Wednesday began with a taxi ride to the Shark
Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. The most fascinating exhibit was a beautiful
bright red giant Pacific octopus. It was very active, stretching out across
the glass to be perfectly seen.
It was the coolest thing I have ever seen in an aquarium.
We watched for over 15 minutes, until she tucked into a corner and made
herself small. We went on to the shark reef (1,300,000 gallon aquarium)
and when we finished there, went back to check on the octopus. She started
moving about the time we returned and we watched for a few more minutes
before moving on.
Giant Pacific Octopus
Today was planned to be able to walk from one place to
another. After walking though Mandalay Bay, we had lunch at Rí
Rá Irish Pub, a large restaurant constructed from a pub restored
in Ireland then shipped to Mandalay Place. My fish & chips were great
and Linda was happy with her pastry wrapped Irish pork sausage.
Rí Rá Irish Pub
We walked on to Luxor, where we did the Titanic
Artifact Exhibition and then on to the Mac King Comedy Magic Show
at Excalibur. There are few week day matinee shows in Las Vegas and this
one had the best reviews of those. Although I had selected seats which
weren't right next to the stage, Linda was the first person called up on
stage and Mac had a lot of fun with her. No photography is permitted and
it was so hard not taking photos of Linda on stage. She has a couple of
small props from her time on stage and an autographed poster of the show
for her trouble. That was fun, but I wouldn't really recommend the show.
The "Big Piece" - 15-ton, 26-by-12-foot section of the Titanic starboard
hull
We didn't have a lot of time for supper, so we had fried
chicken sandwiches and fresh cut fries at The Crack Shack, on the
Strip by Park MGM.
Tonight's show was Ka by Cirque du Soleil at MGM Grand.
It is a bigger and more spectacular production than last night's show.
They do not provide printed programs and I couldn't really follow the story.
That wasn't necessary to appreciate the magnificent staging, but I would
have appreciated a description of what they were trying to communicate.
After the show, we crossed the Strip to New York New
York, where we found Bar at Times Square, with dueling pianos.
There was no admission charge, but a $20 fee if you wanted a seat. The
standing room side of the bar was packed by the time we left and was the
more rowdy part of the crowd. We had a great time and stayed a couple of
hours before returning to Paris.
Crack Shack
Wheel of Death at Ka
Bar at Times Square
Thursday morning we took a taxi to the Mob Museum,
in the old Federal building. It is downtown, just a block or two from Fremont
Street. It is pretty interesting and we spent nearly two hours there. We
would have been even longer if we had done one of the optional interactive
experiences. We spotted many references to Kansas City in the exhibits.
Lunch was just up the street at Triple George Grill,
a 20 year old steakhouse with a "U" shaped bar which filled the main room.
We had one of the very private booths. We each had and enjoyed lobster
rolls, though my fries had sat for a while before being served.
After exploring Fremont Street, we returned to our hotel
to freshen up and change for the evening.
Mob Museum
St. Valentine's Day Massacre wall with pockmarks from bullets
Triple George Grill (booths along left wall)
Lobster roll
On our way to supper, we walked through the Flamingo
and stopped to see the turtles, flamingos, and other birds in the outdoor
Wildlife Habitat in the middle of the casino. One of the Flamingos had
been stolen and injured last week and there were two security guards watching
them.
Supper was at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone
Crab in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. This was the fanciest
place we dined during the trip. Linda had crab stuffed shrimp and I had
the grilled seafood platter (jumbo shrimp, lobster tail & scallops).
My lobster tail had three halves. Sides were à la carte and generous,
and we shared onion strings. It was a very nice meal. I particularly liked
the grilled lobster, but all of my meal was good.
Tonight's show was Absinthe, which is in a tent,
just outside Caesar's. It is a bawdy comedy and aerobatics cabaret show
in an intimate venue.
The Big 12 tournament KU vs TCU game began just before
the show and Linda watched the opening of the game on her phone before
we took our seats. I had scouted sports bars and following our show, we
went across Caesar's to Stadia Bar to watch the conclusion of the
game. The University of Kansas won.
On our way to supper, we had spotted another piano bar
at the Hilton and stopped there for about an hour on the way back to our
hotel. It was good and the crowd was having fun, but I enjoyed the music
more the night before.
Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab
You are very close to the performers at Absinthe
Friday was our last day of the trip. We had a leisurely
morning in the room and then checked out. I was going to check luggage,
but the line to do so would have taken a very long time, so we took our
luggage to lunch with us. We had reservations at Mon Ami Gabi in
Paris.
I had onion soup and a chicken pate, while Linda had a smoked salmon plate.
I loved my dishes. My food was the best I have had so far this year and
I dine out often.
Our flight back was uneventful.
Mon Ami Gabi
Chicken Liver Mousse Pâté with burgundy red wine mustard,
cornichons - Onion Soup au Gratin with gruyère cheese
Day One
