Fruit Adventures: Sin City Part Two

If you were me, what would do if you won a couple of bucks at the slot machines? Would you go shopping with it? Maybe buy a ticket to a show? If you've been reading my blog for awhile now, you'd know that that's not how I roll. You would know that the very next day, I'd get up and know exactly what to do with my money...

and beeline to the .... BUFFET!

I haven't tried Caesar's Palace buffet, Bacchanal, and it's been highly praised so I thought I'd see and find out for myself what the buzz is all about.

It was a Friday so obviously the line was horrible, but they have an express lane where you can add like 20 bucks or something like that, or you if you have someone handicapped in your party, they'll take you to the express lane for no extra charge.

So I wandered around like a vulture picking my next prey...

I went ahead and tried the Chinese food station. The har gow was okay but the shu mai was kinda bland.

They offered these juice fusion drinks in one of the stations and they tasted really good.

They've got some fresh seafood like oysters and crab legs but I always go for the shrimp cocktail in any buffet.



Getting some protein with BBQ beef short ribs and roasted chicken. Very tasty!

I tried some of the breads...it was no bueno. Too salty or too tough to eat! Unless these were all made of plastic and only for display, then yeah, it tastes alright. Ha!

The pizza station. I like how they're thin-crusted.

The cheese station with some sharp cheddar, manchego and the like.

The sushi wasn't anything special and I didn't see any shrimp tempura in the Japanese station so...boo!

They have a made-to-order taco station, I haven't seen this in other buffets before.

Small bites: Hotdog with sauerkraut and beef sliders. I'm not a big red meat lover so the sliders are a perfect size for me.

Time to feed the sweet tooth in me!

The gelato area. I tried the pistachio flavor, it tasted weird. I don't know how else to describe it.

To be honest, I didn't like any of the desserts except for the flan (that round brown thing in the pic below) and the crème brûlée.

Meh, maybe next time I'll stick to the buffet at Wynn. I honestly think that Bacchanal has more of the hype than what they can actually deliver.

Anyhoo, it was too hot outside so the boyfriend and I just ended up hanging around in the casinos 'til the sun went down so we could stroll down the strip. I think that's when the Vegas strip releases the crazies shines at its best, anyway.

Caesar's Palace.

The Dancing Fountains at the Bellagio.

A live mannequin at the Cosmopolitan's Bond lounge bar. Like, yeah. I only noticed it when she moved and struck another pose.

Notice anything? Yep, they've got dancers up on a ledge while you play at the tables. Talk about entertainment! This is still at the Cosmo.

If you're into bling, The Cosmopolitan is the place where you wanna be. They've got a lounge that's called The Chandelier and everything is pretty much blinged out, with thousands of crystals dangling from the ceiling.

The Chandelier.

To wind down from all the craziness, we went back to the north of the strip to find a place where the boyfriend and I could just relax and have a drink or two without the *tugsh, tugsh, tugsh* in the background so we ended up at the Wynn.

They've got this cute display of colorful flowers (I have no idea what kind) in their main area, they change it often but I think this is one of the best ones so far.

Finally having some refreshments after a long day of hotel-hopping! Remember that bars and clubs at the Vegas strip always charge insane prices for alcoholic drinks, so make sure to put that in your budget if you know you're going to be drinking the night away. Or you can always run down to Walgreens located at the Venetian and buy your own booze!

Don't underestimate these mojitos (to my old drinking buddies: yes I am a lightweight now) at Parasol Up. Mr. Bartender knew what he was doing. The drinks kinda knocked me and the boyfriend for a bit, thankfully we were able to walk it off.

We kinda hung around a bit since the vibe was very chill but we just got blind-sided by an old Eastern European man who was groping his 30-years-younger-girlfriend at the table next to us. Dude, seriously. We're INSIDE a hotel. How hard can it be to push that elevator button and go up to the room and do your bitnez.

What happens in Vegas...is on Instagram the next morning. So get your shhh straight when visiting Sin City!

