Oh Fudge, I'm Forty! Vegas Trip - Day 6

[neilhd]

Day 6 - Friday 13th July

Our last day! We've not been here long. At times it seems like we've been here longer than that, and at other times it's felt like we could easily have spent another week here!

We both woke up at about 4am needing the loo. Ele stayed awake (or so she claimed), but I got back to sleep again and woke up at 07:30.

We packed up a few things then went downstairs to get breakfast. The hotel gift shop is right there too, so first we went in there and bought a load of things that we probably didn't need. I got a cap, we got Joe some Venetian golf balls, we bought some chocolates and a few packs of playing cards that are used ones from the casino. We then went to the Bouchon Bakery, which is a basically a food-stand that sells the same pastries and stuff that they sell in the Bouchon restaurant. I had a bacon, egg and cheese croissant and Ele had a muffin. We also got coffee and took it up to our room to eat, using the living-room part of the room for the first and last time!

I loved the room - it was huge - but it did prove the point that we didn’t need all that space!

We packed up the rest of the stuff and were out the room by 10am. Checkout time was 11. We dropped our bags at luggage services and then filled out an express-checkout form. I accidentally pocketed the nice Venetian pen. Silly me!

First order of the day was to see Red Rock Canyon so we got in the car, put the top down and drove there. It took about 30 minutes to get there. It was yet another stunning place. We paid the entrance fee and drove in to the scenic loop, which is a long drive (13 miles I think) in a loop with several parking spots on the way. Having a convertible was brilliant for this, as you could see all around you as you drove along and really felt part of it.

We stopped at a few of the points and took many pictures. It wasn't quite so hot today.

Almost looks like she's standing in front of a painted wall:

The 'Stang:

A great way to spend an hour or two. When were done we headed back into Vegas and went back to the Premium Outlets as we weren't done shopping yet!

First port of call was Vans, to get a pair for Jess as a thanks-for-looking-after-Joe present. They didn't have the ones she wanted in there, but they did have them in Journeys which was opposite.

We hadn't had much breakfast and were hungry. Luckily there was a Cheesecake Factory there. We popped in and as we were only a party of 2 were seated immediately. The place was packed. I ordered a club sandwich and Ele had a skinny chicken sandwich of some sort. Neither of us could finish it. With some soft drinks the bill was $38.

We went into Banana Republic which is one of Ele's favourite stores. She bought a load of stuff for herself and a scarf for her sister who was taking us to and from the airport. I bought a pair of shorts in the clearance for a crazily cheap price and also a couple of t-shirts. Again we had some sort of coupon to give us further money off.

We then went into Tommy Hilfiger Kids and got a few bits for Joe who can just about fit into the biggest size and also a few cute little baby bits for my sister who is due to give birth in September. We got a t-shirt for our existing niece, too.

Then into the proper Tommy Hilfiger where I was after a few shirts. The selection in here was actually very poor, and also quite expensive and in the end, like a losing contestant on The Weakest Link, I left with nothing. I'll just have to try in Florida!

We got a Starbucks and sat for a bit by some misting fans drinking them, then paid another visit to Fossil as I decided I wanted a new wallet too as the prices were so good. I got one that wasn't quite as nice as the one I got Joe (his is really nice and soft) but still good. Ele found a bag she really liked and really wanted so we got that, too. It wasn't quite mega-cheap, but would have cost a lot more the UK.

We were finally done and so drove back to the hotel, parked the car and went to luggage services to retrieve our luggage. The bellhops aren't allowed to take them to cars, but instead of having to walk them all through the hotel, and the casino to get around to the parking garage elevators he told us to stay outside, walk through the "no public access" sign and go to the end and that'd take us to the elevators. That was a lot easier! He had undoubtedly seen that I was holding a note in my hand ready to give him as a tip. He definitely earned the $5 for the advice, although by Vegas standards that's probably a derisory tip!

We spent a few minutes putting our new purchases into the suitcases. We were now over the normal 23kg limit on one of them but with our luggage allowance between the 2 of us being a ridiculous 6 cases, each weighing up to 32kg this was no cause for concern!

