Vegas: All Work and All Play

I left Vegas three years ago with a long list of things I'd missed, and no idea if I'd ever be back to tick them off. But this year, I unexpectedly got the chance.

But there was an important catch: this was no leisure trip, but my first international work trip. Consequently, my colleague Sarah and I had a very exhausting work schedule, and the few gaps in which to see Vegas had to be stolen from time we'd otherwise be sleeping - late at night or early in the morning. But, we managed to make a fairly decent go of it. Having said that... I didn't have time to gamble even once, my whole time there!

Sarah and I in the state we appeared for most of our time in Vegas.

Without further ado, here's the list of activities I failed to complete last time:


1.  The Stratosphere rides
Imagine getting thrown off the side of a skyscraper, 350m high. Welcome to Stratosphere. Seriously. There are three theme-park rides that throw you around in all kinds of directions from the top of a tower only a few storeys lower than the Empire State. It's insane. Sarah wasn't at all keen to try the rides, assuming the role of photographer.

2.  Visit a Vegas club
This one I wasn't sure I would get to tick off, but I should have known the Les Mills Megamadness after party would be a good night!

3.  Buffet, sweet buffet
After a long day on my feet, I nearly ordered room service again. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try my first Vegas buffet. Given my companion was the nutrition manager, there was no hope of company, but I enjoyed it on my own regardless. Though, I barely got through three platefuls - including dessert!




4.  See 'O' by Cirque du Soleil
Thank goodness Vegas never sleeps - 'O' performs twice nightly, and the second performance is late enough that we were able to make it after finishing our responsibilities at the convention. Although, we were cutting it so fine that we had to sprint the entire way, arriving so puffed out I thought I was going to die!

I'm very glad we made the effort - 'O' topped every Cirque du Soleil list I could find... and it really was a magical experience. My favourite scene involved a giant pirate ship, with trapeze artists and acrobats completed indescribably complicated manoeuvres while it swung in the air above an enormous pool, which at other times was filled with synchronised swimmers.

5.  Helicopter over the Grand Canyon
Sarah surprised me on my first night, with a big idea that I never expected to work. She hatched an impossible sounding plan for us to helicopter to the Grand Canyon and back before the time that we needed to begin work the next morning - 10am. But it worked. The only catch was that we had to leave our hotel at 5:30am...

Arriving at the airfield shortly after sunrise

The awe-inspiring Grand Canyon - with the SkyWalk just visible in the centre.

The mindblowing view from the SkyWalk

They say the glass is thicker than it looks.

Given the minuscule amount of spare time we had, I'm still shocked at how much we managed to squeeze in.

There's only one thing still remaining on my Vegas list: the roller coaster at New York New York.

Oh well, maybe next time.

Life Lesson #10 - Always Set Two Alarms

When we went to bed at 3:30am on our last night in Vegas we had big plans to get up early anyway. We wanted to make sure we had time to pack our pigsty before checkout at 11.

Helps if you take you phone off silent when you set your alarm. We woke at midday.

I ended up having to use the crap housekeeping as leverage to convince the hotel manager not to charge us for an extra night. Suddenly using the same towels for three days seemed worth it!

---pics after the jump---

Review: Lady Gaga

Our last night in Vegas was insane! When we first booked tickets to Celine, I looked up other gigs and concerts in town at the same time. Oh, you know, no one special, just GAGA at the MGM Grand!!

Meeting Gaga backstage. Kinda.

We had been gutted to miss her show in Auckland so were stoked to catch the tail end of the Monster Ball tour in Las Vegas. She was supported by the Scissor Sisters, who were awesome in their own right, and a crazy DJ up first who drank an entire bottle of Jack Daniels during her 20 min set. That's gotta hurt.

We had an amazing spot about eight people back from the stage, in the standing room only space where only the most die hard fans with no personal space boundaries ever get near the front.

My Gaga get-up.

A South American guy in front of us couldn't handle it. He kept shoving me every time I brushed him the slightest bit. He was convinced that I was trying to push in front of him. I couldnt convince him that, no, I was just getting shoved from behind and was unable to shelter his majesty completely.

Eventually he moved and stood in front of Paul. Within five minutes he scowled at Paul for "breathing right near him". Soon afterwards he had a hissy fit, called Paul a faggot and an asshole and stormed off. This, of all places, at a Lady Gaga concert!

Soon afterwards he started another fight and made a girl cry. We felt vindicated, and offered to be witnesses if they needed help getting him kicked out.

Despite the less than ideal start, Mother Monster was amazing. Watching her do Born This Way acoustic was particularly cool. I now understand what people mean when they talk about her giving everything at a show - she came across as honest and authentic.

This is our best photo, but not really the best view. Most of the time she was just in front of us.

After the show, we gambled at Luxor (the Pyramid), Excalibur and New York New York until 3am.

We doubled our money. That's right, $5 became $10 baby! Oceans Eleven eat your heart out.


AA

What happens in Vegas...

Las Vegas is exactly what it looks like in the movies. I wouldn't wanna live there, but it was great fun for five nights. It's probably the only place we visited that seemed better for having the Spring Break crowds. Though unfortunately that meant there weren't any of the $25 hotel rooms Vegas is known for.

We found a cheap place at the northern end of The Strip, right next to three wedding chapels and classy joints like "Precious Slut III" (I'm still not sure what they do there). Ok, so our place may have been a dive. But it was close to where we wanted to be, and we knew what we were in for before we arrived, so it was fine. (Well, except for the free internet which never seemed to be working and is the reason this blog got a few days behind).

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but here are some highlights:

Review: Love

The Beatles rocked my world even before I saw Love. Now they rock it even more! Of the 7 Cirque du Soleil shows on The Strip, everyone I've spoken to agrees Love is the best one.

It somehow brought The Beatles music to life more than ever. The round stage was custom built for this show, including surround sound speakers in every seat. The result is much more than the spectacle I expected from a Cirque show in Vegas. It has heart.

My favorite parts were the beginning, when about six brick chimneys are blown apart in a WWII sequence, and the end, where John Lennon's assassination was subtly hinted at. They never seemed to take the easy, literal or obvious way, which I thought made this show one of the best things I have ever seen on stage.

Even the entrance to the theatre is amazing.

Broadway has a lot to measure up to!


AA

Review: Celine

We drove to Caesars Palace even before checking in to our hotel. That was probably a mistake, because we were still dressed like mountain men. I still had on everything I wore to the Grand Canyon, including two pairs of long thermal underwear. And plastic bags over my socks that were visible whenever my pants rode up a bit. But we rocked up to the poshest casino in Vegas like that anyway, because that's how excited Paul was about Celine. (I have to admit I encouraged it a bit).

Paul's pulse got faster the closer we got. When we turned off Flamingo Boulevard onto The Strip and it was right in front of us I thought he was going to pass out... there was a huge billboard and screen with Celine on it. Though I had protested before, we decided that we just had to go to Caesars now and not wait until tomorrow. Paul took photos of every Celine sign in the casino as we walked towards the Colosseum.

Our first glimpse of Celine outside Caesars Palace.

---the rest of the story after the jump---

The dramatic road to Vegas

After the drama with the car keys, it was 4:30 when we finally got on the road to Vegas. Paul read Walt Whitman aloud to pass the time.




It was still snowing like crazy, which made driving scary but photos awesome. We passed an accident that had just happened, when a woman spun out of control into a tree.

It felt like we had moved to Narnia.

---the story gets even more interesting after the jump---