Las Vegas Weekend

So last Saturday, we drove all the way to Las Vegas for our Holy Week Weekend trip. I woke up at around 7:30 AM to pack my stuff and get ready. While waiting for the rental to arrive, I took some snapshots. Then the trip started at around 1:00PM to pick up my uncle at Upland, CA. After that we drove all the way to Barstow for the first stop of out trip to have a 30 minute bladder break and to stretch and buy some food for the rest of the drive. After Barstow, we drove to another rest area for the next break. Imagine driving for 4 straight hours in the middle of the desert, surrounded by shrubs. cacti and mountains. The view is breathtaking and I tried to take photos but almost all my photos were blurred because we are going so fast and I was squeezed between my brother and my cousin. After those failed attempts, I fell asleep for 30 minutes to 1 hour until we reached the Primm Fashion Outlets. We ate Super Philly Steak Sandwiches and strolled around the outlet for 2 hours and bought some stuff. I bought nothing for myself. I haven't even spent a single dollar on clothes or anything except for that lip balm which i really needed.

After our Primm shopping spree, we drove all the way to Vegas with no stops. I saw the tall hotels grow bigger and bigger on the horizon until they stand right beside us. I've been to Vegas before but it has been 4 years since I was last here. It was fun to see all those tall buildings and sculptures along the strip. I was anxious to see them all light up at night, all the sparkling lights and stream of people along Las Vegas Boulevard. We then drove to our hotel, Aria Resort and Casino, which is across the street from Planet Hollywood. My first impression of the structure was that it reminded me of Dubai. Glass covered the hotel and the interesting architectural structures along the vicinity of the hotel. The wind was blowing so strong and the it was really cold. We then settled into our room. I like how the way you open the door by pushing it to the side "japanese style" rather than by pulling or pushing it open. The bathroom was nice! two sinks with the shower and tub right behind you and to your left is the "toilette" with a frosted glass door for privacy. After fixing our stuff and eating our dinner, we went downstairs to check out the Casino.

It's freaking amazing! Slot machines and poker tables covered the entire casino area and luxe velvet wall cushions and are lined against the marble tiles and carpet. Though the air is filled with cigarette smoke the ambiance is filled with excitement and the thrill of winning, something that you would always feel in Vegas. We walked outside the hotel to see the strip and Crystal, the mall beside Aria. Inside Crystal was designer heaven; Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel, Marni and soon to open are Balenciaga and Prada.

We then walked outside to the bridge. The wind blew so strong that I was afraid it would shatter the glass panels along the bridge. Street performers sat and stood along the bridge singing songs like Zombie by The Cranberries. When I went down the bridge, there were tons of people flicking cards and dressed in neon colored shirts. When I saw what was on the cards they were giving away, it made me laugh. On the cards were girls in bikinis and the phrase "Girls come to you in 20 minutes" and a 1-800 hotline to call for the service.

Next stop was the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood. It has almost the same interiors as the Venetian, ceilings painted with the sky and light effects which give the effect of day and night. We went in H&M and looked at a few glasses and then went outside to walk even more. After we walked the whole mall, we went back to the hotel to see how the adults are doing in the casino. Some people were winning and some are just letting the machines eat up their money. I got $20 from my aunt who won that night. We went to bed at around 1:00 in the morning.

We woke up early the next day to attend the Easter Sunday Mass at the Guardian angel Cathedral behind the Wynn Hotel. After the mass, we went straight back to our hotel room to watch the NBA. I wanted to go downstairs and explore but my sister didn't want to go with me. We then went to some outlet compound a mile or two from Las Vegas Strip. We then dropped off my uncle and my brother back to the hotel for the dinner buffet. We had our dinner at this Chinese "fine-dining" restaurant called the Orchids Garden. I love the dimsum they served and everything you order arrive at your table very fast. Service was good and so is the food. We then tricked them by telling that it was my uncle's birthday that day and they gave him a heart shaped Lychee Jell-o with a lit birthday candle in the middle.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and watched the adults play in the casino. My dad won $500 from his remaining $6 bet on the slot machine. I can say I was his lucky charm because if it wasn't for me, there wouldn't be money rolling into his credits. We went back upstairs to sleep.

The next morning, we prepped ourselves for the trip back home. We checked-out at around 11:30 AM and then drove to the Wynn Hotel shopping center because my aunt wanted to check out the LV bag she wanted so much. It was a limited edition hand-dyed bag called "Sunrise". She had one reserved here at Costa Mesa but the bag hasn't arrived to the US yet, while here in Vegas they have it on-hand. After a few minutes of thinking, she bought it and a silk scarf to go with it. I took pictures on Alexander McQueen's storefront and went inside to check out his clothes. It was astonishing.

We then left Vegas and I fell asleep on the van. When I woke up, we were at Barstow again to eat our lunch at El Pollo Loco. It was good!! Great food!!! I spent the rest of the drive watching a movie on my PSP then here I am, back in LA.


I didn't go much into detail of the Vegas trip because I am so tired and it's an hour past midnight already. :D

-xxamarcordxx-

Trip to Los Angeles

Okay... so I'm starting to blog my Los Angeles journey... I think I'll be staying here for a year or more.. maybe even forever. HAHAHAHA

So I've been ere for 3 days already and I must say, it's been very good since I arrived. the plane trip was kinda exhausting. I only had 2 hours of sleep before going to the airport and then We had to wait for a long time before we were allowed to board. Then I fell asleep on my way to Taipei, which is my stop-over. My aunt woke me up for the lunch serviced by the airline.. The food didn't taste good. It's like beef with this sauce that's sour and disgusting. hahahhaha maybe that's why the tickets are so cheap and affordable. When we got to Taipei, I took this mini-train which transfers passengers to the other side of the airport where the other terminals are. It was kinda nifty to have a train inside an airport. Then we had these noodles in giant bowls which were good but kinda bland... but I like it! :D then we waited for the ground crew to let us board our plane to Los Angeles. I fell asleep while waiting then I woke up because they are letting the passengers board. I was seated in the middle aisle beside to old ladies. The one o my right was nice enough to let me squeeze through the compact space, but the one on my left looked at me as if I was a small kid who just broke a vase. hahahahaha... She was pretty grumpy. hahaha... Then I had to stay there for 11 hours straight. The food ain't good at all! I woke up mid-flight and I was unable to fall asleep again. I watched "Hachiko" and "Giuliana & Bill" while waiting and then switched to watching the clouds and the horizon on my tv screen courtesy of the cameras installed infornt and beneath the plane. It was pretty cool! My legs felt sore the whole time and my back hurt a lot.

When we finally get to land, I felt relieved. We waited a lot in the immigration and for the officers to process our papers and do their thing. When we were able to get out of the airport, we saw our relatives there. People were hugging people and then taking pictures and then laughing, telling stories and then crying. It was pretty intense! :D

We went here to my aunt's house to drop off the luggage and then to the Filipino Restaurant near Temple Ave. to have our first dinner together. I love the squid and the chicken skewers! ahahahahaha!! yum yum

After that, I tried to post photos on my facebook account but hte java uploader was not working well. I fell asleep on the floor and everything went blurry and dark! :D

For photos: