The BIG Las Vegas Surprise - 22nd Feb 2019 - More Vegas Strip & Feast Buffet Red Rock Casino

[smithlane]

Day 6

Got woken up at 6am by Jim as his mum Sylvia had sent a message to say Boris our Lab (who they are looking after) had had a seizure that morning. He now seemed fine once the diazepam had taken effect thank god. This isn’t his first but the vet doesn’t seem overly concerned at the moment as they’re not frequent enough to need medication, his last one was around 5 months ago. We felt terrible that we weren’t there but he was in very good hands with Bill and Sylvia. So all in all not a great start to the morning

Jim was playing golf again this morning and meant to be at TPC Las Vegas, but unfortunately I had received an email to say they’d shut the course due to frost. Jim gave them a call to check if they would open later today but apparently they would be closed all day.
He then googled a couple more courses in the area and gave Desert Pines a call as they were accepting tee times online. Sure enough they were open and said to turn up whenever.

At this point I had got comfy back in bed and REALLY didn’t want to sit in a golf buggy freezing my back side off for a couple of hours so we agreed I would stay here and explore the last few resorts while Jim played. Perfect!

He left about 7.50 and I lay in bed chatting with my mum and dad for about half an hour. They had had a lovely time in the Forest of Dean and said Hope had been perfectly behaved which is always good to hear. I had been speaking to her every day so I knew she was fine

There was a ridiculously loud banging coming from next door and then the drilling started! I was very glad I wasn’t still asleep as I would have been spitting feathers if that had woken me up. Not what you expect from a $300 a night hotel room

At about 8.30 I dragged myself out of the ridiculously comfy bed and got showered and dressed.
By 9 I was on my way out the door. I first had a quick look in Tutto one of the resort shops. They had some lovely bits in there.

One of the lady’s in there complimented me on my Disney Dooney and Bourke, she was very jealous as has always wanted one!

Look at these cute Lego sets

From here I headed North up the Strip. I wanted to check out the Fashion Show mall first as it was shut the other day. Took me about 30 minutes to walk up there. The strip is very deceiving when it comes to distances, you don’t think the hotels are that far apart but they really are!

The mall didn’t open until 10 so went downstairs to find a Starbucks and have a bite to eat until the stores opened.

I got a medium Vanilla Bean Creme and a Cinnamon Roll. $9.09 altogether.
Found a seat and tucked in. The cinnamon roll wasn’t great, there was no ooey gooey icing on top. Certainly was nothing like the ones in Gaston’s Tavern!
It filled a hole anyhow. As soon as it turned 10am I went off in search of the Disney Store.

Unfortunately they didn’t have much home wear in this one. I was after a new luggage tag but they didn’t have them. Had some cute bits in here though, if only my two were little again I could have done some serious damage!

From here I went into Victoria Secrets for some bras for Hope but the offer wasn’t great and I thought they were better priced at home which is odd.
I then went upstairs and had a look in Hollister again for Hope, she was after a bikini but unfortunately didn’t have her size. It’s a shame as I was going to put that by for her birthday in March as I’ve bought her quite a lot already this trip!

I was now done in here so crossed the road using the walkway and into the Wynn.

Looks like a new hotel being built

Wow, what an amazing hotel! I can safely say if we ever come back to Vegas we’ll be staying here. It had such a luxurious feel to it and wasn’t busy at all, maybe because it’s so far up on the strip it doesn’t get the same foot traffic.
Don’t get me wrong I love the Bellagio but it’s so hectic in there not just with guests but with people coming in to take photos and use the casino.
I especially liked the look of the outside area.

After taking a few dozen photos I headed back down the Strip the way I came.

I went into Caesar’s Palace for a look around and to use their rest rooms. As a fan of The Hangover I appreciated the surroundings, I almost expected to see a mattress hanging off one of the flagpoles

I now went back pass the Bellagio and into the Shops at Crystals which is part of the Aria hotel. Very high end stores in here!

Went passed the Waldorf Astoria and Park MGM. They both looked like nice hotels too.

Crossed the road and popped into the Walgreens opposite. Bought a Maybelline mascara as I was running out, normally use Max Factor but they didn’t do it in here. This was $10.81.
Now went into one of the tacky souvenir shops. I actually love these places, you can pick up all sorts! I came away with an Arizona number plate to add to my collection. $14.07

I was now done in so walked back to the Bellagio via the Cosmopolitan, I had walked 16,000 steps so far this morning and it was only midday

I called Jim who had just finished his round of golf and told him to pick me up outside the main entrance as we could then go straight to Red Rock Casino for lunch as planned.

Whilst I was waiting I had a look at the Botanical Garden and the worlds largest Chocolate Fountain. The decorations for Chinese New Year were beautiful.

The chocolate fountain was indeed massive!

If only it wasn't behind glass, I would be so tempted to do this

I also went to Concierge to mention the noise this morning as I really didn’t want a repeat tomorrow morning as we wanted a lie in before our flight in the afternoon. He was very apologetic and offered to swap rooms but I said it wasn’t worth it for one night so instead credited my account with $75 off food and beverage credit. Very unexpected but very welcome!

I now went outside to meet Jim. A few minutes later he pulled up so jumped in and put in the directions, it said a 25 minute drive. Jim was moaning that he was starving and he hoped this place was worth the drive! I told him of course it was, it had been recommended on here

More stunning scenery on the way

My god this place is huge! We found the Feast Buffet easily, queued up and paid the $25.96 for 2 buffets, its clearly very popular as we had to wait a little while for a table.

Got seated eventually and got 2 Diet Pepsi’s ordered, we were parched!
We went to see what they had first and for me to take the obligatory food photos for you all.

