Vegas

This weekend, Elizabeth and I headed to Vegas to see another amazing Cirque du Soleil show. We have been to Vegas many times. We even spent parts of two summers there with friends while we were growing up. This time, the feelings I had while we were there were so different. I was so grateful that our time there was short. We had less than 24 hours in Vegas, but that was enough for me. Not that I didn’t have great company – because it was the best, the atmosphere of the city itself was too much for me this go around.

We love to people watch and Vegas has plenty of interesting people to watch (and listen to). One of my favorite things I heard while I was there was a young woman who was walking behind us complaining that an escalator was not working again. She literally said, “are they not working again” then about 10 seconds later “oh, they are actually stairs.” It was awesome. It was only a 10 or so stairs but it was very funny to hear her complain about having to actually walk up the stairs. The clothes people choose to wear will never cease to amaze me. I will let your imagination fill in the details there.

We did plenty of walking while we were there. The only thing we had planned was our show so we just set out to find something for dinner and just happened onto Serendipity. Seriously? I was so excited. I have heard about the one in New York City. I have wanted to taste their Frozen Hot Chocolate forever. They didn’t disappoint for sure. Because the wait to be seated inside was so long, we opted to order at their pick-up window outside. We had simple hotdogs and fries which were also very delicious.

This is my Frozen Hot Chocolate. Only after I started drinking it did I think I should take a picture of it. Yummy doesn't even begin to describe how good this was.

The show we saw was at the Bellagio and was called O. It was amazing. Having already seen 3 Cirque du Soleil shows, I knew they were amazing, but somehow this one was amazing in different ways. This one combined water with their amazing acrobatics and tricks. Here is how Cirque du Soleil describes O on their website: The rage of fire and the purification of water are brought together then displayed throughout the "O" Theatre in this visual act. Incorporating ancient folklore and martial arts, this act invokes rituals from lands around the world, including Hawaii, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. The fire act was created and transformed by artists with backgrounds ranging from performing arts companies to street theatre. One minute a performer would be diving from the top of the stage into the water and the next minute the stage would be dry. Hard to explain, but amazing Cirque du Soleil effects again. Loved it. One I would see again if given the chance. Here are some pictures I found online because of course you are not allowed to take pictures during the show.

Elizabeth and I stayed in the New York New York Hotel. Our choice of hotels was primarily based on what we wanted for breakfast. There is a restaurant called America which serves the yummiest buttermilk pancakes. Seriously…didn’t disappoint. They are all you can eat. You start with three and I couldn’t eat any more than that. After breakfast and a quick stop at M&M World we headed towards home.

We only drove to Mesquite as we wanted to make sure we got a good night sleep – and the rooms were very cheap. Unfortunately the beds were not very comfortable, so we didn’t sleep as well as we had hoped, but it was a nice quiet night. The drive home was quick and uneventful – it helps when the speed limit is 75 – 80 for most of the trip. We stopped at Los Hermanos in Provo for a late lunch before reaching home. I love road trips - especially with Elizabeth. We listen to great music and love to sing loudly together. We have been to New York and back twice so Vegas was a short one for us, but I am so glad we did it.