Trip report- lots of drinking and food!!!!!

We decided that we couldn%26#39;t go the summer without a trip to Vegas, just got back yesterday....lots to report- new rooms at TI, Mesa Grill, Yellowtail, Table 10, David Burke, Sterling Brunch, Bradley Ogden.....Blue Man, LOVE, and O....lot%26#39;s of drinking, a little gambling....will post as responses.

Trip report- lots of drinking and food!!!!!

Trip started off a little rough. We (I say we but my husband does not post here, it%26#39;s just little ol me) live in Texas and I was so afraid that we would be delayed because of Eduardo so I was crossing my fingers…it ended up that Eduardo didn’t affect us at all but we still got delayed. First we arrived at the airport and went to the wrong terminal (American has gates at 3 of the 5 terminals at DFW and the DFW website was showing our flight was at terminal A when we left but it was actually at terminal C…grrrrrr.) The flight was delayed over an hour so we had plenty of time to get there. Once we got on the plane we had to wait almost an hour before we took off (another grrrrrrr) and then to top it all off we had to wait 40 minutes after we landed before we could get to our gate (triple grrrrrrrrr.) There is nothing worse than actually being in Vegas with the strip in view and no being able to get off the plane(Let us off!!!!! We won’t bother anyone, I’ll walk to the strip if I have to!!!!). That happened to us last time too. So all in all American robbed us 2 hours of our vacation and we didn’t even get a “Buh-bye” as we got off the plane- they just looked the other direction as we passed by.

I was worried we would get charged extra by Presidential because the hour starts when you land but our driver was understanding and even offered us some champagne. We had requested Saul but he was off, Richard came in his place and was very nice and friendly. The limo itself was gorgeous…very nice stretch limo, with the changing lights inside.

We got to TI a little before 6 and I was worried that we wouldn’t get our requested non-smoking Petite Suite but I ended up stressing myself out for nothing. We got a Non-smoking suite on the 7th floor- Room 7039. We stayed at TI 2 years ago in a strip view room and were not impressed. The décor was old-fashioned, the bathroom was too small, and the room reeked of smoke despite being designated non-smoking. It was our least favorite of the hotels we’ve stayed at over the years but I have seen photos and read reviews regarding the renovations and was curious enough to give the hotel a second chance. The service was good on last visit and the location is great and I knew that the Petite Suite has a much nicer bathroom than the standard rooms. I was quite pleased with the renovations- it was as if we were staying at a completely different hotel. The décor was very modern, the carpet was very nice, I love the headboard and bedding, and the color combinations were soothing and seemed to keep with the new feel of TI, grownup and sexy. The Petite Suite is a nice sized room, about 650 square feet- a sitting area with a coach and bar table, and two bathrooms. My bathroom had a jetted tub (I love my jetted tubs!!) and my husbands bathroom had a good sized shower, with seating inside. Both bathrooms had good-sized closets, one had a fridge, the other a safe- the drawers were all very deep. There was enough room to keep 2 weeks of clothes if we wanted. Our suite was located at the center of the building (in the ‘armpit of TI” so to speak) so it was easy to get to from the elevators. I’m amazed at what a bargain the suite is. I’ve seen it as low as $99 a night- that’s insane. Our view wasn’t great but I learned last time that TI’s windows are pretty small and dirty so I wasn’t going for a view. They don’t offer much in the way of toiletries- just soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion (all with a lemongrass scent,) definitely nothing as nice as what’s offered at Wynn or Bellagio and I missed having a robe (it gets a little too chilly to lounge around in my undies but I don’t want to sleep in my clothes either) but we got more than what we paid for.

