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Day 1
We arrive! In San Francisco after much perturbation with United Airlines once again. I watch our decent into the bay and contemplate
why my vertigo does not transcend to airplanes. It is bright and sunny but we land in fog and mist. Kerry relates a mini-dream
he has just had about our landing in a Tsunami. San Fran smells good, a mixture of warm rain, coffee and leather. And no wonder,
our departure gate is next to a coffee shop and opposite Wilson’s Leather, in which Kerry gets lost until we take off.
I lose myself in the huge Compass bookstore, looking for a book to replace my rather dull and slow Georgian murder mystery
despite its very apt setting in old London gambling halls. All I find is a “bubble gum” magazine, which has more
gloss than content. We don’t have much time until we board our connection, which is a shame considering the resources
at our disposal and I lament that longer layovers we have encountered in the past have been spent in less diverting airports.
Having been up since 3am a quick fresher with the Jo Malone in-flight bag reveals that no amount of green tea eye cream is
going to make a difference. We arrive in Las Vegas early and in good spirits and love our room – a picture of pale olive
and gold, with a large marble bathroom, so cool on the feet, which reminds me of being in Italy, and a huge picture window
facing Caesar’s Palace pool. I drag the nearest comfy chair over to the window and draw the sheers for the view. After
a brief rest we go off to explore, I insist on visiting the Italian coffee shop ‘Palio’ first and have the best
café au lait while Kerry plays the slots. We walk over to the Desert Passage and stroll the shops. A man on stilts greets
us with “Good morning my dears” although it is 2 o’ clock in the afternoon. Has he been there so long that
he thinks day is night? What was once the rival to Caesar’s Forum is rapidly becoming the death mall, there is very
little of interest there now, except the architecture. Without Club Monaco, we buy nothing, but still marvel at the Souk atmospheres
of the Passage. Unimpressed by the retail opportunities we leave for Paris. Oh, how wonderful to be in Paris again!! My favourite
shop is the wine and cheese shop, Kerry is missing the print shop that used to be here. We meander from Paris back to Italy,
to check our reservations for the Monet exhibition at the Gallery of Art. I stop in at Palio for more café au lait, I feel
I’m back in Europe. The coffee shop’s sunny location overlooks the pool swathed in rose gardens and cypress trees….We
dress up for dinner and go to the buffet feeling positively porcine when done. Kerry stays to gamble I go upstairs to unwind
and read my book. I witness a fabulous sunset from my chair which I capture rather shakily on camera.
Day 2
We stroll over to Caesar’s from the Palio coffee shop in search of some breakfast. Kerry wins $150 in the Phantom of
the Opera slot machine while I watch a Celine Dion video with the sound down, outside her 'New Day' store. We stroll the Forum
shops which are shut up tighter than a drum for something to eat and are finally directed to the Café Lago by casino staff.
We have a rather good buffet breakfast (another buffet, my waistband groans). We take off after I pose for a picture by Sinatra’s
piano.It’s just before 10am and still nothing is open – we are just about to leave when the Living Statues come
to life and Bacchus tells us to eat drink and be merry as well as do a bit of shopping. When the ‘show’ ends lo
and behold the shops are open. We promptly leave for the Venetian, where the real shopping can begin… but before I can
start, Kerry buys two tickets to The Traveller 3-D Ride. We have time to kill before the ride starts, and I am eager to get
to Acca Kappa and Jimmy Choo. My side of the story is that I was off ‘like a war horse at the sound a bugle’,
with, as I thought, Kerry at my heels, but he tells is differently. His version is that I was nowhere to be found when he
turned around. Nonsense, I was just around the corner! I am verbally reeled in for the ride with threats of a tracking collar,
and we are tossed back to 18th Century Venice and then on Egypt before the ride stops and we are let off to finally get to
Mecca – Acca Kappa. We buy up a storm in soap, deodorant, shampoo and toothbrushes all for us…. I buy mostly White
Moss and Kerry buys Cedar, both very elegant and very subtle. To continue our Italianate day in style, we go to the Guggenheim
Museum to see The Art of Pleasure. What a great collection, albeit badly lit. In Jan Steer’s In Luxury Beware, due to
the shadow of the large gilt frame, we missed the monkey detail in but caught the boy smoking. Kerry points out the painting’s
morals of not letting a pet eat off the table – I think he misses Portia. I am particularly enamoured with the Manet
and Chagall’s Belrussian with the green face. The nose and mouth are painted so delicately. We skip lunch to visit the
Fashion Show Mall, where we stop for refreshments; I have a $5 Bailey’s milkshake. It peps me up for the next round…We
visit Neiman’s and Saks and both Jo Malone counters and also the Penhaligon’s where the leather goods are so soft
and Kerry buys more men’s toiletries to supplement his Acca Kappa stash. I see an identical pair of polka dot tennis
shoes to the one’s I am wearing but in blue. They are half off and as I had been considering buying a second pair, I
seize them as mine. Kerry finds 5 tagless white t-shirts for $20 and contemplates buying 5 black ones. We walk back via Treasure
Island, which has undergone a facelift, but not for the better in my opinion. The old fashioned Pirate Cove front has been
replaced by the Tangerine Night club. The old Battle Bar where we once sat and waited for the Pirate show with two mugs of
grog is now no more. The pirate show has also changed; it now features Sirens, not the same at all. Kerry buys a skull mug
full at the dakari bar. We visit the lone white tiger at The Mirage and take the tram back to cool our feet on the marble
of the bathroom floor…We attend the Monet exhibition at the Gallery of Fine Art. It’s indescribably beautiful
with many of his landscapes, two of Rouen Catheral and two of the Water Lily Pond at Giverney. I can’t listen to the
audio tour, such an exhibition deserves a reverent silence while I take it all in. I spend a wonderful early evening by the
pool amidst the cedar trees and rose garden and read some more of my book. I also sketch on a napkin and write postcards.
