The following morning we added to our routine. We got some large
coffees from the café on the main floor, The Honey got a huge breakfast bagel,
and I ate my delicious gf scones. It was nice and relaxing sitting in our room
with our treats and watching the local news. Then we went down to the pool,
enjoyed the early sun, cooled off in the pool, then ventured off on our day. It
was a great way to start off our mornings.
We took the monorail north to the Venetian. We wandered around for
quite a while (Seriously, it may be the closest we get to Italy) and settled on
lunch at Tintoretto. We sat on their ‘outdoor’ patio and watched people going
by. It was nice just to sit back and relax. I had a tasty salad with chicken,
olives, and the usual fixings. Everything tasted so good (and The Honey was
happy with his pizza). After lunch we walked around some more and once I had a
bit more room in my stomach we returned so I could get some peanut butter and
chocolate gelato. Needless to say, dinner would be a bit later.
We had dinner reservations at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant (at the Paris
Resort), our planned posh dinner. When I made reservations I was told they
could accommodate gluten issues and it would also be noted with our reservations.
We’re always hesitant when dining at ‘nice’ places because we are often
disappointed and find we’re better off at the ‘average-Joe- kinda place’. Well,
we weren’t disappointed in the least. The quick elevator ride to the 6th
floor gave us a preview of the view we would have from the restaurant. When the
doors opened we stepped out into the kitchen area and were greeted by a hostess
who took us around the corner to the restaurant. We were given the option of
being seated right away or waiting 15 minutes for a table with a view of the
Bellagio fountains. We were more than happy to wait and got a drink at the bar.
The wait paid off. Imagine this view over dinner:
Our waiter was fabulous, asked which of us had the gluten allergy and
helped narrow down the menu. From a delicious little bowl of soup to our
dessert at the end, and our attentive waiter throughout, our experience was
perfect. The rest of our evening would be just as enjoyable. Earlier in the day
we found a duelling piano bar and thought it would be a great place for
relatively affordable entertainment. We first experienced duelling pianos in
New Orleans many years ago and we have been hooked since (Fat Tuesday’s in the Byward
Market, sadly, is a major disappointment). It was a blast.
From what I’ve heard Vegas used to be all huge mediocre buffets, but
that has changed. Big name chefs have opened restaurants, some chains have
moved in, and restaurants in general seem to go for quality instead of
quantity. There are still buffets, and I’m sure some doggy ones are still
around, but they are not what I imagined. For breakfast one morning, The Honey
talked me into going into the Aria next door for their buffet. I find breakfast
buffets to be pretty safe places. Unlike dinners where customers move spoons
around and contaminate dishes (even as a vegetarian I was leary), breakfast has
omelet stations, and the bread products aren’t relegated anywhere near the
‘safe food’. I did my customary walkabout and got an omelet and some fruit. The
Honey returned to the table a short time later and asked me about the
gluten-free items. I had no idea what he was talking about so he enlightened
me. He pointed out an employee in full kitchen gear with a coloured marker in
his hand and guess what he was doing?! He was writing ‘gluten-free’ on the
glass. Like a crazy person acting normal I got up and asked him what he was
doing (like it wasn’t obvious). Apparently I wasn’t the first to ask him this.
All the gluten-free items would be labelled as such because THE CHEF WAS A CELIAC.
Apparently I was beaming as I walked back to our table and I finished my
omelet. It was hard controlling my excitement, especially as I grabbed another
plate and trolled the huge buffet. The only downside was the naturally
gluten-free items were not labelled and while I would scoff at doing something
so silly, I’ve heard that some American companies do funny stuff like put
gluten in their yogurt and cheese. Was the roasted chicken gluten-free? Where
was an employee when you needed one?! Obviously I survived with no ill-effects
(and I didn’t get glutened either). I had a few more items for breakfast and
crème brûlée (how could I resist?). We enjoyed it immensely and so we returned
for dinner (our last one) Friday evening before leaving. It was just as great.
No, it was awesome!
The following day was just like the others: hanging out by the pool,
going for a walk, popping into casinos to play the slots, getting some drinks
here and there, and of course, having a siesta in the afternoon. We tried our
luck once again with the restaurants at Planet Hollywood, and that place has
got to be a maze. There we were looking for a restaurant and we couldn’t find
one. We finally found PF Chang’s and went inside. We weren’t taking any more
chances. I had heard that PF Chang’s has gluten-free options and although we
had a few issues (our table buzzer didn’t work and our waitress was a little
slow moving), there were a variety of options on the gluten-free menu and the
food was good.
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| Yes, there are hundreds of carnations in that pumpkin |
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| A plant version of Monet's 'Grainstack' |
Friday was our last day and while it began the same as all the others
(breakie and time by the pool) we had to pack up and finish our stay. I had
gotten up a bit earlier and went to Bellagio to take pictures of the gardens.
Yes, they are flowers and some may not think anything of it, I thought it was
pretty amazing. A late checkout wasn’t possible so we left our luggage with the
lobby attendant and went downtown. We had meant to go and see the evening show
and experience another part of Vegas (and still touristy), but on another trip.
The weather had finally broke and it was a normal October day in the desert. We
walked from one end of Fremont St to the other. There were zipliners zipping by
us overhead and bands doing their soundchecks. We popped in and out of casinos,
noticing quite a difference between those on the Strip with those on Fremont.
We picked up some souvenirs and postcards to send off when we got back home
(The best prices for souvenirs was at the Walgreen stores and on Fremont). We
stopped for lunch at Grotto in the Golden Nugget. The Honey had his usual pizza
and I had a great salad with vegetables, nuts, and feta (yes, we love pizza and
salad). We people watched over lunch. Their pool area was quite busy and we
realized how lucky we were that our hotel wasn’t packed like this one. It was
just too noisy.
After dinner at the Aria buffet we returned to the Vdara and got our
luggage and took a shuttle to the airport. We were ready to go home.
Would I return to Vegas? For sure!! Vegas is no longer about gambling
and other illicit stuff. There are fabulous shows, national parks, shopping.
Next time I was to go whitewater rafting! We were there longer than the average
3-day trip, but we took our sweet time and relaxed. Vegas had been on my bucket
list for years, so who knew when we’d be able to return. Also, while this
travel post is a little different than others I’ve written and mostly about the
food and restaurants, our days were pretty routine – Get up, eat breakfast,
hangout by the pool, go out (walk, casinos, eat, drink, gamble, repeat), have a
siesta, go out, see a show, and on the way back to the hotel… watch the
Bellagio fountains. Man, life is rough.
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| My kind of Wine Cellar (at the Mandalay) |
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