Category Archives: USA

So Day 2, Sunday, started off with a loooooong sleep in. Nice!

After breakfast at Chin Chin (a Chinese food and sushi bar – of course the buffet breakfast included such breakfast treats as BBQ pork which you can see on my plate, as well as more usual fare of bacon, hash browns and eggs, both Cantonese and Mainland style!) we decided to head out to the Premium Outlet mall in south Vegas.

We started at the Nike outlet, as we both knew we needed some sneakers. I got two pairs and K one, as she has limited luggage space since she’ll have another two months of travel after I go home!

I managed to “accidentally” buy another two pairs of shoes (black with leopard print wedges, and some cheetah print wedges – love me some animal wedges, especially on sale!) so I certainly have enough shoes to last me this trip!

We tried some clothing stores, but didn’t find a lot of interesting stuff. Might try the North branch on Tuesday, as we need to kill some time between checking out and heading to the airport later that night.

After wending out way back to the NYNY via the Luxor (who can resist taking a photo with the Caucasian sphinx in the background?? Not I!) we headed down to the pool to relax for a bit.

The sun was starting to drop, which had a similar effect on the temperature by the time the lifeguards closed the pool at 5ish. Good timing for us though, since we were meeting Stef and M at 7 for after dinner drinks, and we needed to shower etc, have dinner and then find our way to the MGM.

We ended up going to Gonzales Y Gonzales again for dinner, as we knew it was fresh, they understood GF, and it would be quick! We both had the steak nachos which I’d had the night before, but they weren’t as good I think – although they came in a bigger serve, they didn’t have the fresh green chilis on top, and it tasted more like homemade nachos than the beautiful dish we’d had the night before. We still managed to try another margarita each, and I had a sangria as well, just for experimentation’s sake, I promise! All in the name of science (and yeah, it was tasty!)

Only running half an hour late, we power walked over to the MGM and met M and S. They were in town for the Bon Jovi concert the night before, and M had organised a sumptuous penthouse (loft) for them that night, so we went up and helped them feel at home, by drinking bubbly, helping to demolish the chocolate-dipped strawberries and oohing and aahing over the floor to ceiling windows, the huge walk-in shower (again, floor to ceiling windows over the Strip – good thing it’s high up!!) the telephone in the powder room (it has a mute button) and the remote controlled everything – blinds, lights, sound etc… Woah.

It was great to catch up with S, and to meet M. Hope to see them next year!

With the renovations and a new bar in the MGM, we got a bit tangled getting back to our hotel, but we managed eventually, a few stumbles aside.

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Location:Las Vegas Blvd S,Paradise,United States

So after going slightly mad over 30-something too many hours of travel (three planes are too many) I finally got to Vegas and met K at the airport.

After the hair-raising turbulence in the itty bit plane from LAX, combined with the two British tourists’ lengthy discussion of beer and prostitiutes (their preferred pastime in the city of sin, as they informed the whole plane) I was a bit taken aback by the vast tracts of slot machines at the airport, as soon as you disembark from the plane. I’d realised that gambling was the raison d’être, but not that it was part of the airport too!

Nevertheless, I avoided making eye contact with the flashing lights,a and found my bag, and K before heading to our hotel. The taxis here all seem to have a very generic DVD playing, with what sounds like a voiceover from a motivational speaker telling the passengers the sights they shouldn’t miss.

The hotel has pretty nice rooms and comfy beds (oh how I wanted to collapse into one, but not yet) and even though outs was one of the cheaper room types, we did have a (distant) view of the pool and part of the roller coaster which surrounds the hotel.oh, and of course the car park next door.

First up we needed s e food, as I’d not had proper lunch yet, so we went for a wander through the restaurant section of the casino downstairs. As the name of the hotel (new York, New York) suggests, the restaurants are ny themed, with pizza places, steak restaurants, burger joints (including one which had a Gluten free menu, but actually didn’t do gluten free bread or buns; the gluten free menu was of burgers without buns!) we eventually settled down at a Mexican place which was great – including large margaritas!

We also stopped by Ben & Jerry’s to pick up so e icecream to take up to our room, eliciting envious looks from all those around us on the lift!

After scoffing the icecream, it was time to head off to the Treasure Island casino to see Mystere, the Cirque du Soleil show we’d booked. Wow, it was amazing! I’d never seen Cirque du Soleil live before, and I’m a complete convert! This particular show was a showcase of different physical acrobatic skills, the very best being a pair of guys who were doing a strength/agility demonstration, with one of them balancing the other on his hands etc while both moved into different positions. Amazing – a real mix of acrobatics, strength and amazing technique. The other fantastic sections were the pole climbers, the suspended banner dancer and of course the trapeze artists. I’d certainly recommend it to anyone!

Instead of taking a taxi, we decided to walk back to the hotel along the Strip. It seems that half of Nevada had the same idea, so there were huge crowds, but it was a pretty carnival atmosphere, only slightly muted by the tens of people on every corner handing out strip club and escort cards, slapping them lasciviously against each other to attract attention. Ugh!

There’s also a LOT of luxury here – we wandered into a mall with basically Prada, Tiffany’s Jimmy Choo and all the horrendously expensive brands in the magazines. Fun!

Tomorrow is a quiet(ish) day of mooching around a bit to recover from the long haul. We’ll certainly sleep well tonight!

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