PALACE HOTEL...100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY LUNCH SPECIAL

San Francisco's historic Palace Hotel is 100 years old this year. Actually, it is more than 100 years old but it was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire and the rebuilt Palace is what is 100 years old. December 15, 1909, is the date the rebuilt Palace opened its doors.

In celebration of the the 100 years, the Palace has been featuring a two-course lunch on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays in the beautiful Garden Court dining room. The special lunch is in conjunction with San Francisco City Guides' regularly-scheduled tours of the Palace. While the City Guides tours will continue indefinitely (they are free; just show up), the $19.09 lunch will end at the end of December.

Harriet, who is a City Guides tour guide, and I did the lunch today. Since I've been on the hotel tour, I did not do it again, but highly recommend it for its history and for the behind-the-scenes looks at the hotel that only those on the tour get to see.



No matter how often I enjoy a meal or afternoon tea in the Garden Court, I am always awed by the elegance of this large dining room with its stained glass dome and Austrian crystal chandeliers.



The first course choices were San Francisco Cioppino, Chicken Croissant Sandwich, or a Green Salad with Truffled Tremor Goat Cheese.

I ordered the Cioppino a sort of Italian version of Bouillabaisse. My generous serving included lots of Dungeness Crab, Scallops, Salmon, and Halibut, all in a warm Fennel Tomato Broth.



Harriet's Chicken Salad Sandwich was garnished with sliced fresh fruit.




Dessert was a Chocolate Mousse made with Ghirardelli chocolate and garnished with whipped cream, berry purée, and a single fresh raspberry.



It was so rich that we both took home half our dessert.

The Palace's 100 Year Anniversary lunch is so popular that Harriet and I had reserve several months in advance.



With the Holidays and vacations coming up as we approach the end of the year, I advise reserving as soon as possible. You can telephone the hotel or make your reservation on the Palace's web site. I promise an excellent meal, attentive service, and a feel for the elegance of times past.

LAS VEGAS 2009: DAY FOUR; THE LAST DAY

We made our final day in Las Vegas a very low key one. Since our flight home was in the later afternoon, we really did not have a whole day to be out an about.

So, instead, we stayed "home," never leaving the Bellagio.

Once again we were back at the pool area. As you can see, as the morning progressed, the pool population increased. It was a luxury to have a complete morning by the pool, with no need to rush off.





We then checked out and went to Café Bellagio for lunch. Interestingly, we have not dined at Café Bellagio since our very first visit to the Bellagio, almost a decade ago. We had lunch here on the day we checked in and simply never bothered to return...no real reason.

But, our friend Palmer has told us that his family, who also stay at the Bellagio, eat here often. They prefer it to the Buffet for their breakfasts.

It was time to visit again.

The dining room is comfortable and calm, with lots of space between tables. It looks out onto the pools on one side and the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on the other. I believe it is the only restaurant in the hotel that is open 24 hours a day.



Our Cobb Salad and Grilled Vegetable Sandwich were both excellent.




Next time, we will return for sure.

As always, I am already planning my next Las Vegas visit!

FOUR DAYS IN LAS VEGAS 2009: DAY THREE

Picking up with my tale of our four days in Las Vegas at the end of June, we started our third day with some time at the Bellagio pools.



Since I like to swim laps, I needed to be at the pools at 8 a.m. when they open. This pool is the best pool for lap swimming and early in the morning it is not packed with adults and kids simply hanging out in the middle of the pool. Some afternoons I actually encountered groups gathered around rafts on which perched their cocktails, in the middle of the pool.

Later in the morning, we head off to M & M World, four stories of all things M & M.



On the way, we walked past the City Center project, which is well under way.



We always head for the top floor of M & M World first, and then work our way down. The top floor features the M & M race car and much of the merchandise is racing themed.





There is stuff to buy on every floor and judging from the number of people making large purchases, it seems the word of an economic downturn have not reached Las Vegas.

There is a very nice view of New York New York hotel and its Coney Island roller coaster from the upper floors of M & M World.



On the third floor is a small M & M museum and a theatre that shows an M & M movie in 3-D. The current movie is "I Lost my M in Vegas."



