Our West Coast Adventure - May 2017 - Day 6: A successful shopping trip and a far too large pizza

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Index can be found here

Tuesday 16th May 2017
Steps: 29,347
Miles: 12.24

The alarm went off at 8am this morning but we weren’t in any huge rush to get up and out so it was a nice slow-paced process of getting ready for the day. By 9:35am we were good to go and heading out of the room.

By 9:50am we were driving out of the Aria car park with our destination set… the outlets at the south of the strip! After such an unsuccessful shopping trip yesterday it only seemed right that we would things right and try again and we were hopeful that we would have more luck at the other outlets on offer.

We arrived at 10:05am and parked up. The South outlets are can be likened to a mall as the majority of the stores are inside, whereas the outlets at the north end of the strip are more of a shopping village that I would liken to the Premium Outlets that you will see in Orlando.

Heading inside we were feeling peckish so we made our way first to Starbucks to pick up a couple of croissants to keep us going for a bit ($5.95)

With our bellies fuller it was time to hit the shops and I am happy to report it was a much more successful shopping trip! Our first stop was Levi where Paul picked up two pairs of jeans at $39.99 each.

We made a stop in the children’s clothes shop Carters, not a usual haunt for us but I couldn’t resist a little look around and I did end up picking up a set of babygro’s for my friend Kate who’s baby is due next week (throughout her pregnancy they have referred to baby as Peanut so it was impossible to resist them! And a good price at $14.40 for the two). We managed to hold back from buying anything for our little one, it was very tempting though!

The next shop was one of my favourites… Kate Spade! I had received some birthday money back in January that I had been saving up to bring away on this trip with a firm intention to buy myself a new purse and what do you kow my luck was in as I walked away with this little beauty, a steal at $60.48 (60% off the RRP)

Another favourite of ours when in the US is Aeropostaleso this was our next stop and it was not a wasted journey as Paul walked away with two shirts ($15.87/$14.87), a polo t-shirt ($9.87) and 3 pairs of boxer shorts ($5.80). Yes, one pair of the boxer shorts are indeed a #usanumberone… they were a must-have! I picked up a long-sleeved work-out top ($6.99), which I have no intention to use any time soon… perhaps once baby is out!

Our last purchase before heading out was from Nike, a training top for Paul ($16.50)

Laden down with bags we made our way back to the car, leaving the car park at 1pm. Not feeling quite content with out haul we decided to make a stop at Town Centre, a lovely little shopping area also situated at the south end of the strip). We had visited here on our previous visit so knew it had an Abercrombie & Fitch so that was incentive enough to warrant a drop in!

Arriving at 1:15pm we made a beeline for A&F and it was a successful trip as Paul came away with a pair of jeans ($29.99) and I picked up some joggers (also $29.99). You can never have enough lounge wear in my opinion!

The chocolate croissants from this morning were now a distant memory so food was now a priority ad as there is a Panda Express at Town Centre this was the obvious choice (one of my favourite stops for a quick and cheap eat!). Paul went for the Beijing beef, sweet fire chicken with rice and I opted for the orange chicken (as always!) and rice. We shared a large Pepsi which was practically served in a bucket… it was huge!

We were ready to leave by 2:35pm, stopping along the way for some photos as we headed back to the car. It’s not a huge shopping district but very pretty and definitely worth a stop if you are ever in Vegas!

We were back in the hotel room by 3:05pm after parking the car back in Aria self-park (just as a side note this worked out a great location for parking when staying at the Vdara as was only a 5-10 minute walk back to the hotel through the Aria and worked out significantly cheaper than using the valet at Vdara. I would definitely recommend!)

After such a successful morning of shopping (hurray!) we were ready for a little bit of chill time so we chucked on our swimmers and made our way down to the pool. Learning from our experience yesterday we grabbed our own towels and hunted out some sunbeds. During our entire stay there it was never so busy that we couldn’t get a couple of sunbed which was a huge plus point for this hotel. There are also a lot of sun umbrellas available which was a relief to me as I’m not very good at sitting in the sun for very long! By 3:30pm we were ready for some full on chill-out time in the sunshine… bliss!

Whilst around the pool we took advantage of the waitress service and ordered ourselves some drinks. Paul had two Heinekens ($9 each) and I had a more reserved coke ($6). Yes I was totally craving a cocktail at this point, I can’t deny it! Watching Paul lounging in the pool beer in hand had me somewhat green with envy! Once again we charged the drinks to our room to make the most of the $30 credit (although just to note tips were not covered by this so we left that in cash)

By 5:10pm I was ready to head back to the room to get myself ready for the evening, Paul was still enjoying lazing in the sunshine so I left him soaking up the rays (it would always take him a quarter of the time to get ready as it does for me so I couldn’t blame him for making the most of it!)

