Las Vegas Day Three

We have some catching up to do, don't we?

Tuesday morning we had that buffet at Grand Lux I described. Then we went to the Wynn and got cards and played slots for quite a bit. So much that we played through lunch! This is a frightful realization for someone who came to Vegas first and foremost for the excuse to try every nifty restaurant possible. I did see the Wizard of Oz machines at the base of the elevator at the Venetian and they were quite popular. We saw them elsewhere...maybe Wynn?

We decided to see if there were tickets available to another Cirque show available and there were, again with the 25% off link from TripAdisor. We bought tickets for a 7pm showing of Mystere at TI.

Back at the Palazzo we enjoyed our geriatric dining hour (seriously I think it was 4:30) at Dal Toro. It's the Italian restaurant with a view of the Lamborghini dealership. Odd concept to me, but hey, I had steak covered with bleu cheese sauce, that's decadence. Our 3 drinks, 2 appetizers and 2 steaks were about $165 with tip.

We walked over to TI and found a niche in the crowd five minutes before the Siren Show started. It was quite a spectacle. I kept picturing the resumes on the back of the performers' headshots. I'm glad we saw it even if standing in a crowd always makes me a bit, you know, completely insane.

We picked up our tickets and killed some time and money at TI. We wandered into Kahunaville and the couple next to us at the bar handed us an extra two for one coupon. We had possibly our best drinks of the trip - a pair of mango mai tais.

Our seats at Mystere were further from the stage than they were for KA and the theater isn't as comfortable as KA's, but it was a good show. The acrobatics are amazing of course. There are a few things in the show that wear a little thin, but the jawdropping parts make it totally worthwhile. I understand why KA's tickets are a bit more expensive and think KA is more up our alley and totally worth it.

We rounded out the night back at Palazzo.

Then on Wednesday...

Day Two in Las Vegas

Oh my hell my feeeeeeet!

This post is brought to you by the quote of the day. While walking down the strip past the crowds my sister made her move to pass. BIL: "Sis is a darter, is Elle a darter?" Jac: "No she takes taxis."

We were up at 8 and off to find breakfast. My master planning showed its first sign of weakness when I thought I'd mentally bookmarked Il Postrio in the Venetian for a light breakfast. So we walked there and found that I'd actually thought that was a good lunch place, they were closed for breakfast. We backtracked to Pinot Brasserie near the V/P border and for $20 total we had: 1 large OJ, 2 fantastic coffees, a chocolate croissant, a scrambled egg, a side of bacon, and a side of herb roasted potatoes.

We headed across the street to Treasure Island. I think my sis would love TI. We played penny slots for a while. We walked to CP, stopping everywhere along the way.

We got to the Bellagio and popped in for the buffet. I only remember reading about how expensive buffets are but the lunch was $19.95 each and we spent more than that on a snack at Grand Lux yesterday. Anyway, the buffet is huge. They did have Thanksgiving fare available - the turkey was a big no for me. Thurs & Fri this week they are having an official TDay buffet.

Jac and I could not have had more different assortments. Jac: how much seafood will fit on this plate? ME: how many carbs can I possibly ingest? The desserts were beautiful but not OMG amazing. The buffet crowd is something I don't see a lot of in everyday life and it really is quite a thundering horde. I'm glad we went but I think I prefer getting one really good thing to a lot of okay stuff. I mean except for the fact that I could have UNLIMITED BREAD which is pretty heavenly for a carbivore like me!

Then it was back to the slots and suddenly I had the touch. $5 returned $43.40, won $179 as soon as I sat down at a 25 cent slot. I'd had a yen to play 18 on roulette. (Stupid asinine me really wanted to play 18 black which does not exist. Fortunately this was a private newbie mistake - you know, until I shared it with you.) Anyway, I walked up to the video roulette machine and put a couple 10 pt chips on 18 and it hit $152.50. My camera has a picture of a $177.50 voucher so I guess that happened at some point too.

DH and I cleared $448 today. That's basically our $119/night hotel for the week!

We went to CP, drooled over the Forum Shops. At some point, a little bit of walking turned into "Oh my hell how much walking is there in this fricking town we're only going NEXT DOOR!"

