Day 4…After our crazy night in Fremont, we decided to make Thursday a relaxing day. We had to suck it up and spend $50 on breakfast again since there isn’t anything gluten-free anywhere close to the hotel.
We spent the day at the pool and went for a quick, delicious, cheap lunch at In & Out Burger. It’s a burger and shakes chain only on the West coast. We’ve been wanted to try it since we’ve seen it many times on food tv shows. The hype is real; they are better than 5 Guys, who have the same concept.
Why is In & Out better, and why won’t they come to the East Coast? You won’t find an In & Out Burger anywhere east of Texas since they are adamant about using fresh beef raised for them specifically; they won’t compromise quality by shipping it across the country. Boom, that’s it, sad but true.
Why is it better? Please don’t get me wrong, 5 Guys is delicious, but what makes In & Out better is the delicious spread they add to their burgers. Their spread and going “animal style” used to be on a secret menu, but the word is out, so now everyone can order what the cool LA kids get.
We ordered off the now-famous secret menu; Double, Double, Cheese, Animal Style, Protein Style with Cheese Fries. Deliciousness; a perfect double cheeseburger with finely chopped grilled onions, spread, tomatoes wrapped in a lettuce wrap. The fries were kickass as well, costing half the price of 5 guys.
A nap and more pool time all afternoon made for a relaxing day. I was looking forward to the evening; we saved the Paris Hotel & dinner at a French bistro called Mon Ami Gabi; they are extremely gluten-free friendly which was a refreshing change from the rest of the places on the strip.
Paris is my dream place that I haven’t been to yet, so this was a must-go-to place for me to visit. We made a reservation and got to sit on the patio, which is directly across the street from the Bellagio Hotel’s fountain show.
We started with an order of escargot and a bottle of French Rośe champagne. I’ve never had escargot before, and it turns out; they were delicious. The restaurant is very serious about their gluten-free customers mark serving every dish with wooden toothpicks that read “Allergy,” to be sure.
We were on the fence about ordering the raw oysters that all the other tables were ordering. We’ve had Oysters Rockefeller before, which are cooked, but never raw, live ones. I’ve watched people eat them a million times and watched how much they love them.
I asked the waiter about the raw oysters and told him I never had one before; therefore, I didn’t want to order the 1/2 dozen on the menu. He asked the chef if he could send 1 oyster out to taste, helping make up my mind about ordering.
My one raw oyster came for me to try. It was plain; it didn’t have a mignonette. I tipped my head back as they do on tv. I started to chew it like you are supposed to do. I tried not to think about the fact that the oyster was raw.
I had to swallow it; it was hard to do. I would not spit it out, so finally, I got it down. The waiter asked how I liked it, and I told him it wasn’t something for me, but thanks for letting me experience it and to thank the chef for me.
Our meal was leisurely and slow, like how the French eat to savor their food. I ordered a classic; French Roasted Chicken with Pomme Purée topped with Sautéed Mushrooms and Pearl Onions.
Marty went with Steak Frite; Filet Mignon with Au Poivre Sauce and Hand-cut Fries. The fries were short so that they could be eaten easily with a knife and fork. Apparently, the French don’t pick up long fries and dip them in ketchup at a formal meal.
My chicken was juicy and had a delicious herb flavor. Marty’s filet was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was fantastic. He loved the fries; he said the more you ate, the more you wanted.
We finished our French meal with Chocolate Mousse and Cream Brûlée, both of which were to die for. It was a great experience with the bistro situated next to the replica of the Eiffel Tower, which is as close to Paris as I will get for now.
The Eiffel Tower was directly in front of the Paris Hotel. I took a selfie of us and another photo kissing Marty standing under the Eiffel Tower as I have dreamed of doing for decades.
We went into the Paris hotel, and like all the other hotels, you walk right into the open casinos and clouds of cigarette smoke. We haven’t seen or smelt so much cigarette smoke in years. It was weird and disgusting even though I was a big smoker only a few decades ago; I quit back in 1993. We were actually shocked at how many people still smoke; I am not judging anyone, to each his own; we don’t see it here so much in VT; not much happens here in VT, come to think of it! 😂
We found the part of the hotel that looked like Paris Streets. Everything looked beautiful from afar; then, when you get up close, paint is chipped, wood scraped, and the bathrooms are not as clean as they should be. This is true of all the other hotels we went into.
While we walked through our hotel, The Venetian, I kept pointing to Marty to look at the bottom of the white moldings, not a mark on them anywhere. I did a clean glove test in random spots to see if things were dusty; every surface passed the test.
After dinner and touring “Paris,” we headed back to our hotel and sat in the living room of our suite, looking out the huge window at all the lights. We were in bed early since we needed to be up and checkout to catch our morning flight.
The beds in our room were very comfortable; as comfortable as our sleep number bed, that is amazing. The pillows weren’t too hard or too soft. The sheets were silky and soft. I loved the closet as well; the light went on whenever you opened the door.
My favorite part of our suite for me was the bathroom! I picked up a couple of bath bombs at a fancy-schmancy soap and bath place in the hotel. The salesman tried to sell me a shit load of them, but I only wanted two, thank you very much.
I took two luxurious baths that were like soaking in heaven. The stand-up shower had hot water immediately when you turned it on and had perfect water pressure. There was a separate water closet for the toilet, which was very nice. Finally, there was a marble make-up vanity that I loved using; I am a girlie girl when it comes to stuff like this.
Our suite was a little less than $200 a night. Our taxi driver on the way to the airport told us that pre-covid, our suite sometimes went as high as between $1500-$1800 a night.
We may never be able to afford to stay at a five-star resort again, so we enjoyed and appreciated it very much. Vegas was different! Sin City is the perfect name for it; besides committing murder or stealing, everything else goes!
Really have loved the sharing of your trip to Vegas – I’m not inclined to visit myself, even living so much closer than you in way Northern CA. So many people go to party and your visit gave so much more information – glad you had such a good time.
Your blog cancels out: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Reading the above is as close as I am getting to Paris soon. Enjoyed your descriptions of the street life.
I haven’t been to Vegas in years, but I see not much has changed. I agree, everything looks better at a distance–Las Vegas is all about the illusions–just don’t look too close. I’m glad you found In-and-Out Burger–I always get extra crispy fries (and a real milkshake). And I like my raw oysters with a martini😏.