[US] Nevada，Las Vegas，Blue Man Show & Michael Jackson One

目前為止，我在拉斯維加斯看過兩場秀，一是Blue Man Show，一是太陽馬戲團的Michael Jackson One，這兩場都是很不錯的秀，目前的銷售狀況，應該是Michael Jackson One要好過Blue Man Show，個人建議，如果在拉斯維加斯待的時間不長，又想看Michael Jackson One的話，提早在網路上先訂好票比較保險，在Tix4Tonight不太容易買到，但如果是Blue Man Show，就不會太困難了。個人建議，如果想在Tix4Tonight買票，最好還是在抵達拉斯加斯的當天，或是隔天一大早就到據點排隊買票，這樣才會有較多的選擇。
I've watched two shows in Las Vegas, the Blue Man Show and Michael Jackson One presented by Cirque du Soleil. Both are good shows but Michael Jackson One is harder to buy the ticket at Tix4Tonight. If you would like to stay at Las Vegas only for 1 or 2 nights and want to attend the show, I would recommend you to buy the ticket online before you arrive Las Vegas. The Blue Man Show is not that hot, you can take your time to buy it at Tix4Tonight.
From my point of view, if you would like to buy tickets from Tix4Tonight, you should do it at the first day you arrive Las Vegas or in the early morning on next day. There will be more choices for you.

Blue Man Show就是曾為Intel打廣告的那三個藍人的表演，基本上以打擊樂為主，搭配幾小段的默劇，個人比較喜愛打擊樂部分的表演，默劇部分在整個劇情的串連上，稍微有點不夠緊湊，也許是為了舒緩情緒故意安排的，但個人覺得太鬆了，算是小缺失，不過打擊樂部分真的很振奮人心，看得很爽！
The Blue Man Show is those three blue men who advertise Intel before. Most of the show is presented with percussion which makes the audience really excited and enjoy the show. There are several mimes to connect the excited percussion sections to relax them by mimes to be ready to be cheered up by the next percussion section. There is one or two mimes are too slow for me which make me feel boring a little bit. Beside that, everything is good. It's a good show.

Blue Man Show在Monte Carlo Resort and Casino進行表演，如果是在Tix4Tonight購票，有套票可進行選購，搭配Monte Carlo Buffet，Buffet部分可以節省十五元左右，雖然Mente Carlo的Buffet不是特別有名，也可以試試。
The Blue Man theater is at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. If you buy the ticket at Tix4Tonight, there is an option for combo. To buy the ticket and the Monte Carlo Buffet, you may have a better deal to eat the Monte Carlo Buffet. As I remember, you may have 10 to 15 dollars off for the buffet.

Monte Carlo Resort and Casino 地址：
3770 South Las Vegas Boulevard,
Las Vegas, NV 89109

太陽馬戲團在台灣的名氣相當大，很多人都很愛他們的表演，他們在拉斯維加斯，也有非常多的秀，最有名的是O秀與KA秀，前者玩水，後者玩火，實在太有名，很難訂，同時也很貴，票價應該都破150美金；這次我選擇的是比較新的秀─Michael Jackson One。
Cirque du Soleil is very popular in Taiwan. And they have many many shows in Las Vegas. The most famous may be the "O" and the "KA". "O" is playing with water and "KA" is playing with Fire. These shows are too famous and very hard to buy the tickets. I choose the new show of Cirque du Soleil, the Michael Jackson One.

