Yesterday we decided to get out and see more of the Vegas strip.  So we started walking south.  Lisa wanted to visit Paris and ride the roller coaster at New York, New York, so we did.  While in Paris, we gambled a little.  After about an hour of playing Blackjack, Lisa was up $25 and I was down $50.  So I wasted another $50 playing craps for about 10 minutes.  After Paris, we started walking south towards New York, New York.

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Last night we had dinner at Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian here in Las Vegas. I thought we'd just have a normal reservation, but Lisa surprised me. She arranged, through a connection and personal friend of Emeril, to have dinner in the kitchen (see image), where one of the sous chefs personally catered to our needs and prepared a tasting of dishes—some of which were not on the menu and others which were prepared differently than the menu items.

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So after the headaches of the first night, things have improved. Thursday morning I wrote an email to Guest Services explaining my discontent and that afternoon I received a call from one of the Hotel Managers. I have to hand it to them. I didn't think they'd respond to me, but they did and offered to make things better. I wasn't looking for anything other than just getting the room situation straight. But I did have one request and that was free WiFi access for the remainder of our stay, which she happily obliged.

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After a very long but on-time flight, we arrived in Las Vegas.  It's been quite a few years—5 exactly—since I've last been in Vegas.  Besides the major construction changes, it appears to be the same-old city.  Full of expectation, I'm sad to report that our first night here at The Mirage was miserable. 

I'm rarely critical of customer service.  For some strange reason, maybe it's the entrepreneur in me or maybe it's because I deal with "customers" daily, but I tend not to be the kind of person that routinely complains about little annoyances, but livid would be a soft term to describe my anger and dissatisfaction with The Mirage hotel last night.

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Well, it's been a long long time since I've had a proper vacation.  Sure, I've taken days off from work, visited relatives and such, but I've not taken five or more days, packed a suitcase and been somewhere with no other reason than to get away, relax and have fun in about 7-8 years.  After a very stressful four months at work, I decided as soon as my new boss started and had a few weeks to get acclimated, I was out of there.

For proper vacations, I want to go to places that don't resemble my reality.  Living in Sarasota, an international tourist destination for reasons I don't know, I just find it hard to believe that people spend their hard-earned dollars to visit such a normal place.  Sure we have fine quartz sand on Siesta Key, but you're essentially in... well, Florida (not that there's anything wrong with that).  I like to know I'm on vacation, but putting myself in a place that doesn't come close to resembling reality and Las Vegas certainly fits that bill.

So my girl and me will be boarding  a plane in less than 4 hours to spend 5 days in Vegas with no agenda other than seeing my pal from high school play with his band tomorrow night and then dinner at Emeril's restaurant and the Cirque du Soleil "Love" show based on the Beatles' music on Saturday night.  The rest of the time we'll be gambling, shopping and relaxing by the pool.