Running away with it all

 

All good things do need to come to an end and 5 nights almost non stop action probably about my limit, although I am still a little jealous of today's guest blogger who is out here for a little longer than that.  Wendy B a great friend of ours from Undy, our families have got together en masse for many a social occasion over the last few years along with quite a few runs too.  But I think it is fair to say that those years worth of training were really needed to ensure that we all had the staying power for this latest jaunt. A legal eagle too is our Wendy so has kept us on the straight and narrow....a very windy straight and narrow ha ha ....

And now it’s my turn! I’ve followed Lloyd and Carys’s excellent travel blogs over the years and so I felt a little apprehensive when I volunteered (was enlisted) to add my thoughts for Day 3/4 of the Vegas trip! The recent standard of blogs from our fellow travellers hasn’t eased my nerves, but here goes…

Anyone who has followed the Williams travels will know that they like to get a parkrun or two in as part of their trip. Unfortunately there is no parkrun yet in Vegas, so we had to improvise! As it can get quite warm in the Nevada desert we agreed to meet up in the foyer at 7am to run down the Las Vegas strip to the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas sign” for a photo opportunity.

6 of us set off in high spirits, luckily Lloyd was able to join us despite suffering with his gout, and managed to lead the way down the strip. We had a few photo stops on the way. We also had some “encouragement” from one of the locals who told the ladies of the group to “Fk off you fat Irish sluts”, both Andrea and I pointed out politely that we were not Irish, and carried on jogging, possibly a little faster than we had been to catch up with the men who had not been lucky enough to receive similar encouragement. (Is it any wonder women are reluctant to exercise?).

 

Having made it to the sign, we had some photos taken and were then happy to walk back through the air conditioned hotels seeing the sights of Mandalay Bay, Excalibur and Luxor on the way. We met up with Tom briefly to say goodbye while enjoying the delights of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and marvelling at the first example of poor service that we’ve experienced since arriving in Vegas.

After our doughnuts we went on our way through New York New York where Anthony and I clocked the roller coaster which we are hoping to ride tomorrow and then on to the Cosmopolitan where Chrissi was desperate to continue the theme of the morning and visit “Eggslut”. When we arrived at Eggslut we saw an enormous queue which would have put me off, but Chrissi was determined to enjoy an eggslut meal as it had been a highlight of her previous trips to Vegas so we all decided to queue with her and see what the fuss was about! Luckily the queue moved quickly, (a few people may have left the queue as we were all still “fresh” from our run). We soon reached the front of the queue and it wasn’t long before we were enjoying our delicious Eggslut sandwiches - definitely worth the wait and we had enjoyed another experience that we may not have had if we been travelling alone. Incidentally after a little research Lloyd discovered the true meaning of Eggslut which I am sure he will explain in his blog. (Edit - no, but something about lazy chefs who think cooking is just about sticking an egg in it)

 

After our brunch we headed back towards Caesar’s stopping off at the Bellagio conservatory on the way. A beautifully kept festival of flowers and water features with huge safari animals dotted around the conservatory. I’m not sure of the significance of the animals, but I’m not sure that there needs to be any significance, it’s Vegas after all! 

When we got back to Caesar’s the sensible members of the group went back to their rooms to relax and refuel, whereas Anthony and I decided to enjoy the Caesar’s pool for a few hours. The pool was lovely and refreshing with waitress service for drinks, we possibly spent too long there in the sun though, as I felt a bit queasy later on. 

Our plan for the evening was to visit Fremont street. I had heard mixed reviews about Fremont street but I knew it was somewhere I wanted to experience and knew that we would be led by the more experienced Vegas visitors of the group. 

On our way to Fremont Street we stopped off at the Neon museum. A graveyard of old neon vegas signs. They were good to see, but it was warm and we all agreed that it would have been a better experience to have seen them in the dark, although none of us had wanted to pay the extra 8 dollars per person for the after dark experience. Highlights were the Aladdin lamp from the Aladdin hotel where Elvis and Priscilla Presley had got married and the old Caesar’s sign and of course the huge guitar from the Hard Rock Cafe. Some people obviously love it at the neon museum as we saw 2 x bridal couples visiting, the Brides in their bridal gowns with one of the couples getting married in the small museum.