四個年輕人進行了一次遺跡探險，在遺跡中與Michael Jackson留下的四大神器相遇，手套，帽子，太陽眼鏡與鞋子，在神器的幫助，挖掘出潛意識的超我，完成自我突破並幫助Michael Jackson擊破封印的故事；其實故事背景並不重要，重要的是整個劇情串連了絕大部分Michael Jackson的名曲，可以讓人連續聽一小時，並融入一個新劇情，為這些曲子帶來新生命，最棒的段落是，靠著科技，Michael Jackson真的在舞台上，與舞者們互動，這一段真的是超精彩的，而且又很感人，讓人能在舞台上，再一次見到Michael Jackson的魅力！
There are four young men who had an adventure. They have a chance to meet the gloves, hat, sunglasses and the shoes of Michael Jackson. By their help, these young men find the true themselves inside their heart, break the cocoon to become a superman and to free Michael Jackson. In fact, the story is not important. The most important thing is that I can keep enjoy the music of Michael Jackson and have a new story of these songs. It could be some kind of new born of these songs. The best part, with the help of new technology, is that Michael Jackson is on the stage and dancing with the dancers. I almost cry for it.

Mandalay Bay 地址：
3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard,
Las Vegas, NV 89109

兩部秀相較之下，我比較愛Michael Jackson One，不過，兩者的票價，相差也很大，最普通的座位，Blue Man Show只要65美元左右，Michael Jackson則要165美元～
To compare these two shows, I personally love Michael Jackson One more. Even the ticket is also much expensive. It costs USD 165 compares to the Blue Man Show only costs 65 dollars.

[US] Nevada，Las Vegas，The Buffet at Bellagio

這天先在Mon Ami Gabi吃完早餐，接著去Fashion Show Mall逛一逛，我覺得它就是一個Mall，而不是Outlet，即使是在聖誕節假期，也並沒有低到讓人忍不住就想買東西的折扣，算是個可以來晃一晃，打發時間的地點。

After eating breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi, we went to the Fashion Show Mall. Someone says it's an outlet, but I don't think so. It doesn't provide a very good deal during Christmas holiday to make people forget about the price and just buy things there. I still prefer to go to Las Vegas Premium Outlets North for good deals.

下午三點半，回到Bellagio準備享用來到拉斯維加斯後第一個吃到飽行程─The buffet at Bellagio，從網路上得到的訊息，Bellagio buffet的評價在拉斯維加斯可以排到前三名，剛好昨天check in時又拿到了免費的75美金，就決定來此享受我們的晚餐。本來是希望能夠用下午茶的費用以節省開銷的，但沒注意到現在是假期時段，今天從下午三點起就算是晚餐了，可惜沒有便宜到，不過下午三四點來還是有好處的，隊伍並不長，只等了差不多半個小時就可以進餐廳開始享受美食了。

Around 3:30 PM, we went back to Bellagio for the first buffet in Las Vegas. Base on the information I got from Internet, the Bellagio buffet is the top 3 buffet in Las Vegas. And I got 75 dollars credit to spend at Bellagio. So we came here our wonderful dinner. In fact, we planed to pay for lunch price and stay to the dinner time. But, we forgot it's holiday, the dinner time starts from 3:00 PM. Even though, it's still good to come here before 4 o'clock, we only wait for 30 minutes then we can pay and start to enjoy the good food.

基本上，來到拉斯維加斯吃吃到飽，最重要的一件事，就是要好好享受帝王蟹蟹腳，而且還是都已經切開，超級方便的，不確定廚師有沒有另外再調味，總之這些蟹腳都很甜，很好吃，每一輪去拿食物的時候，總是會另外再拿一般的蟹腳，就是想要吃回本的感覺，哈哈～

There is one very important thing to have buffet in Las Vegas, eat King Crab as much as you can. Because it's expensive, it's delicious and it might be the only place you can eat so much. My friend had been to Hokkaido and the restaurant doesn't open the crab for the customer, so you need to work hard to open it and eat it which makes you don't want to eat that much. And some restaurants won't re-fill the expensive food as quick as the buffet in Las Vegas. Don't waste the good chance if you decide to have buffet in Las Vegas.

個人習慣會先吃一些冷盤，這兒的火腿和蝦子都很好吃，而且蝦子也都是已經剝好殼的，非常容易享用。

These cold food is really delicious as appetizer for me. It helps my stomach to feel hunger to eat more, ha~ I don't know why, but the shrimp is not as sweet as I thought, maybe I ate too many King Crab before eat it.

