Strike Two More Items Off My Bucket List.... Celine And The Zip Line

Yes, after the most hair-raising flight I've ever been on, and the hairiest landing ever, we are indeed home again. We weren't even able to get cocktails on the flight (due to severe turbulence), which I really needed in order to get through the scary stuff. Didn't happen. Of course, the winds from Hell were still blowing here at home, which made for a very precarious and frightening landing. The pilot even had to approach the airport from a direction that we had never experienced before. It was crazy and the sky was full of blowing 50 mph gusts of dust and smoke from more wildfires. Everyone on the plane clapped and cheered when we were finally on the ground. Yes, it was that bad. I bowed to the pilots on the way out of the plane.

As always, we had a great time in Vegas even though we I lost all the money I had for gambling. The card gods completely failed to *cover my back*, which I just wasn't accustomed to. It went really well the first night, after dining at Hugo's (which we weren't so impressed with this year). I met some new *friends* I'll never see again and we were rocking and rolling with the cards, which was great fun. I didn't get back to the room until 2:30 AM because things were going so well. Then, I slept until 3:00 PM the following day. Apparently I needed the sleep, right? That was Sunday night.


Monday (after I finally woke up) we just walked around the Fremont Street *Experience*, did a minimum amount of gambling, AND I scratched another item off my *Bucket List*. Yup. They now have a Zip Line on Fremont Street, which I took full advantage of. Now, Mr. Snoots would rather have his fingernails removed with household pliers than do it, so he was the perfect (or not) photographer for my *Bucket List* chronicles. Yes, that's right. I. Rode. The. Zip. Line. With great enthusiasm. Woo Hoo! That night we ate at Vic & Anthony's (inside the Golden Nugget) and it was absolutely the best meal we had this trip, as was the service. Outstanding meal and service.


I actually wanted to do the zip line again but Tuesday I had to get ready to go see Celine Dion at Caesar's Colosseum, which I'd have had to be jailed or hospitalized to keep me from seeing her concert. So, Tuesday, April 12th, we hit the pool for some much needed vitamin D, then I spent the afternoon primping for the concert and yes, I dressed to the nines. It turned out to be everything I'd hoped for and, of course, I cried. I'm the town crier, remember? Before the concert we dined at BOA Steakhouse (inside the Caesar's Forum of Shops but I dutifully had my blinders on as we passed the dozens of high end shops  except Judith Leiber but I merely drooled, nothing more), which was quite lovely but not nearly so much as its Santa Monica counterpart. They overcooked my grilled salmon and we had to make the concert so there was no time for sending back mistakes. Yuck. Wish we'd gone to Spago.



Anyhoo, Celine was divine and both Mr. Snoots and I were thrilled with her live performance. You can see it on video or on the internet, but nothing prepares you for the experience of seeing this talented woman up close and personal. Live. She puts on quite an astonishing show. Honestly, Mr. Snooty was almost as taken with her as I, which actually surprised him. He liked it even more than "Wicked". Celine Dion gives it everything she's got. Also, her 36 piece orchestra/band is an amazing collection of talented artists, as are her backup singers and all the others who work behind the scenes to make the magic happen. It's not just a concert, but almost a Broadway worthy *production*. Anyway, after the concert my eyes were so swollen that I didn't even go out to gamble that night. We just went back to the room, watched a pay movie, and fell asleep before it was over. We are such Party Animals!
 


But, I have to say that I would have preferred less bells and whistles. It's not about all that. It's about Celine and her incredibly beautiful voice. I had absolutely no desire to go into her store but somehow found myself buying a t-shirt. What is wrong with me? I DO NOT WEAR T-SHIRTS! I suppose I just got caught up in it all, which is what they're shooting for. I think I liked her better in the days of old. However, that's the Las Vegas Experience, right? Pay for all the extras that you really don't need or want. It's part of the deal.






Wednesday we ended up trying an Oxygen Bar, which I'll never do again. All they do is try to sell you hundreds of dollars worth of completely ridiculous items you don't need, which spoils the whole oxygen experience anyway, all the while making sure to not speak enough English for you to understand. Whatever. No more Oxygen Bars for me or Mr. Snoots. Extremely. Annoying.

