Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio and Claude Monet

Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.

Wednesday morning it was a trip to the airport.  Terry was off to Portland for a doctor’s appointment and to spend some time with the kids and grandkids.  That meant that I was on own to do whatever I wanted.  And, that’s what I did.  I did a lot of things.  First of all I headed to the Strip.

I have been a fan of the paintings of Monet for quite some time.  Most of you probably know all about Claude Monet.  His paintings have been on exhibit around the world in many of the most famous museums.  He was a French Impressionist painter and the founder of “ Impressions of Light".   Bellagio's had an exhibit of Monet’s paintings.  I figured this was something Terry wouldn't be the least bit interested in so I wanted to go while he was out of town.

The exhibit had been borrowed from the Boston Museum of Fine Art.  Terry was in an airplane and on his way to Portland.  This meant, of course, that I could go and view the exhibit.  That was the plan and that was what I was going to do.  After all, if I would travel all the way to Paris to go visit Monet's gardens, a mere five miles and $10 was a no brainer.

My first real introduction to Monet’s paintings was on a tour of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.  I was in awe of the beauty of his work.  I loved the landscape paintings and became a real fan.  No … I didn’t buy any paintings.  Heck, I couldn’t afford that but at least I could look and enjoy the works.

Hermitage Museum

It wasn’t long after that I was looking at photos a friend had taken when he was in Paris.  He had made the short trip from Paris by train to Monet’s gardens In Giverny.   It was then, I decided I had to visit the garden and see it for myself.   That I did along with my cousin and sister-in-law.

Monet's Garden

Home at Giverny

When I was in New Jersey a little over a year ago, I went with my daughter’s family to the Garden of Sculptures.  In that garden there was a replica of Monet’s Garden right down to the bridge and his boat, Lily.

 

Thus, the trip into the Bellagio's was not a choice. It was a necessity.  Obviously I’m a fan of Monet’s paintings.  I had to go.

Since I was already on the Strip I also did a little walking around.  The casinos in Las Vegas are fantastic.  They are huge, huge.  Each one of them is like a little city.  In addition to gambling tables and slots, they have many restaurants and shops.  You’re not going to find Sears or Penney's or even Dillard's in these casinos.  You’ll find Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton along with many others.  However, I’ve been in their outlet stores and thought they were expensive so figured there would be no reason for me to even walk in the retail ones.

We had visited Bellagio and Caesar’s Palace before but it still was a fun thing to do.  It almost makes you feel like you're on vacation because everything is so festive.

There are several free shows in Las Vegas.  One of those is the water display at the Bellagio’s.  When we visited last year we had to stand behind a crowd of people to view it.  This year that wasn’t the case.

‘Tis life on the road.