After unpacking our bags we headed out for food. This is the one night we didn’t have a dinner reservation because we wanted to try a dinner buffet. We have had breakfast, brunch, and lunch buffets but have never done dinner. Wynn is our favorite buffet so it wasn’t hard to decide where to go. It was about 6:30 so I was worried that the line would be long, luckily it took only about 15 minutes. The buffet was good but we both agreed that we will stick with buffets early in the day and leave the evenings for fine dining. The crowd at the dinner buffet was, …how do I put this nicely?....gluttonous pigs, crazy vultures, flies swarming a carcass…I could go on….hahaha. I watched one guy pile about 30 crab legs on one plate and then get another plate and continue pile on another 20 more. I got a couple crab legs myself (only two- I swear!) and decided that I don’t like crab legs chilled…even the drawn butter was cold….that’s just wrong! My husband loved the noodle bowl, jerk chicken, and Risotto with Pea Puree. I liked the sushi (though they always seem to always have the same three kinds- vegetable roll, California roll, and spicy tuna handroll-yummm.) And as always, they have great cheesecake. The water tasted weird, not sure if it was the Wynn water or if it was the Vegas water and I just wasn’t used to it yet- tasted like toilet water (not that I know what toilet water actually tastes like.) We felt we got our $33.95 worth.

We wanted to go to Quarks since it’s closing but felt it was too early to start drinking so we went over to Bellagio to watch the fountains and see the conservatory. The conservatory was nicely decorated but used many elements we had already seen- the balloons, the trains, the Mini- Bellagio -and it was crazy crowded. We got pushed around and kept running into people who would back up or stop out of nowhere to take photos- we made a promise to each other that we would never gain stay at Bellagio no matter what rates were offered- it was just a Wednesday and it was insanely packed with tourists-mostly foreigners. I thought my husband was going to have a panic attack (he hates crowds) so we got outside as soon as we could so we could see the fountains….and of course, as our luck runs; they were cancelled “due to high winds.” I was pissed but my hippy-tree-hugger-do-gooder husband pointed out that too much water would wasted if the fountains were run in windy conditions. The Bellagio cares about the environment, really??? So we got on the monorail. We almost got ran over by an old man who is apparently the worlds worst motorized cart driver(he was very dangerous!!) and headed to the Hilton to Quarks find out that they closed 15 minutes earlier….grrrrrrrrr….so we grabbed two not-so-good drinks at Tempo Bar and felt sorry for ourselves and our bad luck, wondering if we should just go to bed….hahaha….we gulped down our weak drinks and then realized “hey we’re in Vegas” and a bad day in Vegas is still better than a great day at home.

We ended up over at Margaritaville and had several drinks (nice and strong!) while a band called Synergy played, the drinks were great, service was fanatastic, and the music was good. We then started roaming and came across a Piano Bar at Harrahs that we never really noticed before. We had a great time there, I have never seen females play dueling pianos and although I have heard of the “twins” over at Harrahs, I just assumed they were guys….they are really talented and fun. We also got to see a couple that was sitting next to us practically swallowing each others faces…..sheeesshh get a room people!...hahaha….so we learned that even if everything doesn’t go as planned there’s always something out there you haven’t tried, you just have to look around with an open mind. We went back and learned that the TI beds are really as comfortable as they say (who is they?????TA members of course!!)

We woke up around 9:30 the next morning and headed over to Palazzo to our favorite coffee shop- Espressemente Illy. We split a breakfast bagel Panini, I got a half and half (wonderful chocolatey coffee goodness!!!!) while my husband got a plain old latte (he’s boring.) We window shopped a little and headed over to Caesars. I remembered that a lot of people have been asking about whether or not the Octavious Tower construction was disturbing the pool experience at Caesars so being the diligent TA member I am I stopped and scoped it out and to answer the question- yes! The construction is right in your face. Imagine lying in a pool with the unfinished Tower right in front you and all the noise that goes with it….we don’t use the pools but if I did I wouldn’t stay at Caesars until they finished most of the construction. Worse than that, however, was the sight of a 60 year old man slinking around in a Speedo near the pool------my eyes, my eyes!!!! My husband barely noticed any of that however, thanks to the Bocce girl in her hot pants. If you play bocce and like girls in really tight short shorts, head over to the restaurant right next to the Caesars pool.