With the hood up on the car we managed to just about get one case into the boot along with our cabin case, and we put the other one on the back seat. There was a big queue of stationary traffic just outside the hotel that took a few minutes to clear, and then we headed off to the airport. I stopped on the way and filled up the car which was about $25 and we soon arrived at the car rental return. There were no issues with this and we got the $0 owing ticket from the guy and went out to find the shuttle bus back to the terminal.

There was a bit of a queue so we didn't get on the bus that pulled up as we joined it, but got on the next one that arrived immediately as the first one departed. The driver was a very cheerful fellow who saw my t-shirt that had "Brooklyn Street, NYC" on it and got very excited about it. "Brooklyn Street! No way, I grew up on Brooklyn Street! You gotta give me that shirt, man". I said if I did that then I'd be half naked and nobody wanted to see that!

He helped everyone with their luggage and then drove off to the terminal. The first stop was for domestic and everyone apart from us and a couple of Korean guys got off. We chatted to them for a couple of minutes and then we arrived at the second stop, where the driver got our luggage off for us. He was a very helpful man I must say. Definitely American-style service.

We went into the Terminal and found the BA check-in desk, and the special First Class line. Oh yes, we are in First Class on this flight!

A lady appeared at the First Class desk and the man marshalling the line told us to go up. The lady said to him "this is for First Class only", so he asked us if we were. I guess we didn’t look like it!

She processed us speedily and professionally and asked if I needed assistance, and that they would wheel me all the way to the gate if I wanted. I declined it. We got our boarding cards. BA actually let you pre-book seats for free in First (how generous of them!), so we had chosen 2A and 3A months ago.

We went through the dedicated security line for First, which seemed to have quite a few people in it and I wondered if I'd have been better trying the special assistance line!

The sign said no need to remove shoes but they were making everyone do that anyway. Because I had a knee brace on I had to go through the whole body scanner rather than just the metal detector. The brace had metal supports inside it so of course showed up on the scanner, and they then spent ages faffing around with it, patting it and prodding it and even taking some sort of swab from it before deciding that my knee support provided no threat to national security and I was allowed to go through. They also decided to re-scan our rucksack whilst that was all going on. I've no idea why.

Las Vegas only has one airport Lounge so that's where we headed. We had plenty of time. We settled ourselves at a table and got some food. The selection wasn't amazing - we had a couple of sandwiches and some biscuits and cheese and other bits. I got a beer and some cokes from the bar. Ele ordered a coffee from a passing waiter and at some point they got me another beer, too.

I had heard a rumour of a shower in here so we investigated that. Turns out there was, and I got some towels from reception and had a quick shower, and changed into some non-sweaty clothes, more befitting of a First Class passenger of my status and importance. Ele didn't bother with a shower but just got changed.

We got bored with the Lounge and left, heading into Duty Free, where we bought nothing, and Hudson News to get some snacks just because.

When we walked back to our gate it looked like they were getting ready to start boarding soon, and there was a bit of a queue in the Group 1 line - which is for First Class, BA Gold Exec members, and Special Assistance. Quite a few people joined the queue after us.

They started boarding the special assistance first and then a guy came up and tried to go the front saying "But I'm in First Class!" Someone said, yes, this is the line for all Group 1 passengers. And he repeated "But I'm First Class!". Clearly he thought himself better and more important than anyone else in the line. Another passenger said to him "Yes, this is the line for First Class. You need to get to the back of it, buddy" and he slunk off with his self-importance crushed.

We were soon onto the plane - they had a separate walkway for First so you can avoid the riff-raff entirely. We turned left, of course, and were shown to our seats (not directed to them - shown to them). I know BA First Class is not as good as other airlines, but it was still quite special to be in there. The cabin is small, but spacious, and has a real premium feel to it. You don't just have the plain windows on the side, they are covered with privacy glass all along which I presume also insulates the noise a bit as it seemed fairly quiet in there. The seats were large and comfortable and everything was just very nice indeed.

Ele didn't like it at all.

What she didn't like was the isolation. She much prefers to sit side-by-side and be able to talk and communicate and not be shut-off and by yourself.

