Thursday, May 10, 2012 - Road Scholar Program Day 5

After the buffet breakfast in the hotel, we rode the bus to UNLV.  We heard about Nevada's history from a fascinating historian,  Dr. Michael Green.   He talked about "Sin City's" rich history (in the 1830's this was an old pit stop on the Santa Fe Trail), about the Mob (especially Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and the Flamingo), the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin), about Howard Hughes' role in developing Las Vegas and many other exciting facts about this "City of Lights".  

After lunch in the UNVL Dining Commons, we went to the "Titanic: The Exhibition" at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.  This 25,000-square-foot exhibit features more than 300 artifacts (including a diamond and sapphire ring to a platinum pendant with diamonds; personal china and silverware; postcards; currency), as well as breathtaking replicas from the famous ship including Titanic's famous Grand Staircase and the stained glass dome and the promenade deck (which features the sounds of waves crashing and a starry sky) as well as an iceberg.

I looked at the third-class and the finely decorated first-class sleeping quarters. Adorned with burgundy colors, elegant décor and mahogany accents, the first-class suite was considered more luxurious than any hotel room on land in its time. 

At the beginning of the exhibit, I received a boarding pass of an actual passenger on Titanic. On the back of each boarding pass is the age and the itinerary of that person. At the end of the tour,  I found out that I survived that fateful night by finding my real passenger name on the wall memorial.  While I was one of the 705 passengers that survived 1,523 were lost.  Even if all 20 lifeboats had been filled to capacity, there would only have been room in them for 1,178 people.   

After the exhibit we walked back to the hotel to dress for the Farewell dinner.  It was held at Le Provencal in the Paris Hotel.  The food was delicious especially the dessert.  I took off on my own to explore Caesars Palace.