Pixie Power!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2001
- Messages
- 1,612
Background.
We were married in Las Vegas September 2001, and so this trip was to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. We had been looking forward to it for months, and after weeks of surfing the net to find good hotel deals and restaurant recommendations we were set for our best holiday yet!
Friday 13th September.
The journey was uneventful. It was our first time travelling by US Airways and we were both pleasantly surprised. The transatlantic part of the flight was good and the time passed quickly. The food was ok, chicken with rice and then sandwiches a little later on. The one thing that I really liked about this flight was the in-flight entertainment system. You have your own TV monitor on the back of the seat in front and can choose which channel you want to watch like on many other airlines. The difference was that you could pause the movie, so if you are been served food or anything like that you could stop the movie and not miss any of it. I watched About a boy with Hugh Grant - twice. I loved that movie. Hubby watched Spiderman but wasnt that impressed.
The three-hour lay over in Philadelphia went quickly as it took a while for us to collect our baggage and clear immigration. Then we had a quick walk around the airport, found a bar and did a little people watching whilst having a bud or two.
The internal flight to Vegas was horrible. The air stewards knew some of the passengers so they spent the whole trip talking with them, also it was very cold and they didnt have any blankets.
Once we had landed, we quickly collected our bags and grabbed a taxi to the Venetian. We mentioned to the driver that we didnt want to go via the tunnel, but she said that it would take us longer to go the other way, as the roads were busy. To be honest at this point we had been travelling for 22hrs and couldnt be bothered to press the point so we just asked her to go the quickest way.
When we arrived we noticed all the construction work going on and we wanted to ensure that we didnt have a view of that. So at check-in we mentioned it and were advised straight away that the hotel was full, as there was a fight on over the weekend, so if the rooms left overlooked this we didnt have any other options, as there would be the only rooms left. She then found our reservation, told us that our suite had been held for us and that we had a part strip & pool view. (I think that the email earlier on that week regards to our Anniversary had worked thanks for the tip guys.) We didnt try the $20 trick; there didnt seem much point, as the hotel was full.
The room was wonderful. I especially like the bathroom, with its two sinks, vanity table, large shower, tub and separate room for the toilet. The bathrobes were lovely too, very large to wrap yourself in. Also the bed was extremely comfy!
We quickly unpacked and went down to the casino, played a little video poker, grabbed a couple of free drinks and retired early. It was about 9:30pm Vegas time, but our bodies were still on UK time of 4:30am. We had been up for so long right now; I think that we were asleep before our heads hit the pillows.
Saturday 14th September.
We woke up early; at 4am to be precise, then at 5am & 6am - im sure you get my drift. We decided to get up and have a little walk around. We ventured on to the strip and grabbed a free margarita at Casino Royale. We played a few slots there and single deck blackjack. I hadnt played single deck before so I didnt realise that there a few differences in the way that you play. The dealer mumbled to us every so often when we did something wrong, she wasnt very helpful or friendly to be honest so we left quickly.
We went back in to The Venetian where I was on a mission to find the Krispy Crème shop. All I can say about these little things is WOW! This turned into a breakfast ritual for the rest of our stay at the Venetian. Cold milk and donuts for breakfast yummy, oh how I miss that sugar rush!
For lunch we wanted to try out Studio 16. We didnt need reservations and were seated straight away. We wanted to sit on the Oceans Eleven area but they didnt even ask us, and headed straight passed it. Hubby was a true star at this point and told them that we wanted to sit there; they were not busy so we didnt see the problem. The music playing was lovely, all Rat Pack songs. We food was ok but a little expensive.
We then tried to walk off our lunch by going to Harrahs. We wanted to buy tickets for the Improv club. We had no problems using the coupon which entitled us to on free ticket (Thanks billhere) and because we booked in advance we were allocated really good seats.
The rest of the day was spent wondering around the strip and our hotel. We joined the slot club and played a little. I did find things really busy on the night, not like on our last trip.
We had decided prior to our trip that we would have room service on one night, so that we could make use of our split-level suite, and tonight was the night. We were still really jet lagged so taking things easy for a night was a good idea. The room service menu was excellent, covering everything for sushi to steak but we were not that hungry to be honest, as lunch was rather large. I went for a steak sandwich and hubby had a club sandwich. Both dishes came with a large portion of home made chunky fries, the food was ok but it could have done with been hotter. The main disappointment of the night came when we asked for the dinner plates to be collected; an hour later we were still waiting. Our bed was calling; we couldnt stay up any longer so we called it a night and put the privacy notice on the door.
Sunday 15th September.
Up bright and early we went for breakfast at Krispy Crème and then walked along the strip popping into most hotels along the way. We walked through the Forum shops in Caesars where we purchased a trick from Houdinis (SP?); there we were given a card for a free slot pull to win a shopping trip so we ventured through the casino to find it. On the way we played a little video poker and had a few comp buds. We had to join the slot club in order to use our free pull voucher. I just won a 10% money off voucher but hubby won two tickets to a magic show (sorry I cant remember the name of it). We wondered around to the ticket centre a booked the tickets for the same night. The tickets were worth $25 each so we were quite chuffed.
We carried on walking up the strip towards NYNY. We wanted to book the shuttle to the Fashion Outlets and this could only be done there using the voucher entitling us to half price tickets (Thanks again Billhere) I enjoyed the walk around NYNY, it was a lot nicer there then I expected. We found a bar whilst we were there and grabbed a cool refreshing beer; it had been a long hot walk up the strip so it was nice to rest our feet for a while. When we eventually found the ticket centre they told us that you had to book the shuttle at MGM. So off we went across the road.
