DAY 2
My name is Tony and I am an addict................no not gambling, I've been down the gym in our tower twice today! What's that all about!? Anyway, bit of a strange day today. after the gym this morning we made sure we got to pool 2 just after opening at 8am to make sure we could get an umbrella, it's just too damned hot to lie in the sun all day no shade. We knew we'd have to wait for the sun to come around the building, I thought it was about 10:30......ended up being half eleven! So we slapped on the factor 20 and settled down in the sun, in the knowledge that we had shade when we wanted it. 20 mins later the sky turned a dark shade of grey that I've never seen before in Vegas, everyone was made to get out the pool in case of lightning strikes. Then the wind went from nothing to about 30mile an hour so they had to get the brollies down before they blew over. Even though the sky was entirely grey everyone just sat there, as if it would suddenly crack apart and blue sky and sunshine would come through, like the second coming! All it did was rain lol, started very light but everyone packed up and went in. We took the opportunity to wash all our worn clothes and gym gear, because we have the Pentouse we have access to their laundry room with several washers and dryers, so we managed to get everything washed and dried in a couple of hours, we're going to do all our washing before we go home, very handy! Whilst we were back in the room waiting For the cloud to break, the heavens opened! I've only ever seen rain like that in Florida, amazing. But by 3pm ish it was clearing up and the sun was out so we went down and had a couple of hours by the pool.....no need for shade!
Went back to room around half five and that's when I had the urge to go back to the gym. We had Maggiano's booked for eight so I had time for a quick run. Came back at 6:10 chilled out for 15 mins then started to get ready to go out. Weather was fine now.
Got a cab from tower 1 down to the Wynne, cost 10.50, not bad, makes it as cheap as the monorail!
Had a little gamble on the slots for half an hour, got waitress service too which was good news as I needed a Corona! Didn't win. Walked over to Maggiano's at the Fashion Show Mall. It was rammed! When I said we had a reservation she said 'sensible man, we have an hour wait at the moment'! The Internet really is a great thing!!
Linda had chicken Parmesan and I had chicken and truffle tortecelli, both were absolutely delicious. We had two glasses of house red which wasn't bad and I couldn't resist having Tiramisu for dessert. OMG! The biggest dessert I have ever seen. It must have been about 5 or 6 inches square and about 2 and a half inches deep and was to die for! Total bill came to $61, absolute bargain. We love everything about this place and will go back later in the holiday. Walked over to TI and had a gamble on the slots.....no table games for me tonight, far too busy and as usual minimums go up. We did ok on thenslots and came away about 100 bucks up. We then walked down past Mirage, watched the volcano go off. Carried on down to Bellagio and went in for a gamble. Had some ups and downs, I had a good run on Zeus again. I also went on the $1 Wheel of Fortune machine playing 5 credits a time, going for the big one. I put a $100 in and after 4 spins I got the bonus and Spanish the wheel. Top prize was 2000 dollars.............what did I hit?..................nah, it was $40, poxy machine! Lol
I played down to a hundred and took it back out. We played a few different slots but endedup losing so we walked back, I got some decent looking photos on my new phone coming back, it has a really good camera o it so I'm hoping they come out really well. Got back in at 23:30, we're still catching up on sleep at the moment and are feeling tired still.
Tomorrow will be more sun hopefully. Tomorrow night we plan to go over to the Rio. We want to go in the Voodoo Lounge to try an infamous 'witches brew' cocktail. Then on to TGI's in Gold Coast for some of their amazing ribs! Yum!

Cheers,

TC

Thanks for the info on Gallaghers. The steaks are average price for Vegas, but the sides are cheaper and the wine is half the price at Alize so could be good value.

Vegas had bad weather with rain a couple of weeks ago so sounds like it's a bit unseasonal at the moment. We had rain on our last day last September. Amazing that a bit of drizzle caused chaos! The roads and pavements were really slippery.

Glad you managed to get out in the sun again.

We've only read good things about Maggiano's, but we've only eaten there once and didn't like it. I had the so-called half portion of a pasta dish and it would have fed 4 people, but it was pretty bland and tasteless so we haven't ventured back.

Keep it coming as I'm really enjoying your TR.

luci

I'm enjoying your updates. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thanks for the info on the Luxor, vegasone. it's much appreciated. I've been toying with spending some or all of our week there at MGM Grand but I'm just going to go ahead and book Luxor, I think. I'm pretty happy with that.

The pool won't be an issue as we're there over New Year!

Thanks again.

