Today after brunch we went on a gondola ride on the outdoor canal at our hotel (Venetian/Palazzo) with Dante, a native of northeastern Italy, as our gondolier and serenader. Then after eating carmel/chocolate apples from the Palazzo food court, we sat in the outdoor hot tub and met Californians who gave us travel suggestions when they heard of our plans. Tonight after dinner we’ll go to a show at our hotel. Yesterday we spent hours getting over to and shopping at the enormous mall catty corner from us in order to get some clothes for Charlie. We’re staying on the Strip close to countless hotels, casinos, restaurants, and stores; but it takes a really long time to walk anywhere because the buildings are so huge. Yesterday I underestimated how long it would take to get to the Rio Hotel (not on the Strip) to see Penn & Teller at 9 pm. The lights went down and Penn and Teller were announced the moment we walked in the auditorium. I really enjoyed that show – just wish it had been a little earlier.
The food here is great – just really expensive. Yesterday and today we’ve had two meals/day (plus snack) instead of three in order to reduce expenses. I was pleasantly surprised to find a Chipotle down the Strip and then to find the food court not far from St. Mark’s Square at our hotel. I think our Thanksgiving dinner will come from Panda Express. There’s another Chipotle in the gigantic mall across the street, but it wasn’t dinner time when we saw it yesterday. I was trying to calculate how much time to allot to get back there later for dinner and still get to the show but luckily found another one not in the mall. We have a car here, but I’m leaving it in the parking garage until we leave Friday morning.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Laurel took this picture of Joshua trees through the car window on the way from Phoenix to Las Vegas

Hoover Dam (Monday)

Power Plant tour at Hoover Dam

View from our hotel room – Treasure Island is across the street.

Palazzo lobby

The Venetian lobby – The Palazzo and Venetian are connected but have separate lobbies.

Dante
Despite appearances, Laurel says she enjoyed the gondola ride. 🙂