Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

nvh

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hotels[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]San Francisco – Private rental, was the cheapest option for 5 people sharing and was situated at Buena Vista park (nr. Haight Ashbury & Golden Gate Park) with good / quick transport options (trams) into Union Square and also westbound to the pacific. It had a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and a sofa-bed so really kept the costs down compared to the price of hotels – free wifi / printing facilities too. Think it was ~$1000 for the 4 nights so $250 a night between us.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yosemite Curry Village – we were in a lodge booked for 2 people ($169 ). This is basic accommodation so no tv, no radio, 2 power sockets in the room (the clock is plugged into one of them) – lots of rules to follow and a big plastic box to put food and smelly stuff etc into off the ground (bears). Was a good base and felt really remote in the depths of Yosemite.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Furness Creek Ranch (Death Valley) - my word, I can copy this word for word from last years report (so i will!). Everything was the same! Here for two nights in a basic cabin room (200's block) – we've stayed here before and although it's expensive ($153 p/night including rediculous $10 p/night resort fee!), and basic (compared to Vegas), it was also Labour Day weekend so one of the cheapest and quietest places to be! Not many dining options but this place has a great (perhaps unique?) warm spring fed pool, and quite a bit of wildlife roaming about... and oh yeah, it's a tad warm there too! (48 degrees in the evening... not sure if that temperature incorporates the ground burning your feet off and the 30mph hot wind in your face)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Planet Hollywood Hotel – 3 nights here. Got the Labour Day sunday night for $83 and the following 2 nights for $40 a night for the basic Hollywood Hip room with a view of Carriage House / Platinum etc at the back. Absolute pain in that parking was reserved for Diamond Card holders (or whatever they're called!) - annoyingly, i'm not sure if we could have sneaked in this bit as we were staying at the hotel (ala. Caesars later on in trip report) but we decided to do the Miracle Mile parking. Wow, vegas was busy this weekend!! We parked on the 10th floor – so busy and such a long walk to check-in... which was poorly signposted and therefore meant we traipsed all over the place with our cases (it's beneath the casino... now I know!). As it was so busy (2 hour wait for a non-smoking King room), we ended up with a double queen which meant we had a spare bed to dump our stuff on. I tried the $20 but apparently they're not allowed to do it. I know from other reports this is not the case so we'll put it down to the fact it was Labour Day sunday![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Platinum Hotel – Using Stoneman's friend , we got a rate that matched the one we had last year ($99 per night, strip view suite). This place is amazing – love it. Always quiet and relaxing, we could check-in @ 11am and head straight off to Walmart. They have a 'getting to know you' night on Wednesday nights with free snacks (cheese etc) and wine between 5pm and 6pm. They also have live music and happy hour on till 8pm (half price drinks and tapas). Ended up spending just $35 + tip which was a bargain for everything we had! (Beer, Sparking Wine + chicken skewers, spicy fries and angus sliders)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Cliffrose Lodge (Zion) – Went at weekend to avoid Vegas prices as this place was the same price throughout the week ($169 per night) right by the entrance to Zion in Springdale (http://www.cliffroselodge.com/), this was close and cheap compared to the National Park offering within the Canyon. A stone's throw from the free shuttle buses (which were the only way to get around the National Park) it was a good base for overnight and had a pool / jacuzzi to relax in at night and a good few options for food throughout Springdale. This was only a whistle-stop tour as always been curious about Zion and was a good base for us to head over to Antelope Canyon for our tour the following morning. One of the few places outside of Vegas where we ended up eating out!![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Bright Angel Lodge (Grand Canyon - Rim-View) – again, seemed a good place to be at the weekend to avoid Vegas prices ($191 inc. tax). Stayed here for our Honeymoon so if we were going back, we wanted to stay in the same type of accommodation again... I'll be honest, it was nice to have the option of a fire in this room too! Lovely to walk outside in the morning and for the Grand Canyon to be 'there'[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Caesars Palace – AT LAST! The $20 tip works for me on this trip... it's been a while waiting but we got upgraded from our Forum Deluxe room to a Palace Tour suite. More than happy – this room was massive with two bathrooms and a view down over the pool. I know others disagree but much like MGM Grand, I didn't think the walk was too bad... maybe I expect the worst but i'd have no issues with staying in this tower again. Valet parking said it was full and was for Diamond Card holders only, however I would be damned if I was self-parking again! We just went into the line and left our car – they never asked to see my card so whether it was due to all the luggage we had to verify us as guests, i'm unsure why they didn't care![/FONT]

