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Always Packed for Adventure!

It's the destination and the journey.

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2nd Anniversary Trip- Serendipity, Donkey and Jubilee

Two celebrity chef restaurants in a row? Why not? On Monday, we slept-in and ate brunch at Caesar's Palace in Gordon Ramsay's Pub and Grill. It was burgers and fries ( I mean chips) for both of us. This is definitely the place for a fancy, high quality burger. The decor is fun too, a low-rent Timothy Oulton. 

I had been dropping hints all weekend that I wanted a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3. I've made the home version from a packet mix many times, but I had never actually drank one at the restaurant. We go to Vegas all of the time, but this experience had been eluding me, until now! Stars aligned, we shared one of their signature drinks at the outdoor bar. 

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We demolished it in five minutes. Heaven.

A cute picture outside of Caesar's Palace. 

We went to Red Rock Canyon in search of wild burro. It was very, very windy.

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We found one burro. He was our friend, until he realized that we didn't have food for him.

In the evening, we cleaned up for our big anniversary night out.

It started with Jubilee, Bally's long-running, old-style Vegas topless revue show. That was a mouthful! Here are a few pictures that we took the day before. 

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I have no idea what I expected the show to be, as any expectations were immediately erased by the experience of Jubilee. We got prime seats, right in center, in the second row of tables. This was far too close. Jubilee is a grand spectacle and needs to be viewed from a bit of a distance. There was just no way to take it all in up-close. The theater is small, so even the back row would feel close to the action. 

Jubilee has an identity crisis. One moment, there are singers doing jazz standards, the next dancers doing a Samson and Delilah sketch, then all of a sudden, they are on the Titanic as they crash into the iceberg, there's a bit of tap-dancing, some guys doing the robot, boobs, feathers, sequins, et...Nothing is cohesive. Sometimes it's serious, like a segment with beautiful ballet dancing, but most of the time it's just corny. 

The show is awesomely-bad. I was shaking from trying to contain my giggles. It's completely ridiculous. Christopher Guest is in on this, I'm certain. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't talent or enthusiasm on the stage. All of the performers were very talented, I just had to think that Jubilee is where their dreams went to die. It's so bad. 

The other amazing aspect of the show was the clear tension between the two lead female singers. When each was individually in the spotlight, they shone, but the minute it was the other's turn, the one that was in partial shadows shot daggers at the one performing. They seemed to try to "out-sing" each other. This competitive/hate had nothing to do with their characters or a theme of the show. It was utterly compelling. When we walked out of the theatre, Dan had noticed it too, and said that they need to make a behind the scenes reality show of the Jubilee cast. Brilliant.

We splurged for dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. This restaurant has the best views of the strip. Giada pales in comparison. We were given a table for two by the window. Here was our view. Spectacular.

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We went with the tasting menu, which included bison, lobster, and foie gras. Delicious, but so filling that we barely made it to the dessert. Dan even did the wine pairing and cheese course. 

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Our server, who was the absolute best, even brought us a bonus dessert. 

Our second anniversary vacation was a success! 

tags: Serendipity 3, Serendipity 3 Las Vegas, Frozen Hot Chocolate, Frozen Hot Chocolate at Home, Frozen Hot Chocolate Serendipity 3, Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill, Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill Las Vegas, Best Burgers in Las Vegas, Celebrity Chefs in Vegas, Red rock Canyon, Red Rock Canyon Las Vegas, Tourist Red Rock Canyon, Pictures of Red Rock Canyon Nevada, Wild Burros Red Rock Canyon, Views of Red Rock Canyon, The Wild Burros in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Must-Do List, Las Vegas Anniversary Vacation, Las Vegas Shows, Las Vegas on a Budget, Jubilee Las Vegas, Topless Show Las Vegas Jubilee, Did Christopher Guest Direct Jubilee, Jubilee Theatre Bally, Where to Sit for Jubilee, Jubilee Costumes Ballys, Jubilee Reality Show Vegas, Ballys Reality Show, Titanic Scene in Jubilee, Samson and Delilah Sketch Jubilee, Tap Dancing Jubilee, Ballet Jubilee, Awesomely-Bad Jubilee, Awesomely-Bad Vegas Shows, Old Style Vegas Revue Show Jubilee, Eiffel Tower Las Vegas, Eiffel Tower Restaurant Las Vegas, Best View in Las Vegas Eiffel Tower Restautant, Most Romantic Restaurant in Vegas Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Special Occasion Restaurants Las Vegas Eiffel Tower, Giada Cromwell Las Vegas, Jubilee Cast Singers Hate Each other, Singers in Jubilee, Views from Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Tasting Menu Eiffel Tower Restaurant Las Vegas, Pictures Eiffel Tower Restaurant Las Vegas, Foie Gras Las Vegas, Bison Las Vegas, Wine Pairing Eiffel Tower Restaurant Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Bellagio Fountains, View of Bellagio Fountains from Eiffel Tower Restaurant, Eiffel Tower Restaurant Anniversary Dessert
categories: Eat, Watch, Visit
Thursday 11.26.15
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

2nd Anniversary Trip- Tiger Cubs!