We ate at The Chart House on Wednesday night, which is inside The Nugget. What a fantastic meal we had while gazing at their 75,000 gallon tank of tropical fish (but not for consumption). Our Tuna Tartare with fried plantains was to swoon for and the service was truly impeccable. I had their Lobster Francese which was unlike anything I've ever had. Needless to say, I gained like 3 lbs. on this trip even with all the walking. What a bummer. Then I ran into my new best friends again and proceeded to steadily lose my stash of chips. Why is it so much easier to lose those cute little chips? I was with some really high rollers and they lost way more than I did. Somehow, that was comforting. But then, they all deserted me because apparently I was the loser wooden nickel at the table, so I tucked my tail between my legs went up to bed to lick my wounds.




Thursday morning was the airplane ride from Hell and Mr. Snooty was really sick already. So, as he recovers from his *stomach thing*, I try to recover from my swollen feet, various blisters from wearing the *pretty shoes* instead of the *sensible* ones, along with a little leg shaving mishap, and a slight fall in the casino when I missed a chair at the blackjack table (I swear it wasn't the martoonies). Aren't you sorry you weren't with us to enjoy all the mishaps FUN? And No! There isn't a picture of me missing the chair. Thank Gawd!


I didn't mean to write a book, really. It just worked out that way. And today, we are finally recovered from the trip. Geeze! I need to start training for these trips.....

Las Vegas Revisited... For The Last Time... And The Last Pound

I hope you're not getting as bored as I am by all of this. But if you are, you're in luck. This will be the last post about Vegas. I won't subject anyone to reading what I find difficult to even write.



So, my surprise Mother's Day gift arrived on Saturday. It was my daughter! She drove over from L.A. with her friend Caroline and they were going to be staying with friends at Planet Hollywood. They ended up coming over to our hotel in their swimsuits so they could do the slide through the *Shark Tank*. They loved it but said you're going too fast to see any sharks. I think that would be a good thing.



After the girls used our room to get cleaned up, we took them to dinner at Red Sushi (inside the Golden Nugget). It turned out to be much better than we thought it would.







Everyone ordered what they wanted and it really was amazing sushi (although I only had a couple of bites of the sushi).





We all started out with their Miso soup, which was really delicious, along with Hot or Cold Sake.





Mr. Snooty ordered the Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, which not only looked fabulous, but it tasted even better.









I ordered the Grilled New York Steak With Wasabi Cream Sauce, which was to die for and came served with Tempura Vegetables.







Frankly, I couldn't possibly tell you what the girls ordered. Your guess would be as good as mine, for I all I know about sushi. It was certainly attractive and the sauces looked scrumptious.









I was trying to get Mr. Snoots to quit hanging his arm around me in EVERY SINGLE PICTURE, so I was holding down his arm. I am demonstrating to him, how NOT to take a picture with your wife. I think he got the message. But, maybe not.







Check out my ever-expanding waistline along with my ever-expanding double chin. I think I must be out of control and just didn't realize it until I saw recent pictures of myself. How could this have happened? I'm blaming the blogging, right here and now. Before I started a blog, I had been the same size and weight for the last 10 years. I'm just saying…







Snooty Daughter came back the next day at Noon to have lunch with us at The Mother's Day Buffet in the hotel. It was nice but nothing to rave about. Then I had to say goodbye to our daughter again, which I always hate to do.







Yes friends, the little blonde chubby woman has returned and I don't like her in the least! I want the svelte little blonde woman back…. Right now! But what did I do after this? I ate more.





Sunday night we ate dinner at The Grotto (in the hotel) and it was yet another great dining experience.





We started out with their Spicy Mussels al Fresca as an appetizer and they were wonderful.







We also shared a bowl of their Lobster Bisque and it was truly delicioso.







For an entrée I ordered the Veal Kickarillo (Parmesan crusted scallopini with mushrooms and Fettucine Alfredo). Mr. Snoots had the Veal San Pietro (Scallopini of veal topped with artichokes, mushrooms and Frascati wine sauce, served with Italian style spinach and roasted potatoes). Neither of us was disappointed in the least.






