At about 8:40 the next morning we flew to London Heathrow, arriving at 10:10, then got the 14:30 flight to Chicago, arriving at 17:00 Central Time (6 hours behind GMT). The connecting flight to Las Vegas left at 20:45, and we got in at 23:00 Pacific Time (8 hours behind GMT).
Unfortunately our suitcase didn't turn up, so after a bit of a wait we hopped onto a Grey Line shuttle bus which took us to Circus Circus. First stop after checking in was the Pink Pony restaurant in the hotel where we had the Graveyard, an all-night breakfast for $3.99! That gave us the energy to walk down the Strip as far as Treasure Island, taking in the bright lights, before falling into bed around 4am.
Monday 1st May, we spent the day wandering down Las Vegas Boulevard. We walked all the way down the Strip, stopping at Fashion Show Mall for a look round the Apple Store and then the Forum Shops in Caesar's Palace for dinner at Planet Hollywood. The Bellagio fountains also put on a good show, the jets of water are synchronised with music and are lit up at night.
We got the wee monorail from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay (these places are all hotel and casino 'resorts', with shops and restaurants to boot), and picked up tickets at the House of Blues for a gig the following evening. Then it was into MGM Grand to see the lions in their enclosure before catching a ride on the new Las Vegas Monorail. That transported us all the way back up the Strip to the Sahara, just across the street from our hotel.
We went to bed for a snooze at about 5:30pm meaning to head back out later and ended up sleeping right through to the following morning. Bloody jetlag!
Our suitcase was finally delivered early on the Tuesday. To celebrate we walked further up the Strip to the Stratosphere Tower for dinner in the Top of the World restaurant. Located more than 800 feet above Las Vegas at the top of the Tower, the restaurant "features culinary delights served in an elegant atmosphere, with unparalleled views as the restaurant revolves 360 degrees in one hour and 20 minutes." No word of a lie! The photo below shows Beth on the scooter we hired from Circus Circus with the Tower in the background.
After our steak and eggs, we took in the fantastic view from the observation deck over Las Vegas to the desert and mountains beyond. The photos just didn't do it justice.
Back down at street level, we took the Monorail as far as Bally's and then tried to get to the Hard Rock Cafe (a couple of blocks off the Strip) on foot in 100 degree heat. After about a block we thought better of it and sought refuge in the air conditioned sanctuary of MGM Grand. From there we followed the walkways that take you over the Strip, through New York, New York, round by Excalibur and on to the Luxor.
The next couple of photos show the view up the Strip, and the Statue of Liberty outside New York, New York. If you look really hard, you may be able to see the replica Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas casino in the first picture, "rendered meticulously at 1/2 scale"...
The Luxor is a giant black glass, concrete and steel pyramid incorporating a hotel and casino, but we were there to take in a 3D movie at the IMAX cinema. After being transported to the moon and back (Walking on the Moon 3D, narrated by Tom Hanks!) we went for some Mexican food at a restaurant in Mandalay Bay, before returning to House of Blues for the Joe Satriani gig at night. We got the Monorail back to Circus Circus afterwards.
On Wednesday 3rd May we caught the shuttle bus back to the airport for the 11:50 flight to Orange County....