An escape from reality

Whether it is the right way to deal with things or not, sometimes it helps to just remove yourself from the environment. What better place to escape than Las Vegas. We arrived back at 3:30a.m. this morning and it was a great time. Here's a recap of our trip.

Thursday April 29/10
The day started very early with a wake-up alarm at 2:30a.m. We did some last minute prep and the airport limo was here to get us at 3:05a.m. (we had requested a 3:15 pick-up). It's a good thing that we had that extra few minutes as the cops stopped us on the way, due to speeding. Funny thing was I didn't think we were going that fast.
We still managed to get to the airport in lots of time and were checked in by 3:40a.m. with seats together. The last few times we have travelled we have not had this luxury. We then had to wait until 4:30a.m. when US Customs finally opened. Everything went smoothly and we left on time at 6:20a.m.
The flight was pretty uneventful. The Blind Side was the movie but I fell asleep so didn't watch it. Breakfast was eggs which was just ok.
We arrived in Vegas to sunny but cool temperatures (13 Celsius). They are 3 hours behind Toronto, so it was only 9:00a.m. there. By the time we got our luggage and the airport shuttle to the hotel (The Venetian) it was about 10:00a.m. We didn't think we would get our room right away but were pleasantly surprised. It was amazing. 650 square feet, 2 queen beds, sunken living room, 3 TV's, huge bathroom.
After I unpacked we headed downstairs for breakfast. We started the day off with some drinks. Afterall it was lunchtime in Toronto. I had a Pomegranate champagne drink while Raju had a Caesar. For breakfast I had eggs benedict which was quite tasty. So far so good.
Back in the room, Raju decided to take a nap. I wasn't quite tired so I went to inquire about some stuff with the concierge and get my bearings around the hotel.
Once Raju woke up we went for a nice long walk. It started with a walk to The Palms hotel to pick up Conan tickets and then we walked around some hotels. At Caesar's I decided to do some shopping (Calvin Klein was having a sale) while Raju got himself a drink.
We returned to the hotel and relaxed for a short bit and then headed to dinner. We went to a restaurant in the hotel called Enotecha. It was delicious. Our appetizer was tempura seafood and veggies (delicious). I had Crispy duck for my entree and Raju had the seafood stew. Both quite yummy. Dessert...chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream.
We were quite exhausted by this time so we retired to our room for the evening. Not a bad start to the vacation.

Friday April 30/10
I started waking up really early today (4:30a.m.) because of the time difference. Finally at 6:30a.m. I decided to get out of bed. By 7:00a.m. we headed for breakfast. We tried another restaurant in the hotel called Bouchon. I had a egg omelet with mushrooms, peppers and chicken while Raju had some other egg dish.
Back in the room, Raju took the computer down to the lounge area (it had free WiFi) to deal with work e-mails. He returned in time for us to head to the spa (Canyon Ranch Spa - the largest in the world) for our couples massage. It was the type of massage that hurt but felt good at the same time. Afterward we went to this wave room. Basically you sit on these gravity chairs (leans you all the way back) and look at the ceiling which is supposed to make you feel like waves are washing over you. The chairs were relaxing but I didn't quite get the concept, so we left to try the salt grotto. This was a warm room (not as hot as a sauna) so again not very interesting for us. We went our separate ways as in each of our change rooms there were water therapies to try. Oh....did I forget to mention that apparently in the men's change room there was a large flat screen TV for them to watch sports.
I tried the experiential rains. This is a shower and you can choose (Tropical Rains, Caribbean Shower, Cool - something or another). I tried the first two. The water falls in varying pressures while lights and sounds are surrounding you. I didn't find it that relaxing as the water temperature also changes. I don't like cold water. I then went to the sauna to dry off. The hot tub was very busy so I skipped it. The change rooms had showers and all the amenities to do your hair etc., so I just decided to get ready there before heading up to the room. Raju returned a few minutes after me. He also did the same thing and even shaved.
We left the hotel at about 12:00noon and headed over to The Mirage to buy tickets for Love. It is the Beatles Cirque show that we were going to watch this evening. From there we took the Monorail to MGM (close to one end of the strip). We had lunch at New York New York at a Mexican restaurant. It wasn't very good and unfortunately made Raju not feel very good. He toughed it out though and wandered into the M&M store and Coca Cola store with me. From here we just walked back to our hotel (which was a bit of a walk) so that Raju could rest. While he slept I wandered around our hotel shops. I was looking for a place called Sweet Surrender as they were supposed to make fabulous cupcakes. It took me a while to find it, and along the way I found Victoria's Secret, so stopped in there for some new underwear (you can never have enough). I got back to the room just as Raju was heading out. We went down to the casino, where I proceeded to lose $20 quickly and Raju did well at the Black Jack table. He made enough to cover dinner. We ate at another hotel restaurant called First Food and Bar. We had walnut shrimp, mini-burgers, lobster rolls and fries.
Then it was off to the show. Love was ok. The music was great for Beatles fans, but I found that there wasn't that much too it. Cirque had some of their normal stuff, but it was more dancy than acrobatics (if that makes sense).