Wow, where have the last few days gone!!??
Day 3
We jumped in a cab and went over to the Rio. Popped upstairs to check what time the Voodoo lounge opened, it was 10pm. It was only 8pm at the time so we walked over to Gold Coast and went in TGI Fridays for some grub, I just had to have ribs! At this point Linda wasn't feeling great, she'd picked up a cold so we decided to give the Voodoo Lounge a miss as she couldn't really taste anything along with not feeling too good. We had a little gamble in Gold Coast, didn't have any luck at all and soon blew $100. Drinks service was non-existent, totally! So we jumped in a cab and went back to the Signature. A quiet day overall!
Day 4
Gym around 7:30am again. Almost seems normal getting up early for it now! Out to the pool afterwards, with a Starbucks......nice to start the day with a coffee! We have our pool routine sorted now. Off to pool 2 before 8:30am to grab a couple of beds with an umbrella. Then leave towels there and walk over to pool 1, as it has the sun from 8am. We lay in the sun for 3 hrs or so then move to pool 2 about 30 mins before the sun gets there at about 11:30. Only thing is, temps have been really high, so it's actually pretty difficult to lay in it still. Got to about 2pm today and we got a bit bored so went and showered/changed and got the monorail down to Ballys, had a mooch round then walked up to the Miracle Mile shops and did a bit of shopping. Time got on a bit so we ended up gambling in there too. Spent a few hours in there, I played table games and Linda played slots mainly. We were both down a bit and had about $120 left between us so we went to a $25 minimum roulette table and gambled! After a very successful little winning streak we came off with $300 so had got back a lot of our losses after a long time gambling so good times!
Time for food so we decided to pop over to the Harley Davidson cafe. I've been wanting to try a 'pulled pork' sandwich over here ever since I saw one on 'Man v Food' on TV, and they do them in the Harley cafe so I had that and Linda had Buffalo chicken sandwich. Food wasn't great, ok, so we won't be going back in there, it's also quite expensive for what it is. It was a good day in the end though and nice to get away from the pool For a bit.
DAY 5
Pick up the car today! Excellent, still feeling bored with the pool. We have shopping planned today, then we have the zip line at Bootleg Canyon booked for tomorrow followed by jet skiing at Lake Mead.
Used our monorail tickets from yesterday as they were still valid. Went to Paris to pick car up, booked through Auto Europe. I had pre-booked a Mazda 6 or equivalent but when we started going through the paperwork she said we could upgrade to a Camaro or Challenger for just $30 a day. Well I didn't need asking twice! I love muscle cars and have always liked Camaro's so I chose that. Turns out it is a yellow car too, perfect! (Just think Bumble Bee from the Transformers films and you know the car I mean). Absolutely gorgeous car, gets stares everywhere we go. I got the 'gold' option so it comes with a full tank of gas and all insurances. Drove out along the strip and went up to the outlet just past the airport. Not sure why we bother going here to be honest, it really isn't that good. After finishing there we drove down to the Downtown outlet, there are roadworks on I95 and traffic is at a standstill, even outside of rush hour, it's a nightmare! Finally got there. Managed to pick up a few bits and pieces between us. Then we set off for the TJ Maxx up on Rancho Drive, as we also wanted an 'In n 'Out burger for lunch. We remembered them being great but they really are totally amazing burgers, by far the best you can get anywhere. I made my way through downtown after the outlet to avoid the jam on I15. TJ Maxx wasn't great, didn't have much in the way of decent stuff. Made our way back around teatime and came back via Decatur road to avoid the I15 again, this was no hassle.
Last night we popped over to the Cosmopolitan. Signed up for their players card and got the $100 back if you lose $100 on the slots......something we're guaranteed to do! Had a good gamble in there, I played some table games and had a mare, lost heavily and actually almost ran out of money, I had just $50 left out of several hundred. Linda had been having similar luck on the slots. Drinks service was excellent and we were getting very regular drinks, in fact, this is the best cocktail waitress service I can remember in Vegas. As a last resort I finally put my last $50 into a wheel of fortune 25c slot. After a few spins I got the spin bonus and managed to get $350 so I cashed out straight away with $430......back in business! Ended up walking back down Harmon to the Sig at 02:30am with Linda rather the worse for wear Too many Cosmo's in the Cosmopolitan!!
Day 6
Had the zip line trip today, will write about it in a while, just have to say it was awesome! Loved every second of it. Just going to have a shower before going out tonight. Whilst we have the car we are going to drive over to the Orleans, then go Downtown.

