Vegas - Day 3 (Final day)

Final day in Vegas and I can say that both Jennifer and I are glad that we have seen everything we want to see which means today is a day by the pool. Of course, our day didn't start until 11. The beds at Vdara are a little hard for our taste, but that won't keep us from sleeping in as long as possible. The pool at Vdara is nothing special when compared to the extravagant pools at Mandalay Bay or Flamingo. It does have one extra feature - the "death ray". I've seen reviews online about the death ray at this hotel and didn't know what it was referring to. Now we know that it is the reflection of the sun off the glass of the hotel. At certain times you can be pummeled by 2-3 times the heat and light of the normal sun. I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass... quite hot! We spent most of the day at the pool and really enjoyed soaking up the rays before we say goodbye to the sun for awhile in Seattle.
Later in the evening we met up with my cousin Stephanie and her husband John for dinner. They just happened to be in Vegas the same time as us. We ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville which seemed like a fun place. The food was ok and the atmosphere was pretty good but that isn't what made the place popular on the strip. We discovered that every hour, they put on a little show. The "show" starts off ok with the waitresses dancing and then gets better. One of the waitresses climbs this little mini volcano inside the restaurant and jumps inside. A minute later, out she comes with a bikini on and slides down the side into a big dunk tank at the bar. Next, a big fish hook comes down and lifts her out at which point she puts on a little show like Cirque du Solei. The four of us were quite shocked and amused at this whole performance. I guess that is what you are asking for when vacationing in Vegas! Reluctantly, we forced ourselves to leave and strolled on over to the Venetian. Inside the Venetian we had a little Gelato while listening to a violin trio near the Venice canals. (Venetian has an artificial indoor atmosphere) Oddly enough, there were pigeons flying around inside. Nowhere else did we see pigeons in Vegas which begs the question... were they brought in to replicate Venice?
Finally, to end the evening we saw Phantom at the theater built for it. We spent some money to buy the best seats and wouldn't you know it... the biggest guy in the theater sits down RIGHT in front of us. Uggg!! My view was half blocked for the whole performance which sucked. Regardless, the theater was excellent and the special effects were great. The chandelier was directly above us so we got to look up to see the phantom a few times and had the thrill of the chandelier dropping on us at one point. Unfortunately, that was about as great as the performance got. Both the singing and acting were forgettable. The phantom especially was not very good... terrible singing and unrealistic emotions. Vegas ain't got nothin on the real New York shows!
Anyways, tomorrow we fly back to the Seattle rain. It has been an interesting couple of days. Not the best vacation ever but entertaining and a great cheap way to break up the winter. Post us a comment if you liked reading this.

Vegas - Day 2

Sunday in Vegas. We have this fantastic room so it seemed appropriate to sleep in. I don't think we actually got out of the room until at least noon. The plan for today is to check out the south side of the strip. The first of the oldies but goodies is the Excalibur. It is funny because I remember this hotel being a lot "cooler" when I was here 11 years ago. It is starting to get pretty old and run down. King Arther needs to come out of his state room and get the kingdom back in shape. Next was the Luxor. I've always liked the pyramid shape of this hotel. Maybe it is the logical side of me that likes how uniform it is. The Luxor is pretty run down though too... Smokey and dark on the inside. Finally on the end of the strip we got to see the new Mandalay Bay. They have one of the best pool areas in vegas featuring a wave pool. Unfortunately, it is for hotel guests only. Oddly enough, we ran into an old friend that Jennifer and I used to play soccer with. He was here to get out of the Seattle overcast funk as well.... it would be interesting to know where most of the guests in Vegas come from. I bet bad weather in Seattle is very good for the casinos.

Before making our way back we checked out the Lions lying around at the MGM Grand, and I had a chance to eat a Nathan's hot dog from New York, New York. (not sure what the big deal is... other than the $5 cost for a cheapo hot dog) Maybe it is different in the actual New York, but I doubt it because the hotel is EXACTLY like New York. (sarcasm)

We made the long walk back up and finally returned to our hotal at Vdara. The air is so fresh! When you open the door it is really amazing how fresh and clean the air is. We must get used to the light smoke in the casino air and the hazyness of Las Vegas.

For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant near our hotel which was reasonably good. Afterwards we walked up and saw the Mirage volcano blow and meandered back down to see the Bellagio fountain show a few times. The Mirage was surprisingly good! 15-20 foot high flame fireballs with steam, fountains and explosions. Quite fun. And of course, the Bellagio fountains were great too. They run them every 15 minutes to a different song. Jennifer thinks they are the most romantic thing in Vegas.

Anyways, our evening was pretty low key. We decided to have one night without a show and it was very relaxing. For tomorrow, we are looking forward to some pool time and seeing Phantom at the Venitian.

Vegas - Day 1

We woke up this morning hungry and decided to try out a Vegas buffet right way. One of the best in town is at the Paris hotel which is right across the street so we made the hike over there with 30 minutes before the breakfast buffet switched to the lunch buffet. (and $10 more per person) Unfortunately, the line took longer than anticipated and we got pushed into the lunch buffet. Arrggg! The buffet food was ok. I think our experience was spoiled by recently going to Salty's - the best buffet in Seattle.

Anyways, stuffed and a little discouraged, we went over to one of those 1/2 price ticket stands just to see what was available and ended up buying tickets to see Cirque du Solei - Mystere. Pretty great way to buy tickets if you are flexible. We chose the late showing so we used up the rest of the day just walking around checking out the different hotels. The show was well worth the wait. The acrobats are amazing!! This show was the first one in Vegas so we are thinking about seeing another one before we leave. We'd really like to see "O" but tickets are $150 each and since it is the most popular show on the strip, they rarely get tickets at the 1/2 price ticket stands.

Anyways we are tired and our feet our sore so off to bed. Side note... we have to move the clocks forward on hour tonight losing an hour on our vacation...?? Boy that was poor planning. !

Vegas Arrival

We arrived in Vegas last night right on time with a pretty uneventful flight. Southwest is serving these crackers which taste pretty good and have a funny name. After landing, we jumped on a shuttle (surprisingly easy to do) and checked in at our hotel. Unfortunately, they didn't have any rooms that faced the Bellagio fountains since we checked in so late, but nevertheless our room is still incredible!! This hotel is so great because it is all non-smoking and was just built less than a year ago. Even though it was 11 pm, we decided to go out and see what was happening on the strip. We saw the Bellagio fountains which were very cool and then walked along the street. As you would expect the streets are filled with people at 11:30 at night who are very loud and obnoxious but we got used to it. By far, the funniest thing we have seen are these souvenier drink guitars that are served by the Hard Rock cafe. It is a full sized guitar that has a straw coming out of it. I can't imagine how much it might cost but it sure was funny to see people walking around drinking from their guitars.

Anyways, we are heading off this morning to go stuff ourselves at the buffet in the Paris hotel. I'm hoping to post at least once a day so keep checking back in if you want to follow! Viva Las Vegas!!