11.26am 20 March 2006 MondayIt feels like a long time since I last blogged but the trip we took last weekend provided enough fodder for a long long post.
Day 1: Mad rush from Tucson to LV
H had work in the morning, so we devised a plan to rush him to work, and dump him there to work on his stuff while I went home to pack everything we needed for the trip and badminton. We met Dr C. and Mikhaila for some badminton in the afternoon before navigating the traffic to Vegas. The first 100 miles were pretty OK, since I-10 traffic was relatively clear. What we didn't expect, was to get off the interstate highway and go through rush-hour Phoenix traffic to get to some obscure, small highway and miss some of the confusing three way streets, even with the aid of our good friend Garmin.
Reached LV at about 9.30pm with a little bit of cheating, since Nevada is 1 hour behind AZ. We had dinner at Paris' Asian restaurant that had really good Tangerine Chicken (H) and Roasted Duck Crepe (me). Everything was flavourful but not too salty, and the meat tender, the greens crisp. Great start to our vacation! We meant to seek out some good margaritas but were both too exhausted to do anything but drag our weary butts back to Aladdin, and the big generous tub we saw when we deposited our baggage upon check in.
Soaked in tub but both of us fell asleep within minutes. Clambered out of tub and sunk into the cool, crisp sheets...
Day 2: Badminton Frenzy with some Buffet action!
After drooling over the buffet reviews, we had to try the Mandalay Bay's breakfast buffet. The 30 min walk from Aladdin to MB was refreshing and stimulating, with the streets empty and the air fresh and chilly. It was fun walking through all the different hotels (they were inter-connected via bridges, trams and walkways) and looking at the different decor and shops. Unfortunately, we were both too hungry to stop for anything (except for coffee), but the rush was worth it.
We got a window table after less than 10 mins of waiting, and boy was it worthwhile. There is something to be said about sitting near a window in the morning with sunshine spilling onto your table. Very invigorating! The downside: Somehow the area we were in smelt of aircraft cabin. It's difficult to explain how it smells but suffice to say, the air didn't feel too fresh. Would have been much nicer had the glass windows been open, since it's Spring and the air was rather cold outside.
In any case, the food was good enough to make up for any sullen receptionists and weird smelling rooms. There was an appreciable array of food that wasn't limited to the breakfast menu. Other than a wide selection of breads, hams and cheeses, they also had good quality fresh fruits and berries. But who would fill up on that when there is more exotic stuff to be had, like their fresh apple crepes, or the little ricotta cheese filled blintz with homemade strawberry sauce? Some of their meats available were overcooked, but whatever we had were well-seasoned and appetising. Pretty yummy Eggs Benedict, but it was the smoked ham that really made it stand out.
With the hits came along the misses: a French toast with an overpowering vanilla flavour - what happened to the eggy sweetness of the bread? From-concentrate juices that were very much watered down - for such a nice hotel with a high quality buffet, this was a lousy way to cut costs...
The good thing was, the hits outweighed the misses and we left MB sufficiently satiated to walk the way back to Aladdin. Right next to MB was Luxor, a hotel modeled after the Pyramids of Giza, down to the huge Sphinx in front to guard it. We tried the inclined elevator that served the hotel, since it had a pyramidal shape with hollow insides, but the 1 level up and down was enough to put us off staying there in the future. You know how a regular elevator goes up and down right? Imagine an extra factor going sideways while still going up, making you disoriented and dizzy... Icky feeling I'm not keen to relive anytime soon.
We somehow found out way to the Excalibur, where there was a prominent medieval theme linking the decor and shops together. Pretty family friendly place, except that the coziness didn't extend to the bathrooms with its overpowering amounts of air-freshener. Was supposed to get a door sign with something along the lines of "Genius at Work" but didn't have time - had to rush to badminton...
Played badminton, had lunch at Chinatown - food was so-la-la only. I remember the 1st time Jeremy and I went, the place was filled with other Singaporeans... Had some milk tea and wandered around before going for a 2nd round of badminton in the evening. We decided to park in the self-parking garage (as opposed to the valet parking at the hotel, since it took nearly 20 mins to retrieve our car in the morning) and walk back, only to be waylaid by the soft and comfy Alpaca rugs when we stopped at the bathroom. Now we're the proud owners of a huge, soft Alpaca rug with a big white bear motif. Can't wait to lie down on it and watch TV cuddled together..
