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Las Vegas is indeed a city unlike any other, but all the spectacular attractions are on or near the one Strip of casinos and humongous hotels and resorts. When my niece told me to be prepared to walk further than I have on any other trip, I really didn't take her seriously. After all, I walked and climbed the ruins of Greece and Turkey, but from the moment that we landed at the airport and had to walk miles to the baggage area, then miles again to pick up our rental car, I was beginning to think she might be right. So, be sure to pack good walking shoes.
Although I'd booked our reservations more than two months in advance, all of the newer hotels were already full so we ended up at the refurbished Sahara Hotel which sports a new NASCAR café and Las Vegas' newest roller coaster, SPEED which goes from 35 mph to 70 mph in just two seconds. Passengers are taken from the NASCAR Café through a 25-foot underground tunnel and down a steep drop. Soon they are being slingshot through a loop built into the Sahara's outdoor marquee. Then it's up a 224-foot tower. When you're at the place where you can see nothing but the sky, the cars come to a heart-stopping halt for a moment- then the car you're in drops like a rock, and you do it all over again, backwards. Cost of the ride is $6.
Since we were there to see the new hotels and attractions (it had been 28 years since we last visited Las Vegas), once we checked into our room, we headed out to see Rio. Inside Rio there's an area called Masquerade Village which has a fantastic free show every day except Wednesday at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m., 10 p.m., and midnight. Live singers and dancers perform on a stage that rises out of the casino floor, and full-size floats (similar to those one sees at Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro) with performers on board glide on tracks installed in the ceiling above the casino floor. If you're standing on the balcony that surrounds the casino area, you're likely to catch one or more of the colorful beaded necklaces that the performers throw to the audience.
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Rio is also known to have the best buffet in Vegas-a tempting array of eleven distinct dining experiences from around the world. Be careful to count your carbohydrates as you'll be tempted to eat a lot more than you should.
That evening we had booked a table at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. We've known Wolfgang since he first started as chef of Ma Maison in Los Angeles, some 25 years ago. Spago lived up to its dedication to high food quality. We shared a Roasted Beet Salad with Baked Goat Cheese, Arugula, Radicchio, and Lemon-Chervil Vinaigrette that was simply marvelous. For my entree, I chose Pork Tenderloin with Saffron Tagliatelle (pasta), Pearl Onions, Rapini (it's also called broccoli raabi), and Roasted Garlic-Thyme Jus. The pork was wonderful, but the pasta and vegetables were so terrific, I ended up eating all of them and leaving most of the pork. My husband opted for Grilled Sonoma Lamb with Pappardelle Pasta, Caramelized Carrot, and portabello Mushrooms-and joined the "clean plate" club. Spago also served a basket of wonderful breads-an unleavened sesame flat bread, two kinds of focaccia, sourdough, and a raisin-rye bread. Our wait person told us that they make seven kinds of bread every day. Each was better than the last, but be careful and count your carbs. We didn't even look at the dessert menu, but those that we saw being carried to other tables all looked like works of art.
The next day, we were joined by my step-daughter and her friend from California and really started to "hit" the hotels-first the Bellagio, known for its spectacular water show of more than a thousand fountains dancing to music, creating a breathtaking union of water, music, and light. The fountains span more than 1,000 feet with the water soaring as high as 240 feet in the air. When we saw the performance, it was choreographed to an Italian operetta; others times it might be classical piano music or tunes from Broadway shows.
Bellagio is also known for its breath-taking Botanical Gardens which have entirely different trees and flowers for each of the four seasons. A staff of 115 people prepare and maintain the gardens; they are truly spectacular. When we saw the gardens, they were done in red, white, and blue in honor of the upcoming 4th of July.
Dinner that night was in their Café where my husband and I both had wonderful spicy chicken curry with basmati rice. The kids split a pasta dish that looked and smelled yummy, and for dessert, they ordered tiramisu made with white chocolate and strawberries. I had a tiny spoonful. It was scrumptious.
The next day we first drove to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, a $950 million resort set on 60 acres. Tropically themed, it has a lush 11-acre tropical water environment comprising a sand-and-surf beach and a lazy river ride (you float on tubes or plastic rafts. The sand is real and the surf is created by a Wave machine, capable of making waves up to six feet high.