MGM is huge; I would have needed a map for this place if I had stayed there. I also thought that everywhere looked the same especially in the main casino area. We tried again to book our tickets but there was no one manning the desk, so we tried phoning them direct and booked it over the phone. We would have done this to begin with but as we had a voucher we thought that we would have had to book it in person.
We took the monorail to Ballys and from there walked next door to Paris. We had planned on having a late brunch at the buffet. There was only a small queue there when we arrived but were given a ticket to return in 1 hr, so we went into the casino and had a drink. Paris wasnt exactly how I remembered it. I loved this place on my last visit as I found it very beautiful and peaceful, this time however you had to shout to hear yourself; it was very noisy but obviously still pretty. This is still somewhere that I would love to stay.
We went back to the buffet after an hour and then had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated. We are not really big buffet fans, we are not big eaters and therefore dont think that its very good value for money, but we really enjoyed it. The prime rib was cooked to perfection, the veal stew was extremely tasty and puddings were pure indulgence. Oh I almost forgot to mention the champagne was great and flowed plentifully. Between the two of us I would say that we drank just over one bottle. Our server kept on topping our glasses up saying that from 4:30 we would have to pay for it so make the most of it now.
We got the cat bus back to our hotel where we played a little blackjack and a few slots. When we went back to our room the maid still hadnt been and the smell of old food wasnt pleasant at all. I would say that this was the only thing that let the hotel down; the maid service came very late on in the day.
We got changed and went back to Caesars for our free magic show. The first guy did some close up magic, which was excellent, and he was also very funny. There was then a small interval and then it was onto the main event. The second magician was very much a showman but a little OTT for my liking. The show was good and entertaining and we would even go again if we had won free tickets.
On the walk back to our hotel we saw the volcano erupting outside of the Mirage, this wasnt as impressive as we both had thought it was going to be but we were glad that we managed to see it.
Monday 16th September.
Hubby made me open my wedding anniversary card from him today even though it wasnt until tomorrow. As this trip was our second holiday this year we had decided not to exchange presents, but he had tricked me! As the symbol for one year of marriage is paper he had given me the best type of paper you can get MONEY! I LOVE to shop so this was just perfect for me. I was upset that he had done this though, as I didnt get him a present, I did make his card though, which he said meant a lot.
We tried to send a couple of post card faxes this morning, but we could get the fax machine to work. Spent about 30 mins trying to the darn thing working but to no avail. So it was off to get donuts and milk for breakfast again set us up for a morning of shopping.
We took the bus up to MGM and waited for our shuttle to the fashion outlets. The shops here were good but no as good as I had expected. The discount card that we were given was well worth carrying around though. I purchased two DKNY bags one was an evening bag the other a rucksack type which Im going to use for work. I also brought a pair of Ralph Lauren PJs; hubby had some PJs and a coat from there too. I did look at buying a lovely pair of Channel sunglasses but managed to resist. Note: the Billhere coupon said to book at the NYNY, but MGM accepted them and give us the same discount. Also the discount card that was sent with the coupon MGM said was out of date but again they replaced that.
For lunch we shared a chicken sub and fries from the food court at the outlets. When we were dropped off at MGM and walked through to Games works. I am a play station widow so hubby was in his element here. He purchased a couple of $10 cards and played for an hour or so. I found a comfy seat in the bar and rested my tired feet.
We then caught the Cat bus back to the Venetian to get ready for dinner. Tonight we had a table booked at The Steakhouse in Circus Circus. We caught the Cat bus to The Stratosphere so that we could go on the big shoot you up the air at speed ride that ic ant remember the name of before we ate. This ride is great/scary but what a view! Its a fantastic place to take photos of the strip. It was dark by the time we got there so the strip looked beautiful all lit up. We then walked next door to have dinner.
Ive got to say that my first impression of this hotel was that it looked really cheap and a little dirty. But the restaurant was out of this world with its interior of all dark wood stunning. We both had the French onion soup for starters and then the filet migeon (SP?) with garlic mash. The steak was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. This was the best steak that I have ever tasted; I can no recommend this restaurant enough. The bill came to $110 including tip and three rounds of drinks. I paid for this meal as my anniversary treat, a way of trying to make up for my hubbys lack of present.
We took a cab back to our hotel, which on route nearly crashed. A car travelling on the left of us decided to take a sharp right at high speed. There was a screech of brakes and a fair few strong words were exchanged between drivers. We were extremely lucky to miss the other car, thank goodness for our drivers quick reactions.
Tuesday 17th September.
Today was our first wedding anniversary and we were moving hotels to The Bellagio; we had really enjoyed our stay at the Venetian and really didnt think that the Bellagio could top it. The service, room and friendliness of all the staff had been superb. We checked out at about 10:30 am and took a cab to the Bellagio. We didnt really expect to be able to check-in straight away but we were pleasantly surprised. The lady on reception was too friendly, so again we didnt try the $20 trick, also we already had a lake view so we were not sure what we would be trying to up-grade too. We didnt think that we could get a suite for $20.
The room was lovely and the view breath taking (especially at night). If you looked straight down you could see the private villas with there own grounds and pools, we assumed that they were for the high rollers. The bathroom here was smaller then at the Venetian and only had one basin, but still beautifully decorated.