I knew Sis would like a relatively reasonably priced dinner so I gave a couple of options including Spago. I think we were in the Bellagio when I said that. So we began our little hike. I noticed some serious crowds lining up on the walkway and remembered something about the best places to stand to see the Bellagio fountain show.

The fountains started and I began snapping away. Naturally, as soon as they shifted into high gear my memory card was full. We got a great view of two songs of the fountains and it was as cool as everyone says.

Speaking of cool... the temps could not have been more perfect today. It was cool out but not chilly at all - if someone or something is going to entice you - against all your better judgment - to hike around all day this is lovely weather in which to do it!

We had dinner at the Spago cafe, I'd worried the place would be mobbed, but it was dead. Our dinner was $90 for 4 pizzas, sodas and a couple beers. The pizza was quite good but I had sort of hoped for a larger selection of pastas.

But the minute we stepped out of CP blisters sprung from every square inch of my feet. Yeow! We were on our way to NYNY to check out Coyote Ugly. This would be when that deceptive "Oh it's just past CP!" thinking kicks in. We dismissed the idea of a cab and the walking, oh the walking, began anew. It was at the escalators across from Bill's and the Flamingo that communication broke down and our Donner party began to eat its young.

There was some bailing on the group, but I hung in, I could survive if I could just sit and drink.

We went to the Flamingo for a change of pace and ho-boy did it deliver. It was a somewhat older and more seasoned gaming crowd there and though I found the same Super Super Something Something slot I'd been on elsewhere I couldn't wrangle any bonus spins out of it. The bartender inadvertently comped our drinks and then was disturbed when she realized DH was playing but I wasn't at that moment.

Finally, I had to surrender. We hopped on a Deuce and it did not disappoint, someone had definitely been sick on there recently. Still it was relatively quick and cheap and did not involve any of my horsepower to operate.

We are back in the room at the Palazzo, that $5 I actually remembered to leave for Housekeeping was rewarded with an extra blanket, mints on our pillow and fresh ice (so someone was here recently). We bought some bandaids for my feet, but I wouldn't have the foggiest idea where to begin!

Day One in Vegas: PM Edition

Creepy Clown - Not Cirque du Soleil Related

Whaddya know, acrobatic French Clowns do not suck! Actually, they are amazing.

Yesterday afternoon we took a cab from the Palazzo to Mandalay Bay to meet up with my sis and her husband. We saw a bit of MB and agreed we'd meet up there for a buffet (thanks TA) at some point. Then we headed to the MGM Grand for our dinner reservation at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill and the 7PM show of KA.

The restaurant looks out onto the casino floor. We enjoyed the people watching. We had arrived early so we had a couple of drinks at the bar. I had a margarita (made strictly from a recipe not the sugary mixer variety I actually prefer) and a beer and then sat on the edge of the restaurant.

I ordered the housemade spaghettini which sounded a little sparse on the menu but was delicious and hearty. I asked for a side of garlic ciabatta that was listed with another item and that was a good addition. Jac had the pepperoni and olive pizza and he said it was sensational. I got his discarded crusts (carb fiend here) and they were light and crispy. Thumbs up to WGP Bar & Grill for a casual bite to eat. $57 with tip with 2 entrees, 1 drink, a soda and that side of garlic bread.

We explored the MGM Grand and got what I believe must be some form of slushie at 320. I got a pina colada and it was wonderful (better than the one in the KA theater and I think you can take outside beverages in...). We wandered through the shops. I took a bunch of pictures of the restaurants - the openness gave it a little bit of a dining in a mall feel - particularly Emeril's Fish House, but we'll probably be back.

We played some sub-$1 slots and a couple of times turned $1 into $9 and $5 into $21.25. We were cashing out our tickets pretty regularly because I can really see how I could spend the whole night feeding the machines!

We stopped in the KA store. It is pretty clowny in there, but more on that later.

Then we headed in to KA. They have a concession stand (two frozen drinks =$20, my margarita tasted like bananas to me).

We were in the center of Row G in the front section. Spectacular seats - which we got 25% off with a link from TA for discounted shows this week! Now I'm going to take you way back...because in the 80's I was a kid and my parents thought we needed broadways shows for culture and Cats and Les Mis were part of that. We all remembered being amazed at Les Mis's 360 degree rotating stage...

