keith&carol
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2002
- Messages
- 208
Not Bored yet? ok here we go again!
Las Vegas is a massive sprawl of mostly single storey buildings sitting in a Desert Bowl surrounded by hills. The Strip where all the Hotels are is a couple of miles long to the right of the Town right near the Airport and sticks out like a sore thumb. It's a sort of Disneyworld for Adults constructed with the obscene amount of money from the Casinos but set in a town which has a great deal of poverty and employment is not as easy to find as you might imagine. This is our 3rd visit to Vegas but our first at the Excalibur.This is one of the original themed Hotels and is sadly starting to show it's age but our room is spotlessly clean so we're happy. The Hotel looks like a Fairytale castle with icing sugar turrets and has more rooms than even Cinderella would be able to clean. All the Hotels and Casinos are open to everyone but there are Security Guards near the lifts to the bedrooms, checking keys and the same to access the pool areas so it feels very safe. There have been so many changes since we were last here and the construction never ends so expect some disruption whenever you go. We start our first day with a buffet breakfast. The Las Vegas Buffets are legendary but like anywhere else you get what you pay for so the higher the price the better the food quality. The Excalibur is a modest price so it's a bit like Ponderosa.
The older I get the less I can eat so they probably make money on me but i like the choice.
We've decided our first stop has to be good old Walmart. We've bought our first digital camera and want an American battery charger to do 1 hour charges. We find this easily enough and buy water, soft drinks, cereal and snacks. We'd been following the 10 day weather cast and find it's hopelessly wrong so decide it would be a good idea to buy some warm tops just in case as we've brought mostly shorts & tee's. There is a Beltz Outlet just south of the Strip so we head there for a bit of a shop and a snack. Fleeces were on sale for $5 each so we bought 2 (but didn't need to wear them as it happened) then went into the food court for a snack. Keith had bought me an orthopaedic cushion with a sheepskin cover and this disappeared sometime while we were there from the chair. I wasn't in it all the time so we don't know who had it but it was a pretty mean thing to do and we had to waste time looking for an ordinary cushion to replace it which wasn't nearly as comfortable but that's life.
We went back to the room and phoned to see if it had been handed in but no luck so we set off for a walk up the Strip.
We need to get some practice with the new camera and this is a great place to do it. Keith pushes me til his legs ache and we take lots of shots but then the 8 hour time difference catches up with us both so I have to go back to bed to nurse a very sore hip and Keith has a sandwich for dinner again . This is not a good start in a town full of gourmet restaurants but we'll try harder tomorrow.
The next day dawns fine and warm again-perfect for sightseeing. We breakfast on very naughty apple danishes and set off again. One of the changes since we were last here is that the main road has been lined with concrete barriers to stop pedestrians but there are escalators and bridges instead and these make a wonderful viewpoint . There are lifts for wheelchairs etc so getting about is easy and safe if a little time-consuming. There are 2 Hotels to the South of us, the Luxor and Mandalay Bay and the 3 are now linked by a free Monorail. We'll try that later but we start with a look at New York which is next to us to the North. This is amazing architecturally. It looks like a block of pastel coloured skyscrapers with a bridge at the front and a massive roller-coaster winding round the outside! This had just opened on our last visit but there is now a new addition to the kerbside , a memorial to 9/11 with music playing and a series of glass display cases with artifacts from that time - still very poignant, stopping people in their tracks in this town devoted to pleasure.
Across the road is the massive MGM Hotel. This has also aquired a new frontage, a huge gold lion sitting proudly guarding the entrance. Just up the road is the M&M's shop. We can't resist a peak inside and earmark some gifts for later. Further up is the Alladin Hotel and a new one to us ,Paris with it's own Eiffel Tower.
The Monte Carlo is also new and Caesar's Palace is having major additions to the Hotel and Shopping Mall. It's hard to know where to start there have been so many changes and before we know it half the day has gone before we know it. We find some lunch in the new Food Court betwen Caesar's and it's Forum Shops. You get a charge card when you go in, it's swiped each time you buy from the different food and drink stations , then it's added up for you to pay on the way out -different! The outlets are upmarket to the usual but still reasonable prices.
We are already tiring again, this flaming jet-lag!, so have to pick just a couple more things to do before an early night as it's a long drive tomorrow, so we opt to go back to look at the shops inside the Alladin. These wind through an indoor area themed on an Arab Souk but without the flies and smells!
It is Disney Imagineering at it's best, that's the only way I can describe it - you just have to see it for yourself!
Our other choice is to go back to New York ,themed inside to look just as authentic and with cafes, restaurants and shops to suit everyone. We dine in pretend alfresco style on fish & chips before I collapse into bed again and Keith finally gets to grips with the slots!
You have to understand that to get to anything in these pleasure palaces you have to walk through the casinos. They are massive and disorientating and very clever marketing, but my canny Husband found on our previous trips that if you sit at a slot machine a cocktail waitress will bring you any drink you like free for a $1 tip and a few of the machines take 5 cent coins so you can have a very cheap night out - that's my man!
Tomorrow we have to hit the road.
