Merry Christmas, Baby! Jingle all the way from Vegas!

December 20th-23rd, 2014
Christmas Season Trip Report

This trip was my...36th trip?  I think?  I have no idea anymore, but I DO know that it helped me complete my "Vegas year".  I have now visited Las Vegas during every month of the year, over the past 17 years.  Mom and Hayley went along for this trip, which was mainly for shows, food, photos, and shopping.  When it's not mentioned that mom went with Hayley and I somewhere, you can correctly assume that she was gambling somewhere. :)

Little red-haired girl on a plane.

Although I enjoyed our trip during this Christmas break, I was a bit disappointed overall in the Christmas decorations.  I figured that the casinos would put up more decorations, or Christmas trees, or something, but it seemed that on my previous two trips during Chinese New Year celebrations that they do a LOT more during January and February.  My guess is they are playing to the Asian market (and they should - they come to Vegas and spend a whole lot more money than I do).  Anyway, I would have liked to see more decorations in the casinos and hotels.  That's not to say that I didn't find decorations anywhere because I DID, and I will have a separate post with only decoration photos, because I ended up taking about 250 photos of Las Vegas Christmas decorations alone.  That should not be surprising.

Saturday, December 20th

I checked in to Flamingo via my phone before our plane even took off.  Love this!  Also love getting to walk right up to the desk and pick up the room keys when we get to the hotel.  Room was 28079 (top floor) with a view of The LINQ area.  Mom was right next door in 28081.  Put our stuff away and headed down to Mon Ami Gabi for dinner.

View from the 28th floor

It was a little too chilly to sit on the patio, so we took a table inside.  My only complaint about this is that they keep the restaurant a bit too dark.  The couple next to us ended up using their cell phone to look at the menus, and my food pics turned out too dark to share.  (I don't do flash pics in Vegas because I don't want to irrigate others around me, and I hate it when they use theirs.)  Hayley had the Salmon Salad, mom had the Steak Classique, and I had the Chicken Paillard because they no longer have Gabi's Fish and Frites on the menu.  I was extremely disappointed by this because I REALLY wanted the fish.  Mom and I had planned on sharing our entrees so that we could each have half of the steak and half of the fish, but it was not to be.  My chicken had good flavor, but it was disappointing after my expected meal.  Hayley and mom both enjoyed their meals.  Mom and I each had a glass of wine (I had white and she had red), and Hayley had pomegranate tea.  Total was $104.42+tip.

We walked through the Paris casino for photo ops but only found a single Christmas tree in the lobby.  They have had much more for Chinese New Year.  Oh, well.  Over to Bellagio where we all KNOW they have good decorations!  I specifically wanted to take photos at night so that all the lights would show up, but it was pretty crowded.  Loved the Christmas tree, and the "snow tunnel" was cute but too crowded to walk through, and I hate waiting.  I do like the penguins and polar bears, but if I saw it every year I'd be saying, "Meh."

The Bellagio Conservatory "Snow Tunnel"

Beautiful tree at Bellagio

Gelato break at Jean Phillipe Patisserie for our dessert.  Coconut in a cup for me and mom (I love it), and tiramisu in a cone for Hayley. $13.78 total, and I completely forgot about the myVegas rewards for buy one, get one free scoops.

We walked through the front of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace on our way to The Mirage for LOVE at 9:30, and there was only a little garland hung in the common area arches on the first floor.  I knew there had to be more in the rest of Caesars Palace because I could see stuff outside the main entrance, but that would have to wait until later in the trip.

Illegal LOVE photo again! :)

I purchased two tickets for LOVE from The Mirage Ticketmaster operator by phone after I couldn't get the dang website to work correctly AND the myVegas rewards showed our trip dates as blackout dates for the holidays.  It worked out well because we had Section 206 Row N Seats 5&6 for $99 each instead of $145 each, thanks to my mLife card.  This was Hayley's 3rd time to see the show and my 6th (or was in the 7th?), and we both noticed that they have made some minor changes to the show, but it is still a fantastic show and our all-time favorite, obviously. 

