Las Vegas Vacation

We left for our Las Vegas journey on a Friday evening, getting to the airport early so that the fun could begin. We enjoyed the airport version of Wolfgang Pucks, ordering a four cheese pizza and a Caesar salad with an amazingly nice cabernet. The American Airlines flight was on time despite some rainy weather in Las Vegas but even with the time difference, it was late by the time we checked into Las Vegas Paris. We threw down our luggage and headed for the St. Louis Café to eat a late night dinner. We had been to the St. Louis Café during our previous visit to Las Vegas when we decided that Paris was the place to stay in the event of a return trip. The ambience did not disappoint and we split a blue cheese burger, fries and a tangy potato salad. In the vacation feeding mode, we woke up hungry on Saturday morning, ready to begin indulging in more awesome dining which was one of the main reasons for this trip. 

We headed for the Paris buffet. Every hotel has one and Paris plays theirs to a French tune. This means that there were crepes made to order, a European style smorgasbord of salmon, lunch meats and cheeses. We indulged in blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries as well as cheese blintzes and incredibly good coffee. The usual staples were provided as well, eggs of all kinds, salsa and sour cream, bacon, and potatoes. On my third trip to the buffet, I chose some wonderful creamy yogurt, more fresh fruit and croissants to complete the experience of over indulging. After breakfast, we walked through the quaint French shops at Paris where the walkways are cobblestones and the fake sky of the casino is always blue with puffy white clouds. Paris is so inviting because of the French atmosphere, with quaint store fronts and cottage facades. Next, we took a stroll through the shops of the Dessert Passage at the Aladdin. 

We found a wonderful place that provided a quick 5 minute massage and bought some wonderful Dead Sea salt scrub and shea butter lotion from one of the kiosk after they stopped us while we were shopping and did a quick demo of how soft the sea salt scrub left your hands. We were sold and willing to part with some of that precious gambling budget. We also spent time in the shops at Bally’s while we were waiting to check in to the “right” room which had not been available upon our arrival on Friday. 

Finally, we checked in to an awesome room (much better than we expected) on the 30th floor. It was a corner room and afforded a view of Caesar’s Palace, the fountains at the Bellagio, and the Rio’s red and blue colors from one side. In the other direction, we saw the mountains that surround Las Vegas, the Stratosphere and the Wynn. Saturday was a rare cloudy day with rain visible in the distance. As we were unpacking the clouds turned a beautiful red while the rain became a rainbow. 

The real view beat the fake sky by a mile. The room itself was decorated with a French country blue sofa, bed spread, and curtains. The entertainment center was a honey wood and the walls were brown striped with blue carpeting. Somehow it all worked. It was time for lunch so we headed out to watch some baseball at The Tequila Bar of Ballys. There we enjoyed some quesadilla appetizers that were filled with shredded beef and fairly authentic. The Grand Marnier margaritas were very nice as well. We watched Detroit win game 4 of the American League Championship. 
The crowd was a crazy mix of baseball fans and a wedding party. From there we moved on to watch game 3 of the National League championship between the Mets and Cardinals. Dinner was at Todai in the Aladdin where we enjoyed an "all you can eat" sushi buffet. Along with the sushi, there was a variety of Japanese food, tempura, shrimp, crab legs, salads, mango sorbet and a white chocolate/green tea dessert. Todai is actually a chain and sported an industrial cafeteria look with fish hanging from the ceiling. 

From there, we walked around the corner to Krave which hosts the Girl Bar on Saturday nights. Girl Bar is an event that started with the Dinah Shore Golf event in Palm Springs and now happens in LA and Phoenix on Thursday or Friday nights. Saturday is the night for Las Vegas. The Girl Bar dancers go to each of these locations and they are very good at dancing for women. The dynamics are so different from what I think would happen if they were dancing for men. Somehow, it seemed the dancers had the power. It was free to get in before 11 with an internet reservation that put you on the list and drinks were 2 for 1 until 11. In spite of that, the crowd didn’t get going until later. We met a group of softball players that were in the area for an over 50 tournament. There was another wedding reception, our second of the day, this was of course two women.  The music was a mix of dance and rap and the place was overall very classy, with wrap around couches, a nice bar, and a very upscale feel. 

We slept in on Sunday after a late night at Krave. We headed out to NY NY to pick up our show tickets for later in the week and stopped along the way for breakfast at the Monte Carlo. It is a beautiful hotel on the outside with statues and water features but inside it is just plain cheesy. I had a San Francisco Joe which includes eggs, sausage, hash browns and onions. The food was ok and the coffee decent but nothing special. From there we walked on and picked up our tickets. Outside of NY NY is a really nice tribute to 9-11 and a great view of their Coney Island rides, Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. 

