Vegas

We drove all day through these little dorpie's scattered all over the desert, crossing the Hoover dam, stopping for a couple quick pictures. As we passed over the last mountain range before the road down to the city, Vegas came into view and it sticks out like a sore thumb in the desert, something definitely not meant to be there.

Approaching the strip from the south you first past Mandalay Bay with it's golden reflective glass windows, then the Luxor with its great glass pyramid, 'New York New York', the MGM Grand and the golden lion in front of it, right through to the iconic Bellagio, Caesers Palace, the Mirage, plus many truly beautiful structures right up until one of the oldest Casinos on Las Vegas boulevard, Circus Circus.

Now Celia and I had been trying for days to get online and book a hotel in Vegas but had no luck finding an Internet Cafe so we were left to stay in a dodgy 'Motel 8' room. Not the greatest way to do Vegas, but at least it was opposite the Mandalay Bay and easy access to all the hotels and casinos.

After washing up and putting on our best evening wear (jeans and trainers) we headed out for dinner.Smith and Wollensky's was the target but the menu denied us outside the restaurant. Neither of us wanted to pay $45 for a steak no matter how hungry we were. I was pretty pleased as I was here for the buffet. You don't

a) Go to Vegas without having a legendary buffet

or

b) Get an ample stomach like mine without having had a couple buffet's in your life before

We opted then for the buffet at the Bellagio as we wanted to go there anyway, me because I had seen it on 'Ocean's 11' and Celia - well I'm not to sure. The way into the hotel is truly spectacular as you pass the lake with the musical fountains, the entrance hall with the glass flowers hanging from the ceiling. I personally was looking for the signs to the buffet and only spotted the flowers due to that.

Well all I can say is that I had to pray for forgiveness that night for being such a glutton. We rolled out of there and try as we might, couldn't even suck in our stomachs. Now when you load your plate at a buffet, the items you choose have not earthly place in being there together. On my plate I had turkey, Alaskan king crab legs, potato strudel, prime rib, sashimi, california rolls - and that was just the first plate.

The key with a buffet is stay way from the carbs, the rices, potatoes, breads, etc. They will fill you up. I perfected this technique about 7 or 8 years ago when I went to Namibia and Celia's cousin, Mauro and I had 12 plates of the most fantastic buffet at the Kalahari Sands hotel. Job done.

With the food out the way, we attempted to walk around town which was actually a good thing as I don't believe we would have manage with our bellies so full. The casinos are all as beautiful as the next and although I would love to stay at one and be spoiled for the time I'm there, I'm not much of a gambler, and there is not much else to do in Vegas. Maybe I'm just a bit biased as I am on a budget trip. Put a wad of cash in my pocket and we'll talk again. I did gamble the $20 I did have in my pocket and sad to say it lasted a whole 3 minutes in which they never saw me gambling and I never got free drinks like the rest that were sitting there.....

Today in Boulder city I went online to see how much you can get a hotel in Vegas for if you book it on lastminute.com. The answer, about $80-$100, a bit more than we paid for a motel, but then again, in a hotel you don't get the waterproof mattress protector or the dirty towels. :( If we knew we would be in Vegas that day and had internet access, we would have def booked a hotel that day. Lesson learned.