Studio B, Zumanity, Aria, Bellagio - December 11-12, 2010

We sadly checked out of the Four Seasons at 12pm.  I unabashedly cleaned the room of all the toiletries, two pairs of fluffy white terry slippers in unopened packaging (definitely meant for one-time use), along with the stationery plus a pen.  Notably, the slippers were marked with the gold Four Seasons logo on the left edge of one slipper and right edge of the other; a nice touch, not two of the same slipper packaged together.  We did a quick tour of the lobby area before heading over to Mandalay Bay, to give more time for rooms to be available for check-in.  You could purchase one of the gingerbread houses on display for a mere $300.

love this elaborate setup

don't think this carousel was made of food, but it rotated

big fresh tree

Babe checked in at the Mandalay front desk, and we were able to get a room immediately instead of waiting until 3pm, so we didn't have to store our luggage.  The Mandalay Bay lobby was also decorated with holiday splendor.  Our room was nice, but the quality was definitely a lot less than last night's accommodations.  Even though the layout of the floor and hallways were the same as the Four Seasons, Mandalay Bay didn't put as much detail into the trim and carpet.  The beds weren't as plush, neither were the towels, and the toiletries were their house brand. :P  Plus, I wasn't a fan of the open window in the bathroom.  There was no way of shading it, so if you don't want to reveal your nakedness, this may be a concern.  It could be just a feature of  king-bedded rooms...

the "window" faces the foyer of the room.  no privacy!

After some Internet surfing time and catching up with Facebook, we were hungry and decided to try getting into the Studio B buffet at the M Hotel in Henderson, designated "Best Buffet in Las Vegas" for 2010 by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  We tried to have dinner here last August, but I gave up after an hour of waiting and moving only 10 feet.  It was about a 15 minute drive from Mandalay Bay on I-15 south.  This time, we arrived at 2:30pm and hoped the line wouldn't be so bad...it was just as long as I had left it last August. :(  But this time, I was mentally prepared to wait up to 3 hours.  I even brought an emergency granola bar to stave off hypoglycemia.  I found out from the patrons behind us in line that the buffet was offering a 2-for-1 deal before 4pm if you had a player's card, so I jumped out of line to sign up for one and came back...Babe had barely moved 20 feet.  The buffet was $29.99 and included unlimited beer and wine.  2-for-1 made the meal sweeter, especially as I don't drink very much.  After 2.5 hours, we finally made it to the cashier to pay.  It was past 4pm but they honored the 2-for-1 deal to anyone who was in line before 4pm.  Then there was another line to get seated!  We waited here for another 15 minutes.  Finally we were in!  It felt like cafeteria seating, not like the Wynn or Bellagio.  There were bright TV displays alongside one of the main walls, which showed segments of shows from Food Network and other images.  The buffet was laid out pretty well, with plates next to sections of food, so you didn't have to wait in a line just to get at a particular food item.  The description of the food was written on the glass sneeze guards.

The Asian food selection was pretty good.  I had an oxtail stew that was delicious.  The Thai curry and Korean kalbi were tasty.  Crab legs were standard, but they had hot ones along with cold!  Oysters were small, but plentiful.  The prime rib was supposed to be the best, according to Yelp, but I didn't have any room to try it.  There was a vast selection of desserts along with a gelato bar.  They were out of mango gelato though. :(  As far as unlimited drinks were concerned, there was draft beer, but it consisted of national brands like Coors Light.  There were draft ciders and a draft root beer.  Red and white wines were also available...Babe tried some and he said it was good.  I just stuck with apple juice and some sips of berry cider.  I don't think it was worth waiting almost 3 hours to eat here, but at $15 per person plus tax, it softened the blow.  I would wait at most 1 hour.  Maybe if I was more of a lush, I would like the place more since it costs $15 just to get one drink at a casino bar.  I won't be back anytime soon, unless perhaps for breakfast where I would think the wait would be just an hour or less.

We ate at the buffet for about 2 hours (not even past the time we waited) and returned to the Mandalay Bay by 8pm.  We had tickets to the 10:30pm Zumanity show at the New York New York hotel.  I saw a discount offer on Travelzoo and bought the cheapest seats I could get, as I hadn't heard a lot of good reviews and the theater seemed on the small size.

