Monday, 11/06/06: Woke up early-what else is new-happens every trip with the time change. Walked over to Bellagio for the buffet. Won $40 on Super jackpot party at the Flamingo along the way.
My husband loves the Bellagio buffet for breakfast so, we just eat there every morning. He has been going to Vegas for 15 years and knows what he likes and he loves going there for breakfast. He would go somewhere else if I wanted but, it is fine with me. Great selection. Very attentive waitress for drink service. Saw very few people tipping at the egg stations. I always thought it was customary to tip a dollar. Actually, this was a theme for the trip. Saw very few people tipping period. Suprised by this because usually people are pretty generous when they are happy in Vegas!
This buffet opens at 8 am. So, if you see a line at 8 am or a little after, it clears quickly once they open. Saw some people walk away because they thought the line was too long. After breakfast, walked to Aladdin to Dessert Passage which will now have a new name-Miracle mile shops-something like that. Great sales! Husband bought shoes for 40% off at Aldo. Was stunned that he bought shoes! Not easy to get him to buy anything that is not home improvement related. By the way, I love the way they check your I.D. when you use a credit card. At home, they barely look at your card.
Anybody could use it. Walked to Caesar%26#39;s to go to the Forum shops.
For anybody interested in Christmas items, we saw Christmas stores at Desert Passage, Paris and Caesar%26#39;s. I know that question comes up sometimes around here. Got really hungry around 1:30 pm and stopped at Planet Hollywood. I didn%26#39;t eat as much at breakfast so, I needed to eat. Food was ok. Typical cheesburger place. Walked back to the hotel to drop off the bags and headed back out to gamble. Lost here and there. Went to Barbary-husband sat down at roulette table and I went to play Blastin barrels. When we met back up, we had won $80 a piece.
Blastin barrels is fun. The bonus round is 10 free spins. I won the $80 on a bonus round and it was a penny machine. Big Elvis was singing. He has a great voice. Headed back to the room. Had a hot tea and a cookie out by the fire pit on the way to the room. We have smoke-free bars and restaurants now here so, this was our first exposure to smoke in a while. Drank a hot tea every afternoon to keep my throat from being so stratchy from the smoke. Love sitting by that firepit for a break from the noise, too. Got cleaned up and changed for dinner and headed by cab to the MGM. Cab was $7.00
before tip. We prefer to cab and walk vs. renting a car. Just our preference. Picked-up our tickets for Howie Mandel and gambled a little on slots-no wins. Had reservations for Nobhill at 6:30 pm. Being our anniversary trip, we went back to a lot of our old favorites this trip. We were seated right away at what is called an oven table. These are the tables in the main part of the restaurant. They have tables that are called bar booths across from the bar. They are partially enclosed. When you make the reservation, they ask you for your preference. We started with the cheese fondue for two with the delicious sourdough bread. My husband had the Pork chop with gnocchi and veggies and I had the Japanese snapper with butternut squash risotto. The food and the service were great. With 2 iced teas, the bill was $126.07 with tax (before tip). Went to the show. Howie Mandel was great and so was John Mendoza-who we had seen before at the Improv at Harrah%26#39;s but, some members of the audience were actually rude. One lady would not stop talking to Howie. He was clearly trying to get on with the show and she would not stop. The people around us were mad. Finally, she got the hint and sat down. It was a very funny show. $65.00 including tax and fees a piece bought before we left home. Back to center strip by cab. $7 something before tip. Gambled at Barbary and Flamingo.
Finished the day up $125. By the way, we are low rollers-like I said before-we bring $500 for the trip total and we stick to that. Ordered
an apple pie to split and hot chocolate by room service. Took 20 minutes from the time we called and when we were done we called for them to take the table from the hall and we heard them take it like 10 minutes later. By the way, never saw any trays lying around the hallways all week.
Tuesday, 11/07/06: Started the day again at Bellagio buffet. Husband was happy. Took a cab to South strip. Forgot to mention that we had a family wedding the night before we left. So, I started the trip with sore feet from wearing heels Saturday. Probably the reason I fell asleep on the plane before we took off , too. We only had 5 hours sleep on Saturday night. So, normally we would probably walk down to South strip but, I had to save my feet.
