Our trip actually started in LA. My first visit to North America. LA was facinating. nice weather, lovely restaurants (like Koi and Nobu) and lots of wonderful boutiques (especially second hand shops). I got some great stuff in Out of the closet on Sunset Blvd and Aardvarks in Venice Beach.

From LA we drove to Las Vegas. It took about 5 hours and that was with small stops. A nice trip trough the desert. Then out of nowhere Las Vegas appears. Crazy big buildings; one looking more grand than the other. There is the Eiffel Tower, something looking like a Walt Disney castle, a big black pyramid, the New York City skyline and of cause Caesars Palace, where we stayed.

You walk in to the hotels and casinos where people are sitting just throwing their money away or donating it to the casinos, hoping their luck will turn. We all know that the odds of winning are against us, however who cares as long as we have fun, right?

The sad thing is that most of the people didn’t look like they had fun, they just look like tired slaves to the one arm thieves.

I am no saint, so of cause we played the roulette as well, but very little. I preferred to save my money to do a bit of shopping in the big arcades full of all the big brands.

As expected every night there was fantastic shows with big names. We saw “Love” by Cirque du Soleil in hotel Mirage. A show I will recommend you to go and see, especially if you are a Beatles fan.

We saved the best for last. Something we felt we had to do since we were in Vegas. We went to the famous Little White Wedding Chapel and got married. My husband and I were already married so for us it was very easy. It was just renewal of our wedding vows. We did it in true Las Vegas style by having Elvis walking me up the ail and singing a few songs for us.

]]> http://www.detdet.com/out-and-about/from-la-to-vegas/feed/ 0 http://www.detdet.com/out-and-about/food/funky-wahaca/ http://www.detdet.com/out-and-about/food/funky-wahaca/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:33:22 +0000 ylwa http://www.detdet.com/?p=816 Is it just me or are you getting just a teeny bit bored of yet another sushi place opening? I adore sushi (if it’s authentic) and Japanese food in general (like my fellow DETDET blogger, having spent time living in Tokyo I know that the Japanese cuisine has much more to offer than mere raw fish wrapped in rice). But I mean, what about some other type of nosh? Just to mix it up a bit? Tacos maybe?
Mexican was all the rage in the late 80s/early 90s when it was impossible to step out in London without falling upon a joint such as Break for the Border/Down Mexico Way/Cafe Pacifico… and maybe the Zeitgeist has decided it’s time for a revival because new Mexico themed venues are cropping up all over the place. It started with the impossibly edgy La Esquina in New York (complete with a secret entrance down through the kitchen for the select few in the know). Now London has just seen the opening of the third installment of Wahaca, a funky place serving up Mexican street food courtesy of the celebrity chef Thomasina Miers.
And I for one welcome the return of Mex – the ambience is dark and says party from the go – margarita and tequila slammers definitely help loosen things up. And crucially a night out won’t make a huge dent in your wallet unlike the aforementioned sushi – quite an important factor in these lean, mean times. And maybe that’s the reason that a Latin vibe seems timely once again – isn’t it 20 years ago since the last recession?