Las Vegas for Cirque de Soleil!

I landed a little earlier than everyone else, so I headed over to the Hilton in a $6 shuttle. I got check in and headed for the hotel room... to do work of course. On the way up there though, I have to pass this little bar that has wine dispensed by credit cards! You purchase a set amount of dollars, then you can choose if you want a 1 oz sample, a 3 oz super sample, or a 5 oz glass of wine.



Needless to say, once the party arrived, this was my first stop!



I am not much of a gambler, but I sure do enjoy watching other people play... and my mom is awesome to watch play the penny slots! And she is lucky! Go mom!



While we were just the three of us (Chris, Danna, and Jeff were still unsure if they were coming), we decided to hit Freemont street. We ate at Henessey's where I scored a ten dollar surf an turf happy hour special. Then we cruised the old strip, checking out the casinos and neon lights, until the overhead light show.



The next morning, we had to pick up our O tickets (and figure out what to do with three extras since hte trio from AZ had to cancel.) We walked through all the fantastic Chihuly exhibits and the garden terrance.





















Friday lunch had been planned days in advance- we were headed to Lotus of Siam. I even knew what I was going to order - #13, #23, and the #49.

Oh well, and I could be arm twisted into some sake:




Elanie had the "D" from the Northern Thai Cuisine menu and my mom had #115, the seafood soup. The shredded pork was fantastic, particularly mixed with the sauce from #49. My mom's soup looked very yummy as well.

The #13 B. MOO DAD DEAW ( Pork jerky Thai style )-Deep fried marinated pork, served with homemade spicy sauce.


Booya!



My litmus test for Thai restaurants is the Tom Kah Kai - chicken, coconut milk soup. I had to try it at the "best Thai restaurant" to see how it was meant to be. We asked fro medium spicy, so our waitor gave us a 4-5 (on a ten point scale). It could have used some serious ramping up on spice. I think that was a gringo 4. I had been told not to order a 7 or I won't be able to eat it... from a guy who can eat a LOT of darn spice.





So when I order my #49. SUA RONG HAI-Charbroiled beef served with spicy sauce, I ask them to make it more spicy than the soup. He gave me a 7. Phew. I think they were pulling my leg. My nose didn't even run (much).



Other than the spice factor, Lotus of Siam was fantastic. I do think they rival Thai Kitchen in Austin, so if you are looking for a good Thai place deep in the heart of Texas, you might check out that place too.



Of course, our first stop was to introduce Ed and Elaine to the wine bar. Ed and I grabbed a glass, hunted down an Acid Blonde cigar, and sat ourselves down for a nice little chat while the "kids" played:



I took a quick picture of my shirt I bought with Danna in Santa Cruz as an ode to the trio not making it to Las Vegas. My mom also got a kick out of the butt shot. Not that she doesn't have a lifetime of those from me.



After some wondering (purposeful of course) and a sly charming smile to a security guard, who according to my mom, "didn't have a chance... poor guy", we found our way to the Chihuly gallery at the Aria.

Here are a couple of random pieces:





On our way back, the dryness of the desert overtook me and I dove into the first bar I came to... dragging all the fam behind me (yea right).

Oyseters, lobsters, shrimp oh my!



I don't even want to know how you find shrimp this big. They washed down great with my belgium beer, so no complaints out of me! We liked them so much we got a second order.



This is the fun hour-glass-lamps that they had lining hte bar. It took me 30 minutes to discover they flipped over, where upon, I immediately shared my finding. Only to discover everyone else had done this already... and they didn't share with me.



Then came the split off to see "O". We were able to sell the seats back to the Cirque ticket office (for a mere $7 handling fee.) I thought this was pretty amazing until three people sat next to us- the three that bought our tickets last minute. Cirque didn't loose on much there now did they?


There is no photography during the show, but this should give you an idea of the fabulous seats we had:



Looking straight up, was this contraption, which deposited hte first performer of the evening right in front of us.



We ended the evening with a nice Scotch nightcap. Okay, so I tired Elaine's and wimped out for the standard white wine, but it smelled great!

The next morning, while trying to determine what we should attmept for breakfast (not the Paradise cafe with the dictorial waitress from Cuba), my dad surfs and finds Bouchon... since I had mentioned it to them, we decide to try the cafe, not just the bakery.

I think I wiled another security guard to gain access to the guest only elevators, arriving on the "garden" level ten stories up to be seated on the outside terrace of Bouchon!



They brought bread, butter, and jam to start us off. The mark of a really good restaurant was when my mom asked about how they cooked the omlete, and the waitor ran off to check with the chef. I like it when resturants take allergies seriously.



White wurst, with taragon. Super yummy.



I was lusting after the bagette and nutella, so I ordered it for "desert":


























The tortoise and the hare at the LAS airport:

Silverthorne and the Chihuahua mountain

This what the hike looks like when you are panting and wheezing, because HELLO people, Laura lives at 0 degrees... aka sea level! Wait up.. wait up... wait.. *breathing heavily*









Look at all those people and their amazing hiking outfits! Which one of us doesn't belong... oh the city slicker in jeans, yes, that's right- me!




















The grilling dinner feast!








I find this picture most amusing not just because Emily is stuffing her face with a hot dog and looking belly-rubbing hilarious, but also because she looks like she never stuffs her face with food (a fact I can dispute based on experience), if at all eats! I bet Em could win the hot dog eating contest.