As I am likely to do most evenings, I have the television turned on as background noise so I can focus on my work. Tonight my ears pricked up when I heard "Gran Canaria" mentioned, because it's a location very high on my list of places to visit. Partly because it's a part of Spain and I've loved all my previous visits to the country. Partly because it is supposed to be a very beautiful island. But mostly because it's a Hard Rock Cafe location that I haven't been to yet.
At least it was.
Out of habit when I hear the name of a Hard Rock location I'm lacking, I check to see if the property there is still open. It turns out that Gran Canaria isn't. It was closed back in October.
Well, shit.
I guess I should have gone to Gran Canaria instead of Mallorca back in January. Of course, had I done that, then it would have been Mallorca that closed (because I am just that lucky). To add insult to injury, I found out that the beautiful Hard Rock Cafe in Montreal (along with the nifty Skydome location in Toronto) had closed back in September. Oh well, at least I had visited those locations.
Sure I can still visit Gran Canaria one of these days, but it's not the same without having a cafe to check off my list. People can laugh at me all they want, but it's thanks to my Hard Rock Cafe addiction that I've visited several places around the world which I never would have seen otherwise. Fantastic cities like Warsaw, Poland... Fukuoka, Japan... Reykjavik, Iceland... Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia... or even Gatlinburg, Tennessee... and many, many more. It was checking cafes off a list that made me want to go there. The fact that I always find loads of amazing stuff to see and do in addition to a cafe visit is just icing on the cake.
Bah.
Will somebody please give me a million dollars and unlimited airline miles so I can visit all the Hard Rocks before any more of them close down? That would be great, thanks!
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I don’t have a million dollars, but you should definitely come and visit the last Australian one before they close it down too and you have no reason to come here 😛
Australia has PLENTY of reasons to visit other than a Hard Rock Cafe! 🙂
I don’t think it’s laughable at all. I like that you have this love for visiting all Hard Rock Cafes and totally know what it’s like to have a list like that. Mine may be about something else that others deem silly but something about checking each place/thing off? It feels satisfying and like I’ve accomplished something awesome even though hey, maybe it’s just awesome to me.
Sorry you didn’t get to see the one in Gran Canaria before it shut down. 🙁
I love to travel and see the world, and deciding where to go next is always made easier when I can look at the Hard Rock list and pick something from there that sounds like it would be fun. The problem here is that Gran Canaria was on my Hard Rock “must visit” list for SO long (four years!) that I’m feeling a little lost now. Though they did open a new cafe in Marabella, Spain, so maybe that’s my next trip? Hmmm…. maybe Marabella with a side-trip to Morocco! Okay… I’m excited again. 🙂
I do love that you try to visit all of them. That’s a cool obsession to have. If you had a couple million, you could build your very own! Hard Rock Dave!
Except Seattle FINALLY has a cafe opening up here soon, so I don’t have to! Though, if I had a million dollars to spend, I would seriously consider re-opening the old cafe in Kona, Hawaii. It was such a fantastic property, and I really missed it the last time I was there.
As you probably already know, I adopted your Hard Rock Cafe fetish, though I don’t expect to ever come anywhere close to visiting as many as you have. Is actually kind of strange as I’m not that into music memorabilia, but it seemed a way better choice than Planet Hollywood.
There are two in Vegas, right? So I should get to both of those this weekend. Yeah!
Also, surely you don’t need both the million dollars and the unlimited miles, either one would be sufficient, right? Be realistic — how likely is it that someone will give you *both* of those?
Being a Hard Rock Cafe addict is no easy thing. At first I was content to have visited all the cafes in the US and Canada. Then I visited all the cafes in Japan. Then I wanted to visit all the properties in Europe… it never ends. And, of course, there’s a new cafe in Narita and hotel in Tulsa now, so I’m falling behind again, darnit!
yeah, it sucks. I’m in Montreal as I write and I could use a good burger… Anyway, the economy will turn around eventually. Maybe some of these places will re-open in a year or two. Do you have a teeshirt for the Edmonton location?
Edmonton was a victim of the “Great Hard Rock Canada Implosion of 2000,” and I never made it there before it closed (along with Banff and Calgary). It’s a big regret for me… made even worse because the stunningly beautiful Hard Rock Cafe at Whistler and the funky cafe in Vancouver were also closed.
I’ve been to Gran Canaria a couple of times *many* years ago. All the Canary Islands used to be rather popular “going abroad” destinations for Brits. Tenerife quite nice too, although a little bit “English Football Fans With Beer” so that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. All that could have changed nowdays though.
I think the frigging Hard Rock people should be paying you to visit and blog these places!
If I had a million to spare, I’d definitely share.
I’m still sad that our Hard Rock here in Salt Lake has been closed for over a year now. At least you and I can say we visited it when it was open.
The other HRC that closed that makes me sad was the one in Newport Beach at Fashion Island. I liked that one a lot (and went there as often as I could)