Bye Bye Vegas
Every time I visit Vegas, I wish I had a few extra days and feel sad to leave. There are few places in the world where you think - "anything can happen". Vegas is one of those places and that makes it exciting.
I remember being amazed at Dubai in my first blogs. Out of the two "desert" cities, Vegas is better. Don't get me wrong - I really liked Dubai and we will be going back, but Vegas tops it. Yes, Dubai is newer, the buildings are bigger and the architecture and shopping are fantastic. But you can only do so much shopping and what's actually in the buildings? Offices mainly and apartments .....
In Vegas - the buildings are built purely for entertainment. Our taxi driver in Vegas describes Dubai as "Vegas but without the fun". Bit harsh, but you catch his drift. The casinos, nightclubs, bars, shows and restaurants are all BJ 5 in Vegas and its perpetual ability to reinvent itself and superior levels of service, means it will keep "ahead of the game". I need a few Poker lessons from Paul when I get back though ....
Anyway, what have we been up to? After the excitement of Monday, we had quite a chilled day yesterday, waking up late and a bit groggy. After a couple of FaceTime calls home, the highlight of the day, was Jean telling me that I was "shining". Waited almost nine years for that!
We visited New York, New York and MGM Casinos. I remember staying at the MGM a few years ago with my Dad - it hasn't changed much. The Centrifuge bar with the dancing bar staff is still there!
One thing I have neglected to mention is that it is cold here - especially at night when it drops to about 3 degrees. During the day, it is the low sixties in the sun. The desert does get cold. We spent a good part of the afternoon in the Cosmopolitan casino, using up Anna's "free" $100 dollar bets. Not quite "free", but as we won yesterday, we thought we'd give it a go. We obviously used up our luck yesterday as we finished about $55 down. Overall we ended up about $25 up. Pity - but that's Vegas - win some, lose some and if you get out of the place "up" you've done well. Not bad at all. Some poor sods leave with haunted expressions on their faces. God knows what they've lost.
We had an average Mexican meal at Javier's in the Aria hotel last night - BJ of 2.5 and then decided to explore our own resort, since we hadn't actually done that. Discovered lots of new things - the tram stop, the walkway to Monte Carlo, restaurants and bars. Popped over on the tram to the Bellagio and then back to the room. I've said it before, but Aria is a really good hotel for the price and the location is ideal.
We haven't managed to make one of the fabulous all you can eat breakfast buffets which I would recommend. From a calorie perspective, probably a good thing. Anna has gone above the 8st mark and she's not a happy bunny!
On that subject, we haven't seen as many "fatties" on this trip to the USA. However, at the airport this morning, we saw a couple of crackers, each with a big Las Vegas drinking glass full of soda around their necks, stuffing their faces. The airline had to put each one on opposite sides of the aircraft to balance it out. We were dreading sitting next to one of these "grossburgers". Luckily we got seats well away. I would charge airline tickets by the person's weight if it were me.
Finally, just a reminder for all you ladies out there - the clock is ticking for your submissions. Remember to email me. Our next stop is Boston. We might visit Nikki's home town of Salem. Rumour has it she fled from Salem to Prenton almost 400 years ago to escape being burnt at the stake .........