Monday, August 13, 2007

Vegas, baby


Well, as they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but I have a few tales I can share from our trip two weeks ago.....

We got in on Friday night, and made our way to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino-starting our weekend-long "baby-moon" with a 2 am snack of waffles (for me) and a grilled cheese sammy and tomato soup for Big A. The next morning, we got up, strolled down to the "beach" and sat out by Mandalay's wave pool. So, it was Al, me and about 100 kids in the wave pool body surfing on the waves. It was a total blast-we had such a great time playing around and relaxing. After a few hours of fun in the sun, we went for lunch at "Borders Grill," restaurant of Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniber of Food Network's Two Hot Tamales. Unfortunately, the two Hot Tamales' restaurant wasn't so hot-but we were overlooking the pool, with misters blowing on us, and it was just great to be away spending time with each other.

After lunch, we strolled around the Mandalay Place stores, and then headed back to the pool for a bit. That evening-we dined at Fleur de Lys, restaurant of Chef Hubert Keller (if you watch Top Chef, he's been a celebrity chef guest). I opted for the three course dinner, and Al for the 4-I thought mine was definitely tasty-but for what it was worth, was a bit underwhelmed. I guess we are just loyal to that Michel Richard! After dinner, we made our way to the Rio for a night with Penn and Teller. Their show was great-they are totally hilarious and worth every penny. After the show, both Penn and Teller stay around and great their guests and take photos. With Penn, Al asked if we could get "a photo with the hand on the big belly," so I put my hand on Penn's belly-he was a pretty good sport about it!



After the show, we stuck around for a little while to watch the tables and put our money on a few hands of craps. I had no idea what we were doing-but I guess that's why they call it gambling!


The next day, we went back to the wave pool for a bit, and then off to the Mandalay's Shark Reef, which was a really cool aquarium. We were on and off the beach throughout the day, just making the most of our vaca. That night, we went to see Cirque de Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio Hotel. O is basically focused on synchro-swimming and a lot of tricks around a tank of water. Having seen another Cirque, our expectations were high. Lots of friends had built it up as the end all, be all show, but honestly, it just didn't do it for me. I didn't love the music, and wasn't overwhelmed by the talent. Some portions were good, but overall, it wasn't mind blowing. After O, we went to watch the fountains dance to "Viva Las Vegas" and then hit Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill restaurant and got some yummy apps to snack on before retiring.

On the last day, we hit Mandalay pool one last time, and then went to the spa for day-long spa appointments. After the spa, we went to the Mirage to catch another Cirque show-Love-which uses Beatles tracks for all of the performances. A FAR better Cirque show than O. Great sound, lots of energy, and the baby was dancing up a storm to the Beatles. After the show, we headed to the airport, and caught the red eye back home.

While it was sad to leave our vacation behind, it was the perfect amount of time for us and the perfect place for us to enjoy some of the last of our days before entering the joys of parenthood.









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