Week 2 - Las Vegas

December 20  - 26 2014

We moved from the timeshare, Wyndham Grand Desert to NY NY for the evening. Since we had to check out at 10 AM we started the morning with lattes from Starbucks in Grand Desert. We then checked out around 9:30 and went to Mandalay Bay for breakfast at Ri Ra a fantastic Irish pub.
We both had the full Irish
FULL IRISH
A proper fry up - 2 eggs, Irish sausages rashers, black and white puddings, tomato,
roasted mushrooms, toast add Batchelors Baked beans +3

Perfect!!

We wandered around and then went to NY NY and checked in. They have a 3 PM check-in and if it is before 1 PM there is an optional fee to check in early. We were a few minutes before 1 so she waived the fee.

We then headed to their new attraction Hershey's.

We took the Monorail from MGM to the Flamingo station to meet our friends who had just arrived from Calgary. We hadn't seen them since March when we were all in Las Vegas at the same time.
The monorail is expensive at $5 a ride. Coming home we took a cab for the same distance and it was $10 without walking miles through the casinos.

Beers at the 5 o'clock Somewhere Bar and then dinner at the Yard House.

A late start on Sunday morning so we checked out and moved the car to the Monte Carlo. If you are in Vegas it is worth it to use the valet parking offered at every casino. There is no fee other than a tip when you retrieve your car and you are not wasting time walking miles.

Coffee at Starbucks in the Mandarin, whiling away time watching the world go by. Photo from New York New York through their rose tinted windows.

Then through Aria, Crystal and Cosmopolitan. Will post photos another time.

It was Sunday and therefore football time so we stopped to watch the game in Planet Hollywood.

Retrieved the car and picked up some groceries before checking into the Grand View another timeshare, located south on Las Vegas Blvd. Check in was easy and no real hard sell to attend a presentation. We did agree to attend breakfast.

We are in the Honeysuckle building, their newest. It is lovely and much larger and nicer than Grand Desert. It also has full sized appliances unlike Wyndham.

Settled in, football on and roast chicken in the oven.

Monday we attended the timeshare presentation - charming sales person, Charles. Went to our first ever and LAST Vegas buffet.
We picked up our friends and took them on a tour of the older casinos off the Strip.

We came back to our condo and went next door to the South Point Casino to have dinner courtesy of our gift certificates from the time share presentation.

Tuesday was grocery shopping and laundry. Made my favourite fajitas recipe for dinner.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve and our friend's birthday.
We went to South Point for a lunch of clam chowder. Then we took a taxi to meet up with them at Planet Hollywood and then walked over to Todd English for dinner.
The appetizers are great we would go back for them. Mussels were excellent and the fried pickles are the best ever!! Sorry, cell phone photos.

Weird menu, not impressive. Finally Debbie and I go for the lobster rolls. YUCK they came hot!!!! Lots of lobster but we both sent them back. I ordered the duck buns as nothing else appealed, too sweet.

Walked over to Paris for an aperitif and spotted this car.

Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny but sooo windy!! We met up for breakfast at Ri Ra.

Then back to the condo to watch bad sci-fi movies and a home cooked meal of chicken, ham, sauteed brussels sprouts and mashed white and sweet potato mash with a mix of fontina, asiago and parmesan cheeses.

Boxing Day is always jammies, books, movies and leftovers!!

Sepia Saturday

I'm posting at Sepia Saturday today.

So here we are, at the end of the fifth year of Sepia Saturday, still going strong, still going sepia. Tradition dictates that we slow things down a little over the festive season with a single call covering both Christmas and New Year. And tradition dictates that it is a festive prompt. So here it is - families, festivities, trees, candles and wine. The image comes from the Flickr stream of the Archives of the Royal Family of Denmark. All you have to do is to post an old image linked to this seasonal theme (or not if you are a Sepia Scrooge) sometime over the festive season and link it to the list below. And don't forget to keep coming back to check out the updated links to the Christmas Linky List.




December 1957 - Montreal QC


Last week I posted an early morning photo of us opening gifts.


This was all the family we had in Canada and my uncle had invited two Irish friends who didn't have any family either.


Standing from left to right: Unknown, Uncle Brendan, Seamus Doyle (a good friend of my uncle from Dublin - unmarried) my Dad.


Aunty Nell and my Mom


My sister, Ursula and me. My doll was called Juliette.






I wonder who took the photo? A female guest of one of the men?

Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy. 

December 2014 - Las Vegas NV

Every time we come to Vegas I have to visit Bellagio's Conservatory, click here for links to their previous displays.  And, again, noted, I haven't shown their Chinese New Year display from 2013. 

Will rectify that shortly.

Here's a link to a friend's photos of the summer 2014 display at Bellagio.

Behind their front desk. Photos are a combination of mine and John's.

At the Conservatory’s entrance, oversized ornaments and four 18-foot-tall LED white holiday trees covered in faux snow create a sparkling path toward a walk-through snow globe.

 A mother polar bear adorned with 12,000 white carnations keeps a watchful eye on her three cubs as they slip and slide across icebergs floating in a winter pond. Like mother bear, the cubs are each adorned with 5,000 white carnations.

 John, playing with his new camera, created this photo using "selective colour".

The majestic holiday tree, decorated with 7,000 warm white LED lights and 2,500 ornaments, stands as the Conservatory’s focal point.

Two 12-foot-tall animated snow globes placed on each side of the tree, showcase classic winter scenes. In one globe, ice skaters glide across an ice pond while carolers sing at the base of a spinning holiday tree in the other.

 Animated penguins can be found building igloos and frolicking with one another.

Weekend Cooking - KISSES

December 2014 - Las Vegas NV

Las Vegas is always opening something new to attract visitors. New York New York has added a Hershey's store. It is much like the M and M's shop across the street.
Impossible to get all of this interior sign as the casino is directly behind us and the machines blocked a good vantage point.

KISSES!