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Unlike the day before, we did manage to get up at a reasonable time yesterday. Popped into Starbucks (again) for a coffee to get us going. We dint want a big brekko, just a quick pit stop on our way to the Strip. Just as well we weren't starving because they had sh1t all and the girls working there were a right miserable bunch of pr@ts. Nick said he didn't want anything cos he wanted to give his belly a rest. I ended up with the only thing they had. Sausage, egg and cheese muffin. For someone that wanted to give their belly a rest, he did a good job of sharing it.
Only had to go to the end of the road to find a taxi. He took us to the first monorail station. We bought a ticket so we could hop on and off all day.
First stop was the MGM Grand. We walked all the way through it to get to the bridge that crossed over to the New York, New York. We hiked through the casino until we found the little village bit that I love. By the time we got there, Nick decided his belly had had enough of a rest so he bought a sandwich. A sandwich as big as his head! It had corned beef, pastrami, turkey, coleslaw …….
Taking one for the team, like you do, I shared it with him. At the time, it was surprisingly tasty but the bloody thing repeated on me all day. We sat outside the sandwich shop in one of the little replica streets. We've seen them all before but I loved them just as much. They even have the little drain covers that steam, just like the real New York. Took exactly the same pictures as I did 6 years ago, even down to the fridge full of meat to show Dad.
We went outside this time and saw the Brooklyn Bridge. This time next year and I'll be getting ready to go for real!
Having done all of the investigating we wanted we hopped back on the monorail. Through Bally's and into the Paris. We haven't been in there before. It was stunning. Loads of little boutiques and French looking restaurants. Even the Arc'd Triumph and Eifel Tower. We didn't bother to go up it, not since we've been up the real thing. We got a drink and sat in the little outdoor bar in the shadow of the tower and slowly sweated to death. The plan was to get back on the monorail to the next stop but it was further to walk back to the station that it was to walk to the next stop. How's that work? So much for hopping on and off.
The Linq has now taken the place of our old hotel. The whole area is completely different. There's loads of shops, bars and restaurants in its place. It's also the home of the 'High Roller'. The Vegas version of the London eye. Nick wanted to get on it. I didn't. We compromised. And got on it. It was dauntingly big. Its 100ft taller than the London one, making it the worlds' tallest. Yay! Ideal for someone scared of heights. We got our tickets. The bloke did us a discount and gave us an OAP ticket. I laughed. Nick did not. Off we went to board. Just like the London Eye, it doesn't stop moving. The pods pass by and you have to step on. Or at least normal people do. I hate stepping onto moving things so Nick got on and then dragged me behind him. So elegant. There was plenty of room in the pod, especially seeing as there were only 6 people in ours. Pod number 13 I might add. That didn't go unnoticed let me tell ya. I sat down in the first available seat and that was where I stayed. I never moved a muscle. At one point, when we were right at the top, the wheel stopped moving. Nick said it was so they could load disabled people on. Seemed feasible to me. Once we got off he let slip that he lied. He couldn't see them loading disabled people on at all. He just said that to prevent me going into one. That's all very well and good but he's not meant to tell me he lied! Next time I'll know he's lying and go into one anyway! It wasn't that good. The scenery wasn't that astounding, from what I could see. London's skyline is better by far.
A cheeky Starbucks when we got off sorted me out. Not for the first time this holiday I wished I counted them. It also gave me a chance to scrutinise my smashing, new, silvery, sparkly flip flops. I wore flats cos I knew we'd be doing lots of walking but they killed the balls of my feet. The new flip flops really helped but the damage was done. I had, and still have, a ginormous blister on my foot. I've been a waking disaster this holiday.
It was cloudy by the time we hit the Strip again. As we crossed the road to the Mirage it actually started raining. There must have been about a dozen drops. That was it. Start to finish it lasted about 10 seconds haha.
Like the saddos we are, we went into the Mirage just so we could see the check in desk from Chevy's Vegas. Really tickled us both, knowing it all took place in the very spot where we were standing. We recited lines form the scene, cracked up laughing, took pictures and left. We were on the last leg of our journey by that point. The plan had been to go from there to Bellagio, Cosmo for dinner, Caesars for cheesecake and back to the station. Just saying it makes my feet throb.
Much to Nicks dismay we found ourselves in the Bellagio for the second time. We passed through first thing but this time we headed to the lobby. Mainly cos Oceans 11 was filmed there. We got to the palatial lobby after nothing short of a 90 mile hike but I'm so glad we did. My soles were on fire but when I saw the Fall display my burning feet were long forgotten. They had the most amazing autumn display. Hundreds of pumpkins, a talking tree, flowers, brown and russet trees, little fairy lights …. It was breathtakingly pretty. Nick dashed around in 2 mins, wagging the Gopro above his head then he stood on the outskirts, like a was waiting outside a shop, while I took photos of every single bit of it. That, coupled with the Christmas displays lots of the shops already had, really was the icing on my cake.
It gave me the renewed energy I needed to drag my exhausted arse to the Cosmopolitan. We could see it as soon as we came out of the Bellagio. It looked right next door. Haha! There's a joke. Everywhere is such a mission. It's so different from Fremont street. I actually think, as exciting as Vegas can be, it's just too much like hard work. Just when I really was giving up the will to live we made it. Thank feck for that! My mistake. 20 more minutes walking inside the hotel to reach the Wicked Spoon Buffett. I was so knackered by the time we arrived at our table I wasn't actually sure I was hungry. In fact, I think it would be fair to say I felt sick. And thirsty. We got sat down and I had a drink and took 5 minutes to collect myself. Then we got stuck in. They had anything and everything. Nick started off with about 100 crab legs. He was super excited about them. I had a couple but it's too much faffing about. I've never been a fan of food I have to keep touching. If someone had picked it from the shell and fed me the succulent flesh I might have been more impressed. No one did. Not even Nick. Having said that, it's a lot of effort for a piddly bit of meat. Everything was served in tiny little portions so you could sample everything. So we did. It was delicious. We thought we might have dinner there and go to the cheesecake factory for afters. If my life had depended on it I couldn't have made it there. If I'd have tried I'd have arrive dead. I'm certain of it. Instead we had a delectable array of puddings there. I even got to wash it all down with a mug of piping hot, good old fashioned, English Breakfast Tea. It was smashing. Despite the prestigiousness of the place, I was surprised to see numerous people poking cookies into their hand bags. What is that all about? If you can afford to eat there you can afford to buy a packet of biscuits. I saw one woman stuff 16 cookies in to her bag. Peasants!
Now absolutely full to bursting and even more weary having had a rest, we had to do the whole journey in reverse to make it back to the monorail station. Which some b***** had clearly moved while we were stuffing our faces. It seemed further away than ever before. I am 100% certain that we could have walked home in the time it took to walk to the station. We walked back past the place where Nick has his aqua massage, retracing each and every one of our steps. It took 35 minutes to get to the train, the train journey with a policeman and a rather unfriendly German shepherd called Ross, and finally a taxi from the Sahara to here. I was on the verge of crying by the time the cab dropped us off. It was the longest day. I've got a huge blister on my foot and a weird rash on the bottoms of my legs. Hoping it's a combination of sun burn and heat stroke. Fingers crossed it hurries up and goes. I've got calves like corned beef hash at the moment.
We got in, fell into bed and that's where we stayed. I don't think I moved a muscle in the night. The bed is so big I don't even know Nicks in it. Its lovely. I could have happily stayed in bed all day, however, despite all that we ate last night, Nick wants a breakfast buffet.
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