We started with a plate of Chinese. Chicken chow mein, Lo Mein, Fried Rice and Vegetable Spring Rolls. This was lovely.
Second plate was freshly carved turkey and ham, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy. Again a good choice. I then went for a third plate of a few slices of pizza. I was getting so full but I needed to try the amazing looking desserts they had on offer

I got a creme brûlée, some chocolate creme pie and some Mr Whippy style ice cream with mini m&ms!

Creme brûlée wasn’t great but the rest was fab.
We left the server a $5 tip then rolled ourselves out of there!

A quick go on the slots

Jim wanted to have a look in Dicks Sporting Goods in the Fashion Show Mall so typed in the address and made our way there. I drove this time to give Jim a break. We parked in the parking lot closest to Dicks.

Jim was after yet more golf clothing and found the clearance rail. Got himself 2 golf jumpers for $60ish.

After a hectic day so far we needed a lie down so drove straight back to the Bellagio where I started the dreaded packing and we just chilled out for a few hours. I also did online check in for our flights tomorrow. Managed to move our seats to further down the plane as we were originally the last row right by the toilets which is a big no no for us!

Got showered and changed and left the room at about 8ish. Had a quick look round the shops in the Bellagio first. Had some lovely shoes in the Sarah Jessica Parker store. Unfortunately out of my price range though!

Stopped to watch another fountains show, this time it was just to a piece of music. Really beautiful. Now power walked up to the Mirage to watch the 9pm volcano eruption show. Just made it with a couple of minutes to spare!

A great little show, not as good as the fountains though.
We now went into the Mirage and sat and had a drink.

My feet were killing me and on quick inspection I had 2 massive blisters, one on each ball of the foot. That would be the 26000 steps I’d done today then
It was lovely to sit down and rest. We ordered a vodka and cranberry for me and a Bud Light for Jim. Jesus it was strong!

It was now gone 10pm so we took a slow amble back to the Bellagio soaking up the last of the Strip

Also watched our 3rd fountains show.

And Jim got accosted by the Vegas Showgirls! He looks really put out doesn't he

We were a bit peckish so decided to order some room service as we just wanted to chill out.
Called in our order once back in the room and ordered some chicken tenders with buffalo dipping sauce for me, a club sandwich for Jim and some fries to share.
It took nearly an hour to get delivered but we called Jim’s parents in the mean time to check how Boris was. He was completely back to normal thank god but we will take him back to the vets when we get home for an MRI just to be safe.

The food arrived just after midnight and was very nice, well it should be for $58 Thankfully we had the credit on our account that covered it!

Bedtime came shortly after once we let our food go down. There was a strong smell of cannabis in our room and as we were on a no smoking floor it really annoyed me
I cannot stand the smell and was making me feel sick so a quick phone call down to the front desk and they said they’d send security up to sort it. Didn’t hear anything so I assume whoever was smoking stopped.

Tomorrow going home day

[JoS]

Hope Boris is ok now? Another fun filled day. Did you do the scenic drive at Red Rock or just the feast buffet? We stayed the night at red rock, and ate at the buffet which was very good. The deserts were delicious. Far cheaper than eating on the strip, but I suppose you could expect that. Shame about the noise at Bellagio. Must have been renovating something? We had a lovely room and no noise whatsoever. At least they gave you a little bit of compensation. Great day and thanks for sharing.

[Goldia]

Lots of great photos today of the strip. Your poor feet though, ouch! It really sounds like a fun day apart from the feet!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by JoS

Hope Boris is ok now? Another fun filled day. Did you do the scenic drive at Red Rock or just the feast buffet? We stayed the night at red rock, and ate at the buffet which was very good. The deserts were delicious. Far cheaper than eating on the strip, but I suppose you could expect that. Shame about the noise at Bellagio. Must have been renovating something? We had a lovely room and no noise whatsoever. At least they gave you a little bit of compensation. Great day and thanks for sharing.

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He is absolutely fine thanks Jo. His MRI has come back clear so we're not really sure what to think!
No we didn't do the scenic drive, I really wish we did as well as Valley of Fire that we missed out on. Next time for sure! I couldn't believe how much cheaper it was, if that had been on the Strip it would easily have been $40 each
Really odd about the noise, I understand they need to fix or renovate but not at 7.50 in the morning. Can you imagine if you were massively hung over, you would not have been happy

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Lots of great photos today of the strip. Your poor feet though, ouch! It really sounds like a fun day apart from the feet!

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Thanks Abby!
I couldn't believe the size of the blisters, they were huge My body really didn't know what hit it this week

[juliab]

Lots of fantastic photo's. Well you didn't need to go to the gym today not with all that walking you did!
Buffet looked like it was good value.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by juliab

Lots of fantastic photo's. Well you didn't need to go to the gym today not with all that walking you did!
Buffet looked like it was good value.

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I haven't walked that far in a long long time, my feet certainly took a hammering! It was good fun though!
Buffet was so good and amazing value compared to the Strip. If you can get there I would highly recommend it

[WileyCoyote]

What fabulous pics from today , loved it all.
Complete pain about the noise . Not good.
Am glad Boris was ok. It is a worry leaving those fur babies behind ( never mind the kids eh !).
Your morning exploring looked brilliant and lunch well worth the drive too . Seems like a proper feast on offer.
A great last night seeing the fountains but ouch your poor feet 🦶

[smithlane]

Thank you Amanda.
I know it was a pain, thank god I was awake otherwise I would have been VERY annoyed. I don't like being woken up at the best of times
He is absolutely fine now thank goodness. The seizures are so strange, they are over as quick as they start but the vet isn't concerned at the moment . They're such a worry aren't they!
I wish we'd gone to that buffet before. It's such great value and very tasty too.
I think my feet have only just got over the holiday and we've been back a month