We unpacked and went to register at their slot club. As we hadnt really gambled too much at the other hotels we decided to try a little more here. The casino seemed relaxed here and the dealers were very friendly. I enjoyed playing roulette and blackjack here, no big wins but we had fun.
For lunch we went to the cheesecake factory. We had read some rave reviews about this place but we were bitterly disappointed. Hubby went for chicken caesar salad and I had b-b-q bacon burger. There was hardly any chicken in the salad and my burger was so greasy I just couldnt eat it. This is one place that we wont be returning too unless its just for the cheesecake.
As today was our 1st Wedding Anniversary we had already made reservations for Dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, Paris. When we booked the table on-line we advised them that it was a special occasion and asked for patio seating with a view of the Bellagio fountains. When we arrived people were been advised that there were no tables available outside, but when it came to us been seated they offered us a table right at the front of the patio. Unfortunately I wasnt feeling too good tonight. I think a mixture of the heat and still not been able to sleep properly had just got too much, all I wanted to do was sit a cool air-conditioned room. So we declined the offer of the patio table but sat by the window so we could still see the fountains.
For dinner I had the classique steak frites and hubby had the steak with red wine and mushroom sauce. The food was very nice here, but the steak didnt really compare to meal we enjoyed at the Steakhouse in Circus Circus.
Wednesday 18th September
We did a little sunbathing around the pool today lost tract of time and missed the Bellagio lunch buffet by 15 mins. We were not hungry enough to justify cost of dinner buffet so took the tram to the Monte Carlo. We hadnt been to this hotel before so we just wondered around until we found a food court. I had pizza and potatoes; hubby had a chilli dog with cheesy fries. All I can say about this place is that the food was cold and horrible and that the servers were rude. I would definitely not go back, it was a total waste of money.
On the way back to the tram we checked out the microbrewery, there was a nice atmosphere here, the drinks were not my kind of thing but nice to try.
Back at our hotel, we showered and change ready for a night at the Voodoo Lounge. We grabbed a taxi over to The Rio Hotel and were there just in time to see the mardi gra celebrations. This was a lot fun and very entertaining; we even managed to catch some beads. We went up to the lounge and sat outside for a while. This seems to be a favourite with wedding parties. The view from here was amazing well worth the $5 entrance fee for me $10 for hubby. Unfortunately is started to get a little chilly so we went inside but we managed to grab a window table so that we could still admire the view. The drink service here was good and so were the cocktails.
Then came the entertainment. I dont really know how to describe this band without offending, so if anyone here knows or is related to anyone who played at the Rio on this night, im very sorry but its just my opinion. The first song they did was excellent, very jazzy, a bit like the James Taylor quartet; this was a good sign or so we thought. But then it turned into what I can only describe as a school concert with one of the guys playing as many different instruments as he possible could. We were having bets between us as to what he would play next, hubby won with the mouth organ but he did play the flute a little later on so I wasnt that far off! Also if anyone is a Friends fan here, cast your mind back to an early episode when Ross gets his synthesiser out from when he was a child, the scene when he makes everyone listen to his own piece of music it was just like that! A total mismatch of keys and effects, at one point we wondered if this was a comedy act and that we had totally missed the point. But no, they were musicians. We left after enduring about 30 minutes of their music
We took a taxi back to the hotel, retired early and watched pay per view movie The Bourne identity. True to form I fell asleep before the end, but the hour or so that I did see was good.
Thursday 19th September
The plan today was to gamble for an hour and then spend the rest of the morning by the pool, but things just didnt go to plan. I played the wheel of fortune slots and did ok, all I wanted was to get a hand pay out, and it got close but didnt quite make it. Hubby played some roulette and blackjack. When we played roulette hubby always bet on number 17, as that was our wedding anniversary date. After a few goes the other people playing noticed what he was doing and started betting on 17 too. (Before I left for Vegas I read the book Living it up and doubling down in the new Las Vegas by Andres Martinez, in this Andres tells a similar story about people following his bet when he stuck to the same number on roulette. Although he was betting over $100 a go and our bet was more like $6- but still strange that people do this) Anyway after about four spins number 17 still hadnt won, the wheel went round and the ball dropped in number 16, oh so close. The wheel went round again, more chips were put on 17, the ball landed on number 18 oh this cant be happening. Bets were placed yet again; still the chips were stacked up on number 17. The wheel went round; the ball was jumping up and down over the numbers and landed in 17! Yes 17! There were smiles and high-fives all round.
We left the table all smiles and checked the time, it was at 2:15pm, and so sunbathing went totally out of the window!
We then walked over to the Barbary Coast to see Big Elvis. I had been looking forward to this all week as I had read so many good reports about this show. We arrived early so we could get a table and grab some drinks before he started. When he first came on stage we both felt a little uncomfortable, we felt as if people were there just to look at this really fat guy, im sorry I just couldnt explain the feeling. But as soon as Peter started to sing all our reservations left. This guy is a great entertainer with a fantastic voice. Hes a real showman. He talked to the audience and took requests. I asked for Cant help falling in love with you as this was the song I had at my wedding, I cried while he sang it, it was so good. All the memories of our wedding day came flooding back.
Peter sang for three hours with two short breaks in-between. He also invited two Elvis wannabes on stage to sing with him. The first guy to do this was from Henderson and seemed to be regular at Peter's shows. The second guy was sitting at the front of the room as was an actual Elvis lookalike / impersonator. He looked kind of familiar to us both and when he said his name was Pete from England; we knew that he must have been on the TV back at home. UK Pete sang Viva Las Vegas, which got the whole crowd singing he was great.