We headed across the street to see the lions at the MGM Grand and then back to our very own Eiffel Tower sports bar where I placed a bet on KC to win the afternoon football game. They lost and we lost a few dollars playing video poker but as always enjoyed ourselves and our complimentary drinks. We had a great appetizer snack of smoked salmon and potato skins at our favorite St. Louis café and turned in early on Sunday as it had all finally caught up with us and we had a big day ahead on Monday. 

We were up very early on Monday for a quick breakfast of blackberries and raisin bread and then went outside to wait for the bus to take us to the Grand Canyon. We had picked a tour from Papillon that would include a bus, helicopter, and pontoon boat. Our bus driver was hilarious, she sounded like she just missed a part in the movie “Fargo” and she filled us with propaganda that was clearly paid advertising plugs for various local attractions. But she had fun every minute of the 12 hour journey and that was worth something. We went by Lake Mead but only had a five minute photo op stop. We saw Boulder City which is the home of many celebrities including Cher and Barbra Streisand. The lake is very low and has been for some time. I found it alarming. The water is going down because the Colorado River runoff for the past four years has been far below normal. From there, it was on to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon where we weighed in for our upcoming helicopter ride. The choppers hold 6 passengers of average weight and seats are assigned to balance the load. We were quickly off and descending into the canyon. What an experience!! It was breath-taking as we saw the red canyon walls and landed just a few steps up from the Colorado River. We ran down the steep path and jumped on to our pontoon boat. 

By now, it was about 11 AM, the sun was blazing, the air was cool and crisp, and the sky was a rich blue to contrast to the red of the rock. The boat driver told us that he often saw bighorn sheep, condors, and eagles in the early morning hours. After our boat trip, the helicopter whisked us out of the canyon. There we boarded a bus run by a local Indian tribe, the Havasupai which took us to Guano Point for lunch. The word Havasupai can be loosely translated as "People of the Blue-Green Water” Lunch was perfect, BBQ beef and chicken, beans, cornbread, slaw and peach cobbler. We enjoyed our meal at a picnic table overlooking the canyon. Before leaving, we bought jewelry from the Native American stand, run by the same tribe that served us lunch. We did not have enough time to stop at Eagle Point but saw it from the bus, it is a rock formation that looks very much like an eagle and is a sacred symbol to the Native American. Overall the canyon is an overwhelming experience, and nothing prepares you for the sight. It is difficult to describe as superlatives often fail to do the landscape justice. The Grand Canyon is massive, carved over several million years by the Colorado River. In spots the rock layers exposed in the canyon display over two billion years of geologic history. You just have to see it. 

As we left our day at the canyon, we went back through a slightly populated area where I saw lots of poverty, many trailers with junk littered yards. I did not see many people. We finished off the day with dinner at the Palms in Caesar’s Palace. I had an excellent veal picatta and asparagus. We enjoyed a bottle of red zinfandel called “7 Deadly Zins”. We meandered through the Forum shops and called it a day. Tuesday morning, we took quite a walk, making it all the way up the strip to the Stratosphere. Along the way, we passed some of the old classic Vegas Hotels including the Riveria and Circus Circus. But first we stopped for breakfast at a NY style deli in the Mirage. I had an amazing chocolate chip muffin and some melon. Some of that part of the strip was a bit seedy and I was glad it was early morning as we walked. From there, we took a cab to Mandalay Bay and had a great cab driver, a true Las Vegas native. He gave us some restaurant advice which we ended up following later in the week with much success. 

We had lunch at the Border Grill, in Mandalay Bay. The chef is a renowned lesbian chef. I had lamb tacos with poblano peppers. beans and sour cream. We sat outside near the pool and enjoyed a pomegranate margarita. This was one busy hotel, hosting an ADA convention and it was simply bustling everywhere. We went through the Shark’s Reef which is as good of an aquatic experience as you will have anywhere. I was fascinated by some of the sharks that we saw. From there, we walked back to Paris as it was time to get back to the baseball game and play some poker machines. After a bit, we walked to one of the bars with a very big screen TV and comfortable seats. We watched with an old man from NY who was a Mets fan. The Cards won 3-2 so we headed off for dinner at Ah Sin, a pan Asian restaurant at Paris. I enjoyed the Asian suckling pig with pear compote and cucumber. I had one glass of a very light Merlot from Alexander Valley. 

