Our final day was still full of walking, but at a lighter pace than the previous days of the trip. We had a couple of goals for the day: eat grilled cheese at Serendipity and visit the lions, tigers, and dolphins (Oh my!) at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. And that is exactly what we did....
During our planning process, several friends recommended Serendipity to us. Shala gushed over the grilled cheese, so for our final vacation food hurrah we left our bags at the hotel bag check and headed off to Caesar's Palace. Serendipity is located in the middle of The Strip, right in front of Caesar's. They were pretty busy when we were there, though it looked like they get much busier in the morning hours. As it was, our wait was only about ten to fifteen minutes. We were seated at a table towards the side of the big open room, so we could see out of the large windows to the Strip and all the bustle of the street. This part of The Strip is insanely busy and packed with people all the time. Our waiter was really friendly and attentive. I don't know if people who work in Vegas are more attune to the nuances of accents from various regions since they converse with so many tourists, or if I was tired enough that I had my Southern accent out the entire time I was there; but most employees of places asked where I was from within a few seconds of hearing me talk. Obviously, to me, I don't really have much of an accent, but it was very intriguing that so many people in Las Vegas picked up on it. Also, since my totally sugar-free days after my diagnosis, I no longer put any kind of sugar in my iced tea or coffee. We both ordered an iced tea and this waiter constantly asked us if we needed sugar for our tea. Also, the iced teas were MASSIVE, like 40 ounce Slurpie massive. lol
On to the food!! We ordered the Garden Pizza, Triple Decker Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup, and gave in and ordered a signature (small) Frozen Hot Chocolate. For a last hurrah, let's-go-hog-wild-and-eat-tons-of-gluten, we-are-on-vacation meal, it was lacking. The pizza was a long flatbread covered in yummy veggies. It didn't taste bad, it just wasn't outstanding. Particularly because of the $21 price tag, I wanted it to be, as my grandma would say, "So good you want to stand up and slap your pappy!" It was not a pappy-slappin' pizza. The Frozen Hot Chocolate comes in flavors like Oreo, Amaretto, Peanut Butter, and Mint. We opted for a small regular one. It tasted like melted chocolate ice cream, which is fine and dandy, but it wasn't worth the $13, in our opinion.
The real standout was the grilled cheese - buttery, cheesy, crusty, and divine! We wished we had both gotten our own grilled cheese instead of sharing the three items. I don't even like tomato soup, but this one was creamy and delicious. If I go back to Serendipity, it will be for the grilled cheese! Groupon did have a deal you could use for a meal, but it wasn't available during our visit.
After our brunch, we made our way down The Strip towards The Mirage to visit with the animals at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The Secret Garden was our third choice in the 3 for $57 ticket package I talked about in my Day 4 post.
If you find yourself needing a cooler and somewhat more quiet respite from the craziness of The Strip, I highly recommend the Secret Garden. It was lovely to be surrounded by nature and spend our afternoon taking in the cooler breezes and watching the animals. Of course, they ask you to make ridiculous poses for your available-to-purchase souvenir photos. Poses like being surprised or holding your hands together as if you are cradling a baby tiger. We obliged and had fun acting silly, but we never even looked at our photos. (They actually give you a card with a code for your photos so you do have the option of looking them up on the website when you get home. I did look at them that way. You can get a physical 5X7 for $10 or you can purchase a digital print for $18 to $25, depending on if the website is running a sale. They were pretty cheesy.) Keep scrolling to see some of our photos I screen-capped....
We caught a dolphin training session. They work on different skills throughout the day for short intervals of time. The dolphins did a few tricks and jumps before the trainers hung around to answer any questions.
There is a viewing area to look into the main pool when you first come in. We walked down and watched the dolphins for a bit.
After the dolphin fun, we made our way over to the tigers. Two white tigers were playing with a big blue ball and a trainer was working with some cubs while we were there. They are all such beautiful creatures. Being able to see them so close-up was really fascinating.
The lions were so beautiful! Watching them move and seeing their muscles, hearing them roar...I could have watched them for hours and hours! There was a baby in a stroller that was making some noise at one point. The lion sat down by the fence and watched the baby as if it was a scrumptious morsel. When the mom pushed the stroller down along the fence to look at more animals, the lion got up and followed. It was funny to watch.
I took a few videos of the tigers and lions: White Tigers Walking, Lion Scratching, Lion Walking, Lion Roaring. Enjoy! Now cheesy photo time!
After the Secret Garden, we made our way back to the Luxor and cabbed it to the airport. I couldn't help but take a photo of this pretty art piece as we were checking our bags.
And, if you are curious about what I bought while on vacation, here are my goodies:
- FitFlops Flare Thong Sandals
- Olivia Crossbody Bag from Charming Charlie
- Chandelier earrings and a long delicate gold and crystal necklace from H&M
- Rose Gold Bella Earrings and Necklace from Charming Charlie
- Las Vegas Starbucks souvenir mug to add to our collection
- A small clay pot and carved Javelina from our Grand Canyon trip. We love to put little knick-knacks and trinkets with our framed photos at home.
To summarize:
- Serendipity 3: Info, Menu
- Groupon - a great source of discounted prices for food, shows, tours, and sometimes hotels, etc.
- 3 for $57 Attraction Package: Information
- Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat: Info, TripAdvisor Reviews, Yelp Reviews
- Videos: White Tigers Walking, Lion Scratching, Lion Walking, Lion Roaring
Have
you been to the Secret Garden? Have you eaten at Serendipity? I would love to
hear your experiences and thoughts.
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