No car needed tonight; there was a tram that went from Mandalay Bay to Excalibur, and then a pedestrian bridge across Tropicana Boulevard to get to the NYNY.

useful Strip map courtesy of vegas.com

I wasn't a fan of the hustle and bustle of the NYNY hotel; it was so crowded and the walkways in the casino were narrow.  There was also some renovations going on, so some corridors would be blocked.  There was a huge line to get into the Zumanity theater.  The 7:30pm show was just getting out.  We fought our way through to the will-call counter to pick up the tickets, then waited off to the side for the line to dissipate.

view from my seat, last row of center section, not too bad

There was a pre-show going on and lots of sexual references were being used, along with flowery language.  People in the front rows were getting accosted, as expected in Cirque pre-shows.  Another plus to sitting way in the back.  I couldn't take any photos during the show of course.  It was a cabaret show, Cirque-style.  There were still acrobatics and strong people; however, the performers could be topless.  Some of the men were wearing G-strings.  One segment of the show became "orgasmic", haha.  Then at the end of the show, two lucky audience members got to take part in an "orgy".  Quite embarrassing.  One who was selected to go on stage was a young man from Iowa, who was with his stepdad and mom.  Why would you go to this show with your parents?  He ended up having his shirt taken off, and a never-before-seen shade of white was exposed!  All in all, I thought the show was fun to watch, and something different than the usual artsy nature of Cirque shows.  Plus, I only paid about $50 a ticket; a nice way to end a Saturday night.  Unfortunately the tram was closed after 11pm, so we had to walk back to Mandalay Bay through Excalibur and Luxor.  It had been years since I had stepped foot in Excalibur, and it had transformed itself into a country-western theme.  It was weird to hear country music and still be surrounded by "castle".  The Luxor also transformed itself from its Egyptian roots to a more contemporary theme which reminded me of the inside of Aria.  At least their lobby remained Egyptian.

The next day, we checked out of the hotel and drove over to Fashion Show Mall to do some shopping.  I got a couple of nice sweaters for Babe from Macy's, and I bought a bra using a $10 coupon that I got from purchasing at Victoria's Secret during Karen's birthday weekend.  I was getting hungry, so we drove over to Bellagio to get some fries from the snack bar and a delectable crepe from Jean-Philippe Patisserie.  It's a tradition now to stop at J-P.  Adding the extra scoop of gelato for $2 is one of the best deals in Vegas.  The fries may also become a regular occurrence, as they are to die for and a good portion for the price.

Bellagio was very decked out for the holidays, especially in the conservatory.

We walked over to Aria to check out the decorations, the buffet, and to do a little bit of gambling.  I hadn't gambled the last two times I was in Vegas, so I was getting an itch for my beloved game, video poker.  I didn't win any money, but I had fun and Babe got several bottles of beer out of it.

We passed by the Aria buffet and considered eating there, but it was $36.95 for dinner (which included 1/2 a Maine lobster per person and unlimited wine) and we only had 2 hours before departing for the airport.  I didn't want to feel rushed, plus if I was paying $36.95, I'd want to stay as long as possible and enjoy it.  We ended up going to the Bellagio buffet and waiting only 10 minutes to get in.  It was $29.95, but at least I knew the quality was good.  I will try the Aria buffet (despite mixed reviews) when I am next in town...New Year's Eve weekend!  Yes, another trip, but it was planned in advance, and this $175 trip was spontaneous.  You'd think Vegas was our favorite place, but it's just a convenient destination.  Hope Raku is open New Year's Day!

$175 Weekend in Las Vegas: Raku, Mandalay Bay - December 10, 2010

Thanks to flyertalk.com (specifically the "Mileage Run Deals" forum) and Expedia.ca, Babe and I were able to spend a weekend in Vegas including flights and 2 nights at Mandalay Bay, for a total of $175.00.  Someone reported on the forum that Expedia.ca was offering a coupon worth CAD$300 off any vacation package for travel between Nov 20 and Dec 30 to Las Vegas, New York or Cancun.  Unfortunately for the company, the coupon at the time did not have a minimum purchase, nor was it restricted to Canadian departures.  People living close to these destinations were putting together $0 trips.  Also, if you chose specially selected hotels, you'd also receive bonuses like a $50 SpaFinder gift certificate or $50 off show tickets!  Usually these kinds of mistakes disappear after a few hours, but since the deal was posted on a Friday, and it took time for people to experiment with their itineraries to come up with the most bang for $0, Expedia didn't feel the brunt of it until late Friday, probably after people with any authority to change anything went home.

I read about people booking trips for $0 just to collect the SpaFinder certificates and not showing up for the flight or hotel.  There were also people who booked mileage runs to Vegas or New York for little to $0, and throwing away the hotel portion.  After some research on Expedia.ca's website early Saturday afternoon, I booked two packages containing airfare plus one night of hotel each person to split the cost to use the $300 coupon.  I read later on in the forum that Expedia changed the wording of the terms and conditions to be only from a Canadian origin a couple of hours before I booked, so I was a bit worried that we wouldn't get the discount.  But everything went fine...later on, I read that Expedia had made changes to the website to not accept the coupon if a non-Canadian airport was entered as the origin.  So I think I made it through a grace period (ie. time it took for the programmer to make the code change).  Las Vegas, here we come!  It pays to have an email subscription to the forum to keep track of deals.