The show seemed over before it had started. I purchased a copy of the National Enquirer from the 27th August from them, which featured Peter and his claim to be the son of Elvis; he even signed it for me. Well you never know it may be worth something one day!
That evening we had reservations for dinner at Shalimar an Indian restaurant on Paradise Rd. We both love Indian food so we were really looking forward to this. I had onion bajis as my starter and chicken jalfrezi with keema nan for my main, hubby went for the vegetarian platter to start with and chicken saag with a plain nan with a pilau rice to share. The bill came to about $60 inc tip and two glasses of wine. . The food here was very tasty but not as hot as we are used too, the only thing we wouldnt have there again would be the nan bread as they were a little heavy and greasy.
We went outside to get a taxi back to our hotel. There was a limo outside and the driver offered to take us back to the Bellagio with a tour of the strip for $35. Well, why not we thought after all we were on holiday.
We got back to the hotel, grabbed a soft drink from the vending machines and went off to bed.
Friday 20th September
This morning we were determined to get some sunbathing done, so off we went. Dont you just love those little flags on the back of the sunbeds signalling that you want a drink. We used this a lot today, almost too much. Mixing alcohol and sun isnt really a good idea but we were having fun and we were not alone in doing this either. After a few cocktails I had had enough, so I left hubby to go play on the slots and we would meet up again later in the keno lounge.
I went off to play wheel of fortune slots again and did well, cashing out each time on approx. 600 coins. Also I had managed to mount up around 80 points on my slot card, I only needed 100 to get some cashback so that was my aim. After a while I went to meet hubby at keno where he already was waiting for me. He had a couple of games left to watch so I walked over to a $1 slot, put $2 in and won $138! I was well pleased, I still didnt get a hand pay out but who cares, Id won $138! I filled my pot and raced over to hubby grinning like a child.
We decided to the lunch buffet a miss again so we grabbed a snack at Snacks. I had a roast beef sandwich and hubby had a Cuban sandwich both with cheesy fries. The food here was gorgeous and huge! Total cost was around $35.
After this we played a little more on the slots and managed to get collect the 100 points needed to gain the cashback from the slotclub, so we went over to get it. A whole $10 was awarded to us for our slot playing efforts, and we were also given a Bellagio slot glove. Why hadnt they given this to me when we joined? It would have saved me numerous trips to the bathroom to wash my hands!
I then went to Tiffanys & Co to purchase my sister a birthday present using my slot winnings. I had noticed a lovely silver necklace the day before which I knew she would like so I got that for her.
We then headed back to the room for an afternoon nap; we needed to sleep of the cocktails before going out again later on in the evening.
Tonight we had tickets for the Improv Club at Harrahs. We did this on our last visit and enjoying it immensely. We were running late by the time we got there and thought that they may have let our good seats go, but they hadnt. The drinks service wasnt too hot here, and as we were slightly dehydrated from our earlier drinking session this wasnt a good thing, but we ordered a couple of sprites at a time to keep us going.
The comedians (Im sorry I cant remember their names) were really funny, we were all crying from laughing so hard. We really enjoyed tonight; this is something that im sure we will do every time we visit Vegas.
We went back to our room so that we could video the fountains and I did a little packing. At about 11:30 hubby went downstairs to change the last of his chips but didnt return until after 1am. I was starting to get a little worried, but there was no need to be, he had just been playing a last few hands of blackjack. He was up about $150 at one point but then his luck changed so he left. On his way back to the room he had one last go on the spin the wheel thingie. He put his dollar on number 40, there are only two 40s on the wheel so there are good odds and he won. So he was a little happier by the time he got back to our room.
Saturday 21st September
We checked out via the TV and left the Bellagio airport bound at about 8:30am. Our first flight left at 11:10 on time. Everything was going well until we reached Philadelphia where for some reason they wouldnt let us land so we just circled the airport for just under an hour. Our lay over this time was only 1 hr 10 mins so by the time we were leaving our plane our other flight was boarding. We ran across the airport hoping that we could catch our flight but we were not too optimistic. We got to the gate only to find a huge crowd of people still waiting to board. We sat down in a sweaty mess only to have to wait an hour for some passengers that had been on other flights, which also had been delayed in landing. Uneventful flight home, beef and wild rice of dinner and a muffin for a snack a little later on. The same movies were playing as on the way out so I watched About a boy again and half of Monsters Inc.
We landed at 8:20 am Sunday and made it home by 11:am UK time. We were tired to say the least. We grabbed an afternoon nap and then had dinner. The reason im telling you about our first night home on British soil is that at 1am Monday morning we were woken up by an earthquake! 4.8 the worst one we had experienced here in 12 years, making our trip even more memorable.
After thoughts.
We loved everything about this tip; there isnt anything that we would have changed. Even though we managed to fit a fair few things in we didnt feel rushed in anyway. During our next visit we plan to stay at Paris as we like that hotel a lot and we may combine it with another stay at the Bellagio, as we loved our time at this hotel.
I wish we had time to watch the fountains from Fontana bar at The Bellagio, and we also wanted to try the steak dinner at Ellis Island, but there is always next time. We also wanted to visit Wet n Wild and a shooting range but just could fit them in.
We gambled more this trip then we did previously, we didnt go over our budget but we didnt bring any of it back either.
We think our Vegas trip wont be until 2004, but hey we can have fun planning it in the mean time.
I hope I havent bored you all two much.
