Wednesday we drove to Las Vegas for a short get-away. Normally we don't put too much into a room but this time we decided to spend a little more and get a room at the Flamingo. The bathroom alone was great; the shower was huge and the mirror had a tv screen in it - quite different from our RV!
We had tickets to a show that night at the Rio. It was just a short walk over there but it was dark and I had on good shoes, so we took the shuttle from nearby Bally's. The Rio has a buffet that was reputed to be the best in Vegas. Someone told us about the "$50 for 24 hour" deal - $50 buys a ticket that gives access to five different buffets for 24 hours. Since the Rio buffet alone was $32, we decided to go that route. The Rio buffet is very well known and draws a big crowd; we even saw a wedding party there. The buffet line included prime rib for Randy and crab legs for me. There was just a huge variety of food - after 2 plates of crab legs I had refried beans, a few other odds and ends, the best chocolate chip pecan cookies I've ever had, and a corn dog.
We had plenty of time to eat too much before heading over to the Crown theater for the Michael Jackson show. We were seated in the VIP section, although there were better seats in the theater. As the show was ready to start I noticed some of the best seats were still empty so I asked an usher if they were available. He smiled and said "of course", then just held eye contact with me. I laughed when I realized he was implying I could have them if I tipped him. Fortunately our seats were fine. The show was very good. "Michael" was very accurate in voice, mannerisms and dancing. He wore the trademark outfits and did all the famous bits - moonwalk, Thriller (including zombies) and his voice was a near match. The only thing missing was a lightness of step, a smoothness that belonged only to Michael. That man could dance like a dream.
After the show we took the shuttle back to the Flamingo, where the view from our window was amazing.
In the morning we when to the Paris hotel for breakfast at the "Le Village Buffet". We started with a fresh berry crepe, which was a mistake because it was huge, but so good that we had to eat it all. And there was a lot more to enjoy; Potato Lyonnaise, Egg Benedict, salmon, cheeses, croissants, and then there was the bacon - prepared by baking, not frying, and unexpectedly awesome.
We needed to walk off some of that so we walked down the strip towards the MGM, stopping in at stores and hotels along the way. My favorite chandelier had each little crystal suspended by a single thread - gorgeous.
We were looking for Christmas decorations, expecting the big hotels would put up some amazing lights. Several hotels had some decorations but only the Bellagio put some real effort into it. Their lobby and atrium were given over to a charming display of decorated trees, arctic animal figures, huge snow globes, toy trains, and fake snow.
When we got to the MGM we discovered that the lions are gone - I guess they got rid of them about 3 years ago. Too bad, I liked them. By then it was time for lunch so we thought we would try a different hotel buffet. Unfortunately we learned that the Flamingo and Planet Hollywood had closed their buffets. So we went back to the Paris, where I discovered my new favorite - Cavatappi with Truffle Cream Sauce. Plus excellent pate, mac and cheese, banana foster, a light-as-air soufflé, mussels, sole, marinated mushrooms, and that wonderful creation known as chocolate bread.
After lunch we walked (slowly) north as far as the Venetian, with it's indoor canals. expensive shops and beautiful ceilings.
The big hotels all have air-freshners just inside the doorways so it smells good when you walk in, but just a few steps further inside and the smoky air hits you. There seems to be more smokers now than the last time we were here. And at some point they installed video dealers at some of the tables.
I know how easy it is to code a computer to do what you want, so I much prefer to sit at a table with a real person. Not that it mattered. I didn't bet much and I still lost. Randy did better, but it's hard to make a fortune betting one dollar at a time.
The streets were full of people offering "free" tickets, gifts, etc - and of course none of it was really free. Many of them don't take 'no' for an answer and we got tired of them following us. And there were a lot of homeless here. There seems to be a trend to create cutesy signs asking for money, but I am not inclined to give money to someone with a sign that says "Why lie, I need beer".
One thing that has survived is the little strip mall in the center of the Strip. It still looks the same as it did over 20 years ago when we first came here.
For dinner we went back to the Paris one last time. This time I had the shrimp, along with more pate, cheese and Cavatappi. And for dessert we got a chocolate and banana crepe, big enough to share.
In the morning we weren't hungry (surprise!) so we got back on the road early to return to Riverside, where the rains have caused those dry hills to green up a bit.
And in the evening we joined Aunt Jean and her friends for caroling in their mobile home park. As expected, they put a unique twist on it; Jack fired up one of his antique tractors and pulled us all around on a trailer, loaded with rented straw bales for us to sit on. Melody brought sheets of song lyrics and CDs of music for us to sing along to. We couldn't hear the music very well so after awhile we did our own thing, which mostly consisted of singing "Feliz Navidad" over and over, interspersed with a few other songs. It's just that Feliz Navidad is so easy to sing! And the residents seemed to like it; they brought us hot chocolate, cookies, fudge and candy canes. We accepted it all, even though we knew we were going to the activity center afterwards for some of Aunt Jean's homemade soup and Christmas cookies.
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