One of the best parts of a vacation is sleeping-in, a rarity in our household, especially for Dan. On the Sunday morning of our long weekend, we got a very late start. Travel advice for Vegas...11ish on Sundays is the worst time to try to eat a meal. Everyone has checked out of their hotel rooms and they head for the last, splash-out meal of the vacation. You want a buffet? Forget about it. 

We wandered, saw long lines, and finally ended up at the Le Cafe Ile St. Louis, basically the obligatory cafe that every hotel offers. Paris did it a little fancier than average and we enjoyed our French themed breakfast.

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After breakfast, we drove to The Mirage to see the new tiger cubs. 

In the early 2000's, I visited The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy. It was awesome. In addition to the big cats, they had many other animals, including elephants. All of the animals were clearly well-cared for and it was a beautiful mini-zoo.

The best part was the audio tour. Narrated by both Siegfried and Roy, it was filled with awkward moments and unintentional comedy. I don't think that I stopped laughing the entire visit. Most memorable, was learning how each tiger is like " a delicate little snow flake" and how they like lollipops. Who knew?

I was very excited to go see the tiger cubs and to have Dan experience The Secret Garden in all of its cheesy glory. 

I was very disappointed to discover that The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy is a shell of its former self. Gone, is the awesome audio tour and there are significantly less animal exhibits than on my previous visit. I'm not certain, but I think that they might have used some of the former zoo space to put in an topless/adult pool complex. 

The tickets were twenty-two each, pretty steep for what we saw. If they had been half the price, it would have been good value. 

Topiary!

Grrrr....

We saw a bunch of big cats...tigers, lions, leopards, panthers...

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But nothing beat the tiger cubs. They have four, two white and two orange. We saw two on display with a trainer. Doesn't this guy have the best job on earth?

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It took us about fifteen minutes to walk through The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, plus another fifteen to watch the dolphins, which live in a multiple pool habitat adjacent to the big cats. We visited during one of the dolphin behavioral training sessions and we watched as they played with rubber balls ( they can open their mouths wide enough to fit a basketball sized ball. Wow.) and pose with tourist who had paid extra for a behind the scenes experience. 

That night, we had dinner plans with Dan's former boss and his wife. We started with drinks at Bound in The Cromwell. 

This was our first time visiting The Cromwell, a small boutique hotel next to Bally's. Our initial impression was very favorable. We loved Bound, which had amazing, unique cocktails and no televisions. It was classy. Plus, Bound had a book theme going on = Love. 

After Bound, we moved to dinner at celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiss' first restaurant, Giada, located at The Cromwell. Being out with friends, I resisted the urge to document our meal, so no food pictures. Giada had spectacular views of the strip and featured a menu filled with tapas. We started with a shared cheese and meat board, which was very good. My main was a three cheese tortellini with braised beef. I was left unimpressed. It was very rich, small, the beef was microscopic, and to top it off, it was expensive. With so many restaurants competing for our business, we would not likely return to Giada.

When we left the restaurant, The Cromwell's elegant atmosphere, had been transformed, as college-aged kids were arriving for Drai's, a late-night club. Security was swarming and the casino was packed. We went back to Bound for after-dinner drinks and found the servers to be overwhelmed. As we were sitting, the club opened and the casino emptied out. I think that it might have been the music from Drai's that kept me up that night. This changed my impressions of The Cromwell. Clearly, I'm getting old and grumpy. Those kids and their music...get off my lawn!!!

tags: Where to Eat Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas Restaurants, Las Vegas Tips, Pictures of Paris Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas Le Cafe Ile St. Louis, Mirage Las Vegas, Panorama of Las Vegas Skyline, The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy Pictures, What Happened to the Audio Tour at The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, How Much is the Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, Las Vegas Attractions, The Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy Animals, Tigers like Delicate Snow Flakes, Tigers and Lollipops, Mirage Adult Pool, 2015 Tiger Cubs Mirage Las Vegas, Dolphins at the Mirage Las Vegas, Dolphin Behavior Training, Bound Bar, The Cromwell Las Vegas, Bound at The Cromwell, Bound by Salvatore Calabrese, Giada Cromwell Las Vegas, Giada De Laurentiss, Giada De Laurentiss Las Vegas Restaurant Review, Celebrity Chefs in Vegas, Drai's Noise Las Vegas, Drai's The Cromwell, You Know You're Old When
categories: Eat, Visit
Sunday 11.22.15
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

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