arieljasmine
<font color=magenta>Who says these things pass you
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2004
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Laurs, Andy and bump do LA and Vegas, baby Day 9
Laurs 29
Andy 29
Bump 13 weeks
Saturday 29 March 2008
We were up at 8.45 am, got ourselves ready and left the room at 9.30 am. The plan was for breakfast at IHOP but when we got there the queue was huge, which did not amuse bump, so we ended up at McDonalds instead. Had never had a McDs breakfast before so it was a new holiday experience! We got an egg mcmuffin (with ham), a sausage mcmuffin (with egg), an apple juice and an orange juice to share, and it wasn't half bad.
After breakfast we went to the Stratosphere so we could take a picture of the tower and so that bump could use the restroom facilities (Stratosphere wins the prize for worst restrooms, if anyone is interested!)
At 11 am we set out for the Hoover Dam, arriving at 11.50 am. I had been talking to a Scottish man at breakfast the previous day and he had told me that we shouldn't park in the multi-storey car park as you approach the dam ($7 to park) but continue over the dam and park on the other side for free! That was a great tip as there was plenty of free parking at the other side.
We took some pictures from the overlook point and I thought it was very Doctor Who - I think they should get the location crew down there. We also had to have a pic with the Arizona sign - this made it three states in two weeks!
We walked the dam and looked at the information boards, it was incredible to see the sheer size of the thing, and a lot more interesting than I would have anticipated. It was also great to get away from the manic-ness of Vegas for the day.
We had lunch in the café which was expensive, but great because they had real British style sandwiches! We got a turkey sandwich, a ham and cheese sandwich, salt and vinegar Lays, sour cream and chive Lays and a Tropicana strawberry and melon drink to share. The sandwiches came in a box with a piece of celery and carrot and a pot of potato salad which made it a nice change from a junk food lunch. We also bought a bottle of Tropicana peach and papaya juice for later in the day.
We had a quick look around the (huge) gift shop and then left the dam at 2.15 pm. We went in search of the Premium Outlets mall which we found, with a little help from the sat nav, at 3 pm.
It is very similar to the one in Florida which tricked my brain into thinking we were there for a while. We went to French Connection where we bought two t-shirts for Andy and a pair of white trousers for me. I was very happy because that is the first time I have ever been able to fit into FC trousers - and now I'm pregnant! Gotta love that American sizing.
We also bought a pair of trainers each in Skechers and I got a Clinique make up set with powder, lipstick, moisturiser, make up remover and SPF face cream in the Cosmetics Company.
We left the mall at 5.20 pm and got back to the Luxor via heavy traffic at 6.10 pm. We had baths and then drove back down the strip to the Planet Hollywood hotel. We couldn't see anywhere to park there so ended up parking in the lot for the Paris hotel.
We had hoped to have tea at PF Changs which had been recommended by a friend, but the wait was an hour and 45 minutes and bump was already past hungry. Instead we went to the hotel buffet which was really good, very reasonably priced and we got seated immediately. We got sodas first - coke for me and diet coke for Andy and then set off to explore the food stations. We ate tomato and basil soup, a selection of cheese and grated cheese, tomato, cucumber, mashed potato, turkey, pork, kung po chicken, wontons, vegetable egg rolls, cheese ravioli, spicy sausage casserole, ham pizza, spicy beef pizza and nachos. As you can see, there was loads of choice. For dessert, Andy had a chocolate mousse cake and I had vanilla ice cream with m & ms, jelly belly beans and rainbow sprinkles - just like ice cream factory at Pizza Hut but with higher quality sweeties! We finished the meal with a coffee for Andy and a cup of tea for me.
We had a quick look round the shops but my feet were killing me from a combination of wearing four inch heels and everywhere being such a great distance away! I really liked the Planet Hollywood hotel. It doesn't have much in the way of theming but it is very sparkly and new looking, modern, and has a great choice of shopping and eating places.
When we got back to the car I swapped into my new trainers which were way more comfortable and we drove to Fremont Street. The traffic was awful so it took ages. We parked in a garage which cost $3 - you could apparently have the parking validated but we couldn't find anywhere to do it.
We popped into Walgreens for a bottle of Sunkist and stopped at one of the tourist shops to get a tin of mints for a friend with her name on.
Now, if I didn't care much for the strip, I HATED Fremont Street. On reflection, perhaps Saturday night wasn't the best time to visit but the atmosphere was unpleasant and I thought it was very scummy. We hung around to watch the much talked about show on the ceiling - was that it?! - and spent some time watching a very talented spray painting artist, but it wasn't long before we'd had enough.
It seemed to take forever to get back to the Luxor, but it was actually about 1 am. Andy got a Bud Lite at the bar and we headed up to the room, watched Home Improvement and went to bed at 1.45 am.