We gathered mom up from where she was gambling at Harrah's and walked back to Flamingo, where Hayley called it a night around 11:30 p.m.  That is too early for me to go to bed in Vegas EVER, so I went down to gamble and played lots of The Hangover, Lobstermania2, and Zuma slots in the Margaritaville casino, ending up with a nice little cash out to put me up $125 for the day before I called it a night around 1:30 a.m.

Sunday, December 21st

I got up early (7-ish) to gamble while Hayley got ready for the day, but the Margaritaville slots weren't being very nice to me.  Apparently they didn't remember me from last night.  I found mom and we had coffee (mine with Bailey's) and played the addicting Zuma slots while we waited for Hayley to appear.   

We took a cab down to Wynn to save mom's hip and legs.  The Jazz Brunch at the Wynn Country Club was in order for today, and I'd made an 11:30 a.m. reservation for us.  Hayley enjoyed the Jazz trio almost as much as the food.  She ordered the French toast bread pudding off of the "extra" menu (at no charge), and mom and I ordered the sliders.  Sooooo good!  They changed the shrimp and grits from single serve dishes to the warmed serving pans, which was fine with me because now I could get MORE on my plate!  We sampled the Bananas Fosters waffles, which they didn't have before, and they were delicious.  Hayley liked them better than the chocolate-covered waffles she tried first.  Good food, great atmosphere, and always enjoyable.  Apparently I've forgotten the cost of the Jazz Brunch because it was $225 for the three of us before tip, and I did a double-take when I looked at the bill.  Wow!

Jazz trio at the Wynn Jazz Brunch Buffet

First plate

Second plate

Sliders-delish!

My only two desserts.

Hayley and I took a tour of the Encore and Wynn decorations before we regrouped with mom for the walk over to Palazzo.  I have to say I liked Palazzo's Christmas decorations the best of all: white peacocks and snow.  Really pretty.  They are certainly giving Bellagio a run for their money when it comes to beautiful decorations for the different holidays.

Palazzo display

From Palazzo over to Venetian, we then walked back to Harrah's and left mom to gamble while Hayley and I headed over to the Forum Shops at Caesars to do some shopping.  We did have to stop for a drink break at Ciao Ciao outside of H&M in the Forum Shops, but other than that we shopped for about 3 hours before we headed back to drop our bags off in our room and meet mom for the night's show.

Glad I didn't have to stand in that checkin line!

I had seen an advertisement for the Human Nature Christmas Motown Show at the Venetian only a week or so before we left, and after I looked at the seating chart I decided to get seats in the back because the show was in a smaller theater.  Tickets were $49.95 each, and it was a great show.  They performed this special Christmas show daily through Christmas Eve.  If they do it again next year and you get a chance to see it, go; you won't be disappointed.  The show was almost two hours long and absolutely worth it.

Entertaining Aussies

Great show!

Late dinner at Grand Luxe in the Venetian.  Mom had Cajun Pasta, Hayley had the Southwestern Salad, and I had the Seafood Louie Salad.  No idea how much it was because mom paid.  Really good, but the portions were so huge that none of us could finish our plates.  Back to Flamingo for the night.  My late night gambling on The Hangover Slots had me cashing out a $260 ticket and up $105 for the day, so I managed to recoup my morning losses.

Yesssss...

Monday, December 22nd

We woke up to a slightly foggy view from our room, which looked really cool from way up on the 28th floor.

Foggy morning view

Early morning gambling included more Zuma slots at the edge of Flamingo and Margaritaville, and I changed over to Bailey's and hot chocolate.  I lost a bit o' money by the time Hayley met us downstairs for our walk to The Cosmopolitan for breakfast.

We ate at The Henry, which I've enjoyed several times.  This time I started with a drink called "Parisian Chic": Ciroc Peach Vodka, passionfruit puree, ginger syrup, lemon juice, and prosecco.  Pretty good, but definitely on the tart side.  Mom had the Croissant Sandwich, which had ham and about five eggs, I had the Banana Flapjacks, and Hayley had the California Club Omelet with bacon, tomato, avocado, and cheddar cheese.  The omelet is served with a side of toast and a delicious hash brown patty that I had to try, but she also ordered a side of Seasonal Fruit, which included a homemade Fig Newton.  Lots of food, and she managed to eat all of it.  Total came to $91.89+tip including two coffees and a tea.

