TR 4/11 - 4/15 Venetian, Casa Di Amore, and the Wizard of Oz

I wanted to post up my TR for our recent trip to Vegas, but had another trip 24 hours after returning, so I had to wait. At any rate I am going to post each day in a separate box, to break it into bite size pieces. So here is day 1:

4/11- Left Charleston, SC via Air Tran to Atlanta. Flight was uneventful, other than the smelly sasquatch that sat right next to me.(note to self, always request the left side with only 2 seats per row) Endured the 2 1/2 hour layover in ATL, and finally board the plane to Vegas. The weather deteriorated quickly and we were soon told that we%26#39;d be delayed at least an hour until the weather passed. AND that we%26#39;d be like 33rd in line when we resumed take offs. (YIKES!) Turns out that after only 45 minutes or so that they resumed takeoffs AND bumped our flight up the list...so 15 minutes later we were airborne. being a late night flight, we slept most of the way, so it passed uneventfully. On a side note- Air Tran SUCKS at ammenities. During a 4 hour flight we got 1 drink and one bag of pretzels each. AND there was no movie or anything. PLEASE! Anyhow, once in Vegas, we shuffled off to the baggage carousel to find our bag, and headed to the Taxi line. Taxis are a new experience for me, so I was a bit nervous about getting taken for a ride. When we got in I politely asked the driver to take us to the Venetian- No Tunnel. He laughed and proceeded to give me the speal about traffic...blah blah blah...but took us via the no tunnel route at our request. Once at the venetian, we were blow away by the place. Absolutely amazing inside. Check in line went quickly, and though I didnt try the $20 trick, I did inquire about ';free'; upgrades. I was politely told that they had no free upgrades, and that in fact our King size room wasnt avaialable, due to the late hour, but that we could change in the morning if we wanted. A little miffed, we shlumped off to our room that felt like it was 1/2 mile away. When we got there, the room was amazing. It was in the newer tower and had a LOVELY view of the garden and pool. We admired our room briefly, but were both exhausted as it was by now 3:30 am our time, so we decided to call it a night.

(more to come)

TR 4/11 - 4/15 Venetian, Casa Di Amore, and the Wizard of Oz

4/12 (day 2)-

We awoke at 8:00 Vegas time and were again met by the amazing view from our window. By now it was 11am at home, and those pretzels were long gone, so we decided to find us some food. But first I called an made arrangements to change to our king size room in the venetian tower. The young lady was very kind and even arranged a VIP transfer of our luggage. Satisfied that we%26#39;d been treated fairly, we set off.

Unsure of where to eat, we headed north in search of food. We quickly found the Fashion mall and knocked back some food at the foodcourt. It was good food, and the prices were reasonable. The rest of the day was pretty much spent roaming until late afternoon. Eventually returned to our hotel, got our new key and went victoriously to our ';correct'; room. It was nice, but nowhere near as nice as the original. Apparantly the Venezia tower was renovated later, so its got all the newest goodies. Anyhow, we got ready for dinner, and went to the Grand Lux Cafe, downstairs. We walked right in no reservations, and had excellent service. My wife ate a steak, and I had some sort of seafood over rice. Mine was excellent hers was just good. total price was about $75. Then it was off to the Stratosphere via the Deuce. A little note about the bus ride- Always carry ones with you, as they dont offer change, and all I had were $20 and up. So anyhow, some very nice lady jumped up and paid for our bus ride, no questions asked. that was totally unexpected and very kind. Anyhow, for the next few hours we played slots. My wife discovered Wheel of fourtune, and fell in love. Myself, I found a Wizard of Oz Machine, and became immediately transfixed. After a few fun hours, we headed upstairs to see Bite. It was a little campy, but a lot of fun. As long as you dont take yourself too seriously, it was a very fun show. After the show, we headed off on foot, hoping to see a deuce heading south...well....it never happened, and so 45 minutes later we finally arrived back at our hotel, thoroughly exahusted and ready for bed.

(more to come)

TR 4/11 - 4/15 Venetian, Casa Di Amore, and the Wizard of Oz

4/13 (day 3)- We awoke earlier this morning, and had breakfast on our minds, so we headed out in search of a breakfast buffet. We found one at the Mirage, and joined the line. when our turn comes the lady asks, ';how many?';. I tell her 2, and she says ';$49.96';. I SHOULD have said, never mind, but I think I was in shock, because instead I handed her the money, and went on in. APPARANTLY, it was some sort of champagne brunch, since it was sunday, and we didnt know it until later on. Anyhow, I did my best to eat $25 worth of eggs and waffles, but only ended up miserable. After that we wandered down towards the south end of the strip, all the while I kept muttering ';$49.96???';

We kept popping in and out of casinos, trying this game and that, all the while I kept looking for my beloved Glenda to show up in her pink bubble...and she did, a few times.

After a long day of walking, we headed back to our room to clean up and get ready for the evening. WE had dinner reservations at Casa Di Amore, and then show tickets for Mystere. The Limo showed up at the hotel right on time, and we climbed in. My wife was a little embarassed by the bright red paint and the CDA stickers on the sides, but she took it like a champ. The ride was quiet, but I kept wondering if were EVER going to get there. Finally we arrive and are seated, our waiter gives us the specials and takes our order. I had Scallops Au Gratin, My wife had Vinegar and Pepper Porkchops. Both were AMAZING! Its hard to imagine that such a tiny little place could serve such wonderful food, but it was fantastic. And reasonably priced too! With tip I think Dinner came to $80, and that even included a bottle of wine. After dinner the limo picked us back up and we asked to be taken to TI for the Mystere Show. On the way back we chatted with the Driver (Mike) Turns out, he and I were in College together back in SC...Small world. Anyhow, after a good bit or reminiscing about different places in SC, we made it to the hotel. Mystere was amazing. It was everything I had hoped it would be. After the show went went back to our hotel and after a bit of gaming, called it a night.

(day 4 coming soon)

Great TR so far. I almost booked a flight with Air Tran but am hesitant because you can%26#39;t view the seats on the website and I like to choose a seat close to the back in an empty isle. How is the seating arranged? Did they offer alcohol?

I preselected our seats based on a seating chart on their website, so it CAN be done. Yes they offered drinks at $5, but we didnt choose to have any. They also offer upgrades for $40 - $80, but its not much of an improvement. Its not a bad airline, and its got great prices, just be warned that food/ entertainment was VERY limited (at least on our flights).

Thanks for the TR MIG. I was wondering if and how much you tipped the limo drivers for CDA? We would like to use the service next month when we are there. Also, how big is the limo? We will have 6 in our party. Thanks.

Being from Kansas, I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it is to get on one of those machines around here...and Glenda hates me (actually the machines hate me) since they just suck my money faster than I can blink.

Mr. Ducky told me to stay away from them! LOL

to be fair to air tran...it is known as a no-frills airline...much like southwest....plus you flew from charleston to atlanta...you would have barely had time for the previews much less a movie...but anyway awesome TR i love reading these im headed out in mid-may so these are a nice way of keeping me occupied instead of staring at the clock cursing time

My Vegas trip is Friday and I can not wait to try the Wizard of Oz slots!!!!!

Sounds like the first room was better than the 2nd - did you have to switch rooms?

Great report.......fascinated by the mention of Wizard of Oz.......being a Vegas newbie (second time coming up so pls excuse my ignorance) is WoO a slot machine and are they everywhere or only at some Casinos.

I love slots me..................

They are penny slots, and we saw them at the Harrah%26#39;s and Station Casinos properties we visited. Oh and saw a couple in the 4Queens downtown too.