Las Vegas, San Diego

Our Place
We always stay at the Paris. We've been to the real Paris half a dozen times, and staying here in Vegas brings back such great memories. The location is perfect, with Bally's on one side, the Aladdin on the other, and the Bellagio across the street. The rooms are spacious and decorated tastefully, and nothing beats that Eiffel Tower view!

Terrific places to eat at the Paris include Mon Ami Gabi, with the Strip's only sidewalk dining (overlooking Bellagio's fountains) and Les Artistes Steakhouse, with its drop-dead gorgeous dining room. Ammenities include world-class men's and women's spas, but Craig heads next door to Bally's Mens Spa because it's been one of his favorites for a long time.

Paris Las Vegas! (Photo by Jason Kottke, 2002.)

The Paris casino layout is one of the most sensible and attractive in town. Plenty of landmarks and distant views make it easy to find your way around. Try that at the cavernous, unnavigable MGM Grand. The lighting is dim and diffused to resemble Paris at dusk. Also, the dealers seem to be younger and better-looking than at most other casinos, which doesn't hurt.

Change One Hundred! Eddie and Craig visit Las Vegas once or twice a year. They enjoy the casinos, the over-the-top theme hotels, and the continuous festival atmosphere of the Strip. Eddie loves playing blackjack, roulette, and the machines. Craig is usually content to watch. Keeping the cocktail waitresses busy is usually enough activity for him.
Eddie limits his gambling to $250 a day. All his winnings go into Craig's pocket for safekeeping. The winnings are never played. Instead, Craig hands them over to Eddie once their plane has taken off for Los Angeles. This way Eddie never goes home empty-handed.

Eating
There are lots of good restaurants in the city. A burgeoning Restaurant Row, behind the Flamingo, already boasted a P.F. Chang's China Bistro, a Lawry's the Prime Rib, and a Gordon Biersch as of our last visit.

In the dazzling New York New York are a couple of Los Angeles offspring: the upscale Italian eatery Il Fornaio and the dependably delicious Chinese diner Chin Chin.

Bally's Coffee Shop serves good dishes 24 hours a day, including the bacon against which Eddie measures all bacon. We make certain to have breakfast there at least once each trip. It's also a tradition of ours to have a late-night snack at the Barbary Coast, across the street from Bally's. The restaurant there is known for its big $1.95 breakfasts, served after midnight. The line starts forming at eleven thirty.

Jackpot
Craig and Eddie's best gambling story to date: One night in Bally's casino, while we waited for friends to join us for dinner, Eddie passed the time playing a Lucky Sevens slot machine. Right after he started, he struck three blue 7s, and out came a rush of 600 quarters ($150). He gathered up the coins into an overflowing bucket and handed the bucket to Craig, who took it to the cashier.

When Craig returned, he found Eddie smiling from ear to ear and the slot machine flashing wildly again. He had struck three more 7s. These 7s were different colors, so the payout was 300 quarters ($75). There they were, on their first evening in town, and Eddie was already "up" $225. By the end of the trip, Eddie's winnings totaled nearly $800, almost twice what he brought.

Spa
Craig likes to spend a couple hours every afternoon relaxing in the men's spa. Alternating between a sizzling steam room, a fragrant eucalyptus sauna, a bracing cold plunge, and a bubbly soak in the Roman tub is Craig's idea of perfect luxury. How else can you make $20 last two hours in Las Vegas?

The facilities at Bally's are a reliable second choice. The layout is good and lighting dim. The music's unobtrusive. The attendants are friendly and efficient. They have two tubs, a cold plung, both dry and wet saunas, and a steamroom, plus a good assortment of men's vanity products. Craig's first choice is the men's spa at Luxor. The hot tub is the size of a small swimming pool. The steamroom is cavernous and always the right temperature. The Luxor seems to throw in a spa pass with many of its rooms, so the place is one of the busiest on the strip. There's always someone to chat with. It used to be open around the clock -- what better way to nip a hangover in the bud than to sweat it out at 3 a.m.? -- but in 2005 they started closing at 8 p.m.

San Diego At just a couple hours' drive away, San Diego makes for an easy, stimulating getaway. Whenever we visit, we have a few must-dos. The bustling, historic Gaslamp Quarter downtown is where we like to walk around in search of new places for dinner. On our last trip, we happened upon a boisterous, casual spot called Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza. Eddie ordered a New York pizza, and Craig had a tasty noodle and chicken dish tossed with five of our favorite words in the English language: sesame peanut ginger cream sauce.			Parrots at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Craig and Eddie entered their habitat, and Craig opted to feed them nectar. Eddie, who's spooked by winged creatures, got as far away from the feeding frenzy as possible without actually leaving the habitat.
Another must-do is Black's Beach, along one of the most magnificent stetches of coastline in the world. Hang gliders leap off the multicolored sea cliffs and drift overhead as we relax on the sand. The beach drops off so gradually that you can wade fifty yards out. Owing to its inaccessibility, Black's Beach is uncrowded and peaceful, and clothing is optional. Large parties and rambunctious children tend to go elsewhere. We know of two ways to get to Black's, not counting by boat. First, you could park your car at Torrey Pines State Beach and walk a mile south along the sand, climbing over a few piles of boulders here and there. Second, you could park at the Glider Port near the Salk Institute and hike gingerly down a steep, treacherous trail (wear good shoes!).			Above Black's Beach is Torrey Pines State Reserve. The setting is so peaceful and untrammeled you'll easily forget it's beside a city of over a million people. The rare Torrey pine grows only in this park and on Santa Rosa Island, 175 miles to the northwest.

Our Place We stay at the Hanalei Hotel, one of the places along Hotel Circle. The Hanalei tastefully incorporates a Hawaiian theme. Hawaiian music plays from the speakers hidden in palm trees around the pool, and pool boys in brightly colored Hawaiian shirts are prompt with our cocktails. The rooms are spacious, and all have balconies. Rates are reasonable, around $100 for a double. Our favorite rooms are on the Club Level, overlooking a golf course. The guest-room buildings surround a tropical atrium complete with coi ponds and a waterfall.			2270 Hotel Cir. N. San Diego, CA 92108 (619) 297-1101

Hotel Circle
From Hotel Circle, everything's nearby. A five-minute drive up the hill takes you to the hip Hillcrest neighborhood. A minute or two more, and you're in Downtown San Diego. The San Diego Mission squats atop a hill at one end of Hotel Circle, and at the base of the hill is Old Town. Five minutes north of the Circle is Sea World, where you can do everything from watching a show to riding the Arctic Encounter to participating in a class at the Budweiser Beer School. A bar in the Hospitality Center serves up free glasses of various Anhueser-Busch beers.

Safari
First-time visitors to the San Diego area must make the trip out to the world-famous San Diego Wild Animal Park. Eddie and Craig couldn't believe how fast the day went. Ride the safari tram through the habitats, listening to the brisk, fascinating narration. Have lunch in the shaded picnic areas surrounded by flamingos. Walk off the meal by following trails that go by animal habitats and through a rainforest complete with simulated tropical showers. Remember to bring a hat and sunscreen!

Flamingos at the Wild Animal Park. Craig and Eddie enjoyed cheeseburgers and beer at a picnic table beside this pond.