So.. I have a huge souvenir cup of tasty Seattle water and I've had my morning cuppa and a bit to eat.. so I think I'm ready to begin.. aaahh where to begin? How about we start off positive with a huge RAVE?
RAVE: The crowds!.. there is something about a huge crowd of people.. The energy given off is downright palpable.. it's kinetic, it's chemical, it's spiritual...it's easy to maintain some anonymity when lost in a crowd and conversely, it's easy to become one of the mass.. and just let go and have a great time.. love it!
Rant: The crowds! lol while I do love the aspects mentioned above.. there is so much that I hate about relentless crowds of such ridiculous proportions.. for Example
*smells- I have an odd olfactory sense.. I don't smell much.. and generally it must be a fairly strong odor for me to even register it.. therefore.. what we consider 'bad' smells, are what I tend to register the most.. what do crowds smell like? Farts ( I swear there was one instance, when crossing the pedestrian bridge from the Excaliber to New York NY.. I think everyone on that bridge farted at the same time.. it reeked from one end to the other!) and pits, and unwashed hair and ooh lets not forget FEET! yeah.. not a pleasant olfactory experience for me!
* rudeness- once or twice we met some great people who gave up a seat for us to have one etc.. but generally people were incredibly rude.. Why is that? is it that sense of anonymity that allows them to 'not care' what others think? One guy at Hooters, opened the door as I walked by and spit on the ground in front of me.. he was too lazy to walk to the gutter? or to the bathroom? I just looked at him and said " NIiiiiiice! asshole! your mother must be so proud!" and I can go on ad nauseum but I won't. you get the idea..
RAVE: So many different cultures came all together in this one big tourist destination, because of this, there were MANY different food options... It was kind of interesting, all the different languages I heard in one place!
RANT: So many different cultures came all together here! lol.. it was absolutely surreal.. Now I will give a small disclaimer here... those of you that know me well , know that I'm not a bigot.. or prejudiced toward any race, color, religion, sexual orientation etc BUT that I do take GREAT amusement in those people that are clear examples of WHY particular stereotypes exist... So I NOTICED that everyone around me was BROWN... the first three days.. I think I saw about 12 Caucasian people! seriously! but the really odd part? no matter what direction I turned, nobody spoke English! It was like I got on a plane in Seattle and got off in Asia somewhere..it was bizarre! I live in a truly diverse city and I'm used to a lot of different languages.. but it was literally EVERYONE speaking a language I didn't understand! it's like we went to some strange Disneyesque boot camp in India... hahaha..
I was completely unprepared for the culture shock I received! and yes.. those stereotypes did, in fact, show themselves.. crowds of Asians with cameras.. piling rudely in front of you to take pictures, like you were completely invisible! and East Indians with 40 hairy kids, running around taking up all the ( very few and far between) seating.. African American women with the worst weaves, and ugliest bags and clothes imaginable and AA men that thought they were thugs..
Oh and lets not forget the white people we DID SEE.. the young ones all looked like frat boys, and sorority girls set loose in LV with lots of Mum and Pop's $$$. Usually way too drunk and embarrassing themselves.. but again.. no one here knows them right? then there are the OLD whites.. women in 'clam digger' length pants and clunky tennis shoes and those fugly t/sweat shirts with shit like wolves or Xmas designs printed on them.. oh and lets not forget the fanny packs!!! they all wear them.. and their big fat guts hanging out over them.. *gag* I pray I didn't look like either group!
RAVE: Service...It's a service Industry Town for sure.. While we had some tough times finding some good food.. the Servers/Cooks/Chefs/Cashiers were anywhere from" tired but friendly.". to downright stellar.. Our personal favorite? Lisa.. She is a Sagittarius bartender from Chicago, who turned a brief 'Water' stop into a howling drunken good time! We loved her! There were servers who never let us see the bottom of our glasses and Security/Engineering people that saved the day with a smile..even at 3 in the morning! there were quick and courteous delivery people that earned their tips for sure... and happy chatty cab drivers.. very nice indeed..
I really don't have a RANT about the service.. go figure..
RAVE: cutie kids everywhere.. some were seriously super cute.. I do love kids that aren't mine that I can just "flirt" with and leave them with mom and daddy..
