A few weeks ago, Inna and I discussed our plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We were reminiscing about our past trips to Sedona and how much we enjoyed hiking there. We also missed the amazing Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas.
Why not visit Las Vegas and Sedona with a stop in Grand Canyon? Since we could not take time off work, we could work remotely from Las Vegas for a few days and then drive to the Grand Canyon before Thanksgiving, thus leaving time for hiking in Sedona.
With this in mind, Inna and I booked airline flights on Southwest Airlines and a hotel in Las Vegas. Inna found excellent rooms at Vdara (where we never stayed) and made some dinner reservations. We also researched various shows in Las Vegas and settled on Marriage Can Be Murder, Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson On, Cirque du Soleil's Mystere, and Awakenings. I wanted to see Rod Steward playing in Las Vegas, but our airline flight arrived too late.
In Sedona, Inna made reservations at the Hilton Sedona at Bell Rock, where we had stayed previously. We really enjoyed the facilities there (and the large oversized Scrabble board). We also made dinner reservations at our favorite Cucina Rustica near the Hilton Sedona at Bell Rock.
Our tentative plan for the trip was as follows:
- Saturday, November 18:
- Fly from San Jose (SJC) to Las Vegas (LNV) on Southwest Airlines Flight #1123
- Check into Vdara Hotel
- See Marriage Can Be Murder dinner mystery in Orleans Hotel at 19:00
- Sunday, November 19:
- Lunch at Bardot Brasserie in Aria at 13:00
- Dinner at Momofuku in Cosmopolitan at 17:00
- See Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson One in Mandalay Bay Hotel at 19:00
- Monday, November 20:
- Dinner at Spago in Bellagio
- See Cirque du Soleil's Mystere in Treasure Island Hotel at 21:30
- Tuesday, November 21:
- See Awakening in Wynn at 19:00
- Dinner at Bouchon in Venetian Hotel
- Wednesday, November 22:
- Pick up Toyota RAV4 at Avis Car Rental in Bellagio Hotel
- Drive to Hilton Sedona at Bell Rock
- Hike Bell Rock
- Dinner at Butterfly Burger
- Thursday, November 23- Thanksgiving
- Tour the Grand Canyon
- Thanksgiving Dinner at Cucina Rustica at 20:00
- Friday, November 24:
- Hike Little Horse to Chicken Point
- Dinner at Mole Sedona at 18:45
- Saturday, November 25:
- Hike Fay Canyon
- Hike Long Canyon to Birthing Cave
- Dinner at Cucina Rustica at 18:45
- Sunday, November 26:
- Hike Boynton Canyon with a stop at Boynton Vista and Subway Cave
- Dinner at Mariposa at 15:45
- Monday, November 27:
- Work during the day
- Drive to Phoenix at 17:00
- Drop off the Toyota RAV4 at Avis Car Rental at Phoenix Airport
- Eat dinner at the airport
- Fly from Phoenix (PHX) to San Jose (SJC) at 21:05
A few days before the trip, I had a severe cold, constant sneezing, and nose congestion. I was not confident that I would be well enough to fly. Inna was also not feeling her best.
We decided to wait until Saturday, November 18, to decide whether or not to fly to Las Vegas. We would be sad to miss our planned trip, but life is unpredictable.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
I felt reasonably healthy when I awoke and noticed that my cold symptoms had diminished. Inna and I decided to pack and get ready for the trip. We were going, after all!
I packed my small suitcase, and Inna filled hers. I answered some work emails and walked around the block (when the rain ended).
Inna had her hair color appointment in the morning and returned at around 13:45, just in time to prepare for our 16:10 flight to Las Vegas. Her hair was beautifully colored.
After a quick lunch, I ordered Lyft, and our Tesla driver arrived at 14:25. On the way to the airport, he almost rammed into a BMW (the BMW driver was not checking his blindspot), and I was starting to think that perhaps the Universe was trying to keep us away from Las Vegas.
On the way to the airport, I was surprised by the low traffic. Being a pre-Thanksgiving weekend, I expected high congestion and long airport lines. Surprisingly, the lines were remarkably empty. In record time, we breezed through airport security with our TSA Precheck airline tickets.