其他的料理，肉類和魚類都很豐富，都有四五種以上，非常地多樣化，我個人很少見到有這麼多種的魚類料理出現在吃到飽，每一種都嚐過，料理得都挺到位的，不會有太生或是過熟的問題，都好吃；要特別提醒的是取用肉類料理時，最好跟服務人員說要小份的就好，我就忘了說，拿了很大的一塊烤羊排，吃完那塊羊排，瞬間就覺得吃不下其他東西，只能去拿甜點了，哭哭...

There are also many kinds of different foods, and also different style of foods. It's not usual to see so many kinds of meat and fish. They may be cooked in different way, all cooked well and delicious. There is one thing I should remind, especially for the meats. When asking for meat, you should remind the waiter that you only want small size of it, because there are so many other foods you would like to taste. I forgot to remind it when I got the lamb. When I finish it, I feel full immediately which it's really sad. There are still some foods I don't have a chance to try...I can only go for the dessert.

因為已經沒有空間了，我只嚐了幾樣，我覺得布丁和提拉米蘇都很好吃，還有霜淇淋也很不錯，蛋糕類實在太占空間，就沒有嚐試了。

Because of the lamb, I can only try some dessert. The pudding, tiramisu and ice cream are good. I didn't taste the cakes because I was already full.

Bellagio 地址：
3600 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109

[US] California，Rowland Heights，文昌雞飯(Man Chan Cuisine)

今天正不知要吃什麼，隨手Google了一番，找到一家在華人超市附近的海南雞飯，還是某次LA海南雞飯評比的第一名，決定先去超市採買之後，就來這兒享受午餐。
On the weekend, I always go to buy some stuff at 99 Ranch and find a good Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant to have my lunch. Today, I find a good restaurant famous by Hainan Style Chicken Rice on Google.

翻開菜單，發現有不少選擇，可能是這兒中式餐館的特色，都有許多菜色可選，還都會包含飲品；不過，第一次來，就選了有名的「海南文昌雞飯」，另外加點個「椒鹽鮮魷」吃吃。
While check the menu, there are many choices which I think might be the characteristic of most Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant in America, including different kind of Taiwanese drinks. In Taiwan, there are some famous restaurants only have less than 10 choices which they are famous for. Since this is the first time here, I pick up the Hainan Style Chicken Rice and Salt & Pepper Squid.

說實話，海南雞飯一上菜，我稍微有點小失望，配菜太少了，還只配上了醃泡菜，後來又想到，這不是台菜，沒有標準的三副菜一主菜，應該是正常的，至少我知道香港的風格就是如此，也許新加坡的風格也是這樣。
就白斬雞本身，還算可以，紅肉的部分比較Q，比較好吃，白肉就沒什麼特別了。
To be honest, I feel a little disappointment when I saw the Hainan Style Chicken Rice. There is no vegetables as sides on it which is not Taiwan style, it might be Hong Kong or Singapore style. At least I know the Hong Kong style is like this, almost no vegetables if you only order for the meat. You need to order sides then you will have the vegetables with the meat.
For the taste of the chicken, I think it's OK. I'm not a kind who likes to eat things with heavy sauces, I like to taste the flavor of chicken itself. I prefer the red meat better than white meat.

椒鹽鮮魷部分，炸得挺不錯的，只是調味有點不合自己的口味，稍微有點膩口，沒辦法一次吃太多，魷魚本身炸得軟Q軟Q，口感很不錯。
About Salt & Pepper Squid, it cooked well. It's crispy of the feet part and chewy for the body which I like. But the taste make me feel too much easily. I need to eat chicken to flush the taste in my mouth after I tried couple pieces of squid.

文昌雞飯(Man Chan Cuisine) 地址：
19209 E Colima Rd. #F,
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

[US] Nevada，Las Vegas，Mon Ami Gabi

會來此享受早餐，其實是因為朋友的介紹，這兒有個很特別的飲料─碗公大的拿鐵(如下圖)，且這兒剛好就在Bellagio對面的巴黎鐵塔下，一進門左手邊就是，也是一間可以欣賞Bellagio美麗街景的餐廳。
My friend recommend us can try the breakfast in Mon Ami Gabi, because they serve huge size of cafe like below. Since we stayed in Bellagio, we only need to across the Strip to have breakfast here and we can also have a good view for Bellagio while eating breakfast here.

