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allyndraSo, my husband and I took a trip to Las Vegas for our anniversary. It was a big deal, because usually we just go out to dinner and buy each other small gifts. (Actually, he still got me a small gift: the Foxboro Hot Tubs CD. Yay!)
The trip started with drama when our flight was cancelled. Two standby lists and a whole lot of waiting later, we got on a packed flight and made it to Las Vegas. We stayed at New York, New York, which is one of my favorite hotels on the Strip. I think I like it so much because the "city" theme lends itself well to the jumble of lights, restaurants, games, noise, and shows at a casino.
Besides walking A LOT and playing penny slots in every casino we entered, we also did the following:
The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. It was super awesome. We were seated in the "Dragon" section, so we got to cheer for the bad guy, which always makes my husband happy. The food wasn't bad, most of the guys on horseback were cute, and the acrobats were freaking amazing. I turn a mean cartwheel, but that's about the extent of my gymnastic ability, so I'm always in awe of people who can tumble across a floor and then build human pyramids in various configurations. The only thing that bothered me was how greatly they'd mangled the Arthurian legends. I'm not even a huge Arthur-fan, but it bugged me. Still a good evening's entertainment, though.
The Dragon Knight
(Speaking of mangling Arthurian legends) Spamalot. I love this show. We have the CD for the Broadway cast, and though the Las Vegas show is shorter, it was still good. The role of Arthur was played by John O'Hurley, whom people apparently know from Seinfeld and Dancing With the Stars, but whom I recognized from hosting Family Feud. The cast was excellent, with good voices and acting, the sets were really nifty, and the show was funny. I had a great time. I would recommend that everyone go see it, but the show is closing down next month. The upside of this tragic turn of events is that the souvenirs were all half off. We came out of there with three tee shirts, a poster, four buttons, a key chain, and a commemorative can of Spam.
Poster of Tim the Enchanter from the lobby.
Zumanity. This is the Cirque du Soleil show that's about sex. Sex-theme aside, though, it's still a Cirque show, so there were contortionists and arial acrobatics, dancing, and tumbling. The host was a gorgeous female impersonator, and the serious aspects of the show were broken up with little chunks of vaudevillian humor. My favorite parts were a dance where a man and woman tangled around each other, using throws and carries like you see in pairs ice skating, and the lone male/male dance, where the plot was two guys fighting over a woman until their attraction to each other became too intense to deny. (I'm pretty sure I've read that story more than once.) I was bothered by the fact that of the few black dancers, one was a "tribal girl" and one was a "beast," complete with horns and cloven hooves. It was a fascinating spectacle of a show, but it wasn't my favorite. And since Cirque guards their images so strenuously, I have no picture for this one.
Star Trek: The Experience. I had SO much fun here. We did the backstage tour, and it was a blast. Our tour guide's name was Lysander, and he was interesting and friendly, and conveyed a deep and geeky interest in Star Trek all the way through. We wandered around the museum area and took pictures, we did the Borg Invasion 4D attraction, and we rode the Klingon Encounter twice. Then we went to the shop and bought tee shirts. I even got one for my dad. (It has a picture of Worf in a cowboy hat and says, "Mamas, don't let your Klingons grow up to be cowboys." How could I resist that?) Quark's Bar was really crowded, so we just got a quick drink and left. Then we played Star Trek-themed penny slots for a while. :o)
If you need this labeled, I just don't know.
We also ate all over the place, bought my son a shirt from the M&Ms store and my husband's sister a Cher tee shirt from Caesar's Palace. (She's a huge fan.) Rode the buses and the monorail, took a whole bunch of pictures of the Mirage for an event at work in the fall, and that's about it.
We're back now, working all day and watching old seasons of House, MD on DVD all night. Let me know if I missed anything exciting while I was gone.
The trip started with drama when our flight was cancelled. Two standby lists and a whole lot of waiting later, we got on a packed flight and made it to Las Vegas. We stayed at New York, New York, which is one of my favorite hotels on the Strip. I think I like it so much because the "city" theme lends itself well to the jumble of lights, restaurants, games, noise, and shows at a casino.