The second floor features dispensers of M & Ms in every imaginable color. You can create your own mixture or purchase mixtures in a variety of bags and decorative containers. Since Fourth of July was coming up, I bought a red, white, and blue mixture to bring as a hostess gift to our friends with whom we were spending the Fourth.

The first floor has more souvenir items...lots of jewelry and keychains...the kinds of things that you can buy quickly to take home as souvenirs.

By the time we left M & M World we were ready for lunch. Wanting to eat lightly, because we had a special afternoon treat planned, we stopped at the Earl of Sandwich in Planet Hollywood.



Earl of Sandwich is a quick food place that is way above the average...large fresh sandwiches, salads, and soup, all at very reasonable prices, It is right inside the entrance to the hotel's Miracle Mile Shops, the south entrance, which is closest to M & M World. We both had tuna salads.



Back at the Bellagio, we checked out Jean Philippe, which sells French pastries, chocolates, crêpes, and light meals.



Knowing that we would be indulging in more food shortly, Jim had to be content to just look at the pastries.



The special treat of our afternoon was Afternoon Tea at Petrossian, also in the Bellagio. Jim has never had a formal afternoon tea but proposed it to celebrate a project I have been working on that relates to tea.








The table was set with fine China and Linen. We were served scones with lemon curd, clotted cream, whipped cream, and jams and jellies. We had several tea sandwiches. And, finished up with a selection of sweets. We each chose a variety of tea, and had our own tea pot of that tea. We relaxed over tea for several hours.

Having enjoyed our tea until about 5 p.m., we did not plan any dinner.

For the evening's entertainment, we partook of some of the free shows that go on outside the hotels.

We walked North on the Strip, enjoying the warm night and views of the hotels along the way.

I am not sure I have ever walked along the sidewalk in front of the Mirage, or not for a long time. I was delighted to discover an enormous sculptural tribute to Sigfried & Roy.



Also, I got to see the Venetian from the other side of the street...usually I am right in front of it.





Our first destination was the Pirate show at Treasure Island.




We then moved next door to the Mirage which has erupting volcanoes...we were on the back side of the volocano, close to the hotel entrance, but still saw a lot of fire and felt a lot of heat.




We took in the night lights and ducked into the Forum at Caesar's to cool off.





Back at the Bellagio, we made one final stop...at Café Gelato for a nightcap of Gelato.

FOUR DAYS IN LAS VEGAS 2009: DAY TWO

Our second day in Las Vegas started with breakfast at the Buffet at the Bellagio. While neither of us is a big breakfast eater, we have discovered that even if we just have juice, fresh fruit, milk, bowl of cereal, and coffee or tea, the buffet price of $14.95 per person is less than what it would cost in the hotel to eat in one of its coffee shops and cafés. We have tried buffets at other nearby hotels and always find the one at the Bellagio to be the best. Of course, we always are tempted by the other offerings. Jim usually added smoked salmon and other smoked fish to his plate. And I enjoyed the muffins, cheese, steamed Asian vegetables, made to order omelets, and, best of all, Breakfast Pizzas!



Our plan for Day Two was to visit the Wynn Hotel. The Wynn is newer than the Bellagio and we've never seen it. Wandering through hotels is one of our favorite Las Vegas past times. Since the Wynn is about a mile away and the weather is hot, we decided to use public transit. Trying to keep our costs down on this visit, we thought that using public transit when we did not wish to walk, including to a show at the Venetian, would save us money over taking taxis that get expensive because there is a lot of wait time in the traffic on the Strip that rapidly runs up the meter.

Public transit on the Strip is pretty limited. Before our arrival, I had decided that the Monorail that runs from the MGM to the Convention Center, with stops in between, would be our best bet. On our first day there, after dinner at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris, we decided to check out the Paris/Bally's Monorail station; its entrance is right on the Strip. So, in we walked, and after walking and riding escalators for quite awhile, we found ourselves in Bally's lobby. We kept walking and walking and walking...through Bally's shopping section and further and then we finally stopped and turned back, noting that we had to have walked further trying to find the Monorail station entrance than we would have walked if we stayed on the sidewalk and just walked directly from our hotel to the Wynn. From later talking with locals about the Monorail, we learned that it is something of a joke because of its inconvenient stations and its limited coverage.