We arrived in Las Vegas around 9:30pm and I had made reservations at our favorite restaurant Raku for 10pm.  I rented a car through Priceline with bidding guidance from betterbidding.com, and snagged a Hertz rental car for $10 a day + taxes.  You had to take a shuttle from the airport to the off-site rental car center.  Hertz had a self-serve kiosk that worked with my Priceline reservation, yay!  (The Alamo kiosk does not let Priceline clients self-check-in, at least the last time I utilized it)  I might have been able to add my Hertz #1 Club Gold number for even faster service (just look up your name on the display board to find your car stall and drive off) but I forgot.  If you don't have a Hertz #1 Club Gold membership, you can get one for free (a $60 value) if you are a Delta SkyMiles member.  If you're not a SkyMiles member, you can sign up for free at delta.com and then go to this link to sign up for Club Gold using the program name "Delta Skymiles" and promotion code 5765. Oh, and I got a free upgrade from a compact  car to a mid-size (Jetta).  Woohoo!

We made it to Raku at 10:02pm but our table wasn't ready yet as the previous diners were given the check but not in a hurry to pay.  (just like what happened at Joel Robuchon...)  After waiting 10 minutes, the server directed us to a private dining area and sat us at a big table meant for 4-5 people.  We knew this area existed behind the main dining room from the first time we were here, and now we got to check it out.  We also saw there were two individual dining rooms as well, and it looked like Japanese VIP were seated in there.  The server brought out the usual blackboard of specials with no prices (meaning $$$).  There were rare fresh offerings such as unmarinated mackerel sashimi, Hokkaido scallop sashimi, and two shellfish that the server did not know the English name for.  We went with the mackerel sashimi...how many times do you get to eat pure mackerel without salt or vinegar?  Then we ordered other items off the menu, which you will see soon.

Raku's chef makes the condiments.  I wanted to empty the contents into my own containers, they're that good.

I barely used any soy sauce on the mackerel...it tasted very good on its own.  Next, we had raw Kobe beef liver, topped with thin slices of raw garlic.  We wanted to try this the first time we were here, but they were sold out.  Now I could understand why.  It barely tasted like liver, and since it was raw, the chalkiness that usually accompanies beef liver was not present.  Even though I hate garlic (especially raw), it went well with the liver.  At least both Babe and I were eating it. ;)

Next up was oden, a type of Japanese stew that's comfort food in the winter.  There are many different items that make up oden, and I chose beef tendon and meat intestines.  Yum!  The broth was good too.  There was a smidgen of Japanese mustard slapped on the side of the bowl if you wanted to use it.

Then our grilled items (robata) were delivered.  I wanted my own duck skewer. :)  We shared the other skewers of chicken wing and pork cheek.

Next was egg custard with foie gras.  Except the "foie gras" was really a piece of duck breast with the skin on it.  Probably mis-labeled.  Oh well...it was still delicious.  It reminded me of a steamed egg dish that I make at home.

Babe had his skewer of Kobe skirt steak with roasted garlic.

This time, I ordered a green tea sake cocktail.  It had a refreshing taste, not sweet at all.  The waitress somehow remembered me from the first time we were here in August; she asked why I didn't want to try the lychee cocktail again, haha!  I don't know why we're so memorable.  I suspected it was because of all the picture taking.

Then finally, the piece de resistance, what I was waiting all night to ingest...the grilled foie gras.  We didn't want to share a skewer because we remembered how heavenly it was.  It was just the right amount of foie gras too; any more would have been too rich.  This tasted so much better than the one I had at Joel Robuchon and was double the size and probably a third of the price.  The sauce was deeeeelicious and the liver melted in my mouth.

For dessert, we decided to try the bubbly brown sugar pudding.  The brown sugar pudding was kind of like creamy jello.  It was at the bottom of the cup; the waitress told us to scrape the bottom and eat together with the cold sweet milky soup and bubbles.  It was a unique dessert, but I probably wouldn't order it again.

Our tummies were satisfied, and the total bill cost less than the 2-course meal at Joel Robuchon.  Raku is one of my favorite restaurants and I'll try to eat here at every opportunity...I highly recommend this place.