All I can say is…. Thank God we came home the next day, before Mr. Snoots had to pay for an extra seat for me on the airplane.

Las Vegas Revisited...

On Friday morning, I went downstairs to the front desk and secured us a smoking room, but we didn't get moved over until 1:00 PM, which was fine. Mr. Snoots was once again a happy camper and much more pleasant to be around. Gah.


Of course, there wasn't much else to do besides walk up and down Fremont Street a couple of times and gamble, gamble, gamble. So, I played Black Jack and Mr. Snoots went back to his slot machines, which I think are a real snore.

We'd made dinner reservations at Vic & Anthony's steak house for Friday night, so it wasn't long before it was time to go up and get ready for dinner. Time flies when you're having fun!

Let me just say that Vic & Anthony's was an outstanding dining experience and I wish we would have eaten there every night (along with Hugo's Cellar). The waiter was terrific and the food was to die for.

We started with Tomato Caprese with Reduced Balsamic & Basil, and decided to split a Caesar salad, but once again, we met up with a creamy Caesar, which we don't care for. We like the real thing with raw eggs because we like to live dangerously and it tastes so yummy.

And of course, we always like our martinis. We used to drink them *on the rocks* but have lately been into drinking them *up*, which is rather reminiscent of the old Rat Pack Days.

Mr. Snoots had the Sea Bass A La Nage with jumbo lump crab and baby vegetables. Not wanting to upset my sensitive insides, I stuck with the filet mignon. Later, I wished that I'd had the Sea Bass. It was my own choice to overdose on red meat since I'm going on a diet now and all. Every outfit or item of clothing I brought with me on this trip was tight, so I just gave it my *last hurrah* and let it rip.

Yes, all holds were cast to the wind and I basically ate my way through The Golden Nugget's restaurants. I'm not proud of that of that but by damn, I certainly enjoyed it. I didn't go so far as to give in to the Fried Twinkies on Fremont Street. I might have totally lost all control after that.

After dinner we strolled around the pool area and I took a couple of pictures of the *Shark Tank*. It has a tube slide that goes through the thick of the shark tank and lets outs at the bottom, on the other side. Some of the sharks were among the biggest I've ever seen, which gave me the shivers. There is no way I would have taken that ride.

When party boy went to bed, I went back down to the casino to play Black Jack and met two fun, young couples and we had a great table going. Therefore, we were all winning, talking, drinking, and laughing. It was fun meeting these young people and they were very savvy players, otherwise I would have fled to another table.

I think I finally tripped off to bed around 2:30 AM and I may have lost some money that night. Like $200.00 or so. But, I've always said… "If I'm going to lose then I damn sure want to have fun doing it." I did.

Tomorrow: The Final Two Days

What a Time We Had In Vegas!

I'm totally exhausted, but in a good way! However, I'll start at the beginning and hopefully leave out all the boring parts.

Our son finally left the morning of the day we were leaving for Vegas saying he was going to leave his dog with the Austin Pit Bull Rescue Society when he moved. Whew! Once he was gone, I had all day to pack for the trip and get the house cleaned up. Our plane didn't leave until 5:00 PM, which meant we arrived in Vegas at a little after 5:00 PM PDT.

Once we arrived in Las Vegas, we took a TAXI from the airport to the hotel, not the bus. Thank God! Mr. Snoots looked for a hotel shuttle bus for about 15 seconds then hailed a taxi. Uh-Huh.


It took 20 minutes and $40.00 to reach the Golden Nugget and find that there were no smoking rooms available, which was when the caca hit the fan. Mr. Snooty was clearly pissed off, but the front desk promised to get us into another room on the smoking floor the next day. I didn't let it or him get me down. I was in a great mood and ready to roll.





We ate dinner Thursday night at an old Las Vegas favorite called Hugo's Cellar, located below the Four Queens Casino across the street from the Golden Nugget. It was incredibly good and the service was as impeccable as I've heard it was over the years.








Our waiters were Erik and Gene, who were both excellent in spite of Mr. Snooty's foul mood. Yes, he was still pissed about not getting a smoking room. I did mention to him that we could have gotten a smoking room at The Wynn. Am I not just terrible?