Parisian Chic

Seasonal fruit

California Club Omelet and Fig Newton

Banana Flapjacks 

Ham and Cheese Croissant

No Christmas decorations to speak of in Cosmo, but we walked around a bit and let Hayley call her boyfriend while mom played Fireballs and I played True Blood.  I don't know how mom did on the Fireball machine, but I turned $20 into $60 and said I was done there.  On to Planet Hollywood.

Cosmopolitan Check-in Area

Hayley checking out some purchase options at Cosmopolitan

We left mom to gamble while we walked through the Miracle Mile shops.  Given the fact that this is an entire MILE of shops, we were actually done in about an hour, and stopped to have a drink at Starbucks and chill in the lounge while mom gambled.  When we gathered up mom again, we decided to head over to The LINQ area to check out the outdoor decorations (better), do a little shopping, and see what the PARQ at the LINQ was all about.  This is where they had the snow hill set up.  We sat underneath the High Roller for a bit and I asked Hayley if she'd like to do the snow hill, and she said, "Sure.  Why not?"  $5 for a one-time ride, or $25 for an all-day pass.  Not a bad deal, and Hayley enjoyed it, saying it was faster than she'd expected it to be.  They also had a $50 pass that included the all-day pass to the PARQ snow hill as well as the ice skating rink and a complimentary hot chocolate at Caesars Palace.  That also would have been fun, and well worth the price.

Hayley on the hill at the PARQ

Under the High Roller

Haute Doggery has a $1 Shrimp Cocktail now

Art at the LINQ

With a bit of time to kill before our 5:30 reservation at Giada's, Hayley decided she wanted to go back to the Miracle Mile shops and get a tattoo on her wrist.  She'd been talking about it for a few weeks, and she decided she wanted something fitness-related.  We left mom to gamble at Flamingo while we hustled back down to the tattoo shop in Miracle Mile, where she decided on a small barbell on the inside of her left wrist.  I think it took about 15 minutes total for her to describe what she wanted and for the artist to mock it up and actually finish the tattoo.  Total cost was $100+$10 tip ($100 is the shop minimum there, so it was expensive for a 1-inch tattoo).  Off to get antibacterial wash, etc. before meeting up with grandma for dinner.

Getting' her barbell tat!

A new thing to hate on the Strip: Jesus freaks with large signs and megaphones, who also use their children to hold signs advising everyone they are going to hell.  See you there, my friend.  You don't know anything about any of us.

The three of us had a 5:30 reservation at Giada's in The Cromwell, and Hayley and I took advantage of the photo booth in the waiting area that I hadn't noticed on my first trip before we went in.  

Say cheese!

We were seated right next to the window again, with a fantastic view of the Strip and the Bellagio fountains, but I didn't really care for our waiter, Nancie.  She didn't seem very interested in anything and cut me off when I asked questions (listen to the customer first!), and so overall dinner was a little bit disappointing for us.  We ordered appetizers like I'd done by myself in July, but I think we would have been better off ordering our own entrees, instead.  I don't think Hayley or mom enjoyed the choices as much as I did.  

Gorgeous table view!

I started with a drink called the Hannibal, which was NOT as good as the Barbarella that I had in July.  The Hannibal is very tart, with Botran Reserve Rum, Maurin Quina, fresh lime, blood orange and mint syrup, and a Chianti float.  WAY too tart for me, but I did finish it.  Hayley and mom both tasted it and agreed it was a bit much.  Mom had a glass of wine and Hayley ordered tea.

Hannibal doesn't look sour...