Toodles! :)

Fruit Adventures: Sin City

After visting the Getty Villa, I decided to book a last-minute getaway to Sin City with the gang (family and the boyfriend). Bad idea---why? Because it's October. I thought October was off-peak season in Vegas, but NO. I found out it's freakin' convention month, so pretty much all the hotels are filled with corporate peeps with their semi-casual business ensemble (something that they could wear to network with other business associates then go ape-shhhh in da club later at night). 

So yeah, the cheapskate in me couldn't bear booking at the Venetian or Wynn or Cosmopolitan at $400-$600 dollars a night for just a regular room (off peak rates go as low as $139) so I chose to remain at the middle of the strip minus the uber luxury amenities and booked at The Mirage instead. Considering the location (The Venetian's across the road and Caesar's Palace is on the right) with a decent-looking room, the price at $144 a night (with my Triple A discount) was well worth it.

The Mirage at night.

Everybody knows that The Mirage is an older hotel at the strip but I think they've been doing some small upgrades like the elevators, hallways, rooms.

My room. Not bad, right?

The bathroom is pretty outdated but as long as it's functioning and clean, it's all good. There wasn't a bathroom counter to lay out my toiletries though, so that was a big bummer.

We got to Vegas a little past dinner time so I took the front desk lady's advice and checked out the hotel's new 24-hour restaurant, Pantry, located conveniently right by the hotel room elevators.

I like the homey-slash-country-ish concept since it's got a casual vibe to it.

This is still Vegas, so they've got a full bar. Of course.

Everything we ordered was Yum to the O and the proportions are pretty generous!

Damn Good Potato Chips with roasted cipollini onion and truffled mushroom chive dip

Texas Pete Fried Chicken with potato-carrot mash, sawmill country gravy and cheddar chive biscuit

Pork Chop Schnitzel with kitchen fries, arugula and pickled lemon jam

A Brit's Fish and Chips Made with beer-battered cod. This one didn't have a gross fishy taste at all!

Your Not So Typical Sundae So delicious but beware: this size is to share!

After devouring all that culinary goodness, my boyfriend and I needed to burn some (take note: just some!) calories so we decided to head on over to The Venetian.

Whoa! What a rare sight to see...no big drunken crowds wandering aimlessly with their flip flops.

I think they redid the public restrooms, I don't remember the walls being all fancy like that during my last visit.

Time to hit the slot machines! This is very rare but I made over a hundred bucks with just a $20! Yey! Obviously I'm not a gambler, getting excited over a 1¢ machine. Ha!

So what did I do with my newfound billions? Did I make it rain? Or maybe lose it all back to the machines?

Stayed tuned for Part Two! :)

Toodles! :)

The Reluctant Road Tripper: Day 14

Nevada→California

This is it! We are on the final leg of this amazing trip and you know where the final stop is going to be...home sweet home, California! Coming out from Laughlin, there’s a narrow road that you would pass through and if you are feeling a little bit insane and ruin your car, you can go a little bit faster to feel the rollercoaster-like, uneven road. The engineer who built this road was definitely on some good shhh or he was a toddler...or a toddler on some good shhh.

See how freakin' uneven the road is? Man, I hate rollercoasters.

And here we are cutting across the Mojave desert.

Did you know that there are actually volcanoes located in the Mojave desert? They have been dormant for thousands of years but you can clearly see the vast land filled with dark lava rocks. I really had no idea that volcanoes existed in deserts. What the heck was I doing back in elementary? Playing Nintendo, that's what! Listen to your teachers, kids!

If I am not mistaken, this is the Pisgah crater.  The lava rocks make quite a contrast against the sand of the desert.

Thinking that we were in the middle of nowhere, I was really surprised to see some trailers and small houses scattered around (like, yeah, in the middle of the damn desert). And I can’t help but wonder…where the heck do they get their supplies? There are no establishments within 60 miles or so and what if they forgot to buy toilet paper on their last trip to the grocery store? Do people visit them during the holidays or family gatherings? What if the Texas Chainsaw massacre guy paid them a visit, where will they run to? What if they get the munchies and they ran out of Doritos? I'm sure you were thinking the same thing too, right? No? It's only me? Mmmk.

We were so close to home but we decided to do a quick pit stop at the Barstow Station where they had the usual fast food haunts such as McDonald's and Panda Express...they even had a little kiosk that served Filipino cuisine, what a sweet surprise!

