A slow start after the last few eventful days. Hey, we needed it. Heck, we deserved it...
We headed out at 10.30am looking for a light brunch and a longer walk to work off all the food and drink of the last few days.
We first headed to the flamingo habitat at... the Flamingo. We had heard from Alan that it was quite well done and we wanted to see the Flamingo's flamingos. Enough!
The flamingo exhibit did not disappoint although we were a bit worried about the single black Australian swan. He/she needed a mate and Alan had mentioned smuggling it home. No, Al, Australian customs services would not appreciate that...
The fun thing about the Flamingo is the mobster history. Bugsy Siegel, the infamous mobster, built the first Flamingo hotel and casino. He then lived on the top floor with lots of security, bullet proof glass and secret exits. But he eventually got shot visiting his girlfriend in Beverly Hills. Not in Vegas. There is always a weak spot...
Finally we for hungry after dreading food for much of the morning. Yes, no kidding. We really ate that much last night. It was about 11am so we stopped at Earl of Sandwich in the Miracle Mile shops in Planet Hollywood. We've become fans of this place - great hot sandwiches and soups. We shared a sandwich and had a small soup cup each and that was enough to keep us going.
Time for walking... South. On the strip.
Good thing we wore our Mammut rain jackets as the light showers continued and the weather could not seem to make up its mind on whether it was to become sunny or become rainy.
We wandered south to MGM Grand. Hans has stayed there in 1997 and wanted to see if it had changed much. Nope. Much was as he remembered.
On the way through MGM Grand we came across the Big Bang Theory pokie machine and we just had to play it. Of course we lost!
We now realise how upmarket and well kept Caesars Palace is. Compared to nearly all the casinos we've seen it's ornate and well maintained. Flamingo looks a bit tired, so too does Treasure Island and we found MGM Grand the same. We also visited New York New York where Di has stayed before.
Amazing that they brought the Statue of Liberty all the way here from Ellis Island. Quite an achievement.
New York New York looked pretty good but by then we were ready to go to somewhere new.
A ride on the monorail to further north on the Strip was on the agenda so we headed behind MGM Grand.
On the way Hans got sentimental because he remembered Jeremy trying to imitate the lady in this sign when Jeremy was just 3 years old. He was sitting in his stroller, saw the neon sign with the leg moving up and down, jumped off the stroller and tried to do the same on the floor here. Needless to say, quite a few passers by also thought that it was charming.
We bought a ticket for the monorail and jumped on. It was a fun trip because we saw all the back of the strip and it is definitely not pretty. Lots and lots of huge car parks and parking stations, service entries and dumping grounds behind each Casino show you the true workings.
We took the monorail all the way to the end where the station is SLS Casino (which means Super Lucky Spin). The end of the line.
Walking back added several kilometres to our exploring and took us past Circus Circus and some half built and seemingly abandoned buildings. The northern part of South Las Vegas Boulevard is not the pretty end of Las Vegas.
The big thing at this end of town is the new Las Vegas Convention Centre which is huge, and expanding. Otherwise, mmmm, not that much to write about.
We took ourselves back to Caesars Palace with a dip in its famous pool on our mind. One problem... The big pool was closed due to "inclement weather".
Apparently that weather had not reached the adjacent but much smaller pool because that pool was open.
Warning, excessive amounts of lily white flesh well past their prime will now be displayed.
We used our daily $10 per person of resort credit for today towards a poolside drink each. Perfect way to relax in the sun by the pool!
After some nice vitamin D rays hitting the pale flesh, we went back to our room for a quick break and clean up before heading out for a show tonight at Planet Hollywood.
The show we chose was called The Vegas Show and was well rated in TripAdvisor (the travellers bible).
The show started at 7pm but we had to collect tickets first and have a bite of light dinner so we headed over to Planet Hollywood casino at 5.30pm. The theatre was nearby.
Good thing we did. The Saxe Theatre is at the back of the Miracle Mile shops at the back of Planet Hollywood Casino. And there was a long queue of people there to collect tickets even an hour before the show was to begin. It took about 15 minutes waiting in line before we had the tickets in our sweaty little hands.
Dinners were burgers and beer at the Ketchup Premium Burger Bar as they were offering their classic burger and a beer for $12. Will have to do. Unfortunately the beer choices were Bud Light or Stella so for any Australian there were really no choice. Bud Light does not go well with Australian tastes (too weak and watery).
We had to include this photo, which also shows the guy who served us, standing in the distance behind Di, in the red shirt. He was the slowest dopiest character we've met in a service role to date. It took about 5 minutes and 3 repetitions to get our order in and he kept hinting for a tip!
No way. A fast food counter joint with nil service. It was not going to happen. Apologies to the kitchen staff because the burgers were actually very good.
Onto our show and as usual "no photos" but again the Internet to the rescue.
The Vegas show was far better than we expected. Lots of music and staging from famous Las Vegas performers from the 40's to the 80's.
We got Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jnr to Sonny and Cher and Elton John.
Elvis was not impressive, we had better yesterday but the rest were excellent. Including a juggling acrobat who was amazing and a very funny comedian. And let's not forget the dancers/showgirls. Gorgeous, very fit, very flexible and lots of outfits featured G-Strings and bikini tops. Hans was seriously appreciating their musculature...and their very toned butts. Fantastic viewing.
The lead singer, an African American woman, was stunning and sang really well. Her Gladys Knight and The Pips interpretation of "Midnight Train to Georgia" was seriously memorable.
Our show finished after about 90 minutes and we headed "home" to Caesars Palace. Our last night in Las Vegas.
We have enjoyed everything but it is time to go back to a more normal life. For us that means a road trip to smaller towns and national parks for some hiking. Can't wait.
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