Well hello 2008! The KA theater is alive with things moving and transforming before your eyes. It is an engineering marvel. The performance is amazing. We chose KA because it alluded to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and we thought that was a little more palatable than some of the other shows might be. It has a thin storyline that's enough to get you through the 90 minute show. You come for the acrobatics.

OMG the acrobatics are amazing. Seriously I can only imagine what the rehearsals are like. I don't want to give any of it away, but it's mind-bending. My mouth was wide open at times. I can't believe they do the show like a dozen times a week.

I was definitely a skeptic but now I think I could have left town happy last night if that's all we'd done.

Then we spent a little more time in MGM's casino and the Palazzo's and hit the hay a little early.

Our first day in Las Vegas

Actually Saturday night, when I'd already set all of my work systems to "Hey, she is GONE, don't bug her!" I got a call from a client who needed a personal favor. Unfortunately she'd had a tragic week and it was all I could do to give her a hand. So I worked until 11:30 Saturday night before our 8AM Sunday departure.

Oddly, I wasn't tired when Jac woke me up, I was ready to GO. We called Envirocab a new all-hybrid cab co in Northern Va for a guilt-free ride to the airport. I figured if we're going to be spending this much time in a place that by all reason probably shouldn't exist, maybe we could offset somewhere. Of course the irony was that the Envirocab reeked of cigarettes, it was a good primer for our first trip to LAS.

I had been watching our flight's available seats like a hawk and moved us up to 5A&C with no one in the center seat. No matter how many times I tried to check in we were never offered an upgrade, so we hoped no one would show up for the middle seat and we were pleased that no one did. It was actually pretty cozy.

We got in the cab at the airport and I said in my sweetest voice, "We're going to the Palazzo, so we can take Swenson??? No tunnel?" He said yes, then proceeded to have one of those continuous radio conversations with some other cab driver. I hope they all have unlimited minutes.

We're hoping to check in early at the Palazzo and that's no problem at all. I ask whether there are any upgrades available and smarty girl says "Oh yes," and whips out a notebook and starts telling me how much more each upgrade would be. I said we'd save our money for the casino. When she said our "Luxury" room had "no view" she failed to mention the steam pipe and the parking garage - hey that's quite a view.

We picked up our Players Cards at Club Grazie with credits from the reservation and the sign up for the club and headed to the nearest place Grand Lux Cafe. What can I say, it's a Cheesecake Factory. But the pomegranate margarita I had got me thoroughly into the right frame of mind. We decided to go lose our credits in the casino and I did a great job at that. My husband was better at holding onto his.

We walked over to the Venetian casino and parked at an ultra stinky bar with slots and were instantly comped two drinks. I support that! Jac won $21 on $5 on the slots there and I dwindled my card credit to $0.

We wandered through the Palazzo and Venetian shops and picked up a few small things.

Tonight we go to Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill and then Ka at MGM and maybe meet up with my sister and her husband. So far so good.

Three Little Words

I'm a little behind in my blogging, but there's an excellent reason I promise. I have been spending every waking moment clearing stuff off my plate and planning like a maniac for our trip to Vegas.

Vegas Baby Vegas

Viva Las Vegas

etcetera etcetera etcetera

Our basic family dynamic here is that before we go anywhere I am deeply obsessed with learning the longitude and latitude of every single place we might ever set foot and reading all the travel boards and books to find out where we absolutely should not go. During this time I harangue Jac daily, "Aren't you excited? Did you looked at the links I sent? Have you read the book yet?" While he coolly responds that he's busy he'll look at it tomorrow...

When we arrive at our destination Jac thinks we've just been spontaneous and happened upon a perfect day of things to do all within close proximity and gee, wasn't it lucky there was a comic store right near the yarn shop?

But I am really living dangerously this trip - I am going against type. I am breaking with tradition and NOT printing out piles of supercondensed notes on 5x7 index cards or one master sheet jammed with information. Nope. I am trusting my iPhone. It's a lot of responsibility but I know iPhone can handle it. Just in case we have a second iPhone - the one Jac just got. The sites have been bookmarked on TripAdvisor and Yelp. The Insider's Guide has been read cover to cover. I have changed our airplane seats four times. We are ready!

