before our next activities.  Maybe I will go to the fitness center and work out (who am I trying to kid?). Speak to you tomorrow.

Adiós 

Magic in Vegas Day#4 “No, No, Please Say It Isn’t Over”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

I won’t bore you with stories about breakfast except to say we went to Blueberry Hill again.   It was great again. How this place gets a 3.9 rating on Yelp is beyond me.

The morning session was at times a bit mind boggling,  mind blowing, and mind numbing.  We heard an interview with Penn and Teller and also a lecture about under appreciated Black magicians which were very interesting.  There was a very impressive mentalism performance by an act named Mind 2 Mind. I don’t think many of the men in the audience concentrated on the act after the female part of the duo walked through the audience. (see below) 

The female part of the Mind 2 Mind twosome. This was the reason many of the men didn’t pay attention to the tricks and just stared at her. I of course was focused on the magic.

Patrice here. Do you believe that nonsense he just said? Ask him to name one of their tricks and see if he can name any.

Lastly and most sobering was a talk about an attempt to end piracy of magic books and tricks.  Apparently the pirates not only have stolen money but have also threatened the investigator with extortion and threats of physical harm. Yikes!

The afternoon sessions were great.  I learned some great tricks to do plus some others that although I can’t do were interesting to learn the secrets.  

Dinner was also a show.  Yes we went to Benihana.  We joined Bill and his son Bill and 4 other friends from back home, John, Connie (who told us about Magic Live) and their friends Gary and Cindy. It is always a lot of fun watching and listening to the Benihana chefs and tonight was no exception.

From left to right: Bill II, Bill (Bill II’s dad), John, Connie, Cindy, Gary. Row 2: Patrice, Yours truly, and Owen.

When I asked my magic buddy, Mike, if he wanted to attend Magic Live, he scoffed at the thought of staying at such a cheap hotel as the Orleans.  I have to admit that he was right in many respects.  Of interest there were a couple of things that made the hotel desirable. For example the hotel doesn’t have any pressure filters in the shower so you get a real blast which I really like.  Also the water temperature is extremely hot. I love a hot shower.  Newer hotels tend to limit the water pressure (money saver?) and temperature (possibly to avoid injuring guests and hearing from attorneys?) so the Orleans has my vote in regards to the shower.  Interestingly this morning Owen noticed that the cold water from the sink was hot.  I’ve been to numerous locations where hot water is a rarity (LAX for example) but I’ve never seen any location where the cold water is hot.  Well, not until today.  

The closing show was one more treat to top off a great 3 days of magic. It is late and I don’t want to bore you with details of the show. Actually I need my editor to proofread my posting and she is fading fast so we need to call it a night.

Tomorrow it’s back to home.  I am always happy to return home but I have to admit this trip was very special. I look forward to returning next year. Thanks go to our friends who made it a unique event. Treating us to dinners, driving us to locations, waiting in line to save us seats, gifts for our grandson, showing us the lay of the land for the convention, is too much to fathom. What a wonderful group of friends. I am really blessed.

Not a great photo but definitely a great bunch of people.

No trips planned for the near future but if we head out of town I promise you’ll be the first to know. 

Ciao 

Magic in Vegas Day #3 “Robert Becomes a Magical Star!”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Another great night’s sleep.  I think I need to leave my phone in the kitchen from now on. 

Last night we were treated to an amazing show which included a mentalist, a juggler (not strictly a magician but still very entertaining), a physical magician, and a guy who had a nonstop supply of cards emanating from his hands.  There was also an emcee who did the best trick of the night.  He took a ring from an audience member.  Another member of the audience helped him make it disappear and the same member of the audience helped him find it.  It was located on the emcee’s toe under his sock AND BOOT! I would tell you how it’s done but I can’t because I don’t want to break the magician’s code of ethics. Also, I have no idea how he did it.

This morning we decided not to risk being killed by a cab driver for hiring them for a one mile trip and ate at the Copper Whisk located in the hotel.  It was closer but clearly a step down from Blueberry Hill.  But what it lacked in quantity and quality they made up in service. For example look how they arranged our service settings.  See below. 

