Let's do Vegas!

Hey folks,

It has been a while since I have posted in Traveler's Pique but I am finally here in Vegas and loving it! I am no longer a tourist, I live here which is really awesome. You are probably wondering what this means for you and why you should care. Well..I will be giving you in-depth reviews on all of the local restaurants, casinos, hotels, night life, etc.

Of course I will continue to post reviews of my travels outside of Las Vegas but for now, this is where you want to come if you want to know what to do when you visit sin city. Also, my readers will enjoy an exclusive discount of 10% off at Johnson Imagery (on all packages) when you visit Vegas by using promo code: PIQUE10! Stay tuned and see what awesome things I have in store!

Your favorite travel destination during the holidays?

Readers,

Are you ready for the holidays? What are some of your favorite places to visit during this time? Do you like snowy environments or do you prefer something warmer? I love the heat but the holidays are the one time that I actually like snow. There is something about waking up on Christmas and seeing a thick blanket of snow that makes you feel really good. Some of my family members love the snow as well but some actually travel to the islands during this time because they want a mild environment during the holiday season. Many people in my area (New Jersey) like to go to the shore during the holidays. However, because of Hurricane Sandy this has proven quite difficult because of all of the damage. Some people even rent cabins in the mountains to go skiing.

Whatever your destination is just remember to cherish the moments you have with your loved ones. Many of the families in Newton, CT cannot hold their children anymore. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Let's be safe during the holidays no matter where we are and let's keep Newton, CT in our prayers.

Green light for Vegas!

Hey all,

Sorry it has taken so long for me to post. I have been very busy lately. So..I decided that I like Vegas so much I am moving there..seriously! Time will only tell whether or not I will stay for good but I know that I am not moving back to New Jersey unless I have no other choice. I really like Atlanta as well so if I ever leave Vegas it will be for Atlanta.

Atlanta is awesome, the food, the atmosphere, the people (except when they drive, ha ha), etc. Vegas is awesome because the people there are really diverse and the environment has so much to offer. Life has brought a lot of twists and turns so Vegas should provide the perfect reset.

Where are some places that you have visited throughout your travels that you wouldn't mind living? What do you like about these places? Is it the people? The atmosphere? It is important that we take risks in life sometimes and if we make it, then great, if not then so be it. It is better to take a risk and to fail (and try again) than to remain stagnant and run the risk of becoming dull, boring, and stifled.

I will be posting a lot more soon (several times weekly) but for now my posts will be about once or more a week until I am done packing. You think cross-country travel is hard..try moving ha ha! I hope all is well with you and that your holidays are going great thus far. Whether you are traveling this holiday or staying home, always remember to be grateful and to let your family know that you care no matter what. If there are any unresolved issues remember, the holidays are a time for forgiveness :-)

In the meantime, check out my other blogs and sites!

Writers:     http://shakyshelf.blogspot.com/

Renters:     http://rentersnet.blogspot.com/

Soundoff:  http://thesoundoff1.blogspot.com/

Stop Skyping the old-fashined way!
http://jeruzz1.wix.com/skypeout#!page4/cfvg

Travel tips

Like to travel on a budget? You can Google sites like Travelocity or Orbitz. The time that you search for deals like hotels, flights, and car rentals also matters. Your best bet of course is to search at least two weeks in advance for flights. Companies bet on last-minute travelers and look to cash in on them. Also, the time of week/day that you search also matters. I have had some of my greatest success with finding deals on Tuesday night between 9 and 11 pm.

Did you know that even if a rate is published on a website by a carrier in error, if you purchased the ticket, they still have to honor it at that price. For example, if a carrier (or other website like Orbitz) mistakenly puts up a flight for $50 rather than $500, then count yourself lucky because you got yourself a great deal! If you look on Ebay, there are people who sell unused vouchers for alcoholic beverages at a HUGE discount (be careful to check expiration dates).