nvh

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Places[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]San Francisco – we probably won't go here again – had a total of 8 nights there now and probably done everything we wanted to. Last trip, we were there in May so saw nothing of the rumoured fog that haunts the bay. This time however, later in the year it was rife! We had one day of sunshine and 3 days of fog.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 1 – Arrival and straight to bed pretty much![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 2 – Sunny! Went to Union Square for Lori's diner for breakfast and to go on the 11am Duck Tour we had booked. I was concerned this was more of a kids thing but it was a belting way of getting around the city and seeing the sights and getting an idea of the layout of the place and places that would be worth re-visiting on foot! When the duck went into the bay, he gave people the opportunity to drive the boat in the water which is an opportunity my father-in-law jumped at! - http://sanfrancisco.ridetheducks.com – tickets were through Groupon @ $17 per person. Bargain for a 2 hour tour (we ran late) – the driver was fantastic on this one and humourous![/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After this, walked down to the Wharf – I always regretted not having Clam Chowder in a sour-dough bowl so this was on the to-do list! At least I can say i've done it Whilst there, we also jumped on for a look around the Balcultha boat. We were killing time as needed to pick up our Dodge Caravan from the Sheraton Hotel.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 3 – Today we were out in the car. First stop was the Jelly Belly factory @ Fairfield – http://www.jellybelly.com/visit_jelly_belly/california_factory_tours.aspx. Wow, I was so excited when I found out about this place, it had to go on the to-do list! Loved wandering around the factory and seeing the various stages of the bean (free tour). They also give you a bag of jelly beans at the end. We also stocked up in the shop This was just a stop on our way to Napa Valley where we visited Sterling Vineyards @ Calistoga (http://sterlingvineyards.com). Got a $5 off voucher from the website. You pay on arrival, then take a cable car up to the vineyard. Was nice and relaxing, and not so much about the tour but more to do with basking in the sun, looking out into the valley and having a sniff of wine (I was driving so the missus had most of mine!) We then stopped at a few vineyards to pick up 'supplies' for the wife to bring home before heading on to Muir Woods and then to Sausalito for a few pictures of Golden Gate Bridge. Got a few with some pelicans flying around in front of it too.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 4 – Walking day today – plan was to go to Haight Ashbury and walk on and through Golden Gate Park. None of it was anywhere near as glamorous as I had perhaps imagined! Homelessness was rife, the Bison in the paddock were at the opposite end to us. The bird of prey in a tree refused to turn around and smile for the camera, and it was windy and cold! We persevered though and got to the coast where we had a nice hot chocolate in a cafe in front of the sea. Lots of signs detailing “Tsunami Evacuation Routes” put you slightly on edge. We ended up deciding to get the tram back as couldn't be bothered to walk![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yosemite[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 5 – departure to Yosemite – a 3 or 4 hour drive so we picked up supplies from Safeway first (some lunch for on the road). Arrived Yosemite @ 3:30pm and booked into the “Starry Sky's tour” ($5) for the following evening. Checked in but had to wait for the room. Bit of a wander around but tired so back to the room to watch a film on the laptop then to bed. We got our tea from the shop – just pre-packed salads / sandwiches etc[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 6 – Glacier Point would be first visit of the day, amazing views of Half Dome and lizzards running everywhere. We saw our first (and only) bear run in front of the car – it was just a small one. We then went on to Wawona for lunch before getting on the free shuttle bus up to Mariposa Grove, home of, to be blunt... massive tree's! We had a little wander but it was so hot that we got as far as the 'tree with a tunnel you walk through' before we turned around and headed back, calling in at Bridalveil Falls for a few snaps. We then got back and killed time before going on the “Starry Sky's” tour. This was great. A few tarpaulins laid down in the field that you lie on. The guy in charge tells you stories and myths that the stars relate to and shows you the various star signs with an awesome laser-pointer-pen into the sky. The amount of stars you see out there with no light polution is simply awesome![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Death Valley[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 7 – On the road again today! Off to Death Valley via. Tioga Pass and a brief stop on the way down to our brakes not working!! On checking the brakes, I also noticed the cars front-left tyre was torn to shreds – was going to have to change this in Vegas now On the way to Death Valley, we made a brief stop to look at Manzanar Japanese War Memorial and also stopped at the Lone Pine Film Museum. This was interesting – especially if you're into your cowboy films which were filmed very close to Lone Pine. This is also where Tremors was filmed so the had props from that film knocking about too as well as Iron Man. Got to Death Valley at half 5! 8 hour journey including stops, so rewarded by heading straight to the pool! Tea was just some snacks from the shop. Our only proper meal out so far has been Lori's Diner on the first full day in San Francisco! Everything else has been service stations or shops to get sandwiches / salads etc![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 8 – A day of old and new today – wanted to show the in-laws the interesting bits but also go to the last few bits of Death Valley that we haven't visited before. Covered:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Badwater Basin (old)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Artists Drive (old)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Dantes View (new)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Back to Furnace Creek for lunch then:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ubehebe Crator (new)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Scotty's Castle (new – whilst we were there! Didn't go in)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Devils Cornfields (old)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Sand Dunes (old)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Then back for the pool! After which, we headed up to Zabrieski's point for some photos of the amazing sunset. After this, we headed back and went for a treat meal out! Went to the saloon for some burgers! After this, we went and sat outside the shop with our bottle opener and just kept nipping in to buy a cold beer from the fridge and watching the stars (we were experts on them after Yosemite lol)[/FONT]

