Planet Hollywood, Villa Reale & Mystere in Las Vegas

Yesterday's adventures in Las Vegas began with a jaunt to Tix 4 Tonight for some great deals on half price show tickets. We bought tickets for the Cirque du Soleil show called MYSTERE, plus we were given a discount for dinner at Planet Hollywood. After that we made arrangements to rent a Corvette C6 convertible (for today's adventures). We had lunch at La Salsa Cantina; their nachos are excellent! Then we relaxed for the afternoon.

Later, we had an excellent dinner at Planet Hollywood, which is in Caesar's Palace. It took us a bit to locate it as it's in the Forum Shops section. We went full circle before finding it. On our way out of Caesar's Palace my eyes were drawn to the beautiful and elaborate furniture and home decor displayed in the windows of a shop called Villa Reale.

Villa Reale is filled with furniture made with richly polished woods and elaborate detailing. It had an old world feel and as I said to my husband, "This is the kind of furniture you pass on to your kids--not stuff from The Brick or Leon's. I was particularly drawn to tables and curio cabinets made from burl walnut. I'd never seen wood like it. Neither had Marc and he used to work for a hardwood company in Edmonton.

We met Gil the sales manager (originally from New York...because as we've discovered NO ONE is from Las Vegas) and found out this shop delivers to Canada. Hmmmmm. We talked to Gil about Canada, politics (my favorite topic--NOT!) and his mom, who is also named Cheryl. When I gave Gil my bookmark for his mom, he tossed out the idea of having a book signing in his shop the next time we go to Vegas. I think that would be an awesome location--something different and unique. In fact, I'm thinking that Villa Reale would make a perfect signing spot when Finding Bliss comes out, but that won't be for a couple of years.

Afterward we headed to Treasure Island Hotel to see Mystere. This combination of aerial arts, dance, humor, acrobatics was absolutely mesmerizing. There were time I literally held my breath. I loved that there was audience participation--although some didn't volunteer. Of course my favorite volunteer was "Papa".

Mystere is so worth it and I highly recommend it. It's an entertaining show on so many levels. The music is haunting and tribal at times (loved the drums!!!) and highly dramatic, the costuming is vibrant and surreal and the choreography is stunning. This show performs on everchanging multiple stages, in the air, and even on walls. You've got to be alert, with your head swiveling, to catch it all. 5/5 stars!

Well, I'm getting ready for today's adventures. I'll tell you about them tomorrow. What I will tell you is that Las Vegas is a friendly place, full of excitement and topnotch entertainment. I have so enjoyed meeting the people here--tourists and residents.

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif
bestselling author of Whale Song
http://www.cherylktardif.com