One time, I was searching for a flight on Orbitz for a family member. I had been looking that whole day (Tuesday) and the price stayed high all day and night, until 9 pm rolled around then WHAM! Right as I started to buy the ticket, I clicked the search one more time and ended up saving her around $400! You just never know when you will spot a deal. If you really want a deal, check every hour and if possible, more frequently in the middle of the week. Of course, you want to try to avoid flying in or out on Friday and Saturday. Take things into consideration like (hotel, car rental, shuttle from the airport, flight, etc.) Also, check Facebook. Sometimes airlines (Southwest, etc.) post discounts just for liking their page.

Good luck, happy traveling and feel free to tell us about your trip. See you soon!

Vegas Baby!

Hi all, sorry it took so long for me to post these and tell you about my wonderful trip but here it is.
I will touch on the hot spots that I went to and give you an overall feel of the places I visited. We stayed off-strip at the Silverton Casino. It was reasonably priced and not extremely far from the action. The overall decor needs a serious makeover. It is very dated and pretty tacky. The whole casino was so dark that when you went outside you were shocked at how bright it was. When staying at this supposed resort/casino, it is easy to lose track of time and feel like it is late not matter what time of day it is. The slots themselves are pretty standard. They have a few old ones but most of them are updated and modern. The payout is minimal from other casinos that I have been to.

One night, I was playing some slots and a homeless man walked up to me and asked me for money. I did give him some change (although I was not supposed to) because I felt bad for him. I also wanted him to get away from me because I did not feel comfortable with him around me like that (he was pretty close and I had money out to play. After that, I got up and went to another part of the floor and continued to play. Who walks up to me but the same guy. I was somewhat annoyed at this point and told him that he already asked me five minutes ago. He walked away. I got up and waved a staff member down because I did not feel comfortable at all anymore. She asked me what he looked like and I told her what I thought he had on (wasn't extremely attentive because I was more concerned with just getting away from him. I sat down at one of the slots where I was and started to play. The same man comes up again. Thoroughly annoyed, I told him that he needed to pay attention to who he was asking for money and that this was his third time coming to me. I also reminded him that I already gave him money. He quickly walked away and about a minute later, the staff member brought security to me and asked me about him. I pointed them in his direction. The staff member told me that they did eventually get him. She was very nice and every time I saw her, she was very friendly and always said hi. That brings me to my next point: the staff is what gives The Silverton a glimmer of hope. From management, to security, to regular staff..everyone was really nice and provided exceptional customer service.

There is not a lot of action as the crowd is understandably older. If you are young and crave any type of action, then I would suggest that you steer clear of this place unless you are either coming here to eat (the food is pretty good), going to see the aquarium, or going to Bass Pro Shops (located inside of The Silverton), which is nicely put together.

The rooms were dated, ugly, and extremely dirty! We switched rooms and also had to switch sheets because our sheets had blood on them! Oh, and can you say tube television? really? Who watched tube TV anymore? I think we turned that TV on once and that was it. When you are accustomed to seeing things in high definition, a tube won't do. In fact, I was pretty insulted at the fact that these were still in the rooms. The dirt was extremely apparent in the rooms. There was so much dirt that you could see the layers of it in certain spots. Also, some of the towels and washcloths were dirty. It made it hard to believe that they had a cleaning staff.

One of the cool things is that they had an outdoor area and pool complete with cabanas (you have to pay extra to rent the cabanas despite the already included resort fee per night). They had a DJ one night while we were there and the music was pretty good. If you want action, this is the only place in the casino where you will find it. Unfortunately, it closes at  ten o' clock..yes ten. Needless to say, we will not be staying at The Silverton again.

The picture above is from The Luxor in Las Vegas. Can you say ENERGY? Wow,  it was so cool to be in there. While I have not been to all of the casinos in Vegas (nearly impossible because Vegas is huge. Also, there are even casinos at the stores and gas stations), this one is among the best!

There is so much going on at this casino as well as Mandalay Bay, which is connected to The Luxor. The Luxor has awesome architecture, great drinks and food. Mandalay Bay had much of the same thing but it also has the Minus 5 ice bar. We were not able to go in because I had a dress on and I would have frozen to death, he he. We did go into the lobby and you can see the back of the bar from the outside. From what I hear and have read in the lobby, everything is made of ice, from the bar to the stools to the cups! You are charged admission just to go in but that is mainly because you are renting things from them like parkas, boots, gloves, hats, etc. If you do happen to go or have been there, please come back and let me know. The next time I go to Vegas, I will be prepared to go to the bar.