I loved it, for the exact same reasons!

To be fair there are 2 rows of 2 middle seats, but we had picked these ones as being by the window might be nice.

We were offered champagne or orange juice and were given a bottle of water. I chose the OJ, but probably should have had the champers as presumably it was nice! We were also each given a Liberty London wash bag (different for men and ladies) and a pair of pyjamas and some slippers. Ele put hers on immediately (although she threw them away when we got home. I'm keeping mine forever!)

After take off I ordered a G&T, which was served with some nice warm nuts (it's amazing what the stewardesses are willing to do in First Class), and then Ele and I decided to eat together. The foot-stool that forms part of the bed can be used as a perch for someone to sit on so you can sit opposite each other and have dinner on the large table. This is a pretty cool idea, although I am quite large, and the space is quite cramped. If we had a middle-row seat not a window seat there would have been a lot more shoulder room but as it was I was squeezed up against the fuselage.

Ele with a G&T and special pyjamas:

Dinner table:

This is the First Class menu:

Incidentally you eat when you want, not when they decide to serve it!

We had the ham and cheese amuse bouche and then I had the goats cheese filo pasty as a starter. For mains, Ele went for the chicken and I had the fillet steak. I must say - the steak was amazing. If I went to a posh restaurant and received that steak I would be impressed. It was tender, tasty, and perfectly cooked. By far the best food I have ever had on a plane. I washed it down with a very pleasing Pinot Noir. For dessert Ele had the Sticky Toffee Pudding and I just had ice cream.

With dinner over, I went to get into my PJs and asked the stewardess if should could make my seat up into a bed for me. Incidentally they call you by name in First Class. Not first name, of course, but surname. I must say the service was impeccable.

When I got back, my seat had been laid flat, with an extra pillow put on it and a duvet that was kind of like a sleeping bag, to double as a matress as well. I settled myself in:

I popped open the TV and started to watch Pacific Rim 2 on my amazing Bose noise-cancelling headphones. I had no expectations that I would finish the film and sure enough I fell asleep, waking up just before the end as I was busting for the loo.

I then dozed the rest of the way home, waking up about 90 minutes before landing. Ele decided to visit me for breakfast. We had croissants and omelettes and orange juice and coffee. The first couple of coffees were ok and then the stewardess came back and said they'd got the better machine working so would we like another cup of the better stuff? We did, and it was definitely nicer!

We got dressed, I brushed my teeth with the things from the lovely wash bag, and our beds were converted back into seats and it was soon time to land. We landed exactly on time I think.

Naturally, we were the first group off the plane.

I loved First Class. There's a good chance I'll never do it again, but at least I have now done it which is more than most people can say. The service and food were perfect, and the cabin, whilst not up to the likes of other carriers, was still amazing. That said, I'd never pay for it. I'd possibly pay for business class, but I don’t think the jump is worth that much extra money. Club Word is probably 80% of the product for 50% of the price and certainly good-enough if I were using my own hard-earned. But for basically free with Avios? I'll take it! Shame Ele didn’t like it. If we ever did it again I'd get middle seats so were are a bit more together (although I liked the alone time to be honest!)

Anyway, back to reality as we started to traverse the airport as the plane seemed to have parked miles away. There was no queue at passport control and we were immediately through, using the automated machines.

Our bags came through very quickly (priority, obviously) and we were through customs and out in no time. I think we were literally 15 minutes from getting off the plane to getting past customs. We've never been through that quickly.

Saffron (Ele's sister) was nowhere to be seen as she hadn't arrived yet. We walked to the pickup point in the short-stay carpark as that was obviously going to be easier than her parking and coming into the terminal. When she arrived I pointed out that I had told her that our limo driver in Vegas hadn't been there, and that she had said she would definitely be there, but wasn't… It wasn't her fault though - she had hit some traffic on the M25 and hadn't imagined we'd be out the airport that quickly. Normally plane-to-customs time is about an hour! Incidentally, driving into the car park and immediately out again still costs £4!

We drove home without incident and saw Jess and Joe. Joe was very excited to see us, and had baked us some scones!

