The Triumphant Return of "Mike"

[dennysfishroom]

I think Mike may be returning from his Spring western trip today. No wonder things have been so quite around here this week. Next week - back to normal. Can't wait to hear of his adventures in Sin City. Denny

[mewickham]

I don't know that I'd use the term "triumphant," but we are back from a few days in Las Vegas. We had a great time-- saw a couple of shows, ate at a couple of fancy restaurants, and lounged by the pool.

Penn and Teller were the first show on the list. Their show is lower key than we expected. It didn't have the big production values and props sported by other Las Vegas magicians, but it didn't matter. The magic was excellent and the comedy hilarious. It was a very good show. I was happy to see that they did the goldfish trick that has previously amazed me on TV. They start out by bringing an audience member up on stage to hold a goldfish bowl. Teller produces a coin out of nowhere and drops it in the bowl with a clank. Then another. Then several. Then a whole bunch. Then a bunch more and a bunch more. It's not much different than tricks done by other magicians, but I don't recall anyone producing such a quantity of coins. But then, Teller walks over to what looks like about a 27-gallon hexagon aquarium, and a few more coins pop into the aquarium. Then a large fantail goldfish. Then a couple more. Then a couple of dozen of them! It's an amazing trick with no clue of how he can do it. The result is a tank full of goldfish that came from the hands of a man standing in the middle of the stage.

We tried to get into Cirque du Soleil's "O" show. Eau is French for "water" and there is a lot of it involved, but that show only ran for one of the days we were there and the best seats were already booked. We didn't want to settle for "obstructed view." So we book "Ka," which ha a combination of acrobatics and martial arts. I liked the martial arts. Sharon liked the guys in thongs. We were able to get seats up front. There were no cheap sets or props for Ka. They spent millions to produce this show, with some of the action going on above and all around the audience. The front stage is mounted on immense hydraulic machinery. It rises, falls, twists, and turns, and a large part of the program has the performers working with the stage turned to face the audience, giving the a point of view as if we were above the stage, looking down. The plot of the story was impossible to follow completely, and this is even though I had seen something about it on PBS beforehand. If you want to understand it, buy the souvenir book. But even without being able to follow the plot completely, the quality of the performance and the uniqueness of so much of it made the time fly. Speaking of flying, a large, human-operating flying machine actually flies out over the audience at one point.

We also saw the "Bodies" exhibit at the Luxor. This is a museum-style exhibit of preserved human bodies. You may recall a stink in the news about it a few years back-- imagine that, a stink about dead bodies-- when it was discovered that the Chinese were selling the bodies of executed prisoners to be used. Anyway, various methods are used to dissect, flay, dissolve, embalm, and preserve the parts so that they don't smell (supposedly-- they are under glass), and have some especially cool exhibits where the veins were filled with resin, then the rest of the tissues dissolved away, so that only the circulatory system is left standing. Other parts have been permeated with silicone to preserve them. Anyway, it's a fascinating, though macabre and disgusting display.

We stayed at the Bellagio. The price wasn't much different than typical hotels, but everything was super elegant. We spent some time at the pools, ate at the buffets and various restaurants, and enjoyed the famous fountain show out front. We did some shopping across the street at Miracle Mile.

We saw a sushi restaurant while making the rounds in the hotel and stopped to look at the menu. Many of you know that I'm a sushi nut. One of the things I've read is that the best way to eat sushi is to go to a good sushi restaurant and order omakase, which means "surprise me." The chef picks/creates some very special dishes-- all his choice. It ain't cheap. Sharon didn't really want to eat there-- she's not a big Japanese food fan-- but I've always wanted to try omakase and here was a chance. So she said yes. Woohoo! It was the most expensive meal I have ever had and it was worth every dollar. If I could afford it, I'd eat like that every day! Sharon got some tastes of the seven omakase dishes, too. She also fell in love with a Kobi beef dish that she ordered-- so much so, that she insisted we go back there the next day. I didn't splurge on omakase that time, though. Anyway, it was a perfect, probably once-in-a-lifetime meal!

Another night, we went across the street to the Eiffel Tower where they have a new Steaks restaurant, by Gordon Ramsey the "He**'s Kitchen" TV chef. I watch his shows and we wanted to try out his food. I ordered the beef wellington, which is his signature dish. Sharon ordered a beef dish, too. She says it was Kobi beef, but I'm not sure she got that right. It wasn't at all marbled like the other she had. I think it was wagyu. The food was all excellent, but pricey. Still, you only live once, and it's nice that we can afford to do something special when we are on vacation.

You'll notice that we didn't do any gambling. Sharon sat down at a slot machine for a couple of minutes and went through about three bucks worth of quarters. Then she got bored of it and we found more fun things to do. We did stop now and then to watch other people gambling. One woman at roulette table was placing chips on almost every number! I guess it made her feel good that she almost always won, but she wasn't smart enough to realize that she was winning less than she bet.

Anyway, those are the high points.

[pinkrblu]

Sounds much more fun than our trip a couple years ago. Of course, it was only one stop on a long vacation, and we had kids with us. My mom and I both hit the slots... She lost every penny she bet. I did, too, losing three times as much as she did. Luckily, she only bet one dollar. It just wasn't much fun without the option of coins falling out of the machine. Circus Circus is also not exactly the Bellagio. It was very kid-friendly, but tired looking. Anywhoo, if I ever talk Mark into going to Vegas, we will try some of the things you did, Mike.