This morning Cookie and I woke up in our 12th floor room to the sun shinning! Whoopee, we said to each other. We both enthusiastically dressed for the day. We both threw swimming suits in our bag as Cookie had some free passes to get us into the pool at Cesar’s Palace. Cookie dressed in some Capri leggings with a skirt I over it. I had on one of my favorite green, brown, blue, and white halter top along with white pants, and heels, (I always take another pair of shoes to wear outside when we are walking). At 10:30 am we were ready to attack the strip once again. Chattering through the lobby, we descended into the outside, only to discover...it was as cold as yesterday! At first we sat down and waited for the shuttle to arrive. But, then we looked at each other and realized that it was too darn cold. Back up the elevator we went to change our clothes! This was not the Las Vegas trip I had visualized! I wanted sun darn it, and lots of it! I realized however, a trip is what you make of it. If I dwelled on the bad weather it would make learning about Las Vegas a horrible experience. So, I broke out the vast wardrobe I had brought, and settled for jeans, and my only souvenir, a very blue Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt and my white-netted jacket. I was determined I was not going to wear my winter coat.
Once again, we went out into the cold. Sitting on the bench waiting for my shuttle, I realized I was going to freeze to death! But, I was determined not to go back into the hotel room...I knew if I did, I may indulge in another couple of changes of clothes and we would not get any where before afternoon.
First stop was the Casino Royal. As we got off the shuttle the wind picked up and it started to rain. Brrrrr. We walked through a small shop as we went into the casino. In here were tons of people buying sweatshirts for $10.00 and jackets for $20.00. I decided that maybe while Cookie tried to see if she could win money to lengthen our trip. I was quite pleased when I found a cute little jacket for $20.00. I swear it was 20 mins or so before I got to the cashier as the line was so long! After paying for the coat, I ventured into the casino to see how Cookie was faring. She was quite excited, as she had just been given a car with $25.00 on it to try her luck at the new machines. I jumped in that line and soon had my own $25.00 card. It seemed like it was seconds and it was all gone! How could that be? Does anyone ever win? By this time Cookie was done as well so we headed off to the Venetian shopping mall. Now, I have to tell you, that is one incredible mall. It has a canal in it that has a gondola ride in it with man dressed in traditional Italian clothes and singing. The ride is open from 10 am-11 pm Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday it is open from 10 am to midnight. Same day reservations are taken in person at the Emorio d' Gondola. It also operates on a weather-permitting basis. Also found in the mall are living statues. If you have not seen a living statue before it can scare the beggeees out of you. When I was in England, I went to Stratford on the Avon. As I walking by this statue that was dressed like Shakespeare, it jumped out at me! I screamed at the top of my lungs. My Welsh friends captured it on their camera. I thought I would never live it down. At the Venetian, we wandered some from shop to shop. Since I am art gallery nut, I visited two different shops that were called the Regis Galerie. These shops were fascinating to me. They had beautiful paintings of Catherine’s Palace in Russia that I recognized from my trip to Russia in 1996. They also Fabian eggs as well as statues of everything you could think of including a mermaid that was as tall as my 5 feet seven frame. Besides this store I ventured into a dress shop that I saw a dress that I absolutely loved for $15,000. Yes, not $150, nor $1,500 but $15,000! As you might have guessed, it didn't go home with me. We then went to another shop that featured mannequins that looked like real people and dressed in Phantom of the Opera clothes. They also had masks for $1,200. I would post a picture of items in the store but taking pictures was not allowed. At this point I was getting tired and cranky and had broke my own rule of never wearing myself down with sight seeing so much that I feel like I am going to have a melt down. So the next order after stopping by the Tao night club and finding out their hours, we decided to go find a place to eat so I could sit down and not say or do something to my wonderful friend that I would regret. Yes, I am a you know what with no sleep and constantly on my feet. I mention this here because the number one mistake families do on vacation is overly pushing their kids to the point where the vacation becomes a strain on everyone.
It was decided then that we would walk down the strip to the Wynn, and the Encore and find some to eat. Once again we went out into the cold. This time however, it was no longer rainy but was cold and windy.