Anyway, we started out with lovely martinis and Escargot en Croute, which completely disappeared before I remembered to take a picture. It was that good. We then had Caesar salad made tableside and it was awesome. For an entrée, I had their Filet Mignon with Bernaise sauce and it was cooked to absolute perfection.














In between each course we were given a little cone of sorbet for clearing the palate, which was kind of fun.











I decided to not take pictures of Mr. Snooty or his food, taking his mood into consideration. We were too full for dessert, so we returned to the Golden Nugget after dinner and Mr. Snoots went up to bed. Once I got him tucked in, I went back to the casino and had a blast.







I found a Black Jack table where it looked like they were having fun and met a fun group of L.A. police detectives who were there together with their wives. They were all so fun and totally full of sheet, so we were all laughing, joking, and winning at Black Jack. I had the best time with those guys! I think we were all throwing down shots of Patron for a while there. But, around 2:00 AM, I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer, so I bid everyone good night and stumbled back to my room, once I found it. Yes, I believe I tried to get into several rooms that weren't mine.





I was up around $300.00, so it can be said I had fun the first day/night. But then, I usually do!




Oh - Belated Happy Mother's Day to all! I managed to stay computer free the entire trip, which is most unusual for me, so I didn't get the chance to say it before. Also, I got a huge surprise for Mother's Day, so stay tuned.



To Be Continued…

Viva Las Vegas! Day Three And Day Four....

On Saturday we got up, ordered wonderful room service for breakfast, then decided we'd take a taxi downtown to see Fremont Street and see what they had to offer. I didn't realize that they had enclosed that area of downtown Vegas. It's really amazing, what they've done. The entire Fremont Street area has been enclosed and it's quite nice. You can go from casino to casino with the greatest of ease, unlike casinos on The Strip.

We played for a few hours at The Four Queens, where I won about $150.00 at Blackjack and Mr. Snooty won $300.00 on a 25 cent slot machine. Then, we decided to have lunch there, and it was great. We walked around the enclosed *mall area* for a bit, then caught a taxi back to The Wynn. Mr. Snooty called me a snob simply because I said it wasn't as nice downtown as it was at The Wynn. A totally true statement. However, I'm now a snob for stating the truth. Whatever. Anyone in Las Vegas will tell you the same thing. It just seems seedier in the downtown area of Las Vegas, so I'll take the Wynn any day. I really wanted to go to The Golden Nugget to gamble, but Mr. Snooty did not, so we didn't go there.

Saturday night, we had dinner at another fine Wynn restaurant called Okada. Once again, we had looked at the online menu and made our decisions. Unfortunately, once again, the menu had not been updated online, so we had to rethink all of our choices. Our appetizers were oysters on the half shell, which we normally really like. For some unknown reason, this restaurant decided to screw with a classic recipe, adding the world's most disgusting GREEN caviar to the tops of the oysters. It was all I could do to GAG them down, I swear. I love caviar more than anything in the world, but it seems that the more expensive the caviar, the more disgusting and fishy the taste is. Oh sure. Like I want to pay more for fishy, disgusting caviar? Not in this lifetime, my friends. Thank Gawd we had Martinis to wash down that revolting flavor. Thankfully, the rest of our dinner was lovely and delicious. However, their Sake choices left much to be desired, as it had a bitter after taste and I could barely gag it down. So, in retrospect, I must say I did not really enjoy our meal at Okada, even though my beef tenderloin slices and my salad were delicious. We had a view of a gorgeous (although fake) waterfall, which seemed to add to the ambiance of Okada.

Okada did try to redeem themselves with me by sending us a Green Tea Creme Brulee, but it just didn't taste right. I suppose what I'm trying to convey here is this: If you want to try to improve a dish, don't make it the creme brulee. It's still perfect, entirely on its own. The green tea brulee made me want to gag. (Again!) Too healthy for me, I guess, since it left a *grassy* after taste in your mouth. So, I'd say that two to three gags per meal equals a not so great meal.