RANT: FUCKING KIDS EVERYWHERE!!!! Why did India and Asia NOT GET THE MEMO THAT LAS VEGAS HAS 'REVERTED' FROM BEING THE 'KID FRIENDLY' TOWN THAT IT BECAME IN THE '80's? people.. people PEOPLE!! Prostitution is LEGAL in the state of Nevada!! therefore.. while you will NOT see prostitutes walking the strip.. you WILL be bombarded with 'barkers' handing out ads for ladies ( or guys.. or grandmas.. or college girls.. or horses) that will be at your door in 20 minutes to give you the $34 special.. and the ads and billboards are wildly soft porn... now personally I love it.. but then again I'm a big girl.. would I bring my little kids to Vegas? NO FUCKING WAY!..
Now in all fairness.. I was born in Reno.. my folks lived in Winnemucca when I was a baby, and my dad owned the mineral rights to some land outside of Winnemucca until the day he died.. He was, before I was born, a shill ( he played poker for the" house") and was very comfortable in casinos.. and needless to say, my sibs and I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth to Winnemucca ( or Wendover, which was closer to where we lived) over the years.. so yeah.. we were in casinos as kids.. but we were 3 of like maybe 10 that came in all day, and we were to stay on the carpeted "path" to the buffet and not to linger at ALL in the casino.. these paths generally never came close to the Burlesque shows happening on the other side of the casino on a dark bar stage.. and you know.. if we did step foot off the path... SECURITY fell on us like vultures on carrion.. it was just NOT a place for kids.. and we knew it..
NOWadays? there were strollers parked by slot machines, and strollers blocking all the bathrooms and strollers filling every table in the buffet.. and strollers blocking all the sidewalks and strollers filling all the elevators and strollers smashing you in the back of the ankle and strollers.. well..EVERYWHERE!!!
Now I've done the stroller rant before.. about Disneyland ( most kids don't have recall before the age of 5.. why on earth would anyone in their right mind, spend RETARDED amounts of money, to take a kid to Disneyland BEFORE that kid can even remember it? WHY? selfish motherfuckers)
But really.. my first thought was " if you're going to spend "Vegas" amounts of money ($$$$$), why on earth would you bring your kids HERE? TAKE THEM TO DISNEYLAND!!! LOL at least it's 'kid' friendly! I never saw so many bored, glassy eyed kids in my life.. and they're all cranky and so are the parents.. I just don't get it.. take the kids to the local 'Great Wolf Lodge' or something where they can have some fun! Fucking selfish, stupid parents.. argh!
RAVE: Food... now.. I love food.. to me a vacation is about having fun, relaxing a little and EATING..my choice of destinations is as much about the available food choices as it is about anything else. Now generally, I am a firm believer in the "you get what you pay for" theory. I understand how a restaurant works.. there is a certain amount of overhead that is taken into consideration when the menu is planned..the profit margin is what will make or break a restaurant.. but that is in the REST of the world.. in Vegas.. that overhead is generally offset by the attached casinos, allowing the restaurants and buffets to provide food cheaply.. now we found the buffets and while some were horrible ( Circus Circus..ew) some were outstanding.. Namely the MGM Grand Buffet.. I can't describe the wonder that is a great Buffet.. one simply must experience it for themselves. Other good buffets? The buffet at the Fremont ( on Fremont street of course).. probably the Best food for the amount of money spent ( sunday brunch was like $11.99 and the food was superior). The MGM was as superior food wise but the setting much more elegant..
don't forget the places the locals go.. now those of you in the food service industry, know that the cooks/chefs/servers/bartenders will have their special hang outs... where the drinks are generous and the food is cheap but good...for us that was Ellis Island! Our girl Lisa told us about Ellis Island.. so we went for New Years.. it was close to the strip so we could see all the fireworks and the feel was all 'old Vegas'.. dark, too smoky and that cheesy restaurant with the giant old paintings of ships on the walls and dusty faded flowers all over, but the FOOD was awesome! I had a perfect prime rib for $11.99 and Michael and Amy both had NY strip steaks and shrimp.. perfectly done steaks for like $9.99 or something.. it was awesome! We also scored some amazingly good delivery pizza and Chinese food.. go figure..