Emma
We were married in Las Vegas September 2001, and so this trip was to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. We had been looking forward to it for months, and after weeks of surfing the net to find good hotel deals and restaurant recommendations we were set for our best holiday yet!
Friday 13th September.
The journey was uneventful. It was our first time travelling by US Airways and we were both pleasantly surprised. The transatlantic part of the flight was good and the time passed quickly. The food was ok, chicken with rice and then sandwiches a little later on. The one thing that I really liked about this flight was the in-flight entertainment system. You have your own TV monitor on the back of the seat in front and can choose which channel you want to watch like on many other airlines. The difference was that you could pause the movie, so if you are been served food or anything like that you could stop the movie and not miss any of it. I watched About a boy with Hugh Grant - twice. I loved that movie. Hubby watched Spiderman but wasnt that impressed.
The three-hour lay over in Philadelphia went quickly as it took a while for us to collect our baggage and clear immigration. Then we had a quick walk around the airport, found a bar and did a little people watching whilst having a bud or two.
The internal flight to Vegas was horrible. The air stewards knew some of the passengers so they spent the whole trip talking with them, also it was very cold and they didnt have any blankets.
Once we had landed, we quickly collected our bags and grabbed a taxi to the Venetian. We mentioned to the driver that we didnt want to go via the tunnel, but she said that it would take us longer to go the other way, as the roads were busy. To be honest at this point we had been travelling for 22hrs and couldnt be bothered to press the point so we just asked her to go the quickest way.
When we arrived we noticed all the construction work going on and we wanted to ensure that we didnt have a view of that. So at check-in we mentioned it and were advised straight away that the hotel was full, as there was a fight on over the weekend, so if the rooms left overlooked this we didnt have any other options, as there would be the only rooms left. She then found our reservation, told us that our suite had been held for us and that we had a part strip & pool view. (I think that the email earlier on that week regards to our Anniversary had worked thanks for the tip guys.) We didnt try the $20 trick; there didnt seem much point, as the hotel was full.
The room was wonderful. I especially like the bathroom, with its two sinks, vanity table, large shower, tub and separate room for the toilet. The bathrobes were lovely too, very large to wrap yourself in. Also the bed was extremely comfy!
We quickly unpacked and went down to the casino, played a little video poker, grabbed a couple of free drinks and retired early. It was about 9:30pm Vegas time, but our bodies were still on UK time of 4:30am. We had been up for so long right now; I think that we were asleep before our heads hit the pillows.
Saturday 14th September.
We woke up early; at 4am to be precise, then at 5am & 6am - im sure you get my drift. We decided to get up and have a little walk around. We ventured on to the strip and grabbed a free margarita at Casino Royale. We played a few slots there and single deck blackjack. I hadnt played single deck before so I didnt realise that there a few differences in the way that you play. The dealer mumbled to us every so often when we did something wrong, she wasnt very helpful or friendly to be honest so we left quickly.
We went back in to The Venetian where I was on a mission to find the Krispy Crème shop. All I can say about these little things is WOW! This turned into a breakfast ritual for the rest of our stay at the Venetian. Cold milk and donuts for breakfast yummy, oh how I miss that sugar rush!
For lunch we wanted to try out Studio 16. We didnt need reservations and were seated straight away. We wanted to sit on the Oceans Eleven area but they didnt even ask us, and headed straight passed it. Hubby was a true star at this point and told them that we wanted to sit there; they were not busy so we didnt see the problem. The music playing was lovely, all Rat Pack songs. We food was ok but a little expensive.
We then tried to walk off our lunch by going to Harrahs. We wanted to buy tickets for the Improv club. We had no problems using the coupon which entitled us to on free ticket (Thanks billhere) and because we booked in advance we were allocated really good seats.
The rest of the day was spent wondering around the strip and our hotel. We joined the slot club and played a little. I did find things really busy on the night, not like on our last trip.
We had decided prior to our trip that we would have room service on one night, so that we could make use of our split-level suite, and tonight was the night. We were still really jet lagged so taking things easy for a night was a good idea. The room service menu was excellent, covering everything for sushi to steak but we were not that hungry to be honest, as lunch was rather large. I went for a steak sandwich and hubby had a club sandwich. Both dishes came with a large portion of home made chunky fries, the food was ok but it could have done with been hotter. The main disappointment of the night came when we asked for the dinner plates to be collected; an hour later we were still waiting. Our bed was calling; we couldnt stay up any longer so we called it a night and put the privacy notice on the door.
Sunday 15th September.
Up bright and early we went for breakfast at Krispy Crème and then walked along the strip popping into most hotels along the way. We walked through the Forum shops in Caesars where we purchased a trick from Houdinis (SP?); there we were given a card for a free slot pull to win a shopping trip so we ventured through the casino to find it. On the way we played a little video poker and had a few comp buds. We had to join the slot club in order to use our free pull voucher. I just won a 10% money off voucher but hubby won two tickets to a magic show (sorry I cant remember the name of it). We wondered around to the ticket centre a booked the tickets for the same night. The tickets were worth $25 each so we were quite chuffed.
We carried on walking up the strip towards NYNY. We wanted to book the shuttle to the Fashion Outlets and this could only be done there using the voucher entitling us to half price tickets (Thanks again Billhere) I enjoyed the walk around NYNY, it was a lot nicer there then I expected. We found a bar whilst we were there and grabbed a cool refreshing beer; it had been a long hot walk up the strip so it was nice to rest our feet for a while. When we eventually found the ticket centre they told us that you had to book the shuttle at MGM. So off we went across the road.