Unfortunately, our Southwest Airlines Flight #1123 (intended for Las Vegas) was overloaded with fuel. Southwest Airlines re-assigned us to another Boeing 737, which added a one-hour delay to our departure and arrival.
We took off at 17:10 (instead of 16:10) and landed in Las Vegas at 18:20. When we disembarked from the plane and found our taxi, it was 18:40.
We quickly taxied to Vdara Hotel (but were dropped off at Ariya) due to congestion caused by the upcoming Formula 1 Race. We dropped off our bags at the Vdara Bell Desk to catch another taxi to the Orleans Hotel (4 minutes away by car). Note that taxis have become quite expensive (with a $20.00 temporary fee due to Formula 1). Unless you are a fan of Formula 1, avoid Las Vegas during Formula 1 races (due to the increased congestion, high taxi prices, and high hotel prices)
We arrived about 15 minutes late to the Marriage Can Be Murder, but the staff were helpful and immediately seated us. We enjoyed the interactive (though a bit cheesy) murder mystery. The dinner could have been more impressive (even for Las Vegas).
However, it was fun figuring out who would be murdered next and who the killer might be. It was all cheesy but good fun, nonetheless.
- Victim1: Sal Manilla (On Target Hit Services, You Pay, We Slay)
- Killer: The Cop
- Reason: Self Defense
- Victim2: Shell
After the show, we rode a taxi back to Vdara and checked into room #042 on the 9th floor. It was pretty spacious, but the views of the nearby parking lot could have been more interesting. Alex had problems with his work laptop connecting to wifi, but neither Inna nor I had any issues with our laptops.
There was a Formula 1 race scheduled from 22:00 to 24:00, and I thought about walking to see it live (in Bellagio) but decided against it (as YouTube videos showed much better angles). At Bellagio, I would just see the Formula 1 race cars blast by me for an instant.
In the evening, I continued to read Hitch22, an autobiography of Christopher Hitchens.
Sunday, November 19, 2023
I woke at 07:20, showered, and shaved in the morning. I felt a bit better but did not sleep well (due to some light bleeding through our window shades). While Inna and Alex slept, I answered work emails and worked on my blog.
At around 9:00, Inna and Alex started to wake up. After they dressed and got ready, we decided to stop by for breakfast at the Aria Patisserie.
We waited in line and ordered the following items:
- Inna: Crepe Croque Madame, Small Latte
- Alex: Crepe Croque Monsieur, Double Latte
- Boris: Salmon Crepe, Drip Coffee
After visiting the gardens, we walked around Bellagio but could not find a way to see the fountains, as most of the exits were blocked off due to the previous Formula 1 race. Eventually, we returned to Aria for our 13:00 lunch at Bardot Brasserie.
Inna made lunch reservations at Bardot Brasserie because of the positive reviews on Google. Could Las Vegas have another perfect French Brasserie, as good as Bouchon in Napa or Solbar in Calistoga?
Apparently not! Although Bardot Brasserie is beautifully decorated, the quality of the actual food could be better, at best, and overpriced. We ordered the following items from the menu:
- Alex: Duck Benedict, French Onion Soup
- Inna: Duck Benedict, French Onion Soup, Hot Tea
- Boris: Salmon Benedict, Hot Tea
The French Onion Soup was below average (and significantly below par with what we usually order at our local Chez Philippe in Los Gatos). My Salmon Benedict was also quite tasteless, not even close to the Benedicts we had requested at Solbar in Calistoga. What a giant disappointment!
We were stunned by the beauty inside and the beautiful exhibits. We saw the following exhibits:
- Beach Aurora
- Wave
- Flower Odyssey
- Waterfall Infinite
- Forest
- Star Raindrops
- Sunset
- Garden Masterpieces
- Garden Light of Las Vegas
- Jungle
- Live Sketch Book
For dinner, we stopped by the Momofuku Restaurant in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. After sitting down, we ordered the following items:
- Alex: Crispy Lamb Ribs
- Inna: Spicy Miso Ramen, Prickly Pear Lemonade
- Boris: Mushroom Ramen, Coffee
We really enjoyed our Ramen dishes. My Mushroom Ramen was excellent, and the Spicy Miso Ramen was amazing. Alex enjoyed his Lamb Ribs. The ramen was excellent but extremely expensive (overpriced). We did not realize how seriously inflation had affected Las Vegas Restaurants.