Saturday May 1/10
Today I managed to sleep until 5:15a.m. Again I tried to stay in bed as long as possible but just couldn't fall asleep again. We got up and puttered around the room and then got going around 8:00a.m. Today we headed to The Wynn for their breakfast buffet. It was pricey but so amazing. There were so many choices. The regular breakfast fare (eggs, pancakes, waffles, various breads, cheeses, fruit, cereal etc.) and then different types of food (Asian, Italian, Indian, American etc.) I had to sample lots of it, so I had Shrimp cocktail, california sushi rolls, mashed potatoes, shrimp pad thai, pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, fruit, cheese and crackers. The desserts also looked really good, but I was way too full to try any of them.
I wanted to go to the mall but it wasn't quite open by the time we finished breakfast so we went in search of a restaurant that had Humpty Dumpty in front of it that I wanted a picture of. We found him. Isn't he cute?
Then we went to Fashion Show Mall. We wandered around and Raju bought flip flops from Macy's. I didn't find anything I wanted but have found that my hands are really dry so I bought some hand cream from The Body Shop. From there we headed to Paris where Raju gambled a bit. I went in search of a drink and tried my luck at the slots. I found the drink but lost money on the slots (what else is new?)
Raju was not feeling well again, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest. When he got up we went to Walgreens. It was so nice outside that we decided to sit and watch the passersby for a while. I really did not pack appropriately for this trip. The style for the day seemed to be long summer dresses, or bikinis (with maybe a coverup but not necessary) and in the evening short tight dresses with stiletto high heels. We went back to the room to change and then out again for the evening. We went to Caesar's but there weren't any tables available for Raju to gamble so we headed to The Bellagio. Raju found a table there and I found a slot machine. I lost money again, but at least it kept me occupied for 30 min. We decided to have dinner at Sensei which we had eaten at during our last visit. We didn't make reservations so the only place available was at the bar. It was nice. Sometimes it's nice to be at the bar because you can have a conversation with the bar-tender and just see what's going on around. For dinner we started with the Crispy Shrimp and then I had Thai curry scallops with Jasmine rice. Raju had the lobster, shrimp tortellini. After dinner we still had some time before the show so we watched the fountain show at The Bellagio. This night we went to see Conan. I know tickets sold out quickly in Toronto, but we had no trouble getting them for Las Vegas. Reggie Watts opened for him and he was very amusing. To read more about it, you can check out Raju's review http://www.thespec.com/Entertainment/article/762090

Sunday May 2/10
Today we headed back to reality, but our flight was not until 6:50p.m. so we still had the day to enjoy. I woke up around 7:00a.m. and Raju was already up and almost finished his story. He went down to file it and I showered and packed. There was no reason to hang around the room so we decided to check out early. Once our luggage was stored with the bellman we decided to head over to Paris for breakfast on a patio. When we walked outside we changed our mind as it was windy and chilly. We had breakfast in the Paris hotel but we ate at the bar, which was nice and bright but warmer than outside. I was going to have pancakes but the specials was Eggs benedict with crab so I opted for that instead.
After breakfast we went over the Bellagio where an art show had opened this weekend "Figuratively Speaking". It wasn't huge but it was interesting. Raju knows a lot so he was able to tell me about some of the artists and artwork.
We then headed to City Centre. The last time we were here, they were in the process of building it. It has a couple of new hotels, shopping, condos and of course a casino. It's very modern looking but interesting art sculptures found throughout it. I think it doesn't really fit with the other kitchy hotels but does fit with the sheer opulence feeling of Las Vegas.
We stopped in at the Miracle Mile shops. There was one store there called Bettie Page that had 50's style clothing for women. I didn't get anything but now I'm wishing that I had bought a dress. While there we stopped to watch a "Rainstorm" in the middle of the mall. What do you think? Only in Vegas :)
Back at our hotel we had lunch at First and then decided to get an early start to the airport. We were so early (3.5 hrs.) I wasn't sure if the check-in counter would be open. It was and everything went smoothly. I did some work as we had a lot of time to kill. Also in our wanderings we found an interesting vending machine.

Time went by fairly quickly and it was time to get on the plane. I hadn't been feeling very well so I took a gravol and slept until we were 40 min. away from Toronto. We touched down at 2:00a.m. and we were home by 3:00/3:30a.m.