Turns out the TSA had searched one of our bags, but had actually left everything neat and tidy and even put the luggage tag back on correctly - through the zip like I had done. Makes a change to them messing it all up, throwing away the tag, ripping out the stuck-on insoles of shoes and breaking the built-in (TSA) lock on the case like happened to Jess when she came back from New York last year…

And so, that was that!

POST-TRIP

I loved Vegas. I want to go back when I'm more mobile and see more of it. There's so many hotels we didn't go into (New York New York, MGM, Paris and loads more). I could easily spend a lot longer there. Whilst a lot of it isn't for me - I'm not a party person, or a gambler - there is a lot that I liked. The hotels are amazing, there's a million incredible restaurants, and the scenery when you drive out is almost unreal.

Having a bad knee really restricted me getting around. When I first saw the consultant he thought I had a torn meniscus and provisionally booked me in for surgery. If that had happened then I would have just about got better in time for this trip with 3 and a half weeks to recover. However the scan didn't show it, so we tried draining and injecting. This didn't help and we ran out of time, so I had to go away with it unfixed. Before we went it wasn't too bad but it really swelled on the flight and was quite bad when we were there, probably not helped by the heat and loads of walking… At least I had a crutch to use! I then had the surgery a week after getting back and have 3.5 weeks to recover before Florida, which requires even more walking! At the time of writing I'm 3-weeks post surgery and feeling ok, but not great. It's a bit weak and "clunky" and has swollen up again in the past couple of days - probably because I've started to do more at the gym (so I've stopped going again) but I'll just have to get on with it. if it had just shown on the MRI scan then all of this would have been not a problem. Really annoyed about that.

So, one day I'm sure we'll return! We are thinking of doing a west-coast road trip with Joe in 2020, and if we do (it's still only an idea at the moment) then we'd probably start off in Vegas, although that'd only be a couple of days. I'd like to do it again properly though. Perhaps the next lot of Avios I get could pay for it…. Hmm, have to see what Ele says!

Next up though is Florida on the 19th August… It's our first visit there in 3 years. That has all gone very wrong at the last minute though… if you want to find out why you'll have to read the Pre-Trip for that report…

We're going back to Florida. What happens next will SHOCK YOU!

Thanks for reading!

[Sam_Smith]

Thanks for posting. Loved reading your report as we went in Feb this year, and I recognised loads

If we go back I would stay at the Venetian. It was my favourite hotel

[clochette]

Seems like you had a great trip, in spite of your knee. Like you I'm not big on gambling or partying but I would go back to Vegas like a shot; I just loved it.

I am very jealous of your first class experience - I don't think that will ever be an ootion, but I can dream!

Looking forward to your Florida trippie.

[Joosebug1987]

Really enjoyed your trip report - thanks for writing!

Time flies when you're having fun. Glad to hear you will be likely to return. We went a few years ago for a "once in a lifetime" trip and are currently looking at booking our 4th visit as just love the shows. Lots of questions of "best meal", "best burger", "best pizza", "best show" are all answered in Vegas for me!

Looking forward to the Florida trippie - very jealous!x

[smithlane]

Fantastic trippie thank you for posting! We are going in Feb for my OH’s 40th, minus kids too - Yay! We love a good steak so will look into the restaurant you went to for your birthday.

[neilhd]

Originally Posted by smithlane

Fantastic trippie thank you for posting! We are going in Feb for my OH’s 40th, minus kids too - Yay! We love a good steak so will look into the restaurant you went to for your birthday.

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Great plan - Vegas for a 40th is a good thing! Feb will be a much better temperature as well.

[cornishfrogboy]

Really interesting report, different, humorous and not endless pictures of food (just good ones). Will be bookmarking your experience for future reference.
Thankyou.

[jobelly]

After seeing one of your messages on the social group I realised I had missed out on a couple of your TR’s so had a great few days reading them and really fancy s trip to Niagara.
Before kids we did a New York and California trip plus Vegas and my husband was on crutches following a cartilage op and the crutches plus a letter (shows how long ago it was!) gave us a few nice upgrades. Just in case you ever holiday on crutches Again!
Thanks for taking the time to write your reports.