Today, Saturday, we are going to walk around the Strip. One of the places we are planning to visit is the Bellagio hotel which has a magnificent conservatory. Basically today we’re going to wander a bit, see what casinos have come and gone, check that our favorite noodles place is still here and maybe pick up a few more groceries. We really didn’t buy any lunch stuff so a couple of ready made salads are sounding good for later.
After a quick breakfast, courtesy of Jeff, of scrambled eggs, juice, toast and several cups of coffee we get ready to head out for our walk. Sunscreen, water bottles, money, sunglasses, hats – its as though we’re going on an expedition. Leaving our comfy, cool condo, the outside air hits us with full force; whew, it’s hot! It takes roughly 15 minutes to get to the Strip and once there we go to Walgreens to check prices. The bananas at Vons were completely green and we want to buy a couple of bananas, “to-go” salady things for later, stuff like that. We walk through Jeff’s favorite ‘craps’ casino to check the price at the tables. This little casino caters to young adults and the tables here are usually less expensive than other casinos. Jeff likes to play the $3 tables; in the nicer casinos, the tables start at $10 or $25 and there’s no way he’s doing that! Then we walk the opposite way down the Strip to a CVS to check prices there and then around the outside area of multiple shops checking that “Ramen-Ya” is still around. Yup!
By now we’re very hot and sweaty. See ‘walking’ on the Strip is a misnomer as really you basically shuffle along with the hordes. People stop right in front of you to take a photo, veer in and out of the crowd; it isn’t like walking down a normal sidewalk.
We pop into the Bellagio to see the conservatory. You’ve probably seen photos or videos of the dancing water fountains outside the Bellagio. Inside the lobby the ceiling is comprised of gigantic glass flowers by Dale Chihuly.
On we go into the conservatory. The displays in the conservatory are incredible and change at least seasonally.This display is dominated by a towering Kabuki.
This Kabuki is 28 feet tall.
Look at his collar, sash, the Y in his kimono and his cumber bun as these are all decorated with preserved flowers. To be specific, roses: 900 deep purple, 900 deep red, 1,100 red, 500 red/cream bi-color, 252 dark pink, 225 fresh green, 225 dark green, and hydrangeas: 2,000 white. This reminded us a lot of the Rose Parade floats, but, of course, all the flowers there are fresh.
Throughout the conservatory which, by the way, is enclosed with a glass ceiling allowing the natural sunlight in, are other iconic Japanese cultural examples.
A tea room, a Shinto shrine, a flower finch, flower turtle, a tea room…
We spent a good hour taking a relaxing stroll through the beautiful room.
Once we had our fill of jaw-dropping floral art, we went back into the hotel lobby and sat under the Chihuly ceiling and shared a bag of trail mix.
Fortified with raisins, chocolate chips and other trail mix yummies, we decide to walk back home, stopping along the way for our extra groceries, which turned out to include beer and frozen margaritas in bags. Now, who that of that great idea??
Back home we nap; somehow even though I didn’t wake up this morning until 11:10 a.m., I do need a nap.
For dinner Jeff grills salmon (did I mention that our complex includes several outdoor gas grills along with four swimming pools?!) – while I microwave a couple of potatoes and cook the frozen broccoli. An excellent dinner!
Afterwards, while Jeff watches the “The Road to Perdition” on HBO I struggle to figure out this blogging site. How am I doing so far?
That’s about it for today. I hope you enjoyed NOT walking through the crowds in the oppressive heat and still getting to enjoy this day in Las Vegas.
Until tomorrow…