Lunch was at Mesa Grill, one of favorites. I ordered the 3 course Lunch menu ($29). The appetizer was a Blue Corn Pancake with barbeque Duck, the entrée, a Smoked Shrimp Cake, and dessert was a pineapple ice-cream. The duck was really good, sweet with a little bit of heat; the shrimp cake was nicely cooked, light and crisp. The dessert wasn’t overly sweet and again, light, perfect for lunch. My husband got the pressed Cuban burger, which he loves, but he couldn’t finish it. He agreed that I made the wiser choice by ordering light. The drinks were great as well. My husband got his favorite drink- the Black Widow Mojito, and then ordered another. I got a Gimme Lemonade (Green Tea Vodka with lemonade) which was very refreshing. I also got the Cactus Pear Margarita- which is a gorgeous drink, a pretty pink color and it’s delicious. Overall it was a great meal.

We decided to head over to Quarks again and hoped they were open (the Star Trek convention was going on the same dates we were visiting so there were a lot of special invited guest-only events.) We ordered our last Warp Core Breech (sniff, sniff, I’m going to cry.) The Klingon came by and asked if we were sharing . I already know his bit (he would call my husband a wimp if I said yes) so I lied and “no, it’s all for him, he’s a real man” and the Klingon nodded at my husband with respect….I immediately started drinking as soon as he walked away. We ended up sitting next to a couple of transvestites (at least one of which is a working “girl”- so to speak.) That’s not something you get to do everyday….I’ll miss Quarks.

We then headed to MGM and the West Wing Bar for happy hour (5-7, 2 for 1 drinks.) The bartender there, Joe, is great. He is very friendly, we remembered him from last time. The drinks were good, and the bar is very relaxing.

We had to get back to the room to get ready for dinner. I had taken a leap of faith and made a reservation at Yellowtail, the new sushi restaurant at Bellagio. We saw the Chef, Akari Back, challenge Bobby Flay on Iron Chef a few months back and were impressed with his presentation, I love sushi, and hey it’s a Light Group restaurant at the Bellagio, it’s gotta be good…..right? It ended up being a perfect meal. We got to sit on the patio right up against the rail, a perfect view of the fountains. We ordered some Yellowtail Sushi, a Spicy Tuna Roll, a Popping Crab Roll, and Jidori Chicken. The Sommelier helped us choose sake, which was great because the servers at our favorite local sushi restaurant don’t speak the best English and so it’s really hard to discuss sake with them, we usually just point at the menu…it was really nice to have someone explain the difference between the sakes and help us decide what would match with our sushi the best. The yellowtail was creamy and fresh, the Spicy Tuna was amazing, the chicken cooked perfectly, moist and flavorful, and the popping crab was very interesting (it had watermelon pop-rocks inside it, never tried anything like it before.) I got the tempura ice-cream for dessert and my husband got the “chocolate in a cup.” The restaurant is beautiful, the service was great, the view was amazing, and the food was wonderful in taste and presentation….it doesn’t get any better than that.

More to come later…

Trip report- lots of drinking and food!!!!!

Nice report.

Although I don%26#39;t know where you%26#39;re coming from with the too early to start drinking part. That sounds like a bad habit you need to break immediately.

it%26#39;s always 5 o%26#39;clock somewhere in the world!

Welcome back, Sally. AA screws us up every time we go to Dallas - gates change, baggage claim changes, we feel like the movie Airport (or is it Airplane?) where we keep running while the plane goes crashing from gate to gate.

Anyway, sounds like the start of a great trip and I can%26#39;t wait to read the rest.

nice Tr so far....

waiting for the rest...

sounds like your suite was really nice....

Did you take any pics?

great reporting...