As I recall he dropped the utensils on the table and said, “Here”.

We then attended the general session which showed a mentalist (Brian Curry) who was funny and impressive and a hilarious magician named Piff the Magic Dragon.  His trick was funnier than it was impressive but it was definitely my favorite presentation of the session.  There was a father and son duo who discussed how storytelling and magic presentations are very similar.  They gave tips to performing magicians which were definitely lost on me.  There was also a costume designer explaining the importance of your costume for your presentation.  I think I will stick with a white coat for my performances. 

The afternoon was much more enjoyable.  First we saw another mentalist (Drew Backenstoss) who gave a great show and then told how everything was done.  I definitely plan to utilize some of his tips.  This show was especially enjoyable because I was able to be a volunteer participant.  I was a bit scared because he was trying to predict the PIN of my debit card.  Lucky for me he failed in that endeavor.  After that we saw a close up magician (Mike Pisciotta) who also did a show and proceded to teach us how everything was done.  I got a close up view because again I was picked as a volunteer.  This was spectacular because we got to see a great show and learn some great magic tips. See  below.

Mike Pisciotta explaining how to do his tricks.

We have one more show tonight and then it is off to dinner. This has truly been an incredible experience. 

Ciao

Magic Time in Vegas Day#2 “The Magic of Sleep”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

I had an amazing night.  The room was very quiet and I slept like a baby (that is I woke up every 2 hours) but thanks to Owen it was a great night.  Often when I wake during the night I’ll grab my phone and can’t back to sleep.  I didn’t want to bother Owen so didn’t touch my phone and instead fell back asleep.  Glory, glory, boy do I feel great. 

We got our act together this morning and headed to Blueberry Hill (a local restaurant recommended by Bill, not the Fats Domino hit song from the 50’s) [1505 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119].  The place was amazing.  Food was great, portions generous, and prices reasonable.  If you plan to stay at the Orleans Hotel I’d definitely recommend this place for breakfast but please take an Uber.  When the cab driver heard we wanted him to take us to a place about a mile away he was not a happy camper.  Getting an Uber back to the hotel was not all that easy either so maybe tomorrow we will look for something walking distance from the hotel.  No food pictures but here are just 4 pages from the menu.

French Toast or Waffles?
Pancakes?
Eggs Benedict?
How about an Omelette instead?
I lied, here is a food picture. Patrice and I shared an omelette (this was my portion) and it came with pancakes (located behind the eggs).

Then it was time for Magic!  Well not quite.  The General session was hosted by a very funny and clever magician named Rick Merrill.  The other presenters were talking about their philosophy and history of magic.  That is not very interesting to me but seemed very well received by the others (the true magicians) in the audience. 

The afternoon session was interesting, informative and inspiring.  We saw a British magician named Joseph Barry do some incredible card tricks and then showed them again but this time explained how they were done.  I think they are all quite doable.  All I have to do is quit medicine, not talk to any friends or relatives, and practice all day for about 10 years and I will then be mediocre at what he did, seemingly with ease.

We then saw a stunt magician named Jonathan Goodwin.  He too is from Great Britain but unfortunately about 4 years ago had a trick go awry and he is paralyzed from the chest down (T11 level for those of you in the medical field).  He showed us some incredible tricks that he used to do and also explained how they were done.  In addition to being informative he was quite amusing.  When the audience gave him a standing ovation, he said, “It looks like you are all mocking me”. 

Jonathan Goodwin

After a short break it was the close up magic show.  This is always my favorite.  Tonight was no exception.  There were 4 different magicians and all were spectacular.  Some of the tricks I had seen before but there were others that were beyond comprehension.  For example one of the magicians made shadow figures with a light on a screen.  No big deal, we have all seen that.  But have you seen it where he throws a card from his hand to the shadow and then the shadow throws it back?  But my favorite was a trick involving a bag and an egg.  No need for me to explain it because it clearly was impossible and the magician just had us all on hallucinogenics.  Yes, it was mind boggling.

