The Las Vegas Strip
I met my cousin Meg from Chicago at McCarran Airport. We, in turn, were met by Meg’s nephew (my second cousin) Eric at the airport. This was a trip with some ups and downs––the first “up” was that Meg actually arrived in Las Vegas as her plane was the last one to depart from Chicago that day due to a storm coming in to the Midwest. Another “up” was meeting Eric and his family, and still another “up” was having dinner with a wonderful friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas. The “downs” were Meg tripping over a curb and ending up with a very painful foot and, not so serious, missing the Discovery Tour at the Hoover Dam as we had to be evacuated at the start of the tour because their fire alarms went off. It was rather chilly in Vegas, but we were still surprised to see it actually snowing on the Strip and at the airport on our last day there. Photo: A view of the Strip taken from the Bellagio. (Some of the photos in this album I took on another Las Vegas trip––not all noted as such––in July 2005, when it was over 100 degrees both day and night.)
The Las Vegas Strip
The Alladin
We stayed on the Strip at the Alladin, which is now being transformed into the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The whole front of the Alladin was under reconstruction. However, the Alladin’s Desert Passage, we were told, will remain––which will result in a somewhat strange Arabian Nights–Planet Hollywood resort theme. Photo: Inside the Desert Passage. UPDATE: The Alladin is now the Planet Hollywood. The Desert Passage is no more.
The Alladin
At the Alladin
More of the Desert Passage. There is a Nestle store here selling out–of–this–world freshly baked Tollhouse Cookies. (I wonder if the Tollhouse store moved to another Strip location.)
At the Alladin
At the Alladin
More of the Desert Passage.
At the Alladin
Paris Las Vegas
After checking into the Alladin, Eric, Meg, and I walked over to the Paris Las Vegas, which is right next door to the Alladin. Photo of, of course, the Eiffel Tower. We had dinner one night at its restaurant, located in the blackened window area in the photo. It is one of the many, many top–notch restaurants in Las Vegas.
Paris Las Vegas
Paris Las Vegas
The fountain in front of the Paris.
Paris Las Vegas
Paris Las Vegas
A fountain inside the elegant Paris. We ate lunch at a Parisian cafe in which you could also feast on delicious French pastries.
Paris Las Vegas
Paris Las Vegas
Ceiling in the Paris.
Paris Las Vegas
Caesars Palace
After Eric left us to go to his home, Meg and I set out to see the sights of Vegas. I got to be tour guide as I have been to Vegas a number of times, but this was Meg’s first visit here. I very much enjoyed acting as tour guide (and also knowing a place well enough not to worry about getting lost!). We crossed Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) to visit Caesars Palace. Photo: Statues in the Caesars Forum Shops area.
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
The Trojan Horse outside F.O.A. Schwarz toy store in the Caesars Forum Shops area.
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
King Atlas, a talking statue, part of the Fall of Atlantis show at Caesars. (Free, in the Caesars Forum Shops area.) I put a movie clip of the show on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Fall of Atlantis.”
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
A beautiful fish in the aquarium located behind the throne of King Atlas. The aquarium is definitely worth a look, with many colorful and some unusual fish. You almost don’t hear all the very loud noise inside Caesars as you are watching the fish. Las Vegas is noisy––Meg wished she had brought along earplugs. We ate dinner at the food court at Caesars––not elegant, but good food, and, surprisingly, a relatively quiet place. We walked back to the Alladin from here and called it a day.
Caesars Palace
Lake Bellagio
After spending a delightful morning with Eric and his family––we were treated to a great breakfast at the Original Pancake House (it is a distance from the Strip, so you would have to drive there). Eric dropped us off back at the Alladin and Meg and I found the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie shop and had cookies for our lunch––delicious. We crossed the street to the Bellagio and started walking toward it when Meg fell off a curb. She thought she might have broken a bone in her foot, but she could still walk on it, though painfully. We found the nearest–to–the–entrance bar lounge in the Bellagio so that Meg could rest her foot. Our waitress even brought her an ice bag to put on her foot and called security to give her clinic addresses in case she wanted to see a doctor. They couldn’t have been nicer and we did tell them that she didn’t fall on Bellagio property. But before going inside the Bellagio, we stopped to watch the Fountain Show on Lake Bellagio. I have put a movie clip of the Fountain Show on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Fountain Show at the Bellagio.” In the photo, the Bellagio is on the left and Caesars Palace is on the right.
