Blackjack Tables, Good Eats, and High-End Shopping

This past week I traveled to Sin City, A.K.A Las Vegas for a field kick off meeting (FKOM) that my company SAP Ariba was hosting.  This was my first time travelling to Las Vegas, so I was excited to see what all the hype was about.  FKOM is a week-long event consisted of predominantly work intensive meetings & keynote speakers, however I was able to have alittle fun and explore the city while I was there.  I flew out on Monday mid-day (thankfully a direct flight to Las Vegas) and arrived early afternoon.  While on the flight I was able to see beautiful views of the Rocky Mountains and the beginning of the Grand Canyon.  The sights were absolutely spectacular, and it made me want to plan a visit to go hiking & snowboarding there in the future. 

Once arriving in Las Vegas, I could instantly hear the sounds of slot machines as I walked off the plane, I was definitely in Vegas.  I took a cab to the Venetian hotel, and from the pictures it looked pretty fancy.  Well, it truly was fancy.  The grand entrance for pick up & drop off transportation was all hand painted ceilings and marble floors with gold finish as an accent.  My favorite part about the Venetian was of course their shopping down the Grand Canal & St. Mark’s Square.  The shops include everything from Kate Spade, Tommy Bahama, and Banana Republic to Burberry, Barneys New York, and Cartier. 

I had a chance to explore all the great food that the Venetian has to offer.  Each night I ate dinner at Canonita, Casanova, Otto, and TAO Asian Bistro.  Each of these restaurants featured a different signature dish that I just had to try.  There are also many great bars as well including Public House, Yard Bird, and Rock house.

One night, some of the ladies went out to see KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand.  This was my first ever show in Las Vegas, so I was really excited.  Watching the show, I was blown away by the talent and stunts performed.  It was a really great story line and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.  My favorite part of the whole show was the wheel of death.  These stuntmen as spinning around at a high rate of speed in what I like to think of as “giant hamster cages”.  They also have a 360-degree rotating stage which definitely had to of taken skill to perform on.  Overall, a really great show if you are planning a trip to Las Vegas.

Over the course of the week I was able to network quite a bit with colleagues and other employees, do a bit of shopping, and of course attend work conferences.  I am sure if I was not there on work, I would have much more time to explore the city, but unfortunately I only was able to go out one of the nights.  If I do ever plan to go back are there any suggestions on shows I should go see, or events to attend?