Las Vegas is a massive sprawl of mostly single storey buildings sitting in a Desert Bowl surrounded by hills. The Strip where all the Hotels are is a couple of miles long to the right of the Town right near the Airport and sticks out like a sore thumb. It's a sort of Disneyworld for Adults constructed with the obscene amount of money from the Casinos but set in a town which has a great deal of poverty and employment is not as easy to find as you might imagine. This is our 3rd visit to Vegas but our first at the Excalibur.This is one of the original themed Hotels and is sadly starting to show it's age but our room is spotlessly clean so we're happy. The Hotel looks like a Fairytale castle with icing sugar turrets and has more rooms than even Cinderella would be able to clean. All the Hotels and Casinos are open to everyone but there are Security Guards near the lifts to the bedrooms, checking keys and the same to access the pool areas so it feels very safe. There have been so many changes since we were last here and the construction never ends so expect some disruption whenever you go. We start our first day with a buffet breakfast. The Las Vegas Buffets are legendary but like anywhere else you get what you pay for so the higher the price the better the food quality. The Excalibur is a modest price so it's a bit like Ponderosa.
The older I get the less I can eat so they probably make money on me but i like the choice.
We've decided our first stop has to be good old Walmart. We've bought our first digital camera and want an American battery charger to do 1 hour charges. We find this easily enough and buy water, soft drinks, cereal and snacks. We'd been following the 10 day weather cast and find it's hopelessly wrong so decide it would be a good idea to buy some warm tops just in case as we've brought mostly shorts & tee's. There is a Beltz Outlet just south of the Strip so we head there for a bit of a shop and a snack. Fleeces were on sale for $5 each so we bought 2 (but didn't need to wear them as it happened) then went into the food court for a snack. Keith had bought me an orthopaedic cushion with a sheepskin cover and this disappeared sometime while we were there from the chair. I wasn't in it all the time so we don't know who had it but it was a pretty mean thing to do and we had to waste time looking for an ordinary cushion to replace it which wasn't nearly as comfortable but that's life.
We went back to the room and phoned to see if it had been handed in but no luck so we set off for a walk up the Strip.
We need to get some practice with the new camera and this is a great place to do it. Keith pushes me til his legs ache and we take lots of shots but then the 8 hour time difference catches up with us both so I have to go back to bed to nurse a very sore hip and Keith has a sandwich for dinner again . This is not a good start in a town full of gourmet restaurants but we'll try harder tomorrow.
The next day dawns fine and warm again-perfect for sightseeing. We breakfast on very naughty apple danishes and set off again. One of the changes since we were last here is that the main road has been lined with concrete barriers to stop pedestrians but there are escalators and bridges instead and these make a wonderful viewpoint . There are lifts for wheelchairs etc so getting about is easy and safe if a little time-consuming. There are 2 Hotels to the South of us, the Luxor and Mandalay Bay and the 3 are now linked by a free Monorail. We'll try that later but we start with a look at New York which is next to us to the North. This is amazing architecturally. It looks like a block of pastel coloured skyscrapers with a bridge at the front and a massive roller-coaster winding round the outside! This had just opened on our last visit but there is now a new addition to the kerbside , a memorial to 9/11 with music playing and a series of glass display cases with artifacts from that time - still very poignant, stopping people in their tracks in this town devoted to pleasure.
Across the road is the massive MGM Hotel. This has also aquired a new frontage, a huge gold lion sitting proudly guarding the entrance. Just up the road is the M&M's shop. We can't resist a peak inside and earmark some gifts for later. Further up is the Alladin Hotel and a new one to us ,Paris with it's own Eiffel Tower.
The Monte Carlo is also new and Caesar's Palace is having major additions to the Hotel and Shopping Mall. It's hard to know where to start there have been so many changes and before we know it half the day has gone before we know it. We find some lunch in the new Food Court betwen Caesar's and it's Forum Shops. You get a charge card when you go in, it's swiped each time you buy from the different food and drink stations , then it's added up for you to pay on the way out -different! The outlets are upmarket to the usual but still reasonable prices.
We are already tiring again, this flaming jet-lag!, so have to pick just a couple more things to do before an early night as it's a long drive tomorrow, so we opt to go back to look at the shops inside the Alladin. These wind through an indoor area themed on an Arab Souk but without the flies and smells!
It is Disney Imagineering at it's best, that's the only way I can describe it - you just have to see it for yourself!
Our other choice is to go back to New York ,themed inside to look just as authentic and with cafes, restaurants and shops to suit everyone. We dine in pretend alfresco style on fish & chips before I collapse into bed again and Keith finally gets to grips with the slots!
You have to understand that to get to anything in these pleasure palaces you have to walk through the casinos. They are massive and disorientating and very clever marketing, but my canny Husband found on our previous trips that if you sit at a slot machine a cocktail waitress will bring you any drink you like free for a $1 tip and a few of the machines take 5 cent coins so you can have a very cheap night out - that's my man!
Tomorrow we have to hit the road.
Great report looking forward to the next 
When I went we thought we would be able to walk to Belz, after 5 minutes we realised we didnt stand a chance of getting there alive if we walked, (no pavement and the heat index was 115)