nvh

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Vegas![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 9 – First stop was Walmart on Sunset. Our in-laws and bro-in-law were staying at the Carriage House to keep their costs down. They took forever shopping and we had our Walmart lunch in the car whilst we waited. They eventually came back and we were soon on our way to drop them off at their place and then we could hit Planet Ho! - I won't whinge about parking again, but we got our room and headed up. All rooms have 'original movie props' in them and we end up with.. a “Tank Girl” room... ummm.... ok!?? Dumped our stuff and got sorted before heading over to “Press Your Luck” - we both won $10 free slot play and the queue for the machine was only a 5 minute wait so quite chuffed. Next stop was Walgreens to pick up some bits, and we picked up some cheap water from a shop @ Hawaiian Market Place – 2 bottles for a dollar. Crossed the road and headed up through Monte Carlo (first time i've been there since 2006 and it seemed a lot smarter... assume it got tidied up as part of the City Center re-fit to make it more attractive to walk through!), then on to Aria, Crystals then into the Cosmo![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Signed up to the card and decided on the free wheel spin instead of the $10 credit. Missus won $5 and I got $100! We were both a bit disappointed still as we wanted one of us to get the Wicked Spoon buffet! Gambled a little then back to Planet Ho where we quickly lost our free $10 credit on “The Hangover” before going back for shower and change.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Right – we're in Vegas now so we can eat and drink ourselves to death! - Cabo Wabo for tea, a tostada salad for the missus and I had a chicken, bacon, cheese and BBQ burger with chips, we also shared chips and dips and we both had a Cadillac margarita, it was yummy! ($45 inc tax, tips + $30 groupon voucher – quite pricey but it was the margaritas I think). When we'd finished our food we sat up on the stools that overlooked the strip and watch the Bellagio Fountains (though couldn't hear them).[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 10 – Lie in today and the plan was to go to the pool... looked out the window though and its raining!!! Seriously![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Headed to Town Square and did a bit of Hollister / Abercrombie shopping – some right bargains then off to TI to kick off about the car being in a state. Thy told us to go to the airport to get it changed so we decided to go El Segundo whilst we were there for lunch - crispy chicken tacos and a michelob ultra lime beer for me and chicken enchiladas with a spicy green chilli sauce for the missus who also had a strawberry frozen margarita – in the words of the missus, it was all yummy! ($37 + $10 restaurant.com voucher). [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After lunch, a bit of a FS-Mall wander and then down to swap the car. Turned up at Airport and they all seemed a bit peev'd that TI had sent us down there – think they expected us to take it back to San Francisco!! - !!!!!!, I didn't care, they just needed to give me a new car... which they did! Silver one this time. Bonus was that we gave it back with a quarter of fuel and ended up with another free tank-full! - hmmm... I can sense a potential scam here lol (joke!)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Took the new car back and we still couldn't valet *argh*[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Anoher quick go on “Press your luck” as we were meeting the others to check they were ok! Won $10 slot play again and the wife got a free drink.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Took them over to Cosmo and explained the machines and signed them up to a slot card. Taught them the 'free drinks' game to get them started and used to the machines (ie. Here's a 1c machine... play 5 lines per spin and just wait!) They all put a dollar each in and soon ordered cosmopolitan cocktails. All left with more than they put in and a drink in them... I think they're seeing why we like Vegas![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Next stop was Mirage – we had a mad cocktail waitress here! She got our orders wrong so many times so kept giving us extra drinks for free. No complaints there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]We then walked up to Encore – the wife likes it here as it's a nice relaxing place and also they dish out sparking wine! Time is getting on now and we've got Scoot City in the morning so we walk back down the strip and just have McDonalds for (a very late) tea[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 11 – Scoot City day. Pickup time was 7:30 so an early start. He got us straight away though and we only had one other pickup (@ Stratosphere) so there was no messing about! Not sure what I can say about this that hasn't been said before! Got the 2 for the price of 1 groupon and it was a great little experience![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After the trip we decided to try Earl Of Sandwich for lunch – great place, great food, great price! We wanted something quick and easy as it was on to the pool to make the most of some sunshine! - Planet Ho pool is a load of crap – never seen so many posers and I don't mind music at all, but the pool was practically empty and I was deaf when we left there! Live DJ was getting a bit carried away I think! Another quick go on Press Your Luck game – my turn for a free drink and the wife got $10 slot play. We decided to use our combined free drink vouchers at the Heart Bar which was nice and relaxing – staff were really nice and friendly in here too. On our way out, we saw Holly Maddison about to do a TV. Missus was super-excited and went snappy-happy with the camera![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Taking everyone out for tea tonight so had to get down to House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Walked across and through New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor and then played some games in Mandalay Bay while we waited for the others whilst getting plied with free drinks. When the others arrived we went into the House of Blues to have our tea - the food was gourgeous! Missus had a Juicy Lucy burger which came with dips and fries and I had a Southwest chicken burger which also came with dips and fries, we had a side of mac and cheese and a margarita. The waiter bought us an extra Long Island Iced Tea by accident but he let us keep it without paying (so I had it ) and it cost $107.23 with tax & tip plus a $50 restaurant.com discount[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After we had eaten we headed up to the Mix Bar, we got given a card on the way for free entry, it was really good up there and we had some drinks (~$50 for 5) and sat outside on the balcony, the views were great! We came back down after a while and headed back towards Planet Hollywood playing a few machines in various casinos on the way.