When we finished our dinner at 16:35, we rushed out of Momofuku to catch a cab in Aria. After waiting in a short line, we boarded a Prius cab and were driven one mile to Mandalay Bay.
After being dropped off, we rushed to the hotel for the correct theater. We arrived just in time and even managed to use the restrooms before being seated. Cirque du Solell's Michael Jackson One was exceptional, with excellent choreography, music, dancing, stunts, special effects, and technical wizardry. We were simply stunned by the show; it was phenomenal.
- Vortex - Intro
- Beat It - Dance Number
- Leave Me Alone/Tabloid Junkie/2 Bad - Dance Number
- Stranger in Moscow - Spanish Web
- Bad - Slack line
- Smooth Criminal - Japanese Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Human Nature - Contortion
- Jam - Martial Arts
- They Don't Care About Us - March Routine
- Earth Song - Shadow Puppets
- Smile - Solo Dance
- Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Trapeze Duet
- The Way You Make Me Feel - Dance Number
- Dangerous/ Dirty Diana/ In the Closet - Pole Dance
- This Place Hotel - Glove Manipulation
- Billie Jean - Glow-in-the-dark Dance Routine
- Scream - Video Projection
- Thriller - Trampoline
- Speechless - Interlude
- I Just Can't Stop Loving You - Spanish Web
- Man in the Mirror - Dance Number
- Black or White - Finale
After the show, we decided to visit Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef Aquarium, but it turned out to be closed. To get additional exercise, we decided to walk back to our hotel.
We stopped by Eataly to sample delicious Italian gelato. Alex tried 3 flavors in a large cup, while Inna tried 2 flavors (banana and salted caramel). I had a small cup of strawberry sorbet (to avoid consuming dairy). Though I prefer hazelnut (nocciola) and pistachio flavors, it was all right.
Monday, November 20, 2023
I woke up at 7:00 a.m. and took a shower. Since Alex and Inna were still sleeping, I started reading and answering my work emails and Slack messages.
Alex woke around 7:30 and walked to Bellagio to continue work, as his MacBook Air laptop had problems with Wi-Fi connections in the Vdara hotel. For Alex, Wi-Fi worked much better in Bellagio. However, my Dell laptop worked ideally using the MGMResorts Wi-Fi connection in Vdara.
At around 9:30, Alex tested Inna that he did not have time to purchase any breakfast items and could not leave his table to do so. Since I was also heading to get breakfast, I decided to help out. I walked over to Bellagio Patisserie to order a few breakfast items. I waited in a long line and contained the following:
- Alex: Breakfast Croissant with Egg Omelet, Large Macaron Cookie, Latte
- Boris: Breakfast Croissant with Egg Omelet, Mocha
The croissant was not up to the high Bellagio standards. This patisserie used to have excellent quality until it closed during COVID-19. After re-opening, quality had significantly deteriorated. The mocha was acceptable (but a bit overpriced at $8.50).
After 20 years, world-renowned pasty chef Jean-Philippe Maury no longer has a presence on the Strip. The nine-year old Jean Philippe Patisserie at Aria has already re-branded itself as Aria Patisserie and his original outpost at the Bellagio will soon turn into the Bellagio Patisserie.
While Inna was still working, I returned to our #042 Vdara room to enjoy breakfast. I accompanied Inna to Bellagio Patisserie at noon, where she ordered a crepe. It was alright. We also purchased an extra latte and cookie for Alex (who was still hungry).
We continued working in our room until around 13:20, when we decided to walk to Eataly for lunch. I knew how to get there fast, but I was utterly mistaken. After looking at Google Maps, I found the correct way to Eataly. It should have taken us 10 minutes to get there, but my scenic route took 20 minutes.
