The Vegas Travelogue

...which I guess I should have posted before I posted about the Megabucks winner, huh?

Went to Vegas last weekend (MLK Day weekend) with KB. Caught a late night flight (8:45) Friday and arrived around 10:00-ish. I love the flights to Vegas; they're loud and boisterous, everyone looking for a Good Time and everything - winning big, getting laid, barfing in the Sigfriend and Roy Garden - is possible. When we retrieved our luggage (yes, we checked our bags - I have no upper body strength and I hate hate hate feeling burdened. Besides, on Southwest, your bags fly free) and got to the taxi stand, the line was 4 switchbacks long! Yes, folks; I believe the economy is well and truly un-tanked.

We cabbed our way to Aria, part of the new City Center complex at the MGM end of the Strip (which makes sense, as it's owned by MGM) and drove in past the Cosmopolitan Hotel, which is the newest one to open on the Strip. We got checked in to Aria quickly and made our way to our room on the 7th floor.

Aria, from their main entrance

The view from our room. I aimed towards the pool area and the mountains, not the HVAC.

The rooms themselves are lovely. Beautiful features, comfortable arrangements, fine toiletries, and one of the most comfortable beds in a hotel. Ever. Unfortunately, as I hadn't upgraded to a better view, we overlooked the ventilation system. Luckily, the windows were double-paned and soundproof, so we didn't hear the noise. If you looked over the HVAC, we saw one of the Monte Carlo wings and THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Once there was light in the morning, we could see the mountains, and KB saw some hot-air balloons floating around.

Anyway, we ventured out of the room, wandered to Bellagio's 24-hour cafe for a light dinner, then took a short walk across one of the pedestrian overpasses so we could get a nice view up and down the Strip. Blinky lights! Shiny! Pretty! I think we made it to sleep around 3:00 AM.

The next morning, we got down to the Aria's restaurant a half-hour after they closed their normal breakfast menu. Luckily, they had their "late riser" section of the menu still available, so we made do with omelets and ... I don't remember, something yummy. Afterwards, we did the south Strip walk and hit: Monte Carlo, New York New York, MGM Grand (where we picked up our tickets for Cirque du Soliel's KA show that night), Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, and Tropicana. We wandered around each one a little bit, soaking up the ambiance and donating a little to the local economy.

The MGM lion, guarding the gate.

The Sphinx in front of Luxor. Did you know she's bigger than the one in Egypt? Who knew?

Excalibur. Lovely to look at.

We made it back to MGM in time for dinner at their Nob Hill Tavern restaurant (wonderful food, if a little lacking in their initial customer service skills), and then took our seats for KA. Holy cow. Each Cirque show is unique, but they all knock my hand-knit socks off. KA has this incredibly huge moving platform that can maneuver to any direction - and the actors work on it, no matter what direction or angle it's at. Dumbfounding.

After the show, we stopped in to the M&M store (always a joy) where KB got some custom-printed M&M's for her god-daughter. Right there! In the store! You tell the machine what you want to print, you pick out your M&M colors, and then you fill up the machine, press the button, and out plops freshly printed M&Ms! Pretty cool. Made our way back to Aria, hit the slots a bit, then back to the room and asleep by 2:30 or so.

Next day, we made it to breakfast before the cut-off time and had more lovely food. Today's walk was to the north. We hit: Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin), Paris, Bally's, Harrah's, Venetian/Palazzo, Wynn/Encore, Mirage, and Caesars Palace. Once at Caesars, we stuck around until our reservation time for Mesa, and then we had a wonderful meal there (damn, I do love those pork tenderloins, and the chile relleno KB ordered was fabulous). We finished the night by walking to Bellagio and Cosmopolitan (where KB was having a grand time at the Star Wars machine). Once at Aria, I hit big on the Sex in the City machine (a $109 jackpot on a penny machine!!). I blew most of those winnings on a bunch of dollar machines, including the one that hit the Megabucks jackpot yesterday.

Next morning (Monday) was check-out day, so we opted for room service breakfast while we got our acts together. A short cab ride to McCarren, virtually no line at security, some more slots at the gate, a much more subdued crowd on the flight, then home by 4:00.

Of all the casinos, the one that surprised both KB and I was the Tropicana. They completely and totally re-did themselves. They used to have this Caribbean look outside - white with blue and orange roofs and shutters. From what the photos showed, the rooms looked like cheesy standard Motel6 issue - in other words, ugly. In all my trips to Vegas, it never once crossed my radar as a Place To Stay. After looking at their new all-white facade, their massive waterfall out front, clean and bright and open gaming area, and seeing the pictures of their newly designed rooms, I gotta say, it's definitely on the list as a contender. Impressive redesign.

The casino that seems to have changed the least? Excalibur. It has a lovely facade, overlooking the corner of the Strip at Tropicana Blvd, but that's about it. I don't think the interior has been spruced up since they built it in 1995? 96? They look like they still believe that Vegas is a place where you can bring your kids.

Tuesday, KW and I drove to Chico to pick up some files that his divorce lawyer had collected, so we decided to stay there overnight. It's really a great little city. Too bad it's in the middle of absolutely nothing. Wednesday I got sick and have been coughing and sneezing ever since. Ugh.

Enjoy the pictures. (Of Vegas, not of me and my cold. That would be gross.)