MONDAY
Had arranged parking at Pink Elephant on site car park at Stansted. Parked the car ok but the queue waiting for the bus was unbelievable! There must have been 60 odd people waiting. The reviews for Pink Elephant are mixed to say the least and now I can see why!
Got into the terminal about 3 hours before flight was due to go, we always leave PLENTY of time. Found the check in desk in zone A, only one person in front of us, checked in within a couple of mins, good start! Got our pass for the Maxjet lounge"¦"¦this is different
Walked round to passport control, figured it would be really busy so best get through it then relax.
As we walked round, saw the enormous queue"¦ but then saw a little sign for business class, showed a woman our boarding passes and we were taken straight through to the metal detector oh what joy! Queuing to get through security is one of the worst parts of going away and we'd got through in a couple of mins, this is getting better!!
Walked down to the maxjet lounge, was already quite busy. Lots of food and drink available, Cava, Wine, beers, soft drinks, tea, coffee, sandwiches, wraps, cakes etc not bad at all!
Our plane was delayed for an hour going out due to the incoming flight being late, not too much of a problem with the lounge tho'.
When we finally boarded, loved the look of it. So much space, I could stretch my legs straight out in front of me and still had about a foot and a half until I touched the chair in front. Service was very good, food was better than normal airline grub. Digital media players are good although the battery ran out on mine part of the way through the flight. For me the only real issue is, you get the same films etc coming back and there's only a dozen or so on there - just me being picky
Landed in Vegas late afternoon, very comfy flight. Got through immigration without any hassle. Went out and caught a cab to our first hotel - The Flamingo.
Checked in within a few minutes .pondered the old $20 trick but didn't bother in the end. Our room was ok, nothing special but not bad. Dated but a decent size, perfectly reasonable tho', we only paid an average of £50 a night for the first 5 nights here then a bit more for the Saturday night. I'd been in the Flamingo casino many times before anyway (this is my 9th visit to Vegas)
We changed and went straight out for a walk and a gamble. Played a few slots but didn't win
. Had a quick bite to eat and a beer as well and headed off to bed around 22:30 as we were shattered by then.TUESDAY
Got up early - very hungry!! Went over to 'Cravings' buffet in the Mirage, we love the Mirage and Cravings is one of the best buffets i.m.o. Had a really nice breakfast - $13.95 each, well worth it.
We treat our Vegas holidays as beach holidays during the day so we headed straight for the infamous Flamingo pool area, which the sign said opened at 9am but it actually opens at 8!! We got down there at 09:15 and it was packed! It was very hot but the pool water was the coldest I have ever felt in my life"¦"¦do they melt ice cubes for this??
At 13:00, we decided it was too hot to stay in it on our first day, didn't want to burn (was mid 90's), so we changed and got the monorail down to the Sahara and walked over to the Stratosphere. Linda (my wife) has been threatening to do the rides at the top for years and now she was going to do them! I get motion sickness so happily I was the official photographer!
She did all three rides, and screamed like a banshee on X Scream (the see-saw ride). She said Big Shot was also scary but Insanity was nothing to worry about. We had earmarked Roxy's Diner as one of the places we wanted to eat in this holiday so we headed off to find it (in the Strat still). It was really good, an old 50's diner setting, the staff take it in turn to sing karaoke which sounds naff but they were all excellent singers! The food was good as well and decently priced at around £7.50 each for one starter, two mains and two Corona's, will definitely go back there.
Walked back to the Sahara and had a little gamble on the slots, won nothing again so jumped back on the monorail and headed back to the Flamingo for a nap.
Got up around 21:30 and went out by 22:00. Walked down to the Mirage, had a gamble on the slots - lost, surprise surprise! Then moved on to Caesers Palace. There were huge queues for Pure, on a Tuesday! I had considered going there this holiday but now I'm not so sure. The PCD lounge now has some pole dancers strutting their stuff amongst some table games - very pretty girls
Had a gamble on some more slots"¦"¦oh I lost .had a little walk round then headed back to the Flamingo. Grabbed a sandwich and had a quick gamble on the slots"¦ I love the big 'Wheel of Fortune' wheel and slots. I hit the bonus and the wheel gave me the jackpot of 1000. Unfortunately I was only playing 2 credits at the time so I only won $100, still it's a bit of money back on what I'd lost that day!
