We stopped off for a very very hot lunch in Nevada, where it must have been at least 42 degrees, and after melting we finished the final leg of the 4.5 hour journy to Las Vegas. We all decided we had nothing suitable to wear for a night out in Vegas so got dropped at a massive shopping mall for two hours. Big mistake for anyone with a tight budget. Our hotel was great. Pretty much a studio flat actually, with two big beds, open plan kitchen/living room and big bathroom with jacuzzi bath! Our tour guide suggested we order pizza for dinner and eat in her room before heading out. Balls to that I thought, as did Joadie. This is Vegas and were going out now! We found a blurb in a Vegas magazine on a restaurant called Switch. As soon as we read about the revolving ceiling and moving walls we were set on it, and it turned out to be an amazing restaurant. The night before, we were eating bland spaghetti and meatballs, chugging on a beer, wiping the sweat off our brows and fighting off the wasps and midges. But tonight we spent a small fortune on champagne, cocktails, delicious salads and the best asparagus either of us have ever had. Every twenty minutes the lights would dim, the restaurant would turn a shade of purple, dramatic cimematic music would fill the restaurant and the walls would slide up or down. New walls would slide in to replace them, creating a totally new look. All more satisfying than pizza in the hotel. We got back to the hotel at 2030 to meet the others for our limo ride. We sipped on more champagne, laughed, sang and looked out of the window at all the sights. We stopped off at the largest screen in the world. 100x1500ft, 12.5 million lights and the equivalent to 15 football fields. Every hour they play a slightly trippy scene involving loads of colour (rather like a Windows screensaver) and music. Its so sureal its actually difficult to describe, but its very cool!

Back in the limo, and the next stop was the 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign where we had numerous photo opps. When our limo ride came to an end, we were dropped on the Strip where we ventured in to the Bilagio. We spent quite a while gawping at the lobby which was pretty amazing with its floral ceiling and pianist. The Bilagio fountain display came next. The one featured in 'Oceans 11'. We didn't find George Clooney or Brad Pitt but the fountains were fabulous. Snychronised fountains in time with 'all that jazz' from Chicago. It was really very clever and an awesome display

It was only polite to do a bit of gambling on our visit to Vegas so we made our way to Ceasers Palace and headed for the blackjack tables. our dealer Joey was very nice and as we were beginners allowed us a $15 minimum bet instead of $25. probably a good job as we all left down, but at one point I was holding $110 in chips. We were brought free drinks and tried a Martini coz we'd seen it in James Bond. F**king disgustig drink. Glad I didn't pay for it!

We tried out the slot machines where Tara had a ridiculous string of good luck and won about $30. I however lost my money and went home $20 down. So much for my plan of winning back my holiday!

We drank and gambled until the wee hours. And rolled in at 4am after an absolutely fabulous night!