Vegas for my 50th - Day 3 - The High Roller

[Sam_Smith]

So after such a long day again yesterday, we were in bed very early again. I'm 50 now so I don't have the stamina I used to!

The day started predictably early and the strip was almost deserted!

I had pre booked tickets for the High Roller today but I was hoping to do that later; once it was dark. We'll see how we go with that one then! Firstly we planned to walk the strip again and have a look inside some more of the hotels, so we made our way up to where we finished on Day 1 and went into the Bellagio.

As it is the Chinese year of the dog the hotel had created an incredible display. Apparently they had to remove part of the glass dome ceiling to get in in there!

Next stop was Caesars Palace.

It is a beautiful hotel but a bit of an anti climax after the Bellagio. It is also important to say here that it is impossible to just walk through the hotels. They are immense and they just keep on going and going - the check in connects to the shopping districts (yes I said districts!) and food halls, which in turn connect to the casinos and card halls. Then there is and endless amount of bars, with lounge spaces and restaurants, and don't forget the outside spaces too! You end up actually walking about 6 times as far once you enter a hotel, and finding the way out is a challenge too!

So once outside again we are near enough opposite the Linq Promenade, and our tummies are rumbling, so we go in search of food.

It's now 10:30 and we find Canter's Deli, which is pretty full and smells of bacon! Always a good sign

DH has 3 eggs over easy with bacon, hash browns and buttered toast

and I go for the banana pancakes

the waitress asked if I wanted some bacon on the side and I declined. Just as well really as this was an epic fail on my part!

We finished up by 11:05am and paid the bill. $29.12 plus tip. Would definitely recommend Canter's

Next stop was the Sky Shop - yes the High Roller has a gift shop too!

$14.60 spent on a pressie for my Mum, which included a 10% discount because we had High Roller tickets - result!

Just outside the Sky shop is the escalator up to the ticket office, so we decided to go and exchange our voucher for real tickets. Easy to do, and saved us queuing later on.

We then made our way back out onto the strip, stopping at "Welcome to Las Vegas", which is what I describe as a tat store! Fabulous!

Another $17.27 spent on pressies for home. Shot glasses 6 for $10 and a posh one for me to keep

Back out on the strip and we decide to stay on the Linq side and walk back down towards Paris, taking photos of the hotels on the opposite side. The sidewalk gets very narrow in places which makes it quite busy, and there are a few people begging along the strip.

I notice one guy in particular as he has a dog with him. Not just any dog - this was a massive pit bull who was sat half on the pavement and half on the guys lap. As I got closer, I noticed the dog had his toe nails painted all different colours It was sooooo sweet.

Then I saw the reason for this guy begging. He was an army vet, but such a young guy. He had a photo on a board next to him, of his injuries. An explosion had hit him in the face He was obviously scarred and had no eyes! OMG it was so sad. I am in tears just remembering him as I write this.

I crouched down and spoke to him, and asked if it was OK if I petted the dog. He said of course, and told me his name was Kitty - because he was such a pussy cat! He told me he had been to the vets for a check up, and the girls there had painted his nails!

He was such a lovely guy, and I gave him a note into his hand, so it didn't blow away. I asked they guy if I could shake him by the hand, and thanked him for his service, before leaving. I will never forget him or Kitty

Next stop was the Venetian. Wow what a beautiful hotel this is. I would definitely stay here if we ever return. Photo overload coming up!

Inside was just stunning and it had a lovely calm atmosphere. We sat and listened to the gondoliers singing to the people in the boats.

This was actually all inside!

Back out into the sunshine and it was around 2pm by now. We were flagging, and we spotted a place on the opposite side of the strip, which looked welcoming. Gilley's!

It was next door to Treasure Island so we stopped for a few photos next to the pirate ships. We got talking to a guy who tried to sell us a trip to the Canyon, and he told us that there used to be a show a few times a day, with pirates battling each other, and this ship actually used to sink into the moat - completely disappearing from view!

He told us that they no longer do the show as one of the actors was injured, and he sued the hotel for millions! Not sure how true this was though.

We sat out on the deck overlooking the strip, and spent an hour or two getting decidedly squiffy! It doesn't take much these days!

Once recharged we stayed on the same side and walked back up towards the Linq hotel; crossed over on a walkway - getting a great view of the Stratosphere - before going inside the Linq.

Another very beautiful hotel. Back outside into the Linq Promenade we found Ghiradelli's

Well it would be rude not to, so 1 Treasure Island and 1 Presidio Passion. $25.87

Even though we took our time, it was still only just after 4pm by the time we had finished. There was no way we could wait until dark for the High Roller, so we decided to go for it

When we got up the escalators to the ticket desk there was a huge queue, so I was glad to have already got the tickets.

We boarded the pod with one other couple

It was a superb flight!

With stunning views only obscured by the sun going down!

A view of the Bellagio fountains too

Only took about 40 minutes from start to finish, but definitely worth a go

We left the pod and decided to have a look in the Flamingo hotel, which has actual flamingos in it! Our driver on day 2 had told us that the hotel was originally owned by a mafia boss who named it after his girlfriend, who had long skinny legs!

At the back of the hotel we found a monorail station, and decided to take the train back to the other end of the strip, as we had walked ourselves into the ground today!

$10 for 2 tickets isn't the best way to use the monorail, as you can get day tickets which work out a lot cheaper, but we were exhausted

The plan was to just have a rest so we could actually get to see the strip at night, but there was no way we could go back out after all the walking today. By 7pm I was hungry so I popped down to a Mexican called Baja Fresh which was in the Excaliber hotel and grabbed a steak and shrimp burrito which we shared in the room. $11.10

[Tweety1]

Looks like you had a fab day... we just got back last week from Vegas you are right the hotels are massive!
Quick question has the weather cooled down as you both have coats on and it was unbearable when we were there (116 deg). So much so my eldest only braved the outside a few times

[Sam_Smith]

Originally Posted by Tweety1

Looks like you had a fab day... we just got back last week from Vegas you are right the hotels are massive!
Quick question has the weather cooled down as you both have coats on and it was unbearable when we were there (116 deg). So much so my eldest only braved the outside a few times

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Hi. This was February and the weather was nice and sunny, but there was a bit of a wind. In fact when we landed the plane nearly touched down but had to take off again and circle for 10 minutes and try again because the wind was too blustery to land! Took us by surprise at the time. We thought it was going to be the fastest Vegas visit in history