Las Vegas Weekend (Continued)

We stroll down the Las Vegas Strip, staying inside the casinos, hotels, and malls to avoid the 110°F (43°C) heat outside and see lots of great floral and floral-themed displays in the courtyards and galleries.

 Floral displays

We wander into Eataly, which has recently opened in Las Vegas.  We've visited Eataly in New York, Chicago, Bologna, and Seoul.  Now we have another to visit and we enjoy our tour of Italian food and a quick lunch of wine and pizzas: sopressata with tomato sauce and provolone and tricolore with proscuitto di parma, stracciatella cheese, cherry tomatoes, and arugula.

 Eataly shops

 Pizza lunch

While we're at Eataly, we purchase a little stracchino cheese to take home to make stracchino and speck risotto and mortadella sandwiches for consumption later in the day.

Mortadella sandwich

With the heat, a stop at the pool is an inviting idea and we spend a few hours relaxing, paddling, and reading our books.

Afternoon at the pool

We also enjoy a few great dinners on our short stay.  After arriving, we head over to Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, sitting outside on the balcony with a great view of the fountains and water display at Bellagio across the street.  We feast on steak with frites and a bouillabaisse (full of great seafood) and watch the crowds go by on Las Vegas Boulevard.

 Steak frites and bouillabaisse

Our other diner is at Scarpetta, in the Cosmopolitan.  We've tried to get reservations at Scarpetta in New York and never been able to get in.  At home, we make one of their famous dishes, Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil, and tonight we get to try some others:  Mediterranean octopus (with marbled potato, green tomato, nduja onion jam, and salsa verde), buratta salad (with pesto, roasted pepper, heirloom tomato, and balsamic),  lobster risotto (with corn and cherry tomatoes),  short rib agnolotti (with brown butter, horseradish and toasted breadcrumbs), and duck and fois gras ravioli (with a marsala reduction).

 Mediterranean octopus, buratta salad

lobster risosso, short ribs, duck and fois gras ravioli

The trip was short, but we packed a lot in and had a great time!