We went back to our room after dinner and Mr. Snooty decided to stay in and order up another movie, so I went back to the casino. I decided that if I got on a winning streak, I'd stay up all night. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so I wound up going back to the room at around 2:00 AM, yelling "Timber" as I fell into bed, at long last.

So, in the end, I wound up being $200.00 up, which I promptly spent. I bought my golfing friend Judy a baseball cap from Ferrari, for taking care of my cat. She loves her new cap and looks so cute in it! Then, I bought a gorgeous black Pashmina for myself, as my one and only birthday present. Overall, I'm a happy camper. Next best thing to winning in Vegas is breaking wind even, which I did.

Day four found us on our non-stop flight home from Las Vegas, which was great in spite of the fact that they ran out of Bloody Mary Mix. Las Vegas flights should never run out of Bloody Mary Mix, right? Okay, then make it a Screwdiver! I wasn't in a picky mood.

I am still thoroughly exhausted, so I'm going back to bed now. I need rest!

Viva Las Vegas! Day Two....

On Friday, we ordered room service for breakfast, which is my favorite thing. I love breakfast but I hate to cook it. So, this was a wonderful treat. We were totally lazy and hung out in the room until around 1:00 PM, enjoying our view and watching a Pay Movie. We watched Mama Mia and just loved it. I'm a huge Abba fan and a huge Meryl Streep fan, so I was in heaven watching and trying to sing along.








We went to the Wynn's Buffet for lunch and it was honestly the most incredible buffet I've ever been to. I was so impressed that I was taking pictures left and right until an employee told me to stop because it did something to the heat lamps. Whatever! I still was able to get plenty of pictures so that you'll get the idea. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get pictures of the dessert area, which was a whole room in itself.








Completely stuffed to the gills, we finally made it to the casino for a bit more gambling. Mr. Snooty only stayed for a while, as he wanted to watch something on TV. Not me! I was ready to win some more money! So, I returned to my favorite table but never could locate my favorite dealer, Monty. I found Danielle, but she was on a Casino War table, which is a joke. Casino War reminds me of the place Chevy Chase's character went with his brother-in-law, in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation. Didn't we all play War enough as kids, in order to learn better?


I really wanted to play poker, but the poker room was packed and quite intimidating, with mostly Rounders type guys playing. I was sure I'd get taken there, so I went back to the Blackjack tables. Where I began to steadily lose much of what I'd won the day before. Thankfully, it was time to go get ready for dinner, so I willingly left the casino.


We had dinner reservations that night at SW (Steve Wynn) Steakhouse and it was absolutely wonderful. We both had the house salad, which was commendable. Mr. S had the Sea Scallops and I had the filet mignon, both with Parmesan Creamed Spinach, which were all absolutely fantastic. Then, they sent out some special chocolates on a plate that had Happy Anniversary written on it. Another day of celebration, since I was milking it for all it was worth. On the way back to the room, we stopped and got cheesecake from the dessert/coffee place by the casino.




So, I asked Mr. Snooty to take a quick picture of me before he went back to the room to watch a movie and go to bed. Bless his heart. He's never been very good at picture taking, but at least he didn't cut off my entire head. Did I mention my feet and ankles remained VERY SWOLLEN for the entire trip? Yes, they did. I could only get my cowboy boots on, so they actually went with everything I took that wasn't really dressy, so it turned out okay. I slept every night with like 5 pillows under my feet and they still didn't go down until we came home. Is this what I have to look forward to for every trip now? Ugh!



I gave Mr. Snooty a good night kiss and went back to the casino, where I once again continued on my losing streak. However, I met lots of fun and interesting people. God only knows who I gave my business cards to. Yes, I was drinking and yes, it was totally fun even though I was mostly losing. By Golly, if I'm going to lose my money, I damn well want to have fun! Also, at night the casino bumps up the limits on ALL of their gaming tables, which was killing me financially. I had not yet lost the entire $900.00, but I was getting dangerously close.


When I felt as if I'd lost enough for one night, I carefully maneuvered my way back to the room and once again fell into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, I didn't dream of multiple hands of 21. I dreamed of cheesecake.


To Be Continued Tomorrow....