 

After that experience we shared an Uber with Karen and Kieron to Fremont street where both Karen and I chatted about how we were looking forward to finding a nice cool air conditioned casino. 

Arriving at Fremont street we met up with the rest of the group and headed into the street. For those of you who do not know, Fremont  street is an old closed off street with a closed roof and a light show, and lots of entertainment going on. The “entertainment” largely consisted of scantily clad ladies offering themselves for photographs with anyone willing to pay them and loud heavy metal bands. There’s also a strong smell of cannabis which is a legal drug in Nevada. 

When we arrived, the street was already quite busy and we walked half way down before being asked to go through security checks, which reminded me of the threat in America of “active shooters”, but was also reassuring. 

Once through security we were in an inner area of the street where a heavy metal band was playing loudly. Lloyd seemed familiar with the band and immediately started to enjoy the music while Chrissi led us to a bar where Dave bought us all a drink. The female bar servers were wearing very little, (it was a warm evening) and the drinks were definitely welcome. 

After a few minutes trying to chat over the band, a few of us decided to try our luck in the casino where we hoped there would be some air conditioning. Anthony and I found 2 machines next to each other, we each put 5 dollars in. I lost very quickly but for the second time this trip, Anthony struck lucky and came away with $27 which he sensibly cashed in. We then went over to Andrea, Dave, Kieron and Karen to find that Karen and Andrea had also struck lucky so we all cashed our winnings in and left the casino slightly better off than we had entered it! 

Chrissi had booked a table reservation for 8 so we made our way to the Whisky and Licker pub. By this time I was feeling a bit queasy as we were seated at the table by our waitress who had to shout over another band which was playing just outside. We ordered our drinks and food. The food was great, and the band was playing a number of hits from the ‘80s which we were all enjoying. Someone then suggested that we move to the bar area. It was only then that I realised that this was the revolving bar that Karen has mentioned in our pre trip Vegas chat.

 

The revolving bar was a brilliant find and I would highly recommend this for anyone visiting Fremont street. The band were playing some classics from our youth such as “Come on Eileen”, and other favourites, while our elevated position gave us a close up view of the light show! Every so often people would fly past the window on the zip wires! The atmosphere was great and a few gins had settled my earlier queasiness. After some musical chairs where we got a cheer from other revellers when we finally managed to all find seats together, we danced, sang and enjoyed the evening until the bar closed and we left the venue. By then the band had been replaced by a female dancing DJ who danced along to the music in her hot pants. Again the music and atmosphere was great, so we danced again, until a few of us hit the proverbial wall and reluctantly headed back to our hotel. Reluctant to leave another brilliant evening, which will sadly be the last evening that we are all together. 

We’ve had such an amazing time here celebrating Lloyd’s 50th and we will be very sad to see the others go tomorrow but we’ve had some fantastic times which we will remember forever. It’s been an absolute blast. Lloyd and Chrissi have definitely recruited two more Vegas converts!

(Lloyd)

Sleep has really been at a premium, mainly due to the amount of fun to be had, but occasionally from the odd pain in my foot, aggravated a little overnight I think from the gym visit yesterday.  Didn't stop me though, one of the things we had agreed to do before coming here was to have a Saturday morning run along the lines of what we often do at home, a manufactured 5k parkrun so to speak.

Chrissi had done her calculations that it was roughly 2.5 miles down the Strip to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. 5 mile round trip could include our 5k or more if we so wished. We didn't so wish today, it has been a week off much exercise, can return to that in earnest on return.

Set off at 7, a little later than I thought was wise (due to the heat) but it all worked out fine. Jogged past quite a few of those who were finishing off their partying from the night before, as well as alongside other early morning runners getting their daily exercise.

Not too many people about though so we could weave our way along the side walk, taking a couple of small detours where it crossed roads via bridges or the odd internal walkway.

