It was one of the most engaging openings that I have ever attended, the whole celebration beginning with a session of Yoga Under the Cloud (the Cloud being the extravagant outdoor sun shading contraption that covers a plaza and faces The Strip, aka Las Vegas Blvd. (see it here). The whole event was totally in keeping with the lululemon’s manifesto, which besides promoting the benefits of yoga, also treated its guests to scrumptious food, networking opportunities, entertainment and glorious gift bags (more on that later…).

The absolutely delish food came from one of my favorite local spots Go Raw Café while the entertainment came in the form of the obligatory but always amusing Elvis & Marilyn impersonators. At least this Elvis could sing.  All the local yoga glitterati was there, including my very good friend, Ki Kosut and her son, Olivier David, both lululemon ambassadors. That would be them in the background photo.

But, for me, the most thrilling part of this event was that The Succulent Wife got to source the goodies that went into the gift bags. A few lucky people got bags filled with custom items designed for the occasion by The Succulent Wife’s artists. Among other things, Bread and Badger’s custom drinking glasses reflected yogic silhouettes, Lucky Accessories Little Reminder pendants displayed the lululemon logo and select words from the Manifesto, and Lady Guru’s affirmation greeting cards were a perfect tie-in. It was fun to see the delight of those who opened their bags on the spot.

In a future post, I will share with you what extraordinary “marketing” I am witnessing from lululemon. They have managed to engage their own staff & management team and customers beyond any that I have seen. Stay tuned for that commentary.

In the meanwhile, bravo lululemon for another fun experience!

Each three wheeled Scoot Coupe seats two. Our whole group created quite the parade with its seven coupes
following in a neat row. We instantly became an instant attraction on the Strip.

The most memorable part of our ride was the unobstructed views that we had from the mini vehicle. No roof, no windshield to block the view. The Strip never looked so glorious. I guess that you would get this same view from a motorcycle or a regular scooter too, but since I don’t ride either of those, I never got to see the city from this new “close-up” angle. And, for having gone up and down Las Vegas Boulevard too many times to count, it’s only in riding this little vehicle that I got to notice landmarks and things that I had never seen before.

The Scoot Coupes are small little things but they feel zippy. They have all the trappings of a safe vehicle: turning signals, lights, a LOUD horn and seat belts.  Oh, and the 30 MPH speed limit reinforces the safety aspect. You can’t go crazy in these. We felt safe and, with all the attention we were getting, we also felt
kinda hip! I also felt like a kid. And my kids felt like… kids having a blast.

I would recommend this to anyone in any age group. I would especially recommend going at night to get a full sense of the lights that illuminate the Strip. Here’s where to go to rent the little machines:  Scoot City.
Rentals are 1 hour for $25.00, 3 hours for $75.00 and 24 hours for $150.00.

Have fun!!!

]]> http://www.thesucculentwife.com/scoot-coupes-the-fun-est-way-to-view-the-strip/feed/ 0 http://www.thesucculentwife.com/espresso-culture-cuisine-%e2%80%93-a-rare-true-cafe-in-las-vegas%e2%80%a6/ http://www.thesucculentwife.com/espresso-culture-cuisine-%e2%80%93-a-rare-true-cafe-in-las-vegas%e2%80%a6/#comments Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:09:55 +0000 The Succulent Wife http://thesucculentwife.com/blog/?p=135 In any other town, this delightful little café might be just that…a delightful little café. Here, in Las Vegas it’s actually a real gem. Indeed, this restaurant café (bordering Henderson) is independently owned. That’s almost an anomaly in this town that works on chain restaurant formulas. And if it’s not a chain, then the restaurant is owned or operated by a corporation, most likely a casino. So, in the rare instance where I stumble upon a place that is owned and cared for by REAL people, I just want to shout and dance.

But, aside that endearing attribute, the Espresso café offers a symphony of reasons as to why you’d want to hang out there. Super friendly staff for starters. Free WiFi, bien sur (seamless connection with plenty of power plugs). Fun décor with a mix of seating arrangements to suit your specific purpose at the time of visit: the LeCorbusier (copies, shhhhh) chairs were perfect for an early Saturday morning coffee-and-paper routine with my husband, while the tables and chairs where my choice for a business rendez-vous later in the week. There is also a little sofa nook that seems to be the most prized area.

The coffee is Illy (they invented espresso you know?) which in itself gives the place an official stamp of
approval. No regular drip here. Only the espresso machine is used and you can have an Americano if you want the drip alternative. Anything lighter than that and you’ll want to go to Coco’s down the street (ugh!). Espresso makes serving coffee an experience with every cup presented on its own little tray, with all the coffee accoutrements, anise biscotti included. Food stuff is mainly paninis and salads. There is live music on certain nights and that’s where the culture bit comes in.

Love it. This is my new neighborhood hangout.

PS: find it at 9555 S. Eastern Av, Las Vegas, NV, 89123 – 702-243-4559. I’m not sending you to the website ‘cause it’s an insult to the café. You’ll need to find that on your own!!!

Second City bills themselves as improv comedy troupe, but really, there was hardly any improv at all. Mostly sketches. The Second City website proclaims “Sin City’s favorite improv comedy troupe launches sixth season of side-splitting laughs”. Huh? Our group’s few and far between laughs were incidentally prompted by the painful attempts of the comedians to keep a straight face during certain skits. The few short minutes where actual improv took place were good but too rare.

I do believe that the actors that went on that night are truly talented. My favorite was Katie Neff, who might actually look like a normal person off stage when she isn’t contorting her features into some painful expression. She was quite the bundle of energy. Unfortunately for the group of them, the sketches did not do them justice. They were “professionally” executed, and transitions were excellent, but the problem was that most sketches were ultimately boring or did not touch on that all important “nerve”. It just did not resonate and fell flat.

So, my bottom line recommendation for this show is that unless you are a talent scout searching for new comedic talent, you might not want to attend unless the show is comp-ed. And even then, when you think about all the other great venues in town, why waste time on mediocre sketch comedy?

Besides that, the Flamingo is a lamentably boring property, stuck somewhere in 1985. I don’t understand. With all the razzmatazz of surrounding hotels and casinos, you’d think that The Flamingo would have thought about stepping up their game, no?

Not wanting to stick around the uninspiring premises for our après-show
drink, we walked 2 minutes to the Barbary Coast. This hotel & casino is also definitely stuck in time, but at least it has a patina and an indescribable tacky charm. We sat at Bill’s Gambling Hall Saloon listening to a decent jazz band. The best part? Our drink tab for four totaled an astounding $14 (our reflex was “what? Did they forget a zero?”) and, even at our no-longer-a-spring-chicken tender age, we were still the youngest ones on the premises. That part felt great!!!