Las Vegas, Nevada: We started the day right by having a wonderful meal at one of our favorite restaurants IN THE WORLD (because they are all over the world), Din Tai Fung, known for their delicious Taiwanese soup dumplings.
Walking into every Din Tai Fung location, diners are greeted with a free show behind a glass wall. Tiny balls of dough are rolled flat (by hand), stuffed with different fillings, then shaped. Din Tai Fung uses two shapes - round with a swirl on top, and a half-circle with 18 folds. (I'm lucky to get seven folds when I make potstickers.) It is a fantastic procedure and mesmerizing to watch.
It's sad to dine here with only two people. We were limited in how much we could order/eat/try. We always get the Taiwan pickle and we always get the fried rice (oops, not photographed).
We ordered both style of dumplings - each with chicken filling.
Before heading over the T-Mobile Arena for the first session of basketball, we stopped by a reception hosted by the University of Oregon Athletic Department, where we ran into a few old friends, then entered the arena to catch the last bit of UCLA v Colorado. UCLA won 80-69.
It may have been previously mentioned on this blog, but this stadium has such a large video screen, sometimes I catch myself watching the screen instead of the players on the floor! Especially when a guy the size of a linebacker sat down in front of me. The Ducks took a strong lead, then gave it away. I thought My Driver was going to lose it, but his Ducks rallied to beat Washington State by five and will face UCLA tomorrow at 6p.
We took a break between sessions (the arena is emptied between the afternoon/evening sessions), to do a bit of grocery shopping at EATALY - conveniently located across the street from T-Mobile Arena. I have been looking for gigantic pasta shells and knew this would be just the place - and I was right. I also found tins of peeled cherry tomatoes (!) and maybe a few boxes of candy and cookies. After depositing the goods in our hotel room, we retraced our steps back to watch Arizona stomp all over Stanford. Arizona fans were loud and proud and there were so many of them. They will face Arizona State tomorrow at 8:30p.
After the games, we went back to EATALY and had salads and wonderful wines for dinner.
Another long day. 14,000 steps on my pedometer and I did not "exercise" today. Until my next update, I remain your GO DUCKS correspondent.