WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS!
It all started with a email to my sister one day, offering her a free trip to Vegas for her birthday. To say she was a bit startled, surprised, or shocked when she read the email is an understatement. She thought it was a joke and kept looking for the punchline. Once she realized it was not a joke, she quickly agreed and planning ensued. Flights, hotels, concert and show tickets were quickly booked. Who knew I didn't know how to spell my own sister's name...(I'll get to that in a minute).
The first mistake I made when I booked the tickets was that I used her maiden name instead of her married name...I mean, she's only been married for 18 years...it could happen to anyone! Did I mention that I misspelled her first name on the ticket as well?? I've only known her for 37 years, so I can't be expected to know how to spell her name right??
Thankfully, we managed to get all the name issues sorted out and still get on the plane to Las Vegas at an ungodly hour in the morning.
The shuttle driver from the airport told us that as long as you were putting coins in the slots, you would get free drinks. Well I can tell you...THAT did NOT happen to us. We could not even find a waitress while we were in there. We were probably the only 2 people in all of Las Vegas who never got a free drink while playing slots!
Anyway, we got checked into our very swanky hotel, Mandalay Bay, and found ourselves in a strip view room on the 23rd floor. Pretty nice indeed!
We found our way to the concierge desk to pick up our tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show. Wouldn't you know it...another snafu! We booked tickets to see Zumanity but the agent booked them for the wrong day! Oh what would we do!! Well, all was not lost. Our amazing concierge, David, managed to get us into another Cirque show - Criss Angel BELIEVE.
So now with our evening arranged, we decided to get dressed and head for dinner. We found a great little Thai restaurant in our own hotel. It was delicious and Sister even found a great new dish that she loved but had never tried...Kung Pao Chicken...I'm sure it is now a staple in her Asian food ordering at home.
After our wonderful Thai dinner we strolled through the Shops at Mandalay and found a tremendous little shooter stall that had Jello shooters for $1. Can't beat that! I think we had 3 each...We continued on to the Luxor for the show. And what a show...Criss Angel did not disappoint...His illusions were great! I had never seen a magician/illusionist before so it was a special treat for me.
Day 2 was spent in a small van with 8 other people on a road trip to Hoover Dam, Seligman Arizona and, our final destination, the Grand Canyon. The Hoover Dam is amazing but also a little disappointing. The reason for the disappointment is that in all the movies you watch that features the Hoover Dam, you can drive across it. This is not the case any longer. It seems that it has been deemed a potential terrorist target so they built a 4 lane divided highway past it and stationed some guards to check your vehicle on the way into the Hoover Dam Visitor's area. Aside from that though, it is a stunning piece of architecture.
It was a long drive but well worth it when we finally got to the Grand Canyon. I don't think you can truly appreciate it unless you visit. Some truly amazing views. Since it's common knowledge that a picture is worth 1000 words I will let a picture do the talking on this one.
See what I mean??
We hiked along the part of the rim and oooh'd and ahhh'd over every sight and even sat on the edge although I will admit...I didn't walk out there! I schooched out on my butt...but that's not important! The hike ended at Hopi Point to watch the sunset...there are no words...only another picture will do!
I think most of us slept on the way home...thankfully though...our driver stayed awake, we think.
Saturday morning was spent lounging with breakfast and then an afternoon trip to the outlet mall for some sale shopping! YAY! Then on to a kick ass rock concert at night! We went to watch Kiss and Motley Crue in the concert venue at Madalay Bay. Two amazing bands that put on a great show! First up was Motley Crue. Vince Neil was looking a little older than I remember but he certainly could still belt out all the songs I remember. I think my favorite of the night (by the Crue) was Dr Feelgood...Tommy Lee had one of his amazing stage setups rigged up so that he could take his drums in a circle like a ferris wheel. He even took one lucky fan on the ride with him! I bet that guy will never forget it!
Then Gene, Paul, Eric and Tommy took the stage in their full comic book style character costumes and put on a rockin' good show. They played mostly new songs that I hadn't heard before and I was a little disappointed that they didn't play some of their more famous songs like I wanna rock and roll all night but they did end their encore with God Gave Rock And Roll To You...so it's all good!
Sunday was mostly a relaxing day. We went to the spa and had our nails done (fingers and toes). It was very relaxing as most spa experiences are. Then we went to the wave pool for about an hour so that we could say we spent time by the pool...guess what...We spent time by the pool. :) After that it was time to get ready for dinner. We had chosen a Russian restaurant in our own hotel called Red Square. I don't know if ya'll know this about me but when I travel I am a more adventurous eater than I would be at home. (don't look so shocked, Mom) I tend to try new foods and things that I have shunned for years at home.
Red Square has a giant statue of a headless Stalin. When we entered the restaurant, the entire atmosphere is red. There is amazing light fixtures all around including very large metal chandeliers in the more open areas. The decor is filled with red leather banquettes for cozy seating. There is a very large selection of martinis and other refreshments and even a vodka cellar you can tour if you purchase a bottle of vodka...the starting price for a bottle of vodka was $100! I really think now, that we should have done it!
The food menu had lots of interesting choices but we settle on the set menu which consisted of 5 courses. Because there were two selections for almost every course, we pretty much tried everything on the set menu, from borscht to calamari, meat dumplings in broth and caviar. We even washed it down with some really cool martinis like Lenin's Kryptonite which was, in fact, bright green in colour!
Aside from the amazing food, our waiter was fabulous and we met a crazy guy at the table next to us and his wife. They were dining with another couple but I think they should have just came and sat with us! They were kind to take our picture together and send over a birthday cake shooter ...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm delicious!
After that we took a walk to New York New York hotel to watch Zumanity, another Cirque du Soleil show. Their gaming floor is setup in the different neighborhoods of NYC so we ended up getting lost in Brooklyn trying to find the theatre for the show. All was well though and we didn't miss the opening. All I can say is Thank God we weren't on the aisle but snuggled nicely in the center of our section. They were pulling people up on stage to participate in the show. It is likely that I would have gone up and put on my own show but probably best that I didn't. For those of you reading this that are not familiar with what the Zumanity show is all about, it explores the world of sexuality in all it's forms - orientation, preferences, fetishes, etc. It is hosted by a drag queen who is hilarious. There is a couple who dispense advice on how to pick up and so much more. I don't think we stopped laughing through the entire show and for sure my cheeks were hurting until the next morning. I think this was one of the best nights we had in Las Vegas - good thing it was our last because I don't know what we would have had to do to top it!
After reading this you must be thinking...What! No gambling and no mention of walking the strip!! Those are two Las Vegas essentials! My answer to that is Who had time!? We did put a few coins in the slots but as everyone who has ever been to a casino knows...the house always wins! I like my money too much to through it all into a slot on the off chance I might make my fortune in coins. Maybe if we had gotten a free drink ...we would have stayed at the slots longer!
