Henderson Hijinks Day 3

 Rockapella Road Trip

Vegas, Baby!

Friday, December 6, 2024

It doesn't matter how many times I use the shower in this hotel.  I still can't figure out how to use the hand-held shower head.  It's so annoying that I'm so lame.

Wendy and I got breakfast downstairs before calling a Lyft to go to the strip.  Wendy told me that she had never actually spent time on the Las Vegas strip before, and since we had no other plans, we went to the Bellagio.  The Bellagio is decorated quite beautifully during the holidays, which I learned during a trip a couple of years ago.  Our Lyft driver was much friendlier than the one that picked us up at the airport.  

The ceiling in the lobby is always beautiful, though.  It's like a tradition for me to take this photo.

The theme this year must have been toys or gingerbread houses.  I wished it smelled like gingerbread there, but no.  It was all really pretty, though, and I loved the huge teddy bear playing the drum!  Wendy didn't believe that the video of the train was actually from the one going around the track until I showed her.  

Santa's Sleigh

Big Toys

More Big Toys

On Donner, On Dasher!

Big Merry Go Round that
nobody was allowed to ride

Hugigant Teddy Bear!

I like the "B" on the shako.

I mean, don't they look like
they want us to ride them?

Scotcherbreadman thinks this
is his house.

As we walked around inside the hotel, we found a gelato place.  So we ordered gelato and sat outside to relax and enjoy the yumminess.  

View of the Bellagio pools 

I was on a mission to find the museum that I saw the last time I was at the Bellagio, because I wondered if it had the same art.  It turns out that the art was still there, which made me happy because I really like it.

Olympian Kurt Thomas

This reminds me of the niece

We decided to go across the street to the Paris Hotel and Casino. 

We searched for a place to eat, and there was a long line where I was thinking of eating.  So we wandered around more, and stumbled upon the opening of a new restaurant.  We had just missed the whole ceremony and cool giveaways, but they were open for lunch!  

Can Can Girl Photo Op

My Smoked Salmon Flatbread

Chef Dominique Ansel was there for photos, but I was too shy to ask to be in one with him.  Also, I didn't know if I would like his food, which is ridiculous, because it was very tasty, and look at those pastries!  Perhaps he was just too handsome for me to feel comfortable being near him.  Wendy did end up taking a photo for him and someone else.

Chef Dominique Ansel

Almond Croissants

I had a taste of this.  It was gooooood.

Beautiful Lemon Tarts

Some people were taking flowers from the display, and it turns out that they were telling people to take them.  So we each got a couple of flowers to brighten up our weird room.

I ordered an almond croissant, but Wendy didn't want to cheat on Bouchon, so she waited to buy pastries until we walked over to the Venetian.  It took a while to get there, because I didn't realize how far it was, even though the people that gave us directions told us it was quite a walk.  That's OK, because I needed to walk off that flatbread.  I guess I thought that it was close by because the last time I was there, I was in a car.  DUH.  

Passed by Caesar's Palace 

Bouchon was closed by the time we got there, and Wendy gave out a little gasp when the guy told her so.  Turns out that the restaurant was just closed for lunch for the day, but he advised us that there was a place to buy Bouchon baked goods downstairs, which is what we wanted anyway.  I got macarons and another almond croissant because I couldn't resist having yet more pastries in my arsenal.

We needed to get back to Henderson according to Florist Lady the day before, and walked over to the Ride Share area.  My phone wasn't picking up on the hotel wifi, and my data wasn't working.  Don't you think they should have wifi available in the Ride Share area?  I was irritated.  We finally got through and our driver dropped us off at a casino across the street from our hotel due to the streets being blocked off.

I dropped off my stuff and decided to try my luck since we had a little while before the parade would start.  How could I not, when I was within a block of 3 different casinos?!  

One of the casinos was attached to the hotel, and the entrance was next to the pool area.   I saw machines that I liked, but I didn't win anything.  I did see that there were people going in to the restaurant, and I might have suggested it to Wendy if we didn't already have leftovers to eat for dinner.

Then I went across the street to the Rainbow Room.   I won the most on a machine new to me. So that was nice, because I was able to just play with my winnings there and in the next casino.  Thanks, Rainbow Room!

I also tried out Emerald Isle, which was, yes, themed to Ireland.  The decor is pretty outside and inside.  I was happy when I found my unicorn game because I could sit there for a while without betting a lot.  The woman next to me kept winning, and I didn't, so I got irritated and left.

I think I ended up with, like $0.27 up when I was done, and I happily threw my change on the bed to show Wendy.  Hey, at least I won!  

We were able to watch the parade from our window, so we could stay nice and warm and eat our leftovers and pastries.  It was pretty loud downstairs because we were right across the street from the announcer's table.  We also saw our friend from the candy place.  

See the rose I got at lunch?

The parade consisted of different school marching bands, a Star Wars fan group, and some vehicles.  All of them had some kind of lighting on them.  It was pretty cool!  I mean, it's no Main Street Electrical Parade, but it was cute for what it was.  Honestly, I just wanted them to finish before Rudolph started, because I was not going to be happy with that racket outside.

Thank goodness, it all ended right before Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer started!  It was fun to watch with Wendy, as I'm usually enjoying by myself and Scotcherbreadman each year.

Scotcherbreadman and Rudolph
are Besties

The next morning, I had an earlier flight than Wendy because I needed to get home for an event.  So I left her at the hotel and got a Lyft to the airport.

I had so much fun on my adventure with Wendy!  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Yes, I'm writing this 6 months later.  It's always Christmas around here.  :)