Had a fine time! No actual gambling, though we did put $5 on the Giants to win the World Series, per a friend's request.
Hubby's driving was great, there and back. We were a bit concerned about traffic, since the whole Palin/Coulter rally was starting in Searchlight, Nevada on the day we were driving through. No major problems for us. Not interested in problems for them.
The worst part of the drive was highway 58--much of it is one lane in each direction with almost no passing allowed. And when it was 2 lanes, there'd be these big rigs that decide to pass a slower truck--but then they take an unbelievable amount of time to pass. Geez! I've seen trucks like these do 75 mph, so I'm sure they can accelerate if they wanted to.
Vegas was...Vegas. But bigger. Much bigger.
We saw Lion King--our favorite of the three shows we saw there. I would suggest anyone going sit on the right side of the theater--as we did (facing the stage, so that Pride Rock doesn't block your view).
Mystere was really good. You can go for cheaper seats higher up and still get a great view--just don't go to the edges. Oh, and front-row seats wouldn't be great because I'm told one is looking up all the time and it gets tiring.
"O" was good. Maybe we were just tired by then and it was a 10 pm show, but we liked Mystere more. We went to "Fix"--a restaurant in Bellagio for their pris fixe dinner beforehand. Excellent in both flavor and quantity! And only $40/person, as compared to other places' $60-120/person.
We ate at Smith & Wollensky (a steakhouse) with my Mom (we had picked her up from the airport to drive her to my brother's in Henderson), but I had ordered fish and Hubby, for whatever reason, ordered chicken. Fools, I know. The fish had little flavor--all flavor was from over-salted and over-garlicky spinach. There were problems with the chicken, enough that they gave me two shirley-temples gratis (a non-alcoholic drink) and my Mom a long-island ice tea gratis--and the chicken was gratis. Mom's fish was also somewhat flavorless and Hubby's chicken was---well, if you go to a steakhouse, order the damn steak.
Carnegie's Deli at the Mirage was fan-fucking-tastic!! Hubby wanted the hugest sandwich! About 2 full pounds of pastrami/corned-beef. He took the left-over meat with us and snacked on it for 2 days.
Saw, but wasn't hungry at the time so damn(!), "Jean-Phillipe Patisserie"--omg! Those pastries were gorgeous. Though a little pricey, I was told the richness of flavor was enough for 2 or 3 to share one pastry and still feel full.
There were lots of new (to us) hotels/casinos:
We walked from TI across to Wynn/Encore, then all the way down to Planet Hollywood, crossed back, and came all the way back up to TI.
Wynn/Encore resots were just gorgeous. The Encore has a somewhat Asian flair in its decor--subtle but sumptuous--and named entertainer. Even beautiful embroidery on panels and mosaics on the floor. We went to the Ferrari dealer, but Hubby didn't want to pay just to go in and see the cars. He tried on four shirts at the store--none fit well (cause he's too broad-shouldered for the trim styles).
The new Aria/Vdara/Mandarin Oriental/City Center/Crystals complex...WOW!! Just huge!! Dwarfs everything on the Strip. Aria has the only casino on the development--the others are "just" hotels. We asked at the Mandarin Oriental, and the doorman suggested we go to the check-in counter on the 23d floor (the only floor those elevators stop at). The employee there discussed the various sculptures and galleries on the grounds, gave up brochures about them, and brought us behind the counter so we could get a better view out of the windows! Very nice people, even though it was obvious we were sight-seeing and not guests.
Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin) was...ugh. A light overlay over the "Desert Passages" shopping area and the place felt cheesy. Not good cheesy, but cheap cheesy. We only stopped because we collect $1 chips (a cheap enough hobby) and had Aladdin but not Planet Hollywood.
The Palazzo (next to Venetian--which they're also adding on to) was also gorgeous. We checked out Bauman's Rare Books. Oh--just let me have the key. I promise I won't take everything.
Caesar's Palace's shopping area has really expanded. It goes on forever. Bellagio's gardens were their usual invigorating. I pity those allergic to flowers--hyacinths, tuplips, gerbera daisys....all beautiful.
We went to Shelby Racing for Hubby, north of Vegas. He bought some stuff for one of his brothers. People come from all over the world to see it, and Las Vegas is an afterthought for them.
We also stopped at the shop for "Pawn Stars" but none of the main people were there. I had wanted to see "The Old Man." Pretty pricey stuff. And we saw lots of shops--I got a small Coach purse at a great price from an outlet and Hubby bought me a glass heart necklace from a kiosk (only $5, but I've seen similar for far more--and while the price isn't what matters, it's the reason we actually bought it).
Now we're home. No food in the house and tons of laundry. No problems.