After showers and getting ourselves ready we were heading back out of the room at 6:40pm, with no set destination just a plan to explore the strip and find somewhere to have dinner. It really was lovely to not have plans and just go with the flow, something that I am not used to after several trips to WDW over the past few years… on these holidays we have our itinerary nailed in months in advance!

To get through to the strip we walked through the Cosmopolitan, stoping for a couple of photos… I couldn’t resist a little ppse with that phone!

Making our way through we couldn’t helped but be impressed by The Chandelier bar… a three-floored bar that has the most impressive chandelier that covers all three levels! Very impressive!

Leaving the Cosmopolitan we threw a left and headed up towards the Bellagio to watch the fountains as the 7pm show was about to start. We had a great spot to view and they started up to the tune of ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ by the Beatles but they clearly were having some sort of tech problems as they didn’t seem to quite get going and then stopped half way through the song! Oh well, we had several more days and nights ahead of us so would catch them again!

Our next stop was Caesars Palace for a wander around with the goal of heading towards The Forum shops.

I love this hotel and the theming, so grand and elegant! We made our way through the casino to get to The Forum, a beautiful shopping district that really thatches the ‘outdoors indoors’ to the next level… it’s actually hard to believe that isn’t real sky!

Hitting the front entrance which leads you back to the strip we came across the amazing curved escalators… I’m sure if everyone is as impressed by these as I am but they wowed me on our last visit and they totally wowed me all over again… curved escalators!

We also had a little play on the interactive map that we found at this end… you put in the shop/restaurant you was looking for and it gave you a moveable map of how exactly to get there… very cool (again, it may be just me who is easily impressed here!)

We were starting to get rather hungry by this point so it was definitely time to stop for dinner. We had noticed Trevi as we were walking through so we decided to head back there and give that a try. On the way back we passed the most impressive entrance to a H&M I have ever seen… it was huge!

Making it back to Trevi we approached the reservation desk and as they are on the Landry card we were seated immediately. Paul was now fully into asking for specific tables so requested an ‘outside’ table next to the fountain and they were more than happy to oblige. The setting really was just gorgeous!

Everything on the menu looked amazing… Italian is totally one of my most favourite cuisines so I was a happy girl! We decided on the bacon wrapped chicken and mozzarella meat balls to start that were absolutely delicious! They also brought out bread and oil to accompany it.. got to love some free bread! Paul ordered a Miller Lite and I had a lemonade.

For mains we both went for pizza, pepperoni for Paul and chicken for me. Now this is where my pregnancy appetite really let me down as the pizzas were huge and I could barely make a dent in it! Most disappointing as it was so tasty but it was like my stomach had shrivelled up to the size of a golf ball! I actually felt quite embarrassed when they came to clear the plates as it looked like I had barely touched it! Luckily Paul had no problem clearing his plate though so at least one of us did well!

It was such a lovely meal though, the food was really good and the location and setting was just amazing. Definitely somewhere that I would return to on future visits. We got outstanding customer service throughout, and having a Landrys card meant the manager brought out our bill and checked in on how everything had been, such a lovely touch that goes a long way.


Feeling suitably stuffed we waddled out of Trevi and made our way back to the strip. Paul was keen to check out Top Golf which is situated down at the MGM so we made that our destination. Passing by the Bellagio we were able to catch the fountains again, this time they seemed to working much better (although I don’t seem to have noted what the song was this time!)

I lovely walking down the strip at night, the hustle and bustle is so exciting, such an electric atmosphere! Everything looks so pretty lit up too, such an amazing place!

We finally made it down to the MGM and headed inside to find Top Golf. Luckily it is signposted so we started following those in search of it. Along the way we walked past the wedding chapel that Paul’s sister got married in on our last trip… we couldn’t resist a photo stop!

We continued to follow the signs and I am not going to lie I was getting a little grumpy now as we had been walking for what seemed like forever and still hadn’t blooming got to it! The signposts lead us right out the back of the hotel and past the Signature hotels and right behind there we finally found the building. I know MGM is a big hotel but it was ridiculous how long it took to get there from entering at the strip end!

We went inside to have a look around. Being night time the prices were at their peak so for an hour it would cost $60 which felt a bit steep for just the two of us and to be honest I was so tired by this point that I didn’t think I would even be able to stay awake for an hour to see it out! It looked brilliant though so we made a plan to come back during the daytime when I was less tired and irritable!

As we made our way back through the MGM to head back to our hotel we stumbled across a Showtime game machine that we couldn’t resist a play on (plus it was free!). It also had a function to take a photo of you and then you put in your e-mail address in and it send it to you… despite doing this I can confirm that to this day that photo never arrived in my inbox (just like the car photos we have taken in the past at the end of Test Track in Epcot!).