Laur's
Laurs 29
Andy 29
Bump 13 weeks
Saturday 29 March 2008
We were up at 8.45 am, got ourselves ready and left the room at 9.30 am. The plan was for breakfast at IHOP but when we got there the queue was huge, which did not amuse bump, so we ended up at McDonalds instead. Had never had a McDs breakfast before so it was a new holiday experience! We got an egg mcmuffin (with ham), a sausage mcmuffin (with egg), an apple juice and an orange juice to share, and it wasn't half bad.
After breakfast we went to the Stratosphere so we could take a picture of the tower and so that bump could use the restroom facilities (Stratosphere wins the prize for worst restrooms, if anyone is interested!)
At 11 am we set out for the Hoover Dam, arriving at 11.50 am. I had been talking to a Scottish man at breakfast the previous day and he had told me that we shouldn't park in the multi-storey car park as you approach the dam ($7 to park) but continue over the dam and park on the other side for free! That was a great tip as there was plenty of free parking at the other side.
We took some pictures from the overlook point and I thought it was very Doctor Who - I think they should get the location crew down there. We also had to have a pic with the Arizona sign - this made it three states in two weeks!
We walked the dam and looked at the information boards, it was incredible to see the sheer size of the thing, and a lot more interesting than I would have anticipated. It was also great to get away from the manic-ness of Vegas for the day.
We had lunch in the café which was expensive, but great because they had real British style sandwiches! We got a turkey sandwich, a ham and cheese sandwich, salt and vinegar Lays, sour cream and chive Lays and a Tropicana strawberry and melon drink to share. The sandwiches came in a box with a piece of celery and carrot and a pot of potato salad which made it a nice change from a junk food lunch. We also bought a bottle of Tropicana peach and papaya juice for later in the day.
We had a quick look around the (huge) gift shop and then left the dam at 2.15 pm. We went in search of the Premium Outlets mall which we found, with a little help from the sat nav, at 3 pm.
It is very similar to the one in Florida which tricked my brain into thinking we were there for a while. We went to French Connection where we bought two t-shirts for Andy and a pair of white trousers for me. I was very happy because that is the first time I have ever been able to fit into FC trousers - and now I'm pregnant! Gotta love that American sizing.
We also bought a pair of trainers each in Skechers and I got a Clinique make up set with powder, lipstick, moisturiser, make up remover and SPF face cream in the Cosmetics Company.
We left the mall at 5.20 pm and got back to the Luxor via heavy traffic at 6.10 pm. We had baths and then drove back down the strip to the Planet Hollywood hotel. We couldn't see anywhere to park there so ended up parking in the lot for the Paris hotel.
We had hoped to have tea at PF Changs which had been recommended by a friend, but the wait was an hour and 45 minutes and bump was already past hungry. Instead we went to the hotel buffet which was really good, very reasonably priced and we got seated immediately. We got sodas first - coke for me and diet coke for Andy and then set off to explore the food stations. We ate tomato and basil soup, a selection of cheese and grated cheese, tomato, cucumber, mashed potato, turkey, pork, kung po chicken, wontons, vegetable egg rolls, cheese ravioli, spicy sausage casserole, ham pizza, spicy beef pizza and nachos. As you can see, there was loads of choice. For dessert, Andy had a chocolate mousse cake and I had vanilla ice cream with m & ms, jelly belly beans and rainbow sprinkles - just like ice cream factory at Pizza Hut but with higher quality sweeties! We finished the meal with a coffee for Andy and a cup of tea for me.
We had a quick look round the shops but my feet were killing me from a combination of wearing four inch heels and everywhere being such a great distance away! I really liked the Planet Hollywood hotel. It doesn't have much in the way of theming but it is very sparkly and new looking, modern, and has a great choice of shopping and eating places.
When we got back to the car I swapped into my new trainers which were way more comfortable and we drove to Fremont Street. The traffic was awful so it took ages. We parked in a garage which cost $3 - you could apparently have the parking validated but we couldn't find anywhere to do it.
We popped into Walgreens for a bottle of Sunkist and stopped at one of the tourist shops to get a tin of mints for a friend with her name on.
Now, if I didn't care much for the strip, I HATED Fremont Street. On reflection, perhaps Saturday night wasn't the best time to visit but the atmosphere was unpleasant and I thought it was very scummy. We hung around to watch the much talked about show on the ceiling - was that it?! - and spent some time watching a very talented spray painting artist, but it wasn't long before we'd had enough.
It seemed to take forever to get back to the Luxor, but it was actually about 1 am. Andy got a Bud Lite at the bar and we headed up to the room, watched Home Improvement and went to bed at 1.45 am.
Laur's
i do miss that excuse !
-you know what i mean)?.x.
