Picnicking at the Bottom of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon, a national landmark and natural wonder carved by the movement of the Colorado River over the course of about 6 million years, is nearly 3 hours from Las Vegas by car, over mostly non-descript desert roads. For a quicker, more luxurious arrival, you can book a private helicopter flight that will get you there in under an hour and provide awe-inspiring views along the way.

Feel like royalty, or at least high-rollers, as your private limousine picks you up at your hotel and ferries you to the helipad at McCarran Airport. There you’ll be met by your pilot and prepped for a breathtaking flight over the desert. You’ll pass over the shimmering blue expanse of Lake Mead and get a close look at the engineering feat that is the Hoover Dam.

You’ll approach the Grand Canyon, marveling at its size ( 277 miles and ranging in width from 4 to 18 miles) and magnificent beauty, sweeping low for up-close views of the intricate patterns in the vast expanse of red rock. Then you’ll descend over a half mile below the Canyon’s West Rim.

After landing and exploring the Canyon’s depths for a while, you’ll be treated to a gourmet picnic with champagne. You’d be hard pressed to find a more romantic place than surrounded by the overpowering immense beauty of this natural wonder, dwarfed by the sheer cliff walls rising 3,200 feet above.

The trip back is just as exhilarating – the Canyon looks like an entirely new place as the shadows cast by the setting sun alter the colors of the landscape. Before coming in for a landing the helicopter will pass over the Strip. You’ll get a chance to see the bright lights of Vegas from the air, recognizing the familiar landmarks of the Paris’ Eiffel Tower, the bright light of the Luxor and the dancing fountains of the Bellagio. You can practically feel the excitement from up high – the serene wilderness of the Grand Canyon will seem like a world away.

Singing Along With the Jersey Boys

“How did four blue-collar kids become one of the greatest successes in pop music history?” That’s the story told in the smash hit juke-box style musical, Jersey Boys. Based on the lives of Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, the story chronicles their rise from being blue-collar kids to musical superstars. The Palazzo Resort Hotel and Casino offers nightly shows of this Tony Award-winning play.

The story plays off the “Four Seasons” – designating each season of the year as a time in the lives of the group. Each “season’s” tale is told from a different perspective; each member of the group tells his story. Spring finds the Four Seasons as small boys with big dreams growing up in housing projects and singing on street corners in New Jersey. Summer sees the success of the band as their first major hit, “Sherry”, is released in 1962 and 40 more chart-topping hits follow in the coming years. As Autumn arrives the decade comes to a close and the group’s popularity begins to decline. With Winter comes the aftermath of their fame and the promise of a new Spring. The story of the group’s meteoric rise to stardom, and the emotional baggage that came with it, is told with a mix of comedy and tragedy, and a heavy dose of nostalgia.

The generation who grew up as Four Seasons’ fans will love reminiscing to the songs of their youth and the younger audience will be captivated learning the story of the band their parents loved. Be warned: while children may enjoy the music of the show, the language reflects the working-class New Jersey upbringing of the Four Seasons and expletives are used. The sets are pretty bare bones – the focus here is on the story, told through scenes and the music of the Four Seasons. Classic songs you know and love like “Sherry”, “Walk Like a Man”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” will have you dancing and singing along in your seat.

Celebrating at Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding

Las Vegas is the wedding capital of the world – it’s quick and easy to get married in Vegas and it follows with the spontaneous “anything goes” philosophy of the town. Around 150,000 people get hitched here each year at chapels scattered throughout the city. Couples have their choice of traditional, kitschy, themed, Elvis-officiated, and even drive-through weddings.

If you’re not ready to tie the knot yourself you can always be a spectator at someone else’s nuptials. Rather than try to crash a wedding, book tickets for one of the nightly performances of the classic interactive dinner theatre show, Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.

Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding is one of the longest running theatrical comedies in the US. The premise is simple – Tony and Tina are getting married and trying to keep their over-the top Italian-American families in check, and you are an invited guest at the wedding!

The show pioneered the art of interactive theatre; you don’t just watch the show, you are in it. The audience, er…wedding guests are seated at round tables, just like at a wedding. You watch the lovebirds walk down the aisle and say their vows and then the reception begins. A full dinner is served buffet style, drinks are available at a cash bar, and the wedding singer will get you out on the dance floor. Some of the other guests are played by actors who interact with the crowd and improvise crazy situations. And as the evening unfolds and you dine and dance the night away, you’ll watch hilarity ensue when these two outrageous families merge.

Taking in the Sights at the Bellagio Conservatory and Fountains

With its location smack dab in the middle of the dessert, one doesn’t expect Las Vegas to offer much in the

way of botanical beauty and watery wonders. But in this land of man-made magnificence anything is possible. The Bellagio Hotel and Casino has created two of the most beautiful free attractions on the Strip and brought a bit of lush natural splendor to Las Vegas with its famous fountains and verdant conservatory.

Guests and visitors to the Hotel will be enchanted by the whimsical designs of the conservatory’s botanical gardens. The designs are the work of 140 expert horticulturists who artfully cultivate and position a myriad of brilliantly-colored flowers, plants and trees from around the world into unique arrangements depicting the current season. The display, which is open 24-hours a day, year round, is changed out periodically to reflect spring, summer, fall, the Holidays, and Chinese New Year, and incorporates water features and seasonal decorations that meander on a path over bridges and past tranquil ponds.

Outside the Hotel’s walls the serenity of the gardens gives way to an exuberant aquatic explosion from the Bellagio’s fountains. Set on the 8-acre man-made lake that lies in front of the Hotel, the fountains “perform” every 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day and weather conditions. Over 1200 nozzles and 4500 lights are timed and set to music, creating an intricately choreographed light and water show. Bursts of water shoot up to 250 feet into the air, arcs wave back and forth, and spurts shoot across the across the length of the lake in time to Broadway, classical, and Opera songs. The music echoes across the Strip as the fountains dance. Beautiful at any time of day, it is particularly romantic after dark when the lights cast a pale rosy glow on the crowd and the Bellagio is brightly illuminated against the night sky.

In a city built on the artificial, in the middle of a dusty dessert, The Bellagio Conservatory and Fountains offer a welcome oasis of (albeit man-made) natural wonder.