Las Vegas

The Palazzo, twin hotel to the Venetian, is where we stayed in Las Vegas.  We are on the 31st floor.  Can you see us waving?

Paris at night on the strip.

This is the inside mall at the Venetian.  The sky is really an indoor ceiling.

The gondola rides go through the Venetian Grand Canal Shoppes while listening to a serenade of Italian opera music.

This is a walkway through the Wynn Hotel and Casino which was a quick walk across the street from the Palazzo.

The glass art ceiling in the Bellagio Hotel Lobby is beautiful.  This Chihuly artwork is comprised of 2,000 blown-glass flowers designed especially for the Bellagio costing $40.4 million.  This is the same artist whose exhibition we saw at the Clinton Presidential Library.
















     After the stress of arriving in Las Vegas Sunday night, we started the next day feeling like a fish out of water.  However, it did not take long to get acclimated and we began finding our way around the hotel and casino.  We liked the casino and had some fun but did not lose our shirts!  We went to a fabulous show at the Wynn called  Le Reve - The Dream.  Rita had read many rave reviews about the show and our concierge, Rose, said she had been 6 times!  It was an amazing show of athletic ability and skill both above and in a 27-foot pool.  It was so daring that Rita said out loud "I think I am going to be sick!" We were not disappointed in this spectacular show!
     It was torture if you wanted to venture outside as the temperature was 105 degrees on Monday.  But after the performance, we ventured out on the strip around 10:30 p.m. on Monday evening.  The temperature was around 93 but felt hotter because the streets and sidewalks never cool down.  We thought we were going to pass out.  AND there were way too many people to fit on the sidewalks.  We saw the LINQ from a short distance which is a 550 foot tall observation wheel.  There are 28 spherical, Iatlian-made glass enclosed cabins each weighing 44,000 pounds.  Each cabin has a bar and holds approximately 40 happy people. The ride takes 30 minutes to make a complete circle.  There was absolutely no question that we were not getting on that thing!
     Tuesday on the strip was a little cooler.  It was only 104 degrees.  Rita met a new friend, Shirley.   She was a petite 78-year old retired nurse who was born in Hong Kong but lives in California.  Her husband was happy for her to spend the afternoon with Rita playing both "Let It Ride" and "Free Bet Blackjack" (both new games to Rita).  They had a ball and looked out after each other.
     We ventured out to the strip a little earlier our second evening and made it to Caesars Palace before passing out from the heat.  We cooled down and drank lots of water and then headed to the Bellagio fountain for their water, music and light show.  It was worth the struggle to get there!  And then, we admired the Chihuly artwork in the lobby.
     You know, it is the little things that make you laugh along the way.  We were lucky to have a Walgreens between the Palazzo and the Venetian and picked up several items there that we needed.  But we did a double-take when we saw Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey sitting on a shelf.  No ABC stores there.  Every alcoholic beverage you need is at Walgreens.
     We had a lot of fun in Las Vegas but are excited about heading from city streets to nature paths as we make our way to Zion National Park tomorrow.