WELCOME TO FABULOUS LAS VEGAS!

DAY 15: Barstow, California to Las Vegas, Nevada

After a good night's kip in our round bed we had a DIY breakfast and hit the road - to VEGAS BABY!!!

The two and half hour drive was pretty straight forward and we found our hotel with ease. The Bellagio welcomed us with the beauty and grandeur we'd expected. The most luxurious room we'll get on this trip with a bed the size of a five-a-side pitch and a spectacular view of the Paris hotel opposite which has its own third-of-real-sized Eiffel Tower.

Everything about the Bellagio says; 'class', unlike some of the other more novelty, but still amazing, hotels. The best thing about it? The world famous Bellagio Fountains that play in time to music every 15 minutes in the evening. It is simply the greatest show in Vegas, giving you goose bumps every time.

We had a look around the hotel, casino, shops and restaurants to try and orientate ourselves, which proved difficult as it's so big.

Caesar's Palace is next door to the Bellagio, so we went exploring there too. The hotel 'next door' in Vegas can take you about half an hour to get to in some cases; they're so vast in size.

We came across a Bacardi Mojito take away bar so we got stuck in whilst we looked for some food as we were starving. Now, what happened next can only be described as a catastrophic error of food ordering judgement. Concerned the chilli hot dog and fries might not be enough, given Jen was sharing my fries, I ordered a doughnut the size of my face as insurance. When the chilli dog arrived it was the size of a real life sausage dog - it was humongous. It weighed a ton and given the size of my doughnut, I felt like a dwarf.

To walk this off we explored Caesar's Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Miracle Mile shopping mall (I found a furry hat that fitted me in Baby Gap!) before heading back to get ready for the night.

Vegas is so amazing. Everything is massive and the attention to detail is incredible. There are no short cuts with anything at all. They can't afford to be shabby with the finishing touches, so stiff is the competition.

We took our time getting ready and enjoyed the luxury of a bath - probably our last one until we get home at Christmas. Don't worry, we have wet wipes. We then had the obligatory Jagermeister (a la The Hangover) and headed out for the night in search of strippers and cocaine (ok some of that's not true).

We decided to have a few liveners at the bar in Todd English's Olives restaurant in the Bellagio, where we would be dining. Our table was outside on the terrace overlooking the fountains on the lake with quite possibly the best view and entertainment over dinner we've ever experienced. The fountains were truly amazing and dinner was fabulous, even if I was still a bit full up from the chilli dog.

Being on a bit of a budget we decided to limit ourselves to $50 gambling money. Now, when it's a $10 minimum bet on the roulette, and you're as good as I am, that lasts about 15 minutes. I had $10 left so gave up. Jen steps up, increases her pot by $30 but then walks away when $20 up. Beginners luck, knows when to stop or Rain Man? Jen also won a few dollars on the slots, so she was flying. I was not.

Gambling career over, and a little more tipsy for it, we headed to a bar called Caramel where we sank a good few drinks. It was a nice bar, but being out of season and a Monday it was pretty quiet. Feeling quite drunk by this point we headed back to the room to crash out.