Once in Eataly, we looked around the various options. At first, we looked at multiple sandwiches and then at pizza. The pizzas did not impress us greatly, so we ordered sandwiches instead. We ordered two sandwiches of delicious bread. I thought they would be warm, but they were served cold. Unlike panini, which are served warm, these sandwiches are served cold.
When Alex finished his work, he returned to our Vdara #042 and decided to work out at the fitness center while we continued working.
At around 17:10, we dressed for our dinner at Spago, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant we have known for many years. We used to go to Spago in Palo Alto before it closed (and like it a lot). Inna especially picked Spago due to its excellent view of Bellagio's fountains, which play every 30 minutes.
After checking into Spago and being seated outdoors, we looked at the menu and picked the following items:
- Appetizer: Bread Board, Grilled Octopus
- Alex: Jidori Chicken
- Boris: Agnolotti (Pasta)
- Inna: Halibut
- Dessert: Chocolate Souffle
- Aerial Straps Duo (2017 – present): A pair of aerialists perform twists and turns as they fly over the stage.
- Chinese Poles and Hand Balancing (2012–present): A group of acrobats climb up, jump between, and slide down four adjacent metal poles while an acrobat contorts into poses on two balancing canes on a platform above the Chinese poles.
- Hand-to-Hand (1993 – present): Two artists exhibit strength and stamina on a rotating dome.
- Bungee (1993 – present): A group of artists bounce and swing from the ceiling to the ground and back on bungees.
- Teeterboard and Power Track (2017–present): Artists perform a combination of these two skills.
- Taiko (1993 – present): A group of artists performs powerful rhythms on Japanese taiko drums.
- Flying trapeze (2012—present): Unlike the original version, which had two separate trapeze towers surrounded by a platform on one side and an aerial cradle on the other, the current version has a platform on either side. Each trapeze tower now has two trapeze bars swinging beside each other. The act and music were originally from Zed (a resident show at Tokyo Disney Resort), which closed in 2011.
I really liked the acrobatic acts, but I wished there was coherence to the story.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
In the morning, I woke around 07:00, showered, shaved, dressed, and walked to Bellagio to take additional photos of the Botanical Gardens. Unlike the day before, the gardens were uncrowded, and I enjoyed taking multiple images. I also saw a couple of Bellagio Staff working on replacing flowers in the exhibition.
After returning to room #042, I noticed Alex was up but not feeling well. He had a sore throat and took a sick day at work. When Inna woke up, we purchased hot tea for everyone and went downstairs to the Vdara Cafe, where we bought a breakfast burrito for Alex and hot tea for everyone.
Later, we stopped by the Vdara Cafe to purchase breakfast burritos for Inna and me. As both Inna and I were busy with work, we skipped lunch.
At around 18:30, Inna and I grabbed a taxi near Vdara (UberX was suddenly very expensive) and drove to Wynn Hotel & Casino to watch Awakening. Despite heavy traffic, our taxi arrived with 10 minutes to spare before the 19:00 opening time.
While waiting for the show to start, we looked for nearby restaurants; I noticed that our favorite Yountville restaurant - Bouchon Bistro - was nearby in the Venetian. I decided to make reservations and found an open slot for 21:00.
We had excellent seats in the Wynn Theater. Every seat had left and right speakers to enhance the audio performance.
Awakening was technically superior to anything we had ever seen. The special effects: lasers, fire, water, and smoke - they were out of this world. However, the story could have been more robust, and there were few circus/acrobatic acts (like in Cirque du Soleil). The dancing could have been more impressive, although the dancers' costumes were a bizarre mix of exotic and eclectic.
After the show, we ate dinner at Bouchon in the Venetian Hotel nearby. We walked over and initially needed help finding it. Inna asked someone, and he explained that we needed to take the elevator to the 10th floor.
After checking in, we sat down at a table for 2 and ordered the following items:
- Appetizer: Mixed Greens
- Boris: French Onion Soup, Hot Tea
- Inna: French Onion Soup, Hot Tea, Lamb Shank
- Dessert: Profiteroles
The menu at Bouchon Las Vegas was almost identical to the Bouchon Bistro in Yountville. We were also delighted to see that food quality was not affected.