We then went for dinner and got stuffed on cajun food. What else would you expect at a hotel called, Orleans? 

But that isn’t the end of our night.  We will be leaving the room soon for another show.  This is apparently the big show of the night.  

And to think this is just day #1 of the convention. 

Ciao, until tomorrow. 

Magic Time in Vegas, Day #1 “Welcome to Sin City”

by reissmd, posted in Las Vegas

Many followers of this blog know that I have adopted a new hobby, magic.  My friend Mike and I have been studying online with our instructor (also Mike) who is a plumber in New Jersey (not a joke). We have been having a lot of fun and become much more interesting to strangers (our friends are bored having seen our tricks too many times as we use them as an audience for our practice sessions). I found out about a convention dedicated to magic called “Magic Live”.  It takes place every year in August in Las Vegas.  Yes, Vegas in August doesn’t sound like a dream trip but that is where Patrice and I are.  Lucky for us we have a travel guest, our oldest grandson, Owen.  This is our third trip with Owen having taken him to Panama and Canada previously.  He is a great travel partner, very easygoing and so fun to talk to. 

We found out about the magic convention from 2 of my patients, John and Connie.  We ran into them last year when we were out to dinner.  Oddly, Connie recognized Patrice from the blog and didn’t even notice me.  I don’t recall how we got on the topic of magic but Connie mentioned that her brother hosts the magic convention and here we are.  

Upon arrival to the Harry Reid International airport in Las Vegas there was no doubt that the pilot took us to the correct city.  These two sights made it clear that we were not in Salt Lake. 

Slot machines by baggage claim. “Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore.”
Okay, can you direct us to which part of the airport where this is allowed?

After exiting the airport we were in a cab in seconds (this definitely is not LAX) and on our way to the Orleans Hotel. My friend and magic buddy, Mike, decided not to attend because the hotel at which the convention is located is not one of the luxury gaming houses.  “Robert I am not going to a hotel that charges $80 per night”.  Hmmm, okay. At first it seemed just like any of the other Vegas hotels, smelling of smoke and with a huge casino greeting you as you enter.  It is clear that this is not like the higher profile places.  For example at check-in your option was to do self check-in or pay $35 to have a human take your information. We opted to save the $35 and use the self check-in machine which was very easy to use.  We were only given 2 keys which is all we need since if we let Owen out of our sight for one nanosecond his mother and father will have us fried.

The Orleans might not be a luxury hotel but it still is very nice and adequate for our purposes.  For example we had an excellent dinner at Alder and Birch which is located in the hotel. We got a great deal on the price of the meal because we were the guests of our friend Bill and his son Bill Jr.  The meal was amazing but the best part was the entertainment. Bill teaches airline mechanics how to work on engines.  Years ago he also worked as a party clown entertaining kids. Bill Jr. is a professor at Abilene Christian University.  Both Bills are amazing magicians and entertained us during dinner with some incredible tricks.  

After dinner we headed over to the Convention mixer where we met some more magicians and were treated to some more impressive magic.  Next door was what they call “The Dealer’s Room” which is essentially a hoard of merchants selling a variety of magic tricks.  It was very interesting but there were so many people there it was hard to get a salesperson to even talk to let alone see what was special about their booth.  Hopefully later in the week it won’t be as crowded.  

Enjoying time with our baby grandson (he is the one towering over us) while I try to hide the ice cream I am eating.

Tomorrow the convention starts for real.  Hopefully I will be funnier tomorrow.  Patrice can be brutally honest sometimes.  I asked what she thought of the blog and she said, “It wasn’t very funny”.   

I will try harder tomorrow. 

Skol! Our Trip To Scandinavia Day #10 “TGIF: Thank God It’s Fjord-day”

by reissmd, posted in Loen, Norway, Norway

Today was totally devoted to experiencing the fjords of Norway. As I mentioned before this was one of the main reasons I wanted to take this trip.  I hate to say this but in spite of today providing some beautiful sights I have to say I was a bit disappointed.  