MGM is huge; I would have needed a map for this place if I had stayed there. I also thought that everywhere looked the same especially in the main casino area. We tried again to book our tickets but there was no one manning the desk, so we tried phoning them direct and booked it over the phone. We would have done this to begin with but as we had a voucher we thought that we would have had to book it in person.
We took the monorail to Ballys and from there walked next door to Paris. We had planned on having a late brunch at the buffet. There was only a small queue there when we arrived but were given a ticket to return in 1 hr, so we went into the casino and had a drink. Paris wasnt exactly how I remembered it. I loved this place on my last visit as I found it very beautiful and peaceful, this time however you had to shout to hear yourself; it was very noisy but obviously still pretty. This is still somewhere that I would love to stay.
We went back to the buffet after an hour and then had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated. We are not really big buffet fans, we are not big eaters and therefore dont think that its very good value for money, but we really enjoyed it. The prime rib was cooked to perfection, the veal stew was extremely tasty and puddings were pure indulgence. Oh I almost forgot to mention the champagne was great and flowed plentifully. Between the two of us I would say that we drank just over one bottle. Our server kept on topping our glasses up saying that from 4:30 we would have to pay for it so make the most of it now.
We got the cat bus back to our hotel where we played a little blackjack and a few slots. When we went back to our room the maid still hadnt been and the smell of old food wasnt pleasant at all. I would say that this was the only thing that let the hotel down; the maid service came very late on in the day.
We got changed and went back to Caesars for our free magic show. The first guy did some close up magic, which was excellent, and he was also very funny. There was then a small interval and then it was onto the main event. The second magician was very much a showman but a little OTT for my liking. The show was good and entertaining and we would even go again if we had won free tickets.
On the walk back to our hotel we saw the volcano erupting outside of the Mirage, this wasnt as impressive as we both had thought it was going to be but we were glad that we managed to see it.
Monday 16th September.
Hubby made me open my wedding anniversary card from him today even though it wasnt until tomorrow. As this trip was our second holiday this year we had decided not to exchange presents, but he had tricked me! As the symbol for one year of marriage is paper he had given me the best type of paper you can get MONEY! I LOVE to shop so this was just perfect for me. I was upset that he had done this though, as I didnt get him a present, I did make his card though, which he said meant a lot.
We tried to send a couple of post card faxes this morning, but we could get the fax machine to work. Spent about 30 mins trying to the darn thing working but to no avail. So it was off to get donuts and milk for breakfast again set us up for a morning of shopping.
We took the bus up to MGM and waited for our shuttle to the fashion outlets. The shops here were good but no as good as I had expected. The discount card that we were given was well worth carrying around though. I purchased two DKNY bags one was an evening bag the other a rucksack type which Im going to use for work. I also brought a pair of Ralph Lauren PJs; hubby had some PJs and a coat from there too. I did look at buying a lovely pair of Channel sunglasses but managed to resist. Note: the Billhere coupon said to book at the NYNY, but MGM accepted them and give us the same discount. Also the discount card that was sent with the coupon MGM said was out of date but again they replaced that.
For lunch we shared a chicken sub and fries from the food court at the outlets. When we were dropped off at MGM and walked through to Games works. I am a play station widow so hubby was in his element here. He purchased a couple of $10 cards and played for an hour or so. I found a comfy seat in the bar and rested my tired feet.
We then caught the Cat bus back to the Venetian to get ready for dinner. Tonight we had a table booked at The Steakhouse in Circus Circus. We caught the Cat bus to The Stratosphere so that we could go on the big shoot you up the air at speed ride that ic ant remember the name of before we ate. This ride is great/scary but what a view! Its a fantastic place to take photos of the strip. It was dark by the time we got there so the strip looked beautiful all lit up. We then walked next door to have dinner.
Ive got to say that my first impression of this hotel was that it looked really cheap and a little dirty. But the restaurant was out of this world with its interior of all dark wood stunning. We both had the French onion soup for starters and then the filet migeon (SP?) with garlic mash. The steak was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth. This was the best steak that I have ever tasted; I can no recommend this restaurant enough. The bill came to $110 including tip and three rounds of drinks. I paid for this meal as my anniversary treat, a way of trying to make up for my hubbys lack of present.
We took a cab back to our hotel, which on route nearly crashed. A car travelling on the left of us decided to take a sharp right at high speed. There was a screech of brakes and a fair few strong words were exchanged between drivers. We were extremely lucky to miss the other car, thank goodness for our drivers quick reactions.
Tuesday 17th September.
Today was our first wedding anniversary and we were moving hotels to The Bellagio; we had really enjoyed our stay at the Venetian and really didnt think that the Bellagio could top it. The service, room and friendliness of all the staff had been superb. We checked out at about 10:30 am and took a cab to the Bellagio. We didnt really expect to be able to check-in straight away but we were pleasantly surprised. The lady on reception was too friendly, so again we didnt try the $20 trick, also we already had a lake view so we were not sure what we would be trying to up-grade too. We didnt think that we could get a suite for $20.
The room was lovely and the view breath taking (especially at night). If you looked straight down you could see the private villas with there own grounds and pools, we assumed that they were for the high rollers. The bathroom here was smaller then at the Venetian and only had one basin, but still beautifully decorated.
We unpacked and went to register at their slot club. As we hadnt really gambled too much at the other hotels we decided to try a little more here. The casino seemed relaxed here and the dealers were very friendly. I enjoyed playing roulette and blackjack here, no big wins but we had fun.