Hahaha....okay I guess it sounded wrong when I said too early to start drinking...I forgot to mention that we drank a lot on the plane, so what I really meant is we wern%26#39;t ready to drink a Warp Core Breech just yet- when you read about the rest of the trip you%26#39;ll see that we drink at all hours of the day...we wanted to stay up late (our bodies were still on Dallas time which is 2 hours later.) And yes I have lots of pictures, will post a link to my Webshot albums once i get them uploaded.

great report... sounds like all the stuff i%26#39;d do :)

we%26#39;ve been considering the TI Petite Suite for our next trip... so it%26#39;s good to hear about that.

and mesa grill is top of our list too, and i think i know what i%26#39;m ordering now, lol.

i%26#39;m glad you got one last drink at quarks. *sigh* ...makes me so sad i%26#39;ll never go there again...

and thanks for the review of yellowtail. it was still under construction when i was there last, but sounded intriguing.

Great TR so far, cant wait for the rest!

';we gulped down our weak drinks and then realized “hey we’re in Vegas” and a bad day in Vegas is still better than a great day at home.';

That is the truth :)

After Yellowtail we started to walk to the Southstrip, we didn%26#39;t have a real plan. We decided we would try out the NYNY rollercoaster...we always say we are going to do it but always decide that it%26#39;s overpriced. We both proclaimed we would bite the bullet and ride it no matter how much it cost. We got up to the entrance, saw the $14 per person and said- we%26#39;re doing it. Then the guy at the entrance stopped me and said I couldn%26#39;t carry on my purse and had to put it in a locker. My purse is super tiny and has a very long strap that I cross over my body. I wore it for 7 days at Disneyworld and was not told once that I couldn%26#39;t take it on the rides with me. The locker only cost 50 cents but we didn%26#39;t have any quarters, so we just said ';forget it.'; hahaha.... so apparantly we were willing to pay $28 but not $28.50....

We walked around NYNY a bit. Before we left for this trip I told my husband that I was going to point out all the ';do-able'; men to him because I was getting tired of hearing about this and that girl who is cute and he ';wouldn%26#39;t kick out of bed'; and I thought I%26#39;d turn the tables on him. Well it backfired on me. There were no attractive men anywhere!!! We walked around and I saw a couple hundred ';no';s and only 2 ';maybe';s (if you were walking around NYNY last thursday and a petite blond with a sheer black shirt and tattoos walked by and muttered ';no'; in your direction to her tall super-thin husband- no offense....hahaha.) My husband, however, walked around saying....';yes, yes, that%26#39;s a yes, definately yes, no....and when I say no I mean yes...yes, yes, too young so I%26#39;ll say no, yes, yes, maybe, yes.....wow that%26#39;s a yes.....'; Are all the women in Vegas that good looking or are his standards just really low???...I don%26#39;t think I want to know the answer..hahaha...

After NYNY we headed to Luxor to check out Flight Bar. We were both looking forward to trying different ';flights.'; Unfortunately, I am allergic to cigarrette smoke and didn%26#39;t medicate well enough....we sat down and within a few minutes I suddenly felt my throat closing up and my eyes were watering....I needed water and that pretty much ended our night. I laid in the shower most of night trying to open up my airways with steam. Happens every trip....sigh...note to self, bring more antihistimines next time and start taking them before the trip!!

The next morning we walked over to Planet Hollywood to eat at Spice Market. We hadn%26#39;t been there since the hotel changed from Aladdin to PH. It was a good breakfast but the selection wasn%26#39;t as good as Wynn%26#39;s. I remember the lunch at Spice Market having a huge variety so the breakfast was a little disappointing in terms of selection. Everything tasted good though- better than Bellagio%26#39;s buffet by far, but the coffee was only okay.

We walked around the Miracle Mile and then headed to Qua. My husband%26#39;s three requests for this trip (clean, forum suitable requests that is..hahaha) were to go to Mesa Grill, see Love again, and to go back to Qua. We only did the Spa Day pass this time. It was wonderful of course...the Roman baths in particular make my body feel like jelly...so relaxing. Last time almost everyone was in the nude, this time I was almost the only one, just about everyone was in a swimsuit. I even started wondering if they had changed their clothing policy and worried I might get kicked out...hahaha..

The herbal steam room pretty much helped clear my head and my allergies were back under control thanks to the combination of the Spa and loads of Benadryl.

