I set the alarm for 7 a.m. After a quick run to the Mean Bean Coffee Shop for some muffins and croissants, we loaded the rental car and headed back towards Las Vegas.
It is a little over a 165 mile drive, but the first 80 miles from Springdale through the Virgin River Canyon in Arizona to Mesquite, Nevada is slow. With a short stop in St. George, Utah, it took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Given all of the recent publicity surrounding the Maloofs, both Sharon and I were interested in having lunch at the Palms. We walked around the Palms Casino looking for somewhere to eat. I was very underwhelmed. It seemed like an old, run down casino. Bill Simmons has a column this week on the Kings and the Maloofs that I will post in the next couple of days, but the feel of the casino solidifies some thoughts that I have on the Maloofs.
We decided to punt and head for the Bellagio where we will be staying. Parking in the self park lot, we had a very nice lunch at the Cafe Bellagio [crab salad, cobb salad & omelet].
After trying to check in early only to find the room was not ready, we picked up our tickets for a show at will call and then looked for the restaurant in Caesars where Sharon made reservations for dinner. From there, we wandered through the shops at the Forum making our way towards the Venetian.
We have been talking about taking all of us [Drew, Morgan, Jack, Sharon and I] to Italy next year. I have been adamant about wanting to return to Venice. When I mentioned that Venetian Hotel had some of the features of Venice, Jack latched onto the idea. Once we got there, he wanted to take a gondola ride.
After the gondola ride, we wound our way back to the Bellagio to get ready for an early dinner. Sharon had made reservations at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Sharon had New York Strip Steak, I had Coffee Rubbed Filet Mignon and Jack had Venison. When we were in New York in 2009, we had dinner at Bobby Flay's American Cafe.
After dinner, we headed back to the Bellagio and saw the Cirque du Soleil Show "0". With world-class acrobats, synchronized swimmers and divers performing in, on, and above water, it was a very cool show. Sharon had gotten some third row seats when we first started planning the trip a couple of months ago.
When the show finished, we wandered to the Mirage to watch the volcano and then to Treasure Island to watch the pirate show. With Sharon starting to fade with a cold, we caught a cab back to the Bellagio. We watched the fountains from our room before crashing a little before midnight.
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