The sign is of course iconic and worth the photo opportunity which we all embraced eagerly.

Jogged back up to the Mandelay Bay to get our 3.1 miles banked, and then dropped down to walking fear as the rest of our trip was inside casinos as we took in the Mandelay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York and the Cosmo to name but a few!  It's still my favourite part of the Strip and the one Chrissi and I know so well, and we were able to offer our running friends some insights into the different themes and quirks.

They included Michael Jackson statue in the Mandelay, Titanic and general Egyptian architects in Luxor and Krispy Kreme Donuts in Excalibur. Tom dropped by to say goodbye in the latter, as he is off out into the wilds now, exciting adventures ahead. Been great to see you and the crew.

Various daft distractions caught our eye as the wandering continued, everyone embracing their inner barbie being one such moment.

Like hobbits we had a second breakfast in Eggslut, one of Chrissis favourite dining experiences. I've said it before and I said it again, a tasty brioche bun with lovely eggs and spicy mayo a great bit of tucker. But not worth queuing for the best part of an hour for.  

Finished off our walk and talk around 11.30 and you could almost be forgiven for thinking we had done a whole days activity!

Chance for a bit of a breather and a rest. Vegas doesn't encourage or want you to spend too much time in hotel rooms, but important to get some second wind too. Our upgraded room has a few luxuries to make this a worthwhile experience not least our spa tub, with jets and everything, just like the Romans used to have ;)

The casino did begin to call me around mid afternoon, although I wished I had closed my ears to that. Have had no luck at the slots, and they do quickly eat up the dollars if you aren't careful. The cocktail waitresses don't seem to come around as much with the free drinks either.

Less time for too much gambling on this trip, with good memories and moments with friends more important. Will be back another time to make my fortune.

As the call went out for the news team to assemble (anchorman style) we had a quick slushy drink down on the Linq promeade, mine called weird blue shit, and that just about summed it up.

Ubered our way down to the old Las Vegas, stopping off for a bit of culture at the Neon Museum.  This had been suggested by Andrea who doesn't want that to be recorded anywhere, but someone has to take the blame.  It was basically a junkyard of old signage which you walk around in the heat and try and imagine how it used to look on many of the hotels that no longer exist. There is some history in there, not least the Moulin Rouge, back in the 50's the first hint of inclusion in an industry (hotels) that were quite segregated. But on the whole it was not the most inspiring of places, we give the benefit of it being better at night when they are lit up, but my heart did sink when I thought Andrea was suggesting we wait around for a couple of hours to see if that was the case!

Far too much fun to be had elsewhere, and Fremont Street was beckoning. The sounds of ACDC cover band set the scene on our arrival. Walked up and down, absorbed as ever by the wild and wacky at every step. There were proper bands playing too, Alien Ant Farm being one that we stopped to watch, festival style, beer in hand.

A reservation at Whiskey Licker Up (in Binions) focused our attention and by 8pm we were perusing the menu and listening to the sounds and excitement wafting up from the street below. We were basically overlooking one of the stages, which meant regular trips to shout and cheer when the band played a rock song we all liked ... and there were many.

For some reason I had a couple of craft ales, mainly because I was amused by the names, Lady Love Juice and Arrogant Bastard got my attention. The first quite fruity, the second too dark for me.

Foodwise it was grilled chicken ciabatta, with some healthy avacado, and less healthy cheese, bacon and many other tastes that were quite absorbing and complementing the beer and rock music very well.

Drawn further to the rock music we then migrated to the rotating bar in the restaurant and watched and sang along to plenty more tunes as we cycled through more beer, banter and high spirits.

This continued down at street level when a dancing DJ came on to keep the party going, although I did slip off to the second stage now and again to watch some 80s hair metal courtesy of Spandex Nation.

It really was party on dude and another fabulous evening with fabulous friends in fabulous Las Vegas.

I fell asleep on the ride home ...

Irish and all other eyes still smiling

 

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!  😀

(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.