Who does this guy's hair???

After the lazy Friday, we bounced back hard on day 4. It turns out it is very easy to take a taxi from one hotel to another, since they all have a long queue of taxis that just mysteriously appear from a taxi tunnel in front of the hotel entrance. This time we took cabs everywhere, and wore sneakers instead of flip flops. This was instrumental to preventing debilitating foot/leg pain and the day was a huge success. We started with Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage. I was a little worried since some reviews I read online were less than flattering, but those haters were completely wrong.

Bunky told me she had overheard Justin Long saying, “I feel like an animal in a zoo!” yesterday. So, the joke for today while at the Secret Habitat was, “Hey do you think [that animal] feels like Justin Long at the Bellagio?”

This is what unpopularity looks like

It was quickly clear who the stars in the habitat were, since the lions were immaculately groomed, and it looked like their manes had been styled and blow dried. Then look up at that animal (Alpaca? Llama? I don’t know because they aren’t even listed on the website) above. You know that that hair is for sure woven into fine expensive cloth, and yet the poor creature is allowed to have a bad hair day every day.

If you like zoos, the Secret Garden is freaking awesome. You get probably within 5 feet of the big cats. We got to watch a leopard cub being stroked by a trainer while the other big cats watched jealously. Some of the cats paced right next to the front fence wall, and while it was a little tricky focusing on the cat and not the fence wire, it made for some great shots. We especially enjoyed one white lion who went around destroying his area the way Sydney would. The lion first sprayed all over one of his trees, then ripped up two sod squares and had himself some salad. After the lawn near the pool was destroyed, he then went and clawed up all the trees, and went to sleep. Classic.

When you are this powerful, you can make silly faces while you sleep

The overall area isn’t huge, but the intimacy of the area is incredible. This was repeated in the Dolphin Habitat. Now the dolphins don’t jump through fiery hoops while wearing top hats or anything, but the trainers occasionally (and randomly) come out for “interactions” with the dolphins. It was a bit windy, so Bunky and I had pulled up some chairs at the pool wall (only about 10 feet from the edge of the water) and sat in the sun. Suddenly, the trainers came out for an interaction, and it was way better than anything I’ve ever seen at places like Sea World because I was so close.

Why yes, I do use polish on my forehead

There were some jumps and ball-playing, as well as standard high-five and flipper wave tricks, but really the trainers were just out to take samples and measurements. There was a baby dolphin (Bella, 7 months old) swimming around as well, which was super cute. We also got to watch two dolphins poo in the water, which was interesting. Plus we were lounging in the sun, so the whole experience was glorious.

We finally pulled ourselves out of our chairs to go visit The Venetian. We totally missed the fake volcano (not that we were looking for it), but it wasn’t a huge loss. The Venetian was very nice, although the gondolas were a bit corny. There were a lot of weddings (at least 4), and we also caught a mini-Renaissance concert and saw some guy hand-painting a bunch of beautiful masks.

Too bad if you wear one you just look creepy

Both Bunky and I liked this shopping area the most, because it was Vegas without being as corny as Caesar’s Forum Shops. The gondola line was pretty long and we decided we didn’t want to ride on a boat in a mall while strangers stared at us listening to a gondolier. Aria is only fun when you aren’t the focus of everyone’s stares I guess. The various areas of the mall were meant to evoke various parts of Venice, and it was very bright and cheery inside. I bet the wedding photos inside The Venetian looked awesome.

More bad luck...

We just browsed and took pictures, and I got pics of the guy cosplaying as a statue and also a photo with me hanging out with the singer/cosplayer lady. She really got into it, speaking like a Venetian lady who was fluent in English or something; it was pretty cool. Even the ads were in character.

With the rise of Coke, the Renaissance came to an end

After that we took a cab back to The Bellagio to chill at the pool. It was really nice and warm in the sun, and we grabbed some delicious pastries from Palio to munch next to the pool. I got to try spray-on sunscreen for the first time, and it was convenient, but it left the floor kinda slippery and stunk up the room. The side pools were ice-cold, and even the main pool wasn’t that warm so we just lounged for an hour or so. Then it was time to get ready for dinner in Paris. We caught the end of some kind of Miss America contest in front of Planet Hollywood.

We couldn't find Miss Pennsylvania

We passed the throngs of people crowded around the contestants and the various couples making out under the fake Eiffel Tower to Mon Ami Gabi. We sat in a delightful windowed room right next to the patio (it was too cold at this point to eat outside). Bunky had the Filet Mignon with merlot butter and a red wine reduction while I opted for the New York Strip Steak (ironic, I know) with shallots and burgundy sauce. Both steaks were excellent and the Frites were tasty as well. I made up for my steak with a side order of French Green Beans, and we shared an awesome plate of three Profiteroles with ice cream and fudge.

