Surprise... your off to Las Vegas - Day 5

[joanneclaire]

Day 5


Well today has finally arrived, the day this trip is all about, DH Tony's 40th Birthday, you know id swear he didnt look a day older than 39

Happy Birthday Tony !

Typical, the weather has been great since our arrival and today its forecast high winds and mid 60's temperatures!

Again, we thought we'd try somewhere different for breakfast but didnt want to go too far as we were been picked up at the MGM at 9.30am. So we headed over to New york New York to try their breakfast, took one look at their buffet and decided it wasnt for us, so headed along back to the Monte Carlo where we had previously had a great breakfast. On arrival at Monte Carlo we realised that as it was a 'Sunday' breakfast was now called 'champagne brunch' at a cost of $19 each, as we (I) had so much planned for today no way did we want to start off the day with alchohol, so 3rd time lucky we went into the Monte Carlo Cafe which was next door to the buffet, who were serving breakfast from a menu, not necesarily a cheap option considering we had 1 x tea, 1 x coffee, 1 x orange juice and 2 x bacon, eggs and toast a total of $31.30 plus tip. However we had a great chat with our server who was from Manchester and I must admit the orange juice here was the freshest ive ever tasted.

After breakfast, we headed back over the MGM to await our pick up at 09.30 by Heli USA as I had pre-arranged a trip over the Grand Canyon including a Ranch stop for dinner. To be honest, we didnt think that they would even fly today after reading about how these things are soon cancelled due to weather conditions and it was quite windy this morning, with a forecast of increasing winds throughout the day However, we arrived at the West Wing entrance as planned around 09.20am to find our driver already awaiting us who took us over to the Heli USA offices a mere couple of minutes away at McCarran airport.

Dreaded weigh in time... fine no problem ... phew LOL then into another room to watch a pre-flight safety film, no signs of cancelling yet! We were sat about another 30 minutes with two other couples one British and one Australian who had been put onto this trip after their trip yesterday was cancelled for 'security reasons'? We were then put into a mini bus and transported over to the airfield as our flight was still going to all our surprise. We all boarded after completing our bit of 'film' for the camera as we had ordered the DVD which would be ready for our return. Off we went, this is the first time both me and Tony had been in a helicopter so we were both really excited. The trip over to the ranch took around 45 minutes, our pilot was fantastic, really friendly and knowledgable and well what can I say about the views... awesome, one of those times in your life you just have to pinch yourself to realise you are seeing what you are seeing and you are actually there! However, one little downside for us and it was highly likely due to the winds we experienced on our flight over, mainly as the latter half of our journey got a little 'choppy', all six of us were a little motion sickness when we landed. As we have never experienced travel sickness before, we were unsure whether this is 'normal' and typical of a helicopter flight or just our particular trip due to the winds, we concluded that as all six of us were the same, we thought it was just our particular flight and the weather conditions.

We departed the helicopter to be greeted with a horse drawn wagon and two 'cowboys', which transported us over to the ranch... perfect By this time it was around midday and dinner was ready for us when we arrived at the ranch, dinner was chicken, corn on the cob, coleslaw, baked beans and corn bread, all six of us picked at the dinner as we all still felt a little queasy, plus to be fair, both me and tony simply wernt hungary either. During dinner one of the cowboys played the guitar by an open fire as we all sat and chatted. It was great, just a shame the sun wasnt shining as it had been the past few days.

After dinner and a chat, we decided to go have a walk round as there were a few things to see around the ranch, by this time it was starting to drizzle can you believe... how dare it today! but we walked round, took some pics, had it been bright, there is usally some 'shows' and learning experiences put on by the cowboys, such as lassooing (spelling LOL? ) along with if you wish a horseback ride. There is also the opportunity to stay overnight in teepee's. The people at the ranch were very friendly, chatted and showed us some pictures.

Due to the wind and now rain, we didnt go back to the helipad via wagon, they took us down in a minibus, none of us were looking forward to the flight back, but it wasnt as bad as the flight over and we ended flying along the strip before landing back at McCarran. We purchased our DVD ($59.99) before been transported back to our hotel. All in all, an amazing trip with sightseeing like no other we've experienced, would we do it again... yes - but I think next time we will actually drive and stay over so we get to see and experience more.

Back at the MGM we went to Stabucks for a coffee and a sit down, it took a good hour for my tummy to finally feel recovered, whereas Tony's took a little longer. However, on with the day... I had booked Tony into the Spa at 4pm for a 'Swedish' massage as another surprise, so we stopped back at our room, he got a wash and change and we headed down to the spa, Tony went in for his massage and I headed to try to finally get to grips with the shopping in the MGM, the sheer size of these hotels just amazes me, just when you think you have seen it, you find another corner to turn and a whole lot more!