Nine Fine Irishmen scored big on the grub scale as well... probably the most beautiful fish and chips I've ever seen and amazing shepherd's pie!
oohooh and a 2 thumbs up to Greenburgs Deli in NY NY!! they were a bit pricy ( about $17 bucks for a sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a bowl of Matzoh ball soup).. but the Pastrami ( I'm a whore for good pastrami!) was down right BUTTERY!! just amazing.. and from the steam table as proper NY deli's DO. and two giant Matzoh balls ..sooo good.. likely my favorite meal.
RANT: Food!
While I personally didn't find anything I ordered or chose from the buffet 'inedible'. Michael sure did.. we started off at Hooters because it was close by our hotel.. I had a salad and smothered tots.. you can't really go wrong with tots right? His burger was apparently terrible and made him sick.. ( although it did look a lot like the one he ate in the restaurant next door later ...hum)
Circus Circus.. well.. lets just say there was some dried up chicken that shouldn't have been served at all.. but in all fairness there were other things to eat, should one thing be less than appetizing.. why complain when there are other options to take advantage of? so yeah.. not great, but not inedible either..
so yeah.. some of the grub was mediocre.. but a lot of it was wonderful!
So now that the ranting and raving is complete.. I have some other observations that I have made.. like some pros and cons regarding casino hotels vs non casino hotels..
Now, Michael and I, being like the LAST adults in the US to have NOT been to Las Vegas in their lifetimes, are just NOW making these distinctions and will, on future trips know more and make more informed decisions ( and yes we WILL go back)
So I chose a non casino, but only slightly off strip hotel, called the Desert Rose Resort.. we got a riDICUlous deal on the trip with this hotel... having seen only good reviews ( which is odd in itself.. generally people will only take the time out of their lives to review if something was terrible) we decided to go with it.. It was a suite room with a small kitchen. As far as hotels I'VE stayed in goes.. it was quite nice.. not over the top elegant, but clean, well stocked, modern furnishings, a nice deep tubby, and a pool heated to 80 degrees year round! it was a good choice for us in many ways..the kitchen allowed us to save a little money on meals, for example. I insisted on a hotel with a pool, and the nearby hot tub was soooo nice at the end of bootcamp, I mean sightseeing...
The staff was accommodating and generally very friendly, and there was a free continental breakfast and managers reception each day/ afternoon.
What did I NOT like about staying at a non "strip" or non "casino" hotel? In order for me to get a decent cuppa ( and I'm saying cuppa= espresso drink.. not drip, which btw ewww)I had to walk from my room to the office ( about 40 yds) across OUR parking lot ( about 50 yds) across Hooters parking lot ( another 50 yds) across 10 lanes of traffic ( another 50 yds) across the 10 lanes of valet/guest registering lanes at the MGM ( about 40 yds) through the worlds largest casino ( MGM does carry that distinction... I wasn't being facetious! lol) about a MILE!( jk I don't know the distance but it's fucking HUGE!) to the nearest Starbucks.. or I could go to the next nearest Starbucks at the Excaliber.. where, instead of crossing the 10 lanes of traffic ( after all the parking lots), I would walk about 9/10 of a mile to the strip, up to the pedestrian bridge, across 10 lanes of traffic, and into their 3/10 mile entryway.. where Amy and I decided that they should have a starbucks waiting at the end.. instead there is the 'Sword and the Stone" bar.. where one might purchase one of those "yards" of frozen concoctions that help one hang on.. lol and across their casino, up the escalator and through the throngs of Asians with their thousands of children to get a good cuppa.
If you're hungry.. it's that same walk, then onto a bus or tram or monorail to someplace that has a restaurant..
So we did 2-3 Big strip casinos each day..and we're exhausted.
So the obvious benefits of casino hotels is the availability of easily accessible grub and drink and entertainment..
So we've decided that the NEXT time we go to Vegas we will pick ONE cool hotel/casino that we want to explore more, take a 3 day weekend and never leave that hotel.. sounds awesome..
I have been asked " Are you 'Vegas'd' out yet?".. this is because people who know me know that I don't gamble much.. and are surprised that I managed to fill a 12 day vacation in Vegas without wanting to go out like Nicholas Cage. haha I managed to see an old friend from HS that lives in Vegas now, and a friend of my son's who I'd been looking forward to meeting.. so it was surprisingly productive in that way as well...
So yeah.. lots of Good and a little bit of not so good.. but , now I know more about the city and the strip and know what I like and don't like.. but I will say one thing..I would go back for that Pastrami any day!