Then we went to see the dueling pianos. This is a great show that features two guys who play songs by request, anything from the pop/rock genre. They played Boston, ELO, Elton John, Billy Joel and more. They were awesome. On Wednesday, it was back to the buffet for, more good coffee, ham, crepes, croissants, and fruit. We walked to the Flamingo and found that the penguins were gone, but many flamingoes, ducks, geese, and other birds were still there. It is such a peaceful environment, tucked away from the noise of the strip. We lost money in a penny poker machine and walked back through the crowds, passing the Imperial palace, Margaritaville, and the party zone. We stopped in at the Venetian and found our special restaurant from a previous visit, we watched the gondolas as we had ridden them the last time there. For dinner, we took a taxi downtown. We had dinner at the oldest casino, 1 Fremont Street. It was originally opened in 1906 and I know that because the history was on the table place mat. We had prime rib for $6.96 and a $3 glass of red wine. At the table next to us was a mother in son. She had a NJ accent and big hair, reminding me of what Bette Midler might look like today if she had not become a rich and famous singer. Her son appeared to have downs syndrome and he completely enjoyed his chocolate cake even though mom kept stealing bites of it. One of the waitresses sounded like Flo. 

We headed down to the covered stretch of Fremont St. and decided to sit at the open air Four Queens poker tables so that we could jump up and head out to see the Fremont St. experience. At 6 PM, we got a short preview and then at 7 pm elaborate show, featuring red flying saucers, green aliens and a Star Wars type battle. We walked through some of the other historic casinos like the Golden Nugget with its elegant entrance. But the crowd was a different one than what we had at Paris. It had a much more old time Vegas feel. We took a cab back with a baseball fan driver and then hit the sports bar once again, it was October after all and our Cardinals were about to win the National League pennant. After the game, we went up the Eiffel Tower with a 360 degree view of the entire strip. We saw the Bellagio water show and I got a kiss from my sweetie. We finished the night with bananas foster and decaf coffee at La Creperie. On Thursday, we had a light breakfast and went to the pool in the afternoon. We enjoyed cheese, grapes, salad, and a chardonnay. It wasn’t really hot but it was warm enough to enjoy the Jacuzzi, get a little sun, and made for a very relaxing afternoon. 

Later in the afternoon, we got dressed up and headed over to NY NY in anticipation of our show. First we enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner at an NY style Italian restaurant called Il Fornaio Cucina Italiano. Our table was right next to the make believe stream flowing through the make believe city. It really was very romantic. We both had lobster ravioli and a wonderful red wine. We then headed for Zumanity. The show was absolutely out of this world, very sexual, very sensual, very funny. The absolute best part were the two women in the huge fishbowl, how erotic and beautiful. As we left the show, we knew it was time to hurry toward the NY NY ESPN center as we might have just missed the victory of the St. Louis Cardinals over the Mets in the National League Championship. In fact, they had won and it was a testament to how great the show had been that we weren’t that bummed to have missed the game. We high fived a fellow fan, only to find he lived a few blocks away from us in St. Louis. What a small world. 

Friday morning, we were up early again and headed for breakfast at Caesar’s Palace where we were being picked up to go on a horseback riding adventure in Red Rock canyon. We had booked a ride with Cowboy Trails to do the two hour canyon rim ride which took us to the top of Fossil Ridge and follows along the edge of a 1000 foot deep canyon. I rode Teddy Bear and Carol had Q who she really liked. They were both beautiful brown horses. We saw the Red Rock Escarpment, Spring Mountains and had a view of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area. We saw lots of varieties of cactus but no desert wildlife. Once we got back to the hotel, we were more than ready for lunch. We discovered one of the best restaurants of the whole trip at our very own Paris, a place called Mon Ami Gabi. I had a duck BLT that was out of this world, it was a standard BLT enhanced with very tender duck. The waiter recommended one of the wines that they sold by the glass and it was awe inspiring. We concluded our day at a real classic local joint, called Battista's Hole in the Wall. It was right across from Bally’s, behind the Barbary Coast and had been suggested by our Las Vegas local cab driver. The prices were so reasonable and dinner included all you could drink red wine that was o.k. But the ambience was priceless as it was full of locals, family gatherings and a side of Las Vegas that we really enjoyed seeing. It was a great way to end an incredible vacation. We had time on Saturday, do enjoy another lunch at Mon Ami Gabi before heading to the airport. Once there, we spend some loose change and got in a little last minute gambling. A guy one row over won $1000 at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine that Carol had just played but that is the way gambling can often end. It didn’t matter, we had so much fun. The flight was even inspirational as we flew over the Grand Canyon for an evening light view of this incredible wonder of the world. We even flew over snow capped mountains in Colorado before landing safely back in St. Louis.