The next morning, we got up around 10, & leisurely showered & dressed. Then we headed over to Paris, because we'd never been to this one before (it only having been completed this year). This time, we made the schlep in just 40 minutes! Though disappointed not to find a true creperie (note--ask Ryan his feelings on that pronunciation), we had a nice light brunch at a bakery there, of some grapes, a raisin bun, a chocolate croissant & a large cafe au lait to dunk them in. After admiring the Parisian sky on a brief tour of the city, & poking around in the giftshop, we paid the $8/person to go up to the observation deck at the half-scale replica (500 feet) of the Eiffel Tower there. Robert & two other very manly men who seemed terrified of the tower falling over clutched the walls, while I took pictures up & down the strip. Pictured are a view down the strip, including Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, and New York, New York; the Paris balloon right below us; and the Bellagio waterfront restaurants and shops.

Above the hot streets, & with a slight breeze, it was a brisk 97 degrees at the top. We got excellent cell phone reception there, so we called George and other people from the top just for the heck of it.

Then Lara called us from her hotel, & we arranged to meet at the Venetian in half an hour. Lara & Lynn took a shuttlebus up the strip & we walked; we had to stop twice to buy things to drink, & once at the Flamingo Hilton when they advertised completely free frozen strawberry margaritas (extremely weak). We finally met up with Lara & walked around Venice, but as there was a 3-hour wait for a gondola ride we skipped that & watched the gondolier serenade other people. Then we crossed the street to the Mirage, & admired the jungle-style interior. We headed over to their dolphin-lion garden, but decided not to go in. As it was getting close to 4pm, we split up to our respective hotels to hit the pools for awhile & shower before the wedding. Here are Lara just before deciding not to bother with Siefried and Roy's dolphins, and Robert touching the cool water at the fountain outside of the Ventian.