Watercress is the new black in Vegas

After dinner, we took a quick jaunt through the Botanical Gardens again. They were a lot more impressive at night, so we took some more pictures. It was really crowded, with tons of people taking pictures. After that it was time to buy a few gifts for coworkers.

The lights kept changing colors

We finally made our way over to Jean Philippe Chocolates. It was a beautiful shop, although ironically the famous chocolate fountain (the largest in the world) was the least impressive thing in the shop. The problem is that the chocolate is so smooth, so the motion is not really apparent. It just looks like a fixed plastic sculpture… I didn’t realize at the time how famous this shop was, or I would have bought some chocolates for myself. I didn’t actually get to taste any of the treats…

Picking up chicks in Vegas

This day was a lot of fun, and we were tired but not in pain. The cabs, while a bit pricey, were completely worth it because the amount of walking in Vegas is just mind-blowing. I had a lot of fun even if I couldn’t get a picture with the goofy girl with an Eiffel Tower hat (thanks to a jealous Bunky who either doesn’t like revealing outfits or goofy hats).

On an unrelated note, I just saw what the Photoshop.com pictures look like on a real monitor and the quality definitely leaves something to be desired… If you compare the pictures from this post with the ones in earlier posts, the lines are all much cleaner. Real Photoshop is much better after all.

Phat lewts

In a truly pathetic turn of events there are nearly no pictures of this day. The pictures after the fold were all taken yesterday.

Both of us were pretty beat from yesterday, so we had brunch again at the same place, and then did a little shopping at the Miracle Mile Shops. The shops were ok, and we were pleased to find reasonably priced bottled water. Obviously it gets very dry in Las Vegas, and the bottled water inside the hotel costs $8 a bottle…

An oasis of affordable water

The weather was incredibly bad today. In an unexpected turn of events, there was quite a bit of rain outside (I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen in the desert…), and there were 30 mph winds gusting as well. We decided to just lounge around in our hotel room for most of the day, and I updated KOLAAP while Bunky took a very long nap. We had an early dinner scheduled for right before our show. In a truly tragic turn of events, Bunky stressed that because we were not allowed to take pictures during the show, I could not bring my camera with me to dinner (since I might not have time to put it away between dinner and the show.

O day

I was pretty miffed about this, but I didn’t want to make too big of a fuss. Naturally, plenty of photo ops went by unrecorded. First we went down to Olives, which was recommended by Frommer’s. As we were waiting to be seated, I had my first confirmed (I think I saw Keanu Reeves getting into a limo on day 1 in front of Bellagio, but I am not completely sure) celebrity sighting! Justin Long passed by and said hi to the group right in front of us, so I was less than 5 feet away; alas, I did not have my camera with me to take a picture. He was polite but shy, and after saying, “Nice to meet you,” to a few people, he turned around and basically bolted away in his skinny jeans.

The view inside Olives was great (again, no camera…), but the rest of the experience was underwhelming. While the nearby groups had this happy attentive waiter who was prompt and friendly (and took pictures for them), our waiter was fairly aloof and inattentive. He was too busy with a group of (presumably richer) folks near us, bringing them special lemon wipes between courses, etc. The dinner took forever, even though we had reservations for dinner immediately at 5:00 PM, i.e. as soon as Olives opened for dinner.

The food was a bit odd as well. I started with the grilled squid and octopus with chickpeas. While the texture of the seafood was good, the flavors of the sauce didn’t go well with the squid and octopus. Bunky had the free range chicken with watercress salad and green beans and she said it was tasty. I had the pork tenderloin with goat cheese polenta, onion rings, and collard greens. The goat cheese polenta tasted a bit funny, and the onion rings weren’t that crispy. It was ok, but the various parts didn’t complement each other well. Bunky finished with a tasty chocolate cake, and I had a strange but tasty apple tart (with a bit of cheddar cheese in the crust). The waiter also messed up our check, but eagle-eyed Bunky caught the error to prevent getting double-charged for dessert.

Things got worse when we got into the theater and saw that everyone was taking pictures inside the beautiful theater. Bunky felt pretty bad, but it was too late to do anything. As cruddy as this was, it wasn’t as bad as the night the group of 4 in front of us had. They found out a few minutes into the show that their tickets were for tomorrow night’s showing, and so they got kicked out in shame. We had awesome seats in the 10th row, and it turns out J10 is as overpowered in normal theater as it is theaters of war.

O was absolutely amazing, and the nicer seats were totally worth it. I think I spoiled a few surprises due to Kaleido Star experience, but the show was still stunning. We both enjoyed the show a lot and would recommend it to anyone going to Vegas. With that, the day came to a close, and we headed off to bed.

Above the Bellagio front desk

This was a very busy day and we got a lot done today. We started the day at 7:00 AM, and found the Bellagio Buffet . We got in before the morning rush, and we filled up on very nice fresh fruits, tasty pastries, and your typical breakfast foods. Since we ate so much, we skipped lunch, and so it ended up being a very cheap meal.

