Dan and I had a wonderful trip. It was about a 5 hour drive to get there. We arrived on a Thursday at about 2 pm. We stayed at the MGM Grand. It was nice, but not anything really to be impressed about. The room we had was a bit disappointing. It had a retro feel to it, which was kind of cool. But it was small and the bathroom could have been a lot nicer. It just had a shower and toilet and a small sink area. Dan and I love spa tubs, so just a shower was a let down. Next time we go, we will stay at either the Bellagio or the Venetian. The Venetian is actually where we spent most of our time anyway on the trip. And we were told that their rooms are very nice.
After checking out our room we got ready for dinner. We had reservations at a restaurant in the Venetian, near where they have the gondola boats. We made the mistake of trying to walk from MGM to the Venetian. What a haul that was. The distance didn't look that long on the map. So by the time we got there we were hot and tired. After that jaunt, the rest of the trip we pretty much took a taxi everywhere.
Before dinner, we went and got our tickets for The Phantom of the Opera, and Blue Man Group. Both shows were playing in the Venetian. So that made it very convenient for us. We were seeing The Phantom that night, and then BMG on Friday.
Dinner was nice, but not the best I've ever had. It was an Italian restaurant. We had a yummy appetizer, that were seafood raviolis. Then I got a pasta dish that had squash in it. Very rich and good. And Danny got some sort of meat (I can't remember now exactly what it was.. I am thinking beef..). He really liked his. I liked his meal as well, hee hee. Overall the meal was good, but we probably won't eat there again. We made last minute reservations, so all the really good restaurants that we wanted to try, were already fully booked. Live and learn. We know to make reservations really early next time. :)
When dinner was over it was time to go check in for our show. The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite musicals so I was very excited to see it up close and personal. And let me say that I was not disappointed. It was superb! The actors were fantastic. I cried. Dan, who is very anti-musical, even said he enjoyed the show. That is how good it was! We definitely recommend it to anyone.
After the show, we had reservations for dessert at the Stratosphere. The Top of the World restaurant. So we wisely took a taxi over to the Stratosphere. This hotel is shaped similar to the famous building (the name escapes me) in Seattle. It is like over 200 stories tall, and the restaurant we ate at is at the very top floor, before the open top patio where they have all the scary amusement rides.
The view there was amazing! The floor rotates 360 degrees about every hour or so. As you are sitting and eating you are very slowly moving. So you always get a different view of Las Vegas. This is especially pretty at night with all the lights. Our food was so so tasty. Dan and I weren't very hungry, since we were still pretty full from dinner earlier. So we just got their famous lobster bisque soup, which was to die for. And then we shared a dessert. The dessert was shaped like the Stratosphere and was made out of white and dark chocolate. And it had a chocolate mousse in the middle with a raspberry sauce around it. Oh my goodness, just thinking about it makes me ecstatic!
While we were there a lady was walking around asking if people wanted their pictures taken. So we got our pictures taken, with the lights of Vegas in the background. They turned out nice. And made a nice souvenirs. After dessert we headed back to our hotel. Time for night nite. ;)
On Friday we started the day a bit late. It was so nice to be able to sleep in, and not have to get up for anything. We ordered breakfast in bed. Dan got a fruit and yogurt parfait, and I got eggs benedict. After getting ready for the day, we went and did some sight seeing.
We wanted to ride some of the amusements rides. Since both Danny and I are scary ride lovers. First we headed to New York, New York. This was just across the street from the MGM, so we walked. We rode the rollercoaster there. It was ok, a bit too jarring for my taste. But it did have a couple nice loops. Then we got a taxi, to go to Circus Circus to the amusement park they have there.