My vision was that I was going to see mountains of ice extending from a water base all the way to the heavens. I was thinking about what we had seen in Alaska and Patagonia and that this would be similar or hopefully even more spectacular.  Today reminded me of when we saw geysers in the Atacama desert in Chile.  The guides prepared us to see spectacular geysers but instead we saw things that guides at Yellowstone or Patagonia wouldn’t even bother to point out.  

The day started out with me being cold on a ferry. Do I look happy?

Cold and alone.

That being said it was still an enjoyable day. It warmed up after the morning and we didn’t have any rain. I even had to take off my jacket because it was warm. And we got to hang out with 22 new friends who are all wonderful travel partners.

Warmer and happier in front of one of the glaciers and fjord.

Heading to one location we met with a delay. Traffic was blocked by some locals crossing the highway.

Line of cars waiting for goats to clear the highway.
A close-up of our new travel buddies.

But more fjords were to follow.

In the coach passing by a lovely fjord.

Our next fjord/glacier was a bit more spectacular (see below).

Nice view of a glacier.
Same glacier but close-up view to better see the snow and ice.

We also had the opportunity to see two Norwegian movie stars.  I only got their first names.  They were obviously special since numerous people were among their entourage.  Here is a photo of Sven and Ingrid.

Such gorgeous movie stars. Her English was amazing. His needs a lot of work.

We then returned to the hotel to be greeted by another massive dinner buffet. Good thing my pants were loose fitting when we left Los Angeles. They feel just right now but I predict they will be snug by the time we get home.

I did another magic trick tonight asking one of our travel mates, Jayme, to assist me and it worked like a charm. They are a great magic audience.

See you tomorrow.

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #6 “Don’t Come Here (Copenhagen in May) For the Weather”

by reissmd, posted in Copenhagen

Today was billed as a day with a lot packed into it “Don’t be late, we have lots to do”. And we were not deceived. We did have a very full day but got a great start by having a wonderful night’s sleep. After breakfast we met our local guide for the day and headed onto the bus. We were told that we would be doing a lot of street walking. The tour guide warned us when crossing the street be careful of the “Psychopaths”. We asked him to repeat himself and without hesitation he again warned, “When crossing the streets be careful of the psychopaths”. We remained bewildered and our expressions must have revealed our confusion so he further explained, “Yes, the bicyclists have the right of way so you will need to be aware of their location on the CYCLE PATH”. Okay, got it.

The morning tour was complicated by rain and cold weather. We did a short walk before getting on the bus. During the drive we passed a number of historical sights and then found this one:

The Little Mermaid.

Our guide said that the statue has been the victim of multiple cases of vandalism including twice having her head cut off and once being completely demolished with explosives. Why would anyone want to hurt this sweet thing?

We did some more touring from there but I have to tell you being on a boat or bus hearing a tour guide go on and on about fact after fact just doesn’t do it for me. Patrice said she disagrees and likes that aspect. Hmmmm, see below.

Robert and Patrice taking in every word the tour guide is saying on the boat portion of the activities.

We were given a midday break to have some lunch and get some rest. We found a nice place where we could get some authetic Danish cuisine.

Can you get any more authentic Danish food than some good old Italian pasta with burrata cheese?

Then we were back on the road with our guide making sure to avoid the psychopaths. Our next stop was a bit out of the city. We passed some gorgeous homes on our way to Frederiksborg Castle. This place was beautiful inside and out. Here is a picture approaching from a distance.

Frederiksborg Castle (Frederiksborg Slot 10, 3400 Hillerød). The picture doesn’t adequately show its beauty.

After the castle we headed to dinner for an authentic Danish meal (unlike the Italian food we had for lunch) at Gamle Humlebæk Kro (are you impressed I could type the Danish letter æ?). The dinner was great but the highlight for me was a mindreading/card trick I performed for the group. People laughed at the jokes and were blown away when I picked the correct card. I promised to do my calculator trick the night before the trip ends and people were very excited. My magic ego got a major boost today.

The master magician and his assistant.

Tomorrow we fly to Norway.

Til i morgen.