They still start diners off with the bread appetizer, but they used too much rosemary in the garlic bread, which my mom won't eat. Prosecco was also served to mom and I, and Hayley got a hand-squeezed lemonade.  We shared the Eggplant Fries, Orzo Meatballs (which I had before and love), the Sausage Arancini, Fritto Misto (shrimp, calamari and veggies), and a Margherita pizzette.  The Eggplant fries were literally melt-in-your-mouth good, and the Fritto Misto was crunchy and delicious.  Hayley and I shared the pizzette because mom doesn't eat pizza, and the crust was light and crunchy and very good.  They didn't care for the meatballs and left the sausage to me after they'd tried their portions, so I think it would have been better to order separately.  Oh, well.  

Fritto Misto

Melt-in-your-mouth Eggplant Fries

Sausage Arancini

Margherita Pizza

Orzo Meatballs

Although we were informed they don't bring the dessert cart around for selections unless you order the tasting menu, dessert was a success.  Mom had a Chocolate Budino (a mousse), Hayley had Gelati e Sorbetti and chose the chocolate and pineapple flavors from the day's selections along with a Mocha Mio to drink (like a cappuccino) and I had the lemon bundt cake with chocolate glace and a whipped creme on the side.  Total for the meal was $168.54+tip.

Hayley's Mocha Mio

Gelati y Sorbetti

Chocolate Budino

Lemon Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glace and Whipped Creme

After dinner it was off to downtown, where Hayley has never been, to see the Fremont Street Experience.  As usual, downtown is an experience in itself!  Lots of characters, street performers, and some pretty interesting acts.  We saw Santa's brother enjoying a saxophone player, and a Chippendales-like guy kept trying to give Hayley beads.  There was a random guy wearing a peppermint-striped bikini (top AND bottom), fishnet hose, and a Santa hat.  I can't unsee that.  Oh, and a "fireman" dressed in a fireman's helmet and a yellow banana-hammock thong with suspenders that he should NOT have been wearing.  We stayed through two Fremont shows: Bon Jovi and The Who.  A little coffee and chai at the Starbucks outside of Golden Nugget kept us warm before we headed back to Flamingo.  Hayley was pooped from the walking, and more gambling netted me come back to "only" down $110 for the day after I hit a couple of good bonuses on Zuma and True Blood at The LINQ (no long The Quad)

before bed at 1:15 a.m.

Adorable Hayley

I love this photo.

This guy was getting' DOWN!

Santa's brother :)

Back away, stripper guy!

The scary part of downtown Vegas!

This is the "fireman".  This should not have happened.

Tuesday, December 23rd

Packed and checked out, we stored our bags and headed to Caesars Palace for the Bacchanal buffet.  Hayley looked like she was in heaven at mom's favorite buffet, and she tried as much as she could.  Lots of good stuff, and I started with my Chinese food section as always.  Mom paid for this one, so I don't remember the total.  Always nice to move to the front of the line with her Platinum Total Rewards card!

First plate

Second plate

Third plate-the Red Velvet bread pudding on the right was AWESOME!

We left mom to gamble at Caesars and Flamingo while we took a stroll down the Strip to ride the roller coaster at New York/NY using my 2-4-1 myVegas reward.  Chilly out there, but enjoyable.  Hayley thinks she's getting too old for coasters, but it was probably just riding after a buffet, even though it'd been about an hour since we'd eaten.  

Hayley and I continued walking, and walking, and walking...(and using the trams) down to Mandalay Bay to use my two free passes to the Shark Reef Aquarium courtesy of myVegas rewards.  It is LITERALLY at the end of Mandalay Bay, and therefore at the END of the Strip.  It is quite a walk, so prepare for it if you plan on walking it.  We enjoyed the display and spent about 2 hours walking around inside of it before we did the whole thing in reverse and headed back to Flamingo to gather up my mom and all of our belongings and head to the airport.

Creative lighting for the jellyfish at Christmas

A starfish enjoying King Crab legs as much as I do!

A successful trip, I ended up coming home with $150 more than I took for gambling, so a definite win in my book.  The first two nights' gambling definitely put me ahead and helped keep me there.  

Next trip is yet to be scheduled, but I'm sure it won't be too long.  Viva Las Vegas!