Cheers

TC

Great times
I would love to rent the Camaro as well-pure beast of a car.
enjoy

Great stuff. Glad to see the cocktail service is still good at the Cosmo. When we were there they were coming thick and fast and the drinks were strong. It's a really nice hotel and casino.

Too bad you didn't like the Harley-Davidson Cafe. I didn't like it the first time we tried it, but thought I had made a bad choice having steak when it's not a steakhouse. I think I had a hot brisket sandwich the next time and hubby had a huge roast chicken dish, both were very good and I liked the cocktails there too. Hope you had a restaurant.com cert which would have made it less painful.

BTW there is 90% off r.com today for one day, no code needed.

luci

I've only ever had great food in the Harley Davidson Cafe but we haven't been the past few trips. I always remember their Pulled Pork Sandwich used to be $6.99 back in the day which was outstanding value but sounds as though prices have risen which is understandable.

If I remember correctly the O Rings are to die for

Enjoying the TR TeeCee.

Also fans of Maggiano's - really liked their happy hour and pretty disappointed they've changed it now, only a few appetizers included and no drinks! If you like Italian have you tried Il Fornaio at NYNY?

Can relate to the story about the clouds coming over, sounds like the strange weather continues.

At the airport now, flight is delayed an hour.
Have had real issues with wi-fi signal.....probably the only downside of being in a penthouse! Hence no updates until now. Will wait until we get home for the full update. Just to summarize, we've had a fantastic time, ate some wonderful food (Le Cirque wins the best food award)! Have done some great things such as the zip lines, jet skiing, the Camaro was great fun, and had absolutely rotten luck, and I mean rotten, in the casino's so no fortune won. Done some good shopping, particulary in the Fashion show mall, cant believe we havent shopped in there before!
Weather has been so weird, last couple of days has been mid 60's through the day with some persistent rain, we've had about 6 cloudy days in all, never had that before! Still, nothing can ruin the Vegas experience. Hope we can return yet again in the near future.

Cheers

TC

Glad you had a great time, been waiting to hear more about it!

Hope you're home safely and getting over the jetlag. Can't believe how crap the weather has been this year there, really weird. Seems like you had quite a long trip Teecee! Wish it was hotter there in winter - if it was I'd be sneaking another trip!

Cheers Lesley.
Home safe and sound......it's still colder here than Vegas!

I'll start off with the restaurants we ate at, location is in brackets for any Vegas non-regulars:
Gallaghers (NYNY) - Our favourite steak restaurant as I've mentioned before. Fantastic steaks, always top quality and delicious. Not cheap as a Filet Mignon is $40 and sides are around $9 each. Glass of wine is also around $9-10

Maggiano's (Fashion Show Mall) - Apologies as I've said this before too, we love this place. Food is superb, service is great and it's top value as well as two mains and two glasses of wine costs around $60.

Le Cirque (Bellagio) - A small restaurant, a handful of tables have a lake view, the others are not spectacular at all. We found the head waiter to be a bit moody, however, service was good overall but this place really shone through with the quality of food, it was excellent. Typical French posh nosh, small portions but top top quality. I had the Truffle risotto to start which at $112 is the dearest starter I'll ever have! But it was truly delicious. Normal starters are around $32 each. Mains were $98 each from the Prix Fixe menu. We had three glasses of Pomerol between us which were $35 each so as you can imagine, very expensive. However, it was our 'special' meal and it really was memorable from a food point of view. There are better overall 'experiences' we have had in Vegas, such as Alize, where the view and service both helped to make it special, but purely on a food level, Le Cirque is the nest restaurant we have eaten at.

In n' Out Burger (Ranchero Drive) - I'm so glad these are not in the UK, simply the best burgers ever. Their fries are also proper fries made from fresh potatoes, not frozen like Mcdonalds or Burger King etc. Fantastic.

Harley Davidson Cafe (on strip) - The most disappointing meal we had. Food was ok, nothing special at all and it wasn't particularly cheap. Service was ok, atmosphere was non-existent as it is so big, it's just a background of noise. Didn't like it, won't go back.

Sea (Ballys) - Found by luck as we were walking through and boy am I glad we spotted it. Very authentic tasting Thai food. We love Thai food and have been to Thailand 4 times in the last 6 years so we think we know their food pretty well. We were fully expecting it to be very bland as are most of the Chinese and Indian restaurants around the Strip in Vegas. However, the food was really really tasty, authentic, great value and superb service. This one is definitely on our radar now and we will definitely go back!