We finally found a place to eat at the Maggiano' Little Italy Restaurant. It is conveniently located in the Fashion Show Mall, right on the Las Vegas Strip. It has windows on three sides. We were seated next to a window that looked directly onto the strip where the lights of the Trump Tower and the Wynn, and Encore filled the skyline. What a view! The Restaurant has a 325-seat dining room and is ideal for a romantic dinner for two, a festive gathering or a group lunch. With John Gerarde serving as General Manager, the first recipient of Brinker International's General Manager of the Year Award, Maggiano's specializes in serving generous portions of authentic Italian-American cuisine, served family style. Their menu is large and varied, offering a vast selection of homemade pastas, signature salads, prime steaks, fresh fish and delicious desserts. Their lunch hours are daily 11:00 am -3:00 pm. Dinner is daily 3:00 PM-11:00 PM. Some reviews online that I totally agree with are "generous portions " "romantic dinner, great selection, good service, and good quality. Cookie and I ordered a plate of spaghetti with a meatball that we split. The meal also came with some fantastic bread. Our waiter, Cristol, not only provided fantastic service but also gave each of us a giant meatball with our meal. He also enlightened us when we ordered a half order and said it would be more than enough for the two of us. Along with the meal I had a glass of Merlot. My first in days as I don't associate casinos with wine but mix drinks. Since I am not much of a gambler, I didn't have that many mixed drinks either. The bill came to $21.00. Not bad for a great atmosphere and fantastic spaghetti. Before the meal was over, I acquainted myself with Joe and Barbara, the people who were sitting behind us. These lovely couple in their 70s who looked like they were 60, lived in Las Vegas. Joe was the first person who I met on the trip that had won any money at the casinos. Right before dinner the two of them had been at the Aria, and Joe had won $350.00! As we talked some more we discovered that Joe and Barbara had a daughter that lived in the suburbs in Denver. Before we left, I gave them one of my business cards and told them to stop in and see me when they come to Colorado for a visit.
After dinner, Cookie and I went over to the Wynn and Encore. I have to say, of all the places we had gone; the Wynn and Encore were my favorite. Not only were the resorts beautiful and elegant, but also the white ceramic floors with butterflies laid in them made them seem less like a resort. They also did not have the smoky smell that the others did. Instead they smelled like freshly dried sheets. I never did find out how they did this. In the Encore, we wandered through the mall. It was there, I froze in place as staring at me was none other than the Milono Blanco shoe store! Now you may wonder why this gets me so excited. Well I am a Sex in the City fan and Jessica Sarah Parker is always buying these shoes that cost in the hundreds of dollars. Not wanting to act like a tourist but not being able to help myself, I asked the store associate if they had any shoes featured on the show. Sure enough, they had the pair that was stolen on the show, ($700.00) price tag, and the blue wedding shoes featured in the movie, that could be mine for a mere $900.00! I was in heaven! After wandering through a few more stores, we found ourselves outside of the Frank Sinatra restaurant in the Encore. After chatting with the hostess, we turned to walk out and saw staring at us in the face Mr. Sinatra's Oscar and Grammy Awards in a display case. Above the awards was a picture of Mr. Sinatra with Donna Reed accepting a Grammy. What a thrill to see one up close!
As we began our walk back to Paris /Paris Cookie received a text from the Tao contact saying he would get us in for a free drink if we could meet at 10:45 Pm....ummm would we make it? But then, because our feet were sore the slot machines, got our attention. We were only going to play for a few minutes but then Barbara and Joe that we met at the Maggiano showed up. While Barbara taught me some about the slot machines, Cookie went our off to try her luck. By the time we left, I got Barb's email address, learned that the Wynn has the best pina colodoas, and was given a red card from the casino with a free $10.00 on it. Needless to say, I lost the $10.00 and seven more. Since we only ate one out a day, I tried to look at it as the lunch I never bought.... just not a gambler!
At 10 pm were on our way back to the Rio with the realization that there would not be enough time for me to pack, catch a few hours of sleep before my 7:40 am plane left and go to the Tao. Needless to say, I did try but it took till midnight to get all packed. Since the hotel shuttle only ran till one am, I decided to call it a night.
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