It was around midnight by now, and we drove to Mandalay Bay, our home for the weekend.  The parking garage was pretty far away from the lobby.  The first night's accommodations was paid for by my Expedia package, so I checked in.  The front desk agent typed my information into the computer and then handed me back my ID and credit card.  "Please check in at the Four Seasons down the hall."  What?  Did I hear correctly?  No way.  I asked innocently, "Am I in the right place?" and she said yes.  No way.  What was funny was that I had considered staying at the Four Seasons for New Year's Eve as Kayak was showing a great price, but when I clicked on it, the total jumped in magnitude, so I dropped the idea.  And now I got my opportunity!  We walked towards the hallway that took guests to the Four Seasons lobby.

I'm laughing on the inside because we only paid $175 total for the flight and hotel, and we got upgraded.  The Four Seasons front desk agent explained that the Mandalay Bay ran out of rooms and because I was a "committed customer" (meaning I paid for my room upfront), Mandalay Bay paid the difference to put me up in the Four Seasons hotel.  "This is a five star hotel," he proclaimed; he must have interpreted my strained composure not to jump up and down as disappointment.  I told him, "Oh, I know."  :P  Then it got better...he gave me an envelope and explained that because the Four Seasons spa was under renovation, if I would please take this coupon for $50 off an 80 minute service at Spa Mandalay as a consolation.  Uh, free $50???  I was about to burst out laughing, this can't be real.  Then he asked, "Would you care for a bottle of water?  Warm or cold?"  I almost lost it here.  I get to choose warm water?!?  Wow!  I got a warm one and Babe got a cold one.  We walked down a quiet elegant corridor to the elevators.  The Four Seasons was located on the top four floors of the Mandalay Bay and the elevators are express.  Our room was on the 35th floor.  My ears popped at around floor 25.

We entered the room and shut the door.  Then Babe asked why I wasn't so excited.  I explained that I was, but I didn't want to jinx it by jumping up and down from the Mandalay Bay lobby to the hotel room!

The Four Seasons hotel has been around for a while, so it's not a huge suite like at the Palazzo.  But what they lack in space, they make up in quality and amenities such as plush robes and slippers, fancy toiletries, etc.

the bar had all sorts of nice wines and spirits, at a not-so-nice $$$

comfy plush bed

nice bathroom

"cup" coffee maker

L'Occitane toiletries

Too bad we were only going to be here one night, actually, 12 hours.  We wouldn't be able to peruse the pool facilities.  Babe had the other night booked at the Mandalay Bay, and I figured he wouldn't be as fortunate, since we needed to try to get a room before we checked out of the Four Seasons to make luggage stowage easier.  That night's sleep was heavenly...aaaahhhhhhhh...

Mileage run to Nashville - December 4-5, 2010

It is with sad heart to inform you that I will not be able to keep my 1K status for 2011.  United didn't offer a double mile promotion (which was how I reached 1K last fall) and I didn't fly enough to reach 100,000 BIS ("butt-in-seat") miles.  The next level down is Premier Executive (1P), which is still decent, but you don't get the six one-way systemwide upgrade certificates, nor do you get to collect two regional upgrades every 10K you fly in a quarter, be an elitist and walk on the Red Carpet at the gate, and other perks.  I needed to reach 50,000 miles, which I had not yet achieved.  I had a feeling I needed a mileage run to top off my status, so one month prior, I booked a cheap flight to Nashville to make up for the difference, and the itinerary was "mileage run caliber":  San Francisco (SFO) to Washington DC (IAD) to Nashville (BNA), then overnight, and back the same way the next day, for a total of almost 6000 miles!

I drove down the night before to my parents' house, as they graciously offered to drive me to San Francisco International the next day.  I was already upgraded on the way out from SFO to IAD, so that was a plus.  A 1K perk is the 100 hour pre-flight upgrade window and I will miss that.  1P's upgrade window is 72 hours...not too shabby, but it's nice to reduce the anticipation time.  Unfortunately, I wasn't yet upgraded on my IAD-SFO flight; this means that it'd be a battle at the gate for the few remaining first class seats on Sunday and higher status trumps.  I will miss snagging the upgrade at the gate...1K status had come in handy several times before.

As I made my way to the gate, there was a sign saying "Fantasy Flight Gate 82".  I wasn't sure what that was about.  Then I passed Gate 82 and saw that the destination was "North Pole"!  Passengers were dressed up in Santa hats and Fantasy Flight T-shirts.  Turned out that every year, United flies the "Fantasy Flight" from various airports to take underprivileged children to the "North Pole", giving them an unforgettable experience!  Very cool.

