Las Vegas, Nevada: I bet many of my long-time Readers are happy we no longer have the need to travel to Las Vegas, stay at the same hotel, eat in all the same restaurants and visit the conservatory in the Bellagio Hotel. Y'all must be bored to tears... but here goes, for old times sake.
Not only is it cold and windy in Las Vegas, it rained buckets. I could not figure-out the odd loud clanging sound this morning, and it turned out to be massive rain drops hitting a metal ledge below our hotel window. Man, no architect in Oregon would ever think to put a deep aluminum ledge outside a window of walls, but I guess it doesn't rain enough in this town to warrant that worry?
Our basketball game didn't start until 5p this evening, so we had all day to amuse ourselves. In Las Vegas, this means (for us) eating and window shopping. (Don't forget people-watching.) All of these things were accomplished today at the Bellagio Hotel. Due to the rain storm, we took the tramway behind our hotel to the Bellagio so were able to remain indoors, or under cover, for the entire journey. First, a stroll through the spring display in the Bellagio Conservatory, with a "Tea & Tulips" theme.
The displays seem to be getting odder and odder and more and more plastic/fake stuff is being used, when previously everything resembled a Rose Bowl Parade float - covered in living things, and thousands of living plants and flowers. PS: where were the tulips?
Well then, how about a big plate of fresh salad greens? I had the famed Chinois Chicken Salad at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in the Bellagio. DT went for a more brunchy choice, the French omelet (meaning, I guess, that it is rolled?).
Puck's salad must be the most popular dish ordered at his restaurants. The omelet was filled with exotic mushrooms - I couldn't believe the shape of some of 'shrooms DT found in there. We ate on the covered patio, under heat laps, on the "lake" in front of the Bellagio Hotel, but the fountain show is currently out-of-commission, so we were not treated to a water ballet this afternoon. Good thing. The wind probably would have have blown the spraying water right into our faces.
As to window shopping, the Bellagio has gone super-luxury. A few years ago they added a Louis Vuitton men's store, in addition to the Louis Vuitton women's shop... across from Dior, Chanel, BVLGARI, Gucci, Van Cleef & Arpels, Fendi, Prada, and don't forget Harry Winston. There is new Valentino shop and Cartier in the hotel lobby - just across from Hermes. Between the Las Vegas hotels and shopping malls - all on The Strip - I think there are eight Louis Vuitton shops.
After our lunch excursion, we rode the tram back to our hotel. The rain had stopped, it was still cold, windy, slippery and so grey. We were changing into our green & yellow game gear when once again, I heard the dreaded pinging of rain drops on the aluminum ledge. This time the sky went black and we lost our view. Sadly, there is no dry tram route to the arena from our hotel, but we would only need to be outside for five minutes (if we were quick). Thinking positively: rain must be a good omen for Ducks, right?
We arrived to our seats about 30 minutes before tip-off. The arena never filled completely, but it was a sea of red. Arizona fans out-numbered Duck fans 9-1, and they were very loud.
The Wildcats took the lead and kept it up. Ducks were down by 10 (33-23) at the half. Coach Altman must have given the pep-talk of his life or he has a stash of players with twins waiting under the bleachers, because the Duck team that took the court in the second half were remarkable. They were throwing-up 3-point shots like it was their job, and the previously perfect Wildcats started making mistakes. The red fans grew quiet. The Ducks won the game 67-59. It was a shocker, as Arizona was picked to win by 11 points and they were the #1 seed in the tournament. A fantastic night for the Ducks.
As awful as the Arizona fans have acted previously, not one mean thing was heard tonight. The Arizona fans sitting with us have been friendly every night. However, there is a Duck fan directly in front of me I want to punch. He is so rude, so loud, swears like a sailor, and is way too drunk to be with his children. (Yep, he constantly drops the F-bomb in front of his ten-year-old. Class Act.) May I also add he is over six feet tall and really really really likes to stand up during the game?
Rant over. Carriage return.
Colorado beat Washington State in the second game, so tomorrow night (6p pacific), the Ducks will face the Buffaloes in the last-ever Pac-12 Championship. The game airs on FOX. Pretty exciting... and how will we fill all day in rainy Las Vegas (I did bring a little needlepoint project) tomorrow?
Until my next update, hopefully with a winning report, I remain, your smiling correspondent.