Las Vegas - Mid Week

Took my Sweetie to a quickie Las Vegas trip. We left Tuesday morning and arrived back home Thursday afternoon. Here's the real kicker - my Sweetie didn't know about any of the trip except that we were going to Las Vegas (and that was spoiled when we got a phone message that she heard!).

Here's our bullet-ed list of what we did:

Tuesday

• Flew to Las Vegas with a short stop in Albuquerque. Turned left.
• Checked into our hotel - Hilton Grand Vacations on The Strip.
• Took cab to Bellagio. Line too long for the Cafe so went to the buffet. Too expensive!
• Arrived at the salon for our couples manicure and pedicure with champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries. She got purple polish on her nails and I got a shiny buffing on mine.
• Back to the hotel to relax and change. Got our welcome packet with coupons for lots of things in town.
• Took cab to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant on East Flamingo. Cab driver was clearly a newbie as he hadn't heard of Roy's. We started with Roy’s Canoe Appetizer for Two which had (from the left) Ginger Chicken Skewers, Seared Shrimp, Szechuan Baby Back Ribs, Crispy Spicy Tuna Roll with Firecracker sauce (oooh, hot), and Lobster Potstickers. I had the Garlic Rubbed Hawaiian Tombo with Ponzu Sesame Sizzle and Chilled Soba Noodles Salad and my Sweetie ordered the Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish with Sweet Ginger and Chinese Sizzling Vinaigrette. Of course, we shared these! We also shared a bottle of wine! And finally, we had coffee and Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé with Belgian Chocolate, RaspberryCoulis, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Wednesday

• Breakfast from The Marketplace (in our hotel).
• Quick trip to Circus Circus. Early morning slots! First time to this hotel/casino for both of us. Definitely a place for kids - except the gambling part, of course!
• Attended a sales pitch. Didn't buy.
• Took cab to Mirage.
• Lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. OK, my Sweetie typically doesn't like their pizzas. But I found one that she would eat! We started with beer (a Stella for Sweetie and Newcastle Brown for me) and a spinach-artichoke dip (really nice and garlicky).  And then the Italian Tomato & Basil thin crust pizza with imported Italian tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, topped with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.
• After lunch, we stopped at Kim Vō Salon where both my Sweetie and I had appointments to get our hair cut. Sweetie came out with a beautifully layer cut that appeared to take a life of its own with naturally bounce. Mine was less awesome but nonetheless, a wonderful change in appearance.
• Back to the hotel to change then a cab to Planet Hollywood! Neither of us had ever been to this hotel/casino so it was another new experience for us.
• After spending time playing some slots, we headed up the escalator to walk right past the steak restaurant into a Japanese fusion restaurant - Koi. At first, my Sweetie wondered if they served carp. Anyway, we started with the Salmon Carpaccio with Black Truffles and Citrus Sauce topped with some baby greens. Wonderful! Next, our Soft Shell Crab roll and a couple of pieces of sea urchin (uni) sushi. The roll was excellent and the spices on the crab were enticing. The uni was creamy and unctuous. Our main courses were, for Sweetie, a Sesame Encrusted Lobster Tail with Bok Choy and Yuzu Butter while I had the Steamed Chilean Sea Bass with Ginger, Ichimi and Shiitake Mushrooms. Again, we shared our dishes with each other! We ended our experience with a Mochi assortment (chocolate, cherry, and mango) which neither of us had every even known about until this meal. Mochi is basically glutinous rice wrapped around ice cream. Whatever it is, the Mochi ice cream became my instant favorite dessert.

• We then took a few minutes walking around the shops before arriving at the VIP line for V - The Ultimate Variety Show! Totally loved the show! We got to see aerial acrobats, tap dancers, Mo5aic (singers making instruments noises?), Miranda the Magician, some funny guy who uses members of the audience, and a roller skating pair who only skated on about a 5 foot circle. Totally cool! Too bad we didn't get a chance to see EVIL DEAD, THE MUSICAL IN 4D!

No girls on the pole while we waited for the Ultimate Variety Show

 And, unfortunately, back home on Thursday morning. Although we didn't stay long, we did get to see, and do, some things we hadn't done before. Not too bad, I'd say!

Sweetie with Roy's Dessert! Looks happy, doesn't she?