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Las Vegas - Day 3: Circus, Circus, Cirque..."O" my!

There's traveling and then there's traveling with kids. After Nora's morning meltdown which led us to having a Starbucks breakfast of oatmeal in our hotel room and some quiet, work time for Nora, we headed out to Circus, Circus. Yes, yet another recommendation from "research" done online as to what to do in Vegas with kids. So off we went to see what we could see.

Circus, Circus is old Vegas. A time when the Rat Pack played down the strip at the Sands and the Golden Nugget was king. Today, this dated hotel is a little worn from wear. They have tried several times to resurrect the glamour of the pink and white tent to the place it held in the 50's by renovating the rooms, the casino floor and of course there is the new Adventuredome, a completely enclosed indoor amusement park. Well, these little girls are from the land of the Mall of America so they KNOW indoor parks (we just skipped that altogether) but the complaint we had heard over and over from these girls were "What? You mean those brightly-lit multi-colored video machines are not for us to play?" Finally, with the indoor Midway at Circus, Circus, they were happy to get a McDonald's lunch and $10 each to spend on midway games.

In the end, only one stuffed animal (won with a lucky crane dive from Nora) and a few morsels of candy were in our pockets for the return back to our hotel. Emma just couldn't figure out how to get that quarter onto a plate and STAY. Even after several tries. It was an interesting lesson in gambling. When you tell these girls that the Midway wasn't in business to give away prizes and there was little chance to win at these arcade games, they started to get a sense of how some of these hotels made so much money on adults who tried over and over again to get that quarter to stay on that plate. A hard lesson to learn at such a young age. We had a somber ride back to THEhotel and not much to show for our $20. Sigh.

After some time at our scrapbooks and an afternoon movie, we were ready to head out to Mon Ami Gabi, a restaurant in Paris across from the Bellagio (our last stop of the evening).

We scoped out the possibility of eating in Paris earlier in the day just to see if any restaurants had openings and a kids menu. Mon Ami Gabi won. And thankfully too! They had a great atmosphere, fantastic steaks and a wonderful wine list. Chris and I each had ribeye with a lovely Gigondas. It was a wonderful meal!

We made our reservation early to make sure we had enough time to get to our show later in the evening. It wasn't yet full and NOBODY was seated outside because of the heat. Although, they did have misters that helped reduce the heat quite a bit (just ask those on the sidewalk catching a swirl of mist now and again) it was still too unbearably hot (117) to be outdoors.

 

 

Off to the Bellagio to see "O" or "eau" if not spelled phonetically. We were treated to the gallery as we entered and the sculptures were amazing.

The costumes were amazing and the acrobatics spectacular! We had seen this production in December when just Chris and I went to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, but to see it again with the girls was a treat. Nora was dead quiet the entire time, constantly staring at the stage. Emma was literally on the edge of her seat. From the moment that Le Vieux made the enormous stage curtain disappear to when it was again replaced from the hot-air balloon basket, we were captivated!

 

Le Vieux

Cast of "O".

 

The entire stage was a pool but with a floor that could rise and lower to create any depth. The crew of scuba divers that helped the acrobats were even on stage during a part of the show. What it must take to coordinate a show like this?

If the show wasn't enough, we purchased some gelato from Jean Phillippe and headed out to the fountains outdoors. What a sight to behold. Even for two little girls who were getting a little more than sleepy.

Although it was still 110 degrees at 10pm, it was still a great last evening in Las Vegas.

We returned to our hotel room, started packing up our bags and said goodnight to the view from our room, for tomorrow we drive back northwest through Utah into the mountains of Colorado to stay overnight in Golden before we make the last trek home to Minnesota. It will be good to be back home in two days time, hug the puppies and sleep in our own beds. But what memories we have upon our return!

 

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Las Vegas - Day 2: Italy and King Arthur

Today was another day of fun! This morning, Chris met an ex-colleague from Lawson who is now living in Las Vegas for coffee in the morning. They talked about work stuff and Chris decided that this guy has a great gig here: get up and go downstairs to dial-in to work then near 3:30 he heads out to his pool in his backyard. If it weren't 117 degrees, we all would have to agree.

The Bellagio was next on our list of things to do today, including breakfast at the famous Bellagio Buffet. There was quite a long line but now that we are Pearl MLife members, we went straight to the head of the line (to the smirks and grumbles of others who had waited for some time). The girls were overwhelmed! Too many choices meant that they tried a couple of things and in the end had only a light breakfast. So did mommy (a veggie omelet with fruit). Daddy was disappointed that the day we decide to go to buffet of this nature that we all decide to eat light. So he refilled his plate 3 times to make up for us. We have never come here for dinner but it would be nice to experience the array of seafood at that time. Maybe next trip.