It didn't take too long to breeze through the garden

We took a quick peek at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens next. It was nice, but not really that large. We went through in a few minutes and moved on to the spectacular pool area. It was a bit too cool to get in the water, but it was nice and sunny. Bunky and I lounged on the chairs and took in some sun.

This was just a small side pool

Now lounging can be tiring, so we went back to our room after visiting the pool. Bunky took a short nap, and I took an hour to prepare myself for battle. I quickly read this blackjack guide, and took in the basic strategies. I then played the simulation and found that it was easy to lose everything very quickly…

So while Bunky headed off to the spa for some pampering, I ventured into the casino for some gambling initiation. I had read up on baccarat, craps, and blackjack, but I couldn’t find the baccarat tables and craps looked too complicated for a first-timer. I decided to ease myself in with $5 worth of 25-cent slots. This was incredibly boring, and I couldn’t tell how I was doing. Still, I somehow managed to come away with $15, so I was up $10 after 5 minutes.

Isn't it bad luck to have these in the hallways?

Naturally, part of me wanted to just keep the winnings, but I was resolved to play at least one table game. I observed some people at the $5 table to get a gist for what to do, but the only free seats were at the $10 table. My limit for the day was $100 (which I expected to lose all of). I laid down $40 to start, but I quickly found myself getting bad hands and losing very quickly. I did manage to battle back to $30 and got up after only a few hands. I had been the only one at the table, and the dealer wasn’t that friendly. Maybe he was annoyed that I had to use verbal commands to indicate what I wanted to do.

Fortunately, another $5 table opened up, and there was only one lady sitting there. I sat down, and the dealer quickly found that I did not know how to signal hitting/standing/etc. I eventually got it, and the dealer was patient with me. I guess you motion towards you (kinda scratching the table) to hit and wave over the cards to stand. I think I had a no no by splitting one hand myself (oops), but I did know how to double already. Fortunately, I knew the basic rules and strategies for the game, and I didn’t need too much help after the first few hands. My table-mate, however, was pretty much terrible. She needed help counting her cards, and a few times the dealer had to veto her moves for her own safety.

Even at the small stakes table, it was pretty thrilling. I got up $35 quickly, but I didn’t leave because I felt like that would be rather pointless; after all I came down to be entertained. I had a good streak going, and started betting more. Of course I then proceeded to lose all my winnings until I was down to two $5 chips (from my high of $65). I was all ready to break out some more money, but I battled back again to go up $20. By this point I had played for about 1.5 hours and my table-mate had been puffing smoke in my face the whole time. Eyes watering, I decided to cash out, and left one $5 chip as a tip for my dealer for being so patient. I also kept one $5 chip as a souvenir, so all told I netted $20. Bunky was pretty surprised I didn’t lose everything, but I told her that I play to win.

Some of the few clothed statues at Caesars Palace

With my gambling itch scratched, Bunky met up with me for a trip to The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. It was not nearly as close as it looked, and we made the mistake of trying to go through the casino to get to the stores. Unlike The Bellagio, Caesars Palace is very confusing inside, and very big. The decorations were over the top, and just about every statue had bared breasts.

Obviously a trap...

The stores were too rich for our tastes, so we just browsed and then had dinner at Spago. We were still a bit stuffed from breakfast, so we ordered from the cafe menu. I had a chicken salad sandwich with a watercress, grape, and walnut salad and some homemade chips. The food was tasty (although our Frommer’s guide was correct in tempering our expectations) and light. My chips were especially delightful, and I washed it down with my first mojito (a pineapple mojito).

The sandwich looks a little odd close up

The walk back took forever, and we got to experience the infamous flier distribution along the streets of the Strip. The main trick seems to be to snap a flier against the pile of fliers to create a noise that attracts your attention. We were completely exhausted by that point, so we flopped into bed and called it a day.

This is the view from our hotel window!!!

The Bellagio is beautiful at night, and the water show was playing as we got in. We have a full lakeside view, and our 10th floor window is absolutely stunning. The room was moderately sized, but very nice. It also had the nicest bathroom I’ve ever been in, and the deep full tub was glorious. We also seem to have a ton of channels, and even 5 Asian channels, haha.

Not everything was perfect, although the quibbles were minor. It was slightly smokey walking through the casino, and you have to walk through the casino to get to anything in The Bellagio. It wasn’t terrible, and I figure that is the worst it will be; plus we will likely be early birds during our trip here (I’m typing this at sunrise, 7 AM local time). It was annoying that the front desk didn’t take a credit card number when we checked in, and so we couldn’t charge anything to the room the first night (we were too lazy to go back down and through the casino walk again) or get internet access. There is definitely the sense of everything trying to nickel and dime travelers, too. I lazily bought a $3 soda from the vending machine. I brought my own ethernet cable, thankfully.