(這一碗拿鐵，菜單上叫做Cafe Latte in a Bowl，要價七美元(7 US dollars)) 

翻開菜單，算是一間中高價位的餐廳，早餐也都要十二，三塊，再加上飲料，就破十五塊錢了，我們點了炒牛肉與煙燻鮭魚。
This might be a little expensive restaurant, but in Las Vegas, it might just be a normal price restaurant. Most breakfast is around 12 or 13 US dollars. We select Grilled Prime Steak & Egg Platter (18.95) and Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (15.95).

記得炒牛肉的牛肉塊相當好吃，可能因為是Prime等級，再加上廚師的功力也不錯，Egg Platter則是不錯。
The Grilled Prime Steak & Egg Platter cooked good, the steak is juicy and soft.

煙燻鮭魚也很不錯，雖然煙燻味並不濃郁，搭上生菜，口感跟味道都很棒。
The smoke salmon is also nice. Even the taste is not that strong, with the vegetables, it provides multiple layers of the flavor and taste good.

Mon Ami Gabi 地址：
3655 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109

[US] Nevada，Las Vegas，Bellagio

和朋友決定要趁今年的聖誕節長假在美國好好玩一玩，剛開始規劃行程時，突然發現一大福利，聖誕節假期就像台灣的過年，美國人基本上都會待在家裡陪著家人，很少人外出，所以聖誕節前的旅館價格會非常便宜，正是最適合到拉斯維加斯住五星級飯店的時機，這次選擇的第一間飯店，就是以水舞著名的Bellagio，聖誕節前有多便宜呢？隨意查了一下，2015年1月5日(平常的週一)，最便宜的兩人房(Resort Room)要價499美元，如果是2015年12月21日(聖誕節前的週一)，只要169美元，只要三分之一的價格就可以入住，真是太便宜了！
When I started to schedule the trip in Christmas holiday, I found out a very excited news. Because most Amricans don't plan to go out before Christmas, the room fee is very cheap which means it's a great time to stay in a 5-star hotel in Las Vegas. The first hotel we stayed is Bellagio. I compare the price on January 5th, costs USD 499, and December 21st, costs USD 169, in 2015. To stay there before Christmas only cost one-third of the regular price which is super, super cheap.

當天抵達飯店check-in時，還有一點小敝步，可以使用「三明治」法，問問櫃台是否可以免費昇級房型，所謂「三明治」法，即是在check-in時，除了遞上護照，信用卡外，再夾上一張20元的美鈔，同時問一句能否昇級？若有空房間，那就賺到了，即便沒有空房，櫃員也可以幫忙尋找景觀好的房間，也是一項不錯的服務，我們當天就因此有了小小的昇級，住在高樓層的邊間，空間稍微大了一點，不過房型應該是沒有升吧！
When check in, there is a so-called '$20 sandwich trick' to earn some money. When you give the passport and credit card to check in, also add 20 dollar tips for asking a free upgrade. If there is a room available, you may spend the same amount of money but stay in a better room. On the day I check in, I think I get a higher level and better view room compare to my original one, although the room type may not be upgraded.