Crab legs anyone?

Ready to eat...but not much.

From there we checked out the chocolate fountain at Jean Philippe Patisserie. We had to get a pain au chocolat...then some water...then look at all of the wedding cakes they had on display. The girls were in confectionary heaven!

We then went to the Conservatory and looked at the wonderful flower arrangements, including an interior aviary with a variety of birds.

 

 

One lonely rowboat with one giant bird!

Now this is Chris's kind of fun...free!

From the Bellagio we wound our way back to the Venetian Canal Shoppes and had a fun gondola ride through the indoor canal. The President of the Venetian closed the outdoor canals for gondola rides since it was a broiling 116 degrees today.

Our gondola driver was a fantastic singer!

After some gelato at San Marco's Piazza, the girls posed in front of a living statue.

One of the bridges across the canals.

A fun day in Venice!

After a great afternoon in Italy, we decided to go back and brave the Mandalay pools. We already heard how that turned out. With a 116 degree day and 1/2 the population of Vegas at its most popular pool, it was a big disappointment. Next time, I hope to find something a little less like this...

....and more like this...

So needless to say, we had quite a chunk of time to kill before we went to the Excalibur and experienced jousting, swordplay and eating with our hands at the TOURNAMENT OF KINGS!

The tram to the Excalibur Hotel was very convenient. Once seated, we were greeted by a server behind us and the wizard Merlin before us. With our drinks and tomato soup in a crock ready and waiting, Merlin told us a tale of King Arthur and his court of kings from all over the globe. They would be here for a little friendly competition and we could cheer them on while they entertained us.

The food wasn't all that flavorful but was it really well seasoned in 300 A.D.? And utensils? Forget about it!

The show was pretty exciting! Especially for little girls! We were seated in France so we had to cheer on our King, le roi François. With loud chants of "Vive la France" or "Vive le roi" we soon lost our voices. A great evening of jousting and defeating the Dragon Knight meant getting to bed late for little girls. But it was well worth it!

So, I wonder what tomorrow will bring (our last day in Las Vegas)? Perhaps a circus...or a cirque?

 

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Las Vegas Baby...Johnson Style - Day 1

Welcome to Las Vegas...a mecca of gambling and debauchery as well as high summer temperatures. So why is this our last destination of this wonderful summer trip? Why on earth would we come here in July with kids in tow? Good question. After some research and talking with other family members who have made the trek here, we decided that you can indeed to Vegas with kids. Well, there's the Marshmallow Museum, for instance...

...closed for tours. Oh well. How about the Liberace Museum. The girls like things that are glittery!

Again closed to the public. Well, there's always the Mandalay Bay pools. Since we are staying at the boutique hotel THEhotel that is part of the Mandalay Bay complex, we can always get some fantastic pool time.

Well that was an utter fail. The otters liked being in the wave pool if it weren't for the other adults and big kids bowling them over. It didn't help that daddy didn't pack a swimsuit (what?) and mommy couldn't get a chair close enough to keep an eye on the girls (her chair was in row 23 seat 12). Well, she could've rented a cabana for $1000. Plus, to float down the lazy river, you were required to purchase your own flotation device (tube) for $25. Whoever said Vegas was cheap didn't stay here. I guess we should have booked at the Bellagio, where the pools were more serene and chairs were a plenty. Hindsight truly is 20/20.

Let's talk about what we DID do and what turned out to be such fun...we first went to the Venetian to get breakfast at Bouchon, one of our favorite places to eat in Vegas. We have a wonderful brunch (the waitress was surprised that two little girls could each such a big waffle. She doesn't really know them well, obviously) and went in line to get 1/2 price tickets for...well, something that we could do later that day. The winner was...

...the Mac King Comedy and Magic Show at Harrah's just next door. We picked up tickets and saw the matinee. The girls loved it! He was a big hit. Later that night was picked up tickets for...

...Penn & Teller at the Rio. Again, the girls thought that the show was a big hit! It was truly a day of magic! These two performers brought up many good points about our national security in airports and how they interfere with the amendments to our constitution. It prompted a few questions after the show. But despite this and other lessons about the handling of firearms, they still thought their favorite trick was when Teller became the "little tea pot" and Penn magically picked him up and poured him out (with water seeming to come from nowhere). Even though it was late, we still had a great photo opportunity with the performers after the show.

They have come a long way since we saw them at the Renaissance Festival in MN!

 

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