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 12 – A nice lie in today before we escaped the madness of Planet Ho for the peace and tranquility of Platinum! Did a wal-mart dash to fill up the fridge and then down to the pool for the afternoon with some cocktail service. Nice and relaxing here. It's already on the to-do list for next year and we haven't even got our dates yet. As mentioned, Happy Hour was great![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 13 - up around 8.30 this morning and had some breakfast then the others came to meet us at 9.30. The guys went to the Gun Store cos that is the manly thing to do! Lol – I had the 'Zombie Package' ($144.95) which included a t-shirt (chose the “Certified Zombie Killer” one) and 4 zombie targets which the following guns were used on:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]50 Shots UZI SMG[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]20 Shots HK33[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]20 Shots 1911 Pistol[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5 Shots Shotgun[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Was a really good and very safe, but slightly quick session (in and out in less than an hour) and something I probably won't do again – it was good but just something you only really need to do once. I had really wanted to do the Shooting Safari thing instead however the guy didn't reply to any emails, and never answered his phone or responded to emails. I assume something is 'wrong' with the business, but at least let your potential customers know what is going on! What a waste of time trying to get it booked![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Wife and her mother went to the spa in the Platinum as we had booked in for a body scrub and massage – Travelzoo offer ($60 + $29 tip). The spa was lovely and nice and quiet, it didn't have all the facilities that the big spas have but was still really nice and treatments were fantastic. We were finished around 1pm and all had some lunch in the room before we went down to the pool for a couple of hours. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Zion[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 14 – Farewell Vegas... see you in a few days! Off to Cliffrose lodge today. 3 hour trip but they are an hour ahead of Vegas. Went to get the shuttle and just went around the park to get a feel for it – easily do-able in half a day but obviously if you want to do more of the walks / hikes, you'd need a few days there. Loads of flash flood warnings around and it there was also thunder and lightening rumbling in the distance! [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Went 'Jacks Sports Grill' for our tea - very nice and pretty cheap. Missus had a pina colada which came in a cactus shaped glass and I just had a root beer because I was driving – never had it before but thought i'd give it a go.... tasted like mouth wash! [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Missus had a jalapeño burger with mixed sweet potato and normal potato chips and I had a bleu bacon burger with the same chips as me, we also shared onion rings which were huge! ($45 inc tax and tip). Then headed back to Cliff Rose, it was about 8pm – pool shuts at 9pm so we headed straight to the hot tub! It was warm and nice to sit in there with a can of beer with the mountains all around! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Grand Canyon[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 15 – Up @ 6:15 as we had to be at Page for 10am for our Antelope Canyon tour.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I know i've mentioned this before, but even though we were heading east, Page is in a tiny 'timezone' slot of its own meaning the clocks move back. So we arrived at what we thought was 9:45 but it was in fact 8:45! Dammit! Could've had an extra hour in bed![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The trip to Antelope Canyon was an interesting one!!! Off-road driving with an indian guide who drove like a lunatic but knew everything about the canyon! I loved it! - sliding all over the place... the drive was an adventure in itself. He showed us the settings to use on our camera's and even adjusted peoples' cameras within the group to get the best pictures (note that if he does this, you should remember to set them back!!!) The canyon itself was a bit of a squeeze, so many groups and time limits for moving through so it seemed a bit rushed. Was a great experience but was a bit of a conveyor belt.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Back at the car for 12noon and a quick Taco Bell for lunch! We then stopped at Horseshoe Bend just outside of Page for a walk to see the 'U' bend in the Colorado river. It was a very hot walk – around ¾ mile round-trip! Despite all the warning signs saying don't get close to the edge, it was interesting to watch people get stupidly close – including one lady who had climbed over the edge and got stuck. Crazy![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Time to head off to the Grand Canyon – arriving at about 5pm but stopping and taking some pictures on the way in. This is a route we hadn't travelled in on before (from the east). Some food from the shop for our tea followed by a walk out to see the stars again. One hell of a night, with Thunder and Lightening in the distance and torrential rain in the night. Got some great photos of the stars and saw a deer out on the lawns that was completely used to the presence of humans.[/FONT]

