I am really terrible at keeping this blog up to date. Well, I guess I've been pretty lazy in a lot of categories lately, but I can save that for a later post...
Anyway... there was a long weekend in May and I seized the opportunity for a mini vacation to Las Vegas! We stayed at Stratosphere - the really tall tower at the north end of the Strip, and the whole trip was pretty good overall. Surprisingly, I didn't get bitten by the gambling bug - so no poker stories or exciting blackjack wins.
But I did eat a lot - no shock there! Within 48 hours, we ate 3 buffets. Our intention was to explore the hotels on the Strip starting from the south end, so we started off at Mandalay Bay. It was a pretty nice hotel, and the buffet there was recommended by some reviews that we had read, so we went right around brunch time in order to sample both breakfast and lunch items. I think the best part about breakfast buffets is the assortment of fruit that they have. Normally, buffet-eaters aren't terribly health-conscious, so I guess hotels don't really consider putting out a lot of fruits.
Exploring the different hotels was fun because I hadn't been to Vegas for quite awhile... I think the last time I went was probably around 8 years ago. Lots has changed since then - while some things haven't. The newest hotels were kind of in the middle of the Strip: Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo. I completely fell in love with the water fountain in front of Bellagio - the one that everyone talks about. Basically, the water jets are positioned along a straight line, with some jets arranged in circles coinciding with the line. When it's time for a "show", music comes on, and the water dances out of the jets choreographed to the music. It's spectacular - I'm not sure how many songs they've programmed, but I only saw three songs. I wish I could have stayed there all night!
Out of all the hotels, we spent the majority of our time at the Wynn. We enjoyed a dinner buffet there, as well as their two shows - Monty Python's Spamalot and Cirque du Soleil's La Reve.
I'd heard great reviews for Spamalot, but it was far better than I imagined. If I had to describe its plot - it could be summed up as a musical-version of the Quest for the Holy Grail. However, there was a lot of new material added to the show, and this particular Vegas show was filled with references to the gambling city. I'm sure it would be an entirely different experience if I saw it on Broadway.
As for the Cirque du Soleil performance - it incorporated a lot of new elements that I hadn't seen before. La Reve revolved around a girl who encounters a variety of adventures in a dream. Of course, everything was visually stunning, but I was awed by the abilities of the cast. Normally, Cirque shows have contortionists, acrobats, and dancers. This cast spent a large amount of time in water, so they had to know diving and synchronized swimming, in addition to the usual stuff. All costumes were designed for water and they used water for "special effects" as well. The stage was built such that it could transform into a variety of platforms as well as a giant pool.
Besides the shows and the exploring, there wasn't time for much else! It wasn't long before the weekend was over and we had to head home, but in a way, that was for the best. After all, I don't think I could have tolerated the 40-degree weather for an extended period of time!
Anyway... there was a long weekend in May and I seized the opportunity for a mini vacation to Las Vegas! We stayed at Stratosphere - the really tall tower at the north end of the Strip, and the whole trip was pretty good overall. Surprisingly, I didn't get bitten by the gambling bug - so no poker stories or exciting blackjack wins.
But I did eat a lot - no shock there! Within 48 hours, we ate 3 buffets. Our intention was to explore the hotels on the Strip starting from the south end, so we started off at Mandalay Bay. It was a pretty nice hotel, and the buffet there was recommended by some reviews that we had read, so we went right around brunch time in order to sample both breakfast and lunch items. I think the best part about breakfast buffets is the assortment of fruit that they have. Normally, buffet-eaters aren't terribly health-conscious, so I guess hotels don't really consider putting out a lot of fruits.
Exploring the different hotels was fun because I hadn't been to Vegas for quite awhile... I think the last time I went was probably around 8 years ago. Lots has changed since then - while some things haven't. The newest hotels were kind of in the middle of the Strip: Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo. I completely fell in love with the water fountain in front of Bellagio - the one that everyone talks about. Basically, the water jets are positioned along a straight line, with some jets arranged in circles coinciding with the line. When it's time for a "show", music comes on, and the water dances out of the jets choreographed to the music. It's spectacular - I'm not sure how many songs they've programmed, but I only saw three songs. I wish I could have stayed there all night!
Out of all the hotels, we spent the majority of our time at the Wynn. We enjoyed a dinner buffet there, as well as their two shows - Monty Python's Spamalot and Cirque du Soleil's La Reve.
I'd heard great reviews for Spamalot, but it was far better than I imagined. If I had to describe its plot - it could be summed up as a musical-version of the Quest for the Holy Grail. However, there was a lot of new material added to the show, and this particular Vegas show was filled with references to the gambling city. I'm sure it would be an entirely different experience if I saw it on Broadway.
As for the Cirque du Soleil performance - it incorporated a lot of new elements that I hadn't seen before. La Reve revolved around a girl who encounters a variety of adventures in a dream. Of course, everything was visually stunning, but I was awed by the abilities of the cast. Normally, Cirque shows have contortionists, acrobats, and dancers. This cast spent a large amount of time in water, so they had to know diving and synchronized swimming, in addition to the usual stuff. All costumes were designed for water and they used water for "special effects" as well. The stage was built such that it could transform into a variety of platforms as well as a giant pool.
Besides the shows and the exploring, there wasn't time for much else! It wasn't long before the weekend was over and we had to head home, but in a way, that was for the best. After all, I don't think I could have tolerated the 40-degree weather for an extended period of time!
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