When you go to Vegas, you definitely have to check out The Venetian. There are so many cool things to see from the Gondolas to the indoor Italian city. The attention to detail is apparent regarding the construction of this casino. When you go there, you really feel like you are in Italy! There is lots to do from riding the Gondolas (which we did) to shopping to dining at one of their fine restaurants. It was extremely hot in Vegas when we visited so we did not spend a lot of time outside even though there is so much to see there as well. The great thing about this place was the fact that there were so many places to take pictures inside that you are not missing anything outside. Please do check out the Gondolas as well. While I was somewhat disappointed in the duration of the ride (very short), I loved the singing Gondolier. Her voice was really beautiful and she actually happened to be from Italy! I also did not like the fact that the indoor and outdoor gondola rides are not connected. There is an outdoor price and an indoor price and while they are the same, you must pay double to do both.

There are many free outdoor shows on the Vegas strip including the pirate show at Treasure Island, the water show at The Bellagio, the show at Caesars, etc. I did not get to see all of them or even most but I did see the volcano show at The Mirage. This was an intense show and I was amazed at all that was put into creating it. It was so much fun to watch that I actually wanted to see it again before we left. I must warn you though..this is real fire and you should not be the first in line to see it unless you want to feel like your eyebrows will get singed. I was in  the front and I felt like someone put me into a pizza oven and left me in there. Older people and little children should be especially careful not to be too close.

Food can get pretty expensive, so if you play at the casinos, be sure to sign up for the cards so that you can get comps. Also, I was shocked by the fact that the Mc Donalds on the strip was priced regularly. I expected their prices to be nearly doubled because it is right on the strip but it was not. If you want to save money, go there for at least a meal or two.

Also, if you want to see a show, you had better plan ahead. We wanted to see Criss angel one night but we were too late. Apparently, you cannot purchase tickets at the box office for certain shows at showtime.The cutoff for Criss Angel tickets was 3 pm. He only played a few days a week so we were pretty bummed that we missed it.

Vegas can be a bit overwhelming with all of the sites, lights, and action. Make sure that you take a moment to check out the simpler things. We went to Red Rock in Vegas (pictured above) and it was awesome. You pay a modest price per car to go in and you can drive around to take pictures. It is really big so plan to spend a little time there. Who knows, you may see some cool wildlife. I was talking to a woman there and she told me that she saw a lizard right before we arrived. I would suggest that you wait until the sun starts to set if possible (check hours of operation first). It was extremely hot when we went and we could not stay outside for long periods of time. We kept getting back in the car to cool off again. Funny thing though..as hot as it was, the heat was not as bothersome as it is on the East Coast because it is a dry heat so you do not feel nasty. In New Jersey, when it gets hot like that, you sweat a lot and feel the need to take multiple showers a day during the summer.

There is so much to see and do in this place. The people are friendly (although we did see a big fight on the strip at around 2 a.m.). There is so much energy on the strip that it is easy to lose track of time. I also thought it was interesting to see so many people drinking outside (open containers are illegal where I am from). This place is the absolute best and I did not even scratch the surface! One thing you need when you come here (besides money) is time! This place is enormous! I did not get a chance to do everything I wanted to do because we were only there a few days but I had a blast and I cannot wait to go back.

Viva Las Vegas!!

So we're on our way to Vegas and then California for a much needed vacay! We will be checking out some of the coolest spots around and I will definitely keep you posted on what's going on. I will be taking some great pics as well so stay tuned! This Friday..we are on our way!!

Empire City Casino

Recently, my husband and I went to Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York. Previously, I had seen commercials about it and I wanted to check it out. I asked my husband about it on occasion. He was not really interested because he felt like it may have been a fake casino. I had my suspicions as well. However, I figured I would give it a shot. We wanted to do something else that day but it fell through. I thought that Empire City Casino would be a nice choice since it was only about forty minutes or so from where we were.

