Arc replica in front of the Paris hotel
Inside of the Paris hotel
Outdoor seating
I have passed this restaurant countless times over the years and I have always thought of it as a cheesy, knock-off French restaurant that caters to tourists who fall for paying ridiculous prices since it is a cute restaurant right on the strip with good outdoor seating. Luckily it turns out that I was very wrong. Once I started reading reviews about it and people had such great things to say about it we decided to give it a shot.
We sat indoors but it was right on the edge of the outdoor seating area so we had the air-conditioning but we still had a great view for people watching on the strip and it is also conveniently located directly across the street from the Bellagio. It was perfect timing because during our meal we even caught one of the fountain shows outside of the Bellagio, which is always a treat.
If you look closely you can see the fountains swaying in unison to the music.
The bread for the table was a fresh, hot baguette with a great crust and soft, chewy inside along with French style butter.
We ordered Gazpacho to share as a starter and it was fabulous. It was delivered in a large soup bowl with diced red peppers, avocado, and basil chiffonade in a mound at the bottom of the bowl and then the waiter poured the soup tableside. It was a yellow gazpacho that was completely smooth and fully packed with flavors of tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, etc. It was the most refreshing summer soup that I have ever had. I asked the server if it was thickened with cream and she said no, it was thickened with bread before it was passed through a strainer in order to obtain the silky, smooth texture.
Then for my meal I had Scallops that were baked with caramelized onions, oyster cream, parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. This was SO good and the scallops were incredibly tender considering that they were baked.
Mom had the Warm Chicken and Brie Sandwich with a side of frites. On the sandwich was a chicken breast, brie cheese, thinly sliced green apples, caramelized onions, and a chive aioli on toasted ciabatta bread. It was wonderful as well and the French fries were thin and half crispy and half soft- yum!
After lunch we did some shopping, bought our show tickets for tonight to see the Cirque du Soleil Mystere (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/mystere/default.aspx) show at 9:30 and now we are lounging in the room before going downstairs to start gambling, eat a small dinner, and then head to the show! We are excited because this Cirque show because neither one of us has seen it before. (We had plans to go to a restaurant called Firefly, recommended by Justin Tilley, but we had such a big and late lunch that we didn't think we could do another big meal. It's a tapas restaurant and the menu looked delicious. It's about 10 minutes off of the strip and I'll look forward to trying it next time, especially since he said it was more of a "local" place. Thanks for the recommendation, Justin!)
We decided to try our luck at the Crap and we did well for a while, but ended up losing after about an hour at the table. Next came Blackjack and that’s when things started looking up for us! I went on quite a streak and turned $50 into $300! Mom made a small profit as well and we decided to cash our while we were ahead and get some dinner before the show started.
We grabbed a slice of pizza at a place next to the theatre and it was exactly 9:30 as we were walking into the show. I tell you this small detail because as we show our tickets and then walk up towards an usher to show us to our seats, we are greeted by an unusual usher. It is an older gentleman with white hair that is sticking out in all directions who is wearing an oversized black suit and large shoes. In other words, he looked like a well dressed clown without having his face painted. We just considered ourselves lucky that we got the most exciting usher there, handed him our tickets, and started following him. It wasn’t until he clipped our tickets to a wire that then went racing into the rafters where ticket confetti soon rained down on us, that we realized we were part of the show.
The spotlights were following us as he led us on a convoluted route to “our seats.” We bobbed, weaved, and climbed over several people when we finally ended up on stage as that was where he was “looking for our seats.” He had us wave and take a bow and then we continued the journey with him. Next he got the third row right in the middle, had two guys stand up, and then he had us take their seats and their popcorn. Then as a reward he stuck out his cheek for a kiss and as I went to give him a kiss he quickly turned his head and I almost kissed him right on the lips! The audience roared with laughter. If I wasn’t just starting to chase a new dream I would change directions and aim towards joining the Cirque team; I could get use to being on stage with them!
After a while the shtick was over and we were escorted to our new and improved seats that we got for “being such good sports,” along with free popcorn! It was certainly a great start to the evening and the show only got better from there.
If you have never seen a Cirque du Soleil show I would highly recommend it. It’s an incredible mix of music, acrobatics, dance, and some of the most athletic people I have ever seen. There are several different shows that each follow a different theme such as Beatles “Love” Show is choreographed to all Beatles songs, the same is done for Elvis, and then others are more basic themes such as water, dreams, nature, etc. I have never seen a Cirque show that I didn’t love and the next on my list is the Elvis one because it wasn’t playing either one of the nights that we were there this time. Darn, just another excuse to plan my next trip to Vegas! J
After Mystere
The stage where we were!
After the show we gambled for a little longer and then went to bed around 1 since Mom was catching an early flight home the next morning. Once again we packed a lot of activities and meals into one city and as always, Vegas never disappoints!
Hot and windy for our last day in Vegas.
Thanks to everyone who housed us, fed us, clothed us, etc. along the way. It was great to see you all and we are lucky to have so many generous friends across the country.
And a very special thanks to Mom and Dad for making this trip and this move a reality. I might have been able to do it on my own, but it sure wouldn't have been half as much fun without you guys! Love you!!
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