Ichiban (Fashion Show Mall) - We often joke about Panda Express food, which has to be the worst fast food on the planet, in fact we wouldn't eat Panda Express if they were giving it away free! We were out shopping in the FSM and fancied a bite to eat. Walked up to their food court (which is huge and has a great choice). I really wanted a rice dish so was really pleased when I saw an 'Ichiban' serving half a dozen 'bento' meals. I'd seen Ichiban somewhere else in Vegas but we'd never tried it. As we walked over the guy behind the counter said 'try some' and let us try several dishes. I have to say, they were really tasty, especially the Sesame chicken, BBQ Pork and Spicy chicken. You get a large portion of rice or noodles with two large scoops of a meat dish for $5.69. Another one we will definitely go back to, great for a quick lunch when out and about. We later passed the one I had seen before, in Ballys.

Mix (THEHotel) - At the top of THEHotel, with views looking down the strip, it was always going to be a bit special. Food was very good and service was excellent. It only just lost out to Le Cirque on overall quality. Was expensive but nowhere near Le Cirque. Afterwards we got free entry to the Mix Lounge which has a great vibe, a DJ, and a balcony overlooking the strip. Well worth a visit.

Eiffel Tower (Paris) - When we arrived we were informed we had a table by the window which we were very happy about. Even more so when we got to it and it directly overlooked the Bellagio fountains! Service was good and so was the food, not as good as Le Cirque or Mix but good all the same. Price wise it was similar to Mix, not too over the top. We bought a bottle of Red wine for $110 which was at the cheaper end of the scale for their wines, they seemed to start around $70 and went up to more than $6000 a bottle! Amazing views though and it did make it a pretty special meal.

Dennys (on strip) - Most Vegas regulars and in fact any USA travellers probably know Dennys. Simple food served fairly quickly at a decent price. We popped in for a 'brunch' on our second to last day on our way to the fashion show mall. You know what you're getting with Dennys and it did the job nicely.

Hacienda Buffet (Boulder City) - This was a strange one! We did the Ziplines at Bootleg canyon on the Wednesday morning, (more about that later) and we were planning to go jet skiing on Lake Mead in the afternoon. However the ziplines take it out of you a bit more than you realise and we'd had a lot of sun by the time we finished the ziplines so we decided to leave Jet skiing to the Thursday. We drove out there after a bit of shopping around midday and as we drove through Boulder City on the way, Linda said she was a bit peckish, and I felt the same. We didn't pass anything in Boulder but as we went out the other side and approached the Lake Mead turn off we could see a big hotel/casino up the hill, just short of the Hoover Dam. We decided we would grab something to eat there. Tuens out it was the 'Hacienda casino'. We went in and decided on the lunchtime buffet. The food was actually very nice indeed, I had turkey, gravy, veg and mash followed by a few more bits and pieces, it was certainly better than many strip buffets. I got up to pay and the old lady on the cash till looked at me funny when I said I wanted to pay for two buffets.......she said'there's nothing to pay'. I said "Sorry? Nothing to pay?" and she said no! I went back to the table and told Linda and we then asked our waitress as she walked past and she said, no, it was a free buffet!! How's that for value!!
We'll try that again next time!

TGI's (Gold Coast) - A regular stop for us in Vegas. We go here once every year. I always have the ribs because they are simply delicious, you cannot beat TGI's ribs. Not too expensive either.

MGM Grand Buffet (MGM Grand) - We checked out of the hotel at 11am on pour last day and decided to go to the MGM buffet for lunch before setting off to the airport. We'd got $197 knocked off our poolside bill the previous evening through our comps on our
'MLife' players cards. I knew we had express comps on the cards still so we ended up getting a free buffet too worth $50. MGM grand buffet is pretty decent, not the best but a good choice and good quality.

Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill (MGM Grand) - We ate in here on our first night as mentioned in my TR. Surprisingly good food. A little expensive for what it is but I'd say it was worth it.

Koji (Orleans) - We popped over one night for a gamble and Linda was gagging for some noodles. We found this restaurant at the back of the Orleans and we both had 'Singapore street noodles'. They were spicy and very very tasty, for a decent price too. Would certainly eat here again.

Johnny Rocket Burger (Flamingo) - After watching Legends towards the end of our trip (more about that later), we were hungry around midnight so found Johnny Rockets in the Flamingo. Their burgers are very good, certainly better than Maccy D's or Burger King.....standard kind of price for burger and fries.

