Posted on: Sunday, March 16, 2008
Top experiences of a Las Vegas rookie
The Bellagio Fountains. I'd heard about them, I'd seen pictures and I've seen some famous fountains before. But still, when they went off just when we happened to be walking along the path in front of the hotel, I wasn't prepared for the wonder of those towering, twirling, twisting jets of water pulsing to the beat of a Shania Twain song. I laughed. I practically danced. I took 32 pictures. Later, we took the elevator up into Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower replica just to see the fountains from above, but there was too much wind that day, and they were turned off. Whimper. The fountains operate every 30 minutes 3 to 7 p.m. and every 15 minutes 7 p.m. to midnight on weekdays; every 30 minutes noon to 7 p.m. and every 15 minutes 7 to midnight Saturdays and Sundays. The Eiffel Tower Experience, 3645 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; tickets, $10 adults, $7 children and seniors over 60 at box office; 888-266-5687.
The chocolate swan candies at The Chocolate Swan, Mandalay Place. These caramel-pecan delights (what elsewhere are called turtles) are so good I sent my husband downstairs for another half-pound on Valentine's Day. Chocolate and sweet shop, coffee bar (they serve Peet's coffee) and catering operation, this critically acclaimed spot on the mall level concourse between the Luxor and the Mandalay rivals any I've seen in ambience and sheer deliciousness. Owner Mary Basta should be rightly proud. 702-632-9366; you can buy the chocolates online, www.chocolateswan.com.
Shows — from the too, too cute (Popovich Comedy Pet Theater) to the too, too cynical (Carrot Top).
The $2.99 shrimp cocktail at The Golden Nugget. You gotta have one. Just to say you did. It's just bay shrimp in some ketchupy stuff, but there's something about the presentation in a soda-fountain glass, the slot machines clanging in the casino bar a few feet away, the old Las Vegas atmosphere.
The Springs Preserve, a 180-acre park featuring historical displays, several amphitheaters, educational opportunities, trails, gardens, a children's playground, the planned Nevada State Museum — all focused on the past (the history of the artesian springs that gave Las Vegas its reason for existence, and the people who came there for water in the desert) and the future (sustainability and conservation).
The fresh-made tamales at 28-year-old Dona Maria's Tamales Restaurant, a Las Vegas institution in the no-man's-land portion of the Strip. Do NOT try to walk here (besides being too far from anywhere you could possibly be staying, the scenery is uninteresting, and it's perhaps not safe at night). But if you like tamales, this is the place. Try red (pork in a mild sauce), green (chicken in a spicy sauce), cheese (with chilies) or the sweet pineapple and raisin dessert tamale. Plus killer fajitas and carne asada. 910 Las Vegas Blvd S.; 702-382-6538; www.donamariatamales.com.
Some tips from other folks:
Edna Fujita, Maui: "If you want to see something special, you gotta plan. How many times we came and the show I want to see is touring. My husband only gambles, so he doesn't care when we go. So I go into the computer and find a show and get the tickets and plan our trip around that."
Vance Cannon, former Islander who operates a Las Vegas tour firm: Check out the new ice cream bar behind the Bellagio with the world's largest chocolate fountain. "The best-kept and cheapest show in Vegas is the Wes Winters show; for $18 you get a one-hour afternoon show; he's funny, he dresses like Liberace, he does classical, Broadway, everything." He performs at 1 p.m. Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Liberace Museum, 1775 East Tropicana Ave. (Winters also plays at Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens Restaurant on Wednesday nights; you can hear this as a Webcast, too.) www.weswinters.com
Roger Hayakawa, Mililani: "Don't come in February." (Uttered while shivering atop the Eiffel Tower during a spell of extremely chilly, windy weather.)
Betty Duggan, Oxford, Miss.: "Bet on the Deuce." Laughs. "It's the double-decker bus that runs up and down the Strip, and it runs all night. It only costs $2, or $5 for an all-day pass."
Alan Hashimoto, Honolulu: "Stay Downtown. Play Downtown. Go Uptown to do everything that's free or has coupons or no cost too much. Then come back Downtown."
Anonymous Advertiser informant: "All the major hotels have something to see inside, like the MGM with the lions, the Bellagio water show, the Mirage lava show, the Wynn auto museum. Just checking out the hotels will take you a full day. There's also a little-known tidbit about the Bellagio water show. If you go up the Eiffel Tower at sunset, you'll catch two shows: One in the day and one at night. There is a huge difference in ambience. Plan to stay at least 45 minutes (and it's cold). You don't really appreciate the show from the ground level."