The flight from SFO to IAD was non-eventful; I enjoyed a lunch that started with a cup of warm mixed nuts, followed by a hot chicken ciabatta sandwich with Sun Chips and minestrone soup as accompaniments.  Dessert was a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie.  The United snack basket isn't as evil as Delta's...no candy bars, just healthy stuff like Sun Chips and bananas.  The movie shown was Get Low, but I wasn't listening to the audio.  Glancing every so often at the silent picture, the movie seemed interesting and witty.  I was too busy listening to my iPhone and playing my favorite game Scramble.

The next plane was a small jet in Terminal A.  This "puddlejumper" commuter terminal was located way far away from where I was; I had to walk a long distance on a moving sidewalk, then take a couple of small escalators, then one big escalator down to the air train, take the train over to Terminal A, take a big escalator up, then walk over to the gate.  Whew!  When I got there, I found that the flight was delayed by an hour!  I wouldn't get into Nashville until after midnight.  I had booked a room at the Holiday Inn Opryland through Priceline for cheap but I had heard that you arrive after midnight, they could cancel the room.  I called them and made sure they weren't going to cancel.  Eventually the plane arrived and I was heading to Nashville.

I've never been in Nashville before, so it was a new experience.  The airport looked newly remodeled.  I'm glad I didn't decide to camp out in the airport (I read one review in sleepinginairports.net) as I believe our flight was the last one in and the whole place seemed to be shut down; security might have kicked me out if I put a sleeping bag down.  As I got in after midnight, the hotel shuttle was already out of service, so I had to take a taxi 3.5 miles to the hotel.  Check in wasn't a problem, and the room was clean and adequate, stocked with Bath and Body Works toiletries.  The pillows were kind of weird lumps of batting, with ribbons around them to make them look hip?  They weren't super luxurious but at least the sheets were laundered.

 
I was on West Coast time, so I had a hard time falling asleep, plus I was worried that I wouldn't wake up in the morning as it was a mere 7 hours before I had to catch the morning shuttle back.  I think I got only 4 hours of sleep.

At the airport, I was unfortunate to be selected to go through the x-ray machine aka the millimeter wave scanner.  (I didn't wear my Lucky sweatpants...)  I entered the chamber and was directed to make a triangle using the forefingers and thumb of both hands touching, and raise my arms 45 degrees up.  The chamber moved in a circle around my body and a female TSA employee stared at a monitor to see if I passed or not.  I was under the impression that a image of my naked body was getting sent to that screen so I was mortified to see a male TSA employee pass by and look at it too.  I did some further research and apparently the person looking at the images is sitting in a different room, out of sight of the scanner to maintain privacy, and sends a signal over to the other monitor indicating pass or fail.  I also read that people's images were supposed to be deleted, but some agency had stored them!  I hope not.  They're installing these machines in airports all over the world, so eventually everyone will get a chance to bare themselves to an anonymous TSA agent.

I get to my gate with plenty of time; however, the plane is slightly late.  I only had 50 minutes in IAD to make my connection, so I was doubtful I'd make it. (remember the air train and the long walking?)  The cabin door had closed, but we weren't moving.  I saw snow flurries coming down and was willing the pilot to take off.  Then the captain made an announcement that the plane had to be de-iced.  The snow had just started falling lightly, and melting on contact with the ground, but they didn't want to take chances.  So we had to wait for the de-icing truck to come and spray fluid on the wings and rudder.  This was the first time I've witnessed this, so it was exciting, (plus seeing snowflakes hit the window was cool too) but it was depressing since I knew I'd miss my connection.  The guy applying the de-icer was covered in protective gear; however, his mouth was still exposed and the spray was dispersed in the wind and blowing back in his face...mmm...chemicals...

When the jet landed in IAD, my phone had messages from United informing me that due to the delay from Nashville, I was rebooked on a flight going to Denver, then to SFO.  I looked at the time of the new flight, and it was just 5 minutes past my original flight!  I don't know how the computer figured that I could make that one either.  I got to the check-in computer terminal, attempted to check in, and the computer proclaimed that it was too late to check-in.  Really, no duh.  The computer rebooked me on a later flight to Denver...many hours later.  I eventually wouldn't get back to SFO until 7:30pm versus my original 3:30pm.  I had no choice but to take the flight.  I called my mom to let her know of the delay, and then had lunch at a burger joint called Five Guys, as I heard from my friend Sandy that it was good.  It was the greasiest burger and fries I've had in a decade or more!  The paper bag that the food was packed in had grease spots all over it.  The fries weren't my favorite (I usually enjoy McDonald's-style fries) but the burger was fresh and the bun was tasty.

