The Vacation - Day 6

Epcot? With Gambling?

The next morning we got up and went in search of breakfast. Well I wanted lunch since it was about 11:30. We compromised and went to the buffet at the Flamingo. Before we all split up at the grand Canyon, Andy's grandmother gave us her coupon book that she had gotten at her hotel. It was filled with all sorts of gooides including a $1 off the buffet price for two people. So I got lunch food and Andy got his breakfast and we got a discount overall. On our way to breakfast we had stopped to look at the penguins. Yes penguins. And of course flamingos as well. Actually the sign said it gets too cold in Las Vegas in the winter for the African penguins so their rocks are temperature controlled (i.e. heated).

After breakfast we headed out to explore. Las Vegas is a lot like Epcot Center at Disneyworld. Everything has a theme and you can pick which one you spend your time at. While we were out we hit the Venetian, designed to look like Venice. We'd seen the Learning Channel special on it so we had to check it out. It did look a lot like Venice, but the water in the hotel was definitely prettier than the real thing.

Everything Mama said not to

The other thing about Vegas is that it is the epitome of everything your mother has told you not to do. Gambling, smoking, alcohol is available 24 hours a day, as is breakfast with all those fatty foods. Loose women everywhere. Maybe that's what makes it so fun. It's like sneaking a cookie when your parent's back is turned. A guilty little pleasure. But I don't know how you could live there all the time. How would you ever know what's real?

The pedicure

Included in the fabulous coupon book was a free parafin treatment with the purchase of a manicure or pedicure at Bally's. A pedicure! Just what my porr trail-aching feet wanted. So we hopped on over to Bally's and hunted down the salon. I asked if they could do a pedicure and the girl looked at me and said "Today?" No next week. Yes today. They could put me in at 3:30. Great! Time to go buy tickets for the Blue Man Group at the Luxor and then swing back by and get my piggies done. Hmmmm but it's 2:45 now and the Luxor's at the other end of the strip. The Flamingo is just across the street from Bally's let's go back to the hotel and I'll walk back over.

By the time we got back to the car, driven it to the Flamingo's garage, found a parking space...it was time for me to walk back over. I went out through the casino onto the sidewalk and took this fun little people mover dealy over the street to Bally's. Then hopped on another people mover to get into the casino. Did I mention this place was like Epcot? The time to find my way back through the casino (everything's through the casinos btw) down to the shops and back to the spa. I was early. I didn't have a watch and told them I didn't want to miss my appointment. There was no rush I just didn't want to not get my pedicure. The same chick who asked me "today?" didn't remember me from 20 minutes erlier and didn't look thrilled about my sitting in her salon for 20 minutes. OK OK I'll go play some slots.

I found a Betty Boop slot machine. Oh yes, there were all kinds. A popeye, a tabasco sauce, a family feud, and even Austin Powers versions of slot machines. After losing a buck or so I headed back. I still had 10 minutes, but the crazy lady was on break and the new nice woman let me sit in the chair there. After a few minutes the mancurist came out and led me to a lovely comfortable chair with a hot bubbling foot bath. AHHHHH bliss. For the next hour I had some one pampering, massaging, and painting my feet. It was worth every penny, including the money lost to slot machines while waiting.

Blue Man Group

After I walked back on much lighter feet, we called to see about getting tickets to Blue Man at the Luxor. 7:30 or 10 show. I can do 10, and then we can eat dinner. So we got cleaned up, changed and drove over to the Luxor.

Another cool thing about Vegas is you can wear whatever you want. Even walking through the shops in the middle of the day there were people in elaborate evening wear, and people wearing what looked like old pajamas. We saw a couple of workers leaving for the day half in costume, half in a ratty t-shirt. At first I thought this girl was wearing the most bizarre pants ever until I saw her shirt that said Luxor Staff and realized her pants were purple belly-dancer pants. She probably just threw a shirt on over top of her well... top and was on her way home.

The Luxor is a cool place. It's theme is Egypt, including a giant sphinx outside of the black glass pyramid building. Inside the tiers and tiers stretching to the top were the hotel rooms, and the inside was hollow, filled up with casino. Once we'd picked up our tickets we looked for food. Papyrus! It's an asian restaurant, let's eat there! Since we didn't get to eat Chinese food the other night.

We wandered around the casino looking for the restaurant. Why do they hide the restaurants? Do they not want people to eat? Finally we found it. YUMMMMM.

After dinner we wandered back down to the theatre as the first show was letting out. One girl had a piece of paper covered in blue kiss marks and a blue fingerprint on her left shoulder. Hmmm I guess they liked her. Then we noticed the wads of toilet paper. In the hallways and everywhere. This was going to be a fun show. We got to actual theatre lobby and looked at people drinking these huge blue drinks. The were those giant beer glass things, but blue. One of those might be good. But what's in them? And were they a ripoff? I went over to the bar and asked. Anything fluffy, like a daiquiri or margarita. And they were $12.50. NO WAY was I paying that much for a daiquiri that when put in a real cup was probably about the size of a regular coke.

On with the show. We were let into the theatre and had pretty good seats. About halfway in. Looking around before the show got started I noticed a few things. Like the hundreds of rolls of paper at the back of the theatrem and the long white tubes hooked up to the ceiling. What on earth where those for? Also on stage there were two groups of statues, holding hands, circling tubes of water. Bizarre. And the weird part was they looked like they were in pain, crouching, drooping....

Then the show got started. There were marquees at the front on stage that were flashing messages liek Don't take pictures, no smoking etc. Then the lights dimmed and the marquees started saying things like Please recite the no picture taking oath and then lead us through the oath that we were supposed to read out loud. The it moved into funnier things like John Doe's birthday is today, let's all wish him happy birthday. Ready Go. And it went on like that until finally the guys came out on stage.

The Blue Man Group is incredibly unique. It's a bizarre mixture of music and Sesame Street like acting. Anytime the guys would interact with objects, they would act like it was the first time they had ever seen that thing before. Like the muppets. For example at one point they each had a box of Capn Crunch. And were amazed by the crunchiness. One of the guys poured the box over his head so it stuck in his make-up. A blue head covered in little yellow pellets. The they started cunching in time until it became a beat and then into music. Bizarre and amazing at the same time. Who thinks of that?

Then we come back to figures in pain. They turned on a strobe light and started spinning the statues, fast enough until it tricked your eyes into looking like each figure was standing in place dancing. Really really cool. There was some audience participation, and it's amazing how quickly someone will follow any lead given to them if they have no verbal clues. The woman started following everything they did without and instructions of any kind. Simply out of shear nervousness I think. When in Rome....

Oh and the toilet paper, since I've mentioned it and the tubes. At the end of the show they truned on a blacklight and let the tubes down and spun them around. It was mesmorizing to watch. Then the blue guys came back through the audience, grabbed the paper and starting pulling. The paper being white was also glowing. Soon the entire audience was swimming in a giant sea of paper.

An amazing show. Definitely worth seeing if you have a chance.