Las Vegas baby! - Our first wedding anniversary

The Las Vegas trip started with a little dampener as my flight from SD to Vegas got delayed by almost 3 hours. But never mind as the trip in itself was super fun!!

We kicked off the trip with visiting Hoover Dam situated on the border of states Arizona & Nevada. The driving to the dam is pretty impressive surrounded by the gorgeous rocky Canyon mountains.

Frankly speaking for me Vegas was always a land of just Casinos...yeah a narrow view indeed :-). Because I was pleasantly surprised by the potpourri of entertainment that this place has to offer. We decided to start off by going to Stratosphere & enjoy a couple of rides. The best part is that they are on the 108th floor of the building which gives us a spectacular view of the shimmering Vegas strip & the valley in general.

Later we went roaming around the Vegas strip. This is the most happening stretch that is home to some of the world's largest & swankiest hotels & casinos. We visited some of the hotels like Bellagio, Paris, The Venetian,Wynn each of which is distinct in its own way with splendid decor & structures. We also had a delectable buffet at the Wynn.

The next day we visited the Hotel - Caesar's palace which is also on The Strip. I liked it the most. Its indeed a palatial structure. Superb interiors...every minute details from the ceiling to the floor have been taken care of. Huge stone statues are placed that add to the grandness of this hotel. Then there are lots of high end stores collectively called the Forum shops. We managed to catch the Fountain show that uses the lifelike animatronic figures.

We also saw the most talked about & very popular Bellagio fountain show. Its undeniably an exquisite piece of work. We spent the evening watching the show KA Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand hotel. The show is an eclectic blend of fascinating special effects, stupendous acrobats and dramatic landscape put in sync with a canorous concoction of music. Its a unique experience!!





We ended our trip with a nice cozy dinner at a Chinese place - The Grand Wok. Come to think of it we did not gamble much..probably threw away some money in a couple of games...thats it :-)...Yet managed to have an awesome time.

San Diego

When I planned my visit to San Diego, the one thing that had to be made sure is that it was not just a place to visit & come back. Its a place where I am to meet two of my oldest friends!!

Ami came to pick me at the airport...and from then she went on a chattering spree:).

In the evening we drove around Torry Pines. This drive is along the Pacific ocean surrounded by the beautiful Torry Pine trees. This place is also very famous for Gliding. Infact it is also called the Glider's port. We spent sometime sitting on the cliff watching the sun set only to rise in the other side of the world.

Hetal & Mukund joined in from there & we went to the SeaPort village. SeaPort village is a posh sea- facing shopping complex. Actually its a nice hang-out spot. They gifted me a nice cute hat from there...:)... Later we went to the DJ nite at Pacific beach - Mission Bay. The DJ played Bollywood numbers and we danced our way to glory!!

The next day we drove over Coronado bridge to the Coronado Island. This Bridge links San Diego & Coronado. The drive over the bridge offers an impressive view of the harbor area and to add to that the curves along the bridge are pretty interesting. Coronado offers an excellent view of the San Diego downtown. We had a yummy lunch at an Italian place in the downtown.
We spent sometime around the island and also drove in and around. Coronado is a plush community consisting of beautiful mansion-like houses and tiny old-style coffee shops. Later in the evening we went to the Coronado beach and one cannot help but admire the majestic Hotel Del Mar. We clicked some pictures, had some coffee, watched a beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean and off we went to catch the movie 'Dostana'.

On one of the weekdays I went to Pt Loma with Ami's friend. Pt Loma is situated up on the hill which is why it offers an all-embracing view of San Diego harbor, Pacific bay and the Coronado islands. It is also popular for its very charming Lighthouse. I managed to catch one more sunset!!

It was Ami's last day at work so she came in early and we went to La Jolla cove beach. This is a great place to simply relax, enjoy the soothing ocean breeze, watching the seals from a walkway across the ocean and not to forget the interesting cliffs that sets this beach apart. Later we took a stroll around the La jolla downtown, perhaps one of the ritziest shopping stops. We synced up with Hetal & Mukund, had dinner and drove around Old town, San Diego downtown and Coronado bridge. Like any other downtown, San Diego Downtown is full of life but the distinguishing element is the Gaslamp quarter.

In a nutshell, it was all fun right from the sigth-seeing to spending quality time with friends. I am glad I made the trip!!