Worried I am late for my rendezvous with Kerry at the snack bar, I hurry back to the room to freshen up. We over order for
supper and have a picnic in the room of sandwiches with too many fries.
Day 3
I awake to the smell of cold fries and although repulsed by them I am hungry.
Being a dedicated member of the “tea and toast crowd” (see earlier journal entries), I would be quite content
doing the continental thing and having coffee and a pastry, but you can’t really do Vegas justice without the buffet,
so we have breakfast at the Bellagio buffet. I miss the toast, but do have my first cup of tea in 24 hours. At least it is
good Earl Grey. I plump for a bagel and lox. I notice that the fish in Las Vegas is very tasteless, being in the middle of
the desert they must pack it in ice to fly it in and therefore flavour is lost. Later on we find a restaurant which boasts
“Flyfresh fish” – flown in rather than frozen, that must be the way to go. We decide on the other end of
the strip today and take off hiking to MGM Grand. As usual I am mesmerized by the Lion Habitat, and watch Dusty and Bijou
loll around and then play with their trainers until Kerry finishes his session with Video Poker. Just my luck! The photo with
cubs option is not available again as here are no cubs at the MGM lion ranch. We head over to New York New York, Excalibur,
The Luxor and Mandalay Bay where there are a slew of new shops to explore since our last visit. We find The Art of Shaving
store and Kerry wishes he could have made reservations for a beard trim in the old fashioned barber’s shop in the back.
I find manna in the wilderness – a substantial bookstore called The Reading Room right next door to The Chocolate Swan
– a café where I could easily curl up with a book if Kerry decides to gamble. I find the book I omitted to buy before
I came – I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and I buy it to replace the rather drab mystery novel. We remark on the
changes to The Bay since we stayed her a few years ago, and after circling once or twice we take the tram back to Excalibur
and on to MGM Grand. Kerry hails a taxi, as he is tired of walking and we go back to Paris for another stroll along the boulevards….
Then back to Bellagio for a rest and a bath. Kerry’s ready first and we plan to meet up in the casino and decide where
to go for our last dinner. After a stroll around we decide on The Village Buffet in Paris, which we love so much. This is
no ordinary buffet and anyone who does not take advantage of the French food on offer should stand in line at one of those
ordinary buffets. Creamy mashed potatoes, Spinach au gratin, Tarragon chicken, beef and pork in rich red wine sauces, oodles
of cheese…. I still can’t believe that people are eating snow crab legs. We eat our fill and wonder where we can
borrow a couple of wheelbarrows to wheel our stomachs back in. I am dog tired, but Kerry decides to do the last night justice
and strolls in at midnight after a rum and coke session at the blackjack machine.
Our Last Day
We have breakfast at the Café Bellagio, which makes a change from the buffet. It’s nice to sit and be waited on while
we write a few last minute postcards. We pack leisurely enjoying the noon check out, and stash our suitcases. We go back to
Palio for one last coffee and gelato. I read my book in the comfy chairs; Kerry gets really comfy and falls asleep. His snoring
provides amusement for the passing tourists. I wake him in time for our shuttle to the airport and we leave Las Vegas contemplating
whether I spend more on coffee than Kerry did on gambling. The jury is still out on that one….
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