Besides walking A LOT and playing penny slots in every casino we entered, we also did the following:
The Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. It was super awesome. We were seated in the "Dragon" section, so we got to cheer for the bad guy, which always makes my husband happy. The food wasn't bad, most of the guys on horseback were cute, and the acrobats were freaking amazing. I turn a mean cartwheel, but that's about the extent of my gymnastic ability, so I'm always in awe of people who can tumble across a floor and then build human pyramids in various configurations. The only thing that bothered me was how greatly they'd mangled the Arthurian legends. I'm not even a huge Arthur-fan, but it bugged me. Still a good evening's entertainment, though.
The Dragon Knight
(Speaking of mangling Arthurian legends) Spamalot. I love this show. We have the CD for the Broadway cast, and though the Las Vegas show is shorter, it was still good. The role of Arthur was played by John O'Hurley, whom people apparently know from Seinfeld and Dancing With the Stars, but whom I recognized from hosting Family Feud. The cast was excellent, with good voices and acting, the sets were really nifty, and the show was funny. I had a great time. I would recommend that everyone go see it, but the show is closing down next month. The upside of this tragic turn of events is that the souvenirs were all half off. We came out of there with three tee shirts, a poster, four buttons, a key chain, and a commemorative can of Spam.
Poster of Tim the Enchanter from the lobby.
Zumanity. This is the Cirque du Soleil show that's about sex. Sex-theme aside, though, it's still a Cirque show, so there were contortionists and arial acrobatics, dancing, and tumbling. The host was a gorgeous female impersonator, and the serious aspects of the show were broken up with little chunks of vaudevillian humor. My favorite parts were a dance where a man and woman tangled around each other, using throws and carries like you see in pairs ice skating, and the lone male/male dance, where the plot was two guys fighting over a woman until their attraction to each other became too intense to deny. (I'm pretty sure I've read that story more than once.) I was bothered by the fact that of the few black dancers, one was a "tribal girl" and one was a "beast," complete with horns and cloven hooves. It was a fascinating spectacle of a show, but it wasn't my favorite. And since Cirque guards their images so strenuously, I have no picture for this one.
Star Trek: The Experience. I had SO much fun here. We did the backstage tour, and it was a blast. Our tour guide's name was Lysander, and he was interesting and friendly, and conveyed a deep and geeky interest in Star Trek all the way through. We wandered around the museum area and took pictures, we did the Borg Invasion 4D attraction, and we rode the Klingon Encounter twice. Then we went to the shop and bought tee shirts. I even got one for my dad. (It has a picture of Worf in a cowboy hat and says, "Mamas, don't let your Klingons grow up to be cowboys." How could I resist that?) Quark's Bar was really crowded, so we just got a quick drink and left. Then we played Star Trek-themed penny slots for a while. :o)
If you need this labeled, I just don't know.
We also ate all over the place, bought my son a shirt from the M&Ms store and my husband's sister a Cher tee shirt from Caesar's Palace. (She's a huge fan.) Rode the buses and the monorail, took a whole bunch of pictures of the Mirage for an event at work in the fall, and that's about it.
We're back now, working all day and watching old seasons of House, MD on DVD all night. Let me know if I missed anything exciting while I was gone.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-25 06:52 pm (UTC)And YAYYYY for the M & M store! I still wear my t-shirt from there all the time, because Green ROCKS!
Welcome Home! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-25 08:39 pm (UTC)If you get a chance, Star Trek: The Experience is totally worth it. We spent hours there. Rides aside, they have a really amazing collection of Star Trek props and costumes. (And I'm SO glad I have friends online who appreciate the coolness of Star Trek, because people around the office have been raising their eyebrows when I mention it.)
The Venetian is gorgeous, but I find it a little intimidating. I think I need a more casual atmosphere. The M&M store was really nifty. It always makes me want to buy an M&M dispenser for my dad, but he's run out of room for his collection.
Thanks for the welcome back! *hugs*