Today is Day 2 of our tour of the Las Vegas Strip. As
regular tourists, we did not go to Vegas to gamble, nor party, but just to see
the fascinating high-tech structures that man’s imagination was able to
conjure. I, once again, prepared myself for the many wondrous surprises that
Vegas had to offer. Loads of energy were needed to make the rounds of Vegas. So,
we started our morning with the complimentary buffet at the Venetian where we
were staying (below). We had toasted
bread with butter and jam, omelet, bacon and ham and coffee.
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| Breakfast buffet at the Venetian, Las Vegas. |
Venetian Hotel and
Casino. After breakfast, we started a tour of our hotel. Since, we were
at the Venetian, seeing this gondola should not be a surprise. But, recreating
a river with real boats, and singing gondoliers was really astonishing. Maybe,
the passengers on the gondola (below) wanted to feel the romance of riding the
real thing, even if it was only in a contrived setting.
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| Picture of a singing gondolier @ Venetian Hotel and Casino. |
It was still early morning, but inside, the scenery was a copy
of a Venetian side street, complete with cafés and street lights to depict a
balmy summer night in Venice. The blue sky and the soft clouds on the ceiling
(below) made me think for a while if, indeed, we were outside Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy.
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| Picture of a Venetian side street in Las Vegas. |
Palazzo Hotel. We continued walking:
but, lo and behold, we were in another hotel already, the Palazzo (Palace)
Hotel. You’d know you’re in the Palazzo
Hotel when you see these umbrellas hanging from the ceiling (below). From The
Venetian, you will pass “through a towering octagonal structure
and garden with a 2-story fountain topped by a glass-and-iron dome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palazzo)”
to reach the Palazzo. They are connected on the north side.
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| Picture of umbrellas @The Palazzo Hotel. |
The circular walk of the Palazzo makes possible seeing their
ubiquitous umbrellas from all angles. (Upper L: On the background are hotel staff wearing European-inspired
costumes, probably to emphasize the European atmosphere of the Venetian; Upper R: A
view from the second floor of the Palazzo lobby; Below: Nearing the shopping
area of the Palazzo, our double images).
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| Walking around the Venetian and Palazzo Hotel. |
A favorite past-time among women is shopping; and there is so much luxury shopping that you can do at
the Palazzo (Below- upper photo). Lan and I went from shop to shop until she found
a black and white, vertical-striped polo shirt with long-sleeves that she
really wanted (Below- L). I waited patiently for her to make-up her mind, until,
she finally, bought it after a long consideration, at a sale price of $100.
Good that the shop has this sofa for this tired shopper to rest in ( Below- R).
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| Shopping in Las Vegas. |
It took us quite a while to browse around the shops, until
lunch beckoned. A good place to dine is the Zine restaurant (Photo below –
upper L). The restaurant offers traditional dim sum dishes and high-end Chinese
cuisine to the Las Vegas crowd. After lunch, dessert was in order as we passed
by this yogurt shop (below - upper R). I was quite shocked by the prices but
Lan and Kiko bought me one scoop of gelato ($5.50). Lan had 2 scoops ($7.50). I
tried to really like my gelato (photo- below R), because it was the cost of
almost a gallon of our favorite local ice cream in the Philippines.
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| Dining in Las Vegas. |
Wynn Hotel.
Another luxury hotel worth seeing at the Las Vegas Strip is Wynn hotel. Kiko
drove us to the hotel, as it is quite a distance from the Venetian. It’s good
that Wynn has valet parking, so we just left the car at the entrance. Upon
entering, one could see the trees adorned by these round-shaped bouquets. The
bright red-fuchsia and orange colors are a refreshing sight and which
delightfully contrasted with the lush greenery of the foliage and the trees.
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| Picture of Wynn Hotel lobby. |
What we came for at the Wynn was their main attraction, the
large, curtain waterfall behind a mountain that faces the strip. The water
falls into a 3-acre (1.2 ha) lake. “The show can be viewed from the
Parasol Up (a lounge and viewing area), and can be viewed through a glass
window with no audio. Or, the show can be viewed from Parasol Down, with a
larger outdoor view. Visitors can go to the platform at the Parasol Down lounge
to view the show with full-volume audio. Those dining at SW or the new Lakeside
Restaurant by executive chef David Walzog may also have a full view of the show
while dining (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wynn_Las_Vegas).”
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| Picture of Waterfall at the Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas. |
We
concluded our tour of Las Vegas with this last stop at the Wynn. There were
still a lot of sights to see and fantasies to explore. Hopefully, we can
experience them all in this life time.
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