WEDNESDAY
Got up earlier to get a good sunbed
Very hot again but a little cooler than Tues. Jeez that water is cold!! Stayed by the pool until 13:00 then walked over to Carnegies Deli in the Mirage for a spot of lunch. Oh my god, if you have never seen the sandwiches in there, please go there. I am not exaggerating at all when I say the people next to us had a good 5lb of meat in their sandwich, it was ridiculous!! Luckily we had only ordered a toasted ham and cheese and it came out a reasonable size. Headed back to the pool at the Flamingo until 16:30.I had booked Hugo's Cellar in the Four Queens, Downtown for the evening. Got a cab down there at 19:30 - cost $18. Had a fantastic meal again, we eat here every trip and it's always excellent. Had a gamble on the slots and a walk around, watched the light show in Freemont street then headed back to the strip.
I headed off to O'Sheas to play some three card poker. Changed up a hundred, and hit no cards for ages. I went down to $20 worth of chips and then started to hit the odd hand. Got a couple of straights and flushes and left after two hours $175 up"¦ now this is what Vegas is about
THURSDAY
Down to pool early. Was an ok day but started to get a bit cloudy. Forecast was for rain at the weekend"¦"¦errrr . rain? In Vegas? In September? I'd never seen it before!
Spent day by pool anyway. Had tickets for Ka in the evening, got them discounted for $50 each from Ticketmaster back in the UK. Got monorail up to MGM. Seats were 5 rows from the front. It's not a bad show but not as good as Mystere or 'O'. Grabbed a Maccy D's on the way home. Had a gamble on the slots - lost, then to bed.
FRIDAY
As forecast, really bad cloud. Spent an hour down by the pool but it was pointless. We had hired a car for three days in our second week but decided to go and get a car now, might as well get some bits and pieces done whilst it's really cloudy and cooler. Got a Dodge Magnum - a tank of a car! Really nice tho, comfy to drive. Went to both of the outlets, one by the airport and the other close to downtown. Got quite a few items of clothing. Stopped off at the Rio on the way back to grab some food. Ate in the 'All American Bar and Grill' and had steak"¦"¦boy, they were excellent!! Not expensive either, definitely recommended! Back to the Flamingo to drop the clothes off . Linda had a quick gamble on the slots whilst I shot off to O'Sheas again for some three card poker. I walked outside about 22:30, and it was raining hard!! The first time I have ever seen rain in Vegas! Got a bit wet on my way down to O'Sheas
Didn't manage to win either.SATURDAY
Really really cloudy again. We had breakfast in a very busy Dennys. Then we set off in the car to go to Bryce Canyon, about 3-4 hours north of Vegas. Had been driving for about 3 hours when we saw a sign for the Grand Canyon north Rim - we've never seen it from that side so diverted to go to the Canyon instead. Got some nice pics.
The canyon still takes my breath away every time I see it, it is truly awesome.
Set off on the long drive home. We stopped off in a place called Mesquite, about an hour - hour and a half outside of Vegas. Went into a casino called Oasis, for a drink and a bit of a rest from driving. I found a 'Let it Ride' poker table in there that also let you have a bet on the first three cards you receive so it's like Let it ride poker and three card poker combined - excellent game. I hit a few little hands, stayed around $50 up or down for a while then got dealt 666. I had bet on the 3 card bonus so I won around $175 dollars on the hand. Yippee! Carried on playing and hit some more hands. Finally left after about an hour, $500 up. Now we're talking!!