nvh

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Vegas![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 16 – Back to Vegas today! Woohoo! Forgot what a pain in the !!!! drive this is. I'm content with these kind of things but we've done them a few times which makes it immensely boring! Stopped at Hoover Dam and walked out onto the new bridge (Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman - Memorial Bridge) – by 'eck it was windy up there! Lot of ladies wearing their skirts on their heads![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Then on to Ethel M's to get our annual peanut brittle supply, onto Town Square to pick up a couple of bits. And finally @ Caesars palace for 6pm (having dropped the others off @ Bills where their last 4 nights would be – apparently they wished they'd spent the extra and gone back to Carriage House!)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Took around half an hour at Caesars check-in – no queue, she was just trying to get me the best room she could. Had asked for any room in the Augustus tower but was more than happy with our Palace Tower suite.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Unpacked and on to BB Kings in the Mirage as we had a voucher for it, there was a blues band on so we had to pay $5 each to get in but didn’t mind. Missus had a chicken salad that was huge and I had chicken fried chicken with mac and cheese. We also had a side of hush puppies which tasted a bit like dumplings and were really tasty! Both had a corona light. ($46 + $25 restaurant.com voucher).[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 17 – Last day with the car so up and off to the premium outlets. Peppermill stop on the way – we warned the others of portion sizes but they didn't heed them and went for the 'large' pancakes of which, they probably ate only about a quarter each![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Few bits and pieces purchased from the outlet and then back to TI to drop the car off. Interestingly after I dropped it off and they offered me a free lift back to wherever I wanted to go – wonder if this is something they've introduced since they no longer have any other presence on the strip? The tram had just landed so declined offer and jumped on that back to Mirage.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was sunny today so a good poolday – managed to find 2 sun-loungers together! Miracle! Went and got us both a strawberry daiquiri from the poolside bar - $32 total!!! Stayed a bit but then the clouds rolled in – just as well as we needed to get back to get ready to go the palms tonight.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Not sure if you recall, there was a voucher on offer from Travelzoo for Nove!?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]We got a taxi to the Palms and when we got there we headed straight for Nove, we had to wait for about 5 minutes as we were early and they weren't open yet. They then put us in the lift and sent us up there, it was on the 51st floor – seated, we had a really good view of the strip and it had a fire enclosed in glass. Our voucher was for a 5 course tasting menu - no sooner had we sat down they just started bringing food![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Our first course was a glass of champagne and we ordered a bottle of New Zealand wine for after, the next course was like starters (calamari, tuna bruschetta, caesar salad, tuna tartare, pizza, meats and cheese, breads, shrimps in breadcrumbs in a lemon sauce) the next course was a bowl of risotto with fresh pesto, by this point we were both getting full but it kept coming! Next was chicken parmigiana, gnocchi and salmon and finally we got pudding which was a chocolate sauce and walnut toast with mini shortbread. The whole meal was fantastic and really tasty, we have never had, and probably never will have anything like it again! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Strangely, I didn't make a note of the extra cost, though I recall it was quite reasonable even though it was tax & tip based on full costs (which is why some people on here returned them) - a good experience and one I probably won't do again as its not the sort of thing we do.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Included in the Travelzoo voucher was free club entry so we spent the rest of the night bouncing between Ghostbar and Playboy Club (the only ones open that night) – had me picture taken with a playboy bunny – got to be done! [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Had great views of the thunderstorms (videos posted earlier on the thread) – today was the last day we would see the sun [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Managed to gamble and get 100points @ Palms, so headed back to Caesars with our free shot glasses![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 18 – Lie in today – bit hungover – no real plans so over to PBR Rock Bar for lunch @ Planet Ho. Had a diet coke, missus had a country fried pickle burger with potato salad and I had a southern fried chicken sandwich with fries and we had a side of dorito crusted mac and cheese. ($40) Felt a bit better after food and went back to Caesars to get tickets for Absinthe that night. Got the tickets and dashed to Wynncore to cash-in some tickets there, then onto TI to do the same.