Lake Bellagio
The Bellagio
Italian Murano glass ceiling sculpture in the Bellagio lobby––called the Fioro di Como, by Dale Chihula, made up of more than 2000 individually blown glass pieces.
The Bellagio
The Bellagio
Year of the Pig statue to celebrate Chinese New Year’s in the Bellagio Conservatory. We met my friend Jane, who lives in Las Vegas, for dinner at the Olives, a great restaurant at the Bellagio. We were going to sit outside on the lake, but it became so cold and windy we opted for an inside table. After dinner, Meg and I went to see “O”––a Cirque de Soleil performance. It was very entertaining. Then, we said goodbye to the beautiful Bellagio and took a cab to the 24/7 clinic off the Strip to have poor Meg’s foot X–rayed. The X–ray didn’t show any broken bones and the doctor told her the best thing she could do for her foot was to walk on it and to take Alleve (a radiologist much later read the X–ray and found a hairline crack in a side middle foot bone, but Meg didn’t find this out until she was back home in Chicago). After being picked up at the clinic by a very nasty cab driver (he was the exception to the wonderful Las Vegas hospitality that we were shown), we made it back to the Alladin after midnight.
The Bellagio
The Venetian
Today, we must have walked miles upon miles. Vegas is a walking city––not only from one hotel to another on the Strip, but just walking through the casinos, a necessity to get to the rest of the hotel. We did take many breaks to rest Meg’s foot. First stop, the Venetian. We arrived here about 9:30 a.m. so we could watch the Gondolier March. I put a movie clip of it on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Gondolier March at the Venetian.”
The Venetian
The Venetian
Another photo of the Grand Canal.
The Venetian
The Venetian
All the gondoliers at the Venetian sing. I put a movie clip of this Singing Gondolier on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Singing Gondolier at the Venetian.”
The Venetian
The Venetian
St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco). There is entertainment in the square at night.
The Venetian
The Venetian
Year of the Pig jade scupture in one of the Venetian stores. If you come to Vegas with lots of money to spend or if you win lots, there are a zillion stores in which to spend it, many of them designer stores. We found one store, at the Bellagio, that was selling a handbag for over $12,000.
The Venetian
The Venetian
I think we just entered the Vatican Museum.
The Venetian
The Venetian
Accordian player at the Venetian. I put a movie clip of him on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Accordian Player at the Venetian.”
The Venetian
The Venetian
The Venetian at night (taken in July 2005). Today, the gondolas only traveled inside the building. In photo: Doges Palace and the Rialto Bridge.
The Venetian
The Venetian
Photo also taken in July 2005. The Rialto Bridge and the Campanile di San Marco.
The Venetian
The Wynn
Our next destination was the Wynn, a relatively new five–star hotel. (Photo taken July 2005.) There is much new construction now on the Strip––not only the facelift at the Alladin, but a huge expansion of the Wynn. The area between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio is also a major construction site––the Holiday Inn Boardwalk that was there is no more, nor is the Stardust farther down the Strip. Las Vegas is reinventing itself once again––this time, as we were told, with the building of high–rise condos with their own casinos and high–end restaurants. This is what will fill in the area between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio.
The Wynn
The Wynn
We ate at a cafe overlooking this waterfall. Very peaceful.
The Wynn
The Wynn
There is another waterfall in the middle of this photo.
The Wynn
The Wynn
Twirling parasols hanging from the ceiling of the Wynn.
The Wynn
The Wynn
More of the parasols.