I made the trek over to the other terminal and hoped that I would clear the upgrade list.  I had checked online that there were a couple of first class seats available.  I watched as the monitors showed the upgrade status; that there were 4 first class seats available, and 38 people on the waiting list for upgrades.  My name was second on the list.  Over time, I saw the seats dwindle down to 3, then 2.  It was getting closer to boarding time, and then the gate agent said the sweetest thing...my name. :)  The first person on the list (a lady) and I got the upgrade!  The gate agent said that we were lucky, as the original two people ended up leaving on an earlier flight.  Chalk one up for being 1K again...I don't think I would've made it if I wasn't one.  I'm gonna miss being 1K next year...

After boarding was finished and the cabin door was closed, I noticed that we weren't pushing back from the gate.  After a few minutes, the captain came on the speaker and told us that the ground crew saw hydraulic fluid leaking from one of the wings and called a mechanic to check it out.  Yikes!   The captain then explained that he does a walk-around of the plane before he boards to do safety checks.  But once the plane door closed and the cabin pressurized, the ground crew checks the plane again, and they may find things that weren't present when the cabin was not pressurized.  That was interesting to know...though I hoped that things were okay and we wouldn't have to change planes and I'd miss my connection to SFO.  I could hear the captain saying things like "if it's spewing fluid all over, we'd need to have someone look at that, but if it's just a few drops, I'm okay with it".  Since it was "just a few drops", we were cleared for takeoff.  What would you think if you heard a "few drops" of hydraulic fluid was leaking out of the wing? :P  Despite this delay, I believed I would make the connection in Denver as the gate was at least in the same concourse.

There was a meal offered on this 3pm flight, but since I had already eaten way over my caloric intake with the burger and fries, I declined the buffalo chicken sandwich.  I didn't get very good service from the lady flight attendant...I didn't take the food, but I wasn't offered a beverage!  My seatmate took the meal and she gave him something to drink, and asked him again if he wanted something when she picked up the empty plates and completely ignored me.  I was annoyed.  I didn't have a drink on my tray table to begin with.  It wasn't that I was thirsty either as I had a pre-flight beverage and still full from Five Guys, but it's the thought that counts.

The movie on this flight was "Eat Pray Love", starring Julia Roberts; I liked it.  Apparently the book is better; I had borrowed it from my cousin Sheri a long time ago and didn't even start it yet!  (sorry Sheri!  I'll bring it back for Christmas if you want!)

I made it to my DEN-SFO flight with a little bit of breathing room.  I saw that I was third on the upgrade list, but only one seat left.  I knew there was no way I could clear this flight, so I could leisurely make my way to the restroom and not worry about listening for my name to be called.  I assigned myself an aisle exit row seat, which should have been a good consolation, had it not been for this old man.  (begin rant)  He and his wife boarded at the same time I did, which meant he was a 1K too, also evidenced by the drink tickets he pulled out during the flight.  The first indication that I was in for an annoying flight was the fact that I got a glimpse of his wife's boarding pass, which indicated the window seat in the opposite row.  I deduced that he was going to tell the rightful person entitled to that seat that he wants his wife to sit there and could s/he please take the other seat?  Which exactly happened.  Fortunately, the swap was at least 1:1 as it was a left window seat versus a right window seat.  But imagine if it wasn't a fair swap?  The old guy took the middle seat, and he was tall.  The exit row was perfect for such people as they could stretch out their legs.  But what did this man do?  He opened a newspaper, and sits in reading position, ie. leg across the knee towards me (not his wife!?) and arms wide open taking up both armrests.  The only thing missing was a pipe in his mouth.  He hit me in the arm while turning pages, as well as kicked me in the shin with his foot without a mention of "sorry" or "excuse me".  I was forced to lean into the aisle as he took over my personal space.  This man must have thought he was entitled or superior.  More evidence of this attitude was when his wife was filling out a word puzzle and he leaned over and told her the answers.  All she could say was "Oh, you're right dear..."  I was  glad when he took out his MacBook Air to watch movies as he had to bring the tray table out and bring his leg back down.  When the plane landed, the scenario I built in my head based on the behavior of this man came true:  he turned to me and asked if he could get up to access the overhead compartment; of course I said yes.  He was standing in my legroom with his crotch pointed at my face, brought down his things (though it didn't hit me in the head as envisioned), and remained standing there.  I was wondering if he'd even make me wait in my seat until his wife got out.  Amazingly that didn't happen, and I actually was separating him and his wife while deplaning...it must have been terrible.  Then we got on the jetway, and despite all the rushing to get the bags off and getting out of the plane, he walked like a snail. (end rant)

My parents picked me up from the airport and I related to them of all the experiences on the mileage run.  I had dinner, then drove back home.  A long mileage run weekend, but it was eventful (except for the old man).  I had yet another flight the following weekend (back-to-back-to-back-to-back flying!), destination Vegas.  Yes, again.  It had only been one month since Karen's birthday bash, but Expedia.ca offered a deal too good to pass up.  Details soon...