The best bet for public transit is the bus system and The Deuce, a double decker bus, runs frequently along the Strip and is always packed...but well air conditioned. At $3 a ride, or $7 for all day, The Deuce is a deal.




So, on Day Two, we caught the Deuce in front of Planet Hollywood across the street and were at the Wynn in minutes.

Despite the Wynn's "ritzy" appearance and its own in-house Ferrari dealer by the main entrance, we loved the inside of the Wynn. Steve Wynn, who has built many of the Las Vegas hotels, including the Bellagio, has outdone himself with the Wynn's cheerful interior which includes fanicful floral ceilings and carpets, colorful parasols, and a lake with waterfalls. Many of the Wynn's restaurants overlook the lake; several have outdoor lakeside seating.


















The Wynn's sister hotel, the Encore next door, is connected inside. The Wynn and the Encore share an onsite golf course, among their amenities. Just as Bellagio has its Chihuly glass ceiling and Botanical Garden, the Wynn also has an expansive floral display off its lobby.



Our friend Mort told me about Bartolotta, a seafood restaurant in the Wynn that features fresh seafood which is flown in daily from the Mediterranean. The menu is tempting; here's a view of the restaurant, which is one of many at the Wynn.



We exited the Wynn from their shopping "street" and wound up just a walkway away from the Palazzo, the Venetian's newest hotel, adjacent to the Venetian. Since the Strip is not easy to cross (there are overcrossing periodically), we decided to wander through the Palazzo and Venetian.



We had just arrived in St. Mark's Square in the Venetian right when one of their free shows was about to start. So, we found a good vantage spot and enjoyed the 15 or so minute show.





This led to further wanderings and eventuallly to walking all the way back to the Bellagio.

We crossed the Strip in front of the Venetian and wandered through the Mirage. By now, we were hungry for lunch but did not want a huge meal. We spotted the Carnegie Deli and went in and shared an enormous Corned Beef Sandwich. We were conservative in our ordering, but those around us were certainly not.



The couple at the next table had ordered a BLT/Chicken Salad Combination and a Corned Beef/Turkey Combination sandwiches. They were kind enough to allow me to take pictures of their lunches.





Next stop was the Forum Shops at Caesar's. Entering on the street level nearest to the Mirage, I spotted a Taryn Rose shoe store.


Taryn Rose shoes are special comfortable shoes designed by Taryn Rose, who originally started her career as an orthopaedist. When she discovered that supportive women's shoes were mostly ugly and fashionable women's shoes did not give her the kind of foot support she needed for work days on her feet, she started designing women's shoes that have both style and built-in orthotics for support. Taryn Rose shoes are expensive, so I only splurge on them every few years. This day in Las Vegas was splurge day and I came out with a pair of gold metallic sandals.

Finally, we got back to the Bellagio in time to get dressed for an early dinner before seeing Blue Man Group, back at the Venetian. This time, since I didn't want to walk or bus in my dress shoes, we did take a taxi.

Our dinner at Canaletto, an Italian restaurant overlooking St. Mark's Square on one side and the Grand Canal and Gondolas on the other, was lovely.







We shared their interesting version of a Caesar Salad.



I had the Sea Bass.



And, Jim chose the Shrimp, Crab and Artichoke Risotto, Risotto Erasmo.



We looked longingly at the gelato at their gelato shop but, with a 7 p.m. curtain time for our show, we did not have time to indulge...and we were pretty full from our dinner.




And the Blue Man Group show was unbelievable. I had no idea what to expect; it has been on Jim's to-see list for a long time. I was surprised and delighted...it was fun, funny, creative, and ever-surprising.



After the show, the entire cast...Blue Men and their backups...were in the lobby where they graciouslly posed for photos with audience members and "signed" tickets and programs with a blue fingerprint or kiss.






Another lovely day in Las Vegas.