當天倒是發生了一件我在網路上沒見到有人提過的好事，手績差不多辦完之後，櫃員問了一個問題，問我是否要將信用卡關帳，也就是說，之後在旅館的相關消費，我就不能用簽帳的方式，等check out的時候再算，我回答請關帳，結果他在檢查了一些事項之後說，他可以免費送我75美元的簽帳額度，希望我不要關帳，哇～免費的75美元耶！於是我就被說服了，想說就算不賭博，75美元拿來吃Bellagio的Buffet也很划算，搞不好還可以剩下幾美元去玩個兩把！去吃了以後才發現，因為是假期，下午三點以後就算是晚餐時間，然後一個人要價50美元，這筆額度還不夠付...
At the front desk, there is something good happens which I didn't see on Internet before. The front desk asked me if I want to close the credit card or keep it opened? I said, "Please close it." After couple minutes, he says he can give me 75 dollars credit if I keep it opened, do I? Of course yes, 75 dollar is a huge amount for free. I was thinking about to use it for the Bellagio buffet, and maybe I can have couple dollars left for some gambling. I found I was wrong when I go to have the buffet. Since it was holiday buffet, I need to pay for dinner price after 3 o'clock afternoon and that costs 50 dollars per person...

帶著小賺了75美元的愉悅心情上樓，一進房門，看到的是大氣，典雅的玄關，右側的門進去則是衛浴。
Go up to the room we stayed. When opened the door, the classic entrance looks comfortable.

有個小客廳的空間放了兩張舒服的沙發。
There are two sofas for the space of living room.

King size的床舖真的很舒服，床頭還有可接iPhone的床頭音響(這趟旅程下來，發現這似乎成了美國旅館必備的設施)，藍色系的風格，也讓人挺放鬆的。
There is a speaker which supports iPhone series. I find this seems to be a standard equipment for the hotels, almost every hotel I stayed has it for the guest to play music. With the style of light blue, it makes me feel relax.

因為是邊間之故，房內有兩扇大窗戶可看夜景。
I think it's because this room is at the corner of the building, we have bigger space than regular Resort Room and two windows for the night view.

 
浴室內，則還有一面觀景窗，可以邊泡澡，邊賞景。
There is also a window next to the bathtub which can allow me to relax in hot water and enjoy the night view.

以下兩圖則是兩個角度的觀景窗，白天看出去的景觀。
The day view of the two windows.

正好是聖誕節假期之故，Bellagio也做了不少應景的裝飾。
The decoration of Bellagio for Christmas.

整體說來，這次來住Bellagio是很舒服的體驗，房間很大，我們總共有三個大行李箱，全部打開都不覺擁擠；Bellagio又處於Las Vegas的中心，到那兒都很方便，也很適合在大街上散步，隨意幾步路，路旁建築就有許多變化，再加上不時會遇上的水舞，真的是驚喜不斷呀！
After all, to stay in Bellagio is very good. We have 3 luggages and we can open all of them in the room and still feel comfortable for the space. Bellagio is located at the middle of the Strip which is good for us to take a walk on the Strip to enjoy different styles of buildings around. Since we walk in and out Bellagio for many times, we enjoy the fantastic dancing water very much! Every time we met it, we'll spend some time to witness it.

PS. 美國旅館住宿的費用，除了訂房時的住房費，每天還會收取一筆resort fee 25美元；Bellagio提供的無線網路，最多可允許四台設備上網。
PS. To stay at  Bellagio, the daily fee is USD 25 per day. And it allows 4 wireless clients to use their WiFi.

Bellagio 地址：
3600 South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89109

[US] 美國租車旅行

放假前，曾和幾位美國同事討論到，這次聖誕節假期要去哪兒過節，聽到我安排要去拉斯維加斯，大峽谷，許多人都覺得，我也太會玩了吧！要跑那麼遠嗎？同時也有人給我個建議，也許去租台車，開台比較新的車子，去跑這樣的路程會比較安全，於是，就選了在公司附近的Enterprise租車公司。

Before Christmas, I had mentioned to couple colleagues that I plan to go to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Some of them said I'm more American than they did, because I've been to so many places and will go more. Some also recommend me to rent a car which might be safer to use the 2nd hand car from company. I decided to rent a car from Enterprise for this trip.

當初沒有另作比較，有幾項優點：
1. 地點好，就在附近，而且還有接送服務，不用傷腦筋該怎麼前往租車公司。
2. 沒有哩程限制。

There are two advantages to rent from Enterprise:
1. It's very close and it has pick-up service. I don't need to worry how to get there for renting and back to hotel after returning the car.
2. No miles limits.

