It's Day Two in the 3-Day Wonderland Saga, and dawn finds our heroines--well, frankly, dawn and most of the morning, found our heroines oblivous to the wonders of all but sleep. We were out until 1:30 a.m., and one of us was still suffering a bit from jet lag (that would not be your faithful scribe but her trusty companion Xiaoming), so we slept the sleep of the blameless and innocent. And got up at pretty much high noon. Okay, so we'll admit it. We slept the morning away. But this is Vegas. What happens here STAYS here--and generally happens at night! Anyway, we meandered around--Xiaoming did NOT work out today. Look, folks, when you're hitting more than one casino, you're WALKING. A LOT! So lay off about the working out already!
We got dressed and this time our destination was the middle of the Strip: a casino I had never been in, the Venetian. What a beautiful building that is. From a ceiling that is a replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, to gondolas that ply a canal that is always in cloud-speckled sunlight (that's it above). Today, though, we heard from a gondolier himself that the gondolas stopped plying anything toward the evening because the wind was so strong it pushed the gondolas where IT wanted them to go, not where THEY were supposed to go. I had no idea the canal was out in the open, but I guess it is for a certain distance--long enough that the elements determine the schedule. Well, we weren't really going to go for a gondola ride (it had originally been on Xiaoming's extensive itinerary for Saturday and Sunday--but she decided she'd ridden in a real gondola in Italy, so she didn't need to do this one in Vegas). We started off with a meal in the Grand Lux Cafe--and this was the best meal we had all weekend. We shared some seared raw mahi-mahi medallions dipped in a kind of soy sauce, then shared a Salad Caprese (lots of greens, big slices of mozzarella (on The Sopranos, it's called Moozadel), thinly sliced parmesan and an excellent dressing), and we shared a margherita pizza (with lots of cheese and tomatoes). Absolutely fab, as they say.
And no chance of overeating, either: each serving was just right for two. Our waitress, Trish, had just returned to her native Vegas from Dallas (Xiaoming's home), and she got me thinking, because she said she has started a list of "Things You Don't See in Dallas." It's long. And growing. I told her I was going to mention her list here, so we have a picture of her. And I highly recommend both her AND the Grand Lux Cafe.
Our next stop was--well, Xiaoming went to the restroom, while I sat down at a nearby slot machine with $20--and stood up with $38.75. That was nice. Our NEXT stop was a ticket booth where we purchased tickets for the 7 p.m. "Blue Man Group" show (hence the title of this episode, for those who need it pointed out to them!) More about that in a mo', but we had 1-1/2 hours to kill, so we headed for Madame Tussauds' Celebrity Encounter. More than 100 life-size and life-like wax statues of celebrities and famous people, from Abraham Lincoln and Muhammad Ali and Elizabeth Taylor and Hugh Hefner to John and Jacquie and Princess Di and Angelina and Brad to Elvis and Freddie Krueger and Johnny Mathis and Ole Blue Eyes. We must have taken 100 photos in this exhibit--of which I'm picking just a few, to spare you, although these were really life-like renditions. And the really good news is that Xiaoming's glasses got yanked off her head by George Clooney (she swears she never saw him move) and for a while we thought she'd never see them again--but someone found them and returned them to the box office--and she still has them.
Okay, now we were ready for the Blue Man Group. I had seen the show, but Xiaoming had not--and it was in a new venue. I saw it at the Luxor two years ago, and it was fabulous. But it is now in the Venetian, in a theater built especially for the three blue guys, and it was just as exciting the second time around. And Xiaoming enjoyed it, too. The first five rows are provided with "ponchos" (plastic bags) that protect them from flying--well, debris? cereal? paint? whatever! We were about five rows behind that and almost caught a flying marshmallow. NO JOKE! Xiaoming was on the aisle and looked stunning in her off-white lace-strapped frock, and she was certainly considered by one of the wandering blue men as the audience participant he was searching for at one point, but no, he picked someone else. Anyway, this show is--well, it's a show-stopper. It's sensational. It's a treat for every one of your senses. It's a MUST-SEE item for any Vegas itinerary. Count on it, if you come see me!
And another MUST-SEE item was the next one on our list: the Stratosphere. It's the tall needle-like building (like the ones in Seattle and San Antonio), with a revolving restaurant near the top, and in this case, some really insane rides 3 stories above that! Don't even ask: they make my stomach knot up just thinking about them! We opted for a drink in the Romance lounge, on the 107th floor
(bypassing the Chapel on the 103rd floor, where weddings with just about any theme you could ask for take place several times a day--we saw the leftovers from two of them while we were up there). After a drink overlooking the restaurant on the floor below, which did indeed revolve at a quite-noticeable pace, though I expect the diners down there weren't as aware of it as we were (1 revolution every 80 minutes, we were told), we headed for the 108th floor, which is for observation (the 109th floor is where the insame people go for those rides I mentioned).
And what a view!!! We walked all the way around and saw EVERYTHING (though we usually didn't know what we were seeing). Vegas is literally a light-filled shallow bowl all night long. The lights extend for miles and stop abruptly at the mountains on all sides. It is just unbelievable--until you've stood there and seen it! Well, when we had had our fill of that (which took a while), we had our second meal of the day (10:55 p.m., the last customers allowed in) at Roxy's Drive-In, complete with singing waiters. Ours
was "Bobby Darin," singing (quite well) "Beyond the Sea." After an early breakfast, Xiaoming tried out "The Crazy Armadillo," while I tried out some slot machines. Both of us were quite satisfied.
But the night was still young. At least in Vegas, it is. So back into the car (thank the early gods of the Strip for their decision to have LOTS of free parking at any and all casinos!) and back down the strip (the Stratosphere is at the far north end) to the center of it all: Caesar's Palace. The Venetian is truly beautiful, with murals and arches and buildings reminiscent of Venice and other parts of Italy. Caesar's Palace is opulent. No other word. I felt VERY much the country mouse there, and my money vanished into thin air--like magic! But Xiaoming had hoped that a friend had made a reservation for her at "Pure," one of the most exclusive nightclubs on the Strip. Turned out the reservation didn't exist, but--ever the resourceful young lady, Xiaoming found a couple of guys who were more than willing to get her in there on their reservation. So she had some fun in "Pure," and I had pure losing hands at some slots and a couple of tables. Anyway, we were home by, well, all right, I'll come right out and say it--3:30. There! And proud of it.
We came home (by way of the famous Las Vegas sign, which we were able to take a good picture of, since it was so late) and weren't immediately tired, so we started to watch "The Cooler," one of my favorite Vegas movies, but we didn't get 20 minutes into it before we both crashed. So I headed for my bed, and Xiaoming spent another night on my sleeper sofa (which, by the way, she testifies is very comfortable--so all who are considering flocking to my humble abode can rest assured that the nights here will be comfortable).
Enough for another blog posting. Watch for the 3rd installment, "The African Queens," coming soon to a blog near you.