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]We went down to the Absinthe show tent at about 7.15 to find long queues at the box office and lots of people milling around, I overheard some people talking about something being cancelled so we went to speak to the man at the gate only to find out that the show had been cancelled due to technical difficulties, we were really disappointed! We swapped our tickets for the tomorrow night hoping that it would go ahead.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So what now? Hungry and nowhere to go. On to Mon Ami Gabi – 90minute wait for inside, 105 minute wait for outside and loads of people there... maybe give it a miss![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Over to STK at Cosmo – similar wait... and now i've got a hankering for steak![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Ended up going 'The Henry' which has an unusual position in the Cosmo (opposite Bond bar on the way in) but was actually quiet.... and they sold steak.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]We had a bottle of Firestone Riesling and to eat we both had 12oz New York Strip steak with Henry steak sauce, sharing a side of truffle tater tots which were similar mini potato croquettes and a mac and cheese cobbler – excellent food! [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]We decided to have a pudding and had banana cream pie for two which was a lovely “chocolate painted Graham cracker” base with banana custard and chopped bananas in it and whipped cream on top, it was delicious but unfortunately we couldn’t eat it all! ($125) – quite happy with the price and a great meal![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]After the meal, we wanted to go and see the Bellagio Conservatory – surprised we'd not made it in the Bellagio at all during our time in Vegas and went in to find the Conservatory closed as they were changing scenes – gutted! Finding a Ghostbusters slot machine eased the pain though and the missus had more sparkling wines to keep her ticking over![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 19 – Last full day missus has arranged to go the Qua Spa and Baths with her mum so I have hours to kill – she loved the spas with its 'artic' room and sauna's etc. I went off for a wander around the shops and to fritter my money away gambling. We met later at 1:30 and headed to the Secret Pizza place @ Cosmo for lunch... it really is a secret!... even when we asked someone where it was, and got told the floor it was on we struggled to find it, in the end just walking down a long corridor with music playing we managed to find it!.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Had a great pizza and I tried to do the 'lose' $100 cosmo challenge. Ended up winning so gave up on that plan walked onwards and around Miracle Mile shops, getting some snacks to have before Absinthe as the night before we had realised having watched Absinthe without having tea inside us may have killed us![/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Earlier on in the day, I had called at the box office to confirm Absinthe was on (as our day had been planned around it) – I got a re-sounding 'yes', so how pee'd off was I when we turned up at 7:15pm again to see people getting refunds.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I was proper narked – had we known, I would've got tickets for another show but at 7:15 when you're all dressed up to see something (again!) and it's cancelled with no real signs or warnings its rather annoying. So annoying in fact that I kicked off! Absinthe didn't give a toss, so I went into Caesars and told them what I thought of the show they were playing-host to outside. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Caesars were really good about it and we got a food and beverage credit. At least this meant we could have a few drinks in the seahorse bar, (whilst we filled in our customer comment form!) then we headed up to Lake of Dreams (Parasol Down) at Wynn for a bottle of champagne and a bit of lake-entertainment. Then back to the room for some room service to finish off our credit and off to bed at 2am.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Day 20 – Up at 5:45 for the taxi. Bit of sun in the sky today too Nothing exceptional about the flights back apart from landing at Chicago where just as we were touching down (a few feet from the tarmac!), the plane started to take off again back into the sky – pilot later apologised for it and revealed the plane in front of us hadn't cleared the runway. Filled up on duty free at the airport then on the plane back to Manchester there was a medical emergency which pushed us to the front of the landing queue – meant we touched down about 50minutes early (but still had to wait on the plane whilst the person was seen to unfortunately!)[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tips[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]National Parks Pass - A tip we had from MSE was to look at getting a 'National Parks Annual Pass' from ebay. This I did (for £20). The card allows two signatures on it so get one with just one signature on it and you can add your own to allow free entry to shed-loads of places for a car-full of people. This was fantastic and we used it for:[/FONT]

• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Balclutha boat in San Francisco bay[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Muir Woods[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yosemite[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Death Valley[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Grand Canyon[/FONT]
• [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Lake Powell[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Safeway – in San Francisco, the only real place to food-shop that we could find was Safeway – make sure you sign up to the free discount card in-store! It asks for loads of details (ie. Address, phone number etc) but she told me just to sign for it and it would be fine. Assume lots of visitors do it. Saved us a fortune on food shopping as without the card, some items were more than twice the price![/FONT]



Apologies incidently... i've waffled somewhat!!!

nvh

Ruth_honey wrote: »

Who was it that was planning on visiting a couple of National Parks on their trip?
The search thread tool is playing up for me at the moment. Not getting my email notifications about new posts either. Has MSE put me on the naughty list???

we did quite a few - which ones were you thinking of?

ferf1223

March

great trip report, nvh! Thanks for posting.
I'm glad that you appreciated hush puppies...and also, the mention of the dorito crusted mac and cheese means that's now on the list!##

Sorry about Absinthe, I would be totally annoyed too, especially the second time...did they say what the technical difficulty was? We hope we get to see them oin Feb, but will now be sure to schedule carefully if they do seem to cancel with relative frequency.

As for cheap water, we usually buy a slab at WalMart for $4 or $5 for 24 and keep it in the boot of the rental car and bring a few into the room each day.

Oh, and I have seen Tank Girl...think I even have it on DVD.

ferf1223

March

tdawber wrote: »

We used hotwire and found that they were cheaper than carhire 3000.

I checked and hotwire is about £20 - £40 more for our dates, so just goes to show that one isn't always cheapest.

pebblesmax

November / December

Thanks for the report. No waffling that I noticed. I'll have to get on with mine.

nvh

ferf1223 wrote: »

Sorry about Absinthe, I would be totally annoyed too, especially the second time...did they say what the technical difficulty was?

that was the annoying thing - they were far too cagey, none of the floor staff or the relations manager knew what was happening as it had been decided from higher up! it has definitely taught us not to leave it too late as it does seem a temperamental show - we're over the initial disappointment and will certainly go for a look next time now its been extended

ferf1223 wrote: »

As for cheap water, we usually buy a slab at WalMart for $4 or $5 for 24 and keep it in the boot of the rental car and bring a few into the room each day.

yeah, we ended up getting a few 'tubs' (3 litre for 99c or something?) from Safeway that we wanted to have whilst doing Yosemite / Death Valley etc - definitely handy for the out of town places we stayed at. We were quite fortunate in that a few places we stayed at this holiday had fridge / freezers to so we could freeze water up for use the next day

ferf1223 wrote: »

Oh, and I have seen Tank Girl...think I even have it on DVD.

lol - you would've loved that room then

stoneman

October

nvh wrote: »

lol - good on ya! - i'm guessing it's all about the points as i recall your stance on the whole 'going in december / january' thing

Where you thinking of staying?

We are going to try Carriage House this time as our contact at Platinum no longer works there! Prices are manic for the 4 days we are staying. Little under $800 on the strip. Got CH for $550
You are right about not really wanting to go in winter but couldn't resist such a good offer and we can manage it for 4 days