沒想到，租車時，業務員看我們行李偏多，覺得租一般轎車(Full size等級)可能會不方便，問我要不要昇級成休旅車？這樣裝載行李的容量才比較充足，考慮了三分鐘，一天的租金只增加五元美金，就租了，就租了上圖的雪佛蘭 Equinox，本次旅程的總哩程數是1440哩，換算是2304公里，繞台灣跑了兩圈！回來之後一查，賺大了，從Full size等級升了三級到Minivan，Full size一般一天租金是30美金，Minivan則是65美金，而我一天只要多付5美金，哈哈～

On December 22, when we arrived Enterprise, the Sales suggest us to upgrade the car because of the luggage we bring with us. It might be too many for a full-size car. Only USD 5 difference to upgrade to Minivan, the 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. So, the Equinox go with me for the whole trip, 1440 miles (from 18260 to 19700). After the trip and go to Enterprise to check, the regular price of Minivan level car is USD 65 per day. I earn USD 30 per day by this deal, ha~

回來看帳單，另外發現一點，也是租車時可以多考慮的，只要租車滿一週，價格可以更划算，以這次租車為例，一天約35美金，但租一週只要180美金，等於一天26美金，或說，租五天的價錢跟租七天是差不多的，不如就多開個兩天吧！

When checking the receipt, I found another thing could be considered while renting a car. The price for a whole week rental is much cheaper than for couple days. One day may be USD 35, but for a week, it's only USD 180 which means only USD 26 per day, just 2/3 of the regular price.

有一點是我稍微覺得怪的，只要延遲交車三小時，就算延遲了一天，嗯...若遲到，隔天再還車吧！

There is also another thing which I think it's a little weird. If you late for 3 hours to return the car, you should come back next day. Just late for 3 hours will be charged for a whole day expense...

PS. 保險部分，一天32美金全包，還分成四種保險，我沒仔細研究，就全保了，結果就是保險比車費還貴...
PS. About the insurance, it divides to 4 different kinds which I don't understand very well. Just pay for all. Details are as below for reference.

保險種類 (Insurance)	每天費用(Expense)
DW	USD 14.99
PAI	USD  3.00
RAP	USD  3.99
SLP	USD 12.44

PS2. 旅程中，曾經開上時速160公里，爽！
PS2. By the way, I've drove up to 100 miles per hour, awesome.

[US] California，San Francisco，Taylor Street Coffee Shop

來到舊金山才聽同學說，舊金山以好吃的早餐聞名，建議我應該試試，前一天晚上花了時間好好地搜尋一番，最有名的，是Mama's，但很不幸的，Mama's週一公休，這次我是沒機會了...另外找了一間，離市中心不遠，評價也不錯的Taylor Street Coffee Shop，地點就在Taylor Street上，小小一間，如果不是走在我前方的女士剛好拐進去，搞不好我會錯過也說不定。

店內的位子不多，真的還不能太晚來，我到的時候，稍微等了一下才有位子，也算是運氣不錯吧！

這兒的廚房叫做Mom's Kitchen，位於店面的最前方，跟台灣的某些小吃店挺像的，都是狹長型的店面，廚房放最外側，中間是收銀檯，後面一半則是用餐區。

菜單如上，我點的是Taylor's Hash，其實根本不知道我點了什麼，只是看到以Taylor's為名，應該就是推薦單品吧！

上菜之後才知道，應該就是那一塊有很多料的餅，有看到兩種翻譯，薯餅跟馬鈴薯煎餅，無論是哪一種，結果是─好吃，那滿滿的料，真的是很有誠意呀！旁邊還附上(可能是)自製果醬，隨意使用，我就抺上了厚厚一層，吃得非常滿足呀！
唯一的小缺失，就是沒點到半熟蛋，那是全熟的炒蛋，稍微有一點點可惜～

Taylor Street Coffee Shop 地址：
375 Taylor St,
San Francisco, CA 94102