Took the cab to Mandalay Bay. Not much money again.-I think about $7 before tip. Seemed strangely quiet on the South side of the strip. Walked through Mandalay place, Luxor, Excaliber and NYNY. For those of you that love your football teams, there is a store in Excaliber that sells beads with helmets for all of the NFL teams and some college teams. I think they are $12. I would have bought one but, I have too much as it is. (In fact, I have not put everything away from yesterdays football party so, everything Eagles is still out downstairs.) Took a cab from NYNY to the Venetian. Went shopping at the Canal shops. Told my husband he could take off and meet me later but, he decided to shop with me. Nice guy! Hit a big sale at Banana Republic-3 shirts for $45. Good thing our new luggage has expanders. Shopping was good to me this trip! Found a cute little deli with fresh friut in the Canal shops that sells Cokes. We are not Pepsi people. Cokes are hard to find in Vegas. Walked back to the Flamingo and dropped off our bags and headed over to Paris.
Had lunch at Le Provencal. I love this place for lunch. Very quaint with good food and service. I had the misto salad (field greens, tomatoes, etc.) and the Angel hair Pomodoro. My husband had the
Caesar and the Rigatoni Bolognese. They have great bread. 2 iced teas and the bill came to 43.10 with tax before tip. Gambled through Paris, Bally%26#39;s and Barbary-slots. The big wheel of fortune is fun. You must play the wheel bet in order to have a chance at the bonus spin. I don%26#39;t think everybody knows that-at Barbary they had a person explaining how to play. We were down $100 and sat down next to each other at rapid roulette at the Flamingo and we each won! I won $100 and my husband won $150. Fun!
Back upstairs to get ready for dinner. The whole trip was good eating but, this night was our big anniversary dinner. We took a cab to the Palms and had dinner at Alize. Had some drinks at the bar before dinner. Found a Deal or No Deal machine. Won $20. These machines are fun. There is a bonus round that is like the game on TV. Checked in at the desk for Alize. The hostess walked us to the elevator and got the elevator for us. Nice touch. This was one of the best dining experiences we have had anywhere. The service was exceptional. The view is amazing and the restaurant is very elegant but, not stuffy. We felt totally comfortable. They have an extensive wine list. We are not big drinkers though so, I ordered a glass of white wine and my husband had a bourbon and coke. Combined with a drink each before dinner at the bar that was enough for us.
We turned our meal into three courses. We got the Scallops BLT appetizer to split. They also provide you with a small starter from the chef-it was something with crab so, I gave mine to my husband.
I had a salad which was field greens with all of the trimmings and my husband had the onion soup. For our main courses, I had the Filet mignon and my husband had the Rib-eye. (We eat a lot healthier in our every day lives but, this was vacation. So, meat again!) The food was incredible. The pace of the presentation was perfect. We probably have never experience service that exceptional.
They give you a small chocolate for a finisher and unfortunately we were stuffed-No dessert! The meal came to $168 with tax (before tip). Headed back to center strip and gambled a while and called it a night. Days 4 and 5 to follow.
Trip report 11/05/06-11/09/06: Flamingo-Days 2 and 3
I%26#39;m really enjoying your reports and am glad I already had dinner!
Trip report 11/05/06-11/09/06: Flamingo-Days 2 and 3
Thanks, Foxywood! In fact, I am making dinner as I write. I%26#39;ll get the rest posted later or tomorrow.
Enjoy reading your reports! Nice detail. Thanks for sharing. We never %26#39;eat%26#39; in Vegas but you%26#39;ve made me want to make that a priority on our next trip.
Thanks, Loveland. We love to eat on vacations. We don%26#39;t eat out a lot at home. So, it is part of our splurge on vacation. Luckily, you walk it all off in Vegas. Or I tell myself that anyway!
Loving your report... and looking forward to my own trip-staying at Flamingo. My travel companions this trip are not eaters at all, so will hardly be able to pin anyone down for a real meal or two.... kind of envious of your meal/adventures. You and your husband sound like Vegas Compatibles.
Hi EAG20, I love your trip report so much. You are making me feel like I am with you two on the trip.It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I cant wait for the rest. Thankyou again.
7777
Thanks javarai and 7777! I love readng the trip reports and it fun to relive the trip by writing the report, too. I am still on vacation until Wednesday. Poor hubby went back to work today in the pouring rain!
I am really enjoying your TR and you remember so much detail. I am hungry after reading this, have to make a note for some of your meals for when we go in April. I have always wanted to eat at the Palms. It sounds like you won enough each day to keep you going! Good for you to stick to your limit, I often go over mine by 20-30 dollars. looking forward to hear about the rest of the trip :)
For those that prefer coke to pepsi or vice-versa try this site
vegastodayandtomorrow.com/coke-or-pepsi.htm
Super report EAG
You guys certainly like your food! How did you fit into your clothes?and the shopping, I assume you had to purchase another suitcase for going home.
Again great report and detail
thanks
mpo
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