Thus, our mixed green salad and the French onion soup were excellent (and much better than the ones in Bardot Patisserie at the Aria Hotel). The Lamb Shank was also fantastic, with perfectly cooked meat on the bone. We finished our exquisite dinner with Profiteroles dipped in Valrhona chocolate (though the sounds of an evacuation alarm were annoying).
After dinner, we decided to return to our Vdara Hotel (instead of taking a taxi). Though it was a bit brisk outside, there was no wind, and we enjoyed looking at all the glittering lights illuminating the Las Vegas Strip.
We walked to Bellagio, where I found my Avis Car Rental, to prepare for tomorrow's departure. When we returned to our room, Alex was still awake but unwell. Inna went downstairs to get him another cup of hot tea.
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
On the early morning of our last day in Las Vegas (we were staying in the Vdara Hotel), I woke at 06:40 and showered. As I had already packed, I was ready to check out. Once Inna and Alex awoke, they dressed and packed their suitcases.
At around 08:00, we descended to the hotel's lobby and checked out. During room checkout, we discovered that Vdara was charging us $24 for 2 bottles of Fuji water. This is totally crazy overcharging! Next time, we will buy a lot more water upfront. Vdara should have provided a few bottles of complimentary bottled water daily for such an expensive room. However, Vdara still needs to provide a coffee maker!
After the Vdara checkout, we rolled our suitcases toward Bellagio to find the Avis Rental Car counter, where I filled out the paperwork necessary to rent a car. The rental car agent initially suggested a Chevy Equinox SUV, but I asked about a Toyota RAV4 instead (to save on fuel costs) for the long drive to Sedona.
We returned to the self-car parking lot via Bellagio to find the Black Toyota RAV4 AWD with California license plates. We loaded our suitcases into the trunk of the RAV4, and I connected a lightning cable to the free USB port to enable CarPlay for navigation and music during the trip.
I started the engine and used a parking ticket (given to me by Avis) to exit the parking garage structure. The Apple CarPlay navigation screen came up, and we started our long, 4.5-hour drive to Sedona, Arizona. We decided to skip the Grand Canyon since Alex was still unwell, and visiting the Grand Canyon would extend the driving time by many additional hours.
I continue my blog in Return to Sedona.
Las Vegas Trip Report
Highlights
- Viewing the breathtaking Fall Botanical Gardens at Bellagio
- Watching Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay
- Vising the Arte Museum in Aria. The exhibit of Garden Masterpieces (Van Gogh) was especially delightful
- Watching amazing acrobatics in Cirque du Soleil's Mystere at Treasure Island
- Enjoying the spectacular special effects of Awakening in Wynn
- Eating dinner at Spago in Bellagio while viewing the spectacular Bellagio fountains synchronized to popular songs
- Eating dinner at Bouchon Bistro in Venetian
- Eating delicious ramen at Momofuku Restaurant in Cosmopolitan
- Sampling gelato in Eataly
Lowlights
- Breakfast at Aria Patisserie (horrible drip coffee and tasteless crepes)
- Lunch at Bardot Brasserie in Aria Hotel (bland Salmon Benedict, French Onion Soup)
- Breakfast at Bellagio Patisserie (when Jean Philippe ran the patisserie, pastries were so much better)
- Flight delays on Southwest Airlines Flight from SJC to LNV (due to too much fuel!)
- Much higher prices in restaurants
- Much higher prices for taxis ($15 extra surcharge during Formula 1 racing)
- Everyone generally feeling unwell, with Alex developing a sore throat and weakness
- Vdara charging $24 for 2 small bottles of Fuji Water
- Alex feeling unwell
- Inna feeling dizzy
- Too many close calls
- The entire family was unwell before the flight to Las Vegas. Not sure whether or not to proceed with the trip
- UberX driver in a Tesla Model 3 almost ran into a BMW on the way to San Jose airport.
- Our Southwest Airlines flight to Las Vegas was delayed by one hour, causing us to arrive late into Las Vegas and almost miss our first show: Marriage Can Be Murder in Orleans (we arrived 20 minutes late)
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