Thanksgiving in St. Thomas, Grand Turk, Day at Sea, Home - November 25-28, 2010

Woke up Thanksgiving morning in the US Virgin Island of St. Thomas:

The building at the far end of this shot is Marriott's Frenchman's Reef hotel, situated on Morning Star Beach.  Adjacent to it is Frenchman's Cove, a Marriott Vacation Club property, so you can trade into it if you own a timeshare.

I had already visited St. Thomas on previous cruises.  There wasn't anything I wanted to do except visit nearby paradise of St. John, which wasn't worth the trek, as we were only in port from 7am to 4pm.  You'd need to catch a taxi over to Red Hook (~30 minutes), then catch the ferry (~20 minutes) to St. John which departs at the top of the hour, then catch a taxi to Trunk Bay or wherever you want to go.  It'd cost ~$50 roundtrip per person to sit on St. John for 4 hours, as you don't want to take the last possible ferry back before the ship set sail.  Westin has a hotel on St. John (part of which is timeshare).  I think I'd rather trade a week into St. John (one of the hardest properties to match) and take time to enjoy the pristine surroundings than rush back and forth for a mere 4 hours.

Babe and I got off the ship and walked around the measly mall next to the port.  There was hardly anything worth buying - more jewelry, souvenirs, and booze, so we returned to the ship and relaxed on the balcony.  If you like to stock up on booze, St. Thomas is a good place to buy it, as US visitors are allowed to take home 5 liters (versus 1 liter).  One of the liters must be produced in the USVI.

Caught a sea plane flying by on film (err...memory card).  ("the plane, the plane!")

Tonight was formal night; earlier today, I had made reservations for 2 over the phone.  The menu was more what I expected, ie. lobster.  No escargots on the menu. :(  Then the waiter came by and told us that there was a special appetizer available - escargots!  Yay!

Babe had the fois gras pate...not the same as whole

Why order turkey when you can get lobster???

Turkey was on the menu as it was Thanksgiving, but you can get turkey anytime at the buffet. (though I know some people are very particular with having turkey on Turkey Day)  So both of us ordered the lobster.  They were decently cooked, but I liked the saucy version at Sabatini's better.

To make up for not having turkey, I opted for pumpkin pie with French vanilla ice cream to end my meal.  Babe got the chocolate souffle.  The pie was fancier than I expected.  It wasn't very sweet.

We went up to the buffet and the selections weren't very good compared to the dining room, though the same pumpkin pie was there.

The next morning, the ship docked on the beautiful island of Grand Turk.  It's a long and narrow island.  Carnival built the "Grand Turk Cruise Center" there, which had a mall (surprise surprise) and tons of free beach chairs to relax on.  Since Carnival acquired Princess a few years back, Princess ships also could dock here.  (though I don't know if any Carnival ships dock in Princess Cays)  Babe and I had no problems finding a pair of lounge chairs in the shade.  Seemed everyone wanted to bake in the sun.  We had snorkel gear and I had read on Cruise Critic that excellent snorkeling could be found right off the shore...which was true!   We saw a flat fish that camouflaged itself in the sand.  Best not to step on him.  There was also a puffer-type fish with white dots on it that I had never seen before.  We also saw conch shells; Grand Turk is known for them.  It was a bit strange to snorkel so close to where the ships were docked..I could hear the engines humming.  Watch out for the intake. ;)

Alongside Ruby Princess was a Carnival ship.  We were so close that we could enjoy the Auburn vs Bama football game on their big screen that evening.  It was funny when the Carnival ship set sail, taking the game with it, and everyone watching on Ruby Princess was scurrying up to the front of the boat to catch a last glimpse.

pretty sunset in Grand Turk

Tonight was our reservation at Crown Grill, the steak and seafood alternative restaurant.  The cover charge was $25, but what we got was worth the price.  This was the only place I could get my beloved foie gras.  It came with perfectly cooked scallops.

