Las Vegas (May 2005)

Went to Las Vegas with Jon and Patty Muir

Hotel:

• Bellagio Link to my review

Restaurants:

• Bouchon Link to my review
• Il Fornaio Link to my review
• Trattoria del Lupo Link to my review

Cirque du Soleil

Really tough question! I loved both shows. O is so unique because of the water, but I liked that KA had more of a story, and the moving stage in KA was amazing. I also thought that the KA theatre was better--incredibly comfortable seats with headrests that had speakers, really enveloping you in the show. Maybe you can see which show has better seats available on the day you want to go. That's as good a way of deciding as any, because both shows are fabulous! I really can't say which I liked better.

Definitely go with the full-price seats, not the limited view. If you call for tickets, they will tell you what seats are "wet". I believe they were section 103, rows A through G. We avoided those, and sat in the section just behind (203). The wet area didn't seem to get too wet, though. I was happy with where we sat because there is so much going on that you get a better view of the whole picture. (Just FYI, I see lots of Broadway shows, and I believe the best seats are 8 to 10 rows from the front--definitely not front row. I like to sit a little farther back.) There's a great seat map available on-line at www.cirquedusoleil.com. I wouldn't pay for the "green" or "purple" sections--they are just too far away. Spend the extra money--and it's not that much more--for the better seats. This is both the BEST and the most bizarre show I have ever seen. It is amazing and completely unique, and I wouldn't hesitate to see it again.

Las Vegas: Bouchon (May 2005)

My spouse and I dined for dinner at Bouchon at The Venetian with another couple in May of 2005. A "bouchon" is a type of restaurant found in Lyon, France, that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, duck pate or roast pork. Compared to other forms of French cooking such as nouvelle cuisine, the dishes are quite fatty and heavily oriented around meat. There are approximately twenty officially certified traditional bouchons, but a larger number of establishments describe themselves using the term. Typically, the emphasis in a bouchon is not on haute cuisine but, rather, a convivial atmosphere and a personal relationship with the owner. After the success of The French Laundry, Thomas and his brother, Joseph Keller (currently owner/chef of Josef's in Las Vegas), opened Bouchon in 1998. Located down the street from The French Laundry, it serves moderately priced French bistro fare, with Bouchon Bakery opening next door a few years later (in 2006 Keller opened a branch of the bakery in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan). Keller has joked in the past that the motivation for Bouchon's opening was to give him somewhere to eat after work at The French Laundry. On January 26, 2004, Keller opened his restaurant Bouchon in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas: Il Fornaio (May 2005)

My spouse and I dined for brunch with another couple at Il Fornaio at New York-New York in late May 2005. At Il Fornaio, our mission is to provide our guests with the most authentic Italian experience outside of Italy. EachIl Fornaio restaurant has been designed specifically for the communities it serves. Using the freshestingredients and traditional cooking techniques, each Il Fornaio offers a wide variety of premium-quality Italian food paired with great wines and cocktails in beautiful settings located in California, Las Vegas, Seattle, Denver and Reston, Virginia. All 21 kitchens are supervised and guided by Executive Chef Maurizio Mazzon using recipes and preparations that Italians have mastered over centuries of making great food. These ideals are best demonstrated by Festa Regionale, our monthly exploration of the food and wine of the different regions of Italy. This passion for authenticity has been fostered for almost 20 years.

Las Vegas: Trattoria del Lupo (May 2005)

My spouse and I dined at Trattoria del Lupo with another couple in late May 2005. Wolfgang Puck's first Italian restaurant, Trattoria del Lupo, opened at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in 1999 and offers guests new tastes of authentic Italy. The newly remodeled dining room offers guests a stunning, contemporary interior with a palette of warm chocolate brown and cool white. The restaurant boasts exhibition pizza, antipasto, and dessert stations, a glass-enclosed area where fresh pasta is made daily and a wine room that is surrounded by a spacious bar in the center of the restaurant. In addition to the main dining room and banquet facilities, Lupo’s indoor patio provides a perfect setting for people watching without leaving the hotel. Its name means "restaurant of the wolf" in Italian. It reminds you of a rustic Milanese piazza, with lots of antiques and unique lighting fixtures. Puck made himself famous with pizzas and you'll find an open, exhibition pizza station at del Lupo.

Las Vegas: Bellagio (May 2005)

My spouse and I stayed at the Bellagio for four nights in late-May 2005 with another couple. The Bellagio Resort is inspired by the Lake Como town of Bellagio in Italy, one of its most notable features is an 8-acre lake between the building and the Strip, which houses the Fountains of Bellagio, a large dancing water fountain synchronized to music. Inside Bellagio, Dale Chihuly's Fiori di Como, composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covers 2,000 square feet of the lobby ceiling. Bellagio is home to Cirque du Soleil's aquatic production "O". The main (original) tower of Bellagio has 3,015 rooms spread amongst 36 floors. The Spa Tower, has 33 floors and contains 935 rooms. Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn and built by his company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. following the purchase and demolition of the legendary Dunes hotel and casino in October 27, 1993 after the Grand Opening of Luxor Las Vegas. Construction on the Bellagio began in May 1996 at a cost of $1.6 billion. Bellagio employs approximately 8,000 people. Bellagio has won the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award fourteen times. The hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The Fountains of Bellagio is a vast, choreographed water feature with performances set to light and music. The show takes place every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and every 15 minutes from 8 pm to midnight. Before a water show starts, the nozzles break the water surface and the lights illuminating the hotel tower turn to a purple hue (usually), or red-white-and-blue for certain music. The fountain display is oreographed to various pieces of music, including "Time To Say Goodbye", "God Bless the USA", "Your Song", "Viva Las Vegas", "Luck Be a Lady", and "My Heart Will Go On". The hotel also contains a onservatory and Botanical Gardens that showcases five seasonal themes. In addition to the numerous works of art found throughout the public areas of the resort, Bellagio also houses a special exhibition space displaying art work on loan from various museums and private collections from around the world. Two of its restaurants, Picasso and Le Cirque, have also received the Five Diamond award. Picasso has received two Michelin stars. Le Cirque and Michael Mina have each received one Michelin star. The resort is recognized on the Condé Nast Traveller Gold List as one of the "Top Hotels in the World".

I stayed at the Bellagio in May (Memorial Day weekend) and took a taxi to/from the airport. As others have said, it was about $20 from the airport, yet only $12 back to the airport. The taxi lines at the airport were INCREDIBLY long. I felt like I was waiting to ride an amusement park ride, but very well organized and moved quickly. We waited for about 35 minutes, but I thought we would be there for 2 hours when I saw the length of the line--and this was arriving after midnight. The wait for luggage to be unloaded took over 30 minutes as well.

 Here's a hint that might help you to avoid the taxi line at the Bellagio on the way back to the hotel: have the bellman pick up your luggage. They will then hail a cab for you without your having to wait in line. This worked for us, but possibly only because we had to store our luggage. We had a 2 pm late checkout, then called the bellman, who stored our luggage until 9 pm--we had a late night flight. When we went to retrieve our luggage, the bellman brought it out and then hailed the cab for us without having to wait in the line. It wasn't my intention to skip the line, but the bellman had to put the bags somewhere (in the cab's trunk) to get his tip--he couldn't just dump us in the taxi line with our bags.

Bellagio does not have a shuttle, nor do most of the other casino hotels. They did offer a town car transport for about $50 (but it only held 3 people and we had 4), or a limo for about $100. Don't quote me on the prices, but they were quite expensive, then they automatically added on a 20% tip and tax to the cost. Even split between two couples, it was more money than we wanted to spend.