And just yesterday with the specter of Friday and the weekend looming, Jac made a strange face. It was a giddy smile. He had finally caught the bug. Suddenly, after a mere five weeks of prodding, he was independently excited to get on a sardine can of a plane and travel 2500 miles to a gaudy, bawdy playground in the desert.

Alright, I'm down with that.

Last Gasp of New Growth

Two bright little rosebuds have made their way out behind our house. The pink bud is in stark contrast with the autumnal hues just a few feet in the other direction. It's pretty yes, but I prefer the trees and the crunch of these leaves under my feet.

Stellar Saturday

Well, that was quite a Saturday!

For my birthday last month, Jac gave me tickets to the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show featuring Paula Deen. While looking up the show I discovered that the Green Festival was happening the same weekend at the DC Convention Center - so we could do both!

Yesterday we set out for the convention center and parked in one of those crazy tetris event parking lots where it could be a good 20 minutes before all the cars are moved to extract your car - but hey, it was close.

The cooking show spanned two halls and many booths of food samples. Some were hits, others were big misses. I tried an apple cake sample that my body immediately spat out in horror. Other things like a rosemary nut mix were memorable. We bought some fudge - that reminds me, where is that pumpkin fudge? Yum. We wished there were more beverage samples on hand. There were tons of things for sale but oddly enough we did most of our buying at the green show.

After touring the hall, we headed out to lunch at Busboys & Poets. I'd been into B&P before, but it was so crowded I just wanted to get. the hell. out. But here, in Penn Quarter (now I finally know where Penn Quarter is), it was wonderful. The feeling in B&P was really nice and I had a view of two Obama pumpkins leftover from their Election Night bash.

We settled in and explored a huge menu of desirable things. I settled on the brie, spinach and caramelized onions sandwich and remembered just how important a dash of apple cider vinegar is to caramelizing onions. It was better than it sounded (or looks in my sad little iphone photo).

Back at the convention center we popped up to the Green Festival and were delighted to find a wide array of green products and messages. We picked up a couple Christmas presents, a hemp hoodie for Jac, and took a nice long visit to the Organic Beer & Wine Garden. My favorite find was a collection of recycled glass bowls made from bottles. They were monstrously expensive, but one word the maker said stuck in my head "kiln". Hmm, we have a lot of reclaimed glass. Crafty!

Mobile Moronblogging

86.7 percent sure she's about to discover she's in the wrong place.

Pietanza Redux

We simply can't stay away from our favorite pizza place Pietanza. I played investigative reporter and tried to figure out what exactly makes the pizza so fricking cracktastic. It could be the toppings (at least that's what Jac thinks, I'll take mine straight up please). It might be the rockin-hot oven they cook it in. But perhaps it's the delicate massage the pizza crust gets that makes it so thin that it crisps to perfection. Whatever it is, we're clearing our plates.

Autumn Flavors

Jac and I love gingersnaps and I am on a major apple kick this fall having discovered that there are other flavors of apple besides Red Delicious. Now I am determined to try all the apples I can. These are Honeycrisp (right) and Ambrosia (left). The gingersnaps leapt off the shelf into my cart. 

History: A Night to Remember

I cannot remember when I have been this optimistic and hopeful.

I voted!

Did you?

Get a Good Night's Sleep Then Go VOTE

For the love of God go VOTE tomorrow! And while you're at it if you feel like voting for this guy it would be helpful.

That's all. Thanks.

Three Ducks at the Dog Park

Three Ducks at the Dog Park

Cranberry Sauce Purist

It was only a couple of years ago that I even entertained the thought of whole berry cranberry sauce from a can. You see, to me, cranberry sauce comes in slices, with little rings on the sides, from the crantastic can of Oceanspray cranberry sauce. I don't even like it when it gets too mushy on my sandwich. You see I enjoy the wonders of cranberry sauce all year round. If you're going to do that, it helps to appreciate the canned variety.

But I have become some form of grown up and have branched into the world of whole berry sauces over the years. Jac's grandmother makes the most heavenly cranberry salsa thing with oranges. When I made this though I was fresh out of oranges so I resorted to Martha Stewart's basic cranberry sauce. It was lovely sweet and tart with a splash of juice.