"Black and blue" onion soup

Shrimp bisque

Filet mignon - the "turf"

Rack of lamb

"surf" - plenty of broiled lobster!  sides of creamed spinach, au gratin potatoes, mushrooms

I ordered the "surf and turf", which was a filet mignon and lobster.  Babe ordered the rack of lamb.  Little did we know that the "surf" part of it was going to be a ton of lobster, at least four tails' worth!  The best side dish was the au gratin potatoes, because it was swimming in a vat of butter. :)

Babe ordered the "dessert sampler" and I just got the whole s'more.

melting cake, caramel cheesecake, s'more, lemon meringue

7-layer s'more - graham cracker, 3-layer chocolate cake, marshmallow, graham cracker cookie, marshmallow tips :)

The two couples sitting at a nearby table were very entertaining.  We couldn't help but overhear their loud conversation about buying jewelry at one of the port shops.  One of the ladies showed off her mystic topaz necklace...she was originally searching for a blue topaz but found the mystic, but didn't have enough money.  She exclaimed, "The guy was sooooo nice!  We gave him the cash we had and he said that we could send him the difference in the mail when we got home!"  Hahaha!  I think the shopkeeper would die laughing if she did send him the balance.  To level-set the reader, I bought three big mystic topaz loose stones from eBay a while back for $10.  I'm sure that necklace was at least a hundred dollars or more.  Another amusing thing was that the couples seemed to be experiencing "fine dining" for the first time.  We overheard them remarking about the items on the menu and how there would be no way they'd eat such-and-such.  Despite this, the guys had ordered the scallop and foie gras appetizer.  "This doesn't taste like any scallop I've ever eaten...try this," said one of the guys as he fed one into his significant other's mouth.  Maybe he was only familiar with the breaded and deep-fried kind.  I observed as the other guy lifted up the entire piece of foie gras with his fingers, inspected the slice, and put the whole thing in his mouth, chewing it cautiously and swishing it around.  I think I saw a scallop left on his plate, what a waste.

That night was the second heat of "Princess Pop Idol".  There were good contenders; one of the male contestants could sing "Mack The Knife" pretty well, and I figured it'd be hard to beat him.  Three people were selected for the finale, making it a total of six contestants performing tomorrow night.

The next day was spent leisurely at sea.  So sad when a cruise comes to a close.  We packed our belongings and had our final dinner at Sabatini's again.  We had a different waiter than before, but he remembered seeing us on Monday night!  I wondered if it was because I was the only Asian to step foot in the restaurant that week.  Normally, Asians are very cheap...why would you pay extra when you get the food for "free" in the dining room and the buffet, and eat as much of it as you want?  But I don't mind paying extra if the food tastes better.  We both ordered the lobsters plus desserts we didn't get last time. (though I had to get the mousse again)

citrus tart (yum), espresso creme brulee, zabaglione, and the mousse

We went to the Princess Pop Idol finale after dinner.  I and the five other contestants met at the far corner of the lounge to go over production information, what to expect, etc.  We were also given glasses of champagne to enjoy.  It was pretty exciting but somewhat nerve-wracking to sing in front of an expectant crowd.  There were also three judges giving "critiques", just like American Idol.  It's a lot different singing on stage with the ship moving around than singing in the comfort of your home.  What sucked was that we had to sing the same song we chose for the qualifying round.  It'd be really boring if I was a spectator and heard the same songs again.  They should let the contestants choose new songs if they desire.  I had wanted to change it from "Angel" to something "oldie" as a lot of the cruisers on board were in their 50's and above.

I was up first, and my performance didn't go so well as my voice didn't carry into the microphone that night. :(  I still got friendly critiques.  After the "judging", I went into the "green room" where I was interviewed by one of the cruise directors, with the feed being shown on TV screens out in the audience.  That was pretty fun as everything was improvised.  Finally it was over, and I got to observe the other five contestants perform.  The poor girl who sang "Over the Rainbow" experienced technical difficulties and had to have the song restart three times.  She was already nervous going up there, so she was completely ashen by the time the song actually worked.  The last contestant of the night was Mr. "Mack the Knife" from before, so obviously he won (turned out he was a bartender for a piano bar, and he sung if a performer was out sick).  There wasn't a 1st place prize...we all were presented with a bottle of champagne as a parting gift.  It was a fun experience and I'd do it again on a future Princess cruise, but at least now I know to select a more appropriate song to match the age of the audience.

Sunday morning, the ship was back in Ft. Lauderdale.  We were one of the first off the ship, doing the express disembarkation and carrying our own bags off the ship.  Our flight was at 11am, and we wanted to make sure we got to the airport on time.  The flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta was short.  We were served lunch on the flight from Atlanta.  There was a choice of a chicken salad or a chicken and goat cheese pizza, but by the time the flight attendant got to our row, all that was left was pizza, but I didn't mind.  It actually tasted pretty good.  It was unfortunate that the plane we were on didn't have the individual entertainment screens. :(

This was the end of Thanksgiving vacation...the cruise was what I needed to unwind from the stress and long hours in the lab.  But wait, there's more travel coming up!  I'm on another plane a week from now...