After 2 hours we met back up and tried a little gambling in the Caasars casino. I was playing a Wolf Run machine when I realized the lady next to me was coveting my machine...my dad calls these ladies ';stalkers';, I call them ';poachers.'; I stood up and she all but slid into the seat before I had even stepped aside...sheeeshh..My husband said she won $300 a minute later. I lost $20 in the end but we got 4 free drinks out of it so we felt like winners.

We walked over to Palazzo and ordered Espresso Affogatos (espresso over two scoops of gelato.) They have a large selection of sugarfree gelatos, I tried the caramel and vanilla. It was very good.

We then went over to Wynn and my husband signed up for a redcard. He got $10 in freeplay for giving them his e-mail...he hates giving out his information (he%26#39;s very paranoid) but I pointed out how many offers for discounted rooms they have sent me and he decided he%26#39;d go ahead and give it to them. You get to spin the wheel after you earn 25 points. Cost us $30 to earn the 25 points. He got $25 in freeplay for his spin, oh well. In the end we lost $31 and got one good Bellini and one not-so-good rum and coke.

For dinner we had reservations at Table 10- my husbands pick for a new restaurant to try (I picked Yellowtail, David Burke, and Bradley Ogden.) We ordered a couple of very good drinks- mine was the ginger berry and my husbands was the Metropoli-10 (I%26#39;m sure it was a gin drink of some type, he loves gin.) We ordered crab cakes as an appetizer. They were good, nothing new and exciting, but good. I got the Lobster Pot Pie and my husband ordered the Pork Loin. The Lobster Pot Pie was very decadent, lots of lobster, mushrooms, spinach, corn, with a buttery pastry on top. I couldn%26#39;t finish it, it was delicious but just too rich. My husband liked the pork loin, but he thought the portion was a little small since the slices were so thin. For dessert we got the White chocolate Malassadas with vanilla creme anglais (Basically Porteguese donuts with frosting.) They were fantastic, and worth the price of admission. We weren%26#39;t wowed by the restaurant but would return just for this wonderful dessert. The service was great but we liked the food at Emerils Fishhouse better.

After dinner we went to see Blue Man Group. We saw them in Dallas 2 years ago and really liked the show. While we were waiting in line the guy in front us started chatting with us. He was soooo wasted. I felt bad because he said he was going to Iraq nexy week and we are very pro-military (my husband served in the Marines) but this guy wasn%26#39;t entertaining drunk, he was ';oh my god he%26#39;s going to throw up on me'; drunk, we couldn%26#39;t get away from him fast enough. Luckily he was seated on the other side of the theater. I hope he made it through the show, but I doubt it.

I was worried baout our seats. I bought the tickets on-line and got row KK seats 20,21 for the $71.50 price even though they were in a more expensive section. I didn%26#39;t know why but I wasn%26#39;t going to question it. When I picked up the tickets I saw the lady scratched out seats 20 and 21 and put 66 and 67. I thought ';oh great'; they figured out the glitch and we%26#39;ll be sitting up against the wall. When we presented out tickets they called someone over and I heard him say...oh a couple of KK%26#39;s. He got on the radio and took us to row CC, seats 47 and 48. They were great seats in the center of the theater. It looked like they had a large part of the theater closed off so I think our original seats were back in the part not being used. So we actually lucked out paying the cheapest price but still getting great seats.

The show was fun. It%26#39;s different then the show we saw on tour but with many similarites. I can see why some people don%26#39;t like it but for us it%26#39;s very entertaining. We like the music, the lighting, the messages and meaning. You ever watch a show or walk down the strip and hear a random guy yell out at the top of his longs? Well my husband is that guy....at Blue Man he almost lost his voice....

After the show I continued to wear my ';Blue Man'; accessories...crepe paper tied in my hair and wrapped around me as a boa....you%26#39;d think people had never seen anyone come out of a Blue Man Show before, my husband heard someone say ';look she%26#39;s wearing papertowels';...I got stared at up and down the strip until I finally gave in and took it all off...hahaha....

More to come.....