For lunch we went to the cheesecake factory. We had read some rave reviews about this place but we were bitterly disappointed. Hubby went for chicken caesar salad and I had b-b-q bacon burger. There was hardly any chicken in the salad and my burger was so greasy I just couldnt eat it. This is one place that we wont be returning too unless its just for the cheesecake.
As today was our 1st Wedding Anniversary we had already made reservations for Dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, Paris. When we booked the table on-line we advised them that it was a special occasion and asked for patio seating with a view of the Bellagio fountains. When we arrived people were been advised that there were no tables available outside, but when it came to us been seated they offered us a table right at the front of the patio. Unfortunately I wasnt feeling too good tonight. I think a mixture of the heat and still not been able to sleep properly had just got too much, all I wanted to do was sit a cool air-conditioned room. So we declined the offer of the patio table but sat by the window so we could still see the fountains.
For dinner I had the classique steak frites and hubby had the steak with red wine and mushroom sauce. The food was very nice here, but the steak didnt really compare to meal we enjoyed at the Steakhouse in Circus Circus.
Wednesday 18th September
We did a little sunbathing around the pool today lost tract of time and missed the Bellagio lunch buffet by 15 mins. We were not hungry enough to justify cost of dinner buffet so took the tram to the Monte Carlo. We hadnt been to this hotel before so we just wondered around until we found a food court. I had pizza and potatoes; hubby had a chilli dog with cheesy fries. All I can say about this place is that the food was cold and horrible and that the servers were rude. I would definitely not go back, it was a total waste of money.
On the way back to the tram we checked out the microbrewery, there was a nice atmosphere here, the drinks were not my kind of thing but nice to try.
Back at our hotel, we showered and change ready for a night at the Voodoo Lounge. We grabbed a taxi over to The Rio Hotel and were there just in time to see the mardi gra celebrations. This was a lot fun and very entertaining; we even managed to catch some beads. We went up to the lounge and sat outside for a while. This seems to be a favourite with wedding parties. The view from here was amazing well worth the $5 entrance fee for me $10 for hubby. Unfortunately is started to get a little chilly so we went inside but we managed to grab a window table so that we could still admire the view. The drink service here was good and so were the cocktails.
Then came the entertainment. I dont really know how to describe this band without offending, so if anyone here knows or is related to anyone who played at the Rio on this night, im very sorry but its just my opinion. The first song they did was excellent, very jazzy, a bit like the James Taylor quartet; this was a good sign or so we thought. But then it turned into what I can only describe as a school concert with one of the guys playing as many different instruments as he possible could. We were having bets between us as to what he would play next, hubby won with the mouth organ but he did play the flute a little later on so I wasnt that far off! Also if anyone is a Friends fan here, cast your mind back to an early episode when Ross gets his synthesiser out from when he was a child, the scene when he makes everyone listen to his own piece of music it was just like that! A total mismatch of keys and effects, at one point we wondered if this was a comedy act and that we had totally missed the point. But no, they were musicians. We left after enduring about 30 minutes of their music
We took a taxi back to the hotel, retired early and watched pay per view movie The Bourne identity. True to form I fell asleep before the end, but the hour or so that I did see was good.
Thursday 19th September
The plan today was to gamble for an hour and then spend the rest of the morning by the pool, but things just didnt go to plan. I played the wheel of fortune slots and did ok, all I wanted was to get a hand pay out, and it got close but didnt quite make it. Hubby played some roulette and blackjack. When we played roulette hubby always bet on number 17, as that was our wedding anniversary date. After a few goes the other people playing noticed what he was doing and started betting on 17 too. (Before I left for Vegas I read the book Living it up and doubling down in the new Las Vegas by Andres Martinez, in this Andres tells a similar story about people following his bet when he stuck to the same number on roulette. Although he was betting over $100 a go and our bet was more like $6- but still strange that people do this) Anyway after about four spins number 17 still hadnt won, the wheel went round and the ball dropped in number 16, oh so close. The wheel went round again, more chips were put on 17, the ball landed on number 18 oh this cant be happening. Bets were placed yet again; still the chips were stacked up on number 17. The wheel went round; the ball was jumping up and down over the numbers and landed in 17! Yes 17! There were smiles and high-fives all round.
We left the table all smiles and checked the time, it was at 2:15pm, and so sunbathing went totally out of the window!
We then walked over to the Barbary Coast to see Big Elvis. I had been looking forward to this all week as I had read so many good reports about this show. We arrived early so we could get a table and grab some drinks before he started. When he first came on stage we both felt a little uncomfortable, we felt as if people were there just to look at this really fat guy, im sorry I just couldnt explain the feeling. But as soon as Peter started to sing all our reservations left. This guy is a great entertainer with a fantastic voice. Hes a real showman. He talked to the audience and took requests. I asked for Cant help falling in love with you as this was the song I had at my wedding, I cried while he sang it, it was so good. All the memories of our wedding day came flooding back.
Peter sang for three hours with two short breaks in-between. He also invited two Elvis wannabes on stage to sing with him. The first guy to do this was from Henderson and seemed to be regular at Peter's shows. The second guy was sitting at the front of the room as was an actual Elvis lookalike / impersonator. He looked kind of familiar to us both and when he said his name was Pete from England; we knew that he must have been on the TV back at home. UK Pete sang Viva Las Vegas, which got the whole crowd singing he was great.
The show seemed over before it had started. I purchased a copy of the National Enquirer from the 27th August from them, which featured Peter and his claim to be the son of Elvis; he even signed it for me. Well you never know it may be worth something one day!
