Today is our introduction to Las Vegas gambling and The Strip. But
first, we meet Sandy and Harry for a leisurely breakfast at The
Pink Pony in Circus Circus.
Next, we start exploring The
Las Vegas Strip, gambling as we go. We leave Circus Circus and head
south down The Strip. We visit the Westward
Ho and New Frontier casinos
first. We pass by Treasure Island
(those water misters felt wonderful in the desert heat) and visited Siegfred
& Roy's Secret Garden at The Mirage.
The Secret Garden includes the White
Tiger Habitat and the Dolphin
Habitat.
Along the way, we have "lunch" and relief from the heat at Ben & Jerry's.
Later in the afternoon we stop in the Venetian
which is truly the Greatest Wonder of the Las Vegas Strip. The best thing
about the Venetian is visiting the Grand Canal Shoppes and strolling along the
Grand Canal. I literally thought I was outdoors except that the
temperature was very comfortable. The ceiling looks exactly like the sky.
We're not talking about painting the ceiling blue with a few white clouds. We're
talking about something so realistic you won't believe you're indoors. Everyone
was walking around looking up with their mouths gaped open. Paris has fake sky
inside. Caesars has fake sky with better lighting than Paris. But the Venetian
has "knock your socks off" sky. We wanted to take a gondola ride
but you have to make your reservations in person on the same day. The wait
was three hours when we checked. The best way to ride the gondola is to
stay at the Venetian and make the reservations first thing in the morning. There
is a weight limit of 680 pounds (310 kg), so even though there are four
passenger seats, it's impossible for two normal size couples to ride
together. If we ever go back to Las Vegas, we're going to stay at the
Venetian.
On the way back we stop at a small travel office and reserve our cruise on Lake Mead and tour of Hoover Dam.
We trek back to Circus Circus and relax before dining at Stivali
Italian Restorante in Circus Circus.