I brought my netbook with me, and because it’s kinda underpowered, I don’t have Photoshop on this computer. However, I finally used my account at Photoshop.com to do some basic online edits to the photos that I’m going to post.

Anyway, we toured the hotel area one last time after packing and took some pictures. I got a funny video of Bunky trying to get into the hammock, and we found a fallen white flower to stick in her hair for photos (she was against actively plucking flowers from the plants). It was kinda sad saying goodbye to Maui, but I was ready to get back to Pittsburgh and see the cats again. We stopped at a Quiznos and Jamba Juice (first time there) for lunch and I gorged myself so that I wouldn’t have to buy food on the plane again.

We got to the airport in plenty of time and with a full tank of gas. Still, Hertz charged us about $30 in random fees. There were island concession fees, and various return fees. I think this is a load of crap, considering all Hertz did was look at the odometer and fuel dial, and then print out a receipt. I figure this is probably par for the course with car rental companies, though. Anyway, the airport at Maui is rather small, and it seems like it has no A/C. When we finally got on the plane, it was mostly filled, but we still had to stop at Oahu before we could go to Chicago.

After we stopped in Oahu, it was obvious everyone was hoping the next flight would be mostly empty so we could all spread out into the empty rows. There were four people in our five seat row, and the rows ahead of and behind us were empty. Unfortunately, both ended up being filled. There was one very greedy guy who tried to take the entire row behind us, but when the family showed up to claim their rightful seats, greedy guy had to apologize sheepishly and return to his own seat.

I watched Kung Fu Panda again as well as Made of Honor. Both were entertaining, although all the screens had a line/flicker in the middle which was distracting. There were no TV shows aired this flight. The flight back was particularly painful, and by the end my butt was sore from sitting in the crappy economy seats. Unfortunately we then had to hurry up and wait for about 3-4 hours in Chicago before our next flight. Bunky fell into a deep sleep at our gate, and I grinded in Etrian Oddessey, so it wasn’t too bad of a layover. The final leg of the trip went smoothly, and we collected our luggage quickly and drove home.

Everything was very clean when we got home, as Bunky’s aunt had spruced up a little and left two huge vases of flowers for us. The cats were happy to see us of course. It was good to be back, but we were both extremely tired and jet-lagged. Thank goodness it was only Sunday afternoon and we still had all of Labor Day to recover!

With our chores done, Bunky and I drove down to Front Street to check out the historic area there. There were tons of little tourist-trap shops there, and we each paid $1 to visit the Wo Hing Society House. It was very small and just reminded me of a rural house in Taiwan, but with two floors. The coolest part was probably the starfruit tree near the cookhouse, and the starfruit looked rather tasty. On our way back we also saw one of the largest Banyan Trees in America. From what I understand, this is what happens when you feed your bonsai tree food after midnight.

It was hot walking along Front Street, so we cooled off by heading to the strip mall area with a Barnes and Noble near the resort. We weren’t extremely hungry for lunch, but I convinced Bunky to go with me to the newly opened Genki Sushi. I just wanted to try some sushi out at Hawaii, and I was extremely pleased to find that it was a conveyor belt sushi place. It was my first time trying out CBSushi, and it was fun and fairly cheap. After lunch we browsed magazines for a while and then hung out at pool for 1-2 hours.

For dinner, we went to Lahaina Grill. It was a Fodor’s Choice, but after last night we were a little wary about Fodor’s taste. The decor of Lahaina Grill was nothing special, and was probably the least scenic place we’ve had dinner at. However, the food made up for it; everything was absolutely incredible. Even the bread with the herb-garlic-butter was delicious. Bunky had a simple pasta with meatballs made from blended veal, pork and beef. I had the Kona Coffee Roasted Rack of Lamb with a Light Coffee-Cabernet demi-glace, and Herb Infused Mashed Potatoes. It was delicious. The lamb was cooked just right, and the coffee taste was subtle (more apparent in the aftertaste). It came with some baby carrots, asparagus, and a whole roasted garlic bulb. It was my first time eating a roasted bulb of garlic and it was so awesome. The cloves came out easily and were spreadable like butter. It added a rich taste to every part of the dish, and the flavors all worked perfectly together.

The dessert was outstanding as well. Bunky had a fantastic Crème Brûlée with berries and a homemade cookie (that Bunky loved). I had the “Road to Hana, Maui” dessert that was made up of layers of Hawaiian vintage chocolate cake, chocolate sour cream mousse, and macadamia nut caramel. It was like a wonderfully smooth chocolate cake that was itself dipped in chocolate; it tasted divine. We were extremely pleased with the meal, and we agreed that Fodor had been redeemed. Unfortunately, we had to start packing once we got back to the hotel. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to Maui!