Set back off in the car. Little did we know what was about to happen"¦"¦"¦It's now about 21:00 so pitch black apart from the street lights obviously. I'm heading down the interstate at 80mph toward Vegas, about an hour to go till we get back. There are storms in the distance and we can see wicked forked lightning every 30 secs or so. I'm overtaking this big double tanker, I'd just drawn level with the back of it when there was a big puff of something from the front of the tanker, into the air"¦ next second, a huge wall of what I can only describe as very watery cement hit our windscreen, completely covering every inch of it, I could not see a thing, nothing, at 80mph.
I hit the brakes hard trying to keep control of the tank"¦ .Dodge Magnum
"¦"¦ .trying desperately to find the windscreen wipers which I had never used. Seconds seemed like minutes as we slowed rapidly to 50mph luckily nothing was behind us, I found the wipers and turned them on I can see!! Somehow we had stayed absolutely straight, I overtook the tanker, wondering what the hell had happened and hoped my heartbeat would slow down before it burst out of my chest! The car was now covered in this milky white substance, which wouldn't clear properly from the windscreen. Just outside of Vegas I pulled into a garage and we frantically used a squidgy each to try to clean the car up"¦ .it wasn't looking good 
We arrived back in Vegas and parked the car up, quite an eventful day really, time for a beer and a gamble!SUNDAY
Today we checked out and moved on to the MGM Grand. I had never really considered staying here as it looked too big and reviews weren't great but I got a rate of £35 for 5 nights so it was too good to turn down. My opinion? What a great hotel!! We loved it. Check-in was easy. Our room was on the 16th floor and it was lovely, much much better than the Flamingo. I can understand people saying how big it is and it takes a while to walk anywhere, it's true. But the pool areas are fantastic, the restaurants are excellent and everything is there - I now officially love the MGM Grand!
We went down to the pool for the rest of the day then headed up to get ready, Linda had pestered me to get Tom Jones tickets so we're off to see him tonight .in the MGM Grand! How convenient
Well, as much as I see myself as a young man still, I have to say Tom was excellent. He can still belt out a tune and what he does very well is he keeps up to date with some modern stuff as well, he covered a song in the charts at the moment and it was excellent! We went to the Studio cafe for something to eat afterwards, have to say it was average and to be honest, probably the worst meal of the holiday.
MONDAY
Hot again! Back to the pool. I went and picked up our hire car at 10:00 (the one we had originally booked). When I got the keys I thought oh no"¦"¦ they'd given us the bleedin' Dodge Magnum again with the now dodgy paintwork!! Whoops LOL
Didn't bother driving anywhere as we'd done all our bits and pieces already.
Stayed by the pool all day then got ready for the evening. We're off to 'Red Square' in the Mandalay Bay tonight for some vodka! It's very expensive in there but they have hundreds of vodkas from around the world. We had some shots of russian vodka, then some cocktails"¦"¦oh dear .empty stomach + alcohol = pretty drunk! Staggered off to the 'Noodle Shop' Restaurant for some well needed food. Had a chicken curry that was DELICIOUS, will definitely go back there when sober. Can't remember paying for the food but I don't think we would have got away doing a runner
Had a bit of a gamble then off to bed"¦"¦I think we needed it!TUESDAY
Down to the pool at 8am. Very hot today. Stayed until 12:30, then jumped in the car and went down to Lake Mead to do some jet-skiing. I love it down here, the jet-ski's are pretty cheap, about £40 for an hour so I got it for two hours and we set off at 75kph - yeeha!! Round to the hoover dam, got some pics and generally had a fantastic time for the next couple of hours - this is something I will do every time I am in Vegas for sure. I think it's helped the tan as well, am now looking seriously bronzed!!
Got back to the hotel late afternoon/early evening. Showered, changed and off to 'Fammia', an Italian restaurant in MGM's studio walk. We hadn't had pasta this holiday so we really felt like some.
