Well I am breaking one of those cardinal rules here by writing this blog – as what happens in Vegas… well you know but I’m sure this PG rated holiday won’t be sentenced to jail (poor Paris Hilton hahaha). We crawled out of the depths of Sin City reasonably unscathed but it was tough when our destination although fun was designed to screw you out of your money and leave you poor and out on the street trudging up and down for miles in the sweltering heat. With a top of 12 degrees in Vancouver the 36 in Vegas felt pretty hot! But I guess I shouldn’t complain to you. We flew in at night over the bright lights of what I’ve got to admit is an amazing city. There’s really nothing else like it… glitz and glamour (and cheesiness) surrounded by dusty red mountains and desert. We stayed at the Tropicana, the little neighbour to the big green MGM Grand. In its heyday it was known as the Tiffany of the Strip but that jewel ain’t so bright anymore but hey it’s all about the location.
So what to do in Vegas when you don’t gamble and have a head that keeps pounding like a drum… oh and most of the time I was by myself. In planning this trip I almost forgot its primary purpose- so Aidan could attend a Cardiac CT conference (its all the rage). So most of the day I wandered the strip, window shopping, I think I touched every shoe in Jimmy Choo and fingered all the lovely things in the shops I can’t afford. The Venetian hotel was something else, inside the Grand Canal shops there was a domed ceiling painted like the sky and back lit, the canal had gondolas that as you ride the pole pusher serenades you. I gambled a little, very little and I even won a little money on black jack well $40 which is good because I think that put me out in front. I couldn’t bring myself to put a bigger bill that $1 in the slots.
At night we went to the shows, Cirque du Soleil’s ‘O’ at the Bellagio which was fabulously done in water, Carrot Top the comedian, I use that term only because he does and The Amazing Jonathon who was pretty hilarious. I really wanted to see The Comedy Pet show, this guy uses like 7 domestic cats and lots of other pets, Fantastic! it looked so cute on the ads. Ari, you might be interested to know that the star of The Producers is currently ‘The Hoff’ but only til May 8 or something… bummer : ( but I suppose you would be up on all that is the Hoff. For those wondering whom I’m on about I’m referring to David Hasselhoff of Baywatch fame.
In the beginning we had delusions of eating a little more healthily than we have been in the past but that was almost laughable. Buffets galore. It hard to be maintain moderation at a buffet cos really why even go? The best by far was the Bellagio Buffet and we went there for breakfast, I can still taste those juicy sweet strawberries. The deserts were to die for, you just wanted to sample a little of everything. We tried!!! Unable to walk for a while we were able to appreciate the grandeur of our surroundings, it would be very nice to stay there. After that it was off to the fountains to watch the show – but of all the days to save this sight for it was unluckily our last and they were doing some repairs on what is usually a spectacular water show set to music. Out on the boulevard walking with the throngs of people towards what surely must be a mirage because although you can see your destination you never seem to get any closer also and you only move as fast as the slow poke in front of you. Now and then you can see the fountains jet high into the sky, wishing it would land on you, most people stop and stare just for a moment, which really does nothing to help pavement road rage. Really I hate it when the person you’re walking behind suddenly stops. Phew anyway…
Aidan had a few firsts on this trip, his first monorail trip (really not that exciting where has this poor boy been) and as we said goodbye to Vegas vowing to return we scored a ride to the airport in a stretch Limo – another first for Aidan. Well we had so much fun – but it’s back to Vancouver. It’s nice to come home.
So we are planning our next trip already and I’m counting down the days. So exciting. Peter, REnae and my favourite little niece Lauren are coming for a visit. Less than 6 days now. It's also my birthday on the 14th of May woohoo so we are going to Vancouver Island staying in the beautiful town, Ucluelet, on the west coast near Tofino. Then we are going on the Rocky Mountaineer scenic train tour to Banff. From Banff we are hiring a car and driving back through Lake Louise, Jasper, Kamloups and back to Vancouver through Whistler. We’ve been in Canada now over 4 months so it’s about time we saw more of its beauty.