This was a disappointment. It was so run down and dirty looking. A few of the rides didn't even work. We went on one ride and that was all. It was a fun rollercoaster though. Better than the NY, NY one. After that we decided to leave. But first Danny played one of the Midway Games and won a Bob the Builder pillow to give to Dallin when we got home. We wanted to try the Stratosphere rides, but I ended up being too chicken. Something about them being up 200 feet in the air to begin with makes me nervous. I love thrill rides, but I prefer them to start on the ground, and not hang off the side of a 200 story building. lol
We left CC by taxi again, and decided to do some shopping. We headed to the huge mall they have there on the strip. I got to go in my favorite store, Janie and Jack. Which was a highlight for me. lol I usually have to do all my shopping online, since there is no store close to me here. We went to some other places there. I got myself some new sandals from The Walking Store. Ones that won't hurt my feet, and I can wear them to Disneyland without the pain I had on this past trip.
Once done with all our shopping, we walked across the street to the Wynn hotel. We were going to go to the big Buffet they have there. Dan wanted his seafood buffet. It is one of his most favorite things in the world to do. I am not a huge buffet person myself, but I like to accommodate him at least once in a while. ;p
The food there was ok. I have had a lot better buffets. Dan liked it. We probably won't ever go to that buffet again. It did have a nice dessert selection though. We were planning actually on eating at the buffet at Mandalay Bay. Which was recommended to us by someone at Dan's work. But it was all the way on the other side of the Strip, so we decided it would be easier to just go to the one that was close. Oh well.
When we were finished with dinner, we walked to the Venetian again. We shopped a little bit more, and then went to check in for the Blue Man Group show. This show is hilarious and awesome! If you have a chance to see it, do it! It is hard to explain it. It is music, technology, comedy, and quirkiness all rolled into one. Dan and I were rolling. One thing I must say is you have to have a good sense of humor to "get it". So those that take themselves & life too seriously probably won't like it. I cried again, but this time from laughing so hard.
After the show we went back to our hotel to relax a bit, and get ready for some dancing. We were going to go to Studio 54 night club that evening. I had been looking forward to dancing all trip. Unfortunately it ended up not happening for us. :( Something I ate at the buffet made me sick to my stomach. So although we got ready and got in line to wait. I got to feeling progressively worse. The line wasn't moving at all, and my tummy was not to have any of it. So we decided instead to get a midnight snack at Rainforest Cafe, which I just nibbled at. And then went back to our room and stayed in bed watching Shrek the Third instead.
Come to find out, you can buy VIP tickets for the danceclub ahead of time. So you don't have to stand in line for an hour or more, waiting to get in to dance. Next time we will most definitely do that. See we learned so much this trip, that we are 10 times wiser now.
Saturday we woke up late again. We had plans to go to the breakfast buffet at the Paris hotel. We had a friend recommend it to us. Unfortunately since we were so lazy, we weren't going to be able to make it there in time for breakfast. Instead we went to the buffet right there inside the MGM. It was good. I was pretty impressed. I always love breakfast food, so I was happy.
After breakfast we checked out of our room and put our luggage in the car. After that we bought a couple souvenirs for our family. Then we decided to go back to the Venetian to ride on a gondola. Once there the wait was too long though. We had to be leaving soon for home, and the wait was 1.5 hours long. So instead we got some gelato. I got mint chocolate chip and Danny got chocolate. It was very yummy. Gelato has a lot smoother texture than icecream does. Otherwise it pretty much tastes the same.
When we were finished with our gelatos, it was time to say goodbye to Las Vegas. Except for a slight detour at the Bass Pro Shop, that they recently opened in Vegas. Dan was in heaven. It was his first time in one of their stores. It was like seeing a kid in a candy store. :)
A couple things we will do next time that we didn't get to do this time are dancing of course, but also go to the Las Vegas temple and do a session there, and also they have on the outskirts of Vegas a place where you can race Nascar cars. Dan really wants to do that next time. I don't know if I'll be brave enough to drive, but I'd like at least to ride in one while someone else drives.
Dan and I had a wonderful time together. It was nice to get away for a little bit. All in all we had a great trip. Next time though there will be better food. lol
