We decided to hit the Strip for day two of our trip.
I usually wake up between 6 and 7 a.m. but figured that because of the trip I might sleep a little later. I had brought my "breathing machine" with me (I have sleep apnea, more about that in another column) and fought with the damn hoses all night yet was still wide awake and ready to go by 6:30. Unfortunately, I was ready to go by 6:30 central time which is 4:30 Vegas time.
Of course, there is always something to do in Vegas but I spent the time writing up day one, working on my book, and listening to my iPod trying not to wake my buddy who was snoring in his bed.
He's not used to waking up before 9 or 9:30, so by 7 Vegas time he was gradually waking up. To help gently awaken him I threw the curtains open and let the desert sun blast in, throwing the room from almost total darkness into full on daylight in a split second and eliciting a vampiric like response to the sun.
After he quit throwing stuff at me he stumbled to the bathroom to get ready and eventually we made our way downstairs and to the taxi stand.
Since we had scheduled shaves at eleven, we decided to hit the laceName w:st="on">MandalaylaceName> laceType w:st="on">BaylaceType> first so we could scout out the shaving place as well as our dinner destination that night.
If you haven't been to one of the mega resorts in Vegas it is extremely hard to describe how big they really are. If it weren't for the signs and people willing to help it would be easy to get lost in most of them.
A quick word about MandalayBay. I've never stayed there, but have visited it several times to go to the House of Blues for souvenirs, a concert, and to gamble a little although the table limits are higher than I like to see. Plus, this is where a lot of the glitzy crowd hang out, with star sighting being quite frequent. I'm not really into that and I've already let it be known how I feel about baseball caps being worn backwards. Nevertheless, Mandalay Bay is a gorgeous casino, the waitresses are both built and beautiful, and the women wandering there are a notch higher than elsewhere. I understand the wave pool and other outdoor attractions are worth a visit and if you are in such a state of mind I would highly suggest you give it a try.
Back to our trip. With help we located our two Mandalay Bay destinations and decided to grab a quick bite to eat and so visited Raffles Café, described on the website as "casual dining accented by views of the beach". For breakfast, you're going to drop between $10 and $20 each. I had an onion bagel with smoked salmon (lox) which was served with sides of cream cheese, capers, and what I assume were very thinly sliced shallots, although the menu said it was red onions. I had never tried "bagels and lox" before and it was very, very good. The ingredients were fresh, there were several nice sized pieces of salmon, and it was in the ball park of being worth the price. A regular breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns will set you back about twelve bucks which was high. A bigger portion of the same ingredients downtown is three or four dollars. You're paying for the ambiance here AND because they can get it. If you can afford to stay here, you can afford the breakfast but just be aware.
We wandered in and out of the table games for while, but couldn't find a blackjack table for under $25 a hand, and the craps tables were not only quiet (not a good sign) but had $10 minimums and crappy odds. We dropped a few bills in the slots, broke even, then continued our wandering.
Last time I was in Vegas I made it a habit of playing the Silver Strike slots, which not only give money, but if you hit correctly give out a one ounce silver token in a plastic case. The token is marked with symbols from the casino, and is redeemable at the cage for ten bucks. I didn't have one from Mandalay so I stopped at one we were passing and put in a twenty. Within a few minutes I had gotten three tokens (which my friend pointed out were worth $40 here) and about forty more bucks. I kept one, gave one to him for a souvenir (which he promptly cashed in, saying that $40 was a better souvenir), and cashed one in myself.
By this time it was getting time to hit the shaving place so we headed upstairs.
I had read about The Art of Shaving a while back in one of the men's magazines (Esquire or something like that) and wanted to give it a try.
I remember going to the barber shop when I was a kid and seeing men getting shaved with straight razors but it's a rarity now. In one famous scene from the movie "Rounders" Edward Norton Jr. takes Matt Damon for one of the old fashioned shaves to reinvigorate him following a couple of days of poker.
We opted for "The Royal Shave" which takes about 45 minutes and will set you back $55. My "barber" was a gentleman named Craig Means and if any of you decide to visit the place, tell him I sent you and that you read about it here.
I may mess up on describing some of the procedures because, to be honest, after I allowed myself the experience was so relaxing I kind of lost track of the time and didn't keep good mental notes.
The shave started with him poking and prodding on my face to determine which way my beard grew, then he wrapped a hot towel across my face leaving only my nose poking out. After this soaked for a while he put on some warm, liquid which I assume was shaving oil, and replaced the towel with another one.
When this was removed and I was lathered up my first experience with a straight razor began. It took a minute to get used to the scraping sensation. The razors most of us use, combined with the canned foam, don't give the same sensation as a straight razor. It's not really unpleasant, just different.
The first shave is with the grain of your whiskers, the second is against the grain, followed by a facial treatment, some type of appliqués placed on the eyes, then a facial wrap with a cool towel. There was also a rosewater spray, but I'm not really sure when that happened.
One of the most pleasant experiences was a facial and neck massage which was all too short.
In what seemed much less than the forty five minutes allotted I was up and out of the chair with my face feeling softer than my first girlfriend's butt (which was very, very soft).
This was well worth the money and I highly recommend it. I probably wouldn't do it every day, but I suspect it will become a regular part of the Las Vegas experience.
After we finished, we went to the Luxor via the tram to look around and found a craps table with $5 limits so we shot for a while, eventually walking away with a slight loss.
We went to the Bellagio next for the buffet. The line was 20-30 minutes long, as usual.
For the first time ever I was disappointed in the buffet. It's always a little pricey, but the selection of food is usually impressive, the taste is excellent, and you can try some exotic items you don't normally find in wither restaurants or buffets. In the past I've had teriyaki squid, wild boar ribs, venison medallions, as well as many other tasty items.
This time the selection was less impressive. The most interesting item was a seven spice leg of lamb, but when I asked for a rare piece the chef told me it was all at least medium well to well done. Ick. Lamb cooked more than medium becomes more like mutton (to me at least).
I had a piece of Chicken Wellington (chicken cooked in a pastry tube) that had to be one of the worst things I have ever tasted in my life. It was foul. The only saving grace of the whole meal was the desserts. I haven't sworn off the Bellagio Buffet, but it seems to lose something as it gets older with this trip being exponentially worse than the last time. If it is this bad or worse next trip, it's time to find another buffet.
We went to Caesar's Palace next but their table limits were ridiculously high so we made our way to Casa Fuente, the cigar bar located in the Forum Shoppes that I wrote about a few weeks ago.
After we made our cigar selection from the humidor the beautiful young lady working the counter offered to cut and light them for us, an invitation we accepted. It was only after the cigars were lit that I discovered the sacrilege which had taken place. They no longer allow you to smoke at the tables located in a fenced in area just outside the store. Although the area is reserved for use by the Casa Fuente patrons, you can only drink there. No smoking.
The cigar and drinks were good, but to be honest, if I would have known we couldn't smoke out front I probably would have skipped the place. There is something about taking the time to enjoy a leisurely smoke and drink while watching the people move in and out Caesar's that made this one of my favorite parts of Vegas. Alas, complaints from other stores and a some kind of new law has moved this "must do" to a "maybe".
From here we went to the Barbary Coast and played for a while. This old casino has just been purchased by Harrah's (curse their name forever) and we wanted to gamble here before they crush the place. I did pretty well at a blackjack table, bringing me back up to even for the trip. However, all good things must end and so we left for Paris, to gamble a little before show time for the Producers.
Next: The Producers starring David Hasselhoff and dinner at Fleur de Lys.
