Ideas, Lessons, Warnings, Tips, Pics & Video for First Time Las Vegas Goers.
15 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Travel Tags: Adam Swicicki, Angel Porrino, Bellagio Water Show, Cirque du Soleil, First Time in Las Vegas, Holly Madison, Hooverdam, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos, Luxor, LV, MGM Grand, Micheline Maroni, Nevada, Peepshow, Planet Hollywood, Sin City, Things to do in Las Vegas, Titanic Exhibition, To Do List for Las vegas, Tropicana, Zumanity
The sounds of slot machines ring through-out the corridors of McCarran International Airport. Every inch of the walls in baggage claim is covered in show posters with entertainers like comedian Carrot Top, singer Barry Manilow and magician Chriss Angel. Big screen TV’s are playing clips of Cher’s headlining show at Caesar’s Palace and the latest edition of famed Cirque de Soleil’s like Zumanity at New York, New York Hotel and Casino and Beatles LOVE at the Mirage.
Adam and I have arrived at our vacation destination, Las Vegas!
We anxiously checked in at the Las Vegas Hilton (which we chose because we are members of the hotel chain) on Paradise Road and immediatlely started exploring the city.
OUR ADVENTURE (in no specific order):
LESSON: First challenge we faced was learning the popular means of transportation, the Monorail. It’s simple, but slightly annoying. It’s unlike the average train ride where you get off at your stop then walk up or down a staircase or two, and hit pavement. Each stop that the monorail makes includes 6-7 hotels and casinos. So even though it’s stopping at your destination, doesn’t mean that once the doors open, you’re there. Chances are you have to walk what seems to be a mile before reaching where it is you’d like to be. You end up entering one of the hotels and casinos included on that stop, walking through these grand establishments, exiting, then possibly crossing over a bridge to another hotel and casino, only to do the same routine yet again. Now, if you ask me, this was probably set up this way to entice tourists to gamble at more casinos and shop at some of the many glamorous hotel stores that you pass. Once you’ve traveled the monorail for a few days, you’ll get the hang of it and won’t get lost at every corner.
WARNING: When you finally do find the sidewalk and start your exciting stroll on the Strip; beware, this is when you start to notice that “Sin City” is not for the foundationally weak couple. Every intersection, every corner, every store entrance is loitered by men and women selling sexual services of call girls and prostitutes. Business cards and brochures are shoved in your face, or behind your back into the hands of the man you’re walking with by employees wearing bright-colored orange shirts that read, “Will be at your room within 20 minutes.” This can be a little uncomfortable during the first couple of days, but you become acclimated to it and learn to walk on and ignore it. The funny thing is, they’ll even hand out the cards to women passing by.
Once we started our adventure on the 4.2-mile Strip we began learning about all of the different hotels and casinos, their themes, attractions, shows etc.
A FEW OF THE HOTELS AND CASINOS:
(Nineteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 67,000 rooms, as per Wikipedia, so you can understand why I’m only naming a few)!
- The Luxor Las Vegas is named after a city in Egypt and is the second largest hotel in Las Vegas (the largest being the MGM Grand). It’s known for its re-creation of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Behind it is the Luxor pyramid with a spotlight that shines from its top directly upward claiming to be the brightest beam in the world. Some permanent shows are Menopause: the Musical, Carrot Top and Criss Angel: Believe. Among many of the signature attractions are Bodies: the Exhibition and Titanic: the Artifact Exhibition.
- Paris Las Vegas is best known for its half scale, 541-foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can take an elevator to the top for a fantastic view of the Bellagio Water Show.
- Bellagio, built on the site of the demolished Dunes Hotel and Casino, is most notable for the Fountains of Bellagio, an 8-acre lake between the building and the Strip. It is a dancing water fountain show with synchronized music. A permanent show is Cirque du Soleil’s “O,” which is water themed.
- New York New York Hotel and Casino’s architecture replicate the city’s skyline with a signature attraction, a roller coaster that travels the property’s interior and exterior. In front of this property you’ll find the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Grand Central Terminal. The main casino is named after Central Park and the shoppes are modeled after Greenwich Village. Permanent show is Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity.”
IDEA: If you are a Titanic enthusiast as I am, you will definitely want to visit the exhibition I mentioned earlier located inside the Luxor Las Vegas. Be prepared for an emotional interaction with the exhibition. Before entering, you receive a White Star Line boarding pass of one of the ship’s passengers dated April 10, 1912 and it includes name, age, where they’re from, who they were accompanied by, whether they belonged to the 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, a fact about this person and their reason for traveling. At the end of the exhibition, you find out whether “you” survived or not. It really makes you a part of experience. Here is the website: http://www.luxor.com/entertainment/titanic.aspx
IDEA: Since this trip was about celebrating our 9-year anniversary there were a few shows that we thought fit the bill: Holly Madison’s “Peepshow” and Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity.”
- PEEPSHOW: Admittedly, I watch reality TV (sshh) and I used to watch Holly Madison when she was Hugh Hefner’s main squeeze on “Girls Next Door.” Now I follow the spin-off, ”Holly’s World,” on E! The show centers on her life after Hef. Leaving Los Angeles for Las Vegas to become a showgirl and starring in the “Peepshow” alongside her best friend/assistant, Angel Porrino. Unfortunately, and of course, Holly was on vacation the week we were in town, but Angel filled in for her and she was great! It was a funny, light-hearted, and occasionally topless show. And when it was finished, there was a “meet and greet” in the lobby where Adam and I had our picture taken with Angel. I RECOMMEND THIS SHOW!
