And the story continues as we came out of my birthday with the last 4 standing (rather wobbily) in the Bellagio. One of these 4 was Karen Fitzgibbon who is today's guest blogger. Karen and I go back to around 1996/7 when we worked for the travel company Flight Centre. It was all very work hard, play hard in those days and we have had some previous experience of partying in far off destinations, Hong Kong being a trip that springs to mind. Karen and husband Kieron now live in Edmonton Canada so made the hop down to Vegas from that part of the world; both are Irish to the core (one North, one South). Karen can also sing, and whilst this takes us back a few hours in time, I do want to share an example of this talent from the previous night.
(Karen)
Ah, Las Vegas. In spite of having lived in Canada for 17 years and a mere three-hour flight time, we had never been to Vegas. It really is quite spectacular - completely bonkers, in fact - and our first time here has not disappointed. Our blogging effort picks up where Lloyd left off. We finished the birthday celebrations at Petrossian bar at our place of residence - The Bellagio. Lloyd and I had some kind of boozy coffee concoctions topped with whipped cream. Kieron enjoyed his fourth “Old Fashioned” of the night (and declared it the best of the four) and Chrissi rounded off with a Baileys. We weren’t the only ones a bit merry as a chap behind us took a tumble off his chair. Off to bed feeling no pain.
Kieron and I woke up on Friday morning at 8:15am feeling slightly worse for wear but, in the words of Katy Perry, “That’s what you get for waking up in Vegas”. Watched the fountains for a bit from our tenth-floor room and then headed down to the pool cafe for brekkie. Blueberry and lemon pancakes for me and a lovely omelette for Kieron. Had a bit of a splash about for a couple of hours and then back to the room before the sun had a chance to properly bake us. Lovely nap followed by a quick shower, and down to “Prime”, the Bellagio’s renowned steakhouse. A couple of glasses of champagne, then steaks for two with gorgeous sides of crispy potatoes, carrots, and frizzled onions. Fabulous! We had no room for dessert, but shared one anyway.
Next stop was “O” by Cirque du Soleil. From the third row, we had a great view of all the incredibly skilled performers. The set was a huge swimming pool and took up most of the stage. Platforms underneath the pool were raised and lowered to adjust the height of the water. There were incredible acrobatics, swan dives from dizzying heights, tumbling, contortionists, and a couple of slightly melancholy (though rather endearing) clowns. Breathtaking.
As some of our new-found friends had gone to see the aforementioned Ms. Perry in concert, we met up with Lloyd and Chrissi in the Bellagio casino. I had a bit of a flutter on the slots and was very surprised to walk away with a credit of $33. Brought our friends up to the room to see the lovely view and watch the fountains. Everyone was rather tired and in need of a hot drink, so we popped down to Sadelle’s cafe for teas and coffees and talked of our plans for tomorrow.
Said our good nights to Lloyd and Chrissi and spent the next few minutes losing that $33 credit. Hardly surprising! Back up to the room for some more fountain-watching, cleaning teeth, etc. With the anticipation of our last full day in this amazing city on our minds, we tumbled wearily into bed. Let’s see what tomorrow brings! 😀
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(Lloyd)
So yes, the clock struck midnight, people were falling off their chairs all around us but we stayed firm and saw the first hour or so in of the 29th July in a very cultured piano bar at the Bellagio. Not sure how cultured we were by then, but Karen, Kieron, Chrissi and I ensured that an amazing day was rounded off with a lovely night cap and conversation with old friends.
Woke up a few hours later feeling pretty damned pleased with how 50 was looking, and really chuffed with everything Chrissi and friends had done to make it so memorable.
Today I think is fair to say was a bit of a recovery day, and perhaps in contrast to all the high class surrounds yesterday, we went a bit more back to basics, and dare I say budget Vegas, doing some of those little things Chrissi and I would eke out when here on our own.
This involved me doing a poker tournament in the morning, Chrissi and others down at the pool. Tom was lurking around as I played tidy, finishing around 16th in a 40+ person event, but way of the top 5. As ever when the crunch hand came, I knew I had to be clever and went with low connectors expecting to be up against high cards. As it turned out this was also against 2 other players, and my odds of a cheeky double up with 5/6 clubs faded very quickly. No matter, was good fun,with some light but amusing banter at times.
Chrissi enjoying her video poker, but also hungry, so we left Caesars to find Panda Express, one of our guilty secrets when in the US. Chinese food, cheap and without MSG. I had some lovely orange chicken, Chrissi Kung Po, and I chopsticked it up with the best of them. Good honest chewy chicken with a bit of zest.
Chrissi went off shopping and I decided a stint at the gym would be sensible, doing a little 5K treadmill. The gym in Caesars a great distraction although the casinos on the way back to the gym did pull me in for a bit of wheel of fortune type action.
Our Vegas on a shoestring day continued as we returned to Harrahs Piano Bar (that of the duelling pianists a couple of days ago) to see Big Elvis, an icon in these parts, singing lots of the popular songs, and encouraging audience participation. This continued into a karaoke afterwards, which 2 beers in we decided to move on from.
We then played a bit of blackjack and video poker in a couple of other casinos, Flamingo and Cromwell. The latter well worth a look, first recommended by Tom Frost, but now with our own eyes; sleek, modern, not too busy and with low stakes games - a good combination.
Continued down the Strip in search of food, wandered around the market in front of Ballys, and found a Wahlberg (ers) joint, they of Marky Marky and Donnie fame. I had a favourite of the latter, cheese burger of sorts with a spicy kick, Chrissi had a plant burger. The alcohol not doing it for me tonight so I moved to a tasty strawberry milkshake. And all of this again at pretty reasonable prices in fairly humble surrounds.
Re-engaged with the wild and wacky strip for a while, and then the heavens opened again, so we sought sanctuary in the Bellagio, where we took a look around its scented conservatory.
Found a couple of gamblers after that, mainly a horse racing game which I have loved since a child playing it on Mumbles pier or Butlins, can't remember which!
We then met up with Karen and Kieron, who staying at a well appointed room in the Bellagio, gave us a first hand perspective of the fountains from the hotel side, and must say, it is the view to have. Quite epic.
Our quieter day finished with mullings and musings over a coffee and a distinct need to find a little bit of sleep to get us through the action over our last 2 days.