After he was done with his massage and while waiting for me, H went to get 2 margaritas that were nothing like what we've had! Simply yummy and doesn't taste of alcohol at all. mm mm! Again, we dragged our tired feet back to the hotel to plonk into the bath tub and bed soon after.
Day 3: Missed badminton but it was all worthwhile.
You'd seldom hear of us missing badminton but that was what happened on Friday. We started off with breakfast at NY, NY, where a pseudo Italian bakery tried to masquerade as the real thing. I mean, it's OK to have an Italian theme. But when you describe yourself as authentic, you jolly well better be ok... Instead, they served a usual array of omelettes - stuff we could get at Blue Willow here, and much better! To give them credit, the bread bowl was really good, with everything warm and toasty.
We spent a gleeful hour at the M & M's store where we got a big M & M cookie jar, and 4 M & M mugs to accompany it. It's now sitting atop the kitchen shelf, making the area bright and cheery. There were many movie poster spoofs around the store, but it was most unfortunate that none were for sale! H and I took turns going up and down the escalator to get a good picture of the "M" files - a spoof of our beloved X files! I think we traversed that stupid escalator at least... 10 times each way......
It was impossible to drag the heavy bags and not break the porcelain cookie jar and mugs, so we stopped at the hotel before going for lunch at the Bellagio. It certainly lived up to the reviews I read, with at least 5 different types of fish, all cooked in a different style, but all equally good. Even seafood-repellant H tried all of them! I remember their tender and juicy filet mignon and their extremely good desserts, all made with good quality chocolate and none of that fake icing stuff you get at cheap places.
We embarked on what was meant to be a look-see-look-see tour of the Bellagio, only to stop at a little shoe store with the most comfortable shoes I've ever tried. I left the store grinning from ear to ear, but yet feeling terrible for spending an inordinate amount on something as trivial as shoes. Let's just say that the total tab for the 2 pairs of shoes were as much as my monthly allowance...
Armed (or shod) with my new comfy shoes, we explored the Bellagio further. It wasn't the most expensive hotel on the strip without a reason! The whole lobby ceiling was swarthed with huge glass/ crystal flowers, and adjacent to the lobby was a pretty greenhouse-looking garden. It had a glass ceiling that showered the whole area with sunshine, and at the same time let the light through the glass flowers, which in turn, coloured the arch of water shooting over the bridge. What good is a garden without fresh flowers and butterflies? The rest of the space was filled with fresh spring blooms, and a special conservatory of butterflies. Sigh... what an amazing place. I told H that it would be my dream wedding venue. It was soooo romantic... *glazed eyes*
We headed back to the hotel after our little interlude at the Bellagio, but stopped at White House|Black Market, where we saw a pretty, strapless black dress made of a soft and comfy material. The first dress I tried was the one we eventually bought, along with a soft and twirly skirt and a silk jacket to keep my bare shoulders warm, but you wouldn't believe how many tops I had tried that evening. In any case, we went home (to the Aladdin) and decided to skip badminton, even though our contact promised that it would be filled with the toughest players they had, and got ready for our big night of Cirque de Soleil.
Of course, by the time we were done, we only had 40 mins left to hobble, skip and dash to Treasure Island on the opposite end of the strip. It was amazingly cold with howling winds, but that wasn't the worst of the evening. I was surprised that I could run in my new soft-as-butter heels, but we finally made it to TI and collected our tickets for the evening. (You had to collect them 2 hrs before showtime or they'll sell it away..!) We braved the cold again to head over to Caesar's Palace for some food and drink before going back to TI for the performance. There is no description for Mystere, except that it was mind-boggling and awe-inspiring. So many sights and sounds to assail the poor overloaded senses, a plot with absolutely abstract (or meaningless) storyline... Oh dear, it's time for class again. I can't believe 1.5 hours isn't enough to finish writing about our short weekend...
