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!
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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