TGIF. Weekend in Vegas. Took Uber from Santa Monica with Alena. What was a 5 mile ride to LAX turned out to be over half an hour commute . No thanks to the ever worsening, notorious and much dreaded 405 fwy rush hour traffic.. Waze app, (the gps that helps navigate side streets to avoid detected traffic in the freeway) was a saving grace. We were able to dodge some of the traffic madness by taking a scenic side street tour via city of Venice . After a few bottles of probiotic yummy Kombucha, some teeth pulling beef jerky, bag of finger licking Cheetos , a full Delta Boeing 737 plane and we are finally en route to the “The Entertainment Capital of the world”, aka, ” the “Sin City” .

So how did they earn that title of “Sin City” to begin with ? … Well behind the glitter and glamour, is the city’s high tolerance for drinking in public, nicotine smoke everywhere, prostitutes of different shapes, color and sizes strut the boulevard, and of course the ultimate mecca for gamblers.. Not to mention , its common knowledge that mobsters were the founding fathers of this modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.

First, some trivia about this popular destination:

1. Las Vegas is Spanish for The Meadows.
2. Annually ranks as one of the world’s most visited tourist destinations.
3. 28th most populated city in the US
4. Has the most AAA 5 diamond hotels in the world.
5. Seventeen of the 20 biggest hotels in the U.S. are in Las Vegas.
6. Howard Hughes was asked to leave the Desert Inn for over staying. He eventually just bought the hotel.
7. FedEx CEO Fred Smith salvaged his company in the 1970s by gambling his last $5000 in Vegas that turned to $32k after playing Blackjack. From the winnings, he eventually was able to raise $11M to sustain FedEx.
8. Prior to being famous for gambling, it was a destination to watch atomic bomb tests in the desert.
9. Customers who are over 350 pounds eat for free at the restaurant called “Heart Attack Grill”.
10. In 2007, Michael Jackson had plans to build a 50 foot tall, Michael look-a-like robot to moon walk around the city. .

While some would go to Vegas to escape their boring and mundane life and to indulge in what makes the city so deliriously sinful, our team opted for the wholesome side of VEGAS.. So yes, Vegas has diversified their customer base … We were there to experience their fine dining, the elegant amenities from their internationally renowned resort style hotels and the highlight for us is the helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, considered one of the wonders of the world.

For dinner the first night we tried ‘Rivea’. Located at the 64th floor of the hotel we stayed in, The Delano. We had line caught striped sea bass, arugula salad, filet mignon with black peppercorn au jus and some béarnaise sauce on the side.. For dessert , we had home made grapefruit and pomegranate sorbet, but their strawberry and rhubarb with California almond panna cotta was the star of the evening.. SO glad the waiter recommended it and we said yes to it.. The texture of the cream was just right and the hint of sweetness was natural and fresh. You get your sugar fix minus the sugar rush. Its a win-win.

Second night, we went for Mexican cuisine at ‘THE Chica’. It is highly rated, located inside the Venetian hotel. The calamari was so-so, however, their guacamole with some jalapeño and red peppers was a delight. I had the tamarind guava colada ..with Appleton Estate Signature Blend rum, fresh lime, tamarind and coconut cream with guava nectar. My friend Tatania is a margarita fan and she enjoyed the robust selections of their specialty cocktails. Initially, we planned on ordering family style, 2 of their popular dishes namely: the sautéed Argentinian SHRIMP & red QUINOA (with beluga lentils, topped with marinated corn poblano pico and Guayanés cheese) and their Venezuelan style BRAISED SHORT RIB with black-eyed peas two ways, epazote oil and pickled onions. But, the appetizers we ordered were so filling that we didn’t get to the entree section.

For 2 days in a row we voted to have breakfast at the same restaurant, Della’s kitchen. It’s located a few steps from the lobby of Delano hotel which was our home for the weekend. So aside from the convenience of being right there in our hotel, we really enjoyed the farm to table menu. Their selections have an inviting combination of classics, comfort food and seasonal specialties from locally sourced ingredients. The place exude a warm yet comfortable simplicity.

Friday night, our friend, Jazlyn got us an exclusive VIP table to “Chateu”. It was so for VIP that they assigned one security guard for our table. That’s a first. This fun open air club located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris hotel played loud hip hop music and other incoherent music genres that are no longer familiar to me. The dance floor was packed all throughout the night. Strobe lights, big ass fan, fog machines, dancers dressed in skimpy leather suit and bridal gowns sway their curvy hips on top of bar tables…booze and more booze abound… Thank God its an outdoor club. For non smokers and light drinker like me, the place at least wasn’t that stuffy and suffocating. Finally, its 3am, can’t wait to crash and dive in my comfy bed…

Woke up before the alarm went off. It’s Saturday morning. Finally, Grand Canyon tour. Scored a front seat, in the all tempered glass helicopter ride ( average speed 140 miles and flying 2k feet above sea level) View of the Hoover dam .. Colorado river .. Fortification hill (dormant volcano but causes lots of magma activity in the area) .. Lake mead ( where Colorado and Utah river meet ) ..rock formation that locals fondly call “breast of Mona Lisa”( can you guess why its called that?) , another rock formation that’s heart shaped, Willow beach, and then finally the Grand Canyon. We landed at the base of the canyon.. In the scorching heat, they prepared our picnic table. The chilled champagne and the ice cold sparkling water were a perfect treat to cool us down. They also served us with individually packed picnic basket with turkey and cheese sand which , Pringles ,sliced apples and chocolate cookie. All these food but too tired and thirsty to even take a bite.

Exhausted after half an hour of just marveling the magnitude of the canyon, we headed back. Sleepy after staying up late the night before, but eyes were peeled the whole time. Wont dare miss the breathtaking view from that altitude.

 

Our female pilot, Pollyanna did a great job .. Her selections of relaxing yet upbeat music while we cruise the canyons was just the perfect touch to soothe us after all the excitement , while she narrated the history and important facts about the different sites we visited.

It is no wonder that Vegas is the most visited city in the world. There’s something for everybody. Besides, where else in the world can you see an almost exact replica of the famous iconic world landmarks from Eiffel Tower, the gondolas of Venice, Arc de Tromphe, statue of Liberty, and Pyramids of Egypt to name a few in a 4 mile radius of its famous strip? If you want to titillate all your senses and have the ultimate escape from the 9 to 5 rat race.. Vegas has the answer! Who knows you might be the next lucky one to have an Elvis sighting or perhaps cash in the next mega million slot machine ? All the possibilities and it’s just a plane ride away or a 5 hour drive if you are from L.A. So pack up your bags and check out for yourself what the buzz is all about. You won’t regret it…After all, as one of the most successful tagline in marketing history would say “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” … Ssshhh! 🙂