Viva Las Vegas: Part 1

Ah, Vegas...

My flight took off at 7:10 a.m. and we made a stop in Philly to switch. Our flight to Vegas came in 1 hour earlier (Way to ride those tail winds Mr Pilot!) and so we landed about 11:20a.m. Vegas time. A Customer Service Rep was traveling with me so we got a cab and headed to NY, NY to drop off our bags and have a bite to eat.

By 1 p.m. we were tramming it to the Mandalay Bay Convention center to help with set-up at our booth. It was interesting to see booth set-ups happening around the floor. It was fun seeing setup and joking around with the workers, but by 4 p.m. we decided to hoof it back to the hotel to actually check in and get ready for dinner.

I had been talking about the Luxor all day. I mean, most of my family and friends know that one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Vegas was to see the Luxor. I figure, with the way the world is (and is going) that might be the closest thing to Egypt I actually see, which is sad, but possibly true. I also wanted to rate them on accuracy 'cause I am geek like that. I have to say, I was impressed, but let me start from the beginning.

From the convention center you walk thru Mandalay Bay casino and take escalators that connect to the Luxor. The Luxor is not photographable. I mean that not in the "I didn't know how to use the camera I borrowed from my Mom yet" way, but in more of the sense of "You can't capture it on film, you have to see it".

Some background: My travel companion is 46, a recently seperated mother of 3 and doesn't have much personality. She is very rigid and I wonder if she's ever had a day of fun in her whole life. She had been to Vegas once before for this tradeshow a few years back and they stayed in the Luxor. Anotherwards, she was a little unimpressed and not willing to allow me to let it sink in and have that first experience of "Holy Shit this place is F$%^ing AWESOME!!!" I mean, I did think that, but it was apparent she wanted to move on. Whatever, I got my time later, but it was annoying.
Whilte Ellen was in the ladies room, I took a pic of myself at the Luxor, even tho you can't tell that is where I am. I look pretty impressed with myself and I was probably thinking "Look at me! I am in VEGAS in the LUXOR people!!!!!" I call this my "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Face" haha.

Me taking flash pics of a sphinx in a dark place...don't worry, I figured it out later and got some great pics of inside the Luxor.:)

Once at the end of the Luxor and before taking the escalator connecting to Excalibur I found Criss Angel's shop and Production offices. The Blonde guy who is a magic consultant or whatever (Bonachek?) was in the office. I wasn't allowed to stop and look of couse because the nazi had had enough, but I knew I would make time to come back.

She also thought she knew how to get around, but wasn't paying attention to signage and eventually got us lost in the Excalibur...ignoring my suggestions which would have saved us 15 minutes of "lost in camelot" time, tho I wasn't complaining because I love that stuff too!
Ellen was determined that this was the way out of the Excalibur, but I knew we were in the wrong place. Great photo Op tho huh?

Turned around and saw an extrance to the Luxor towers. Damn I LOVE that Hotel!!!

Got back to our hotel rooms and showered and changed for dinner. Another coworker (the only of other female in the mix besides us) had made reservations for us at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris for dinner. We were early so we traveled up the Eiffel Tower and viewed the city from the 360 degree observation deck at the top. It was breathtaking, and an amazing way to watch the Bellagio Fountains! Dinner was great (seared scallops on a bed of whipped cauliflower with creamed spinach) Only problem was, I was back at my room by 9:30p.m.! Both of the girls were tired (come on! it's VEGAS!!!)and I didn't feel comfortable walking around at night by myself so I retired as well. There must be a law against retirng before 12p.m. in Vegas, right?

My view wasn't a strip view but nice anyway, a good blend of some strip and dessert. I sat at my window for a while letting it sink in that I was FINALLY in VEGAS!

When I finally got back to my room, this is the view from my NY NY room, facing the Monte Carlo and looking up strip (sort of). The red sign in the back middle is Ceasar's Palace and you can just barely see the top of the Eiffel Tower (on the right)even tho the photo is blurry.

So that was day 1 in Vegas. All the rushing around annoyed me a bit, but hey, I was there on business on company time and money so I dealt with it. It's just hard for someone like me to contain my excitement for a place I have always wanted to visit, especially when you are stuck inside a convention center and unable to experience it until later and then everyone is too pooped to pop!

Tune in Tomorrow: 1st day of the show, Hoofin' it and dinner with my brother Mark...and it gets even better!!!!