For dining, there was Aureole (of New York fame), Wolfgang Puck's Trattoria del Lupo, and Border Grill, owned by those two hot tamales-Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger-who also own three renowned eateries in Los Angeles. Since we were ready for lunch, we opted for the Border Grill where I sampled four different kinds of tamales. All were excellent-but my "best of show" vote went to the spicy tomatillo sauce.
From there we traveled to the Venetian, the first all-suite hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, each with a sunken living room, and, should you need to conduct business from your hotel room, a private fax machine with a personal number. You don't have to be a scholar to identify the Venetian replicas that abound throughout the hotel. The 315-foot Campanile Tower is like the most recognizable relic of Venetian architecture; guests walk through the Tower as they enter the hotel from the Strip. From there they cross the Rialto Bridge, walk through the Palazzo Contarini-Fasan (made famous in Shakespeare's Othello), then cross the Bridge of Sighs, which places you on the second level with the Doge's Palace and entrance to the Grand Canal Shoppes-a quarter-mile of retail, dining, and entertainment with cobblestone walkways, arched bridges, and winding canals. The Grand Canal is 1,200 feet in length with gondolas and singing gondoliers dressed in the traditional black pants and striped shirts. It was here along the Grand Canal that I found Stephen Pyle's Taqueria Cańonita. Since I've known Stephen for years, I decided to "rest" there for awhile with a diet soda and a sampling of his new hot, hotter, and hottest sauces that he developed for this and other Taquerias that he's opening around the country. While I enjoyed the scenes and wandering entertainers of Venice, my husband and the kids went across the street to see the battle between the British frigate and the Pirate ship in front of Treasure Island, another famous Las Vegas Casino and Resort.
From there they walked to The Mirage. The lobby is an indoor atrium filled with palm trees, waterfalls, and pools. At the front desk, there is a 20,000 gallon artificial coral reef aquarium, which is home to sharks, pufferfish, and angelfish. They also greatly enjoyed the White Tiger in its habitat, which was on the move continuously, pacing back and forth, going up and down the terrazzo steps, or best, playing like an overgrown kitten with objects in a wading pool.
When they returned, I was ready to go to Paris, which sports a 50-story half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower and reproductions of the Arc de Triumph, the Paris Opera House, the Louvre, and the Hotel de Ville.
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Complementing the Parisian landmarks, the Paris retail shopping area is set along a Parisian street scene fashioned after the Rue de la Paix. The interior buildings are covered with facades representative of specific Parisian districts. Aging finishes were applied by hand so that each is unique and appears weathered for the age of the represented district.
When it came time for dinner, we first thought we'd dine at Mon Amis Gabi, a Parisian-style café by the famed Chicago Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, but the only seating was outside and the temperature at that time was 106°. So we settled on Le Provencal, a sidewalk café inside where it was much more comfortable. I chose the heart-healthy Poulet a la Roche, a spit-Roasted Chicken with Rosemary-Garlic Jus, fresh vegetables, and Duchess potatoes. I did try a bite of my husband's Terrine de Foie Gras and his Grilled Lamb Chops with Fresh Country Mint Sauce. All delicious! My step-daughter ordered a walnut and raisin loaf filled with chunky chicken, apple, and walnut salad and her friend tried the Fruits De Mer, lobster, shrimp, scallops, and calamari with a fresh mint and lemon vinaigrette. We couldn't have eaten better in the real Paris.
The next day we only had time for a quick goodbye breakfast at the hotel before we turned in our rental car and headed for the airport to catch a before noon flight. Once there, we waited for six hours and changed gates three times before actually leaving for home. This was when I was glad that I always carry extra medication (it's never in a checked bag) and carb snacks.
We didn't begin to see it all-it would take one a least a week to see everything. If you do go-bring lots of money and know that everything's expensive. The days of $1.49 buffets and 59-cent breakfasts are long gone. There are some bargains, but you have to hunt them out, and eating at one of the better restaurants is quite expensive.
I can remember years ago sitting at a table in one of the casinos, just people-watching. A nice-looking gentleman stopped by and asked if I gambled. When I replied "no," he smiled and offered his hand and said "I don't either; by the way I own this casino." So if you do plan to gamble, be realistic and know that most likely you'll be leaving your money in Las Vegas.
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