When we arrived, it was a bit confusing. There was a sign for valet parking and an officer standing in the lot to direct crowds across to the casino entrance. At first, we did not see any signs for general parking so we asked the police officer where it was. He told us to leave that lot and make a right, a right, and then another right. That was simple enough we thought. Although, I found it a bit strange that we had to go back into the city to get there, but it was close. The lot was crowded so we had to go toward the end of the lot to find parking. We made note of our location via the numbered/lettered marker and headed toward a shuttle stop. We asked some people standing there if it was free and they told us that it was. Okay I thought, "Free parking and a free shuttle!" So far, so good! This was a change from Atlantic City because in order to get free parking at one of the casinos, you had to be a member. The shuttles "Jitneys" in Atlantic City are not free either so that was a plus.

After waiting about fifteen minutes for the shuttle, we got on and sat down. The driver was friendly and made some small talk with my husband. The shuttle was however crowded and there were people at the next stop who could not get on. After we arrived at the casino we saw the racetrack with the horses. I asked him if we could go check it out before we went into the casino. there were some friendly people there who passed out racetrack magazines and one lady even offered tips on who to bet on! We stood there for a few minutes and watched the horses walk around (the races had not started yet).

We entered the casino and immediately, we noticed how grim it was. The lighting was absolutely horrible! it was so dark in there that we were very uncomfortable. We were both thirsty and tried to find a waitress so that we could get a few bottled waters. They were nowhere to be found. We did not want to go to the bar for it and we did not see the cafeteria area at first. We did find water fountains and decided to have a drink of warm water. We were not satisfied as the warm water hardly quenched our thirst. We asked one of the attendants if there was a restaurant nearby. He told us that there was a cafeteria and pointed it out. We went and found some overpriced soft drinks at $2.75 to $3.75 per bottle. We purchased a drink and headed back onto the casino floor only to find a waitress. It is funny because we had not seen one when we were looking around, now there were a few of them.

After getting our player's cards and a nifty five-dollar ticket for free play, we headed toward the slots. We looked around and found that many of the slot machines were not only taken, but they had people in line waiting for them. We sat down at the few available ones and began to play. Immediately, we both lost the money that we had put into the machines. We tried more machines, same story. This continued on throughout the night until we both found one good machine each that at least let us win more than the standard "two cents" that the others did. We played those for a little bit until the machines began taking their money back. At least we did find those two machines out of the whole casino. We were well-aware of the fact that every machine has a certain payout but these machines had horrible odds. We also noticed that most of the machines did not have bonus play. Many of them were standard thee-pay line machines. They were tailored toward the 'golden' crowd. This was the main crowd that was in the casino anyway. Since we are young, we wanted and expected a more diverse group of people in terms of age. I guess we were used to Atlantic City. My husband had been to Vegas many times but I have never been there. However I did have a few casinos to compare it to. I had been to Atlantic City casinos and Foxwoods. I can tell you that there is a huge difference between a casino, and a building with slot machines in it. This was a building with slot machines in it. It was only two floors although the second floor only had a few machines and a restaurant on it.
As we played, a waitress came and asked us if we wanted drinks. We asked her what she had and she told us that she had coffee, tea, soda, etc. What?!! Where are the "real drinks?" Are you serious? Not hat we wanted any alcoholic beverages but the mere fact that they were not even offered was very disappointing. We got our "standard" Pepsi and sent the waitress on her way as we kept losing our money. We decided that it was time to go. We did visit the racetrack on the way out and placed a few small bets. We won a few dollars and lost a few dollars but the race itself was fun to watch. There were people outside selling grilled foods. The cost was not that bad.(except for the small bottle of six dollar beer).

After we watched the races, we got on the shuttle and then in our cars vowing never to return to that awful place! My advice to you "if you live near the area, go to Atlantic City" unless you feel like going to Foxwoods. Save your money and do not go to Empire City. For such a glorious name, this so-called casino is mediocre and unappealing. They should have kept this place a raceway and nothing more because this is not a casino! I would rather have a root canal with no anesthesia..thanks!