So we’re staying at New York New York here - and for a song. We’re in a room that is about half the size of our house for an obscenely small amount, especially when you compare it to our trip six years ago.
Opened January 3, 1997, New York-New York’s architecture evokes the New York City skyline; with several towers configured to resemble New York City towers, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the Statue of Liberty. A replica of New York Harbor is in front as well, and replicas of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the main immigration building on Ellis Island, and Grand Central Terminal. Inside the casino/hotel, everything is modeled after NYC neighborhoods like Central Park and Greenwich Village. And the buildings connect to the Excalibur and the MGM Grand.
All that aside, I can tell you that things are just a bit off. One of the first things you notice in this gigantic room is that the carpets are worn, torn, stained, and pulling from the walls. The floors in the bathroom and its shower have moldy/missing grout. The four seater tub has no easy entry/exit. And the walls are so thin that you can hear the kids in the next room who were left unsupervised for three hours, along with the subsequent screaming match held by their parents earlier, which might have led to the 3 hours without supervision. And the sink doesn’t drain properly, and both water knobs turn counter clockwise to open, and clockwise to close, something you might not expect. And, waking up we noticed that there are no clocks in the room. And no hot water/coffee devices of any kind!
And it hits me - not for the first time either. They don’t want you in the room, they want you on the floor losing your money. Blessedly, gambling is not my thing, but even if it were, the open smoking in the casinos is enough to make me thrilled that I don’t gamble!
Aside from that, it’s been a good day! Today was the day that we really came for - dinner at the Palm. I had my birthday gift certificate for the free meal (either a 3 pound lobster or a surf and turf option), so the only plan for the day was the Palm. We did go to the gym in the morning, followed by a decent breakfast at the restaurant downstairs, and then we headed out to Mecca - the Apple Store - where we looked at the new iMacs and the Mac Mini and displays. Oooh, pretty. Good thing we can’t buy those and take them home from MacWorld next week!
After that, it was lunch at the Indian restaurant at the Hawaiian Marketplace on the Strip. Really excellent food!
When we got back, I arranged for tickets to see another Cirque show tomorrow night - it’s a new show that opened late last year, called Zarkana. We shall see how it is!
From there, it was study time, work time, and relaxing before heading out to the Palm. Oh my goodness, was dinner fantastic! We were surrounded by familiar and unfamiliar caricatures, and a familiar menu. Lobster bisque, a 3 lb lobster and crab cakes ensued. Nirvana, although a very filling one.
On the way home, we walked by Bellagio and Paris, which always reminds me of Grandma. She and Wayne met for the first time here, and for the last. Sigh.
Good night, everybody!