The Wynn
The Wynn
Chandelier at the Wynn.
The Wynn
The Wynn
The mosaic floor at the Wynn.
The Wynn
The Wynn
Many designer shops at the Wynn.
The Wynn
The Wynn
Chinese New Year lanterns at the Wynn.
The Wynn
The Mirage
Our next destination was across and up the Strip––the Mirage. We decided to spend $15 apiece and visit the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat here. We felt that $15 was too high for what was here, but it was quiet and very peaceful and a good change from the noise of the Strip and the casinos. There are about six or so dolphins here, but not a real show unless one of the workers feels like putting the dolphins through some tricks. Here is Flipper?
The Mirage
The Mirage
I didn’t know that dolphins put their tails up out of the water.
The Mirage
The Mirage
Dolphins out of the water.
The Mirage
The Mirage
An alpaca in the Secret Garden.
The Mirage
The Mirage
A lion with an interesting face in the Secret Garden.
The Mirage
The Mirage
White tigers in the Secret Garden. It is billed as Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden––hence, the white tigers. We didn’t find out if any of these tigers performed in their old show.
The Mirage
The Mirage
A white tiger close up.
The Mirage
The Rio
From the Mirage, we took a taxi to the Rio, which is off the Strip. We took a number of taxis during our stay in Vegas and was surprised at how inexpensive they were. The most expensive taxi ride that we took was from the Aladdin to the airport, and with a good tip, it was just over $10.00 (the shuttle to the airport would have cost us $14 for both of us, but a taxi may cost more from other hotels). We came to the Rio to see the free Masquerade Show in the Sky at the Rio casino. Photo: the Rio casino.
The Rio
The Rio
The clown was a warm–up act before the Masquerade Show. I put a movie clip of his performance on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “”Clown at the Rio.”
The Rio
The Rio
More of the warm–up acts. Not a good photo as I didn’t want to move from my place in front of the stage. I have put two movie clips of the Masquerade Show in the Sky on this website: Go to Movies, United States, Las Vegas, “Msaquerade Show in the Sky–1 and –2.”
The Rio
New York New York
We took another taxi back to the Aladdin and had some rest before setting out again. We walked from the Aladdin to Mandalay Bay, where we would have dinner. We first investigated New York New York. Photo: The Strip at night from New York New York.
New York New York
New York New York
The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Statue of Liberty––wow, all of them in Las Vegas.
New York New York
New York New York
Close–up of the Statue of Liberty.
New York New York
New York New York
A New York fireboat.
New York New York
MGM Grand
The MGM Grand Lion seen from New York New York.
MGM Grand
The Excalibur
My favorite lit–up–at–night place in Vegas––The Excalibur, seen across the Hudson River (?) in front of the New York New York.
The Excalibur
The Excalibur
Closer–up photo of the Excalibur. From the Excalibur, we took a monorail to the Mandalay Bay.
The Excalibur
Mandalay Bay
We had a wonderful dinner at the Border Grill at the Mandalay Bay––rock shrimp for both of us. The photo shows one of the many interesting wall drawings at the Border Grill. We took the monorail back to the Excalibur and then had a very bad idea: We would take the monorail that runs behind the Strip from the MGM Grand back to the Paris and then walk to the Aladdin from there. Why it was a very bad idea: The walk to the monorail station from the street entrance at the MGM Grand was a distance somewhere between 1 mile and 3 miles, through the MGM’s extensive casino floor and then along their extensive restaurant row and then beyond even that. We did make it eventually to the monorail station and got off at the Paris/Balley’s station, the next station. At this station, the walk back to Las Vegas Boulevard was not very long. But now we can say that we have been on the Las Vegas monorail! When we got back to the Aladdin, we did the only gambling that we did while we were in Vegas. We were each given a $10 free slot machine coupon from the Aladdin––Meg won (enough to pay her insurance deductible for her clinic visit); I lost the $10 and about $10 more.