That evening we had reservations for dinner at Shalimar an Indian restaurant on Paradise Rd. We both love Indian food so we were really looking forward to this. I had onion bajis as my starter and chicken jalfrezi with keema nan for my main, hubby went for the vegetarian platter to start with and chicken saag with a plain nan with a pilau rice to share. The bill came to about $60 inc tip and two glasses of wine. . The food here was very tasty but not as hot as we are used too, the only thing we wouldnt have there again would be the nan bread as they were a little heavy and greasy.
We went outside to get a taxi back to our hotel. There was a limo outside and the driver offered to take us back to the Bellagio with a tour of the strip for $35. Well, why not we thought after all we were on holiday.
We got back to the hotel, grabbed a soft drink from the vending machines and went off to bed.
Friday 20th September
This morning we were determined to get some sunbathing done, so off we went. Dont you just love those little flags on the back of the sunbeds signalling that you want a drink. We used this a lot today, almost too much. Mixing alcohol and sun isnt really a good idea but we were having fun and we were not alone in doing this either. After a few cocktails I had had enough, so I left hubby to go play on the slots and we would meet up again later in the keno lounge.
I went off to play wheel of fortune slots again and did well, cashing out each time on approx. 600 coins. Also I had managed to mount up around 80 points on my slot card, I only needed 100 to get some cashback so that was my aim. After a while I went to meet hubby at keno where he already was waiting for me. He had a couple of games left to watch so I walked over to a $1 slot, put $2 in and won $138! I was well pleased, I still didnt get a hand pay out but who cares, Id won $138! I filled my pot and raced over to hubby grinning like a child.
We decided to the lunch buffet a miss again so we grabbed a snack at Snacks. I had a roast beef sandwich and hubby had a Cuban sandwich both with cheesy fries. The food here was gorgeous and huge! Total cost was around $35.
After this we played a little more on the slots and managed to get collect the 100 points needed to gain the cashback from the slotclub, so we went over to get it. A whole $10 was awarded to us for our slot playing efforts, and we were also given a Bellagio slot glove. Why hadnt they given this to me when we joined? It would have saved me numerous trips to the bathroom to wash my hands!
I then went to Tiffanys & Co to purchase my sister a birthday present using my slot winnings. I had noticed a lovely silver necklace the day before which I knew she would like so I got that for her.
We then headed back to the room for an afternoon nap; we needed to sleep of the cocktails before going out again later on in the evening.
Tonight we had tickets for the Improv Club at Harrahs. We did this on our last visit and enjoying it immensely. We were running late by the time we got there and thought that they may have let our good seats go, but they hadnt. The drinks service wasnt too hot here, and as we were slightly dehydrated from our earlier drinking session this wasnt a good thing, but we ordered a couple of sprites at a time to keep us going.
The comedians (Im sorry I cant remember their names) were really funny, we were all crying from laughing so hard. We really enjoyed tonight; this is something that im sure we will do every time we visit Vegas.
We went back to our room so that we could video the fountains and I did a little packing. At about 11:30 hubby went downstairs to change the last of his chips but didnt return until after 1am. I was starting to get a little worried, but there was no need to be, he had just been playing a last few hands of blackjack. He was up about $150 at one point but then his luck changed so he left. On his way back to the room he had one last go on the spin the wheel thingie. He put his dollar on number 40, there are only two 40s on the wheel so there are good odds and he won. So he was a little happier by the time he got back to our room.
Saturday 21st September
We checked out via the TV and left the Bellagio airport bound at about 8:30am. Our first flight left at 11:10 on time. Everything was going well until we reached Philadelphia where for some reason they wouldnt let us land so we just circled the airport for just under an hour. Our lay over this time was only 1 hr 10 mins so by the time we were leaving our plane our other flight was boarding. We ran across the airport hoping that we could catch our flight but we were not too optimistic. We got to the gate only to find a huge crowd of people still waiting to board. We sat down in a sweaty mess only to have to wait an hour for some passengers that had been on other flights, which also had been delayed in landing. Uneventful flight home, beef and wild rice of dinner and a muffin for a snack a little later on. The same movies were playing as on the way out so I watched About a boy again and half of Monsters Inc.
We landed at 8:20 am Sunday and made it home by 11:am UK time. We were tired to say the least. We grabbed an afternoon nap and then had dinner. The reason im telling you about our first night home on British soil is that at 1am Monday morning we were woken up by an earthquake! 4.8 the worst one we had experienced here in 12 years, making our trip even more memorable.
After thoughts.
We loved everything about this tip; there isnt anything that we would have changed. Even though we managed to fit a fair few things in we didnt feel rushed in anyway. During our next visit we plan to stay at Paris as we like that hotel a lot and we may combine it with another stay at the Bellagio, as we loved our time at this hotel.
I wish we had time to watch the fountains from Fontana bar at The Bellagio, and we also wanted to try the steak dinner at Ellis Island, but there is always next time. We also wanted to visit Wet n Wild and a shooting range but just could fit them in.
We gambled more this trip then we did previously, we didnt go over our budget but we didnt bring any of it back either.
We think our Vegas trip wont be until 2004, but hey we can have fun planning it in the mean time.
I hope I havent bored you all two much.
Emma
Totally agree with you about the view from the Stratosphere tower. We went up it at night and the view was amazing, I wasn't brave enough to go on the ride though.
so I especially enjoyed reading about your trip. 