Oh my god, the food was amazing. I had Arancine to start - Braised Kobe Beef Risotto Cake
Pomodoro, Parmigiano Fonduta and it was the best starter I have ever had, anywhere - delicious! Linda had Beef Carpaccio to start and said it was lovely too. For mains we both had spaghetti and meatballs - two enormous kobe beef meatballs, the size of tennis balls, wow, it turned out to be the best meal we had all holiday, unexpected and a real treat. It's not that expensive either so I would definitely recommend it. After the meal Linda had a gamble on the slots and I went off to play some $1-2 No limit texas hold 'em in the MGM poker room. I held my own for a couple of hours but then got hit on a couple of hands, ended up losing a couple of hundred bucks. On my way back to the room around 2am, I saw the Megabucks slots and thought, what the hell, I'm down anyway! Stuck a hundred in and walked away 5 mins later with $294 - almost back to even for the evening!
WEDNESDAY
Down to pool again. Stayed all day. Back to room around 4pm, I dropped the car keys off with Dollar in the MGM - we had only driven to Lake Mead and back so it still had a full tank of gas virtually. We had tickets to see Lance Burton at the Monte Carlo at 7pm so we set off for that.
Our tickets were second row in the centre so we had an excellent view. He did some good illusions, he is very cheesy and it's aimed at kids really, but an ok show anyway.
Had a bit of a gamble in the Monte Carlo then walked over to the Spice Market buffet in Planet Hollywood. $26 each bought us just about every type of food you could wish for .I was stuffed after visiting 4 of the eight 'Food Stations'"¦"¦well worth the money though.
THURSDAY
Our last day in the MGM grand - shame because we really like the place, will definitely be back.
Stayed at pool all day. Packed most of our stauff ready to leave for the Signature hotel in the morning, our last day of the holiday. In the evening we headed for Caesers Palace. Shopping followed by the Cheesecake Factory
Yum. Lovely as usual, far too much food as usual lol.Jumped on Monorail back to MGM, dropped shopping back in room and downstairs for a gamble. Played some more Hold 'em, same as before, managed to get $150 up but slowly lost it before being wiped out around 3am - I do love playing poker live though.
FRIDAY
Down to the pool for a couple of hours sun, gotta keep working on this tan
Checked out at 11am and walked through to the Signature, it's the 'posh' part of the MGM and is about a 5 minute walk through a corridor out the back of the MGM Grand. Three golden towers, all rooms are actually suites and they are gorgeous. LCD TV's, DVD player, IPOD docking station, sofa, kitchen, whirlpool bath, walk-in double shower .very very nice. The Signature has it's own pool areas too, one for each tower so it's really quiet around there. Comfy sunbeds with mattresses on - lovely
Stayed in the sun for our last day. Our flight doesn't leave till 5pm on Sat. so we called down to see if we can extend our room until 1pm - they said call back in the morning.That evening we decided to live it up a bit, last night and all"¦"¦we went and queued to get in 'Tabu', an Ultra Lounge in the MGM Grand, basically a mini-nightclub. This is where I did something really stupid"¦"¦"¦I got absolutely hammered on Vodka/Red Bulls, I mean slaughtered LOL, not the sort of thing to do the night before a 10 hour flight
Got back to the room around 4am and crashed out, room was spinning"¦ .30 mins later I am being rather ill in the toilet and I was there for some time!! Back to bed and I slept for about 2 hours before waking up to Linda on the phone to reception"¦"¦"¦no extension available, we need to be out of the room in an hour"¦ oh my god, I need to pack and I'm still drunk. Needless to say I suffered over the next few hours. Thankfully I wasn't ill again, just felt that I would be!The flight home was on time and service was excellent again. Unfortunately Maxjet have raised the bar so that I don't want to travel 'cattle class' again, but money will dictate otherwise
One last thing - the queues waiting for Pink Elephant to go back to the car park at Stansted were huge, and they ran one bus every 35 minutes! Absolutely useless, avoid Pink Elephant Parking if you can.
All in all, another wonderful Vegas holiday. Our passion for Vegas never dwindles and we can't wait for September 08, when we shall return"¦ .I don't know where we'll stay yet but there's a fair chance part of the stay will be in the MGM Grand.
TC