And tadaaaa...

I AM FINALLY HOME! I'm so happy to see this big baby but I'm not sure if he's happy to see me, he looks mighty comfortable on my bed, non?

I’d like to make a special shout out to Skyler’s dog sitter who took special care of Sky for two weeks. Thanks a lot for keeping my baby alive and healthy! I hope Skyler didn’t give you any more headaches than you usually have and I hope he only kicked you out of the bed once! Hehe!

My overall experience with the road trip was simply awesome and I understand now why a lot of people in the U.S. like to do it too. The interstate roads are well-maintained, there are plenty of clean rest areas spread across every state and they even have huge grass areas for your pets to relieve themselves and get a little bit of exercise. I recommend bringing a GPS system with you for easier navigation and make sure to check up on the weather so you'll know if there are any storms, tornadoes, hurricanes that you need to watch out for.

This pretty much concludes the Road Tripper series and all I can say is that I enjoyed every single feet-cramping, pee-holding, junk food-bingeing moment of the journey, and I couldn't have enjoyed it with anyone else but the company of my family. I hope this journey has inspired some my fellow readers to plan their own little adventures once in a while despite having a bustling, busy life and see the world with all its wonders. No adventure is too great or too small, it's all up to you to make the journey worth remembering.

And to all you wide-eyed wanderers out there...

May your travels be filled with wonderful surprises and sumptuous food, and may you be blessed with a newfound perspective in life!

Toodles!

The Reluctant Road Tripper: Day 13

Laughlin, Nevada

Wuhoo! This is our last day before we go back to reality and to my home, sweet home California! I’ve finally recharged my sanity energy since I didn't have to get up at 4 a.m., so today it's time for some relaxation and it’s time for some slot machines! I’m really not a gambler, so I just go to the 1 cent machines and feed it a dollar or two. My family and I are such non-gamblers that when my parents handed me a $20 bill to play with, I was in shock. Are they sure about this? I could just make a run for it and go to the buffet instead. More bang for my buck, you know?

The blazin’ heat isn’t backing down today so I’m compelled to stay indoors. How lucky are we that the weekend we drop by in Nevada is exactly the time that the West Coast is experiencing one of the worst heat waves ever? How bad is it, you ask? Easy. Look for a hairdryer, set it on high heat and place the dryer as close as you can to your face. Now imagine that heat on your face to be about 3 times hotter and blowing all over your face and body too. I guarantee you, it was something that I have never experienced considering that I have tough, tropically-trained skin. (Philippine Islands, reprezent!)

But hey, this is the only down-time we’ve really had since the beginning of the road trip so I’m totally enjoying being stuck inside the hotel and enjoying dolce far niente. At night, I decided to come out from my little air-conditioned fortress and take a stroll by the river.

That was a bad idea, not only was it still bakin’ outside, I’ve forgotten my brother’s remark about the raccoons and skunks running the show outdoors. Of course I only remembered that when a skunk was already a couple of feet away from me, with its hiney ready to spray on unsuspecting guests. I was able to take only two photos while frantically trying to escape from Pepe Le Pew’s lethal weapon.

You know what made this encounter so weird? The skunk was chillin’ with a cat and even though it was dark, I could have sworn that there were little kittens by the bushes. You can see the reflection of the cat’s eyes in the picture but you could barely make out the skunk. Sorry, I know my picture isn’t exciting enough but this blogger ain’t that dedicated to come closer just to get sprayed on by Mr. Le Pew. Ha!

Oh and before sun down, I saw a freakin’ raccoon walk right up from this dock right here, just struttin’ his or her stuff in broad daylight! Sorry I wasn’t able to take a picture at all with the raccoon in action because I was too busy standing as stiff as a board when it made eye contact with me and climbed up to the walkway where I was standing at. Laugh at me all you want, but those little cute fuzzy masked creatures can be a little aggressive when they want to!

Anyhoo, as much as I know you would want to hear the rest of my fun-filled day discovering little creatures terrorizing hotel guests, I am going to have to cut my story short and start packin’ all of my stuff again…for one last time! Yahoo!

Toodles! :)