We dropped the hire car back, then got a taxi to ‘The Fabulous Flamingo” … “we weren’t built on the Strip, the Strip was built around us”
Donny and Marie are starring here … Chris is hoping …!
We are staying here for 4 nights, on the 12th floor with a distant view of the flamingos, room great but a fair feat to hobble there. (Chris thinks a wheelchair is the answer but I’m not pushing him with my ankle!). We had a frozen margarita and blew a whole $2 on blackjack then checked out the flamingos at the Flamingo …
We walked down and saw the Venetian at night …
… had pizza in Grimaldi’s then walked next door to the Wynn with its huge waterfall out front, to see the Lake of Dreams where a cute frog sings every 30 minutes.
Next day we took The Deuce bus to The Mandalay, walked back to Luxor with its pyramid and sphinx …
… took the tram to the castellated Excalibar and New York with that statue and a roller coaster …
… saw the lion outside the MGM Grand …
We also passed the Paris with the Eiffel Tower …
… and Caesars Palace with seriously elongated classic architecture.
We stopped for lunch at Margaritaville where we had an Incommunicado and a Fins to the Left as a plane flew overhead, with a Jimmy Buffett soundtrack that we just had to bring home.
That evening, we went to Treasure Island where we ate in Señor Frogs …
… and saw Mystere, the original Cirque du Soeil show in Las Vegas, which was excellent – a mixture of acrobatics and dance with great music and lighting complete with comedy interludes. We had also hoped to see the free Sirens show, but like the National Parks, this was also closed.
Chris had planned a surprise for me the following morning, but I didn’t know what it was until he told me about the night before. We were collected from the hotel by a white limousine, taken for a drive down the Strip, then to a drive-through wedding chapel where we renewed our vows. I thought it was a very romantic surprise and was delighted that this time I managed the vows without a sniffle!
Afterwards, the limo dropped us at Paris, where we had a champagne lunch in the Eiffel Tower Restaurant overlooking the Bellagio lake.
As we left, we saw the Bellagio fountains perform, and the amount of water and the height and power of the jets is amazing.
Later we listened to Big Elvis at Harrahs, a fixture in Vegas (maybe because he is too large too move) but unfortunately his voice has left the building! We then got the bus to Freemont Street to see the neon casino signs …
… and the projected light show, which played a live performance of Bon Jovi …
…then the Time Warp with Halloween motifs onto the curved ceiling along the street.
We blew $20 on roulette in the Golden Nugget and had dinner before returning to catch the Bellagio fountain by night. It was a fabulous day and certainly one to remember.
Our last day here, we went and looked round the the three hotels which promised the most impressive interiors, the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and the Venetian. The Bellagio has the lobby and Conservatory with a seasonal Halloween display which was very impressive.
Caesars has an amount of classic architecture and also the Fall of Atlantis show, which was … wait for it … closed for maintenance, so no points there.
Finally The Venetian had it all, impressive exterior with the Rialto bridge and Campanile, canals that ran indoors with gondoliers, Italian statuary and a short operatic show in St Marks Square.
Not all is sunny in Vegasland however – maybe the $75 fee for a personal (electric powered) 13 minute gondola trip was the reason the gondoliers were twiddling their thumbs, and somehow St Marks was missing completely from the square!
Ultimately Vegas is one elaborate stage set, with holidaymakers taking the starring roles while ex-vets, beggars and Mexicans handing out call girl cards take the walk-on parts.
In the evening we went for cocktails at the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan, a very pretty twinkly place with amazing cocktails. Chris had the Cereal Killer and I had the Baked Alaska. After dinner we stopped off to watch the volcano erupt at The Mirage so Chris and Elaine’s Utah Trail 2013 has ended with a bang!
Our final tally is:
5 states (Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona)
5 State Parks (Kodachrome, Dead Horse Point, Gooseneck, Goblin Valley, Riordan Mansion)
4 National Forests (Dixie, Fishlake, Tonto, Coconino)
3 National Parks – a peek only (Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef)
2 Tribal Lands (Ute, Navajo)
2 National Monuments (Grand Staircase-Escalante, Natural Bridges)
… and everything has been wonderful!
When we got home I was persuaded to take my poorly ankle to the hospital and found I’d broken my leg … oops!
Off Travelling Together 