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| Bally's Hotel & Casino |
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| Paris - Las Vegas |
I just got back from a great three day trip to Vegas. My sister, Leslie joined me and we had the best time! Our flight arrived late on Friday
night so we didn't do very much except check in - we stayed at
Bally's on the strip. We are on
the 17th floor of the south tower. Our suite was wonderful and we had a gorgeous view of the
Eiffel Tower Restaurant and the
Bellagio. They only had a king size bed so we decided to add a roll-away bed for a little extra comfort. There were his & her closets and sinks, (in our case it was hers & hers), a large tub in the center of the bathing area, a glass shower, a separate toilet, and even included a bidet. Everything about this hotel was absolutely beautiful - as are all the other hotels on the strip. The staff was super courteous and helpful. They had great shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs all under the same roof. :) It really was an awesome experience.
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| Small section of the strip |
We learned our lesson the hard way on Saturday. We walked about three and a half miles down the strip without even realizing it. Our feet were throbbing by late afternoon when we returned. Even after soaking our feet, there was not much improvement. Needless to say, we spent more money on cab fare the next two days. :)
Saturday morning was spent with breakfast at the
Hard Rock Cafe. Neither of us had ever stepped foot in one before - the
memorabilia is extraordinary! The food not so much. I ordered coffee and Eggs Benedict - my favorite. Coffee was good but my poached eggs were over-cooked and hardly contained any hollandaise sauce. As my second meal in Vegas, I was O for 2. (We had some nachos the night before at a different restaurant that were unsatisfying as well.) In total, my meals counted 3 for 5. :)
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| My sister and I |
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| 5lb Gummy Bear |
We walked down the strip towards
Mandalay Bay, we wanted to see the
Shark Reef. Also a very cool attraction. I would definitely want to bring C.J. to see this. There was plenty of exotic sea life. I am glad we made this one of our stops. We continued back down the strip and stopped at the mall in
Planet Hollywood. We stopped at quite a few shops including the
Sugar Factory which I absolutely adore! They had so many yummy treats I didn't know where to begin. It was all cupcakes, and cookies, and candies!...Oh my! Most certainly a child's dream come true. We made a few more purchases at different stores and had lunch at the mall before heading back to our hotel to get ready for the evening.
The main reason for our trip was for a friend/cousins wedding. I've known Yvette and her family since I was about 15 years old. It is funny, I knew her before I knew Erick and before I found out that Yvette and Erick are cousins! It was a wonderful surprise to learn that a few years ago. I was so excited and so happy to be there and didn't care that we were standing outside, in a dress and heels, in 40 degree weather. hahaha (It was only for a short while, waiting for the bride to arrive.)
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| After party. |
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| Juan & Yvette 3-17-2012 |
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| Prima hermosa! |
She looked absolutely gorgeous and they both looked super happy as they stood in front of the minister sharing their vows. They were married in a little place to the south of the strip called
Chapel of the Flowers. The ceremony was short and sweet but the minister had some really beautiful words to say. I couldn't help but tear up in my joy for them. I wish them all the happiness in the world! The dinner followed at the
Monte Carlo were we all met up (about 25 of us all together.) It was an amazing buffet! Really top quality food, desserts, and drinks. The end of our night was spent at
The Gossy Room at
Caesars Palace where we had drinks, did some dancing, and of course conversed about the days' events. It was a great day!
Sunday was spent at the
Luxor Hotel where we took a few photos and got to walk through the
Titanic and
Bodies Exhibitions. The hotel is probably one of the most unique to view, in my opinion anyway. It is shaped like a pyramid and as the Sphinx.
We were not allowed to take any photos at all through either exhibit. We saw some really amazing things. As we entered the Titanic Exhibition, we were each handed a boarding pass, a copy of an original, it contained the name and other information about the passenger. We would use this card at the end of the tour to see if we survived or perished in the accident.
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| The only photo I could take |
The entire tour was absolutely breathtaking, intense, and just sad. There were moments during the tour that I could actually feel my eyes well-up. A lot of what I read and saw really made my heart ache. It really was a lot to take in, in that hour. Like I said, there really were some amazing artifacts. They had tools, ship decor, kitchen utensils, actual bills, passenger belongings - including clothing, jewelry, and personal grooming, even cups, dishes, and plates with the White Star logo. It is astounding what they have brought up from the bottom of the ocean. They had photos and stories of passengers and crew on board. The design to the exhibit is remarkable. They have made certain sections to actually look like the ship including, 3rd class rooms, 1st class rooms, and the C deck. The one part of the tour that did get to me the most was the C-Deck area. You step out through a swinging door and step onto the actual deck (or what is made to be believed as the deck). You saw a dark, starry night. It is meant for the guest to view the deck as it was seen the night the iceberg was hit. It is chilling. When you walk through the next swinging door to the other side of the deck you step into the aftermath. There is an actual iceberg available for all tourists to touch. At the end of the tour they have a huge piece of the Titanic for viewing. "The Big Piece" as it is referred to is about 25ft tall and weighs about 20 tons. It was raised in August of 1998. It is absolutely enormous as you stand next to it, but as it pertains to the actual ship is only a tiny section of four portholes. I can't even begin to comprehend the magnitude of this ship. In the last section there is a display with names of 1st Class passengers, 2nd Class passengers, 3rd Class passengers, and Crew. The top sections show passengers and crew that survived; the bottom half showed those lives that were lost. The most survivors were in 1st Class and 2nd Class. My passenger was in 3rd Class and sadly met her demise on the ship.
The Bodies Exhibition was very educational and fascinating to walk through. I've seen a lot of what they show in my medical books, but it was still nice to see these things up close and personal. The preservation of the bodies is astounding. The different sections include close ups of muscles, cartilage, bones, arteries, veins, skin, and reproductive organs. An entire section is dedicated to the growing fetus as well. At the end of the tour you can register to have your body donated in the name of science.
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| with Kassie |
That night, we met my dear old friend, Kassie at the
Treasure Island Hotel for dinner. I had not seen her in many years, since I lived in San Antonio (2001). She has been living in Las Vegas for the last 6 years. She really enjoys it and has been happy since her move there. She is a career advisor at Kaplan. She is doing wonderfully. It was so great to see her and catch up.
After dinner, Leslie and I walked to the theater for our evening show of
Mystère from Cirque du Soleil. This was my second show and my sister's first. It is a magnificent experience! I encourage everyone, whether in Vegas or not, to try and catch one of their amazing acts. You will not regret it! :)
After the show I crossed over to the Bellagio just to view their conservatory and botanical gardens - absolutely beautiful! I have never seen anything like this.
I know that a lot of people go to gamble but to be honest, I think I spent about $13 in total. I played the slots mostly on Monday, our last day there. I won $3 - LOL!
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| my LiL Sis <3 |
I have to admit, Vegas can be a little overwhelming. There was so many people and so many sights, it is all a little difficult to take in in just a few days. But those 3 days were more than enough...hahaha. I really enjoyed my mini-vacation, I know I most definitely needed it, but I could not wait to get home to my LiL Man. This was my first time away from him overnight, it did prove to be a little heart aching at times. I pulled myself together either way and enjoyed my time away.
I am so glad I was able to take this trip with my sister, Leslie. It really was an enjoyable and bonding experience for us. I would really like to do this again but have our husbands come along as well. I am sure they would both have a great time as well. Maybe we can look up flights and hotel deals for Erick's 30th ;)
