Gotcha with that one, huh??? Well, we just got back from Las Vegas and our "kick off summer" mini-vacation. Vegas...the city of casinos, huge hotels, shows...and buffets. When you eat at the fabulous buffet at the Bellagio, you can have dessert for breakfast...pizza, too.
Okay, so it was a kind of breakfast pizza, but it was amazing! And we only had a tiny taste of dessert because we were so stuffed...but you should have seen how many little carrot cakes and lemon meringue pies were stacked on some plates...at 9:30 in the morning. Uggh...maybe they didn't sleep so this was actually their dessert rather than breakfast. Anyway, have you ever seen the movie "Vegas Vacation"?
Well, if you have, than when I tell you I LIVED it, you'll totally understand. But be warned, it's not pretty:-)
First of all, I would like to thank my husband for being such a hotel snob. Thanks to him, we stayed at the magnificent Bellagio Hotel
and stayed in one of the penthouse suites. Not because we are the last of the high rollers but rooms in Vegas are really reasonable so... Look at this...
pretty awesome, huh? There was also a bedroom, kitchen area and 3 bathrooms. Let's just say the best part were the 3 bathrooms!!!We got into town on Saturday, had lunch in Paris, visited NYC
and just messed around awhile before heading to see Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton. Yes, I confess...I AM a Barry Manilow Fanilow:-) The show started at 8 so at 7 p.m, we arrived to pick up our tickets with great seats to see the show...only to be told that he had suddenly come down with a flu bug or something that was very severe and he would not be able to perform. (tickets refunded, of course) Seriously, Barry????? How bad could it be that you cannot sing on the ONLY night we are in Vegas that you have a show scheduled??? Well, I was soon to find out and to Barry, I am truly sorry for all of the things I was thinking about you for backing out. I'm still a fan!!!!!:-) No harm done. We actually went over to the Venetian hotel
and hung out, having dinner, riding a gondola...fun night. 
Sunday morning and my husband is off to golf while we girls are hitting the town. We went to Caesars Palace where there are the most incredible shops...and I have good shopping where I live, so that says something. What an amazing job they have done with that hotel. We then went to the Mirage hotel to see the Siegfried & Roy exhibit of White Tigers
& Lions, as well as dolphins, leopards and a few other animals.
Very cool, as you can see for yourself. You get so close to these beauties and it is amazing!
Finally, we're half-way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with family we have living in Vegas and Taylor, my 14 year old, tells me she is sick. Maybe it was too much heat because it was HOT!!!!! I come from hot steamy Florida and let me tell you, that place is hot, hot, hot! Anyway, no sooner do we get back to the hotel than the fun begins. Taylor manages to throw up 5 times. (I told you this wasn't pretty but wait...it gets better:-) Guess she's not going to dinner. An hour later and I decided that she shouldn't have to be sick alone so I start heaving and that was not a good thing. We had tickets to the "O" show after dinner, the main reason we were there! Long story short, Taylor and I were sick the entire night and I lost count after 20 the number of times we were sick. I'll spare you the details of the rest but I think you know what the stomach flu is... I remember at one point thinking we had to see a doctor or go to the emergency room, it was that bad. (Yes, the thought did cross my mind...swine flu???)
In the middle of the night, Phil gets sick and Jordie is the only healthy one the next day. She goes to the gift shop for Lysol to disinfect handles, knobs, faucets...so she doesn't get sick. She spoke with someone who recommended pepto bismol so she bought that, too. Hmmm...pretty going down but...We spent a lot of time in that beautiful hotel room. We had a great view from 32 floors up. As I gazed at the Tropicana,
I though any minute I might see Dean Martin "stumbling" out the door. Did I mention we were all a bit delirious??? We also managed to miss the Beatles "love" show but did get some "groovy" photos near the entrance before we got sick.
No need to dwell on the next 24 hours as the only thing we did was rent movies in our room. Poor Jordie...the only one who wasn't sick. We realized she still had to eat even though we couldn't so my girl got room service for one.
Fast forward to the plane ride home. Flight from Vegas to Dallas...no problem. Flight from Dallas to Florida...look out! We were definitely not flying the friendly skies, that is for sure. I should mention that Jordie is terrified of flying and the more I fly with her, the more I agree. 20 minutes into the 2 1/2 hour flight and she announces she is sick. I know what's coming so I grab a trash bag from the flight attendant. The turbulence is ugly, ugly, ugly!!!!!!!!! She spends most of the flight in the first class bathroom with a flight attendant outside leaning on the door to help her if needed due to the bumpy ride.
On the bright side, we all lost about 5 lbs:-) We got some cool photos and we do have vacation memories that we will NEVER forget. I write this to say, pack your hand sanitizer and be extra careful this summer. There is something verrrry evil lurking out there. My Vegas days are gone for a long time!!!!! Every time I hear someone mention Las Vegas or "cheese blintzes" (a part of the story better left untold:-), my stomach turns...and then we laugh. You have to laugh, right???
"No one needs a vacation more than the person who just had one"
Yep...I'll second that one!
Oh that is just awful. Do you think it was food posioning?? Sounds like a fairly violent flu!
ReplyDelete:( There is nothing worse then being sick when away from home. Thank goodness you had those 3 bathrooms.