Will continue tomorrow sometime!

Cheers

TC

Great review of eating places TC. Will have to remember about Ichiban next trip as that sounds interesting and handy at Bally's when we are at the Carriage House.

Also intending going to Mix as I've read good things about it. How were drinks prices at Mix lounge?

Le Cirque is out of our budget I'm afraid. Did you have a mix of standard menu and Prix Fixe? Why did you not have a starter off the Prix Fixe menu or was there nothing you fancied?

We got a tour of the Eiffel Tower restaurant and I agree that the view is stunning.

luci

$112 on a starter Teecee

We were thinking the other day about our most expensive meal in the USA travelling twice a year for 12 years now (and 7 weeks in 2006 as part of our RTW trip) and we agreed it was Diego in the MGM in 2007 which was excellent. Our total bill was $116, which included drinks galore, apps, entrees, Wife had a free 30th birthday cake, service and tip and was only $4 more than your starter!

Glad you liked the MGM buffet, it gets a raw deal in reviews usually but we've always found it to be excellent.

Sounds like you had a good trip. Roll on March for ours......

We ate off the Prix Fixe menu. The reason for the expense of my starter was that it included a lot of truffle. Not only do they cost up to £2000 or so for a single truffle, I had never tried truffle before so I thought....why not, it's not something I'm going to be doing often!

Drinks prices at Mix Lounge were similar to most other lounges.......expensive!! I can't remember exact cost to be honest but I think a Vodka and Tonic and a Vodka Red bull was about $25.

Ziplines at Bootleg Canyon:
This was great fun! I actually thought it was a ride down one of 4 lines, and you chose which one you wanted to do. What actually happens is, you arrive at their office in Boulder City, pay your money - $149. Then a mini-bus takes you to the bottom of the 'mountain' in Bootleg Canyon, only about a 5-10 min ride away. Then you transfer to a really old school bus, which goes very slowly up an unmade road with sheer drops off the edge and you go up to 'almost' the top of the mountain. I say almost because the bus can't go the last bit so you have to hike up for about 5 mins carrying your zipline runner, which weighs about 20lbs. The guys that run it are excellent, always joking, making people feel at ease but professional at the same time. They keep supplying lots of cold water whenever you want it. Once you get to the top, you then realise that you actually do all 4 ziplines, that zig zag their way down the mountain to the bottom. They all vary in elevation and speed and some you have to lie flat to increase your speed, the last one you have to sit up because it's very steep and you shoot down like a rocket anyway!! The longest line is close to half a mile, about 60 seconds in the air. It's quite daunting at the start but once you've done one it's fantastic fun and well worth the money, a real adrenaline rush. Once you get to the bottom they mini-bus you back to the office. We drove there ourselves but they also do pickups from strip hotels as part of the cost if required.

Show wise we went to see 'O' again and went to Legends for the first time. We had front row seats for O which I got cheap off the internet. We got splashed a couple of times but it was a fantastic view to be so close, as unlike some other Cirque shows, you don't get too much going on 'behind you' in the middle of the theatre.
Legends.....
It's understandable why tickets for this are so cheap, again, I got a deal off of SmarterVegas I think it was and only paid $28 each for VIP tickets. The acts we had on the day were Whoopi Goldberg as compere, Elvis, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Michael Jackson and Lady GaGa.
Elvis was good, Toby Keith - I knew the name but hate Country music so didn't like him anyway, Donna Summer was ok, Michael Jackson was the best by a distance, Lady GaGa wasn't that good. I'm glad we didn't pay much money as it wouldn't have been worth much more but it was entertaining enough for £20 or so.

Cheers

TC

Excellent TeeCee - sounds like a lot of nice things you did. Glad you enjoyed. Only been to Maggiano's from your list, we also enjoy there. I was disappointed though that they didn't have weekday $5 martini happy hour

Legends - we have been twice and quite enjoyed. Agree about the price. We got 2/1 tickets with ACG coupon - and it was worth what we paid. I was glad some of the celebs you mentioned weren't on though when we went, likewise I don't know who Toby Keith is but don't imagine I'd like. I believe you can look up and see who will be on for the different dates in advance too.

Oh, and by the way, just re-read my post it seems to think I swore! I tried editing to see what it was and it wasn't very offensive at all. I now know why people type that word funny on forums though - I just said the weather was 'carp'.

I only know who Toby Keith is because we've eaten in his restaurant in Harrah's! Good food and a party atmosphere especially in the evening. Best described as modern country and quite listenable in small doses.....