We finally made it back to our room at 12:15am and I was absolutely pooped, we had done a lot of walking this evening and I was totally feeling it! It was a quick turnaround of getting ready for bed as I was soundly tucked up by 12:30 and very shortly off in the land of nod!
Tomorrow sees us back at Top Golf, having more adventures on the strip and experiencing some beautiful views at Hard Rock Café.

Day 7 can be found here

[Unexpectedpenny]

A successful shopping trip there, love your new purse!

I did not know that curved escalators were a thing?! I'd have been impressed if I was there too

Lovely looking dinner, a shame you couldn't fit much in though.

[Kd0758]

I love reading Vegas days! The whole time that I was reading it I kept nudging OH saying 'omg look at this!'

Totally getting the Test Track photos. I woke up Christmas morning 2015, checked my email and one of the photos from the cars after Test Track had come through (taken in the April!)

[jocat]

It was a successful shopping day for you!

I'm loving the look of the curved escalators too. I can see I'm going t have to get a Landry Card - it really seems to have its perks.

[Jake71]

What a great day, no wonder you were pooped at the end of it.

[Redrach1903]

I'm so glad you rectified the shopping situation, I was worried for a minute
Paul especially got some great bargains and I love the peanut baby grow hehe!

Poor show on the pizza, but you have clearly got your appetite back if last night's demolition is anything to go by

The strip looks just so amazing, I would love to see it one day. I am also impressed by the curved escalators and interactive map! Haha!

Another great read my dear

xxx

[EJSakaAnna]

Can't beat a new Kate Spade . Good shopping haul!

Dinner looks lovely, especially that starter! xx

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Originally Posted by Unexpectedpenny

A successful shopping trip there, love your new purse!

I did not know that curved escalators were a thing?! I'd have been impressed if I was there too

Lovely looking dinner, a shame you couldn't fit much in though.

See more...

I don’t think I will ever get bored of looking at those escalators… amazing! Only in Vegas

Originally Posted by Kd0758

I love reading Vegas days! The whole time that I was reading it I kept nudging OH saying 'omg look at this!'

Totally getting the Test Track photos. I woke up Christmas morning 2015, checked my email and one of the photos from the cars after Test Track had come through (taken in the April!)

See more...

Haha I hope this helps convince your OH that you need a trip to Vegas pronto!

Oh wow that is quite the delay on the TT photos… maybe I shouldn’t give up hope just yet, t’s only been 14 months to be fair!

Originally Posted by jocat

It was a successful shopping day for you!

I'm loving the look of the curved escalators too. I can see I'm going t have to get a Landry Card - it really seems to have its perks.

See more...

I definitely recommend a Landry’s card… they really do pay for themselves when you take into account the birthday bonus, priority seating and the excellent customer service… amazing for what is in reality a free dining club!

Originally Posted by Jake71

What a great day, no wonder you were pooped at the end of it.

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Haha after all that walking through MGM I was ready to collapse by the end of this day!

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

I'm so glad you rectified the shopping situation, I was worried for a minute
Paul especially got some great bargains and I love the peanut baby grow hehe!

Poor show on the pizza, but you have clearly got your appetite back if last night's demolition is anything to go by

The strip looks just so amazing, I would love to see it one day. I am also impressed by the curved escalators and interactive map! Haha!

Another great read my dear

xxx

See more...

I have totally got my pizza appetite back… I would have inhaled it if it was given to me now!

The strip really is a place that needs to be seen to be believed… I think you and Chris need to book a visit! (I will happily come along as your tour guide! ) xxx

Originally Posted by EJSakaAnna

Can't beat a new Kate Spade . Good shopping haul!

Dinner looks lovely, especially that starter! xx

See more...

Oh I absolutely love Kate Spade, little spoiler… this won’t be my only purchase in there this trip!

And that starter… out of this world!

[abiknox]

Great day, glad you rectified the lack of shopping today.

Your meal looks yum, shame you couldn't manage your pizza. I had the same problem as you know, then i completely changed and could not eat enough during my second trimester. Now I'm back to not being able to fit in much again, baby is taking up all the room I think!

Love the baby grows, so cute that you found one with a peanut 😀

[HelenJNT]

Peanut. Hehe 🥜

This was a fab day. Pleased with the shopping and v pleased that Paul now has some #usanumberone pants. No photo though? 😹🙈

I like the look of Caesars Palace. We priced up a Vegas trip many moons ago and that was the hotel we settled on. Maybe we'll take another look...

Can't believe you couldn't eat the pizza! Shame!

I thought as I was reading this that Top Golf was a golf shop and was wondering what kind of man would make a girl walk all those miles... oh wait, I think I know two now. Haha!