Hubby's driving was great, there and back. We were a bit concerned about traffic, since the whole Palin/Coulter rally was starting in Searchlight, Nevada on the day we were driving through. No major problems for us. Not interested in problems for them.
The worst part of the drive was highway 58--much of it is one lane in each direction with almost no passing allowed. And when it was 2 lanes, there'd be these big rigs that decide to pass a slower truck--but then they take an unbelievable amount of time to pass. Geez! I've seen trucks like these do 75 mph, so I'm sure they can accelerate if they wanted to.
Vegas was...Vegas. But bigger. Much bigger.
We saw Lion King--our favorite of the three shows we saw there. I would suggest anyone going sit on the right side of the theater--as we did (facing the stage, so that Pride Rock doesn't block your view).
Mystere was really good. You can go for cheaper seats higher up and still get a great view--just don't go to the edges. Oh, and front-row seats wouldn't be great because I'm told one is looking up all the time and it gets tiring.
"O" was good. Maybe we were just tired by then and it was a 10 pm show, but we liked Mystere more. We went to "Fix"--a restaurant in Bellagio for their pris fixe dinner beforehand. Excellent in both flavor and quantity! And only $40/person, as compared to other places' $60-120/person.
We ate at Smith & Wollensky (a steakhouse) with my Mom (we had picked her up from the airport to drive her to my brother's in Henderson), but I had ordered fish and Hubby, for whatever reason, ordered chicken. Fools, I know. The fish had little flavor--all flavor was from over-salted and over-garlicky spinach. There were problems with the chicken, enough that they gave me two shirley-temples gratis (a non-alcoholic drink) and my Mom a long-island ice tea gratis--and the chicken was gratis. Mom's fish was also somewhat flavorless and Hubby's chicken was---well, if you go to a steakhouse, order the damn steak.
Carnegie's Deli at the Mirage was fan-fucking-tastic!! Hubby wanted the hugest sandwich! About 2 full pounds of pastrami/corned-beef. He took the left-over meat with us and snacked on it for 2 days.
Saw, but wasn't hungry at the time so damn(!), "Jean-Phillipe Patisserie"--omg! Those pastries were gorgeous. Though a little pricey, I was told the richness of flavor was enough for 2 or 3 to share one pastry and still feel full.
There were lots of new (to us) hotels/casinos:
We walked from TI across to Wynn/Encore, then all the way down to Planet Hollywood, crossed back, and came all the way back up to TI.
Wynn/Encore resots were just gorgeous. The Encore has a somewhat Asian flair in its decor--subtle but sumptuous--and named entertainer. Even beautiful embroidery on panels and mosaics on the floor. We went to the Ferrari dealer, but Hubby didn't want to pay just to go in and see the cars. He tried on four shirts at the store--none fit well (cause he's too broad-shouldered for the trim styles).
The new Aria/Vdara/Mandarin Oriental/City Center/Crystals complex...WOW!! Just huge!! Dwarfs everything on the Strip. Aria has the only casino on the development--the others are "just" hotels. We asked at the Mandarin Oriental, and the doorman suggested we go to the check-in counter on the 23d floor (the only floor those elevators stop at). The employee there discussed the various sculptures and galleries on the grounds, gave up brochures about them, and brought us behind the counter so we could get a better view out of the windows! Very nice people, even though it was obvious we were sight-seeing and not guests.
Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin) was...ugh. A light overlay over the "Desert Passages" shopping area and the place felt cheesy. Not good cheesy, but cheap cheesy. We only stopped because we collect $1 chips (a cheap enough hobby) and had Aladdin but not Planet Hollywood.
The Palazzo (next to Venetian--which they're also adding on to) was also gorgeous. We checked out Bauman's Rare Books. Oh--just let me have the key. I promise I won't take everything.
Caesar's Palace's shopping area has really expanded. It goes on forever. Bellagio's gardens were their usual invigorating. I pity those allergic to flowers--hyacinths, tuplips, gerbera daisys....all beautiful.
We went to Shelby Racing for Hubby, north of Vegas. He bought some stuff for one of his brothers. People come from all over the world to see it, and Las Vegas is an afterthought for them.
We also stopped at the shop for "Pawn Stars" but none of the main people were there.
I had wanted to see "The Old Man." Pretty pricey stuff. And we saw lots of shops--I got a small Coach purse at a great price from an outlet and Hubby bought me a glass heart necklace from a kiosk (only $5, but I've seen similar for far more--and while the price isn't what matters, it's the reason we actually bought it).Now we're home. No food in the house and tons of laundry. No problems.
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It's been almost twenty years since I've been to Vegas and it sounds like it's changed a lot; I wouldn't mind seeing it again.