- ZUMANITY: It is a cabaret-style show and the first adult-themed Cirque de Soleil exploring sensuality, sexuality and eroticism through costume, dance, music, acrobatics, contortion, water…you name it. This performance was “deeper” than “Peepshow,” but it was by no means less funny. The narrator was a riot and interacted with the audience. This was my first Cirque du Soleil and I definitely plan to see others. I RECOMMEND THIS SHOW!
TIP: You do not have to pay full price for most shows. The trick is to not buy the tickets anywhere else but at the 1/2 off booths which you will find scattered on the Strip and inside some of the hotels. Here is a list of the “Tix4Tonight” locations: http://www.tix4tonight.com/locations.html There is a little bit of luck involved though, because you can only purchase the tickets for the show you are interested in seeing on that day/night.
TIP: Keep a sharp look-out for combination deals. We were offered a great package for a dinner at a restaurant in the Tropicana Hotel and Casino with one pair of our tickets! They also make the reservation for you at the booth.
WARNING: If you are planning dinner and a show one evening, do it in that exact order. Adam and I planned on having dinner at what looked like a great restaurant next door to the ”Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, but to our surprise, along with many other hungry audience members who apparently had the same idea as us, the restaurant was closing. This made no sense to us. A restaurant next door to a packed show closing its doors as the show lets out? A lot of business lost if you ask me. Anyway, this changed our plans and we found ourselves walking the Strip enroute to another fine restaurant, which one would think wouldn’t be difficult in such a happening city. Well, it was. We weren’t in the mood for pub food or eating appetizers at a bar. We wanted a nice, sit-down dinner. Kitchens were closed. The only thing we found was a Chinese restaurant in one of the casinos and they said that the only reason they were even still open for business was because they were in the midst of celebrating the Chinese New Year.
LESSON: Have dinner before any evening show you go to. You can always find a place for drinks after the show.
And I must say, I was quite surprised to learn that you can truly bring your drink anywhere in Sin City. If you’re at a show and purchased a cocktail at the bar lobby of the show but you haven’t finished it by the time the lights start blinking that the curtains are going up in a few mintues, no problem. Bring the drink into the theatre with you and place it in your chair’s cup holder. If you’re at a hotel restaurant and you’ve finished dinner but still have a glass of wine left, no problem. You can leave the restaurant, wine in glass, and head for the hotel and casino. If you’ve purchased one of those huge, alcoholic concoctions of lord knows what at one of those fun-looking kiosk bars and all of a sudden have an itch to go shopping on the Strip, no problem. Bring your weird looking beverage with you into the stores. In fact, when I went to the ladies room at one of the hotels, they actually had a place to set your drink within the stall as if you were riding in a car and had a cup of coffee in the cup holder (and the bathrooms are insanely clean at these 5-star places).
After several days, cold days too I might add, Adam and I got a little tired of the hotels and casinos, souvenier shoppes and walking the Strip that we thought it would be nice to get out of town for the day. What better way to spend the day than visiting a National Historic Landmark!
IDEA: We purchased tickets for the Hoover Dam tour for $60 each. The bus ride took about an hour and once we arrived at our destination we had two hours to take the Hoover Dam Power Plant tour then explore at our own leisure with plenty of time to snap some breathtaking pictures. Even more exciting, the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge had just opened a few weeks earlier making traveling between Phoenix and Las Vegas quicker and safer. USA Today said it is, “the second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States and 14th in the world.” http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-10-18-hooverbypass18_ST_N.htm
The tour was both educational and beautiful. But it didn’t end there. On the way back to town, the tour bus made a stop at the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory where we were offered some delicious samples. Of course I walked out carrying a bag filled with goodies in one hand and a hot chocolate with whipped cream in the other. I think Adam treated himself to some of their homemade ice cream. The whole experience was probably 6 hours total and well worth it! http://hooverdamtourcompany.com/express.html
After all of the tiresome running around trying to squeeze in as much as possible there was still something left to do…people to see! Adam’s Uncle Lloyd lives in Las Vegas about 30 minutes on the outskirts and I have a very dear friend, or shall I say little “sister,” who lived about 10 minutes from town.
You can imagine that our last day was emotional for me. I hadn’t seen Daniella in over a decade. I used to babysit her when I was in my early 20s and living on Long Island. I still keep in touch with her mother, Denise, who lives in Miami, only an hour away from me in Delray Beach. It’s strange how time changes things, people, locations etc… Here she was now a woman, and a beautiful one at that, living with her boyfriend in their LV home with their baby boy, Prodigio. Oh, what a handsome little man too! So you can imagine we had a lot of catching up to do. Adam bonded with her boyfriend while Dani and I played with Prodigio and talked and talked. We sat down for a nice home-made dinner and shared a bottle of Pinot Noir. She has turned in to such a classy, smart lady. I’m a proud “big sister.” When it came time for Dani to drop us off at the Hilton, we shared an equal amount of tears like we did when she picked us up!
As soon as we parted ways with Daniella, Lloyd picked us up and off we went again. He drove us to his home where his wife waited with wine, cheese and fruit. It was very nice since neither of us had visited their home before and we hadn’t seen them in a couple of years. It was a chance for Adam to spend time with his relatives and for me to get to know them better. It was a lovely experience.
After all is said and done , Adam and I had a wonderful, fun-filled, exciting vacation. The only downer about the trip was the fact that we couldn’t go to the Carroll Shelby museum which was closed for renovation that weekend.
Adam and I were ready to head home come Sunday. The plan was to land, grab some take-out and snuggle on the living room couches and watch the Superbowl. THE PLAN WAS NOT FOR THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS TO LOSE! Once our heads stopped spinning from the thrill of exporing Sin City, we decided that as much as we loved it and want to visit again some time…It would be later than sooner. There is only so much Las Vegas one can take. A break is very much needed! Until next time…
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