I returned to the spa an hour later to await Tony, cost of massage was $140, but I got 15% off as part of our hotel booking offer. When I booked the massage I asked for it to be charged to the room (as this is how you got the 15% off) but as the room was in my name, they then wouldnt allow Tony to sign and do this for 'security' which I can understand, so Tony called me in and handed me a slip / bill, which showed $192! I went over to the desk to question this, the girl on the desk said that Tony had received a different massage and that was the bill... I said this isnt what I had booked, I had booked the Swedish at $140, whilst $52 might not seem much, I was just getting miffed at this girls attitude, she got on her high horse saying, well nothing they can do, I have to pay the $192 as Tony had received the massage at this price, which I said was their fault and not ours, so should not have to pay the extra, she then replied by saying Tony should have known what massage he was going for when the therapist started and that we had to pay... like you know the difference between two massages ... and would even question it? as far as tony knew he was booked in for a massage ... well, she then said it was obviously a communication problem between us and we had to pay... at that point Id had enough of her and to cut a long story short requested to see the manager, this girls attitude was rude arrogant and totally unprofessional. The manager came and sorted it out and we billed the $140 to our room, but the way this girl even spoke to the manager deserved a disciplinary or even the boot! Anyway, I apologised to Tony as it was his birthday, his treat and I had engaged in an irrate conversation with a arrogant spa receptionist ... he just laughed and gave me a hug, I guess he knows me better and knew as soon as she started she had picked on the wrong person to try to bully

Anyway, after all that, Tony felt wonderful and we headed upto our room for a shower and change, well I had the shower, Tony just relaxed as he didnt want to wash off all his 'oils' as to finish off his birthday I had booked us into the Top of the World restaurant for 7pm and time was now getting tight!

We jumped into a taxi outside the MGM and asked him how quick he could get us down to the Stratosphere LOL, step on it man! LOL

We arrived in very good time and tipped him well for his effort LOL. We headed straight to the restaurant... it surprised me how many different check points we had to go through to get to the restaurant, a very nice touch... every desk / person we encountered wished Tony a happy birthday ... very nice.

We went through a kind of 'airport' security checkpoint just before getting in the lift, this was a bit of joke, I buzzed when I went through the walkway, he just smiled and said its ok it will be your jewellery... yes it probably was, but how was he to know and I wasnt further checked?

We entered the super quick lift which got us to the top in no time, it was so quick our ears popped, which the guy in the elevator did warn us about. On getting to the top, another check in desk, again wishing Tony a happy birthday. We were quickly shown our seats at the restaurant ... which wernt window seats :angry: I informed the lady that I had had this booking made for months and had requested a window seat, it was 7pm again a time I had researched as this is when the sun was due to set and was going to be a perfect end to the day, she apologised and said that they wernt able to take specific window seat bookings, so it was an error made when I booked that I was assured a window seat, however, she was very nice, said they would have one ready for us, but it wouldnt be for about 10 minutes, which was fine, we went upto the lounge for a drink to await our table.

We were quickly called to our table, window table for two, just perfect, we ordered a ceasar salad and soup starters, followed by the special of the day which was a chicken pasta dish and we ended sharing a dessert. During our time in the restaurant we had our photos taken by the photographer there who caught us just perfect with the night strip view behind us.

THis restaurant was a truly amazing experience and I would honestly say the most romantic of venues, the whole atmosphere was perfect, im really lost for words to describe my emotions this night, after all the planning and secrecy his day was finally almost over and I carnt think of anything more perfect to end it the way we did in this restaurant. The food was nice, I wouldnt say 'wow' we want to go back for the food, but definately will go back each time we visit Las Vegas from now on ( which we have already said we will do). The bill came to $120 which was a pleasant surprise too, I was expecting near to $200, however, we didnt have any wine with our meal. The photographer captured us perfect ... took 4 pictures in total, which we just had to buy 3 of them at a cost of $60, but worth it for us on this night to remember.

So, we ended the evening on a total high and a fabulous end to Tony's 40th Birthday.

Happy Birthday Darling!

[travelmam]

What a wonderful birthday surprise Tony had, except for the hiccup with the massage.
Perfect end to a 40th Birthday.

[Guest]

Great birthday for Tony. The restaurant sounds lovely!

[swv]

Another great report, sounds like you had a great time. Been checking all day for this, ive had my daily fix now , so now i can relax, lol

[DisneyMadAng]

What a fabulous way to celebrate a special birthday!

[Jools]

What a fantastic day for you and Tony. Glad you got your table at the window

[Michelle]

What a wonderful day

[florida girl]

Sounds like a perfect day.

What dates were you in Vegas?

[voddygirl]

What a way to spend your 40th sounds fab...pity about the massage confusion she sounded a right jobsworth !

[joanneclaire]

we were in Vegas from the 18 - 24 March.

jobsworth wasnt the name I would have gave the spa receptionist LOL