whew, where have i been for the past 10 days?  outside, or trying to recover from the infinite amount of yard work.  but i love to be outside so much now that the weather is warm – i haven’t even opened my e-mail in a while and i shudder to think about how much clearing out i’ll have to do.

but meanwhile…our trip to vegas, which is fading into the back of my mind so quickly…after i went on a long run down las vegas blvd, i’m pretty sure the rest of our day was spent by the lazy river yet again.  lovely.

mom, amy and i got ready to go buy tickets for the beatles’ “love” by cirque du soleil.  i’d found a half-price ticket place and we decided to ride the newish monorail to get there.

the monorail is a little bit pricey, which must be why there were very few other passengers.  it was fun to ride, and we got to our destination speedily.  after getting the tickets for the show amy insisted that we had to go see the Wynn, which was just up the street.

here’s a fountain outside.  when we got there they were playing something by frank sinatra, but then the music changed.

i took a quick video…

and here’s a spectacular shot of my thumb!  i kept this photo because i love the waterfall.  i was already in love with the wynn and we hadn’t even stepped inside…

i started going crazy taking pictures of everything, all the fabulous detail about the place.

it was hushed and elegant and it looked like everybody else there was wearing everything designer and expensive.  nothing like much of vegas.

what a cool fish hanging piece of art in one of the restaurants.

this merry go round was like stuff at the bellagio, but the thing about the wynn is that it was simply chock full of so many dazzling things; to me it had a kind of alice in wonderland feel about it.

magical.

i think this was my favorite, the parasol up/parasol down bar.  or two bars.  all these massive and gorgeous parasols slowly moved up and down!  i think i like the wynn because it is a little like disneyland, full of so many bright colors.  but no lines and no hordes of children.

why didn’t we stop and have a drink here!  it would have been fabulous.  i must get back there sometime.

i took a little video of the umbrellas, but unfortunately didn’t have the sense to keep the phone steady so you could see them moving up and down.

the only sad thing about this place is that i just looked at their website, and this is what it says:

Parasol Down at Wynn offers one of the most memorable views that you’ll experience at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, and it is an experience not to be missed. To reach this semi-secluded lounge, you will ride a spiraling escalator down from its sister lounge, Parasol Up, through slowly twirling, multicolored parasols that hang above and are their namesake. Once you reach Parasol Down, you’ll be spellbound by the spectacular vision of the 40-foot waterfall rushing down a pine-topped mountain, towering over the dazzling Lake of Dreams.

WHAT WATERFALL???  how on earth did i miss the waterfall?  maybe i did notice it but then forgot because i was so entranced with the bar itself.  but geez, how did i miss it?

we looked in at the buffet, and it was a buffet like none i’d seen in vegas.  also magical, and amy and i would have had dinner there, but mom wasn’t interested.  we’d started out from our hotel at about four and had done quite a bit of walking in the hot hot heat and so she was getting a little annoyed with all the walking around.

the thing is that when i’d spent a bit of time looking up different things in las vegas i read about the wynn buffet and had made a note of it.  it would be been a great spot for brunch.

next time.

we kept walking and here was another beautiful chandelier in a deserted hallway lined with meeting and banquet rooms.

at this point mom is trying to find a way out.

the wynn is connected to the Encore, which has a separate name but is all owned by steve wynn.  at this point we found a bar overlooking the casino and settled mom there while amy and i continued exploring.

this is the encore, which is all in red.

on this morning i had gone on an extra-long run, and while amy and i walked and walked i was wearing a new pair of comfy sandals, and my feet were sore but i just wanted to keep walking.  we finally met up with mom at the bar.

we headed out of the wynn to take a taxi over to the mirage.  yet another beautiful chandelier on our way out.

 

this is what wikipedia has to say about the wynn:

The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, Michelin five star, and Zagat Survey Top U.S. Hotel^[1] ratings, as well as one Michelin star for its restaurant Wing Lei.^[2] It is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world. Wynn Las Vegas also made Forbes Award history by earning five-star ratings in every category—Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa—for two consecutive years.^[3] It has held the distinction of winning the award in the hotel sector every year since 2007. The building is the first high-rise to be cleaned by an automatic window washing system.^[4] The resort is named to the Condé Nast Traveller Gold List as one of the “Top Hotels in the World”.^[5]

well, gee.  i already wanted to go back, but now i have to.

the mirage was a short cab ride, and we were there in plenty of time to see the show. Beatler LOVE by Cirque Du Soleil is something that everybody should see.  it was the most incredible thing i’ve ever seen, and it is now my mission to somehow convince kevin that we need to go stay at the wynn and see the show.  he loves the beatles, and he would love it.  we wouldn’t even have to go anywhere else on the strip, just the wynn and then over to see the show.

here’s how good it is – amy didn’t care about going to the show because she doesn’t care about the beatles and she doesn’t care about cirque du soleil.

but as i was watching it unfold, i looked over at her and tears were running down her cheeks.  uh oh, i thought, she must be sad because yesterday was dad’s birthday.

but afterwards she said no, that wasn’t it – they were tears of pure joy because she loved the show so much.  she had never had that reaction to anything, ever.

i can’t say more than that to try to convince you (and especially kevin) to see it.

as we walked back to our hotel i kept taking pictures of the signs.

it was a memorable day.

ok then,

mrs. g. hughes, staying home for now.